Federation (novel)
Encyclopedia
Federation a science fiction novel, written by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens
, is a tie-together chronicle that brings the original Enterprise
adventures of James T. Kirk
close to an encounter with the Enterprise-D
adventures of Jean-Luc Picard
.
has just completed the first warp speed voyage, a solo journey to Alpha Centauri
and back. His is the first successful manned flight beyond the Sol system. His benefactor and backer, Micah Brack, exploits the warp drive to help humanity burst into the stars and safeguard the future of the race, which he foresees disaster for because of the "Optimum Movement", perfectionists who are trying to perfect Khan Noonien Singh
's failed attempt to unify and improve humanity.
A second arc covers James Kirk and his crew, just after the successful conference on admitting Coridan into the Federation. Kirk is hauled onto the carpet by a Starfleet
admiral demanding that he explain a subspace message showing "dead" Commissioner Nancy Hedford. Kirk discovers that Cochrane was kidnapped from his and Nancy's home at Gamma Canaris.
A third arc covers Jean-Luc Picard and his crew, just after dropping off Sarek
of Vulcan to another ship for his voyage home from the Legaran home world. A Ferengi
ship leads them to a Romulan
ship, whose commander is giving Picard what appears to be a section of a Borg
ship, but with a Preserver
artifact incorporated into it.
The Cochrane arc jumps ahead 17 years, from 2061 to 2078, just before a devastating war on Earth and long after Micah Brack's mysterious disappearance. Cochrane risked visiting his home planet, and narrowly escaped the forces of the Optimum Movement whose leader, Adrik Thorsen, wants Cochrane's knowledge about warp fields to create a bomb. The Cochrane arc then jumps further to 2111, when he must flee Alpha Centauri, and begins his voyage into the future when the Companion finds him and takes him to a sanctuary, her home.
Kirk and the Enterprise find the hijacked passenger ship that has Cochrane aboard, and cleverly rescue all aboard. However, they are in a battle with Klingon
warships under the command of the robotic remnants of Thorsen, and the Enterprise is damaged. Cochrane and the Companion board a shuttlecraft that will take "shelter" inside the event horizon of a black hole
, on a course calculated to bring them out again using a short burst of warp drive. However, one Klingon ship follows the shuttlecraft, and Kirk takes the Enterprise in, dispatching the Klingon ship with one torpedo. They cannot, however, now escape and the shuttlecraft is also doomed.
Picard's crew study the Preserver artifact, and when Data
tries to interface with it, Thorsen's essence emerges from the artifact and takes over Data. Data takes the Enterprise into the black hole where Thorsen saw Cochrane enter it a century before. The two Enterprises, once Data's body is shut off, coordinate to take advantage of gravity waves to save both ships and tractor the shuttlecraft out. By necessity, to emerge in their own times, Kirk's Enterprise must yield the shuttlecraft's mass to Picard's, and so when Picard and the Enterprise-D emerge, they find the shuttlecraft holds Zefram Cochrane and Nancy Hedford/Companion. Both of them die, even as the ship arrives at Gamma Canaris to find the planetoid has long ago disintegrated.
Before the ships got too far apart, Picard sent a short signal identifying his ship by name. Kirk writes a letter on paper to the captain of that future Enterprise, to be released after certain events have occurred. Picard is given the letter not long after the Enterprise-D is lost on Veridian III.
One of the common ties is Christopher's Landing, the location on the moon Titan
where Sean Jeffrey Christopher made humanity's first landing on the moon of Saturn
. Cochrane returned there after his successful warp flight; Kirk writes his letter there and Picard is given that letter. Over the course of 300 years... 2061 to 2265 to 2366... the environment of Titan is progressively terraformed to one where Picard is able to stroll outdoors.
The events of the story were of course non-canonical, and conflict with what was established about Zefram Cochrane, his first warp flight, and first contact with the Vulcans, in the 1996 film Star Trek: First Contact
.
Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens
Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens are a prolific husband and wife writing team, known mainly for their involvement with the Star Trek franchise. They have written several books both within and outside of Star Trek, and acted as executive story editors and co-producers on the fourth season of the...
