The Great Chronological Run-Through
- Thread starter Deranged Nasat
- Start date
I just stumbled across "Have Beagle, Will Travel" from Tales of the Captain's Table. The frame is set in the fourth season of ENT, after the Andorian trilogy. We left that one out.
I don't think there's much to recommend it, though. If I recall, Archer tells a silly story and that's it.
Also, it doesn't really fit the continuity because Shran and Archer don't see each other between "The Aenar" and The Good That Men Do. In fact, I don't think there's room for an additional Shran-Archer outing anywhere.
Although Shran in the Captain's Table is an image that pleases me greatly, so there's always that....
Anyway, next up is the epilogue of To Brave The Storm.
Part V of To Brave the Storm
Continuing the string of fragments before we reach the mid-23rd Century, we have the epilogue of To Brave the Storm, which is also an epilogue for the Enterprise era as a whole. It’s twenty-five years since the founding of the Federation, and the public excitement on Earth contrasts with the reclusive disinterest of T’Pol and her family, who shun the limelight. The impression given from the Human journalist's POV is that there's an almost aggressive insistence within the Federation, or among the Humans at least, on burying any unanswered questions - the Trip-is-alive rumors are dismissed as irrational, which Trip himself thinks is for the best. It's a little uncomfortable, to be honest. The idea of the Federation almost thoughtlessly quashing its own self-awareness in favour of what seems a socially-enforced ignorance doesn't sit too well with me, but never mind.
We get a few glimpses of where the characters are now. Archer is President of the Federation, a position he would almost inevitably hold some day, as noted by Vanderbilt in A Choice of Futures. Hoshi Sato is on Tarsus IV (perhaps she shuns the attention, too? Tarsus is hardly a bustling hub of activity). T'Pol is a diplomat, holding the title Ambassador. She has two children, T'Mir and Lorian (we met an alternate future version of him a while back). The former of these is going to be conceived within the next few years, so far as Rise of the Federation is concerned. When's the Pon Farr scheduled for?
The public story is that the children result from T'Pol's reconciliation with Koss. Really, of course, Trip is the father. He's apparently pretending to be the gardener/handyman, as well as Trinneer's Stargate character in a cute naming joke.
This is only a short piece, and it's satisfying enough as a close on the Trip/T'Pol relationship, which I always enjoyed.
Next Time: The rise of the Albino in Forged In Fire, chapters one and five. (Techincally five comes after the next couple of entries, but I'll read five and one together, rather than split them. Let's see how the Albino grows up to be what he is).
Continuing the string of fragments before we reach the mid-23rd Century, we have the epilogue of To Brave the Storm, which is also an epilogue for the Enterprise era as a whole. It’s twenty-five years since the founding of the Federation, and the public excitement on Earth contrasts with the reclusive disinterest of T’Pol and her family, who shun the limelight. The impression given from the Human journalist's POV is that there's an almost aggressive insistence within the Federation, or among the Humans at least, on burying any unanswered questions - the Trip-is-alive rumors are dismissed as irrational, which Trip himself thinks is for the best. It's a little uncomfortable, to be honest. The idea of the Federation almost thoughtlessly quashing its own self-awareness in favour of what seems a socially-enforced ignorance doesn't sit too well with me, but never mind.
We get a few glimpses of where the characters are now. Archer is President of the Federation, a position he would almost inevitably hold some day, as noted by Vanderbilt in A Choice of Futures. Hoshi Sato is on Tarsus IV (perhaps she shuns the attention, too? Tarsus is hardly a bustling hub of activity). T'Pol is a diplomat, holding the title Ambassador. She has two children, T'Mir and Lorian (we met an alternate future version of him a while back). The former of these is going to be conceived within the next few years, so far as Rise of the Federation is concerned. When's the Pon Farr scheduled for?
The public story is that the children result from T'Pol's reconciliation with Koss. Really, of course, Trip is the father. He's apparently pretending to be the gardener/handyman, as well as Trinneer's Stargate character in a cute naming joke. This is only a short piece, and it's satisfying enough as a close on the Trip/T'Pol relationship, which I always enjoyed.
Next Time: The rise of the Albino in Forged In Fire, chapters one and five. (Techincally five comes after the next couple of entries, but I'll read five and one together, rather than split them. Let's see how the Albino grows up to be what he is).
That's why that name always sounded familiar! Haha, I'm a huge Stargate fan, and somehow I never caught that. That is great.
I wonder if Trip and T'Pol required medical treatment from Phlox in order to conceive T'Mir and Lorian.T'Pol is a diplomat, holding the title Ambassador. She has two children, T'Mir and Lorian (we met an alternate future version of him a while back). The former of these is going to be conceived within the next few years, so far as Rise of the Federation is concerned. When's the Pon Farr scheduled for?
