their fellow prisoners in the shuttle. In retrospect, Malkus never should have

let them all live in the first place.

Malkus sent out ten Klingons.

He also maintained personal control on one of them—J’lang was his name.

Through J’lang’s eyes, Malkus observed the Klingons moving toward the shuttle.

Six of them broke off to take care of the four in the shuttle. The other four

could take care of two diplomats with ease, Malkus was sure of that….

Malkus was able to use his pawns’natural abilities for himself, so the Klingons

he had enthralled all did what came naturally—they unholstered their weapons as

they moved through the tree-lined route between the hill where Malkus had been

uncovered and the shuttle. They all had at least one bladed weapon, and some had

energy weapons as well.

The six continued onward to the shuttle, while J’lang and the other three held

back. Spock and Worf were nearby, Malkus knew that much. But he could not

pinpoint where. They were not in sight, but the trees and bushes provided plenty

of cover. It had been a long time since Malkus had coordinated a ground

campaign—before his rise to power, in fact, since after that, he had generals to

do the work for him—but he remembered enough to know that the two ambassadors

were probably hiding behind one of the larger trees or one of the bushes. It was

only a matter of flushing them out.

He split the foursome up, each taking a compass point for direction. At a

certain distance beyond the field in which Malkus knew Spock and Worf had to be,

they would turn back.

J’lang was carrying a weapon that was apparently used for the sculpting of rock

into artwork, but it would work just as well to rend flesh. He also had a dagger

of some kind—apparently, most Klingons carried one; they called it a d’k tahg.

Both were one-handed weapons, so Malkus had J’lang have both at the ready.

Unfortunately, a search through the bushes and trees to the west revealed

nothing. He turned J’lang back. When he arrived at the starting point, he saw

two of his other pawns. Making contact with them, he learned that they had found

nothing, either.

So where can they—?

Before Malkus could complete the thought, a bottle of some sort flew through the

air and broke apart upon impact with the ground. When it did so, it burst into

flames—and the fire quickly spread around the clearing.

Spock swung down from one of the branches in a kicking motion, his feet

colliding with the back of one of the other Klingons’ heads. As he fell, the

other Klingon turned to fire his disruptor on the ambassador.

Before he could take the shot, however, a dark hand gripped his right shoulder.

The Klingon convulsed and fell to the ground. Only then did Malkus see that the

other ambassador had used the flames as cover to sneak up behind him and apply

the same maneuver to the Klingon that Spock had used on Worf earlier.

I had thought that to be a Vulcan technique.

Then the fourth Klingon, who was named Roka, returned, and immediately charged

Spock. He had instinctively attacked with his bat’leth —an edged weapon, but one

favored by some Klingons over energy weapons. With astonishing speed, Spock

grabbed one of the branches that had caught fire, and used it to hold Roka off.

Meanwhile, Malkus instructed J’lang to charge Worf. The sculpting tool could

indeed be deadly, but it was not a distance weapon.

The Klingon that Spock had downed also had a bat’leth, and the half-breed was

able to keep Roka at bay with his torch long enough to grab the weapon and use

it to parry.

Malkus noted that Spock was using a fighting style that he recognized from the

other Klingons he’d possessed—it was based on their form of combat called

mok’bara. Malkus also knew that Spock had never studied the mok’bara.

Then again, he thought as Worf calmly dodged and weaved out of the way of

J’lang’s two-pronged d’k tahg and sculpting-tool attack, this Klingon ambassador

had likely never learned the nerve pinch.

Malkus enjoyed a worthy foe as much as the next tyrant, but enough was enough.

He needed to end this and get back to the business of rebuilding his empire.

It was then that he discovered that two ships were approaching Narendra III: a

Starfleet vessel and a Klingon Defense Force vessel. Both were

large—considerably more powerful than any of the eight ships Malkus had in his

power. He reached out to the two new ships’ captains—while he could not enslave

the entire complements of the vessels, if he could at least take over their

leaders….

But he could not. Somehow, the minds of all the people on both ships were

unavailable to him. That had never happened before.

So he sent his ships off to attack and destroy the vessels, then turned his

attention back to J’lang—

—just as Worf knocked the sculpting tool out of J’lang’s right hand with a

chopping motion. He then converted that motion into a jab with his elbow to

J’lang’s face. As J’lang stumbled backward, Worf grabbed J’lang’s left wrist,

effectively neutralizing the d’k tahg, then yanked J’lang forward. J’lang

stumbled toward Worf; Malkus tried to put up some kind of defense, but Worf then

stopped J’lang’s forward motion by grabbing J’lang’s right shoulder with his

left hand.

Malkus retreated from J’lang’s mind as the sculptor lost consciousness, another

victim of that be-damned Vulcan attack. He transferred his active control to

Roka.

Spock and Roka seemed to be evenly matched with the bat’leth, at least. Roka had

mostly been on the offensive, but Spock had parried each blow with the ease of

the expert that Malkus knew full well he wasn’t.

With a downward slash, Roka managed to entangle Spock’s bat’leth and drive it to

the grassy ground. He used his left elbow to jab Spock in the jaw, then

disentangled his weapon from Spock’s and swung upward.

However, Spock was able to duck backward and not be struck. Then he raised his

own bat’leth in defense of Roka’s next thrust.

They sparred for a moment, neither side gaining the offensive. Roka used Kilog’s

gambit against Spock, followed up by B’Arq’s defense. According to Roka’s

memories, B’Arq’s defense was impenetrable.

With an underhanded swing, Spock penetrated Roka’s use of B’Arq’s defense,

knocking the bat’leth out of Roka’s hands. Spock then slammed the leading edge

of the bat’leth into Roka’s side.

Malkus cursed as Roka fell to the ground, unable to move. He gazed upon the two

ambassadors with fury as they stared at each other.

Worf raised an eyebrow. “Fascinating. Your penetration of B’Arq’s defense

was—familiar.”

Spock half-smiled. “It should be, since I learned it from you. An excellent

technique, if I may say so.”

“Thank you. We should continue. Malkus may send more of his thralls against us.”

You don’t know the half of it, Klingon, Malkus thought angrily. He reached out

to the pawns that had gone to the shuttle—

—only to find that five of the six were still engaged with the quintet from the

shuttle. The sixth was dead, a d’k tahg having slit his throat. If the remainder

broke off their attack to go after Spock and Worf, they too would be cut down.

Then Malkus laughed to himself. The solution was simple: the four Klingons who

had been defeated here and the one dead at the shuttle were of no use. So Malkus

sent those shards of his consciousness to B’Oraq, Davok, G’joth, Matthew Falce,

and Hilary McKenna.

That gave him a full ten pawns to send after Spock and Worf.

Soon they’ll all be dead….

 

“New course, 287 mark 9—execute!”

“Train disruptors on the Rikmok.”

“Weapons locked.”

“Vralk, execute course now!”

“Prepare to fire on my mark.”

Kira heard the voices in the background, but barely focused on who was talking.

Her primary concern was the field of range belonging to the fore port disruptor

array. There were three of them, each had four viewscreens, one large and three

small. Each screen showed a ninety-degree field, with the large one showing the

ninety-degree area that the disruptor was currently trained in, the other three

showing the remaining two hundred and seventy degrees. Her job was a simple

one—identify any targets that came in range of any of the three disruptors under

her purview, train the weapon on that target, and fire. Of course, with the

speed at which ships moved and the comparatively limited range of the

disruptors, that didn’t leave her—or her three counterparts—many opportunities

to fire, but they were only a small part of the Gorkon’ 'sarsenal.

She tried not to think about what the Bajoran Resistance could have done with a

ship like this against the Cardassians. Hell, this thing even puts the Defiant

to shame.

Klag’s deep voice penetrated the wall of sound that the bridge had become.

“Remember, shoot to disable, not destroy. There is no glory in defeating

mind-controlled warriors, nor any honor in dying in such a state.” A pause. “But

don’t be fools, either. No matter what, we shall be victorious!”

Tereth said, “Captain Huss’s ships are entering range. I suggest waiting—train

weapons at 185 mark 9. She’s likely to attempt a bIng manuever—it was a favorite

of hers when I served with her.”

Kira realized that one of her disruptors fell into that range. She immediately

trained her number-three disruptor on that area—currently bereft of any ships.

Toq said, “Nukmay, Khich, and Jor changing course!” A pause. “A perfect bIng

maneuver.”

All three ships came right into Kira’s sights, just as predicted.

“Fire!” Klag bellowed.

Kira trained her array on the wing of the Nukmay, the lead ship. It, combined

with the disruptors fired by Rodek, slammed through the bird-of-prey’s shields

and tore a hole through the wing. That sent the ship into a spin that caused it

to collide with the Khich. The latter ship’s shields were disrupted into

oblivion, though there was no hull damage.

A cheer went up from around the bridge, and the gunner closest to Kira—a bekk

named Klorga—said, “Well done for a first shot, Bajoran.”

“You ain’t seen nothin’ yet,” Kira muttered. There was still the Jor, which

fired its dirsuptors at the Gorkon. Looks like they’re aiming for the engines,

Kira thought.

“Shields down to eighty percent,” Toq said.

Kira fired on the Jor, taking the ship’s shields out with three shots before it

left the range of her disruptors.

“We’re being hailed by the Enterprise,” said the ensign at the communications

console.

“On audio,” Klag said.

“Klag, we need you to draw off some of these ships,” Picard said. “We can’t use

the deflector modification without lowering shields.”

Kira stole a glance at the tactical display on the main viewer. The Enterprise

was more than holding its own against the other four ships—the Sovereign -class

vessel had only suffered minor shield damage, whereas two of the Klingon ships

were in pretty bad shape and the other two were on their way to more of the

same. But that wouldn’t last forever, especially since the Enterprise and Gorkon

were doing their best to minimize casualties and their foes were working under

no such constraint.

“Vralk, change course toward the Enterprise,” Klag said.

Tereth added, “Rodek, give us covering fire on the birds-of-prey.”

That instruction, Kira knew, would be passed on to the two at the aft disruptor

arrays.

A part of Kira liked the simplicity of it—all she was responsible for was three

small three-hundred-and-sixty-degree fields of fire. No more, no less. Given the

awesome responsibilities she had as the commanding officer of one of the more

strategically important starbases in the quadrant, accountability for so little

came as a relief.

But a part of her hated it for the same reason she hated what Malkus did to her.

It was Klag who directed the battle, Tereth who commanded the troops, Rodek who

carried out those commands, and only then did Kira get involved if those

commands happened to relate to her tiny area of control.

And Kira Nerys never liked having limited control.

 

It had taken Aidulac two days to work her way across Narendra III.

With the aid of the component she’d found from the third Instrument, she had

been able to trace the final Instrument to this planet, but frustratingly, not

to where on this planet. She had to wait until someone unearthed the Instrument

before she would be able to locate it more precisely.

So she settled on a remote island, converted the Sun to a shelter, and used its

resources to survive. Her ability to influence men’s minds was sufficient to

keep prying eyes away from her—especially given the location she’d chosen in the

middle of Narendra III’s largest ocean—and she waited.

