STAR TREK - DEEP SPACE NINE - MISSION GAMMA - THIS GRAY SPIRIT

POCKET BOOKS

Written by Heather Jarman

Copyright 2002 by Paramount Pictures. All rights reserved.



In This Gray Spirit by Heather Jarman, Cardassian ambassador Natima Lang arrives at the Bajoran space station Deep Space Nine for a hopeful diplomatic mission between the enstranged planets Cardassia and Bajor. While continuing it's exploration mission in the Gamma Quadrant, the starship Defiant has been damaged and is getting repaired by an unusual species - whose biological differences have created a civil war.

It was interesting to see the juxtaposition of the genocidal civil war of the Yrythny, as well as the aftermath of the Cardassian occupation of the world of Bajor. Colonel Kira struggles with trying to help the Cardassian people who had occupied her planet. Having Shar's bond mates pining away for Shar, who is of course stationed on Deep Space Nine as a StarFleet officer, to come back home to them was rather annoying to me. Perhaps I do not really understand Andorian bonding, but I would be able to understand the bonding more if the bonding was more of a physical medical necessity, like the Vulcan Pon-Far, instead of the Andorian bonding being a racial necessity. While I understand Shar wanting to be independent, his not wanting to confront his bond mates - which is basically his family - was both immature and disconcerting to me, with tragic consequences. Shar's developing a relationship with a Yrythny girl in order to search for a cure for both of their peoples was almost infidelity to his family.

Pancho
All people smile in the same language.

STAR TREK - TALES FROM THE CAPTAIN'S TABLE

POCKET BOOKS

Edited by Keith R.A. DeCandido

Copyright 2005 by Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

STAR TREK - TALES FROM THE CAPTAIN'S TABLE, edited by Keith R.A. DeCandido, is an anthology of stories that are based on the idea of The Captain's Table, which is a multi-dimensional space bar that allows Captain's from various times and planets to come in to gather and have a friendly drink - which is paid for by telling a story.

With the bartender Cap as the only recurring character at home in The Captain's Table, he provides a sense of continuity between all the stories of the anthology as Cap welcomes back all of these captains into his bar. The anthology contains nine stories from nine different captains from all the various series. The stories are of Captains Jean-Luc Picard of the U.S.S. Stargazer told by Michael Jan Friedman, Elizabeth Shelby of the U.S.S Trident told by Peter David, Klag of the I.K.S Gorkon told by Keith R.A. DeCandido, Kira Nerys of Deep Space 9 told by Heather Jarman, Jonathan Archer of the Starship Enterprise told by Louisa M. Swann, Demora Sulu of the U.S.S Enterprise B told by David R. George III, Chakotay of the U.S.S. Voyager told by Christie Golden, and David Gold of the U.S.S. da Vinci told by John J. Ordover. These stories are written by some of Star Trek's best writers. These stories range from serious to comedic, adventure and romance, triumph and tragedy, duty and honor and are mostly told in first person which is befitting for a story told in a bar.

Due to the deminsionality of The Captain's Table and the telling of the tales, Demora Sulu appears at various ages of her life in this anthology. I mostly think of Demora Sulu as a young impetuous Starfleet officer as portrayed in The Captain's Daughter, instead of the older mature woman Captain of the Enterprise despite being in other stories besides The Captain's Daughter.

Pancho
All people smile in the same language.