This is only a short piece, and it's satisfying enough as a close on the Trip/T'Pol relationship, which I always enjoyed.
Hm. I honestly thought that yours was the first novel to call it the United Planets of Tellar. Must have been something I missed in skimming Martin's solo books.
(I worded the above confusingly, though--I made it sound like yours originated all of those state names, when what I meant was that yours was the first to list them all together, including Alpha Centauri.)
Hope that didn't seem offensive. I consider the somewhat dysfunctional nature of the early UFP government to be a feature, not a bug, of your novels.
Thanks for the clarification.
This is the first appearance in the UFP of semi-organized political parties. I'm the sort of person who thinks that organized political parties are actually very important to the ability of a democracy to function properly, so this pleased me a lot. I know the authors often have a more cynical take on political parties, but I honestly think there's a legit role for them in an ideal democracy. The Planetarists and the Federalists make for a fascinating couple.
They're not organized parties, just factions. "Planetarist" is a collective name for various different movements/parties on various planets, which by their very nature are not unified into a single entity. Federalists are basically just everyone who sees things differently. They're based on the Federalist and Anti-federalist blocs in the early United States.
Well, the Planetarists and Federalists are certainly functioning like semi-organized political parties in Tower, even if they're not built to last. They do coalesce numerous factions around individual candidates for the presidency.
I agree that a two-party system is improbable -- especially in a democracy that's supposed to be more enlightened than ours. But I'm of the mindset that holds that organized political parties are necessary in a democracy, and I think the UFP would plausibly have a number of them. To me, it's more probable that there are around a half-dozen to a dozen Federation-wide political parties that are themselves unions of smaller planetary parties, the way "Europarties" in the E.U. are unions of national political parties.
So, for instance, you might reasonably see a Federation Council consisting of members of the Federation Diplomacy Party, the Federation Security Party, the Federation Civil Libertarian Party, the Federation Environmental Conservation Party, the Federation Economic Egalitarianism Party, the Federation Economic Autonomy Party, etc. And maybe, for instance, the Federation Diplomacy Party is comprised of the Andorian Modern Progressive Party and the United Earth Interstellar Engagement Party and the Vulcan Syrannite Party, while the Federation Security Party is comprised of the Andorian Visionist Party and the Tellarite Defense Party and the Vulcan Anti-revisionist Party, or what-have-you.
A plethora of parties and of parties of parties.
Okay. You kept things a bit more vague in Tower -- you only ever referred to al-Rashid and Thoris as running for president and never used the phrase "council president." I took that to mean that this was the familiar Federation presidency itself, evolving out of the earlier role of Council Presidency (which nicely explains why the President in Articles of the Federation, two hundred years later, is still the presiding officer of the full Federation Council, even if they're separate branches of government) yet legally being a new, distinct office.
Personally, I never found it plausible that they would have been able to keep Trip's continued existence a secret if there were still rumors going strong about it 30 years later. (To say nothing of the difficulty of them raising a family while keeping the secret...)
I mean, it, what, takes a reporter all of a day's work to find Trip on their roof?
We get a few glimpses of where the characters are now. Archer is President of the Federation, a position he would almost inevitably hold some day, as noted by Vanderbilt in A Choice of Futures. Hoshi Sato is on Tarsus IV (perhaps she shuns the attention, too? Tarsus is hardly a bustling hub of activity). T'Pol is a diplomat, holding the title Ambassador. She has two children, T'Mir and Lorian (we met an alternate future version of him a while back). The former of these is going to be conceived within the next few years, so far as Rise of the Federation is concerned. When's the Pon Farr scheduled for?
I didn't think about that! T'Mir really is on her way!
Castle in the Sky: The epilogue of To Brave the Storm marks the first chronological mention of the Palais de la Concorde, the Federation's dedicated capitol. It's not yet appeared, however -- though I imagine it could hypothetically show up within the next few years in the Rise of the Federation novels.
People who are interested in imagining how political parties might work in a star-spanning space polity would do well to read Leonard Richardson's Constellation Games: A Space Opera Soap Opera. It's not a huge part of the book (which is mostly about alien videogames, which turns out to be an excellent conceit for a good sf novel), but the "constellations" of the titles are the book's Federation-analog's answer to political parties.
I think different species/civilizations might have different ideas about how to organize themselves politically, so again I question the assumption that there would be Federation-wide partisan politics. One world might consider political parties necessary, but another might have banned them after partisan extremism nearly destroyed their civilization, and another might never have thought of the idea in the first place because it's incompatible with the way their species psychology works, or might have invented a different alternative. Like, maybe some kind of "flash coalitions" that form around specific issues that get raised on the planetary information network when debate and voting on them is needed.
