Where Sea Meets Sky
An older novel, but it fits the continuity well enough, with only the most minor of adjustments necessary. It's a good story to boot. The tale Pike tells is a fun one, an interesting voyage that seems rather fresh in terms of Enterprise missions and yet satisfyingly familiar in its highly deliberate resemblance to a sailing adventure. I like the transition between Pike's narrative and the commentary, and it genuinely feels like a conversation is taking place in a good pub. (Sorry, but The Captain's Table is a pub, not a bar
). The dilemma is a good one, nicely complex, and the Titans are interesting; I find there's a lot to like here. Although if this book ever made it onto my humorous novel summary list, I don't know if I need say anything more than "Pike meets Nemo".
(I suppose it's also fun to get a sense of the 23rd Century from an Earth-bound era's perspective. Klingons and Vulcans and Saurians, oh my).
One point of interest is the description of Aronnia as a recent member of the Federation. Whether we should interpret this as full membership or some as yet undefined "associate" status, I'm not certain. The acceptance of Aronnia as a member, without any effort to investigate what's occurring out here (and no apparent desire to do so until Aronnia itself calls in Starfleet assistance), does have interesting implications for the way in which the Federation relates to prospective members in this era. As we'll soon see with cases such as Ardana, there are a number of worlds that seem to have been granted membership status, or affiliate status at least, with only cursory investigation, leading to political complications down the line when Federation representatives are dragged into local disputes that ideally should have come to attention during the initial admissions process. (This becomes particularly amusing when we'll see that later incidents such as the Huan/Falor affair will see the Federation itself admonish member worlds for doing precisely this - entering into the partnership without noting ongoing feuds and controversies that now become the Federation's responsibility. Planets by that point are expected to disclose such matters, and we can see why the Federation makes a big deal of that, given its own failing here). I imagine incidents such as this - and the upcoming revelation of what Ardana is up to - also fuel further the apparent trend we've seen onscreen to standardization and stiff oversight from Federal authorities; the taming of the Federation, and its transition from an ever-more sprawling alliance strung across the frontier (where the criteria for membership appear increasingly to be "have warp travel" and "ask") into a definite nation with a more intolerant and cautious approach to what its members are permitted to do, and who exactly can join. As ever, I'm building a sense of a civilization facing a general restructuring and a quiet crisis of identity, split largely between an ultra-liberal frontier and the sense that this should be reigned in, with an overall tighter and more definitive structure to the UFP. With some rather unreasonable positions on all sides.
The Titans, especially in being compared to whales, remind me naturally of those other genetically-engineered living ships, the Leviathans of Farscape (although those ones are sapient). Naturally, the question then becomes: what happens to these creatures, spanning multiple star systems as they do, in the coming centuries?
According to the acknowledgements, Phil Foglio drew the Titans during the panel in which these creatures were first conceived before later migrating to Trek. Elegant and finely crafted, I'm sure those sketches were. (Those who don't get the reference are lacking that certain Spark).
First Appearances of Things That Are Important:
The Captain's Table, which makes no sense and probably should break the setting in more ways than one, but which we allow because it's surprisingly effective.
Continuity
Rura Penthe, the Klingon version, which we may remember from Enterprise, is alluded to with Hompaq's reaction to Nemo mentioning the original.
Dabisch the Gallamite is again presented as a part of Pike's crew.
Class-K planets (described as marginally habitable, whatever that means) and Class-T planets (giant and gaseous) are mentioned, and these depictions fit well enough with the system introduced by the Star Charts, in which Mars is K-class and the T-class are gas "ultragiants". There's also mention of Class-U, absent from Star Charts, which here is an even rarer form of gaseous planet, essentially a variant on T.
The ongoing breakdown in Federation-Klingon relations is noted; they continue to deteriorate to a point where all-out war is considered likely. Although perhaps because Hompaq is from an era where relations have thawed, she also allows for a more intimate view of Klingon cultural norms and perspectives than we usually get in this era, at least in terms of what the Federation characters learn. I find her contributions particularly enjoyable.
Cap's comment that "Talos is no threat to anyone, but you could be, if you followed that line of thought" does acknowledge why realistically this place, The Captain's Table, makes no sense in-universe. We might have to assume that any and all concrete knowledge that isn't related to the place's existence or the personal catharsis achieved there disappears when one steps out of Faerie-land and back into their usual life. Or is at least strangely inaccessible. Cap is something like a Q, anything can be handwaved, which is both the problem and the solution.
To The Captain's Table, the cause of - and solution to - all of its own conceptual problems!
Thinking of Kirk's relatively recent misadventure, Pike casually asks if anyone has made it through the Galactic Barrier by Hompaq's time. She responds that it's happened a few times, but always at high cost. I read this as reference to Picard's Nuyyad experiences in the Stargazer stories, and possibly his later experience with 0, since Hompaq is from a point far enough along to know about Voyager being in the Delta Quadrant, so she must hail from a timeframe post-Pathfinder in her appearance tonight.
We have the obligatory notice that Number One and the computer sound suspiciously alike. As is almost always the case, we learn practically nothing about Number One and can easily assume that she is the immortal, Morgan Primus.
