- This article is about the novel. For the character, see The Spectre.
Spectre is a Pocket TOS novel – the first novel in the retroactively-designated Mirror Universe trilogy – written by William Shatner, with Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens. Published by Pocket Books, it was first released in hardback in May 1998.
Summary[]
- From the book jacket
- Retired and happily in love, Kirk believes his adventuring days are over. But as he returns to Earth for the first time since his apparent "death" upon the Enterprise-B, events elsewhere in the galaxy set in motion a mystery that may provide Kirk with his greatest challenge yet.
- The Enterprise-E, under the command of Captain Jean-Luc Picard, is exploring an unstable region of space on a scientific mission of vital concern to Starfleet when they discover the last thing they ever expected to find: a lonely, battle-scarred vessel that is instantly recognizable to every member of Picard's crew. Five years after being lost with all hands in the Delta Quadrant, the Starship Voyager has come home!
- The commander of Voyager, one Tom Paris, explains that Captain Kathryn Janeway and half of the original crew is dead, but if that is true, who is the mysterious woman who has kidnapped Kirk back on Earth, pleading with him to assist her against a threat to the entire Federation?
- All is not as it seems, and soon Kirk is forced to confront the hideous consequences of actions taken more than a hundred years prior, as well as his own inner doubts. After years of quiet and isolation, does he still have what it takes to put things right – and join with Captain Picard to save the lives of everyone aboard a brand-new Enterprise?
- An unforgettable saga peopled by old friends and ancient enemies, Star Trek: Spectre propels Kirk on a journey of self-discovery every bit as harrowing as the cataclysmic new adventure that awaits him.
- Excerpts of copyrighted sources are included for review purposes only, without any intention of infringement.
Prologue[]
In Quark's, on Deep Space 9, two people, a Vulcan female named T'Val, and a Human female named Kate, use the distraction that Morn is causing when he wins a game of dabo in which he has lifted a dabo girl and is spinning her around. Quark comes over, demanding Morn put her down.
When T'Val sees the distraction, she hands Kate a PADD, which displays a picture of Captain (Retired) James T. Kirk. Kate feels and displays a strange hatred when she sees the picture of Kirk. T'Val, the Vulcan female, confirms it is indeed James T. Kirk. Kate hides her shock of seeing an image. T'Val Informs her that the image was made a year ago, during the Virogen crisis, when he was arrested by the Vulcan port authorities. T'Val goes on to explain that Kirk was last seen 82 years ago on the maiden voyage of the USS Enterprise-B when he disappeared into the Nexus. She then explains that four years ago, Starfleet Captain Jean-Luc Picard "rescued" him from the Nexus. There, though it was assumed by others that Kirk died, T'Val implied that when he was "revived" a year later by the Borg and the Romulans, it was simply "…a momentary interruption in normal biological process." T'Val finishes by explaining the classified mission to what Starfleet deemed the Borg homeworld, which appears to have lead to the events of Star Trek: First Contact. Afterward, Kirk disappeared, not even joining the other "retired" Starfleet officers who participated in the Dominion War. From there, Kate and T'Val begin to plot on how to acquire Kirk's help. T'Val mentions that Starfleet has offered him help at a moments notice, due to his "temporally translocated" status, which in turn, they then plan to exploit for their own use. This all happens while Kate inquires what will happen to Kirk when they are done with him.
Background information[]
- The audiobook version was adapted by George Truett.
- The novel is set shortly after the events of VOY: "Message in a Bottle".
- The Science Fiction Book Club released a special edition of the hardback in September 1998.
- An ISBN record for a paperback edition with a release date of 1 October 1998 exists, ISBN 0671020536; however, it is not known if the edition was actually released.
- An extract from this novel appeared in Star Trek Monthly issue 41.
Cover gallery[]
Characters[]
- James T. Kirk
- Kirk reluctantly reactivated his Starfleet commission at the rank of captain, by order of Alynna Nechayev.
- Jean-Luc Picard
- Intendant Spock
- Intendant Spock is the leader of the resistance movement.
- William T. Riker
- Kathryn Janeway (mirror)
- Counterpart of USS Voyager's Kathryn Janeway. In the mirror universe she is a rebel against the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance and an enemy of Emperor Tiberius.
- T'Val (mirror)
- Resistance fighter, the daughter of the mirror Spock.
- Spock
- Spock's Starfleet rank was also reinstated.
- McCoy
- Admiral of Starfleet Medical.
- Montgomery Scott
- Tom Paris (mirror)
- Commander Paris was the commander of the mirror universe Voyager.
- Tiberius (mirror)
- Former emperor.
- Sloane
- Lieutenant Commander Sloane was a descendant of Lily Sloane. He was chief of security, USS Enterprise-E until 2375.
- Gul Rutal
- Morgan Bateson
- Alynna Nechayev (mirror)
- Admiral in command of USS Sovereign.
References[]
- anti-tachyon
- Subatomic particle that is the counterpart of the tachyon.
- Goldin Discontinuity
- anomaly.
- Starbase 310
- Federation starbase.
- USS Sovereign
- USS Voyager (mirror)
- Duplicate of the USS Voyager built using stolen plans, much as the ISS Defiant was.
External links[]
- Spectre at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
- Spectre at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
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