Forged In Fire, chapters one and five
I'll do these chapters together, rather than separate them out, since they work to detail the origins and rise to power of Qagh the Albino, who'll be a villain of note later down the timeline. Also, and currently perhaps more relevant to the ongoing story, they grant us some insight into how the Klingon Empire has been faring since the biological disaster that divided them into two new castes, and how their class system and warrior ethos inform Klingon experience in general. In other words, a society that can be dissected along multiple fault lines had another such division forced upon it, and has now incorporated this into its sense of communal identity. Chapter one is mostly about these societal tensions in the Empire, ending with baby Qagh's rescue by Orion pirates after he's abandoned and exposed, largely for threatening too many of the notably strained threads of his family's status. Chapter five moves us forward thirty years, jumping over such events as Trip's encounter with the Kirks and the Battle of Donatu V (I'll pop back and read those next), to detail how this arrangement is working, and how the sickly Qagh eventually takes control of the pirate band.
The HemQuch/QuchHa' divide is now well established, with many members of the nobility who became QuchHa' but whose families were too powerful to be officially reduced in status (itself an interesting illustration of the complexities in this simultaneously unstable yet strictly hierarchal society) concealing their lack of ridges behind prosthetics. The noble lady who births Qagh is further isolated by her recent loss. Her husband, the House Patriarch (and apparently a genuinely admired mate), was lost in battle to the Romulans, leaving her as one of what the text notes are very few de facto ruling matriarchs, a position not legally recognized in the same sense and stoking further the necessity of a legitimate male heir. Yet despite these complications, the House, though much reduced in status, will endure - this, we'll later learn, is the House that Kor is born into, and it claws its way back to relevance. The divide between the two Klingon groups, HemQuch and QuchHa', is referenced in other ways, for example with a mention of a vessel that incorporates both castes among its crew, something considered notable in its success.
Key to this novel, when we get to it in full, are matters of genetics and biology, and the fumbling efforts of Humanoids to control or manipulate such. Even in these chapters, we have a tired search for enduring youth (tied to the experience of the high-status Orion female, whose control and societal power are dependent upon retaining her sexual appeal, and who is potentially a nobody outside of that appeal and her ability to wield it); efforts to conceal biology for reasons concerned with retaining societal status (The Klingon nobles who are secretly QuchHa' and hide it to avoid the shame), sickly Klingons with unstable genomes who have no place in the Klingon society and are left to die; continued attempts to "correct" the Augment virus that cause further medical abnormalities (and again tied with familial honour); the first chemical countermeasure to at least some variety of Orion pheromones; and the threat of biological weaponry. Always, matters of biology and genetics are portrayed as having consequences for one's place in society and legitimate recognition within societal structures.
Also notable in chapter five is a hint at the legend of Starfleet among the frontier settlements, in how young Hikaru Sulu views the locally assigned patrol ship and its crew and captain as heroes (while his father is less complimentary about Starfleet's ability to protect the border colonies). It's an interesting look at what the Starfleet crews out on the frontier have become - their own distinct breed of person, figures of awe and controversy. Isolated and almost mythic. Captain Hunter of Aerfen is, to young Hikaru's eyes, almost like a superhero, but we can see, through the vaguely alluded-to adult perspectives, how such people might be considered reckless and potentially dangerous, too. This idea of "the starship captain" as a distinct and controversial breed will resonate throughout much of TOS.
First Appearances of Things That Are Important
Hikaru Sulu, of course, here living in a border colony with his scientist parents.
Omega IV, here known as Qav'los to the Klingons.
Items of note mentioned for the first time include Sturka, here a member of the High Council already as of 2218 (he'll later be chancellor), and the planet Tyree (known and referenced already as a desert world).
Next Time: Last Full Measure, framing story.
I'll do these chapters together, rather than separate them out, since they work to detail the origins and rise to power of Qagh the Albino, who'll be a villain of note later down the timeline. Also, and currently perhaps more relevant to the ongoing story, they grant us some insight into how the Klingon Empire has been faring since the biological disaster that divided them into two new castes, and how their class system and warrior ethos inform Klingon experience in general. In other words, a society that can be dissected along multiple fault lines had another such division forced upon it, and has now incorporated this into its sense of communal identity. Chapter one is mostly about these societal tensions in the Empire, ending with baby Qagh's rescue by Orion pirates after he's abandoned and exposed, largely for threatening too many of the notably strained threads of his family's status. Chapter five moves us forward thirty years, jumping over such events as Trip's encounter with the Kirks and the Battle of Donatu V (I'll pop back and read those next), to detail how this arrangement is working, and how the sickly Qagh eventually takes control of the pirate band.
