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startrek-readerslog · 5 months

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Starfleet Year One by Michael Jan Friedman

It is becoming clear to me that the optimum length for a Star Trek novel is around 300 pages. Long enough to tell a story, and short enough to not be cumbersome. This one was interesting, not belonging to any particular Star Trek Series, but instead being unrelated to any on screen character. Let's get into it!

The Author

I wanted to look a little bit into this author because this is his debut on this blog! It appears it won't be his last as he has written a massive number of tie in novels for Trek (around 30 or so). He has also written for a variety of different properties including X-Men, Lara Croft, and Alien. He also co-wrote a Voyager episode ("Resistance" which I remember enjoying quite greatly). His website doesn't contain any really personal details about him that I could find.

The Summary

Okay first we have to get something kind of confusing clear. This book was written and published at least 4 years before Enterprise was airing. The note at the beginning says that this originally was published serially and then expanded and compiled into this novel, so that means that it doesn't line up with the plots of the other books I have read so far. It takes place at the end of the Romulan War (which we just saw in The Romulan War: To Brave the Storm). The final battle takes place at Cheron. This is where we were for tRW:tBtS, so that got me wondering if that was a nod to this book made by Martin or what. Some digging on the Memory Alpha says it was mentioned in ENT as the end of the war, so the only logical conclusion is that the thought originated here and was put into the show and then in tRW:tBtS! Which is so cool and fun. Back to the main point, I am going to consider this a like companion piece to what may have been happening while Archer was doing his own thing. The names of all the Federation representatives are different but oh well! I can hold two truths in my head.

Okay real summary time. On Earthbase 14 we meet Shumar, the current head honcho, his security officer Kelly, Corabyn who is a Rigelian running cargo, and Dane who is a Cochrane pilot running protections for him. They fight of a little Romulan attack. Shortly afterward Six Earth Defense captains go to Cheron in order to put on a final offensive against the Romulans. One doesn't make it but the rest of them get the job done. Some of them are then all tapped to be the beginning of Starfleet after the Federation is created.

It is very clear the fledgling Starfleet needs some soul searching and parameter setting on what it's mission is. They tap three military personas (Matsura, Stiles, and Hagedorn) and three civilian perspectives (Dane, Shumar, and Corabyn) to be Starfleet's first captains. The next generation of ships is being built with the USS Daedalus the first to be ready, and only one of them is going to be in the captain's chair. Whoever gets picked truly sets the tone for the rest of Starfleet, military or science, that's the question.

The captains get their crews together (that need to have an alien quota). They are given current Chrisopher class ships to start getting Starfleet's name out there in the federation. They make decisions more or less along party lines while they are out there, but some of the science minded folk get military experience. The military captains disregard their crew's want to explore and discover. Lot's of tension all around. The captain's run into each other a few times and express (civilly) their different opinions. Corabyn tries to seduce Kelly (for the second time, he tried at the very beginning of the book too).

They are called to the Orieas system as there are human colonies there that recently experienced an attack. The military folk go in there guns blazing looking for the attackers and trying to destroy them. The Starfleet vessels appear to be outmatched by the unknown attackers. Matsura and Shumar figure out the these are the descendants of ancient inhabitants to these world that are upset the colonists disturbed some burials. They find a peaceful solution, and then Matsura is named captain of the Daedalus, but it is clear that they are a team now, bringing different backgrounds to a common goal. Starfleet will have fire power, but pursue peace and science as primary missions.

My Thoughts

I thought this one was great! Characters well defined even though none of them are on screen friends. I was concerned that it was going to feel like these characters were forgettable, but they were each distinct enough that they were memorable. My favorite of the captain's was Corabyn. At some point it is told to him that he only got the job because he was an alien who tolerated and wanted to work with humans. He understood that was the logic behind his placement, but was excited about the opportunity because of his optimism and curiosity. His flirtations with Kelly were also very fun and good.

The conflict was very clear from the beginning, brains vs brawn. There were big power players in the higher ups that each had their reasons for wanting one or the other. I was excited to see how Friedman got us to the Star Trek I know and love. One of exploration and peace seeking. I like thinking of how you go from a military to an organization like this because that is a pivot that we will have to make as a society.

