Star Trek 5 (Novel)

Star Trek 5

Cover (Blish05)

Series	Star Trek
Published by	Bantam Books
Previous	Star Trek 4 (Blish04)
Next	Star Trek 6 (Blish06)
Written by	James Blish
Released	Feb 1972
Advertising	Amazon

FASA Timeline
(FASA Roleplaying Game)

More Thrilling Adventures from the Prize-Winning Television Series Created by Gene Roddenberry

The Enterprise blazes new star trails to danger as Kirk, Spock and the rest encounter

• an asylum planet where the mad rule
• a universe with a total population of one
• race warfare to the death—whiteblack against blackwhite
• paradise—with a most unusual serpent
• the ultimate in women's lib
• an almost eternal triangle
• a gang of galactic drop-outs

and other startling problems and perils.

The entire crew was deserting, hurrying down to the planet that had been declared deadly to human life.

Uhura had short-circuited all communications to Star Fleet Command. McCoy was getting blissfully drunk on mint juleps.

And Spock… Spock had fallen passionately in love!

Just one of the exciting stories included in this new collection, adapted from the award-winning TV series by James Blish, himself a Hugo Award winner and one of today's outstanding science fiction writers.

Whom Gods Destroy

Myriad Universes: "Whom Gods Destroy"

Prime Timeline  • FASA Timeline

Adapted from the episode Whom Gods Destroy.
Story by Lee Erwin and Jerry Sohl
Teleplay by Lee Erwin

Captain Kirk takes the Enterprise to Elba II, home of an asylum for the Federation's criminally insane. He has brought a new drug that, when used in conjunction with other treatments, can cure these individuals. Beaming down, Kirk and Spock are met by the colony's governor, Donald Cory — who turns out to be Garth of Izar, a brilliant, former starship captain. Now an inmate of Elba II, Garth used his mysterious shape-changing power to assume Cory's appearance. Imprisoning the real governor, Garth then freed his fellow inmates and took over the asylum.

Now he seeks to gain possession of the Enterprise. His attempts, involving impersonation and the wiles of the Orion inmate Marta, are unsuccessful. In a rage, Garth has Marta dragged into the poisonous atmosphere beyond the asylum's protective dome and killed with a powerful explosive he invented. Mr. Scott, left in command of the Enterprise, cannot penetrate the asylum's forcefield to aid Kirk. But Spock manages to escape his guards — only to discover that Garth has transformed into Kirk's double. The Vulcan correctly deduces which is the impostor, and after control of the asylum is restored to Cory, Garth is treated with the new drug and on his way to recovery.

Related Data

Astrometrics	Antos IV; Axanar; Earth; Elba II; Izar; Milky Way galaxy; Tau Ceti
Chronology	FASA Timeline: 2209
Culture	chess; Ich bete an die Macht der Liebe; music; poetry; Romans; Romeo and Juliet; Shakespeare
Education	doctor; doctorate; physician; psychiatrist; Star Fleet Academy; surgeon
Food	alcohol; carrots; wine
People	Alexander the Great; Andorian Inmate; Napoleon Bonaparte; Bortmansky; Zefram Cochrane; Donald Cory; Garth of Izar; Adolf Hitler; Genghis Khan; James T. Kirk; Krotus; Lee Kuan; Marta; Leonard McCoy; Montgomery Scott; William Shakespeare; Spock; Hikaru Sulu; Tellarite Inmate; Tlollu; Nyota Uhura; Wyatt
Politics	Battle of Axanar; emperor; governor; Romulan Star Empire; Star Fleet; Star Fleet Command; Star Fleet Ranks; United Federation of Planets
Science & Technology	arteries; atmosphere; brain; cellular metamorphosis; computer; diamond; explosives; forcefield; knife; medication; medicine; nova; orbit; phasers; poison; time (second, day); transporter
Ships & Vehicles	Constitution class; U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701; Romulan torchship
Xenology	Andorians; Antosians; ants; crabs; humanoids; Humans; hybrids; Izarians; Klingons; Orions; Romulans; starfish; Tellarites; Vulcans
Miscellaneous	Cochrane deceleration; commanding officer; ship's surgeon; Star Fleet Uniforms (2207); torture

The Tholian Web

Myriad Universes: "The Tholian Web"

Prime Timeline  • FASA Timeline

Adapted from the episode The Tholian Web.
Written by Judy Burns and Chet Richards.