The HemQuch/QuchHa' divide is now well established, with many members of the nobility who became QuchHa' but whose families were too powerful to be officially reduced in status (itself an interesting illustration of the complexities in this simultaneously unstable yet strictly hierarchal society) concealing their lack of ridges behind prosthetics. The noble lady who births Qagh is further isolated by her recent loss. Her husband, the House Patriarch (and apparently a genuinely admired mate), was lost in battle to the Romulans, leaving her as one of what the text notes are very few de facto ruling matriarchs, a position not legally recognized in the same sense and stoking further the necessity of a legitimate male heir. Yet despite these complications, the House, though much reduced in status, will endure - this, we'll later learn, is the House that Kor is born into, and it claws its way back to relevance. The divide between the two Klingon groups, HemQuch and QuchHa', is referenced in other ways, for example with a mention of a vessel that incorporates both castes among its crew, something considered notable in its success.
Key to this novel, when we get to it in full, are matters of genetics and biology, and the fumbling efforts of Humanoids to control or manipulate such. Even in these chapters, we have a tired search for enduring youth (tied to the experience of the high-status Orion female, whose control and societal power are dependent upon retaining her sexual appeal, and who is potentially a nobody outside of that appeal and her ability to wield it); efforts to conceal biology for reasons concerned with retaining societal status (The Klingon nobles who are secretly QuchHa' and hide it to avoid the shame), sickly Klingons with unstable genomes who have no place in the Klingon society and are left to die; continued attempts to "correct" the Augment virus that cause further medical abnormalities (and again tied with familial honour); the first chemical countermeasure to at least some variety of Orion pheromones; and the threat of biological weaponry. Always, matters of biology and genetics are portrayed as having consequences for one's place in society and legitimate recognition within societal structures.
Also notable in chapter five is a hint at the legend of Starfleet among the frontier settlements, in how young Hikaru Sulu views the locally assigned patrol ship and its crew and captain as heroes (while his father is less complimentary about Starfleet's ability to protect the border colonies). It's an interesting look at what the Starfleet crews out on the frontier have become - their own distinct breed of person, figures of awe and controversy. Isolated and almost mythic. Captain Hunter of Aerfen is, to young Hikaru's eyes, almost like a superhero, but we can see, through the vaguely alluded-to adult perspectives, how such people might be considered reckless and potentially dangerous, too. This idea of "the starship captain" as a distinct and controversial breed will resonate throughout much of TOS.
First Appearances of Things That Are Important
Hikaru Sulu, of course, here living in a border colony with his scientist parents.
Omega IV, here known as Qav'los to the Klingons.
Items of note mentioned for the first time include Sturka, here a member of the High Council already as of 2218 (he'll later be chancellor), and the planet Tyree (known and referenced already as a desert world).
Next Time: Last Full Measure, framing story.
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Isn't Forged in Fire chronologically the first reference to the Federation colony world Ganjitsu?
Yep. Sulu's old haunt is Ganjitsu.
I've been falling a little behind in this (work, among other things, keeping me busy). Here's hoping I can pick up speed again.
Last Full Measure, framing story
Obviously, the point of this is to reveal that Trip is actually alive, canonical intention be damned, but since we're already well aware of that when approaching things from the chronological view, there's not too much to say this time. As an epilogue for Trip and a lead-in to TOS, a passing-the-torch piece, it's effective enough.
The Constitution-class starship is being constructed over Earth, and this is made the subject of a point on the uncertainties and random currents of fate; had not Selma Guitierrez decided to keep her baby, the ship might not exist, because one of that girl's descendants is a primary designer (naturally also a protégé of Trip, who has been scribbling notes in the margins). The ship will have a sustained cruising speed of warp six (no word yet on its maximum). As for Trip himself, after so long "dead" (over seventy years), he considers himself a footnote in Federation history and little more.
Trip meets the Kirks (which include the Kirk, by this point, along with his older brother and parents).
Many children are in school all year long with no summer holidays, because the Federation is now a soulless nation of grey that hates all things wholesome and childlike.
Next Time: Something a little more substantial, with the Donatu V chapters from Seeds of Rage.
Last Full Measure, framing story
Obviously, the point of this is to reveal that Trip is actually alive, canonical intention be damned, but since we're already well aware of that when approaching things from the chronological view, there's not too much to say this time. As an epilogue for Trip and a lead-in to TOS, a passing-the-torch piece, it's effective enough.
The Constitution-class starship is being constructed over Earth, and this is made the subject of a point on the uncertainties and random currents of fate; had not Selma Guitierrez decided to keep her baby, the ship might not exist, because one of that girl's descendants is a primary designer (naturally also a protégé of Trip, who has been scribbling notes in the margins). The ship will have a sustained cruising speed of warp six (no word yet on its maximum). As for Trip himself, after so long "dead" (over seventy years), he considers himself a footnote in Federation history and little more.
Trip meets the Kirks (which include the Kirk, by this point, along with his older brother and parents).
Many children are in school all year long with no summer holidays, because the Federation is now a soulless nation of grey that hates all things wholesome and childlike.
