Star Trek Explorer - The Mission and Other Stories

Fourteen short stories, each first printed in Star Trek Explorer magazine, are gathered into one illustrated volume. The authors include Una McCormack, Gary Russell, Michael Carroll and John Peel, along with Chris Dows, Chris Cooper and Greg Cox.

The cast draws on several Star Trek crews. Will Riker, Benjamin Sisko, Jonathan Archer and Kate Pulaski all appear, and the Borg turn up as an enemy. In one story Archer is joined by his dog, Porthos. In another, the crew of the Enterprise lose all memory of William Riker.

The situations vary widely. Guinan is invaded by a sinister force, and Doctor Katherine Pulaski experiences life as an android. A family is torn apart when the Borg strike. Greg Cox also returns to the noir world of Dixon Hill. One story is a prelude to the classic episode What Are Little Girls Made Of.

Deep Space 9 supplies several more. Espionage runs rife aboard the station in The Mission, by James Swallow. Kira Nerys and Garak discuss their opposing ideologies, Julian Bashir takes on an adventure that shapes his career, and Garak closes in on a target. Another tale sends Miles O'Brien and Bashir off for some rest and recreation with a difference.

A first contact mission goes wrong in one story, and in the last, some unusual visitors liven up the dull 1950s town of Patterson Creek. As a collection of short pieces, it suits dipping in and out.