She’d waited ninety thousand years. She was prepared to wait another ninety

thousand.

As it happened, she only had to wait for five years. A major war was fought in

the interim, though the fighting never actually reached Narendra despite its

position near both the Romulan and Federation borders.

Aidulac continued to wait.

Then, finally, the Instrument was exposed.

Naturally, it was on the other side of the planet.

From here on, Aidulac had to be careful. She could not afford to use the Sun, as

it would be detected. Besides, Malkus’s consciousness had, as she had feared,

been imprisoned within the Instrument. Now he planned to rebuild his empire.

The fools. The unmitigated fools. The thought was directed at the well-meaning

rebels who had overthrown Malkus. They should have just killed him and had done

with it. But no, they had to teach him a lesson, to imprison him, to make him

suffer.

They don’t understand him. No one ever did. Not even me.

Especially not me. If I had, I would have just killed myself when he came to me.

 

First she took a boat to the mainland. Then she needed to find a groundcar to

take her to where the memorial was being built. That had proven difficult, but

not impossible. Her own immunity and invisibility to Malkus’s telepathic control

enabled her to move freely, but avoiding visual detection was a lot harder. Her

own talents for persuasion were helpful, but not always reliable.

Now, though, she was less than an hour away on foot from the memorial site where

he’d been uncovered.

Then, she thought, this will all finally be over.

 

Vralk maneuvered the Gorkon into position, hoping to draw fire away from the

Enterprise so they could use their device to neutralize Malkus.

It doesn’t surprise me, Vralk thought with disdain. Klag would leave the glory

to the weaklings of the Federation, even though it was we who learned the secret

for defeating this Malkus thing. He turned to glance at the secondary gunner

positions, specifically the one where the Bajoran woman sat. He even lets

inferiors serve on his bridge. He is so unworthy of this vessel, it makes me

ill.

“Bring us around,” Tereth shouted, “187 mark 9. Now, Lieutenant!”

Vralk changed course to 187 mark 9 and restrained himself from telling Commander

Tereth to stop blathering at him. As Rodek had said, she was the first officer,

even if she didn’t deserve it—after all, as Lokor had said, he would find no

allies for his cause on this ship.

“Hard to port,” Tereth said. “Try to get the Rikmok off the Enterprise’

'ssaucer.”

“Shields failing,” Toq said. “The birds-of-prey are continuing to fire!”

“Covering fire,” Klag said. “Drive them off with the rear weapons, but try not

to destroy them.”

Vralk could not help himself. “We show weakness before the enemy?”

Klag turned angrily on Vralk. “They are not our enemy. When a Klingon truly

takes up arms against me, then I will kill him or die without hesitation, but I

will not destroy mind-controlled slaves unless I have to. And I do not have

to—yet.”

Disruptor blasts and torpedoes continued to slam into the Gorkon’ 'sshields.

Vralk found he could not avoid all of them, especially now that they were close

to the Enterprise —some of the Defense Force ships simply fired on both targets.

While the Enterprise and Gorkon were far more powerful, they were also larger

and less maneuverable than their eight foes.

“The QaS DevwI’ have all reported in,” the ensign at communications said. “All

ground troops are standing by.”

“Good,” Tereth said.

Again, Vralk found he could not help himself. He turned to Tereth, who was

standing between the com console and Vralk’s own helm control. “The QaS DevwI’

will not be able to lead the troops into battle if we are blown up before they

can be deployed!”

Another impact. Several consoles went down.

“Shields have failed!” Toq cried.

“You are a fool to continue this!” Vralk said, getting up and walking toward

Tereth. “We must—”

Tereth suddenly leapt at Vralk, tackling him.

As Vralk fell to the deck his heart sang out with joy. At last, the fool woman

has tipped her hand! She feels the need to silence me in public! Now I can truly

challenge her and show everyone that she is unworthy!

He clambered to an upright position, unsheathing his d’k tahg.

Tereth remained on the deck, with a very large chunk of what was once a piece of

the ceiling bulkhead now embedded in her back.

She had not been challenging him, she had saved his life at the cost of her own.

He dropped his d’k tahg to the deck.

Had he remained at his post, the shrapnel would not have hit him or Tereth. But

because he abandoned his post in a conflict, a superior was dead.

What have I done?

“Vralk, you’re relieved,” Klag said. “I will kill you later. Koxx, take the

helm! Bring us around, 241 mark 6. Rodek—full weapons!”

Turning toward the turbolift, his d’k tahg still on the deck, Vralk thought, I

suppose now he has to use deadly force. If he had done it sooner, Tereth might

not be dead now.

And if I had not been such a fool, she would not be dead, either.

 

Aidulac checked the readings on her scanner. She had less than an hour’s walk to

where Malkus was keeping himself. And then—one way or another—it would all be

over.

This was parkland now. Aidulac had never been to this world when it was part of

the Zalkat Union, nor in the millennia since, so she had no idea what it might

have been like then. Probably some backwater—otherwise, why hide the Instrument

away here?

She hadn’t expected to be tackled by a crazed Klingon in military garb.

The Klingon knocked her to the ground, knelt down on her chest, then swiped at

her face with some kind of edged weapon. Aidulac raised her arm to defend

herself, and the blade sank into her forearm. She cried out in pain as the

Klingon yanked the blade out and started to take another swipe.

Before he could, a hand gripped the Klingon’s shoulder, and he fell to the

ground, unconscious.

Another Klingon, this one wearing a floor-length coat that, from what Aidulac

knew of Klingon traditions, meant he held some kind of high office, rolled

Aidulac’s attacker off her. “Thank you,” she said. “I wasn’t aware of any

Klingons who knew the Vulcan nerve pinch.”

“It is a long story,” he said. “I am Worf, son of Mogh. You do not appear to be

in Malkus’s thrall.”

“No,” she said, putting pressure on her wound. “I am Aidulac, and I’m here to

stop Malkus.”

Worf’s eyebrow rose—another Vulcan gesture. “Fascinating. How do you intend to

accomplish this?”

Before she could answer, a Vulcan approached, wearing once-elegant robes that

had not weathered travel through this forest particularly well—the black cloth

was spattered with dirt and grass stains. Bloodstains were present as well, but

they were not green, so they did not belong to him. His movements were also odd,

for a Vulcan—and he was carrying a Klingon weapon.

“Two of our foes—” the Vulcan started, then noticed the other one on the ground.

“Three of our foes have been defeated. We must hurry, before the others catch

up.” He looked at Aidulac and then spoke irritably. “Who is this?”

“I am Aidulac. I am here to stop Malkus—forever. I’ve waited ninety thousand

years for this day.” She frowned. “You two have mind-melded?”

“Yes,” Worf said. “It was the logical way to resist Malkus’s control.”

“Very wise.”

“I am Spock,” the Vulcan said. “We don’t have much time. The mind-meld will

start to fade soon, and both Ambassador Worf and I will be helpless if that

should happen. Do you have a method of neutralizing Malkus?”

Aidulac nodded. “I believe so. I have had many millennia to construct the

device, but no way to ever test it. My attempts to do so with the previous

artifacts met with resistance.”

Spock raised his eyebrow in the exact same manner that Worf had done a moment

ago. “I do recall a report of a woman named Aidulac attempting to land on Alpha

Proxima II when the first artifact was found there. Are you the same woman?”

“Yes.”

“Fascinating,” both Worf and Spock said simultaneously.

Worf continued, “But not relevant at this time. We must press forward before

Malkus’s thralls catch up to us—or he sends more.”

“We don’t have far to go,” Aidulac said. Keeping the pressure on her wound, she

started walking.

After a moment, the Vulcan and the Klingon followed.

Within a few minutes, they had arrived. They took up position behind a large

tree that overlooked the hill. Aidulac saw two humans—a younger one in a

Starfleet uniform, and an older one in a variation of the same—standing near a

table on which sat all four Instruments.

Three of them, Aidulac noted, were connected. The fourth was separate. She

smiled. “I see he tried to construct the Great Rectangle.”

Worf turned to her. “We have received no resistance since we met you. Why is

that?”

“I am invisible to Malkus thanks to this.” She removed the component from the

third Instrument from her belt.

“That is the missing component from the third artifact,” Spock said.

Aidulac nodded. “I found it five years ago. Then I waited here for the final

Instrument to be unearthed.”

Just then, two humans and three Klingons approached Malkus from the other side

of the clearing.

“You were right,” Worf said to Spock. “He did enslave our fellow prisoners.”

“It seemed a reasonable hypothesis,” Spock said. “How close do you need to be to

the artifacts in order for your device to work?”

“Closer than this,” Aidulac said ruefully. “We shall have to go out into the

open.”

“Wait,” Worf said. “Look.”

The humans and Klingons all left—including one of the two Starfleet officers who

had already been present—leaving only the elderly human to guard Malkus.

“They’ve probably gone to keep searching for you two.”

“Indeed,” Worf said. “Leaving only Dr. McCoy—and as the admiral himself might

say, he is a doctor, not a fighter.”

Worf unsheathed a disruptor pistol, and Spock hefted the Klingon blade. They

exchanged a nod, and then charged, Aidulac behind them.

Unsurprisingly, by the time they reached the Instruments, some of the thralls

had returned. Worf, however, took two of them out with his disruptor, and the

one that charged in at close quarters was dealt with by Spock. They covered her

approach to Malkus quite well.

McCoy made a halfhearted attempt to attack Worf, but the human was far too aged

to be any real threat. Worf grabbed his neck and said, “Sorry, Doctor, I have no

time to discuss this logically.”

As Worf gently set the elderly human on the ground before turning his attention

to other mind-controlled foes, Aidulac deactivated the component from the third

Instrument. She no longer needed its protection from Malkus’s influence. “It’s

been a long time, Mighty One.”

You! Then she felt his laughter in her mind. Of course, you survived. I should

have known.

“I only survived for one reason, Mighty One—to see you and the Instruments I

made for you destroyed.”

She switched on the device. In theory, it would neutralize all four artifacts.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Both the Klingon warrior that Spock was sparring with and the Starfleet officer

that Worf was wrestling with stopped fighting. Spock was able to disarm the

Klingon, and Worf knocked the Starfleet officer to the ground.

The Starfleet officer frowned. “What happened? Ambassador Worf? What the hell’s

going on?”

“My apologies, Captain DeSoto,” Worf said, offering the man a hand up.

The Klingon warrior stared at Spock. “Why am I fighting a Vulcan?”

“All will be explained in due course,” Spock said, then turned to Aidulac. “It

seems you were successful. Malkus’s telepathic hold appears to have been

broken.”

Aidulac smiled.

 

“Captain, the birds-of-prey have broken formation!”

Klag whirled around at Rodek. “What?”

“The other ships as well—they have ceased firing.”

Toq said, “Sir, we are being hailed—by all the ships. They wish to know what is

going on.”

Getting up out of his command chair—once again not stumbling—Klag thought,

Something must have happened to Malkus. “Get me Picard, now!”

