Hope (Star Trek: Dragon episode)

"Hope" was the thirteenth episode of Star Trek: Dragon, written by Jon Wasik. Building upon the previous episode, this single episode began the author's attempt to vastly improve STDragon by improving writing style.

Overview
While repairs are nearly complete on the Dragon, on one of the holodeck Vendar Perkins recieves a promotion to Lieutenant-Commander and is promoted to Senior Ops Officer. R'Sharn protests due to her greater experience in the field, but Captain Harriman believes he has made the right decision.

Another massive Vorkalai force begins to form at Q-487, the same system the previous battle began in, a fleet with a number greater than the previous. With the Hintaru fleet reduced to less than a thousand ships, High Admiral Piarn and Captain Harriman are both convinced that the coming battle would finally be the end. Captain Harriman suggests pulling all Hintaru people and ships back to the home world, however the home world is not capable of sustaining its people without outside resources, particularly if it must support the entire Hintaru population from colony worlds and space stations.

Later Captain Harriman and Piarn talk to the General in charge of all Hintaru military policy, General Abiarn. They learn of a recently-formed alliance with a species named the Britar. Although the Britar fleet does not match the entire Vorkalai fleet in numbers, their battle ships more than make up for it with weapons and other defenses. For the upcoming battle more than 100,000 Britar ships arrive to prepare.

Instead of waiting for the Vorkalai fleet to attack the defense station again, with their new friends the Allied Fleet warps to Q-487. The Britar fire power is impressive, and few Allied ships are lost before the Vorkalai attempt retreat. However amid cheers, the Dragon crew suddenly learns that the Defense Base was destroyed, and that another Vorkalai force used the same Wormhole the Dragon had used to reach Hintaru space, and they snuck behind the Allied fleet to destroy the base. A wing of Britar ships chase down the Vorkalai ships and destroys them.

Days later, with the help of Britar technology, a new Defense Base begins construction. Several sensor platforms and replication ports are deployed along the Hintaru border, and when the defense base is finished these replicating devices create a massive screen of weapons platforms. The Allied fleet begins preparations to begin advancing on Vorkalai territory.