The Enterprise discovers another Federation starship, the U.S.S. Defiant, adrift in an unexplored region of space. Beaming aboard in spacesuits, Captain Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and Chekov find the Defiant's entire crew dead: the victims of violence. The ship is rapidly shifting into a parallel dimension and becoming "nonexistent" in this one. The landing party returns to the Enterprise — except for Kirk, who is stranded aboard the Defiant when it vanishes. Spock is able to calculate when and where the ghost ship will rematerialize, and at that time, the Enterprise will be able to rescue Kirk, if his oxygen supply lasts.

The wait proves hazardous. This region of space, due to its peculiar physical properties, renders the ship's crew hostile to one another. Then the Tholians enter the scene and accuse the Enterprise of trespassing in their space, and weave an energized "web" around the Enterprise. The expected "interphase" between universes occurs, but the Defiant fails to rematerialize, and when Kirk is presumed dead, the crew's morale begins to deteriorate even further. Then several crew members, and ultimately the entire bridge crew, see the captain's ghostly figure appear before them. Kirk is alive, Spock realizes, and there is still a chance to save him. The Enterprise manages to flee the Tholian web, taking Kirk's disembodied form along with the ship. The captain is finally beamed aboard, his suit's oxygen supply nearly exhausted.

Related Data

Astrometrics
Chronology	FASA Timeline: 2209
Culture	Federation Interlingua; funeral
Education	doctor; doctorate; physician
Food	alcohol; Scotch
People	Pavel Chekov; Defiant captain; Garth of Izar; James T. Kirk; Loskene; Leonard McCoy; Montgomery Scott; Spock; Hikaru Sulu; Nyota Uhura;
Politics	mutiny; Star Fleet; Star Fleet Ranks; Tholian Assembly; United Federation of Planets
Science & Technology	air; antidote; brain; chlortheragen; communications; computer; epinephrine; EV suit; headache; hypospray; impulse drive; interphase; kilometer; life support; multiverse; nerve gas; parsec; phasers; radar; radiation; second; sensors; shields; speed of light; Tholian web; time (minute, hour, week); transporter; warp drive
Ships & Vehicles	Constitution class; U.S.S. Defiant NCC-1764; U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701; shuttlecraft; Tholian ship
Xenology	humanoids; Humans; hybrids; Klingons; Tholians; Vulcans
Miscellaneous	bridge; chief medical officer; commanding officer; first contact; first officer; logs; main engineering; medals; red alert; ship's surgeon; sickbay; Star Fleet Uniforms (2207); transporter room

Let That Be Your Last Battlefield

Myriad Universes: "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield"

Prime Timeline  • FASA Timeline

Adapted from the episode Let That Be Your Last Battlefield.
Story by Lee Cronin.
Teleplay by Oliver Crawford.

On an urgent rescue mission, the Enterprise intercepts a stolen Federation shuttlecraft and its thief, a humanoid named Lokai, who asks for asylum. Lokai, a native of the planet Cheron, is half-white and half-black. Soon after his arrival, the Enterprise discovers another ship following them at incredible speed. Locking on that craft's passenger, the Enterprise transports him aboard just as his ship explodes. The passenger is Bele, another Cheronian, who is also half-black and half-white, though oppositely-colored from Lokai. He claims to be Cheron's chief officer attached to the commission of political traitors, in pursuit of Lokai. Captain Kirk resists his undiplomatic extradition attempts, and after the near destruction of the Enterprise, the starship arrives at Cheron to discover a dead world: the inhabitants have all killed one another with their insistent hatreds. Bele and Lokai chase one another down to their dead planet, where they continue their senseless fight.

