Star Trek: the Four Years War, Vol. 2

STAR TREK

THE FOUR YEARS WAR

Volume II

A novel by

Stephen Fender

Edited by

Lynda Dietz

Published by

JRP

Jolly Rogers Productions

Star Trek: The Four Years War, Vol. 2

Seattle, WA.

First Edition: 2015

Published through Jolly Rogers Productions (JRP) ©, a subsidiary division of StephenFender.com

Contact:

Printed in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Cover art layout and rendering by Stephen Fender ©.

Background image by Ali Ries ©. Used with permission.

Star Trek © is a registered trademark of CBS. I’d like to personally thank CBS for not shutting my project down.

I’d like to thank my family, friends and fans who have been there through this process. I’m grateful for all of you, and each of you has a special place in my heart.

I’d also like to thank my editor, Lynda. She spent countless hours going over this text, and it was time well spent. This novel is the culmination of a lot of hard work, and I’m exceedingly grateful for her assistance.

I want to extend a very special thanks to my wife. Your support has been nothing short of amazing. I love you, angel.

Acknowledgements:

I’d like to thank the following individuals who backed the Kickstarter campaign to get these books produced. Without each of you, this would never have been possible:

Adam Dinnes / Lawrence Nelson
Adam Poulsen / Lee Horrocks
Alan Zukof / Leigh Hennig
Amy Eller Beer / Lina Prz
Andrew J. Buse / Lisa Lyons
Anthony Alan Fenton / Lloyd Duggins
Anthony Richards / Marc Steinijans
Arne Radtke / Marco Boersma
Axanar Productions / Margaret St. John
B Walaardt / Mariano Di Murro
Barbara Sach / Mark Canty
Ben Ames / Mark Donnelly
Bjørnar Årvik / Mark Newman
Blair Nicholson / Mark Williams
Bob Griffing / Martin Glassborow
Brendon Goodyear / Martin Hirst
Brian D Lambert / Martin L. Collins
Brian Kreuzinger / Martin Stringer
Brian Webber / Matt Lee
Brittany Dudas / Matthew D. Luxa
Bud Keegan / Matthew Dempsey
Carl Chambers / Matthew Whiteacre
Carolanne L / Michael Blanchard
Carrie Heyen / Michael Bradford
Cassandra E. Deluisa / Michael Hoffmann
Catalino / Michael J. Kulaga
Charles Lewis / Michael J. Lai
Charles Todd Gwynn / Michael J. Medeiros
Chasin R. Durbin / Michael Roney Jr.
Chris Jernigan / Michael Schaeffer
Chris Roby / Michael Thompson
Chris Settecase / Michael Waack
Chris_JS / Nathaniel
Christian Laroche / Niall Johnson
Christopher Nowell / Nicholas S. Shanayda
Christopher Sneeringer / Nick Fajardo
Craftmom68 / Norman Jaffe
DakotaSurfer / Olivier Mondor
Dan Balkwill / Pat H
Daniel Attard / Patricia Jaderborg
Daniel Hippensteel / Paul Janssens
Daniel J. Balkwill / Paul Prulhiere
Daniel Ohana / Paul Scollon
Darren Keith / Philip Devine
Dave Keeshan / Phill Harris
David Alexander / Pyth0n
David Heath / Ralph Severson
David Shuford / Randy Anderson
Dayne Creveling / Reinhard Tlustos
Dennis Persson / Rich Chang
Derek Freeman / Richard Eyres
Dewitte Baisch / Richard Gable
Diana Paprotny / Richard Todd
Dominic Merz / Richard Tongue
Don & Karen Albares / Rob Beck
Donald Edwards / Robert Jr Riddle
Doug Eckhoff / Robert Spurr
Dwayne Day / Robert Symons
Ellis Coombs / Robert Taylor
Emilio Desalvo / Roland Schreiner
Eric Dieter / Rom Walton
Eric Welsby / Ron Bridgemon
Erich Tauschmann / Ronald Blocksom
Erik D. Burnett / Ronald Eugene Kendrick, Jr.
Erin Grooms / Ryan Patrick
Esteve T. Freitas / Scott Brummundt
Eugene Alex / Scott Cook
Fred Davis / Scott Early
George Lukac / Scott Luke
Graeme Cochran / Sean Allaire
Gregory Clark Rozier / Sean Barrett
Gretchen Williams / Sebastian Kempinger
Hans Gonzalez / Serena Nelson
Harry Schurr / Seth Straughan
Hunter Schoumacher / Shane Rose
Ian H. Weiger / Sonia Koval
Ivar Bardie / Stephen Dryley-Collins
J Lee Watts / Steve Firestine
Jacques Pelletier / Steven Baker
James Goodwin / Steven Butler
James Keener / Steven L. Geyer
James Walter Lutsch / Steven Lord
James Webb / Steven Rowley
Jamie Dent / Sven Proboszcz
Jan Rodich / Teresa Ramos
Jared Bronson / Theodore T. Geib, III
Jarrod Frahm / Thijs ter Horst
Jasiha Welch / Thomas Allen
Jason Fowler / Thomas Mooney
Jason Genser / Thomas Perry
Jeff Doubleday / Thomas Zilling
Jeffrey Harlan / Tim Aukett
Jeffrey Webb / Tim D'Allaird
Jim Traina / Tim Knight
Jirod Devlin / Tim Mushel
Joel Gates / Timothy Houser
John Miles / Tobias Schwarz
Todd Cooper
John O. Edgeworth / Tom Becker
John Rezendes / Tom Boucher
John Sponheimer / Tom Combs
John T. Moss / Tom Ericksen
John Villanueva / Tom Tiernan
John Wenskovitch / Tony Fling
Joseph Stiles / Treehugger
Judith Waidlich / Troy J. Acevedo
Justin Malone / Tyler Thomas
Kay Aleksic / Vernon Vincent
Kevin Gong / Vijay Varman
Kevin Phillips / Walter Lutsch
Kory Victoriano / Warren B. Rogers
Kyle Gross / Will Grafius
L. John Ribar / Will Stapleton
Larry J. DeStefano / YiZhong Tan
Lawrence Amrose / Zak Guder