An older novel, but it fits the continuity well enough, with only the most minor of adjustments necessary. It's a good story to boot. The tale Pike tells is a fun one, an interesting voyage that seems rather fresh in terms of Enterprise missions and yet satisfyingly familiar in its highly deliberate resemblance to a sailing adventure. I like the transition between Pike's narrative and the commentary, and it genuinely feels like a conversation is taking place in a good pub. (Sorry, but The Captain's Table is a pub, not a bar
). The dilemma is a good one, nicely complex, and the Titans are interesting; I find there's a lot to like here. Although if this book ever made it onto my humorous novel summary list, I don't know if I need say anything more than "Pike meets Nemo".(I suppose it's also fun to get a sense of the 23rd Century from an Earth-bound era's perspective. Klingons and Vulcans and Saurians, oh my).
One point of interest is the description of Aronnia as a recent member of the Federation. Whether we should interpret this as full membership or some as yet undefined "associate" status, I'm not certain. The acceptance of Aronnia as a member, without any effort to investigate what's occurring out here (and no apparent desire to do so until Aronnia itself calls in Starfleet assistance), does have interesting implications for the way in which the Federation relates to prospective members in this era. As we'll soon see with cases such as Ardana, there are a number of worlds that seem to have been granted membership status, or affiliate status at least, with only cursory investigation, leading to political complications down the line when Federation representatives are dragged into local disputes that ideally should have come to attention during the initial admissions process. (This becomes particularly amusing when we'll see that later incidents such as the Huan/Falor affair will see the Federation itself admonish member worlds for doing precisely this - entering into the partnership without noting ongoing feuds and controversies that now become the Federation's responsibility. Planets by that point are expected to disclose such matters, and we can see why the Federation makes a big deal of that, given its own failing here). I imagine incidents such as this - and the upcoming revelation of what Ardana is up to - also fuel further the apparent trend we've seen onscreen to standardization and stiff oversight from Federal authorities; the taming of the Federation, and its transition from an ever-more sprawling alliance strung across the frontier (where the criteria for membership appear increasingly to be "have warp travel" and "ask") into a definite nation with a more intolerant and cautious approach to what its members are permitted to do, and who exactly can join. As ever, I'm building a sense of a civilization facing a general restructuring and a quiet crisis of identity, split largely between an ultra-liberal frontier and the sense that this should be reigned in, with an overall tighter and more definitive structure to the UFP. With some rather unreasonable positions on all sides.
The Titans, especially in being compared to whales, remind me naturally of those other genetically-engineered living ships, the Leviathans of Farscape (although those ones are sapient). Naturally, the question then becomes: what happens to these creatures, spanning multiple star systems as they do, in the coming centuries?
According to the acknowledgements, Phil Foglio drew the Titans during the panel in which these creatures were first conceived before later migrating to Trek. Elegant and finely crafted, I'm sure those sketches were. (Those who don't get the reference are lacking that certain Spark).
First Appearances of Things That Are Important:
The Captain's Table, which makes no sense and probably should break the setting in more ways than one, but which we allow because it's surprisingly effective.
Continuity
Rura Penthe, the Klingon version, which we may remember from Enterprise, is alluded to with Hompaq's reaction to Nemo mentioning the original.
Dabisch the Gallamite is again presented as a part of Pike's crew.
Class-K planets (described as marginally habitable, whatever that means) and Class-T planets (giant and gaseous) are mentioned, and these depictions fit well enough with the system introduced by the Star Charts, in which Mars is K-class and the T-class are gas "ultragiants". There's also mention of Class-U, absent from Star Charts, which here is an even rarer form of gaseous planet, essentially a variant on T.
The ongoing breakdown in Federation-Klingon relations is noted; they continue to deteriorate to a point where all-out war is considered likely. Although perhaps because Hompaq is from an era where relations have thawed, she also allows for a more intimate view of Klingon cultural norms and perspectives than we usually get in this era, at least in terms of what the Federation characters learn. I find her contributions particularly enjoyable.
Cap's comment that "Talos is no threat to anyone, but you could be, if you followed that line of thought" does acknowledge why realistically this place, The Captain's Table, makes no sense in-universe. We might have to assume that any and all concrete knowledge that isn't related to the place's existence or the personal catharsis achieved there disappears when one steps out of Faerie-land and back into their usual life. Or is at least strangely inaccessible. Cap is something like a Q, anything can be handwaved, which is both the problem and the solution.
To The Captain's Table, the cause of - and solution to - all of its own conceptual problems!
Thinking of Kirk's relatively recent misadventure, Pike casually asks if anyone has made it through the Galactic Barrier by Hompaq's time. She responds that it's happened a few times, but always at high cost. I read this as reference to Picard's Nuyyad experiences in the Stargazer stories, and possibly his later experience with 0, since Hompaq is from a point far enough along to know about Voyager being in the Delta Quadrant, so she must hail from a timeframe post-Pathfinder in her appearance tonight.
We have the obligatory notice that Number One and the computer sound suspiciously alike. As is almost always the case, we learn practically nothing about Number One and can easily assume that she is the immortal, Morgan Primus.
So The Captain's Table enforces a reality that won't permit a guest transferring too much in the way of information to another guest from downtime, to prevent contamination. But evidently some degree of information is picked up by visitors, some of it potentially sensitive, and the knowledge obtained when one is within The Captain's Table evidently endures upon leaving. (In Where Sea Meets Sky, Hompaq is reprimanded by Cap for the Talosian conversation and tries to justify her loose lips (and presumably her just skirting the letter of the local physical laws but infringing on the spirit, so to speak) by the fact that Pike is very soon to be "out of the equation" anyway). 
Difficult to argue against, that. 