“Channel open,” Toq said.

“Activate your deflector now, Picard!”

“Understood, Klag.”

Klag watched the viewer as the Enterprise lowered its shields. Then its

deflector dish lit up with a harsh light as the Starfleet vessel changed

position.

To the new pilot, the captain said, “Koxx, keep us between the Enterprise and

any threats, in case Malkus reasserts himself.”

Toq said, “The Enterprise is firing!”

 

The device exploded in Aidulac’s hands.

Unfortunately, the explosion took Aidulac’s hands with it.

She screamed in pain and collapsed to the ground. Never, in all her millennia of

life, had she ever felt anything remotely like the agony she felt now.

But the physical pain was as nothing compared to the mental anguish of her

failure. All my work for naught. I was a fool to think I could defeat the Mighty

One. I never could then—why would it be different now?

She heard Malkus’s laughter in her mind.

It was a brave attempt, Aidulac, Malkus said to her. But I am Malkus the Mighty.

With but a gesture, I destroyed entire solar systems. You are as nothing to me.

The galaxy is as nothing to me. Soon, I will—

Then she heard nothing. It was as if someone had simply turned Malkus off in

midsentence. His presence was completely gone from her mind, as much as it was

before she deactivated the component.

Looking over at the table that the four Instruments sat on, she saw that they

had suddenly gone dead.

 

The voice of the android Data sounded over the Gorkon’ 'sspeakers. “I am reading

no emissions from the Malkus Artifacts. They have been rendered inert.”

Toq added, “Confirmed. None of the mind-control readings are present, and

neither are the Malkus emissions.”

The ensign at the engineering station cried, “Victory!” Several others followed

suit.

Klag ignored the cries. Instead, he walked over to the body of Commander Tereth,

still lying on the deck next to the helm control. Turning her body over, Klag

pried open her eyes.

She had been the best of them, serving him well, working with the crew, being

his eyes and ears and hands on the Gorkon. He doubted he would ever be able to

properly replace her.

And how did she die? In battle, covered in glory?

No. She died saving the life of an undeserving animal.

Rearing his head back, Klag screamed.

Next to him, Koxx did the same.

After a moment, so did everyone on the bridge—almost a score of warriors,

screaming to the heavens. Klag’s ears rang with it, and it prompted him only to

scream louder.

The Black Fleet in Sto-Vo-Kor now knew that Tereth, daughter of Rokis of the

House of Kular, was crossing the River of Blood to join them.

The screams finally subsided. Klag looked down at the empty shell that was once

his first officer. Then he looked up to see Colonel Kira standing over them.

“I would have liked to have shared that drink with her,” she said.

“You and I shall share it in her honor,” Klag said as he got to his feet.

He did so by bracing himself with his right arm, and got to his feet gracefully.

Chapter Seventeen

WORF TOOK A LONG SIP OF PRUNE JUICE , wishing that the human beverage were more

useful for driving out splitting headaches.

The ambassador sat in the Ten-Forward lounge of the Enterprise, perusing the

report that Giancarlo Wu had sent along from Qo’noS. Wu had attended to the

difficulty on Mempa V with his usual efficiency—the Tellarites were freed after

paying a hefty fine, and escorted out of the Empire with all due haste—and the

fifth draft of the Klingon/Tholian resolution had apparently met with approval

by both sides.

“May I join you?” said a familiar voice.

Worf looked up to see Ambassador Spock, looking much as he had when Worf first

saw him on the St. Lawrence. He had cleaned up and put on fresh robes to replace

the blood-and-dirt-stained ones from the surface. In addition, he was walking

like a Vulcan again instead of the ready-to-fight demeanor that Worf himself

favored.

“Of course,” Worf said, happily putting the padd down as Spock took the seat

opposite him.

“Forgive the intrusion, but I wished to inquire after your health. The mind-meld

can sometimes be difficult even for native-born Vulcans, much less outsiders.”

“I am fine,” Worf said. “Although—” He hesitated.

“Yes?”

Worf took a bracing sip of prune juice before continuing. This wasn’t easy for

him to say. “I would like to apologize for my behavior on the St. Lawrence. I

should not have questioned your motives. The mind-meld has given me—a new

perspective on your position. Your thoughts are not of the Romulan government,

but of the Romulan people —the ones who lost their brothers and sisters to the

war. Those are—noble goals.”

“I have spent a great deal of time over the last few years with the Romulan

people. They should not be punished for the shortsightedness of their

government—or of someone else’s. However,” Spock said quickly, “I too feel the

need to offer an apology. I now understand the crux of your argument: that,

while the Klingon Empire and the Federation went to war with the Dominion in

order to preserve the Alpha Quadrant, the Romulan Empire went to war to preserve

the Romulan Empire. A subtle distinction that I, in my zeal to protect the

Romulan people, lost sight of.”

Worf shook his head. “Not at all. I believe that both arguments have merit.”

“Indeed. And we shall have many opportunities to present them at Khitomer.”

Spock paused and regarded Worf with a penetrating gaze. “You have led a

most—intriguing life, Mr. Ambassador. If you have time—and the inclination—I

would like to discuss certain elements of it with you.”

Had anyone else made the request, Worf would have refused. But, just as Spock

had obviously been intrigued by Worf’s life, so too was Worf by Spock’s. The man

was truly a living legend, and Worf had gained some—there was no other word for

it—fascinating insights into the man behind that legend. It left him with a

great desire to learn more.

Then he remembered something. “Computer, time?”

“The time is 1105 hours.”

“I am sorry, Mr. Ambassador. I would like to have those discussions—but not at

the moment. I have an—appointment on the Gorkon.”

Spock inclined his head. “Of course. We will have ample opportunities to

converse over the next few days in any event.”

Worf stood up and drained the rest of his prune juice. “I look forward to it.”

Truly, he did—had he not made the promise to Klag, he would have stayed to talk

with Spock for as long as the Vulcan ambassador wished. Leaving aside his

interest in discussing the things Spock had seen, the battles he had fought, it

was also an infinitely preferable alternative to the mindless drudgery of Worf’s

life as Federation Ambassador to Qo’noS. Khitomer promised plenty of that as it

was—talking with Spock would be a welcome palliative.

 

Leonard McCoy was tired.

Less than a year from his hundred and fiftieth birthday, McCoy got tired fairly

easily these days. On top of the usual fatigue of daily existence as a cranky

old man, he had to put up with Malkus invading his cranium. Admittedly, dealing

with it was less of an issue than it might have been for a younger person. After

all, your limbs not doing what you intend them to do was a fact of life the

longer you spent on the wrong side of the century mark. Still, it wasn’t usually

the whole body.

McCoy sat in the Enterprise’ 'sTen-Forward lounge, sipping a syntheholic mint

julep that tasted about as dreadful as he expected. But his cardiovascular

system couldn’t really handle the real thing all that much these days—especially

after the exertions Malkus put him through.

“How are you feeling, Doctor?”

The sudden voice at his back almost made McCoy drop his glass. He turned around

to see Spock standing behind him. Only a few minutes ago, McCoy had noticed

Spock sitting with Worf. The doctor looked over to see that their table was now

empty.

As his old comrade sat down across from him, McCoy said, “I hate it when you do

that. And to answer your question, I was fine until you scared the daylights out

of me. How ’bout you?”

“The effects of the mind-meld have almost faded. There will always be a residue

of Ambassador Worf inside me and of me in him, but that is to be expected.”

McCoy chuckled. “After all the melds you’ve done in your time, your cerebral

cortex is probably more crowded than Paris on Inauguration Day. As for me, I

like to keep my head to myself, thanks. It was bad enough when I had to share my

brain with you way back when. Malkus was a helluva lot worse. One thing I don’t

get, though.”

“Only one thing?” Spock asked in his usual deadpan.

“Don’t start with me, bucko, we’re both too old,” McCoy muttered. “Back when you

core-dumped your brain into mine before you died, I couldn’t do that damn neck

pinch of yours. Worf only had some of your marbles, and he was distributing neck

pinches right and left.”

“The mind-meld is not a precise tool, as you well know, Doctor. It would seem

that Worf was simply luckier than you.”

“Got that right,” he said, taking another sip of the julep.

“However, that experience from ninety years ago is a primary reason why I was

able to resist Malkus’s control enough to perform the mind-meld in the first

place. My death and resurrection on Genesis altered my brain chemistry

sufficiently to make Malkus’s grip on my mind tenuous at best.”

“As opposed to your grip on reality, which is completely tenuous,” McCoy said

with a smile.

Spock’s eyebrow shot up. “I thought we were too old for this sort of thing?”

McCoy shrugged. “I lied.”

Before Spock could reply, Picard entered the lounge and headed to their table.

“Gentlemen, may I join you?”

“Of course, Captain,” Spock said, indicating one of the seats between them.

“How’re things dirtside?” McCoy asked.

“Settling down. Captain Klag’s ground troops have been able to restore order.

Dr. Crusher was able to cure as many of the Klingons imprisoned in the sports

arena as were still alive.”

“Still alive?” McCoy frowned. “There wasn’t time for the virus to—Oh, hell. A

virus that pumps adrenaline into Klingons.”

“Yes,” Picard said gravely. “I’m afraid that the virus combined with the

enclosed space to cause no small amount of violence, even by Klingon standards.”

McCoy shook his head, thinking about all those who died before he and Lew

Rosenhaus came up with the cure the last time it reared its ugly head on Proxima

a century earlier.

“How is Aidulac, Captain?” Spock asked.

“Dr. Crusher has fitted her with prosthetic hands. She has requested that she be

allowed to take the artifacts into her personal custody.”

“Makes sense—she helped build the damn things,” McCoy said.

Picard’s head tilted to one side slightly. “Unfortunately, she also has several

warrants out for her arrest—some dating back over two hundred years. For obvious

reasons the Federation is not very interested in turning over four powerful

weapons to her—and very interested in fulfilling those warrants.”

“Understandable,” Spock said.

“In any event, the artifacts will be returned to the Rector Institute—with

security heightened, obviously,” Picard added with a wry smile.

“DeSoto’s not gonna get in any hot water, is he?” McCoy asked.

“I doubt it,” Picard said. “There will be a hearing for formality’s sake—”

McCoy muttered into his julep. “Right, ’cause heaven forfend there not be

paperwork for the bureaucrats to play with.”

“—but I’m sure he’ll be cleared of any theft charges. The Hood is still en route

to pick him up—as is the Defiant to retrieve Colonel Kira. We’ve loaded the St.

Lawrence into our shuttlebay, and we shall convey you,” he glanced at Spock,

“and Ambassador Worf to Khitomer this afternoon, along with your pilots. You’ll

be happy to know that the opening meetings have been delayed until our arrival,

despite objections from the Romulans. Captain Klag will remain behind with the

Gorkon to oversee putting Narendra III back together. Apparently he has also

offered to repair Captain Butterworth’s ship.”

“Who?” McCoy asked. That for damn sure doesn’t sound like any Klingon name I’ve

ever heard.

