Star Trek 4 (Novel)
| Series | Star Trek |
| Published by | Bantam Books |
| Previous | Spock Must Die! (TOSON01) |
| Next | Star Trek 5 (Blish05) |
| Written by | James Blish |
| Released | Jul 1971 |
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More Dazzling Exploits by the Dynamic Crew of the Enterprise
Based on the Exciting Television Series Created by Gene Roddenberry
Six Assignments in Space and Time
In the name of the Federation Council and the Starfleet Command, Spock and the Enterprise crew grapple with:
- A silicon-based monster
- An interplanetary spy
- An amorous Amazon
- A misguided mobster "boss"
- A time-jumping technician
- and the mind-enslaving elders of Talos IV, in the Hugo Award-winning episode "Menagerie"
Ready to face any danger the solar sphere could thrust at them, they ranged to the outer limits of experience looking for adventure.
Kirk—Captain of the Enterprise, the top man in Space Service—Starfleet Command—he alone makes the decisions, so grave that they can affect the future course of civilization throughout the Universe.
Spock—Science Officer—Inheriting a precise, logical thinking pattern from his father, a native of the planet Vulcan, Mr. Spock maintains a dangerous Earth trait… an intense curiousity about things of alien origin.
McCoy—"Bones," the magnificent medic, a dour super-Scot and the last word in first aid.
With a crew of 400 skilled specialists, the mammoth space ship Enterprise blasts off for intergalactic intrigue in the unexplored realms of outer space.
All Our Yesterdays
Adapted from the episode All Our Yesterdays.
Written by Jean Lisette Aroeste.
Beaming down to the planet Sarpeidon, which is about to be engulfed in the explosion of its sun, Kirk, Spock, and McCoy discover a huge library. The librarian, Mr. Atoz, has supervised the transfer of his race into the planet's past by the use of a machine called an atavachron. At Atoz's invitation, Kirk and Spock begin to examine various historical eras using the machine. When the captain hears a woman's scream, he leaps to her aid through the atavachron's portal, only to find himself in Sarpeidon's medieval past, where he is soon charged with witchcraft and imprisoned.
Spock and McCoy, attempting to follow, unintentionally enter Sarpeidon's ice age, where they meet a woman named Zarabeth. Spock soon discovers his emotional control is slipping, and he finds himself falling for Zarabeth while he begins to revert to the ways of his Vulcan ancestors. Zarabeth, also from the future, says that they cannot return to their original time without dying, assuming that they were prepared like she was. When they reveal that their time travel was accidental, she reveals that not only can they return, they must, or they will die.
In the medieval period, Kirk escapes and, with the aid of yet another time traveler, returns to the library. After Mr. Atoz and several of his duplicates fail to return Kirk to the past, they begin to search for Spock and McCoy, who have returned to the place where they arrived. Guided by Kirk's voice, they return to their proper time, and Zarabeth remains behind, unable to make the journey. Mr. Atoz then leaps through the atavachron to a time of his own choosing, and the Enterprise leaves the system before the sun goes nova.
Related Data
The Devil in the Dark
Adapted from the episode The Devil in the Dark.
Written by Gene L. Coon.
The pergium miners on planet Janus VI are being killed by an unknown creature that can burrow through stone. Chief mining engineer Vanderberg summons the Enterprise to assist in locating and killing the monster. When the creature steals a vital part of the PXK reactor, which regulates the mining colony's support functions, Spock realizes they are dealing with an intelligent life form. After Captain Kirk wounds the entity, Spock performs a Vulcan mind meld. He learns that the creature, which calls itself a Horta, is killing only to prevent the destruction of its thousands of silicon eggs. Dr. McCoy, using construction materials, heals the wounded Horta. The miners attack with the intention of killing the creature, but when they learn she is only a defensive mother and they have been killing her unborn children, they calm down. Vanderberg and his people agree to form a symbiotic relationship with the Horta. The freshly hatched children will dig the pergium—while the miners will sit back and become rich.
Related Data
Journey to Babel
Adapted from the episode Journey to Babel.
Written by D.C. Fontana.
The Enterprise is en route to an important Federation conference on a planet code-named Babel. Traveling aboard are delegates from many worlds, including Vulcan Ambassador Sarek and his Human wife, Amanda—revealed as Mr. Spock's parents. Spock and his father have not spoken for 20 years, a fact that causes embarrassment for Captain James T. Kirk, but not for Spock. The journey is also complicated by an unidentified vessel, which is following the Enterprise, and tension between various delegates, particularly Sarek and Tellarite Ambassador Gav; when Gav is murdered, Sarek is the prime suspect. The stress reveals that Sarek is suffering from a heart condition and needs an immediate operation to save his life. Only his son can serve as the blood donor, but when Kirk is attacked and stabbed by Thelev, a member of the Andorian delegation, Spock assumes command. Despite the danger to his father's life, he refuses to step down until the unidentified ship following the Enterprise is stopped. Spock's mother is unsuccessful in her appeals to her son to permit the operation to be performed, so Kirk fakes a return to duty to trick Spock into reporting to sickbay. The vessel, revealed to be an Orion ship, attacks the Enterprise and is destroyed. Thelev is exposed as a surgically-altered Orion spy, posing as an Andorian, and commits suicide on the bridge. The operation on Sarek is successful and the ambassador resumes diplomatic relations with his son.
Related Data
| Astrometrics | |
| Chronology | |
| Culture | |
| Education | |
| Food | |
| People | |
| Politics | |
| Science & Technology | |
| Ships & Vehicles | |
| Xenology | |
| Miscellaneous |
The Menagerie
Adapted from the episode The Cage, written by NAME.
Related Data
| Astrometrics | |
| Chronology | |
| Culture | |
| Education | |
| Food | |
| People | |
| Politics | |
| Science & Technology | |
| Ships & Vehicles | |
| Xenology | |
| Miscellaneous |
The Enterprise Incident
Adapted from the episode The Enterprise Incident, written by NAME.
Related Data
| Astrometrics | |
| Chronology | |
| Culture | |
| Education | |
| Food | |
| People | |
| Politics | |
| Science & Technology | |
| Ships & Vehicles | |
| Xenology | |
| Miscellaneous |
A Piece of the Action
Adapted from the episode A Piece of the Action, written by NAME.