All characters, settings, and events depicted in this novel are the intellectual property of Stephen Fender. Characters in this novel are not intended, nor should they be inferred by anyone, to represent actual living beings—either now or in the 24th century. Unless, of course, you want to infer it. I won’t stop you.

This is a derivative work of fiction, based on information that may or may not be copyrighted by other parties. No infringement on these rights is intended. This is purely a work of fiction, produced not for profit, and may not be resold to other parties, either alive or connected to a death support system for taxation reasons. There are elements of this story that are expressly the property of Jolly Rogers Productions (JRP), a subsidiary company of StephenFender.com. No copies of this material may be made without their prior consent. There is a whole litany of other legal jargon that could be used to fill this space, but I won’t bore you with it.

Having said that, have fun!

Chapter 1

Stardate 4101.01

January 2253

Incoming subspace communication . . .

FROM:The Office of the Commanding Officer, Starfleet Command, Fleet

Admiral Matthew D. Luxa, San Francisco, Earth

TO: (1) All Commanding Officers, Galaxy Exploration Command

(2) All Commanding Officers, Military Operations Command

VIA:The Office of the Commanding Officer, Starfleet Intelligence,

Commodore Michael J. Lai, San Francisco, Earth

SUBJ:VESSEL DISAPPEARANCES NEAR CONTESTED FEDERATION TERRITORY

Due to the numerous unexplained disappearances of both private and commercial vessels operating near space that is currently being contested by Federation and Klingon forces, the following regulations and restrictions are now established as of this stardate:

1. A Zone of Transport Escort now exists. This new zone will stretch from the planet of New Paris to the New Daran system, and will extend from those points to the prewar boundaries of Federation-Klingon space.