“The civilian freighter that was part of Malkus’s fleet,” Picard said. “They

sustained heavy damage during the conflict.”

“What the hell was a Federation civilian freighter doing here anyhow?” McCoy

asked.

Picard gave a half-smile. “They were providing marble for the Dominion War

memorial that is being built on Narendra—in fact, it was the groundbreaking for

that memorial that led to the artifact being unearthed.”

“Figures,” McCoy muttered.

“In any event, Admiral,” Picard said, “I believe Klag is arranging for you and

Dr. B’Oraq to travel to Qo’noS as soon as you’re ready. The High Council doesn’t

like to be kept waiting,” he added with a smile.

Snorting, McCoy said, “Hell, they’re probably teed off that I made it through

this alive. Now they’re stuck with me giving them their lecture.”

“Surely a fate worse than death,” Spock said dryly. Turning to Picard before

McCoy could reply to the jab, he said, “The arrival of yourself and Captain Klag

was most timely. It was greatly appreciated, since eventually Ambassador Worf

and I would have succumbed—either to Malkus’s thralls or to his telepathic

attack when the mind-meld deteriorated.”

“Your interference also gave us the opportunity to use our psilosynine wave,

Ambassador, so I’d say we’re even.”

“Actually, Captain, it was Aidulac who truly provided the distraction.”

Picard’s eyes widened. “Did she? Well, perhaps that will be a mitigating factor

in her defense. In any case, you should be thanking Colonel Kira more than

anyone. She was the one who led us here.”

“Where is the colonel, anyhow?” McCoy asked.

“I believe she had some final business on the Gorkon.”

 

Lokor sat at the desk in his quarters, reading over the daily reports from his

guards. The reports were shorter than usual by dint of most of the Gorkon’

'sground troops being on-planet. The biggest security headache on a ship this

size was when the ground troops went for an extended period without actually

being put to use. Of course, they had drills and exercises and tasks to perform,

but unless they were off the ship and doing their jobs—which boiled down to

fighting and dying for the Empire on a planet or base or enemy vessel—they

tended to go stir-crazy.

And stir-crazy troops meant difficulties for the person in charge of maintaining

order.

But Lokor had done his job well, he thought. The incidents were kept to a

minimum—little beyond the usual maimings of daily life in the Defense Force.

And, with the Narendra situation, a comparatively quiet day for a change.

His door chime rang. “Enter.”

The door opened to the smell of adanji. At first he thought one of his deputies

had confiscated some incense. He looked up to say that he didn’t want that

foul-smelling stuff in his quarters, when he saw that it wasn’t one of his

deputies, it was Vralk.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, he was wearing not his uniform but the ceremonial

robes of the House of Grunnil. A mevak dagger was holstered in his belt.

“What is it you want, boy?” Lokor asked, though he could guess the answer.

Vralk hesitated, then spoke in a solemn voice. “I have dishonored our family

name—our House. I know that captain Klag will condemn me for my dishonorable

actions, and so I wish to reclaim my honor in the next life. I have come for

Mauk to’Vor.”

Lokor stood up and walked around his desk. He was a full head taller than Vralk.

He put his hands on the boy’s shoulders and looked solemnly down at him

Then he burst into hysterical laughter.

“Truly you are the biggest imbecile in a House of imbeciles.”

Vralk looked like he’d swallowed dead gagh. “You—you’re not—” He shook his head.

“You must fulfill my request to kill me honorably! It is your duty as my

cousin!”

“And what of your duty to your ship? In case you have forgotten, boy, you got

the first officer killed. A first officer, I might add, who was a great deal

better liked by the crew than you. If by some miracle the captain does not have

you killed, you still won’t live to see your next duty shift.”

“I—I don’t understand.” Vralk shook his head. “I have lived an honorable life. I

have striven to be the best Klingon I know how to be. I do not deserve to go to

Gre’thor!”

The sight of Vralk was pitiful, and Lokor couldn’t help but laugh again. “If

this is the best Klingon you know how to be, than it is preferable that you die

quickly and make room for someone who can do it right.” He shook his head and

turned his back on his cousin. “Now get out of my sight—and take that

odoriferous taHqeq with you.”

Lokor waited until he heard the door open and the scent of the adanji faded from

his nostrils before he turned around.

Then he sat back down at his desk and looked at his security reports.

*   *   *

Robert DeSoto stared at the Go board game. The replicator in his guest quarters

on the Enterprise had been happy to provide one. It would have been equally

happy to provide him with the stones, but DeSoto hadn’t been able to bring

himself to ask for that as well.

The door chime rang. “Come on in,” he said.

The tall form of Will Riker stood on the other side of the door. DeSoto couldn’t

help but smile broadly. “Hey, Will. How’s everything going?”

Riker came into the quarters, an equally broad smile on his beardless face.

“That was going to be my question for you, Captain. After all, I wasn’t

mind-controlled by a ninety-thousand-year-old tyrant.”

“Good point.”

“Just by the way,” Riker said, pointing at the Go board, “I’ve already warned

the crew about you, so if you’re planning to hustle anyone—”

“No, I’m not,” DeSoto said, unable to keep his tone jovial. “In fact—honestly,

this is the first time I’ve even looked at a Go board in a year and a half. Ever

since Chin’toka.” He sighed. “It’s funny, the last time one of those Malkus

Artifacts got dug up was five years ago. Since then, I’ve pretty much lost

everyone who was on the Hood then—the only one who didn’t die in the war or

leave Starfleet is my old security chief, and he’s got his own ship now. But the

worst was losing Dina.”

“She was your first officer?” Riker asked.

DeSoto nodded. “She actually used to beat me at Go.”

“You’re kidding.”

At that, DeSoto did actually laugh, just from the sheer incredulousness in

Riker’s tone. “Yup. She went from a handicap to whupping my tail in less than a

year. I’ve taught lots of people to play—including, if memory serves,” he added

with a look at Riker, “a young lieutenant commander who said he didn’t like

games where he couldn’t bluff—but she was the only one who got to be as good as

me. Hell, she was probably better.”

DeSoto got up from the desk and walked over to the replicator. “You want

anything?”

Riker shook his head.

“Water, cold.” As the replicator provided the glass of water, DeSoto said, “The

worst part is, she wasn’t even supposed to still be on the ship. For Chin’toka,

I mean. Her promotion’d come through, but her post, the Tian An Men, was still

in the yard for repairs. She insisted on coming along for one last hurrah on the

Hood.” He took a sip of the water. “It was a last hurrah, all right. It’s funny,

she died the same way that first officer on the Klingon ship went. A plasma

conduit blew, and the shrapnel would’ve shredded one of the junior officers. She

knocked the ensign out of the way, took it all herself.” He gulped down the rest

of the water. “I haven’t played Go since.”

Riker didn’t say anything for several seconds. Then: “You doing anything right

now, Captain?”

DeSoto shrugged. “Just waiting for the Hood to show up and take me to a starbase

so they can do my disciplinary hearing.”

“I’m sure that’ll be fine.”

“Yeah.” DeSoto sighed. “You know, Malkus sat in that artifact for ninety

thousand years—and that Aidulac woman wandered around the galaxy for ninety

thousand years waiting for him. That’s a helluva long time to basically do

nothing. And you know what? I’m not going to be like that.” He smiled. “How’d

you like a game?”

“Much as I would love to humiliate myself before your Go prowess, Captain,”

Riker said with a grin, “I have another engagement. And I’d like you to join

me.”

*   *   *

Aidulac stared at the four walls of her cell.

Well, three walls, truly. The fourth was a forcefield.

She was no more concerned now than she was the last time she’d been put in

prison after a defeat to Malkus. Her skills weren’t what they once were, but she

still had them. She would be able to escape.

The cries of the dead continued to haunt her. It had been ninety thousand years,

and still the corpses that Malkus had created with Instruments she helped create

would not leave her mind’s eye.

Not to mention the corpses of her team.

A very large part of her thought that it was time to simply end it all. She’d

waited for ninety thousand years, traveling the galaxy in a variety of ships

waiting for the Instruments to be revealed and Malkus to be reawakened, only to

fail utterly in her endeavor to destroy both Malkus and the Instruments once and

for all.

On the other hand, she knew precisely where they all were now. And they’d

already been stolen once….

 

Klag sat alone in his office, staring dolefully at the bottle of bloodwine and

the six empty mugs on his desk, when the door chime rang. “Enter,” he said.

Kira, Riker, Worf, B’Oraq, and DeSoto all came in.

“Ah, good,” he said. “Come in, all of you.”

The quintet gathered around Klag’s desk. Klag himself remained seated, the

others remained standing, even though there were two guest chairs. Klag

suspected that they were all too polite to take a seat over one of the others.

From Riker, DeSoto, and Kira he’d expect such— though the ambassador was raised

among humans, and the doctor studied with them, so they no doubt picked up bad

habits, too, he thought with an internal smile.

“When she first came on board the Gorkon, Commander Tereth gave me this bottle

of bloodwine. It was made by House Ozhpri.”

Only DeSoto seemed confused—the others, even Kira and Riker, knew the name of

one of the Empire’s best vintners and looked suitably impressed. And at those

looks, DeSoto seemed to guess what Klag meant, and he nodded.

“I asked her for what occasion she honored me with this bottle. She said when

the time was right, I would know. Now she is dead, and while it is not the death

I would have wished for so fine a warrior, she died in uniform. She died in

battle. She died defending the Empire.” As he spoke, he poured the bloodwine

into each of the mugs, ending with the quote, “‘In death there is victory and

honor.’” He looked at each of them. “The time is right now. And you are the

right people to share it with.”

Klag held up a mug as he addressed each person without getting up from his

chair. “Worf, son of Mogh, whose actions on taD enabled me to find an excuse to

get rid of Drex, thus paving the way for me to bring Tereth to the Gorkon.”

Worf nodded as he took the mug from Klag’s outstretched hand.

“B’Oraq, daughter of Grala, who gave me a new right arm and helped me to restore

my own family’s honor, and to whom I never gave proper thanks. I thought I’d

take this opportunity to do so before you are once again kidnapped by a

ninety-thousand-yearold megalomaniac.”

Laughing, B’Oraq accepted the mug and said, “An understandable precaution,

Captain.”

“Riker, my old comrade-in-arms—at last we have been reunited in battle, and been

victorious. And we lived, giving us another chance to fight and die together.”

Grinning, Riker took the mug. “Let’s hope for lots of those chances.”

“DeSoto, Riker tells me that you lost your own first officer during the war. He

thought this would give you an opportunity to celebrate the releasing of her

spirit.”

DeSoto nodded and took the mug. “He thought right. Thank you—both of you.”

“And Kira. As promised—the drink you and Tereth pledged to share.”

“Thank you,” the colonel said, taking the mug.

Klag raised the last mug and cried, “Raise your drinks! Today a new warrior

enters Sto-Vo-Kor! May her battle be endless, her glory be eternal—and may we

all join her in due course! To Tereth!”

Together, they all cried, “To Tereth!” Then they each gulped their

bloodwine—Worf, B’Oraq, and Klag enthusiastically, Riker, DeSoto, and Kira

somewhat more cautiously.