, is a tie-together chronicle that brings the original Enterprise
USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)
The USS Enterprise, NCC-1701, is a fictional starship in the Star Trek media franchise. The original Star Trek series depicts her crew's mission "to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no man has gone before" under the command of Captain James...
adventures of James T. Kirk
James T. Kirk
James Tiberius "Jim" Kirk is a character in the Star Trek media franchise. Kirk was first played by William Shatner as the principal lead character in the original Star Trek series. Shatner voiced Kirk in the animated Star Trek series and appeared in the first seven Star Trek movies...
close to an encounter with the Enterprise-D
USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D)
The USS Enterprise is a 24th century starship in the Star Trek fictional universe and the principal setting of the Star Trek: The Next Generation television series...
adventures of Jean-Luc Picard
Jean-Luc Picard
Captain Jean-Luc Picard is a Star Trek character portrayed by Patrick Stewart. He appears in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and the feature films Star Trek Generations, Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Insurrection, and Star Trek Nemesis...
.
Plot summary
The first half of the novel involves three parallel arcs. In one arc, Zefram CochraneZefram Cochrane
Zefram Cochrane is a fictional character in the Star Trek universe. Created by writer Gene L. Coon, the character first appeared in the 1967 Star Trek episode "Metamorphosis", in which he was played by Glenn Corbett. James Cromwell later played Cochrane in the 1996 feature film Star Trek: First...
has just completed the first warp speed voyage, a solo journey to Alpha Centauri
Alpha Centauri
Alpha Centauri is the brightest star in the southern constellation of Centaurus...
and back. His is the first successful manned flight beyond the Sol system. His benefactor and backer, Micah Brack, exploits the warp drive to help humanity burst into the stars and safeguard the future of the race, which he foresees disaster for because of the "Optimum Movement", perfectionists who are trying to perfect Khan Noonien Singh
Khan Noonien Singh
Khan Noonien Singh, commonly shortened to Khan, is a villain in the fictional Star Trek universe. According to backstory given in the character's first appearance, the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "Space Seed" , Khan is a genetically engineered superhuman tyrant who once controlled more...
's failed attempt to unify and improve humanity.
A second arc covers James Kirk and his crew, just after the successful conference on admitting Coridan into the Federation. Kirk is hauled onto the carpet by a Starfleet
Starfleet
In the fictional universe of Star Trek, Starfleet or the Federation Starfleet is the deep-space exploratory, peacekeeping and military service maintained by the United Federation of Planets . It is the principal means by which the Federation conducts its exploration, defense, diplomacy and research...
admiral demanding that he explain a subspace message showing "dead" Commissioner Nancy Hedford. Kirk discovers that Cochrane was kidnapped from his and Nancy's home at Gamma Canaris.
A third arc covers Jean-Luc Picard and his crew, just after dropping off Sarek
Sarek
Sarek is a fictional character in the Star Trek media franchise. He is a Vulcan astrophysicist, the Vulcan ambassador to the United Federation of Planets, and father of Spock...
of Vulcan to another ship for his voyage home from the Legaran home world. A Ferengi
Ferengi
The Ferengi are a fictitious extraterrestrial race from the Star Trek universe. They first appeared in "The Last Outpost", the fifth episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1987, during which they made first contact with the United Federation of Planets in 2364 on the planet Delphi Ardu,...
ship leads them to a Romulan
Romulan
The Romulans are a fictional alien race in the Star Trek universe. First appearing in the original Star Trek series in the 1966 episode "Balance of Terror", they have since made appearances in all the main later Star Trek series: The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager...
ship, whose commander is giving Picard what appears to be a section of a Borg
Borg (Star Trek)
The Borg are a fictional pseudo-race of cybernetic organisms depicted in the Star Trek universe associated with Star Trek.Whereas cybernetics are used by other races in the science fiction world to repair bodily damage and birth defects, the Borg use enforced cybernetic enhancement as a means of...
ship, but with a Preserver
Preserver (Star Trek)
Preserver is a novel by William Shatner, co-written with Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens, based upon the television series Star Trek. The novel was released in 2000 in hardcover format. This is the conclusion of a trilogy that began with Spectre and Dark Victory.-Synopsis:Kirk's Mirror Universe...
artifact incorporated into it.
