Captain’s Quarters, U.S.S. Afton
Beep … Beep … Beep!

At one time in his life, it had been noted that William Sollace could sleep through anything.

But that was before the Klingon War.

Having served as a commanding officer during the recent war left the starship captain a bit of a light sleeper.

Reaching out with his left hand, the veteran Star Fleet officer hit the comm button even as his legs were still in the process of swinging
around to hit the floor.

“Bridge, this is the captain,” he said, shaking off the last of his sleep. “Report.”

[“Captain, we're receiving an urgent distress call from the U.S.S. Sam Houston,”] reported the night-watch communications officer.

Sollace’s mind came instantly awake as it was his brother who commanded that other ship.

[“They say they came under attack by Romulans when they chose to render aid to a band of Romulan refugees.”]

Heekai’s mind became instantly alert.

“How far away are we?” he asked.

[“Navigator reports we can be there in just over an hour and a half.”]

“Any ship’s closer?” he asked.

[“No, sir.”]

“How many enemy ships?”

This time, the voice was that of the ship’s tactical officer.

[“All they said was they were under attack by a squadron of Romulan warbirds before they lost communication.”]

Heekai knew things looked grim indeed for the LOKNAR-class frigate named Sam Houston and likely not much the Afton could do as well.

“Take the ship to red alert and turn to intercept,” he ordered. “Maximum warp.”

The war might be over, but for some reason the fighting was not.

“Send priority message to Starbase Hatteras and make sure they know about the Sam Houston’s message,” he ordered, already slipping on his uniform. “Ask if they’ve got anything else they can send out to join us.”

With a bit of hope, his brother would last long enough for the Afton to get there.

“Hold on, brother,” he whispered into the void. “I’m coming.”

Respectfully,

Cmdr. William Sollace
Commanding Officer
U.S.S. Afton

aka.
–Mike Tripp

- – - – - -NRPG – - – - – -

This story takes place before the Afton arrives in port just before the
Pathfinder ships out.

It’s setting up another story arc for Starbase Hatteras.