Klag felt the oily liquid coat his mouth and throat. It was a marvelous

sensation—as one would have expected from Ozhpri bloodwine. It was the finest

vintage he’d ever had.

Worf took a second gulp, finishing off his mug, then started to sing in a deep

bass voice. “Qoy qeylIs puqloD. Qoy puqbe’pu’.”

B’Oraq joined him for the next line. “yoHbogh matlhbogh je SuvwI’.”

Klag threw his head back and bellowed out the next: “Say’moHchu’ may’ ’Iw. maSuv

manong ’ej maHo-Hchu’.”

Together, the three of them—joined here and there by Riker, DeSoto, and Kira,

who obviously did not know the words, but got into the spirit as best they

could—sang the rest of the Warrior’s Anthem in Tereth’s memory.

Klag drained the last of his bloodwine. “Thank you all, my friends. You have

honored me with your presence, and honored Tereth as well—not to mention,” he

added with a look to DeSoto, “Commander Voyskunsky.”

“It was my pleasure,” Kira said.

“Oh, Colonel,” Klag said, reaching into a drawer in his desk, “Tereth left

something for you.” He removed an optical chip and handed it to Kira. “A

recording of ‘The Battle for Deep Space 9.’”

Kira grinned and took the chip. “I look forward to hearing it.”

Riker set his mug down on Klag’s desk and looked at Worf. “We need to get

back—we still have to get you to Khitomer.”

“Yes. It is good to see you again, Captain,” the ambassador said to Klag.

“Qapla’, all of you,” Klag said.

They all returned the salutation: “Qapla’!”

With that, the four of them departed, leaving Klag and B’Oraq alone.

“Have you requested a new first officer yet?” B’Oraq asked.

“No,” Klag said. “In truth, I fear for what Command will send me this time.” He

stared at the now-empty bottle. “We shall never see her like again.”

“Perhaps,” B’Oraq said. “Perhaps we will see better.”

Klag threw his head back and laughed. “Ever the optimist, Doctor?”

“Naturally, Captain. I’m trying to improve Klingon medicine—if I weren’t an

optimist, I’d have given up years ago.”

“An excellent point.” Klag braced his hands on the arms of his chair and got up.

Then he stumbled to the right, not adequately compensating for his shorter right

arm.

“Qu’vatlh!” he cursed in anger.

 

Malkus had been in the middle of excoriating the hapless Aidulac when he was

interrupted.

His sensory input was, of course, limited to telepathic contact, but that

contact included an entire world and beyond. Suddenly, without any kind of

warning, that contact just stopped.

He no longer felt the presence of his pawns.

Worse, he no longer felt the presence of the other Instruments.

In fact, he couldn’t even feel the presence of the Instrument he was trapped

within.

How, he did not know, but he had been cut off from everything.

For ninety thousand years, he had been trapped with only the most minimal

contact with the galaxy.

Now it seemed he was trapped once again with even less than that.

Desperately, he reached out, trying to find some connection to another mind,

another Instrument, Aidulac, anything.

Utter silence was his only answer.

Malkus started to scream a silent scream that no one would hear.

A scream that would never end.

Technical Specifications of the Qang -Class Vessels in the Klingon Defense Force

by Tammy Love Larrabee

      Statistics

      ClassificationHeavy Cruiser

      ClassQang (Chancellor)

      Number ConstructedClassified

      Number DestroyedClassified

      Ship’s Complement2725 crew

      Brigs110

      Transporters35 6-person

      Holodecks1

      Ship Size

      Length479.40m

      Width364.44m

      Height105.24m

      Displacement1123.0102mt

      Weapons

      Disruptor Arrays12 360o

      Disruptor Output9.0x1011w/x4.0x1011w

        Continuous

      Disruptor Cannon1

      Cannon Output7.8x1012w/3.7x1012w

        Continuous

      Photon Torpedoes102

      Quantum Torpedoes36

      Defensive

      Shield Holdoff8.87x1012w

      Shield Refresh3.45x1012w

      Reactive Armor/

        DamageDeflective Plating

      Speed

      Optimum SpeedWarp 7

      Cruising SpeedWarp 8

      Maximum SpeedWarp 9.82

      ECM

      Cloaking Device

      Electronic Jamming

        Equipment

 

 

Hull Separation Capability

Emergency separation of the primary hull section from the secondary hull is

possible. The secondary hull houses the disruptor cannon and is able to function

at sublight speeds. The main bridge section is also capable of separation from

the primary hull, and is maneuverable at impulse speeds using emergency impulse

engines.

Weaponry

The Qang class has one forward-facing disruptor cannon, mounted in the “head” of

the ship, with an output of7.8x1012w/3.7x1012w continuous. There are 12 360°

disruptor arrays on the Qang. Six are top-mounted and six are bottom-mounted

with an output of 9.0x1012/4.0x1012w. All disruptors are set for a variable

modulation every 10–12 seconds with a repetition rate of 300,000 cycles; this

feature was added to combat the Borg. The photon-torpedo tubes are located on

the bottom of the ship. Standard complement of torpedoes for this ship is 102

photon and 36 quantum torpedoes.

Deflector Shields and Plating

Advanced deflector emitters create an energetic deflecting shield around the

ship. Emitters are located in various sections of the ship and provide overlap

shielding, causing attacks and collisions to “glance off.” When the deflector

shields fail, the ship relies upon its damage deflective plating, which enhances

standard hull integrity to absorb damage until the deflector shields can be

reengaged.

Cloaking Device

The cloaking device utilizes a gravitational field to bend light around the

ship, while using warp-bubble technology to bend space-time, making the ship

appear invisible. The field generators are located in the lower midsection of

the ship.

ECM

The ECM hampers enemy communications, scrambles sensors, and even creates false

images to confuse enemy craft and installations.

Tractor Beams

The tractor-beam system utilizes an energy field generator to either surround

and pull, or push against objects the ship needs to capture/move. The inertial

dampers and impulse drive must be online for this system to work during flight,

inertial dampers for unexpected bumps and collisions and the impulse engines so

that when the ship is moving something larger than itself the object moves and

the ship does not. The tractor beam is located in the lower fore section of the

ship.

The tractor-beam inflight sequence is as follows:

  Tractor beam activated

  Inertial dampers to 100%

  Impulse engines engaged

  Tractor beam charged and ready

Holodeck

The holodeck uses a combination of holographic, replicator, and transporter

technology. The holocomputer calculates the three-dimensional divergent patterns

of light that would be cast from any given hypothetical or real object submitted

by the person writing the program, and projects it as a hologram. Simultaneously

the holodeck matter replication and transport beam utilizes “holodeck matter” to

form a holobeing or object with substance. Holobeing personalities are

preprogrammed and controlled by the holocomputer as defined by the program.

Projected holograms are used on the walls of the holodeck to give the illusion

of a three-dimensional environment that extends to the horizon. Holodeck matter

owes its form and solidity to the pattern held within the holodeck replication

and transport buffer and therefore is disassembled when the emitters are turned

off or the holomatter is removed from the holodeck. Klingon holodecks are used

to heighten hunting and fighting skills. There are no safety protocols; any

damage done is the real thing.

Transporters

There are 35 six-person transporters with three separate molecular/informational

signature pattern buffers per transporter. The transporter platform is slightly

raised to reduce the chance of occasional static discharge. Destination

coordinates are relayed via computer from the destination or are directly input

by the operator. Targeting scanners located in the sensor arrays determine the

coordinates and provide environmental information on the target site. A standard

transporter has a range of 40,000km.

The annular confinement beam (ACB) creates a spatial matrix from the primary

energizing coils overhead, four redundant molecular imaging scanners in the

overhead pads make the memory file of the transporter’s quantum state. An

individual’s molecular/genetic pattern is scanned and old records are updated

with current information. Or, for a firsttime transport the new individual’s

molecular/genetic patterns are stored, allowing for emergency molecular

reconstruction during subsequent transports. The pattern is stored in the buffer

as a retrievable trace, while a transporter log records the beamout. All

signatures are stored until purposefully purged by transporter personnel.

Using a widespread quark manipulation field, the phase transition coils in the

lower pads disassemble the body by unbinding the energy at a subatomic level;

once converted to a subatomic matter stream the transporter is diverted into a

pattern buffer. This is due to the Doppler effect (any relative motion between

transporter and target must be taken into account). The pattern buffer is used

for Doppler shift compensation. A buffer may hold the entire matter stream for

up to 420 seconds before permanent pattern degradation occurs. Once beamout is

secured, an ACB “carrier” directs each pattern’s matter stream through an

emitter array on the hull of the ship, toward the target coordinates. A booster

set of coils and scanners then work in reverse within the ACB to reassemble each

pattern into its original form. These arrays work in such a way as to provide

360° coverage in all directions, as well as intraship transports. The ACB can be

used to remove weapons and other “non desirable” items from incoming

transporters, and the transporter’s biofilter automatically detects and removes

all active forms of known harmful viruses and diseases.

Propulsion (Impulse)

The impulse engines utilize collector arrays, situated in the foresections of

the ship’s wings, to gather available energy of any type from the surrounding

space, which is then filtered through a series of energy replicators, where it

is changed into the deuterium atoms needed to cause the fusion reaction that

powers the impulse drive unit.

At full impulse speed, the ship is traveling at1 /4 light speed, or 125,000

km/sec. If it wasn’t for the inertial damping systems, at those speeds most

creatures would be torn apart…including Klingons.

Inertial Dampers

This system uses warp technology to generate a limited “soap bubble” effect,

which falsifies a planetary atmospheric environment. There are set openings in

the “bubble” at the impulse ports, allowing the impulse engines to push the ship

along without gravitational/impact damage to the interior and crew.

Inertial dampers are on a continuous setting of 50% to allow for unexpected

impacts, advancing as the impulse engines/tractor beams are activated, or impact

happens.

Impulse sequence is as follows:

 

      Impulse Engines0%25%50%75%100%

      Inertial Dampers50%70%90%100%

 

Propulsion (warp)

The warp drive unit allows for faster-than-light travel without the time

dilation and matter density problems involved in traveling “near light” to light

speeds. Inside the warp core, deuterium gasses and antimatter in the form of

antihydrogen, regulated and controlled by dilithium crystals, are forced

together, causing a small controlled matter/antimatter explosion, which is

contained within the reaction chamber of the main warp core. The explosion

creates an energy stream, which is collected by power converters and routed via

conduit to the warp nacelles. Inside the nacelles the routed plasma is used to

energize the verterium cortenide warp field generators. Verterium cortenide

causes the plasma frequencies to shift into subspace, creating fields of warped

space. The field coils inside the nacelles are arranged in rows, each layer

exerting controlled force against its outermost neighboring coil. The cumulative

force of the nested fields drives the ship on a spatial wave. The coils are

energized in sequential order, the number of times each coil is energized

controls the overall warp speed factor of the vessel.