Next Time: Something a little more substantial, with the Donatu V chapters from Seeds of Rage.
^Shouldn't you have a "First Appearance of Things that are Important" entry for Jim Kirk? I daresay he's a little bit important.
I should, yes. My only excuse is that I'm tired, and for some reason it slipped my mind.But, yes, Christopher is quite right.
First Appearances of Things That Are Very, Very Important:
JAMES TIBERIUS KIRK. He doesn't do much but tear around excitedly while his brother (who is presumably identical only with a different hairstyle and a moustache) talks sensibly with Trip, but he's here.
Seeds of Rage, chapters 7, 9, 12, 14, 18, 21
The six "Errand of..." books have their slight incompatibilities with the mainstream novel 'verse, but on the whole they can work as part of it if we engage in some minor tweaking and speculation, which naturally I'm going to do anyway. They make efforts to be compatible (Klingon military structures of KRADish origin, Andorian Imperial Names, the Palais de la Concorde, etc.). They're referenced at times in other, compatible novels in a "Broad Strokes"-style fashion, at that, and since they tell an important tale - an in-depth examination of Klingon re-emergence as a superpower threatening full-scale war, and the fluidity of Klingon cultural identity at this time of military and political expansion, particularly how it relates to the spectre of the Human Enemy - I consider them pretty essential and illuminating to the metastory. We'll deal with those relatively continuity minor issues when they crop up.
This is the Battle of Donatu V, a defining moment in the history of Klingon/Human relations. I say Klingon/Human, because as discussed previously the Klingon cultural mindset interprets the Federation as a Human-controlled empire that has absorbed other cultures, in accordance with Klingon notions of domination. For the last century or so, the Klingons have been dealing with their internal affairs; as we've seen, much of this due to upheavals resulting from the introduction of two distinct biological castes that have provoked a rearrangement of their existing social infrastructure, complicating further the already complex relationship between various families and social classes. They've had to collectively and individually redefine themselves, and settle into a new... well, what passes for "state of stability" among Klingons. Inevitably, though, the only cure for Klingon internal unrest is expansion, and this brings them into contact with the old irritant, Humans, who are themselves expanding rapidly. The Federation is now a true superpower, and the Humans in particular are setting up colonies all over the place, to the extent that I wonder what the average Human birthrate is. Or, at least, what the population of Earth is now that there are so many other options. Are Humans breeding like Tribbles or is Earth just disgorging itself into scores of more distant settlements?
The Klingon way is largely incompatible with that of the Federation, and the conflict (re)introduced here is a blend of genuine cultural incomprehension and Klingon hypocrisy (telling one from the other can be difficult). We see Klingons culling the wounded prisoners rather than giving them medical care, which can be interpreted as treating prisoners in accordance with respectful Klingon ethics, though overall they treat the Humans with disdain - and not only because the Starfleet crew were easily defeated (which would make their attitude justifiable, so to speak, under a non-hypocritical Klingon moral worldview) but for being inherently cowardly - and the coward is unworthy of respect. The Klingons seem torn between (or maybe just inconsistent about) treating the Starfleet crew as honour would dictate and considering them automatically unworthy of such status. The Humans regain some measure of control by turning the Klingons' honour codes against them, reinforcing the idea that Humans are treacherous and dishonourable. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately, given what being viewed as worthy entails - it's very hard to win with Klingons) the outcome of the battle is a draw and a ceasefire, the most infuriating outcome from a Klingon perspective. The Humans come away disgusted with Klingon brutality, and the fact that so much sacrifice, courage and inventiveness was almost for nothing in the face of Klingon relentlessness, as well as deep anger and outrage at the deaths, while the Klingons are unable to find closure in a contest that didn't have a satisfactory end but was interrupted by what they perceive, or choose to perceive, as treachery and cowardice, two traits that are considered anathema (despite their own skill at the former).
These chapters do a good job of presenting space combat as a distressing and chaotic experience. As something unpredictable and confusing, and not simply a matter of two ships shooting colourful beams at each others' shields while everyone shakes a bit and the odd console explodes.
There's also further exploration here of the division between Starfleet and its occasionally mythic role (though the mission of Endeavour has a rather more pedestrian and mundane flavour until Klingons ruin that, and, as discussed, never is the resulting battle portrayed as anything other than distressing) and the people of the Federation, with the choice essentially being family or a career in space.
Continuity
As of the 2240s, the transporter is still a relative novelty for new recruits - clearly, travelling through transporters with any degree of regularity is not yet something many will experience.
The Constitution has launched early to intercept at Donatu, cruising at warp six point five all the way from Earth (so Trip's protégés pulled it off then; sustainable warp six cruising speed).
