Splinters: Into the Novelverse

bok2384

Commander
Red Shirt
Last year millions of Star Trek: The Next Generation fans around the world, myself included, was amazed and excited that the crew of the USS Enterprise under Jean-Luc Picard were finally given a fitting send-off after so many years and, beyond the dreams of many, we were reunited with the NCC-1701-D, which was so cruelly ripped away from us in 1994.

It's not a lie to say that my love off the Star Trek franchise had waned over recent years. The continuity of the new TV shows were replacing the continuity of the Pocket Books novels that had built up from 2001 and brought to a heartbreaking conclusion by David Mack in the excellent Coda trilogy. Season 3 of Star Trek: Picard as well as the excellent Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and underrated Star Trek: Prodigy revitalised my love for Star Trek and I've decided I want to celebrate my 30 years as a fan by delving back into the Novelverse beginning with the series that started it all: Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Using the excellent The Star Trek Lit-verse Reading Guide, I'm going to use my thread to chart my journey through the various adventures of the USS Enterprise and the many other starships and starbases which feature in these stories. While the printed adventures will have a dedicated review post, I will also be do a post with capsule reviews of the episodes set between those adventures if you'll kindly adventure.

Phase One (2363-2364)
  • "Meet with Triumph and Disaster" (The Sky's the Limit)
  • "Encounter at Farpoint" (TNG 101/102)
  • "The Naked Now" (TNG 103)
  • Double Helix: Infection (Pocket TNG #51)
  • "Code of Honor" (TNG 104)
  • "Haven" (TNG 105)
  • "Where No One Has Gone Before" (TNG 106)
  • "The Last Outpost" (TNG 107)
  • "Growing Pains" (Star Trek Explorer #4)
  • "Lonely Among Us" (TNG 108)
  • "Justice" (TNG 109)
  • "The Battle" (TNG 110)
  • "Hide And Q" (TNG 111)
  • "Too Short A Season" (TNG 112)
  • "The Big Goodbye" (TNG 113)
  • "Datalore" (TNG 114)
  • "Angel One" (TNG 115)
  • "11001001" (TNG 116)
  • "Acts of Compassion" (The Sky's the Limit)
  • "Home Soil" (TNG 117)
  • "When The Bough Breaks" (TNG 118)
  • "Coming of Age" (TNG 119)
  • "Heart of Glory" (TNG 120)
  • "The Arsenal of Freedom" (TNG 121)
  • Survivors (Pocket TNG #4)
  • "Symbiosis" (TNG 123)
  • "Skin Of Evil" (TNG 122)
  • "We'll Always Have Paris" (TNG 124)
  • "Conspiracy" (TNG 125)
  • "The Neutral Zone" (TNG 126)

Thank you for taking the time to read and, as Captain Jean-Luc Picard once said...

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Next Destination:
"Meet with Triumph and Disaster"​
 
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Looking at season 1 again with fresh eyes sounds good. At the time, the Enterprise-D was meant to head out into unexplored space in the Alpha Quadrant…and then they returned quickly and spent the rest of their time in and around Federation space.
 
At the time, the Enterprise-D was meant to head out into unexplored space in the Alpha Quadrant…and then they returned quickly and spent the rest of their time in and around Federation space.

Yeah. I used to think that was a gradual thing, the result of most of the original writing staff being replaced over the course of season 1, but then I realized it happened pretty much immediately -- the pilot ended with them heading out beyond where anyone had explored before, but episode 2 had them answering a Starfleet distress call, episode 3 had them on a medical relief mission between two known worlds, and episode 4 (in production order) took place at a popular Federation vacation world. So they had trouble committing to the premise right off the bat.
 
Yes, and then when we had a series where the crew didn't have the option of staying in Federation space, it became the butt-monkey of Star Trek, at least until Enterprise came along.

For that matter, it didn't take very long for DS9 to abandon its "new life and new civilizations seeking us out" premise.
 
Yes, and then when we had a series where the crew didn't have the option of staying in Federation space, it became the butt-monkey of Star Trek, at least until Enterprise came along.

Only because they failed to really embrace the premise and what it would mean. Which isn't too different from TNG backing down from it.

For that matter, it didn't take very long for DS9 to abandon its "new life and new civilizations seeking us out" premise.

Well, in that case, it was always meant to be a mix of aliens coming to the station and the characters going out to explore, which is why they had runabouts. I seem to recall reading that there was always an intention of eventually adding a larger ship, though it took until season 3 before they did it.

I always thought that TNG's last couple of seasons should've had the Enterprise assigned to the Gamma Quadrant, occasionally reporting back to DS9 as its command base. It would've allowed for more interconnection and crossovers between the two, and would've let the E-D resume its originally intended purpose. Although I guess by then, TNG had too many ongoing political and character threads keeping it anchored to the vicinity of the UFP.
 
It’s a pity there wasn’t at least a single episode where the Enterprise-D visited the Gamma Quadrant.

Non-story 1st Splinter spoiler:
In the First Splinter timeline, the Enterprise-E becomes the first USS Enterprise who visits all four quadrants at some point.
 
