Mystery Of The Missing Crew
Published: February 1995
Written by: Michael Jan Friedman
Plot:
An android is found in the ruins of a colony on Omicron Theta. The crew of the Tripoli reactivate the android and discover his name is Data, a name that suits his incredible curiosity. With the encouragement of his new friends, Data applies to Starfleet Academy and is accepted.
Cadet Data begins his journey to Starfleet Academy aboard the science vessel, Yosemite. Even as he looks forward to the Academy, he struggles to find his own identity and to fit in with the other cadets.
But Data's worries are cut short when the Yosemite is suddenly attacked by an unknown vessel and suffers severe damage. When power is restored, Data discovers that the adult crew has mysteriously disappeared, and only Data and the other Academy-bound cadets are left to face the wrath of a new alien race, who are demanding that Data and his cadet crew surrender their ship, or be destroyed.
Review:
Hard to believe, but it's been 25 years since this book came out! And that means that the Star Trek The Next Generation: Starfleet Academy series and the 90's YA/Starfleet Academy line is over 20 years old for all the books (the novelization of the Interplay CD-ROM was released in June 1997, The Best and the Brightest & DS9-YA #12 Trapped In Time were released in February 1998, while Deceptions, #14 in the actual TNG-SA series, was released in April 1998).
I haven't re-read Mystery of the Missing Crew yet, but I remember that I never really enjoyed the book. Sure it's Data's origin story from when he is found by the crew of the U.S.S. Tripoli, as mentioned in Datalore, The Measure of a Man and other TNG episodes, and it's also a story from Data's pre-Starfleet days, as he's a civilian in this book (on his way to the Academy, but still a civilian). And as I recall from Voyages of Imagination, Michael Jan Friedman was trying to make this and it's sequel, Secret Of the Lizard People his Star Trek versions of the Hardy Boys, and I was a kid when the TNG-SA series was out, and I remember getting both Mystery of the Missing Crew & Secret of the Lizard People for my birthday in 95, along with the Hardy Boys classics Danger On Vampire Trail & The Missing Monkey Mystery and I remember finding that Danger On Vampire Trail was my favorite of all 4 books, but the TNG-SA books were slow and, as a kid, did not keep my attention that well. That was disappointing, since Data was my favorite character from Star Trek The Next Generation. My first Trek Playmates figure had been Data, and I even have a photo from years ago of a bridge tour of the TNG bridge that was going around to different malls (this was around 1993/94), and I was photographed, in a TNG uniform shirt (they only had the red command shirt, not the yellow) at Data's console (my left forefinger was even touching the console, for the pose, but they told me not to touch too hard or else I would blow the bridge up! No-no, it wouldn't actually blow up, but I remember I did lay my finger a little too hard at first and the console started to beep and that's when they told me not to touch it too hard but to just have it really grazing the console.)
Published: February 1995
Written by: Michael Jan Friedman
Plot:
An android is found in the ruins of a colony on Omicron Theta. The crew of the Tripoli reactivate the android and discover his name is Data, a name that suits his incredible curiosity. With the encouragement of his new friends, Data applies to Starfleet Academy and is accepted.
Cadet Data begins his journey to Starfleet Academy aboard the science vessel, Yosemite. Even as he looks forward to the Academy, he struggles to find his own identity and to fit in with the other cadets.
But Data's worries are cut short when the Yosemite is suddenly attacked by an unknown vessel and suffers severe damage. When power is restored, Data discovers that the adult crew has mysteriously disappeared, and only Data and the other Academy-bound cadets are left to face the wrath of a new alien race, who are demanding that Data and his cadet crew surrender their ship, or be destroyed.
Review:
Hard to believe, but it's been 25 years since this book came out! And that means that the Star Trek The Next Generation: Starfleet Academy series and the 90's YA/Starfleet Academy line is over 20 years old for all the books (the novelization of the Interplay CD-ROM was released in June 1997, The Best and the Brightest & DS9-YA #12 Trapped In Time were released in February 1998, while Deceptions, #14 in the actual TNG-SA series, was released in April 1998).
I haven't re-read Mystery of the Missing Crew yet, but I remember that I never really enjoyed the book. Sure it's Data's origin story from when he is found by the crew of the U.S.S. Tripoli, as mentioned in Datalore, The Measure of a Man and other TNG episodes, and it's also a story from Data's pre-Starfleet days, as he's a civilian in this book (on his way to the Academy, but still a civilian). And as I recall from Voyages of Imagination, Michael Jan Friedman was trying to make this and it's sequel, Secret Of the Lizard People his Star Trek versions of the Hardy Boys, and I was a kid when the TNG-SA series was out, and I remember getting both Mystery of the Missing Crew & Secret of the Lizard People for my birthday in 95, along with the Hardy Boys classics Danger On Vampire Trail & The Missing Monkey Mystery and I remember finding that Danger On Vampire Trail was my favorite of all 4 books, but the TNG-SA books were slow and, as a kid, did not keep my attention that well. That was disappointing, since Data was my favorite character from Star Trek The Next Generation. My first Trek Playmates figure had been Data, and I even have a photo from years ago of a bridge tour of the TNG bridge that was going around to different malls (this was around 1993/94), and I was photographed, in a TNG uniform shirt (they only had the red command shirt, not the yellow) at Data's console (my left forefinger was even touching the console, for the pose, but they told me not to touch too hard or else I would blow the bridge up! No-no, it wouldn't actually blow up, but I remember I did lay my finger a little too hard at first and the console started to beep and that's when they told me not to touch it too hard but to just have it really grazing the console.)
