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Takes place in: 2380, Stardates 57465.6 - 57503.1, about six months after the events of Star Trek
Nemesis
Ambassador Spock had been on an unofficial mission on Romulus to bring about the reunification of the Vulcan and the Romulan people. In the political turmoil following Shinzon's seizure of power and his subsequent defeat, conditions has allowed for Spock to give a speech of peace and reconciliation at a peace rally on Romulus. However, Spock was apparently killed when a bomb detonated at the rally.
Meanwhile, Admiral Janeway visits Captain Picard on Risa and gives him new orders to accompany Kirk on his mission to Romulus, with his crew posing as civilians. Picard narrowly escapes assassination himself, when the EMH (Emergency Medical Hologram) foils an attack on Picard by a Romulan. Starfleet provides Kirk with the SS Calypso, a Q-ship which appears to be a normal commercial vessel, but is actually equipped with formidable shields, weaponry and engines. Hence, the Calypso, with Kirk, McCoy, Scotty, Joseph, Picard, La Forge, and Dr. Crusher on board, sets off for Romulus.
On Romulus, Spock is recovering from his injuries from the blast. He had staged his own death in the hopes of appealing to the emotionalism of the Romulans, and drawing attention to the cause of reunification of the Vuclan and Romulan people. However, the reaction from the Romulan authorities has been low-key, which leads Spock to suspect that there is an unidentified party already engaged in covert efforts to change the existing political structure on Romulus. Spock is then kidnapped, apparently by Remans, and later Spock finds out that he was kidnapped by an individual known as Norinda, whom he had encountered before.
The Calypso crosses the neutral zone and encounters three warbirds, which demand to speak to Kirk. Kirk replies, but the warbirds clarifies and demand to speak to Joseph Kirk. A Reman appears on screen and welcomes Kirk's son as one of their own. Calypso arrives at Remus, and Kirk beams down to meet with the Remans, who explain that Teilani is part of their family, and Teilani's parents were sent to Chal for experimentation. The Remans were treated as slaves by the Romulans to work in the mines on Remus. The Remans regard Joseph Kirk as their saviour who has returned to liberate them from the Romulans. Kirk has no intention to send his son to Remus, since the Remans would probably not allow his son to leave.
Meanwhile, Picard, La Forge, Dr. Crusher, and the EMH (who was secretly taken onboard), discuss the possibility that Kirk's refusal to hand his son over to the Remans could lead to civil war between Romulus and Remus, which may ultimately involve the other major powers such as the Klingons and the Federation. Also, this incident has delayed their mission to investigate into Spock's assassination on Romulus.
The Calypso is then attacked by unknown forces, and Joseph is apparently transported away. The rest of the crew were transported down to Remus to receive medical attention. Kirk and McCoy escape from detention and commandeer a shuttle which takes them back to the Calypso. Picard and La Forge initially attacked the Reman doctor who was treating them, but the doctor brings them to the leader, Norinda. Norinda had founded the Jolan Movement among the Remans. Norinda says that it was the Tal Shiar who had attacked the Calypso, and they are planning to start a civil war between Romulus and Remus by bombing targets on Remus.
Picard, La Forge and Norinda arrive onboard the Calypso, where Kirk meets Norinda again. He had encountered her previously and knows that she is an alien shapeshifter who has an instinct to entice other beings with love and attention. Norinda asks for Joseph, and Joseph suddenly arrives, having been saved by the EMH during the attack. Norinda asks to bring Joseph to Remus, and Kirk, after a realization, agrees to let Joseph go with Norinda. Kirk realized that it was actually the EMH who had gone to Remus. The real Joseph then comes out of hiding. Picard locates Dr. Crusher and Scotty, and the Remans break through the EMH's deception.
The USS Titan is at Latium IV on a diplomatic mission when Admiral Janeway contacts Riker and informs him that because of Joseph's connection with the Remans, Picard's mission had failed, and Romulus and Remus were heading for a civil war. The Tal Shiar was suspected of assassinating Spock, and Kirk was to identify Spock's murderers. Picard would then offer them Federation support to rebuild the empire, in doing so hopefully buy time for the Federation to test new defenses and gather intelligence on the Romulans.