Non-story 1st Splinter spoiler:
In the First Splinter timeline, the Enterprise-E becomes the first USS Enterprise who visits all four quadrants at some point.

Not sure why this is a spoiler, but spoiler coding my response so as to not reveal the above spoiler.

Are you sure? I thought in TAS that the original Enterprise went to the "centre of the galaxy", so it's possible they were in all four quadrants at once! :p:lol:
 
Not sure why this is a spoiler, but spoiler coding my response so as to not reveal the above spoiler.

Are you sure? I thought in TAS that the original Enterprise went to the "centre of the galaxy", so it's possible they were in all four quadrants at once! :p:lol:
The classic Enterprise/Enterprise-A was in the galactic center more than once but it doesn’t feel like it should count. It’s like visiting a city but only remaining in the train station between connections.
 
The classic Enterprise/Enterprise-A was in the galactic center more than once but it doesn’t feel like it should count. It’s like visiting a city but only remaining in the train station between connections.
Well yeah, they didn't want to end up having a big gay magic fight again and be put on trial in Space Salem!
 
It’s like visiting a city but only remaining in the train station between connections.
Been there, done that, got the T-shirt: that was my experience not just with Montreal, but with the entire Province of Quebec. And now that I think of it, a recent visit to Las Vegas, Nevada (possibly my most recent visit) was spent entirely in the airport.

On the other hand, I spent a couple of days in Winnipeg. They have some nice museums there. Not as many (or as huge) as they have in Chicago, but nice.

And I will note that I have been within 20 feet of the ground in all 50 States and all 10 Provinces. Flying overhead doesn't count, but passing through on a train does, even if I never leave an upper-level sleeping car accommodation.
 
Been there, done that, got the T-shirt: that was my experience not just with Montreal, but with the entire Province of Quebec. And now that I think of it, a recent visit to Las Vegas, Nevada (possibly my most recent visit) was spent entirely in the airport.

The only two times I've ever been on the ground between the Mississippi River and the West Coast states were airport layovers when I flew out to Los Angeles and back to pitch to Deep Space Nine in the '90s. I think they were in Phoenix.
 
"Meet With Triumph and Disaster" by Michael Schuster and Steve Mollmann (The Sky's the Limit)

Date: 2363, circa stardate 40759

It has been nearly twenty years since the destruction of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-C was destroyed at the Battle of Narendra III, but, at long last, the new Galaxy-class USS Enterprise-D is ready to join its illustrious predecessors. At the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards in orbit of Mars, the great and the good of the Federation and Starfleet have gathered to launch this new Enterprise and honour its new captain... Thomas Halloway. Halloway was hand-picked to command the Enterprise on its twenty year voyage by Admiral Norah Satie herself, but is he ready to take on the challenge at the risk of his family life?

The opening story in this grand adventure through me a curveball, I won't lie. I was surprised to see Thomas Halloway, a character briefly referenced as an alternative captain of the Enterprise in "Tapestry", actually having been positioned for the role and that Picard was actually the second choice to command the Federation flagship. I was far from disappointed, however, as through the eyes of Halloway we get a character study of what type of person it would take to command the ship on a twenty-year mission into uncharted territory. We see that familial ties and the personal connection and tragedies that Halloway has faced as he's guided the ship throughout all of the construction phases, resulting in several deaths and requiring an extended leave of absence.

While some could accuse Halloway of cowardice for his ultimate decision to step down as Enterprise captain, I see it as a man who shows incredible strength of character and realise that his family factors very important in his life and realises that his ultimate desire is to be an engineer and be his best self at the Utopia Planitia Yards.

Overall, an excellent character piece examining someone who we'd never actually seen before. As he flies away in a shuttle at the story's conclusion, I can't wait to see if we have any further adventures examining the further life and career of Thomas Halloway. For now though, we have a new captain to meet in the form of one Jean-Luc Picard.

Continuity Corner
This story features several characters that we'll meet throughout Star Trek: The Next Generation, particularly in its first season. First off we have Commander Orfil Quinteros who'll later meet in "11001001"; then we have Admiral Gregory Quinn who will go in to appear in "Coming of Age" and "Conspiracy", and finally Admiral Norah Satie who will have a barnstorming appearance in "The Drumhead" in TNG's fourth season.

Additionally, we have a reference to Admiral Theodorich Patterson, who will later appear on VOY: "Relativity". We're also introduced to Lady Svaath Magodin, a Xindi-Reptilian, who serves as a Federation representative. A nice touch and good to see that relations have definitely improved between Earth and the Xindi following the third season of Star Trek: Enterprise.

Next Destination
"Encounter at Farpoint"​
 
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Looking at season 1 again with fresh eyes sounds good. At the time, the Enterprise-D was meant to head out into unexplored space in the Alpha Quadrant…and then they returned quickly and spent the rest of their time in and around Federation space.

Yeah. I used to think that was a gradual thing, the result of most of the original writing staff being replaced over the course of season 1, but then I realized it happened pretty much immediately -- the pilot ended with them heading out beyond where anyone had explored before, but episode 2 had them answering a Starfleet distress call, episode 3 had them on a medical relief mission between two known worlds, and episode 4 (in production order) took place at a popular Federation vacation world. So they had trouble committing to the premise right off the bat.

