Vendetta

Real world article

(written from a production point of view)

The USS Enterprise's most deadly foe returns!

Vendetta is a Pocket TNG novel – the second "Giant" novel – written by Peter David. Published by Pocket Books, it was first released in May 1991.

Summary[]

From the book jacket: The Borg – half organic being and half machine, they are the most feared race in the known galaxy. In their relentless quest for technological perfection, they have destroyed entire star systems, enslaved countless peoples, and, in a single brutal attack, decimated Starfleet's mightiest vessels. Only a final desperate gambit by Captain Picard and the USS Enterprise crew stopped the Borg from conquering the entire Federation. And now they have returned.

Answering a distress call from a planet under attack by the Borg, the USS Enterprise crew meets Delcara, the lone survivor of an alien race the Borg obliterated. Blinded by hatred, Delcara seeks the ultimate revenge – the complete destruction of her race's executioners. But the USS Enterprise crew learns that Delcara's vengeance carries a terrible price, for once unleashed, the destructive force she commands will annihilate not only the Borg, but countess innocents as well…

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Background information[]

The novel carries a disclaimer that "The plot and background details of Vendetta are solely the author's interpretation of the universe of Star Trek, and vary in some respects from the universe as created by Gene Roddenberry.". This stemmed from a dispute between author David and Richard Arnold, who wanted the character of Reannon Bonaventure removed, because it was the position of Arnold and the studio (at the time) that female Borg did not exist. David refused to write out the character, and the disclaimer was the compromise. (Voyages of Imagination, p. 207)
The novel takes place some time between "Data's Day" (Data knows how to tap dance and O'Brien is married) and "I, Borg" (it is Picard's first encounter with a drone since his assimilation).
Troi references the period in which she lost her empathic powers depicted in "The Loss".
The novel contains several anti-Borg weapons which were based on actual events from TNG. The deflector pulse weapon the USS Repulse uses on a Borg cube is a carbon copy of the attack the Enterprise tried in "The Best of Both Worlds". The "warp bubble" weapon is a replication of the effect that trapped Dr. Crusher in "Remember Me".
When discussing the implausibility of Picard's connection to Delcara, Troi mentions her own experience of Wyatt Miller's knowledge of the plague ship that he would 'join' before her wedding ("Haven"), Picard admitting that he privately wondered if the whole scenario was an elaborate deception on Wyatt's part but keeping his thoughts on the matter private as everyone involved seemed to be doing what they wanted.
The events of this book are directly referenced in the later Before Dishonor, which refers both to the planet killer's anti-Borg nature and the erroneous concept of genderless Borg. Peter David wrote both novels.

Characters[]

Katherine Pulaski

Doctor. Currently CMO of the Repulse

Argyle

Engineer

Argyle, who previously appeared in Pocket TNG: Metamorphosis, appears next in comic books of the DC TNG volume 2 series.

Selar

Miles O'Brien

Elizabeth Shelby

First officer on the Chekov.

Delcara

Morgan Korsmo

Captain of the Chekov, Academy classmate of Picard.

Hobson

navigator on the Chekov.

Peel

tactical officer on the Chekov.

Talbot

Professor for Starfleet history at Starfleet Academy.

Leah Sapp

Starfleet Academy cadet, classmate of Picard.

Reannon Bonaventure

Chafin

Ensign

Named after the author's friend, T.A. Chafin.

Boyajian
Loskene: Tholian commander; Loskene is personally annoyed by another Enterprise violating their space and also asks if Spock is on the ship.
Meyer
Dantar 8
Dantar 9
Lojene
Turane: Ferengi DaiMon, assimilated by the Borg, renamed Vastator to serve a liaison function similar to Locutus. A vestige of his Ferengi individuality remained; he would hail ships about to be attacked with the line, "Let us deal."

References[]

antimatter spread

The Enterprise reuses this technique as a weapon to inflict damage to a Borg cube, not just as a distracting maneuver.

USS Chekov

Excelsior-class starship of Captain Morgan Korsmo.

USS Curie

Rescue ship of Commodore (Dr.) Terman.

Gomtuu

When encountering the planet killer, Troi and Picard contrast its emotional drive with the "Tin Man".

Gorn

Phantom Cruiser

Ship where Captain Reannon Bonaventure assimilated by Borg

The story of the Phantom Cruiser and Capt. Bonaventure are superficially very similar to the later character Seven of Nine and the USS Raven.

planet killer

a weapon of last resort designed to combat the Borg; destroying dead planets left in the Borg's wake and then using its anti-proton beam to destroy encountered Borg cubes. Picard surmises that the civilization that constructed it launched a prototype, destined for Borg space but which was destroyed by the Enterprise en route, but the final version was never launched. Delcara locates and takes control of this final weapon, launching it as part of her vendetta.

Preservers

Picard speculates that the race may have been the civilization responsible for creating the planet killer.

USS Repulse (NCC-2544)