Riker and Worf arrive at the Calypso to offer assistance. Norinda demands Joseph in exchange for Picard, Dr. Crusher and Scotty. Kirk and Joseph beams down to Remus, while the other three return to the Calypso. Norinda then refuses to provide contacts within the Tal Shiar to Picard. Norinda tries to entice Joseph with love and attention, but Kirk prevents her. Norinda then offers Kirk a gift and transports Spock into the chamber. Spock explains that he had staged his own death, and the Tal Shiar were not involved. It was the Jolan Movement which tried to start the civil war. The three fight with Norinda, and Spock is attacked by Norinda when Kirk and Joseph were beaming back to the Calypso. Kirk returns to the chamber, but Spock is nowhere to be found.
USS Titan arrives at Remus, locates the bombs and beams them into space before they exploded, therefore averting the civil war. Starfleet offers the Calypso to Kirk, with the understanding that since the Calypso is a Q-ship, Starfleet would expect Kirk to carry out covert missions from time to time.
Meanwhile, a meeting takes place on Starbase 499 regarding a signal received from the USS Monitor, which was mapping a transwarp tunnel between the Andromeda Galaxy and the Milky Way when she was lost. The Monitor reports that an unknown distortion attacked the ship, and the ship was apparently destroyed. At the meeting, a being similar to Norinda entices everyone with love and acceptance...
. The Remans are the Romulans who had settled on Remus when the Romulan people first arrived in the Romulus system following their split from Vulcan 2,000 years ago. The Romulans treated the Remans as slaves to work in the Reman mines. The Remans were later joined by Romulans who were exiled for their crimes on Romulus. Any species, including exiled Romulans, who were consigned to Remus were regarded as Reman, which was why Shinzon, a human clone, was regarded as Reman by the Reman people.
. Kirk had encountered Norinda previously, during his original five-year-mission on the USS Enterprise NCC-1701. Starfleet had tracked an alien vessel moving at an inconceivable warp velocity, apparently on an extragalactic trajectory. The Enterprise located the ship in the Mandylion Rift, where Norinda explained that her people, the Rel, were refugees escaping from a threat called the Totality, which was making the Andromeda Galaxy inhospitable for life. Other alien races had also tracked Norinda's ship and arrived. Norinda then organized a competition among the alien races, offering herself, her ship and its secrets to whichever race who could best develop defenses against the Totality. In the end, Norinda and her ship disappeared. A few years later, Starfleet determined that the Romulans were present at the Mandylion Rift, and Norinda had offered the ship to them, which explains why Norinda and her ship disappeared.
. Norinda had given her ship to the Romulans, but she could not explain the Totality technology to the Romulan engineers. Norinda began to teach love and peace among the Romulans, she brought together several peace movements on Romulus, marking the start of the Jolan Movement. This lead the Romulan authorities to banish Norinda and her followers to Remus.
. In Reman society, the names of Remans is the same as the individual's function. "Shinzon" means liberator, while Viceroy was seen in Star Trek Nemesis. Among the Remans mentioned in the book include Facilitator, and Doctor.
. In the aftermath of Shinzon's coup, virtually the entire Romulan military diplomatic team that Riker had opened talks with six months ago had been replaced, and Commander Donatra has simply disappeared.
. The USS Monitor is the same starship mentioned in The Return. It is a Defiant-class starship, commanded by Captain John Lewinski.
. The USS Monitor was said to have been lost on stardate 52027.4 (in 2375). Starfleet believes that the crew of the Monitor might have taken three years to perfect the transwarp technology on the ship before they sent the signal in 2378, which explains why the signal from the Monitor took about two years to reach Starfleet in 2380.
. The opening stardate 57465.6 could be a reference to the registry number of USS Voyager NCC-74656.
. Kirk's son's full name is Joseph Samuel T'Kol T'Lan Kirk.
, McCoy has fully retired from Starfleet Medical.
. Worf lived in the estate on Qo'noS belonging to the House of Martok.
. The Enterprise-E is undergoing a refit.
The Ashes of Eden
The Return
Avenger
Spectre
Dark Victory
Preserver
Captain's Peril
Captain's Blood
Captain's Glory
Ex Machina
The Fearful Summons
The Last Roundup
War Dragons
The Captain's Daughter
The Sundered
Dark Mirror
Crossover
Ship of the Line
Dark Passions, Book 1
Dark Passions, Book 2
Vulcan's Soul, Book 1 - Exodus