Wildfire
Chapter 1
"U.S.S. Lincoln to Vulpecula, the Arch-Merchant has dropped out of warp again. Let's circle back on impulse and see what's broken this time."
Second Mate Wayne "Pappy" Omthon muttered a curse and shut down the Vulpecula's warp drive. The freighter shuddered and the lights on the cramped bridge flickered as it shifted to impulse.
Pappy turned the command chair to face the sensor console and get a fix on the Arch-Merchant, wincing at the chair's squeak. He'd get it oiled as soon as he had time.
The image on the screen was fuzzy, so Pappy slapped it with the flat of his pistachio-green hand, a practiced maneuver that instantly, if temporarily, cleared up the image. He'd earned the nickname "Pappy" by being far younger than the captain and most of the crew serving under him, a point he was still defensive about. But he prided himself on knowing the ship's quirks as well as any old-timer.
The Arch-Merchant was venting plasma coolant. Pappy sighed, ignoring the sensor display, which had gone all fuzzy again. "That ship," he announced, without a trace of irony, "is a piece of junk." He s ... read full excerpt from: Star Trek SCE: Book Six: Wildfire ebook