Related Data

Astrometrics	Ariannus; Cheron; Coal Sack Nebula; Earth; Milky Way galaxy; Starbase 4; Vulcan
Chronology	FASA Timeline: c.1208; 2208
Culture	chess; Heaven; Utopia
Education	doctor; doctorate; nurse; physician; psychologist
Food
People	Bele; Christine Chapel; Pavel Chekov; James T. Kirk; Lokai; Leonard McCoy; Mendel; Montgomery Scott; Spock; Hikaru Sulu; Nyota Uhura
Politics	asylum; Commission on Political Traitors; murder; police; Star Fleet; Star Fleet Command; Star Fleet Ranks; treason; United Federation of Planets
Science & Technology	air; biobed; blood; computer; decontamination; evolution; forcefield; hypospray; lava; melanin; mile; mirror; orbit; planet; psychology; self-destruct; sensors; star; time (minute, hour, day, week, year, millennium); tractor beam; transporter; turbolift; volcano; warp drive
Ships & Vehicles	Constitution class; U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701; shuttlecraft
Xenology	apes; cattle; Cheronians; humanoids; Humans; hybrids; Vulcans
Miscellaneous	bridge; brig; chief engineering officer; commanding officer; first officer; genocide; guest quarters; quarters; science officer; sickbay; slavery

This Side of Paradise

Myriad Universes: "This Side of Paradise"

Prime Timeline  • FASA Timeline

Adapted from the episode This Side of Paradise.
Story by Nathan Butler and D.C. Fontana.
Teleplay by D.C. Fontana.

The Enterprise arrives at planet Omicron Ceti III, where Kirk expects to find all the colonists dead because of the deadly Berthold rays to which they have been exposed for three years. But when a landing party beams down, colony leader Elias Sandoval informs them that everyone on the planet is quite well—including Leila Kalomi, a young botanist with whom Spock had worked six years before. Leila leads Spock to a clump of plants that spray him with their spores, liberating the Vulcan's emotions. Spock expresses his long-suppressed love for Leila. Other members of the landing party are exposed, plants are beamed up to the Enterprise, and before long everyone is affected. Then the captain discovers that strong emotional reactions are the antidote to the spores' effects, and tricks Spock into coming back aboard the Enterprise. He goads him into a fight, and barely avoids being killed by the Vulcan's superior strength. The conflict restores Spock to normal, and he assists Kirk in constructing an apparatus that frees the Enterprise crew and the colonists from the spores.

Related Data

Astrometrics	Berengaria VII; Earth; Georgia; Mojave; Omicron Ceti III; Omicron Ceti system; Starbase 27; Vulcan
Chronology	FASA Timeline: 2202; 2205; 2208
Culture	Eden; elves
Education	biologist; botanist; doctor; doctorate; physician; teacher
Food	mint julep; pie
People	Dimont; Timothy Fletcher; Leila Kalomi; James T. Kirk; Komack; Leonard McCoy; Elias Sandoval; Spock; Hikaru Sulu; Nyota Uhura
Politics	ambassador; court martial; mutiny; Star Fleet; Star Fleet Ranks
Science & Technology	adrenaline; appendectomy; appendix; atmosphere; Berthold radiation; biology; blood; botany; butterfly net; communications; communicator; computer; inch; lungs; microscope; pneumonia; radiation; subspace; subspace radio; thyroid; time (minute, hour, week, year, decade, century); tonsils; transporter; tricorder; water
Ships & Vehicles	Constitution class; U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701
Xenology	beans; Berengarian dragons; butterflies; cows; dogs; horses; humanoids; Humans; hybrids; insects; mushrooms; Omicron Ceti spore plants; pigs; potatoes; rabbits; Vulcans
Miscellaneous	bridge; commanding officer; encyclopedia; first officer; sickbay; transporter room

Turnabout Intruder

Myriad Universes: "Turnabout Intruder"

Prime Timeline  • FASA Timeline

Adapted from the episode Turnabout Intruder.
Story by Gene Roddenberry.
Teleplay by Arthur H. Singer.

