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The famous Enterprise Five: Kirk,
Spock, Sulu, Chekov and Uhura have all resigned from Starfleet.
McCoy was also released after punching an Admiral. Months before
on a mission to Talin IV, Kirk met the FCO (First Contact Office)
team that was observing the planet from the palnet’s moon.
Dr. Alonzo Richter is overseeing the FCO team due to the special
circumstances of the people of Talin IV. He created the Richter
Scale of Culture that the Federation uses to base the decision
of when they can make first contact with a culture. It seems
that the military buildup on the planet is unusual and doesn’t
fit in the Richter Scale. The world is on the brink of an all
out nuclear devastation. Just when it looks like a war is going
to start, the Browns and the Greens, the two main factions on
the planet, decide to disarm. Then, one of the warheads blows
up and the computers automatically launch ¼ of the warheads
on the planet. Kirk decides that this is an accident, therefore
the Prime Directive does not pertain, and is able with the help
of the bridge crew to disarm or destroy all of the missiles.
Shortly thereafter, all of the other missiles are launched. In
the middle of all of this, the Enterprise is attacked
and while falling into the atmosphere of the planet, Kirk order
warp speed. As the broken Enterprise hovers over the burning
planet, Kirk knows that he has broken the Prime Directive and
steps down from his post. That was months ago and now he is on
the way back to Talin IV to prove his innocence…if he can.
This is a Star Trek book based
on the characters in the original television series. This story
takes place at the end of the original five-year mission. The
story starts off with the entire crew disbanded, with only Scotty
still on the ship. All of the main characters know that they
have to get back to Talin IV. Sulu and Chekov team up together
and are abducted by Orion pirates. Bones and Uhura team up and
pretend to be the dread pirate Black Ire. Spock joins an earth-based
group that wants the Prime Directive done away with. While Kirk
works loading docks throughout the galaxy. The neat thing about
this book is that it gives the explanation of why the original
nacelles were replaced with the new Constitution-class warp nacelles,
which I presume are the ones that the Enterprise had in
the first movie.
It was nice to read a Star Trek
book that takes place during the original five-year mission.
So many of the books take place after the first movie. The characters
are all portrayed well and the story moves along at a nice pace.
The way the story is told is interesting, since the reader has
no idea why the crew is no longer with Starfleet. I liked this
book and enjoyed reading it. I never really got deeply involved,
but that doesn’t mean that I didn’t enjoy it. I did.
Like all books about Kirk and his crew, I always enjoy learning
more about them and their adventures. And like all of the other
Star Trek books, I am glad that I read this one.
I rated this book a 7½
out of 10. |
