Star Trek: Vanguard: Storming Heaven

BOOK: Star Trek: Vanguard: Storming Heaven
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“I WAS THERE UNTIL THE END, MATE. THE BITTER, BLOODY END.”

Vanguard is under siege. Surrounded by enemies, Admiral Nogura sends the scout ship Sagittarius to find an ancient weapon that might be the Federation’s only hope of stopping the alien threat known as the Shedai . . . Qo’noS is wracked by scandal. Councillor Gorkon fights to expose a Romulan plot to corrupt members of the Klingon High Council, only to learn the hard way that crusaders have few allies, and even fewer friends . . . Tholia teeters on the brink of madness. To prevent Starfleet from wielding the Shedai’s power as its own, the Tholians deploy an armada with one mission: Kill the Shedai—by destroying Vanguard.

THE EPIC SAGA’S
EXPLOSIVE FINALE


, ® & © 2012 CBS Studios Inc. STAR TREK and related marks are trademarks of CBS Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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“SUBCOMMANDER, DESTROY THAT SHIP.”

“Yes, sir.” Dimetris lifted her voice and began belting out orders. “Helm, set intercept course, maximum warp. Weapons, stand by for a snap shot. Target their center mass. Centurion, stand by to drop the cloak on my mark.”

Curt acknowledgments came back to her in quick succession, and Centurion Akhisar nodded once to indicate he was ready. Commander H’kaan watched the tactical display in front of him and felt his pulse quicken with anticipation as the
Valkaya
closed to attack position on the
Sagittarius
. When they reached optimal firing range for torpedoes, he said simply, “Now.”

Akhisar dropped the bird-of-prey’s cloak, and the weapons officer unleashed a burst of charged plasma that slammed into the small Starfleet scout ship and knocked it out of warp.

“Helm,” Dimetris called out, “come about and drop to impulse. Sublieutenant Pelor, charge disruptors and ready another plasma charge. Centurion, raise shields.”

Pelor replied, “Weapons locked!”

Dimetris crowed, “Fire!”

In the scant moments between the order and the action, H’kaan glimpsed the sparking, smoldering mass of the
Sagittarius
on the bridge’s main viewscreen.
Looks like we scored a direct hit with the first shot,
he observed with pride.
All those battle drills finally paid off.

Then a pair of disruptor beams lanced through the smoldering husk of the
Sagittarius,
and the ship erupted in a massive fireball that quickly dissipated, vanishing into the insatiable vacuum of deep space. When the afterglow faded, all that remained was glowing debris.

“Secure from general quarters,” H’kaan said. “Well done, all of you.” Much as he tried to remain detached and professional, H’kaan could not resist the urge to gloat over his victory. “Kiris! Send to Admiral Inaros, ‘Starfleet vessel
Sagittarius
destroyed.’”

Harbinger

David Mack

Summon the Thunder

Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore

Reap the Whirlwind

David Mack

Open Secrets

Dayton Ward

Precipice

David Mack

Declassified

Dayton Ward, Kevin Dilmore,

Marco Palmieri, David Mack

What Judgments Come

Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore

Storming Heaven

David Mack

Pocket Books
A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.


, ® and © 2012 by CBS Studios Inc. STAR TREK and related marks are trademarks of CBS Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved.

This book is published by Pocket Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc., under exclusive license from CBS Studios Inc.

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information, address Pocket Books Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

First Pocket Books paperback edition April 2012

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ISBN 978-1-4516-5070-9 (print)
ISBN 978-1-4516-5071-6 (eBook)

For Dayton and Kevin, who made this journey to the final frontier more fun than I could ever have imagined, and for Marco, who brought us all together for the trip.

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Contents

Historian’s Note

Prologue: The Sense of Reckoning

Part 1: Mortal Instruments

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Part 2: A Muse of Fire

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Part 3: Walking Shadows

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Epilogue: A Braver Place

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Historian’s Note

The prologue and epilogue of this story are set in April 2270. The rest of the narrative transpires in 2268, coinciding with the events of the latter half of
Star Trek
’s third season.

Wisdom begins at the end.

—John Webster,
The Duchess of Malfi
(1623)

PROLOGUE
THE SENSE OF RECKONING
APRIL 2270
CALDOS II

Diego Reyes stared through the amber lens of a short glass of whiskey in his hand. “How long did you stay on the station after I left?”

BOOK: Star Trek: Vanguard: Storming Heaven
12.1Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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