Acceleration is as follows:

      Speed KPH x light

      Standard Orbit96000.00001

      Full Impulse270 million0.25

      Warp 11 billion1

      Warp 211 billion10

      Warp 342 billion39

      Warp 4109 billion102

      Warp 5230 billion214

      Warp 6421 billion392

      Warp 7703 million656

      Warp 81.10 billion1,024

      Warp 91.62 billion1,516

      Warp 9.21.77 billion1,649

      Warp 9.62.05 billion1.909

      Warp 9.93.27 billion3.053

 

Dilithium Crystals

Dilithium is currently the only matter known to be porous to antimatter. Each

individual crystal is a crystalline latticework composed of dilithium,

diallosilicate, and heptoferranide. When diverted through the crystal,

antimatter remains at a centralized distance from all sides of the latticework.

Sonic vibration is used to expand and contract the crystals, regulating the flow

of antimatter into the reaction chamber.

 

 

 

 

 

Afterword

I first got the idea for The Brave and the Bold in 1999. It had its origins in

the 1967 Star Trek episode “The Doomsday Machine.” I always liked the character

of Matt Decker—William Windom’s layered performance had a lot to do with

that—and I wanted to know more about him. He and Kirk obviously knew each

other—they were on a first-name basis—so I started thinking about the idea of a

previous adventure that had Kirk and Decker working together.

This got my brain going on the idea of “starship team-up.” Wouldn’t it be cool

to pair up the familiar crews with some unknown—or barely known—other ships, and

do it from the POV of the other ships? Goodness knows we’ve met enough other

captains in guest shots. Why not see how they view Our Heroes? Having already

had the jones to put Kirk and Decker together, I used the settings of Star Trek:

Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager to answer more questions. With DS9 there

was the intriguing dislike between Jadzia Dax and Captain Keogh of the Odyssey,

as seen in “The Jem’Hadar.” That episode made it clear that the Odyssey had just

stopped over at Deep Space 9 recently and that Dax and Keogh didn’t exactly hit

it off—so why not chronicle that adventure? It also gave me the opportunity to

bring back one of the first Bajoran terrorists we ever met, Orta, from Star

Trek: The Next Generation’ 's“Ensign Ro.” And, while several novels ( Double

Helix: Quarantine by John Vornholt, Pathways by Jeri Taylor, and the Voyager

segment of Susan Wright’s The Badlands ) dealt with the Voyager crew prior to

“Caretaker,” none of those tales told the story I was curious about: How and why

did Tuvok infiltrate Chakotay’s Maquis cell in the first place? The “team-up”

motif necessitated setting the story prior to the Voyager’ 'sdisappearance into

the Delta Quadrant in any case, and to my mind, that was the most compelling

untold tale from that time period. It also gave me the opportunity to show more

of TNG’ 'sCaptain DeSoto, Riker’s former CO, and considered a good friend of

Picard’s as well. We’d heard good things about him in “Encounter at Farpoint,”

met him briefly in “Tin Man,” but hadn’t gotten a good look at him. This was a

chance to do so, and also take another gander at the first Maquis we ever met,

Cal Hudson (from DS9’ 's“The Maquis Parts 1–2”), and have him join forces with

Chakotay.

With the TNG segment, I had the opportunity to revisit a crew I’d developed—that

of the I.K.S. Gorkon. In my TNG novel, Diplomatic Implausibility, I’d

established the Gorkon, commanded by Klag (first seen in TNG’ 's“A Matter of

Honor”). Reader response to the Gorkon and its crew (made up of both original

characters and past TNG and DS9 guest stars) was outstanding, so I was given the

go-ahead to use them again in this duology and continue their stories forward

(look for the first two books in the Star Trek: I.K.S. Gorkon series, A Good Day

to Die and Honor Bound, in late 2003).

And, naturally, I couldn’t resist the best team-up of all: the “fighting

ambassadors,” Worf and Spock.

This duology also has the distinction of being the first story to feature all

five Trek TV franchises. The story called for a prelude to get the story going,

and what better place to set it than on Captain Archer’s Enterprise?

 

Several people require thanks and praise for their help in writing these two

books:

Top of the list are the nifty-keeno folks at Pocket Books, particularly John J.

Ordover, who not only said yes but told me how to make it better, and Carol

Greenburg, who molded the shapeless mass (or should that be “mess”?) of my first

drafts into good pieces of work, as well as Scott Shannon, Marco Palmieri,

Jessica McGivney, Margaret Clark, John Perrella, and most especially Pocket’s

unsung heroine, Elisa Kassin. Not far behind them are Paula M. Block and John

Van Citters at Paramount, who are truly deities among licensing folk.

As always, Gene Roddenberry, who got this whole schmear started; Gene L. Coon,

Rick Berman, Michael Piller, Jeri Taylor, Ira Steven Behr, and Brannon Braga for

keeping it going; and the screenwriters who gave us the guest captains: Norman

Spinrad (Decker), Ira Steven Behr (Keogh), James Crocker (Hudson), Dennis Putman

Bailey & David Bischoff (DeSoto), and Burton Armus (Klag).

You can’t do a TV tie-in without thanking the actors—or at least you shouldn’t.

They provide the voice you use to write the characters. So hearty thanks to

(deep breath): Rene Auberjonois (Odo), Scott Bakula (Archer), Majel Barrett

(Chapel and Lwaxana), Robert Beltran (Chakotay), Jolene Blalock (T’Pol), Avery

Brooks (Sisko), LeVar Burton (La Forge), Bernie Casey (Hudson), Michael

Cavanaugh (DeSoto), Stephen Collins (Will Decker), Roxann Dawson (Torres),

Michael Dorn (Worf), Brad Dourif (Suder), Terry Farrell (Dax), Jonathan Frakes

(Riker), Martha Hackett (Seska), Jeffery Hayenga (Orta), Michael Jace

(Shabalala), Scott Jaeck (Cavit), Dominic Keating (Reed), De-Forest Kelley

(McCoy), Sterling Macer (Toq), Derek McGrath (Chell), Colm Meaney (O’Brien),

Kenny Morrison (Gerron), Kate Mulgrew (Janeway), Leonard Nimoy (Spock),

Stephanie Niznik (Perim), Natalia Nogulich (Nechayev), Alan Oppenheimer (Keogh),

Linda Park (Sato), Richard Poe (Evek), Tim Russ (Tuvok), Armand Schultz (Dalby),

William Shatner (Kirk), Armin Shimerman (Quark), Brent Spiner (Data), Patrick

Stewart (Picard), George Takei (Sulu), Brian Thompson (Klag), Tony Todd (Rodek),

Connor Trinneer (Tucker), Nana Visitor (Kira), and William Windom (Matt Decker).

David Henderson for timeline assistance with the prelude.

The University of Colorado’s Hypertexts for Biomedical Sciences on the Web

(http://arbl.cvmbs.colostate.edu/hbooks), especially their section on the

adrenal gland, and the directory of compounds at

http://www.allatoms.com/CompoundWebSites.htm.

Dayton Ward, Dave Galanter, and Allyn Gibson for reassuring me that I got Kirk’s

voice right.

Roy L. Post, for setting me straight on how to make a moon into arable farmland.

Mindy McAdams for all her help with the details of the Game of Go. For more on

this ancient game of strategy, check out the American Go Association’s Web site

at http://www.usgo.org.

The Maquis Index at Janet’s Star Trek: Voyager Site

(http://www.star-trek-voyager.fsnet.co.uk) for help in identifying the Maquis

members of Voyager’ 'screw. (Also thanks to Todd “Scavenger” Kogutt for pointing

me to it.)

John M. Ford, for his seminal Star Trek novel The Final Reflection —still the

definitive Klingon novel—and S. D. Perry and Robert Greenberger, for giving

Captain Klag a couple of cameos in Avatar Book 2 and “The Other Side” in What

Lay Beyond, respectively.

Michael A. Martin for useful and handy editorial guidance.

Tammy Love Larrabee for taking the vague idea of what the Gorkon looked like in

my head and turning it into an actual set of specifications.

GraceAnne Andreassi DeCandido, aka The Mom, aka Editorial Goddess The Elder, who

worked her usual magic on my drafts.

The Magical Starbucks of Good Writing in midtown Manhattan. Thanks to owning a

laptop, I can write pretty much anywhere, and The Brave and the Bold was written

in a variety of locations across the United States (not to mention

Montréal)—but, for whatever reason, I was most productive at this particular

Starbucks. Go fig’.

CITH, the best writers’ group ever, who kept me on track and gave invaluable

feedback that made the book far better than it would’ve been without them; the

Malibu Group and the Geek Patrol, just ’cause; the Fore-bearance, for decades of

encouragement; and the ever-encouraging fans on the assorted Internet bulletin

boards, but most especially those at Psi Phi’s Star Trek novels board

(www.psiphi.org), the Trek BBS’s Trek Literature board (www.trekbbs.com), Simon

& Schuster’s Star Trek novels board (www.startrekbooks.com), and the Yahoo! Star

Trek Books group.

Most of all, though, to the love of my life, Terri Osborne, who makes it all

worthwhile.

—Keith R.A. DeCandido

somewhere in New York City, 2002

About the Author

After a trip to the galactic barrier in order to save an injured Klingon, Keith

R.A. DeCandido found himself seventy thousand light-years from home and put on

trial for the crimes of humanity, after which he was declared Emissary.

Eventually, after switching bodies with an insane woman, he was able to become

one with the Prophets, stop an anti-time wave from destroying the multiverse,

and get home with the help of his alternate future self. These days, he writes

in a variety of milieus. His other Star Trek work ranges from the Star Trek: The

Next Generation novel Diplomatic Implausibility to the Star Trek: Deep Space

Nine novel Demons of Air and Darkness to the TNG comic book Perchance to Dream

to the award-winning DS9 novella “Horn and Ivory.” In addition, he is the

co-developer of the Star Trek: S.C.E. line, and has written or cowritten over

half a dozen eBooks in this series of adventures featuring the Starfleet Corps

of Engineers (some reprinted in the volumes Have Tech, Will Travel and Miracle

Workers in early 2002). The year 2003 will see the debut of Star Trek: I.K.S.

Gorkon, books starring Captain Klag and his Klingon crew—the first time Pocket

Books has published a series focusing on Star Trek’ 'smost popular aliens. To

say Keith is thrilled at this opportunity would be the gravest of

understatements. He will also be contributing to the summer 2003 Star Trek: The

Lost Era series.

In addition to all this Trek kin’, Keith has written novels, short stories, and

nonfiction books in the worlds of Gene Roddenberry’s Andromeda, Farscape, Buffy

the Vampire Slayer, Doctor Who, Marvel Comics, and many more. He is also the

editor of the upcoming anthology of original science fiction Imaginings and the

author of Dragon Precinct, an original fantasy novel to be published in 2004.

Keith lives in the Bronx with his girlfriend and the world’s two goofiest cats.

Find out even more useless information about him at his official Web site at the

easy-to-remember URL of DeCandido.net, or just e-mail him directly at

[email protected] and tell him just what you think of him. You can even join

his fan club at www.kradfanclub.com.