Dr. Janice Lester, once romantically involved with Jim Kirk, hates the captain because she was unable (and unfit) to become a starship commander as well. She lures Kirk to Camus II, where she has discovered an alien mechanism capable of transferring minds between bodies. Using the device, Lester transfers her consciousness into Kirk's body, trapping his mind in hers. Dr. Arthur Coleman, Lester's partner, makes sure that Kirk is kept sedated, but Spock becomes susupicious and, using a mind meld, discovers what has happened. Lester initiates court martial proceedings against Spock and all who oppose her, but she is unable to control her temper, arousing further suspicion. When Lester charges Dr. McCoy and Mr. Scott with mutiny and tries to impose a death sentence, the entire crew realizes that something is seriously wrong. Kirk, with Spock's telepathic assistance, is able to reverse the effects of the mind transfer, and Lester, in her own body once again, falls into a comatose state.

Related Data

Astrometrics	Benecia colony; Beta Aurigae system; Camus II; Minara; Star Fleet Headquarters; Starbase 2; Tholian Sector
Chronology	FASA Timeline: 2210
Culture	God
Education	archaeologist; doctor; doctorate; nurse; physician
Food
People	Christine Chapel; Pavel Chekov; Howard Coleman; James T. Kirk; Janice Lester; Leonard McCoy; Montgomery Scott; Spock; Hikaru Sulu; Nyota Uhura
Politics	death penalty; execution; murder; mutiny; Star Fleet; Star Fleet Command; Star Fleet Ranks; surgeon general
Science & Technology	archaeology; celebium; distress call; elements; eyes; gravity; hypospray; interphase; meter; mind meld; orbit; phasers; radiation; sedative; telepathy; time (minute, hour, year); transporter; tricorder; turbolift; viewscreen; warp drive
Ships & Vehicles	Constitution class; U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701; U.S.S. Potemkin
Xenology	Camians; humanoids; Humans; hybrids; Tholians; Vians; Vulcans
Miscellaneous	bridge; brig; chief medical officer; commanding officer; scarf; sickbay; transporter room

Requiem for Methuselah

Myriad Universes: "Requiem for Methuselah"

Prime Timeline  • FASA Timeline

Adapted from the episode Requiem for Methuselah.
Written by Jerome Bixby.

When an outbreak of deadly Rigellian fever strikes aboard the Enterprise, the starship travels to planet Holberg 917-G in search of ryetalyn — the disease's only known antidote. Kirk, Spock, and McCoy beam down to the supposedly uninhabited planet's surface, only to discover a mysterious man named Flint. Despite his initial anger over their presence, Flint orders his robot servant to gather the crucial mineral while he and his ward Rayna Kapec entertain the Enterprise landing party. Spock notices that Flint's home is filled with rare art treasures, including an unknown Brahms waltz. Meanwhile, Rayna and the captain are swiftly developing feelings for one another.

When Flint's robot proves to be more of a hindrance than a help in gathering the ryetalyn, the landing party strikes off on its own and makes a shocking discovery — a succession of Rayna androids, the latest of which is the one that Kirk knows. Flint reveals that he is an immortal who wandered the Earth for millennia, existing as da Vinci, Brahms, and many other important individuals. He came to Holberg 917-G to rest at last — and to ease his loneliness, he built the Rayna androids. He initially encouraged the present Rayna's involvement with Kirk in the hope that it would accelerate her emotional development, but is now intensely jealous. As he and Kirk begin to fight over Rayna, the android, sensitive and confused by her newfound and conflicting emotions, short-circuits and dies. The landing party collects the ryetalyn and returns to the Enterprise, where McCoy tells Kirk and Spock that Flint, too, will soon die: in leaving Earth, Flint also left behind the source of his immortality. To help ease Kirk's heartache at Rayna's death, Spock uses a Vulcan mind meld to erase the painful memory from Kirk's mind.