In terms of writing style I enjoyed Friedman's blunt prose as opposed to Martin's more flowery prose. I am excited to see what he does in more established Trek.

I give Starfleet Year One 8/10! Next up is back into Enterprise with Rise of the Federation: A Choice of Futures by Christopher L. Bennett.

#star trek novels #star trek #romulan war

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bobjackets · 11 months

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#Scotty #romulan war #star trek

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favvn · 2 months

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I'm still in the process of caramelizing this thought (under 12 hours in the ol' brain) so like it might be undercooked as the metaphor goes, but when Kirk caught the virus in The Naked Time, he went into his rant about love vs duty and how the ship takes both his life and his love from him due to that overbearing sense of duty he lives by. (Which still drives me nuts to think about! Spock burdens himself by trying to be 100% Vulcan to the expense of his humanity (that he still can't completely suppress!), and Kirk bludgeons himself through duty, keeping his personal feelings/desires/love tampered and locked down as a result! The willful repression of it all!! I am so so so not normal about characters struggling with repression!)

But later by The Balance of Terror, Kirk starts breaking down at the stress of keeping his entire crew alive while close to the Neutral Zone between Earth's Asteroid Outposts and the Romulan Empire. Any action taken in this area could signal death if not a renewed war between Earth and Romulus, making the Enterprise's moves that much larger than just one individual ship, and making Kirk's actions hold more weight than just the lives of the Enterprise.

And I realize a lot of this comes from the original pilot and the characterization of Captain Pike as he also expressed the same fears and the same desires to walk away from these duties entirely. It's no secret that character elements were reused for the second pilot and series proper (the "I will kill myself and everyone else to avoid anyone getting trapped, especially the Captain" attitude of Number One is definitely something given to Spock for the rest of the series. Call it duty or devotion or love (or all 3 at the same time), it's all there in both characters).

Only for Kirk to find his mirror in the Romulan Commander!

Now fine, maybe the Romulan Commander says "creatures of duty" to refer to the Romulans in general, and I'm just making a mountain out of a few phrases (as per usual). It makes sense: they're an offshoot of Vulcans, and it would follow that both species are bound to a strong sense of duty no matter the cost. But! If that was the case, why have the Commander tell Kirk they are alike before this line? Or spend the episode highlighting their similar tactics and planning? Or include the line, "In a different reality, I could've called you 'friend.'" (Which. If the designation of "friend" is a huge deal to Vulcans when it comes to species outside of their kind..... Is James Kirk the equivalent of catnip for Vulcans and Romulans alike? Half joke, half asking in earnest here / the reality is that Kirk probably does attract their respect and more because he is so terrifyingly duty-bound in such a way that sets him apart from other humans.)

Like. I don't know if I'm necessarily correct in thinking it (because I know Spock is used to show humanity from the outsider's perspective/make the viewer ask what makes one human), but sometimes Kirk seems more Vulcan than Spock as Spock seems more human than Kirk, which maybe works after all. If one can find the humanity in an alien, why not also see the alien in humanity?

#trekposting #star trek tos #captain kirk #hi hello i am so normal i am so so so normal (my brain worms are getting worse)#anyways my point is always this: spock & kirk are 2 sides of the same damn coin. perfect foils.#still steeping my silly brain in spirk #even tho god this ep.... having the romulan commander wishing to die to avoid war!! screaming and chewing dry wall this aired in 1966!!!#trek meta

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vreenak · 11 months

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STAR TREK: Deep Space Nine️ ️

↳ Senator Vreenak 🥃💾😈 [2/?]

#vreenak #deep space 9 #star wars #treksource #romulans #star trek: ds9 #in the pale moonlight #ds9 #trekdaily #benjamin sisko #captain sisko #my edits #*myvreenak #le sigh

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unknownfaceless-ds9 · 11 months

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I just realised that on Memory Alpha is a site about the undeveloped ideas for a season 5 for Star Trek: Enterprise and now I'm even more mad, that it never happened. I mean:

Shran. They wanted to put Shran as an advisor permanently on the show. Not only would it finally have been justice for Jeffrey Combs but we would have finally gotten more information about Andorians or Andor which is always nice.

More mirror universe. I mean, come on guys, you can't tell me you wouldn't have loved more of Empress Hoshi Sato!!