Look for STAR TREK fiction from Pocket Books

Star Trek®

Enterprise: The First Adventure • Vonda N. McIntyre

Strangers From the Sky • Margaret Wander Bonanno

Final Frontier • Diane Carey

Spock’s World • Diane Duane

The Lost Years • J.M. Dillard

Prime Directive • Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens

Probe • Margaret Wander Bonanno

Best Destiny • Diane Carey

Shadows on the Sun • Michael Jan Friedman

Sarek • A.C. Crispin

Federation • Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens

Vulcan’s Forge • Josepha Sherman & Susan Shwartz

Mission to Horatius • Mack Reynolds

Vulcan’s Heart • Josepha Sherman & Susan Shwartz

The Eugenics Wars: The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh, Books One and Two •

Greg Cox

The Last Round-Up • Christie Golden

Novelizations

Star Trek: The Motion Picture • Gene Roddenberry

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan • Vonda N. McIntyre

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock • Vonda N. McIntyre

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home • Vonda N. McIntyre

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier • J.M. Dillard

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country • J.M. Dillard

Star Trek Generations • J.M. Dillard

Starfleet Academy • Diane Carey

Star Trek books by William Shatner with Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens

The Ashes of Eden

The Return

Avenger

Star Trek: Odyssey (contains The Ashes of Eden , The Return , and Avenger)

Spectre

Dark Victory

Preserver

Captain’s Peril

 

#1 • Star Trek: The Motion Picture • Gene Roddenberry

#2 • The Entropy Effect • Vonda N. McIntyre

#3 • The Klingon Gambit • Robert E. Vardeman

#4 • The Covenant of the Crown • Howard Weinstein

#5 • The Prometheus Design • Sondra Marshak & Myrna Culbreath

#6 • The Abode of Life • Lee Correy

#7 • Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan • Vonda N. McIntyre

#8 • Black Fire • Sonni Cooper

#9 • Triangle • Sondra Marshak & Myrna Culbreath

#10 • Web of the Romulans • M.S. Murdock

#11 • Yesterday’s Son • A.C. Crispin

#12 • Mutiny on the Enterprise • Robert E. Vardeman

#13 • The Wounded Sky • Diane Duane

#14 • The Trellisane Confrontation • David Dvorkin

#15 • Corona • Greg Bear

#16 • The Final Reflection • John M. Ford

#17 • Star Trek III: The Search for Spock • Vonda N. McIntyre

#18 • My Enemy, My Ally • Diane Duane

#19 • The Tears of the Singers • Melinda Snodgrass

#20 • The Vulcan Academy Murders • Jean Lorrah

#21 • Uhura’s Song • Janet Kagan

#22 • Shadow Lord • Laurence Yep

#23 • Ishmael • Barbara Hambly

#24 • Killing Time • Della Van Hise

#25 • Dwellers in the Crucible • Margaret Wander Bonanno

#26 • Pawns and Symbols • Majliss Larson

#27 • Mindshadow • J.M. Dillard

#28 • Crisis on Centaurus • Brad Ferguson

#29 • Dreadnought! • Diane Carey

#30 • Demons • J.M. Dillard

#31 • Battlestations! • Diane Carey

#32 • Chain of Attack • Gene DeWeese

#33 • Deep Domain • Howard Weinstein

#34 • Dreams of the Raven • Carmen Carter

#35 • The Romulan Way • Diane Duane & Peter Morwood

#36 • How Much for Just the Planet? • John M. Ford

#37 • Bloodthirst • J.M. Dillard

#38 • The IDIC Epidemic • Jean Lorrah

#39 • Time for Yesterday • A.C. Crispin

#40 • Timetrap • David Dvorkin

#41 • The Three-Minute Universe • Barbara Paul

#42 • Memory Prime • Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens

#43 • The Final Nexus • Gene DeWeese

#44 • Vulcan’s Glory • D.C. Fontana

#45 • Double, Double • Michael Jan Friedman

#46 • The Cry of the Onlies • Judy Klass

#47 • The Kobayashi Maru • Julia Ecklar

#48 • Rules of Engagement • Peter Morwood

#49 • The Pandora Principle • Carolyn Clowes

#50 • Doctor’s Orders • Diane Duane

#51 • Enemy Unseen • V.E. Mitchell

#52 • Home Is the Hunter • Dana Kramer-Rolls

#53 • Ghost-Walker • Barbara Hambly

#54 • A Flag Full of Stars • Brad Ferguson

#55 • Renegade • Gene DeWeese

#56 • Legacy • Michael Jan Friedman

#57 • The Rift • Peter David

#58 • Faces of Fire • Michael Jan Friedman

#59 • The Disinherited • Peter David, Michael Jan Friedman, Robert Greenberger

#60 • Ice Trap • L.A. Graf

#61 • Sanctuary • John Vornholt

#62 • Death Count • L.A. Graf

#63 • Shell Game • Melissa Crandall

#64 • The Starship Trap • Mel Gilden

#65 • Windows on a Lost World • V.E. Mitchell

#66 • From the Depths • Victor Milan

#67 • The Great Starship Race • Diane Carey

#68 • Firestorm • L.A. Graf

#69 • The Patrian Transgression • Simon Hawke

#70 • Traitor Winds • L.A. Graf

#71 • Crossroad • Barbara Hambly

#72 • The Better Man • Howard Weinstein

#73 • Recovery • J.M. Dillard

#74 • The Fearful Summons • Denny Martin Flinn

#75 • First Frontier • Diane Carey & Dr. James I. Kirkland

#76 • The Captain’Smith Daughter • Peter David

#77 • Twilight’s End • Jerry Oltion

#78 • The Rings of Tautee • Dean Wesley Smith & Kristine Kathryn Rusch

#79 • Invasion! #1: First Strike • Diane Carey

#80 • The Joy Machine • James Gunn

#81 • Mudd in Your Eye • Jerry Oltion

#82 • Mind Meld • John Vornholt

#83 • Heart of the Sun • Pamela Sargent & George Zebrowski

#84 • Assignment: Eternity • Greg Cox

#85-87 • My Brother’s Keeper • Michael Jan Friedman

#85 • Republic

#86 • Constitution

#87 • Enterprise

#88 • Across the Universe • Pamela Sargent & George Zebrowski

#89-94 • New Earth

#89 • Wagon Train to the Stars • Diane Carey

#90 • Belle Terre • Dean Wesley Smith with Diane Carey

#91 • Rough Trails • L.A. Graf

#92 • The Flaming Arrow • Kathy and Jerry Oltion

#93 • Thin Air • Kristine Kathryn Rusch & Dean Wesley Smith

#94 • Challenger • Diane Carey

#95-96 • Rihannsu • Diane Duane

#95 • Swordhunt

#96 • Honor Blade

#97 • In the Name of Honor • Dayton Ward

 

Star Trek®: The Original Series

 

The Janus Gate • L.A. Graf

#1 • Present Tense

#2 • Future Imperfect

#3 • Past Prologue

Errand of Vengeance • Kevin Ryan

#1 • The Edge of the Sword

#2 • Killing Blow

#3 • River of Blood

 

Star Trek: The Next Generation®

 

Metamorphosis • Jean Lorrah

Vendetta • Peter David

Reunion • Michael Jan Friedman

Imzadi • Peter David

The Devil’s Heart • Carmen Carter

Dark Mirror • Diane Duane

Q-Squared • Peter David

Crossover • Michael Jan Friedman

Kahless • Michael Jan Friedman

Ship of the Line • Diane Carey

The Best and the Brightest • Susan Wright

Planet X • Michael Jan Friedman

Imzadi II: Triangle • Peter David

I, Q • John de Lancie & Peter David

The Valiant • Michael Jan Friedman

The Genesis Wave, Books One , Two, and Three • John Vornholt

Immortal Coil • Jeffrey Lang

A Hard Rain • Dean Wesley Smith

The Battle of Betazed • Charlotte Douglas & Susan Kearney

Novelizations

Encounter at Farpoint • David Gerrold

Unification • Jeri Taylor

Relics • Michael Jan Friedman

Descent • Diane Carey

All Good Things… • Michael Jan Friedman

Star Trek: Klingon • Dean Wesley Smith & Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Star Trek Generations • J.M. Dillard

Star Trek: First Contact • J.M. Dillard

Star Trek: Insurrection • J.M. Dillard

Star Trek: Nemesis • J.M. Dillard

 

#1 • Ghost Ship • Diane Carey

#2 • The Peacekeepers • Gene DeWeese

#3 • The Children of Hamlin • Carmen Carter

#4 • Survivors • Jean Lorrah

#5 • Strike Zone • Peter David

#6 • Power Hungry • Howard Weinstein

#7 • Masks • John Vornholt

#8 • The Captain’s Honor • David & Daniel Dvorkin

#9 • A Call to Darkness • Michael Jan Friedman

#10 • A Rock and a Hard Place • Peter David

#11 • Gulliver’s Fugitives • Keith Sharee

#12 • Doomsday World • Carter, David, Friedman & Greenberger

#13 • The Eyes of the Beholders • A.C. Crispin

#14 • Exiles • Howard Weinstein

#15 • Fortune’s Light • Michael Jan Friedman

#16 • Contamination • John Vornholt

#17 • Boogeymen • Mel Gilden

#18 • Q-in-Law • Peter David

#19 • Perchance to Dream • Howard Weinstein

#20 • Spartacus • T.L. Mancour

#21 • Chains of Command • W.A. McCay & E.L. Flood

#22 • Imbalance • V.E. Mitchell

#23 • War Drums • John Vornholt

#24 • Nightshade • Laurell K. Hamilton

#25 • Grounded • David Bischoff

#26 • The Romulan Prize • Simon Hawke

#27 • Guises of the Mind • Rebecca Neason

#28 • Here There Be Dragons • John Peel

#29 • Sins of Commission • Susan Wright

#30 • Debtor’s Planet • W.R. Thompson

#31 • Foreign Foes • Dave Galanter & Greg Brodeur

#32 • Requiem • Michael Jan Friedman & Kevin Ryan

#33 • Balance of Power • Dafydd ab Hugh

#34 • Blaze of Glory • Simon Hawke

#35 • The Romulan Stratagem • Robert Greenberger

#36 • Into the Nebula • Gene DeWeese

#37 • The Last Stand • Brad Ferguson

#38 • Dragon’s Honor • Kij Johnson & Greg Cox

#39 • Rogue Saucer • John Vornholt

#40 • Possession • J.M. Dillard & Kathleen O’Malley

#41 • Invasion! #2: The Soldiers of Fear • Dean Wesley Smith & Kristine Kathryn

Rusch

#42 • Infiltrator • W.R. Thompson

#43 • A Fury Scorned • Pamela Sargent & George Zebrowski

#44 • The Death of Princes • John Peel

#45 • Intellivore • Diane Duane

#46 • To Storm Heaven • Esther Friesner

#47-49 • The Q Continuum • Greg Cox

#47 • Q-Space

#48 • Q-Zone

#49 • Q-Strike

#50 • Dyson Sphere • Charles Pellegrino & George Zebrowski

#51-56 • Double Helix

#51 • Infection • John Gregory Betancourt

#52 • Vectors • Dean Wesley Smith & Kristine Kathryn Rusch

#53 • Red Sector • Diane Carey

#54 • Quarantine • John Vornholt

#55 • Double or Nothing • Peter David

#56 • The First Virtue • Michael Jan Friedman & Christie Golden

#57 • The Forgotten War • William R. Forstchen

#58-59 • Gemworld • John Vornholt

#58 • Gemworld #1

#59 • Gemworld #2

#60 • Tooth and Claw • Doranna Durgin

#61 • Diplomatic Implausibility • Keith R.A. DeCandido

#62-63 • Maximum Warp • Dave Galanter & Greg Brodeur

#62 • Dead Zone

#63 • Forever Dark

 