2. Under no circumstances will any merchant or civilian vessel enter this area, unless such vessels are deployed in a convoy, and only when those convoys are under the direct protection of Starfleet Command or Federation Security.

3. All convoys, before departing their assigned ports of call, must first log all planned routes of travel with Federation Security personnel at the nearest established starbase or outpost in relation to the convoy’s point of origin.

4. All designated convoys must immediately check in with Federation Security personnel upon their arrival at the intended destination.

5. All convoys will be escorted by the appropriate number of Starfleet vessels required to protect all assets of said convoy. The number of Starfleet vessels present in the convoy will be dictated by the overall size of the convoy, value of the goods being transported, the amount of enemy resistance assumed or known to exist along the lines of transport, and other such factors that will arise on a case-by-case basis between the vessel masters and Federation Security forces. It should be understood that all such vessels will be sailing under a flag of war for the time being.

6. In addition to the Starfleet vessels escorting such convoys, Federation Marine detachments will also be posted on any escorted vessel while it is en route to its intended destination. The ratio of Marines to civilians that will be assigned to such vessels will be determined by the size of the vessel, the value of the goods being transported, and other such factors that will arise on a case-by-case basis, as determined by Federation Security personnel attached to the convoy.

7. No deviation or unauthorized departure from preapproved routes of travel will be tolerated under any circumstance by Federation Security forces or Starfleet Command. Any such deviations or departures will be punishable by seizure of cargo, personnel, vessels, and/or forfeiture of trade certifications belonging to all involved offenders.

8. All cargo masters and civilian captains are notified to adjust their travel and transportation timelines in order to accommodate these new restrictions. Starfleet Command, operating under strict orders from the Federation Council, makes no financial guarantees on any goods or personnel being transported within this zone. Starfleet Command will take all required precautions while escorting civilian vessels. Also, any such conflicts that may arise from forces deemed unfriendly toward Federation forces or civilian convoys they are protecting cannot be anticipated with a high degree of certainty. Vessel masters and their associated corporations should now consider themselves aware of these facts and plan accordingly.

9. More detailed instructions for the transportation of goods, services, and personnel inside this newly established zone will be transmitted shortly.

* * *

Stardate 4101.06

January 2253

The passenger shuttle SS Hotaru banked leisurely to starboard as she came about to her new course. It was truly beautiful out here in space, the vessel’s captain mused. Even more so now that we’ve gotten away from the busy space lanes of the inner sphere of the Federation.

Deep space afforded him the peace and quiet he had longed to attain for so many years while his family had lived on Earth. While the Hotaru was nowhere near the deep space he yearned for at the moment, the vessel was still away from the surface of the planet and sailing gracefully in the soundless void of near-planetoid space. That was good enough for him.

The planet Ganjitsu, spinning slowly below the small shuttle, was the third spatial body in the Minos Drakkus system, which consisted of ten planets of various classifications. The system, according to the popular galactic coordinate system of the time, lay exactly between the Syrenya and Ayirn systems, thus putting Ganjitsu approximately three parsecs from the Federation-Klingon neutral zone at any given point in her orbital rotation around her sun.

Ganjitsu, originally settled by conservationists several decades earlier, was governed by strict laws restricting the number of settlers on the surface at any given time, as well as provisional guarantees that the planet would never be overdeveloped. The temperature was usually warm and dry, and several varieties of evergreen trees and shrubs that had been transplanted from Earth were now thriving in the temperate climate. The waters of the planet’s three large oceans were usually cool, and several wide rivers forged their way through the lush forests of the planet. Thus, to most of the colonists, living on Ganjitsu was akin to recreational camping on Earth in a great many respects.

In order for someone to get from colony to colony on the planet’s surface, the residents preferred to use the standard Starfleet skimmers—they were nonpolluting, lightweight, and required very little storage space. If, on the other hand, one was required to leave the surface and venture into space, there were two Mission-class scout ships leased to each of the twelve colonies that were spread evenly along the surface of the nearly virgin planet.