That always disappointed me too. "Meet With Triumph and Disaster" and "Encounter at Farpoint" both speak about long twenty-year voyages exploring the unexplored mass of the galaxy. The prospect was so daunting to Captain Halloway that he decided to resign his post as he didn't want to be away from his family for years at a time. Ironically, looking at the restrictive missions given to the Enterprise, Halloway wouldn't have been out of contact for too long. I'd always chalked it up to Starfleet being unsure about the Galaxy class following the incidents during construction of the Enterprise and the destruction of the Yamato. Perhaps there's some truth to this, considering the Enterprise was kept close for almost her entire eight year service.
 
That always disappointed me too. "Meet With Triumph and Disaster" and "Encounter at Farpoint" both speak about long twenty-year voyages exploring the unexplored mass of the galaxy. The prospect was so daunting to Captain Halloway that he decided to resign his post as he didn't want to be away from his family for years at a time. Ironically, looking at the restrictive missions given to the Enterprise, Halloway wouldn't have been out of contact for too long. I'd always chalked it up to Starfleet being unsure about the Galaxy class following the incidents during construction of the Enterprise and the destruction of the Yamato. Perhaps there's some truth to this, considering the Enterprise was kept close for almost her entire eight year service.


I think that TV writers from the '80s and '90s just didn't have the mindset for frontier narratives that writers in the '60s had. Not only were Westerns no longer as popular as they'd been in the '60s, but jet travel and satellite communication had made the world smaller and more unified, so it was harder to imagine being out of touch with one's home civilization. So the focus shifted away from stories about probing the great unknown and toward stories about dealing with stuff closer to home. That's even more the case today, as modern Trek productions tend to have starships making interstellar journeys in hours when in TOS the equivalent journeys would've been presumed to take weeks.
 
"Meet With Triumph and Disaster" by Michael Schuster and Steve Mollman (The Sky's the Limit)

Date: 2363, circa stardate 40759

It has been nearly twenty years since the destruction of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-C was destroyed at the Battle of Narendra III, but, at long last, the new Galaxy-class USS Enterprise-D is ready to join its illustrious predecessors. At the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards in orbit of Mars, the great and the good of the Federation and Starfleet have gathered to launch this new Enterprise and honour its new captain... Thomas Halloway. Halloway was hand-picked to command the Enterprise on its twenty year voyage by Admiral Norah Satie herself, but is he ready to take on the challenge at the risk of his family life?

The opening story in this grand adventure through me a curveball, I won't lie. I was surprised to see Thomas Halloway, a character briefly referenced as an alternative captain of the Enterprise in "Tapestry", actually having been positioned for the role and that Picard was actually the second choice to command the Federation flagship. I was far from disappointed, however, as through the eyes of Halloway we get a character study of what type of person it would take to command the ship on a twenty-year mission into uncharted territory. We see that familial ties and the personal connection and tragedies that Halloway has faced as he's guided the ship throughout all of the construction phases, resulting in several deaths and requiring an extended leave of absence.

While some could accuse Halloway of cowardice for his ultimate decision to step down as Enterprise captain, I see it as a man who shows incredible strength of character and realise that his family factors very important in his life and realises that his ultimate desire is to be an engineer and be his best self at the Utopia Planitia Yards.

Overall, an excellent character piece examining someone who we'd never actually seen before. As he flies away in a shuttle at the story's conclusion, I can't wait to see if we have any further adventures examining the further life and career of Thomas Halloway. For now though, we have a new captain to meet in the form of one Jean-Luc Picard.

Continuity Corner
This story features several characters that we'll meet throughout Star Trek: The Next Generation, particularly in its first season. First off we have Commander Orfil Quinteros who'll later meet in "11001001"; then we have Admiral Gregory Quinn who will go in to appear in "Coming of Age" and "Conspiracy", and finally Admiral Norah Satie who will have a barnstorming appearance in "The Drumhead" in TNG's fourth season.

Additionally, we have a reference to Admiral Theodorich Patterson, who will later appear on VOY: "Relativity". We're also introduced to Lady Svaath Magodin, a Xindi-Reptilian, who serves as a Federation representative. A nice touch and good to see that relations have definitely improved between Earth and the Xindi following the third season of Star Trek: Enterprise.

Next Destination
"Encounter at Farpoint"​
Thank you for the kind words! (Though I must note you spelled my name wrong!)

Some of the questions you ask here will be answered eventually, but not for a very long time in the order you are following!
 
Thank you for the kind words! (Though I must note you spelled my name wrong!)

Some of the questions you ask here will be answered eventually, but not for a very long time in the order you are following!
Apologies for mispelling your name, I've corrected it now.

I'm glad to hear that there will be some follow-up on Halloway's story. I can't wait to read it. :)
 
Thank you so much! :techman: Your site has been a brilliant resource in putting together the outline for this marathon, I'd have been lost without it.

Thanks! It’s a labor of love and I’m always working on making it better, little by little.
 
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