I finally got a copy of the first anthology to be released by ADB today, along with a few other items I had been sent out - all of which were free, thanks to my getting a pair of articles published in the new Captain's Log 38!
(In case you are interested, one article is a monograph detailing an Orion ship which was transported to the distant Omega Octant along with the Federation colony of Aurora III, and the other article is a scenario for the strategic wargame Federation and Empire. Both, and the other articles to be found, are listed here.)
Star Fleet Journal 1 - or, at least, the trial run from which the first batch of copies belongs - contains a collection of short stories which had been written and published in Captain's Log and other publications, each detailing a story involving that universe' take on the Klingon Empire.
Each story includes a short introduction, which help explain the context of the story in question - where it's set, who's involved, etc - as well as a scenario for Federation Commander (or in one case, Star Fleet Battles, since the units involved are not in FC) for each. Also, information about the SFU, an explanation about hot it diverges from TV Trek, and a few ads for various ADB properties are in the back, along with an ad for Journal 2: Day of the Eagle, which will detail a series of events which took place on the day the Romulans launched a massive invasion of the Federation.
It should be noted that none of the stories in this book detail encounters with Star Fleet - those are more likely to show up in a potential Federation-themed Journal later on. There's still enough to keep the Klingons busy, however.
The first story is called For the Good of the Empire - and it involves a degree of interaction between a branch of Klingon military intelligence and a group of Orion raiders, in the midst of the to-and-fro between the Empire (and its allies) against the Kzinti Hegemony (and their allies in turn).
The second, The Threads of War, involves the turbulent shakedown cruise of a new class of war cruiser, which found itself involved in a hunt against an Orion raider in a region where the Klingon operating area overlapped with that of their allies, the Lyrans.
The third, Flotilla Commander, takes a look at the operations of a group of gunboats (or fast patrol ships - bigger than a fighter, but smaller than a 'true' starship) operating on the Kzinti front.
The fourth, A Plague on their Houses, is set far from the Kzinti border, and shows a ship deployed to the Hydran front race to the aid of a smaller Klingon ship ambushed by Hydran forces... only to also have to deal with the poisoning of food supplies by mutineers among the crew.
The fifth - and my favourite of the group - is Fight Fire with Fire, which shifts the focus to the Tholian front. Starting with a look back at the early days of the Tholian occupation of what was once the edge of Klingon space, the story follows a descendant of a family who were on one of the colonies which went 'missing' as the Tholians consolidated their new holdings in our galaxy. Said descendant, commanding a new class of heavy battlecruiser, takes part in a mission intended to weaken the support outsiders can give to the now-beseiged Tholian Holdfast, before taking part in an operation to approach - and assault - Tholia itself. However, while this is going on, the Holdfast is frantically attempting to integrate the 312th Battle Squadron - a force of what the Federation initially dubbed the 'neo-Tholians' who had recently arrived in this galaxy - into its own operational forces before it is too late.
One thing I especially like about this story is the insight into Tholian society it offers, as well as the glimpse at what kind of effect their arrival in the Milky Way had on the Klingons of that era.
In all, it's a solid enough effort, though in my case I already had three of the five stories from various issues of Captain's Log anyway.
I will say that there are a number of stories which are out there that I would personally recommend - including the Lyran-themed piece from CL38, Doomward and the Vortex. Very clever story, and one that really helps to flesh out some of the things that make the Lyrans the fascinating species that they are. However, for the time being, most of those stories are spread out in different publications, and only time will tell whether they will be sold in Journal format in the future.
(In case you are interested, one article is a monograph detailing an Orion ship which was transported to the distant Omega Octant along with the Federation colony of Aurora III, and the other article is a scenario for the strategic wargame Federation and Empire. Both, and the other articles to be found, are listed here.)
Star Fleet Journal 1 - or, at least, the trial run from which the first batch of copies belongs - contains a collection of short stories which had been written and published in Captain's Log and other publications, each detailing a story involving that universe' take on the Klingon Empire.
Each story includes a short introduction, which help explain the context of the story in question - where it's set, who's involved, etc - as well as a scenario for Federation Commander (or in one case, Star Fleet Battles, since the units involved are not in FC) for each. Also, information about the SFU, an explanation about hot it diverges from TV Trek, and a few ads for various ADB properties are in the back, along with an ad for Journal 2: Day of the Eagle, which will detail a series of events which took place on the day the Romulans launched a massive invasion of the Federation.
It should be noted that none of the stories in this book detail encounters with Star Fleet - those are more likely to show up in a potential Federation-themed Journal later on. There's still enough to keep the Klingons busy, however.
The first story is called For the Good of the Empire - and it involves a degree of interaction between a branch of Klingon military intelligence and a group of Orion raiders, in the midst of the to-and-fro between the Empire (and its allies) against the Kzinti Hegemony (and their allies in turn).
The second, The Threads of War, involves the turbulent shakedown cruise of a new class of war cruiser, which found itself involved in a hunt against an Orion raider in a region where the Klingon operating area overlapped with that of their allies, the Lyrans.
The third, Flotilla Commander, takes a look at the operations of a group of gunboats (or fast patrol ships - bigger than a fighter, but smaller than a 'true' starship) operating on the Kzinti front.
The fourth, A Plague on their Houses, is set far from the Kzinti border, and shows a ship deployed to the Hydran front race to the aid of a smaller Klingon ship ambushed by Hydran forces... only to also have to deal with the poisoning of food supplies by mutineers among the crew.
The fifth - and my favourite of the group - is Fight Fire with Fire, which shifts the focus to the Tholian front. Starting with a look back at the early days of the Tholian occupation of what was once the edge of Klingon space, the story follows a descendant of a family who were on one of the colonies which went 'missing' as the Tholians consolidated their new holdings in our galaxy. Said descendant, commanding a new class of heavy battlecruiser, takes part in a mission intended to weaken the support outsiders can give to the now-beseiged Tholian Holdfast, before taking part in an operation to approach - and assault - Tholia itself. However, while this is going on, the Holdfast is frantically attempting to integrate the 312th Battle Squadron - a force of what the Federation initially dubbed the 'neo-Tholians' who had recently arrived in this galaxy - into its own operational forces before it is too late.
One thing I especially like about this story is the insight into Tholian society it offers, as well as the glimpse at what kind of effect their arrival in the Milky Way had on the Klingons of that era.
In all, it's a solid enough effort, though in my case I already had three of the five stories from various issues of Captain's Log anyway.
I will say that there are a number of stories which are out there that I would personally recommend - including the Lyran-themed piece from CL38, Doomward and the Vortex. Very clever story, and one that really helps to flesh out some of the things that make the Lyrans the fascinating species that they are. However, for the time being, most of those stories are spread out in different publications, and only time will tell whether they will be sold in Journal format in the future.
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