Starfleet has Icarus-class vessels, which I'm assuming are their replacement workhorses for the Daedalus-class. Why Humans name things after Icarus I don't know, though it makes sense enough. And I suppose they lost enough of the Daedaluses (Archon, Essex, etc), so what's the worst that could happen?
Next Time: The Lives of Dax: "Old Souls". All of Star Trek is a conspiracy of Daxes.
The six "Errand of..." books have their slight incompatibilities with the mainstream novel 'verse, but on the whole they can work as part of it if we engage in some minor tweaking and speculation, which naturally I'm going to do anyway. They make efforts to be compatible (Klingon military structures of KRADish origin, Andorian Imperial Names, the Palais de la Concorde, etc.). They're referenced at times in other, compatible novels in a "Broad Strokes"-style fashion, at that, and since they tell an important tale - an in-depth examination of Klingon re-emergence as a superpower threatening full-scale war, and the fluidity of Klingon cultural identity at this time of military and political expansion, particularly how it relates to the spectre of the Human Enemy - I consider them pretty essential and illuminating to the metastory. We'll deal with those relatively continuity minor issues when they crop up.
This is the Battle of Donatu V, a defining moment in the history of Klingon/Human relations. I say Klingon/Human, because as discussed previously the Klingon cultural mindset interprets the Federation as a Human-controlled empire that has absorbed other cultures, in accordance with Klingon notions of domination. For the last century or so, the Klingons have been dealing with their internal affairs; as we've seen, much of this due to upheavals resulting from the introduction of two distinct biological castes that have provoked a rearrangement of their existing social infrastructure, complicating further the already complex relationship between various families and social classes. They've had to collectively and individually redefine themselves, and settle into a new... well, what passes for "state of stability" among Klingons. Inevitably, though, the only cure for Klingon internal unrest is expansion, and this brings them into contact with the old irritant, Humans, who are themselves expanding rapidly. The Federation is now a true superpower, and the Humans in particular are setting up colonies all over the place, to the extent that I wonder what the average Human birthrate is. Or, at least, what the population of Earth is now that there are so many other options. Are Humans breeding like Tribbles or is Earth just disgorging itself into scores of more distant settlements?
The Klingon way is largely incompatible with that of the Federation, and the conflict (re)introduced here is a blend of genuine cultural incomprehension and Klingon hypocrisy (telling one from the other can be difficult). We see Klingons culling the wounded prisoners rather than giving them medical care, which can be interpreted as treating prisoners in accordance with respectful Klingon ethics, though overall they treat the Humans with disdain - and not only because the Starfleet crew were easily defeated (which would make their attitude justifiable, so to speak, under a non-hypocritical Klingon moral worldview) but for being inherently cowardly - and the coward is unworthy of respect. The Klingons seem torn between (or maybe just inconsistent about) treating the Starfleet crew as honour would dictate and considering them automatically unworthy of such status. The Humans regain some measure of control by turning the Klingons' honour codes against them, reinforcing the idea that Humans are treacherous and dishonourable. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately, given what being viewed as worthy entails - it's very hard to win with Klingons) the outcome of the battle is a draw and a ceasefire, the most infuriating outcome from a Klingon perspective. The Humans come away disgusted with Klingon brutality, and the fact that so much sacrifice, courage and inventiveness was almost for nothing in the face of Klingon relentlessness, as well as deep anger and outrage at the deaths, while the Klingons are unable to find closure in a contest that didn't have a satisfactory end but was interrupted by what they perceive, or choose to perceive, as treachery and cowardice, two traits that are considered anathema (despite their own skill at the former).
These chapters do a good job of presenting space combat as a distressing and chaotic experience. As something unpredictable and confusing, and not simply a matter of two ships shooting colourful beams at each others' shields while everyone shakes a bit and the odd console explodes.
There's also further exploration here of the division between Starfleet and its occasionally mythic role (though the mission of Endeavour has a rather more pedestrian and mundane flavour until Klingons ruin that, and, as discussed, never is the resulting battle portrayed as anything other than distressing) and the people of the Federation, with the choice essentially being family or a career in space.
Continuity
As of the 2240s, the transporter is still a relative novelty for new recruits - clearly, travelling through transporters with any degree of regularity is not yet something many will experience.
The Constitution has launched early to intercept at Donatu, cruising at warp six point five all the way from Earth (so Trip's protégés pulled it off then; sustainable warp six cruising speed).
Starfleet has Icarus-class vessels, which I'm assuming are their replacement workhorses for the Daedalus-class. Why Humans name things after Icarus I don't know, though it makes sense enough. And I suppose they lost enough of the Daedaluses (Archon, Essex, etc), so what's the worst that could happen?
Next Time: The Lives of Dax: "Old Souls". All of Star Trek is a conspiracy of Daxes.
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A lot of that was due to the fact that I edited both Errand trilogies for Pocket.