T'Pol's father was supposed to make an appearance. And rumor has it that he was supposed to be an undercover romulan spy?! I mean, think of that what you want but it would've been nice to find out new things about her.

Borg Queen Origin Story. Need I say more?

Apparently the producer Manny Coton wanted the Enterprise to visit Denobula! Maybe it's because I love Phlox and think Denobulans are very interesting but I am so mad that they never showed us the planet. Maybe they did it in one of the newer shows I don't know, but Enterprise had a Denobulan as a Character in the main crew. Come on! (Also, it would have maye answered my questions in this post)

The Romulan War. The Romulans were supposed to become the main antagonists in the comming fifth season and the romulan warwould have FINALLY be addressed and shown but NO. They had to cancel the show!!!!

I am so mad right now. I am aware that maybe Enterprise wasn't the best show of Star Trek but it was by far not the worst and deserves more love and attention. No, I will not take criticism on that.

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idol--hands · 8 months

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Crusher: “It is not a good day to die.” [ST#11, pt. 2]

IDOL⭐️HANDS: Not only were these scenes dynamic as hell, but that was a bold take on some disappointing story writing, in the past, regarding Tasha Yar’s character from the Star Trek: TNG universe.

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raisethestake · 8 months

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Could Tech win a pub quiz without his gear?

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thats-a-real-mood · 1 month

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Was anyone gonna tell me that we could have had a Vulcan Empire in star trek had things gone differently in the tos universe or was it just supposed to figure that out myself??

#vulcan empire #romulan star empire #star trek #star trek the original series #s'chn t'gai spock #spock #we COULDVE HAD VULCAN EMPIRES???#tHE IMPLICATIONS OF SPACE TRAVEL WHILE WE STILL WAR LIKE

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spockvarietyhour · 2 years

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Romulan Diversion, Pursuit of a Dream fanfilm

#Star Trek #Pursuit of a Dream #fanfilm #Dominion War #Romulan Warbird #Dominion #Romulan Star Empire #Romulans #Jem'Hadar #Jem'Hadar Fighter #D'Deridex Class #starship #startrekedit #GIF #my gifs #fanfilmedit #Hide and Queue

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firelord-frowny · 4 months

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my sexuality is Garak's deranged and tortured monologue in the episode "The Wire" in Deep Space 9 where he tells the story of being exiled from Cardassia for releasing Bajoran hostages <3 <3 <3

#like it legit turns me on lmfaoooo i hate me!#the way he spits the line “they were filthy and they stank” MMMMMMMMMM #his uncontrollable cackle when he says all he wanted was a good meal #the utter contempt in his eyes when he tells dr julian bashir 'i hate this place and i. hate. you.'#fuck me UP garak!!! fuck me UP with your psychopathic brand of ptsd and guilt!#evil characters who hate themselves for their urge to Do The Right Thing is one of my fav character tropes #its like #the shocking polar opposite of a Good Character who does something monstrous out of desperation and cant live with themselves for it #like Sisko when he recruited garak to do his dirty work!#knowing full well in the back of his mind that Garak would have no issue stooping to the level necessary to manipulate the Romulans #into going to war with the Dominion #but then being wracked with guilt when garak actually does the deed #mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

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alphamecha-mkii · 1 year

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Star Trek: The Romulan War: To Brave the Storm Cover Art by Doug Drexler

#Star Trek #Star Trek: The Romulan War #Star Trek Novelverse #To Brave the Storm #Covers #Cover Art #DY-100 Class #NX Class #Starfleet #Earth Starfleet #Romulan #Bird of Prey #Daedalus Class #Sci-Fi #Mecha #Spaceship #Doug Drexler

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ilovefredjones · 10 months

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jim and la’an are suchhhhh a crazy combination bc like. they both underwent such massive trauma at a young age. la’an processed that by becoming very frigid and isolationist; jim in turn became amicable and charismatic. their trauma both drove them to join starfleet, after being saved by it, and the need to protect people after they couldn’t as kids. neither of them open up. neither of them trust easily. they’re both sharp and vigilant and aren’t afraid to get violent. they’re both so lonely. they’re both haunted by their pasts. their love is bittersweet; something they knew could never last.