The Cochrane arc jumps ahead 17 years, from 2061 to 2078, just before a devastating war on Earth and long after Micah Brack's mysterious disappearance. Cochrane risked visiting his home planet, and narrowly escaped the forces of the Optimum Movement whose leader, Adrik Thorsen, wants Cochrane's knowledge about warp fields to create a bomb. The Cochrane arc then jumps further to 2111, when he must flee Alpha Centauri, and begins his voyage into the future when the Companion finds him and takes him to a sanctuary, her home.
Kirk and the Enterprise find the hijacked passenger ship that has Cochrane aboard, and cleverly rescue all aboard. However, they are in a battle with Klingon
Klingon
Klingons are a fictional warrior race in the Star Trek universe.Klingons are recurring villains in the 1960s television show Star Trek: The Original Series, and have appeared in all five spin-off series and eight feature films...
warships under the command of the robotic remnants of Thorsen, and the Enterprise is damaged. Cochrane and the Companion board a shuttlecraft that will take "shelter" inside the event horizon of a black hole
Black hole
A black hole is a region of spacetime from which nothing, not even light, can escape. The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass will deform spacetime to form a black hole. Around a black hole there is a mathematically defined surface called an event horizon that...
, on a course calculated to bring them out again using a short burst of warp drive. However, one Klingon ship follows the shuttlecraft, and Kirk takes the Enterprise in, dispatching the Klingon ship with one torpedo. They cannot, however, now escape and the shuttlecraft is also doomed.
Picard's crew study the Preserver artifact, and when Data
Data (Star Trek)
Lieutenant Commander Data is a character in the fictional Star Trek universe portrayed by actor Brent Spiner. He appears in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and the feature films Star Trek Generations, Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Insurrection, and Star Trek...
tries to interface with it, Thorsen's essence emerges from the artifact and takes over Data. Data takes the Enterprise into the black hole where Thorsen saw Cochrane enter it a century before. The two Enterprises, once Data's body is shut off, coordinate to take advantage of gravity waves to save both ships and tractor the shuttlecraft out. By necessity, to emerge in their own times, Kirk's Enterprise must yield the shuttlecraft's mass to Picard's, and so when Picard and the Enterprise-D emerge, they find the shuttlecraft holds Zefram Cochrane and Nancy Hedford/Companion. Both of them die, even as the ship arrives at Gamma Canaris to find the planetoid has long ago disintegrated.
Before the ships got too far apart, Picard sent a short signal identifying his ship by name. Kirk writes a letter on paper to the captain of that future Enterprise, to be released after certain events have occurred. Picard is given the letter not long after the Enterprise-D is lost on Veridian III.
One of the common ties is Christopher's Landing, the location on the moon Titan
Titan (moon)
Titan , or Saturn VI, is the largest moon of Saturn, the only natural satellite known to have a dense atmosphere, and the only object other than Earth for which clear evidence of stable bodies of surface liquid has been found....
where Sean Jeffrey Christopher made humanity's first landing on the moon of Saturn
Saturn
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest planet in the Solar System, after Jupiter. Saturn is named after the Roman god Saturn, equated to the Greek Cronus , the Babylonian Ninurta and the Hindu Shani. Saturn's astronomical symbol represents the Roman god's sickle.Saturn,...
. Cochrane returned there after his successful warp flight; Kirk writes his letter there and Picard is given that letter. Over the course of 300 years... 2061 to 2265 to 2366... the environment of Titan is progressively terraformed to one where Picard is able to stroll outdoors.
The events of the story were of course non-canonical, and conflict with what was established about Zefram Cochrane, his first warp flight, and first contact with the Vulcans, in the 1996 film Star Trek: First Contact
Star Trek: First Contact
Star Trek: First Contact is the eighth feature film in the Star Trek science fiction franchise, released in November 1996, by Paramount Pictures. First Contact is the first film in the franchise to feature no cast members from the original Star Trek television series of the 1960s...
.