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine®

 

Warped • K.W. Jeter

Legends of the Ferengi • Ira Steven Behr & Robert Hewitt Wolfe

Novelizations

Emissary • J.M. Dillard

The Search • Diane Carey

The Way of the Warrior • Diane Carey

Star Trek: Klingon • Dean Wesley Smith & Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Trials and Tribble-ations • Diane Carey

Far Beyond the Stars • Steve Barnes

What You Leave Behind • Diane Carey

 

#1 • Emissary • J.M. Dillard

#2 • The Siege • Peter David

#3 • Bloodletter • K.W. Jeter

#4 • The Big Game • Sandy Schofield

#5 • Fallen Heroes • Dafydd ab Hugh

#6 • Betrayal • Lois Tilton

#7 • Warchild • Esther Friesner

#8 • Antimatter • John Vornholt

#9 • Proud Helios • Melissa Scott

#10 • Valhalla • Nathan Archer

#11 • Devil in the Sky • Greg Cox & John Gregory Betancourt

#12 • The Laertian Gamble • Robert Sheckley

#13 • Station Rage • Diane Carey

#14 • The Long Night • Dean Wesley Smith & Kristine Kathryn Rusch

#15 • Objective: Bajor • John Peel

#16 • Invasion! #3: Time’s Enemy • L.A. Graf

#17 • The Heart of the Warrior • John Gregory Betancourt

#18 • Saratoga • Michael Jan Friedman

#19 • The Tempest • Susan Wright

#20 • Wrath of the Prophets • David, Friedman & Greenberger

#21 • Trial by Error • Mark Garland

#22 • Vengeance • Dafydd ab Hugh

#23 • The 34th Rule • Armin Shimerman & David R. George III

#24-26 • Rebels • Dafydd ab Hugh

#24 • The Conquered

#25 • The Courageous

#26 • The Liberated

 

Books set after the series

The Lives of Dax • Marco Palmieri, ed.

Millennium Omnibus • Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens

#1 • The Fall of Terok Nor

#2 • The War of the Prophets

#3 • Inferno

A Stitch in Time • Andrew J. Robinson

Avatar, Book One • S.D. Perry

Avatar, Book Two • S.D. Perry

Section 31: Abyss • David Weddle & Jeffrey Lang

Gateways #4: Demons of Air and Darkness • Keith R.A. DeCandido

Gateways #7: What Lay Beyond: “Horn and Ivory” • Keith R.A. DeCandido

Mission: Gamma

#1 • Twilight • David R. George III

#2 • This Gray Spirit • Heather Jarman

#3 • Cathedral • Michael A. Martin & Andy Mangels

#4 • Lesser Evil • Robert Simpson

 

Star Trek: Voyager®

Mosaic • Jeri Taylor

Pathways • Jeri Taylor

Captain Proton: Defender of the Earth • D.W. “Prof” Smith

The Nanotech War • Steven Piziks

Novelizations

Caretaker • L.A. Graf

Flashback • Diane Carey

Day of Honor • Michael Jan Friedman

Equinox • Diane Carey

Endgame • Diane Carey & Christie Golden

 

#1 • Caretaker • L.A. Graf

#2 • The Escape • Dean Wesley Smith & Kristine Kathryn Rusch

#3 • Ragnarok • Nathan Archer

#4 • Violations • Susan Wright

#5 • Incident at Arbuk • John Gregory Betancourt

#6 • The Murdered Sun • Christie Golden

#7 • Ghost of a Chance • Mark A. Garland & Charles G. McGraw

#8 • Cybersong • S.N. Lewitt

#9 • Invasion! #4: The Final Fury • Dafydd ab Hugh

#10 • Bless the Beasts • Karen Haber

#11 • The Garden • Melissa Scott

#12 • Chrysalis • David Niall Wilson

#13 • The Black Shore • Greg Cox

#14 • Marooned • Christie Golden

#15 • Echoes • Dean Wesley Smith, Kristine Kathryn Rusch & Nina Kiriki Hoffman

#16 • Seven of Nine • Christie Golden

#17 • Death of a Neutron Star • Eric Kotani

#18 • Battle Lines • Dave Galanter & Greg Brodeur

#19-21 • Dark Matters • Christie Golden

#19 • Cloak and Dagger

#20 • Ghost Dance

#21 • Shadow of Heaven

 

Enterprise®

 

Broken Bow • Diane Carey

Shockwave • Paul Ruditis

By the Book • Dean Wesley Smith & Kristine Kathryn Rusch

What Price Honor? • Dave Stern

 

Star Trek®: New Frontier

 

New Frontier #1-4 Collector’s Edition • Peter David

#1 • House of Cards

#2 • Into the Void

#3 • The Two-Front War

#4 • End Game

#5 • Martyr • Peter David

#6 • Fire on High • Peter David

The Captain’s Table #5 • Once Burned • Peter David

Double Helix #5 • Double or Nothing • Peter David

#7 • The Quiet Place • Peter David

#8 • Dark Allies • Peter David

#9-11 • Excalibur • Peter David

#9 • Requiem

#10 • Renaissance

#11 • Restoration

Gateways #6: Cold Wars • Peter David

Gateways #7: What Lay Beyond: “Death After Life” • Peter David

#12 • Being Human • Peter David

 

Star Trek®: Stargazer

 

The Valiant • Michael Jan Friedman

Double Helix #6: The First Virtue • Michael Jan Friedman and Christie Golden

Gauntlet • Michael Jan Friedman

Progenitor • Michael Jan Friedman

 

Star Trek®: Starfleet Corps of Engineers (eBooks)

 

Have Tech, Will Travel (paperback) • various

#1 • The Belly of the Beast • Dean Wesley Smith

#2 • Fatal Error • Keith R.A. DeCandido

#3 • Hard Crash • Christie Golden

#4 • Interphase, Book One • Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore Miracle Workers

(paperback) • various

#5 • Interphase, Book Two • Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore

#6 • Cold Fusion • Keith R.A. DeCandido

#7 • Invincible, Book One • David Mack & Keith R.A. DeCandido

#8 • Invincible, Book Two • David Mack & Keith R.A. DeCandido

#9 • The Riddled Post • Aaron Rosenberg

#10 • Gateways Epilogue: Here There Be Monsters • Keith R.A. DeCandido

#11 • Ambush • Dave Galanter & Greg Brodeur

#12 • Some Assembly Required • Scott Ciencin & Dan Jolley

#13 • No Surrender • Jeff Mariotte

#14 • Caveat Emptor • Ian Edginton & Michael Collins

#15 • Past Life • Robert Greenberger

#16 • Oaths • Glenn Hauman

#17 • Foundations, Book One • Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore

#18 • Foundations, Book Two • Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore

#19 • Foundations, Book Three • Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore

#20 • Enigma Ship • J. Steven and Christina F. York

#21 • War Stories, Book One • Keith R.A. DeCandido

#22 • War Stories, Book Two • Keith R.A. DeCandido

 

Star Trek®: Invasion!

 

#1 • First Strike • Diane Carey

#2 • The Soldiers of Fear • Dean Wesley Smith & Kristine Kathryn Rusch

#3 • Time’s Enemy • L.A. Graf

#4 • The Final Fury • Dafydd ab Hugh

Invasion! Omnibus • various

 

Star Trek®: Day of Honor

 

#1 • Ancient Blood • Diane Carey

#2 • Armageddon Sky • L.A. Graf

#3 • Her Klingon Soul • Michael Jan Friedman

#4 • Treaty’s Law • Dean Wesley Smith & Kristine Kathryn Rusch

The Television Episode • Michael Jan Friedman

Day of Honor Omnibus • various

 

Star Trek®: The Captain’s Table

 

#1 • War Dragons • L.A. Graf

#2 • Dujonian’s Hoard • Michael Jan Friedman

#3 • The Mist • Dean Wesley Smith & Kristine Kathryn Rusch

#4 • Fire Ship • Diane Carey

#5 • Once Burned • Peter David

#6 • Where Sea Meets Sky • Jerry Oltion

The Captain’s Table Omnibus • various

 

Star Trek®: The Dominion War

 

#1 • Behind Enemy Lines • John Vornholt

#2 • Call to Arms… • Diane Carey

#3 • Tunnel Through the Stars • John Vornholt

#4 • …Sacrifice of Angels • Diane Carey

 

Star Trek®: Section 31™

 

Rogue • Andy Mangels & Michael A. Martin

Shadow • Dean Wesley Smith & Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Cloak • S.D. Perry

Abyss • David Weddle & Jeffrey Lang

 

Star Trek®: Gateways

 

#1 • One Small Step • Susan Wright

#2 • Chainmail • Diane Carey

#3 • Doors Into Chaos • Robert Greenberger

#4 • Demons of Air and Darkness • Keith R.A. DeCandido

#5 • No Man’s Land • Christie Golden

#6 • Cold Wars • Peter David

#7 • What Lay Beyond • various

Epilogue: Here There Be Monsters • Keith R.A. DeCandido

 

Star Trek®: The Badlands

 

#1 • Susan Wright

#2 • Susan Wright

 

Star Trek®: Dark Passions

 

#1 • Susan Wright

#2 • Susan Wright

 

Star Trek®: The Brave and the Bold

 

#1 • Keith R.A. DeCandido

#2 • Keith R.A. DeCandido

 

Star Trek® Omnibus Editions

 

Invasion! Omnibus • various

Day of Honor Omnibus • various

The Captain’s Table Omnibus • various

Star Trek: Odyssey • William Shatner with Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens

Millennium Omnibus • Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens

Starfleet: Year One • Michael Jan Friedman

 

Other Star Trek® Fiction

 

Legends of the Ferengi • Ira Steven Behr & Robert Hewitt Wolfe

Strange New Worlds , vol. I, II, III, IV, and V • Dean Wesley Smith, ed.

Adventures in Time and Space • Mary P. Taylor, ed.

Captain Proton: Defender of the Earth • D.W. “Prof” Smith

New Worlds, New Civilizations • Michael Jan Friedman

The Lives of Dax • Marco Palmieri, ed.

The Klingon Hamlet • Wil’yam Shex’pir

Enterprise Logs • Carol Greenburg, ed.

The Amazing Stories • various