Although the Hotaru was nothing more than a glorified shuttlecraft to most, to the helmsman-in-training who now sat at her controls, she was the most beautiful thing in the known galaxy. To him, the vessel’s angular sides and gradually sweeping forward hull gave the vessel an extremely graceful look. The Hotaru could cruise at a sustained speed of warp factor three, and could attain a maximum warp factor of five in emergency situations for short durations. The Hotaru had no offensive weapons to speak of, and only a low-powered deflector shield to stop interstellar debris from penetrating the hull while the scout was under warp or impulse power.

She had departed the planet Ganjitsu only twenty minutes before. Her mission: taking her passengers on a routine tour of the solar system. Truth be told, there were no paying passengers aboard the scout vessel at the moment. There was only the captain—who also served as the navigator—and the young helmsman at his side. The vessel had been reserved by the captain two months earlier, ever since the pilot in question had turned 16 and was now legally allowed to hold the official certification of civilian helmsman.

With the last switch flipped, the Hotaru's captain finished entering in the last of the required navigational settings, putting the ship in its optimum position for entering warp speed. When the final sequence was entered, he slowly turned to his helmsman and—with a slight nod of his head—gave the young man the indication he had been waiting for. The young helmsman returned his captain's nod of approval with a wide smile that spread across his face from ear to ear.

“Course plotted for the eighth planet in the system and standing by, sir,” the young man said as calmly as he could muster. The excitement that was welling inside him was in serious danger of bursting from his pores if he tried to contain it any longer.

“Very good. Navigational systems are online and the engines are at optimum power output,” the captain replied.

“Orders, sir?” the helmsman asked, already knowing the next words that would come from the captain's lips.

The captain looked over to his trainee. He was proud of this young man and all he had accomplished in such a short amount of time. He would make an excellent pilot someday, and the captain was glad to be at his side to help usher him into the larger universe he was about to enter. “Very well. Set speed to warp one and engage.”

“Aye, sir.” His finger hovered above the final control that would launch the small vessel past that very same barrier that had held mankind back for centuries. He wasn't just sending this ship to its future destination; he was, in fact, sending his own life on a new course. He looked at the captain, whose expression was a mirror of the one the helmsman had displayed only a moment before.

The trainee then turned his gaze and fixed it on the front view port and pressed the final control. The ship immediately began to hum, and something loose on the deck aft of the cabin rattled for one brief picosecond before the vessel jumped into warp space—an exclamation of joy filling the helmsman’s mind.

An hour later, the Hotaru found herself in high orbit of the eighth planet of the Minos Drakkus system. The instructor had taken the last hour to familiarize his trainee with the intricacies of maintaining and departing a standardized orbit from a planetary body. Now that the young man seemed to have a firm grasp on the fundamentals—not to mention a few of the more advanced maneuvers—the duo was ready to depart the gaseous planet and return to Ganjitsu.

The eight planet of the Minos Drakkus system—known as Whirlwind—was a turbulent yellow and green giant of a planet. It measured some 70,000 kilometers at its equatorial radius. Its length of day was roughly thirteen and a half hours as it raced around the primary star of the system at a leisurely pace of one rotation per forty standard Earth years.

The SS Hotaru, having just emerged from the dark side of Whirlwind, was bathed in the soft light of the distant G-Type main sequence star. There were small droplets of ice crystals on the forward view port of the cargo shuttle that were only now beginning to melt from the distant radiation from the star—despite the nearly fourteen million miles that separated the two bodies.

“That was an excellent turn,” the captain said to the helmsman as he completed his final maneuver. “Now please lay in a course back along our original flight path.”

“Yes, sir.Inputting the coordinates now.”

“Don't forget to account for stellar drift, fluctuations in gravity wells, the mass of—”

“The mass of the planet in relation to the warp field dynamics of the vessel at near-perfect angles to our trajectory? Yes, sir. I'm well aware of all that,” the helmsman replied with an air of petulance.

The captain let out a slight chortle. “Oh, are you?”