(And to be fair, the only Klingon military ranks I invented were QaS DevwI' and Leader -- the others all came from the screen.)
Great to have these back on track
The Declassified flashback stuff wouldn't hit until after The Cage, at least; it was 2259, The Cage was 2254. And we're already past Final Reflection - that was in the 2230s - so unfortunately it looks like no Ford in this, unless Nasat just missed it.
But if I'm on the same track they are, it looks like we should still be in the 2240s for at least a couple more entries?
Edit: Haha, whoops, I missed the "next" line. That answers that!
The Lives of Dax: "Old Souls"
It's canonical that Emony Dax and Leonard McCoy made sweet, sweet love, and that this was before he'd become a doctor, although Dax suspected he'd make a good one. So we can't blame Friedman for this. The "small universe" material was pre-existing.
This is in fact our only story featuring Emony, the third host of Dax. Emony was a strongly emotional person who enjoyed gymnastics, standing on her head, and McCoy. She also married and had children, though we know nothing about that.
So, it's a Friedman tale. Michael Jan Friedman has his charms (I genuinely like the Stargazer books and their unique approach to the setting) but he’s hardly near the top of the list of Trek authors I anticipate. This is a harmless story, but not anything I’d call quality.
At the very least, the origin of the enmity between the Trill and new race the Tessma is a sensible and revealing one; the Tessma believe that the Trill were behaving unreasonably, stoking a full diplomatic incident out of an accidental Tessman presence in a few underground caves, in protection of worms which they held in inexplicable esteem - inexplicable, of course, because they didn't explain themselves. The Trill, we know, aren’t being unreasonable in the way the Tessma think, but arguably they are being very unreasonable in another manner, showing a wearying paranoia about revealing the existence of symbionts to outsiders. The Lives of Dax as a story collection is in some ways a depiction of the slow process by which Dax and its people overcome this, the means by which the Trill gradually become more comfortable with sharing their nature as Joined beings with their allies and neighbours (to the extent that the framing device is Ezri happily unloading her entire bank of stories to Vic).
In a similar way, while I don’t really care about McCoy and Dax having a fling, this too is played as an exploration of Trill/outsider relations, with consequences for how we view the Trill's participation in galactic affairs. Dax is offended by McCoy’s alarmed reaction to her fluid identity, a kneejerk response that McCoy later feels bad about and chides himself for. However, the Trill tendency toward concealment plays its part in the temporary ill feelings too. Of course, the Trill feel the need to conceal their nature partly because they fear the reactions of other races, so it’s again difficult to point to the real root of the problem. Trill are secretive, but they arguably have good reason to be. Given Dax’s enthusiastic description of the gymnastics competition and other such tournaments as a means of working through interspecies disputes and building bridges, the story is at least thematically well structured, if nothing else.
First Appearances of Things That Are Important
I sort of forgot to highlight Kirk in the Last Full Measure post, so I'm making sure I don't forget McCoy.
Leonard McCoy. Two down, one to go...
Continuity
While I believe this is also a canonical point - Emony was a certain type of gymnast - the Olympic Games still take place in the 23rd Century. The 2224 games were held on Aldebaran, and apparently non-Humans participate, as not only did Dax win three latinum medals, but her favoured opponent was an Argelian.
(Yes, the winning medal is latinum now. Really, I think leaving it as the traditional gold, silver, bronze was fine. I believe modern gold medals are mostly silver but are required to have some gold in them. Since latinum is a liquid at room temperature, I'm assuming there isn't actual latinum in them?).
An awful lot of species make their debut here. Besides a few familiar faces among the contestants and judges (Vulcan, Andorian, Rigelian, Orion, plus of course Human and Trill) we have the first mention of such canonical species as Arbazan, Argelian, Arkalian, Bolian, Dopterian, and Mikulak. The Arbazan, Argelians and Bolians will eventually join the Federation, and the Arkalians and Mikulak will at the least have favourable relations, so I suppose it makes sense that they’d be participating in these good-will events. The most interesting point here is that Bolians have warp travel capability by the 2240s. They'll start showing up from time to time in the 2260s, and seem to join the Federation at some point from the late 2270s-2300. In terms of novel-only species, Friedman introduces here a selection from his go-to bag of minor Federation members (though we don’t know if they’re members yet; I assume that comes later); the zebra-striped Dedderac, the red, tusked Vobilities, and the Pandrilites - who unlike the first two will graduate to appearing in the novel ‘verse as a whole and not just in loosely-affiliated Friedman stories.
Dax and McCoy have some Chateau Picard.
Next Time: Shards and Shadows: "Ill Winds". Meanwhile, in the Mirror Universe...
It's canonical that Emony Dax and Leonard McCoy made sweet, sweet love, and that this was before he'd become a doctor, although Dax suspected he'd make a good one. So we can't blame Friedman for this. The "small universe" material was pre-existing.