Related Data

Astrometrics	Centaurus VII; Constantinople; Earth; Europe; Holberg 917-G; Marcus II; Mesopotamia; Milky Way galaxy
Chronology	FASA Timeline: 3034 BCE; 1334; 16th Century; 20th Century; 2110; 2180; 2210
Culture	artwork; Bible; billiards; bookworm; chess; dancing; Death; Heaven; Hell; music; piano; pool; Shakespeare; waltz
Education	doctor; doctorate; physician; university
Food	alcohol; brandy; Sirian brandy
People	Abramson; Akharin; Alexander; Johannes Brahms; Jesus Christ; Leonardo da Vinci; Flint; Galileo Galilei; Johannes Gutenberg; Rayna Kapec; James T. Kirk; Lazarus; Leonard McCoy; Merlin; Methuselah; Moses; Reginald Pollack; Montgomery Scott; William Shakespeare; Socrates; Solomon; Spock; Sten; Taranullus
Politics	Star Fleet; Star Fleet Command; Star Fleet Ranks
Science & Technology	antitoxin; blood; blood cells; books; bubonic plague; communicator; desert; gravity; irillium; M-4 robot; M-5 robot; mile; orbit; phasers; Rigellian fever; robotics; ryetalin; sensors; time (minute, hour, day, century); transporter; tricorder
Ships & Vehicles	Constitution class; U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701
Xenology	androids; flowers; hawks; humanoids; Humans; hybrids; oxen; rats; Vulcans
Miscellaneous

The Way to Eden

Myriad Universes: "The Way to Eden"

Prime Timeline  • FASA Timeline

Adapted from the episode The Way to Eden.
Story by Michael Richards and Arthur Heinemann.
Teleplay by Arthur Heinemann.

Captain Kirk sights a stolen spaceship, the Aurora, and orders pursuit. The strain of the chase overheats the Aurora's engines, and everyone aboard is beamed to the Enterprise just before the Aurora explodes. The guests are a group of young idealists seeking to begin a new life on the mythical planet Eden. Their leader is a brilliant engineer, Dr. Sevrin, who is also quite insane — as well as a carrier of synthococcus novae, a disease deadly to those not immunized against it. Sevrin seeks to gain control of the Enterprise and find Eden. Among his followers are Irina Galliulin, a young woman who was once involved with Ensign Chekov, as well as the son of a Catullan ambassador to the Federation. The latter's presence results in Kirk receiving instructions to handle the group gently and to allow them freedom of movement aboard the Enterprise.

While Sevrin is placed in protective confinement, Spock begins a search for Eden — which he surprisingly discovers. Once the Enterprise is in orbit, Sevrin's followers arrange for his escape, and before they leave, the mad engineer rigs an ultrasonic device that nearly kills Kirk and several crewmembers. Stealing a shuttlecraft, the group flees to the planet below. Kirk and a landing party follow, only to discover that Eden's soil and vegetation are highly toxic: one young man is already dead. The others agree to leave, save for Dr. Sevrin, who commits suicide by eating a nearby piece of fruit.

Related Data

Astrometrics	Eden; Milky Way galaxy; Romulan Neutral Zone; Tiburon
Chronology	FASA Timeline: 2210
Culture	colonization; Haydn's Farewell Symphony; Herbert; lyre; music; symphony; zither
Education	doctor; doctorate; engineer; nurse; physician; Star Fleet Academy
Food	fruit; jelly
People	Adam; Christine Chapel; Pavel Chekov; Irina Galliulin; Haydn; Herbert; James T. Kirk; Mavig; Leonard McCoy; Tongo Rad; Montgomery Scott; Sevrin; Spock; Hikaru Sulu; Typhoid Mary; Nyota Uhura
Politics	ambassador; jail; judge; king; mutiny; piracy; Romulan Neutral Zone; Romulan Star Empire; Star Fleet; Star Fleet Ranks; United Federation of Planets; yeoman
Science & Technology	acid; atmosphere; bacillus; biobed; botany; brass; caves; communications; communicator; companel; computer; disease; immunizations; iron; life support; medkit; mile; orbit; phasers; poison; radiation; star charts; synthococcus novae; transporter; tricorder; typhoid; ultrasonic generator
Ships & Vehicles	S.S. Aurora; Class F shuttlecraft; Constitution class; U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701
Xenology	Catullans; flowers; grass; humanoids; Humans; hybrids; Tiburonians; trees; Vulcans
Miscellaneous	auxiliary control room; bridge; briefing room; brig; commanding officer; first officer; guest quarters; hospital; main engineering; officer quarters; quarters; recreation room; shuttlebay; sickbay; transporter room