This is in fact our only story featuring Emony, the third host of Dax. Emony was a strongly emotional person who enjoyed gymnastics, standing on her head, and McCoy. She also married and had children, though we know nothing about that.
So, it's a Friedman tale. Michael Jan Friedman has his charms (I genuinely like the Stargazer books and their unique approach to the setting) but he’s hardly near the top of the list of Trek authors I anticipate. This is a harmless story, but not anything I’d call quality.
At the very least, the origin of the enmity between the Trill and new race the Tessma is a sensible and revealing one; the Tessma believe that the Trill were behaving unreasonably, stoking a full diplomatic incident out of an accidental Tessman presence in a few underground caves, in protection of worms which they held in inexplicable esteem - inexplicable, of course, because they didn't explain themselves. The Trill, we know, aren’t being unreasonable in the way the Tessma think, but arguably they are being very unreasonable in another manner, showing a wearying paranoia about revealing the existence of symbionts to outsiders. The Lives of Dax as a story collection is in some ways a depiction of the slow process by which Dax and its people overcome this, the means by which the Trill gradually become more comfortable with sharing their nature as Joined beings with their allies and neighbours (to the extent that the framing device is Ezri happily unloading her entire bank of stories to Vic).
In a similar way, while I don’t really care about McCoy and Dax having a fling, this too is played as an exploration of Trill/outsider relations, with consequences for how we view the Trill's participation in galactic affairs. Dax is offended by McCoy’s alarmed reaction to her fluid identity, a kneejerk response that McCoy later feels bad about and chides himself for. However, the Trill tendency toward concealment plays its part in the temporary ill feelings too. Of course, the Trill feel the need to conceal their nature partly because they fear the reactions of other races, so it’s again difficult to point to the real root of the problem. Trill are secretive, but they arguably have good reason to be. Given Dax’s enthusiastic description of the gymnastics competition and other such tournaments as a means of working through interspecies disputes and building bridges, the story is at least thematically well structured, if nothing else.
First Appearances of Things That Are Important
I sort of forgot to highlight Kirk in the Last Full Measure post, so I'm making sure I don't forget McCoy.
Leonard McCoy. Two down, one to go...
Continuity
While I believe this is also a canonical point - Emony was a certain type of gymnast - the Olympic Games still take place in the 23rd Century. The 2224 games were held on Aldebaran, and apparently non-Humans participate, as not only did Dax win three latinum medals, but her favoured opponent was an Argelian.
(Yes, the winning medal is latinum now. Really, I think leaving it as the traditional gold, silver, bronze was fine. I believe modern gold medals are mostly silver but are required to have some gold in them. Since latinum is a liquid at room temperature, I'm assuming there isn't actual latinum in them?).
An awful lot of species make their debut here. Besides a few familiar faces among the contestants and judges (Vulcan, Andorian, Rigelian, Orion, plus of course Human and Trill) we have the first mention of such canonical species as Arbazan, Argelian, Arkalian, Bolian, Dopterian, and Mikulak. The Arbazan, Argelians and Bolians will eventually join the Federation, and the Arkalians and Mikulak will at the least have favourable relations, so I suppose it makes sense that they’d be participating in these good-will events. The most interesting point here is that Bolians have warp travel capability by the 2240s. They'll start showing up from time to time in the 2260s, and seem to join the Federation at some point from the late 2270s-2300. In terms of novel-only species, Friedman introduces here a selection from his go-to bag of minor Federation members (though we don’t know if they’re members yet; I assume that comes later); the zebra-striped Dedderac, the red, tusked Vobilities, and the Pandrilites - who unlike the first two will graduate to appearing in the novel ‘verse as a whole and not just in loosely-affiliated Friedman stories.
Dax and McCoy have some Chateau Picard.
Next Time: Shards and Shadows: "Ill Winds". Meanwhile, in the Mirror Universe...
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Great to have these back on track
The Declassified flashback stuff wouldn't hit until after The Cage, at least; it was 2259, The Cage was 2254. And we're already past Final Reflection - that was in the 2230s - so unfortunately it looks like no Ford in this, unless Nasat just missed it.
But if I'm on the same track they are, it looks like we should still be in the 2240s for at least a couple more entries?
Edit: Haha, whoops, I missed the "next" line. That answers that!
Sadly, no Ford. While The Final Reflection and How Much For Just The Planet? are both awesome in different but equally valid ways, and should certainly be read, this run-through is only for works that either fit the modern novel 'verse continuity or else can be made to easily enough if you do a little squinting and tweaking. This means that there's no Rihannsu or Spock's World, either. But I think Uhura's Song will be okay...
Idran is right: we're still in the 2240s, though we'll be reaching The Cage and the Reyes-Gorkon-Arkenite adventure soon enough.
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