Star Trek: Titan
| The covers of the first three Titan books | |
| Author | Michael A. Martin Andy Mangels Christopher L. Bennett |
|---|---|
| Genre | Science-fiction |
| Publisher | Pocket Books |
Publication date | Book 1: April 2005 Book 2: September 2005 Book 3: December 2005 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | Book 1: 370 Book 2: 320 Book 3: 400 |
| ISBN | [[Special:BookSources/Book+1%3A+ISBN+0743496272%3Cbr+%2F%3EBook+2%3A+ISBN+0743496280%3Cbr+%2F%3EBook+3%3A+ISBN+141650950X |Book 1: ISBN 0743496272 Book 2: ISBN 0743496280 Book 3: ISBN 141650950X]] Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character |
| Preceded by | Star Trek: Nemesis |
| Followed by | (none) |
Star Trek: Titan is a series of novels that take place after the events of the film Star Trek: Nemesis, detailing the adventures of the USS Titan under the command of Starfleet Captain William T. Riker. Riker was transferred from the Enterprise-E circa stardate 56844.9 (2379). Riker's prior tours of duty comprised fifteen years as First Officer under Captain Jean-Luc Picard aboard the Enterprise-D and Enterprise-E. These novels are said to be a return to the ideal of exploration,[1] a trademark of The Next Generation TV show. Though Riker's assignment aboard the Titan is mentioned within Star Trek: Nemesis, the novels are not part of the Star Trek canon.[2]
Dramatis Personae
Major Characters
- Captain Will Riker - The Human male, William Thomas Riker most famously served as the Federation flagship Enterprise-D's executive officer under Captain Jean Luc Picard. As the vessel's first officer Riker was offered his own command numerous times however repeatedly turned down the offers in favour of remaining aboard the flagship, confessing to Picard in Star Trek: Generations that he had alsways hoped he would take command of the Galaxy class starship. Following the destruction of the Enterprise-D, Riker transferred to its successor, the Enterprise-E with Picard and continued to serve as first officer for a continuing number of years helping to defend Earth against the Borg, prevent the illegal relocation of the Ba'ku and destroy the Reman warbird Scimitar. Shortly before the Scimitar's destruction, Riker married long-term sweetheart, Deanna Troi who thereafter tranferred to the Titan with him to serve as the vessel's counsellor and chief diplomatic officer.
- Commander Christine Vale - Human female. Executive officer of the starship Titan, Vale previously served as the Enterprise-E's chief tactical officer. Coming from a long line of peace officers, Commander Vale's family was gravely disappointed in her choice to join Starfleet.
- Commander Deanna Troi - The half-Human, half-Betazoid wife of Captain Riker, Troi serves as the vessel's chief diplomatic officer as well as ship's counselor; a position she previously held on both the Enterprises D and E under Captain Picard to whom she often served as a moral advisor. Speaking as best man at Riker and Troi's wedding, Picard noted that Troi had been his "guide and [his] concience" in her years on the Enterprises. Despite being only half Betazed, Troi is a capable empath and has been shown to communicate telepathically with other Betazoids, specifically her mother, Luxanna Troi. According to the non-canon novel, Imzadi, Troi joined Starfleet following a romantic relationship with Will Riker.
- Lieutenant Commander Tuvok - A Vulcan male, Tuvok shares the cold and logical nature associated with his people. His first Starfleet assignment was aboard the USS Excelsior under Captain Hikaru Sulu, most famously during the events of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. During his service Tuvok become disenchanted with non-Vulcans and resigned from Starfleet, only reenlisting decades later, where he eventually settled aboard the USS Voyager under Captain Kathryn Janeway. In 2371, Tuvok was on an undercover mission inflitrating the Maquis when he became trapped in the Delta Quadrant. He was later re-united with Voyager and served as the vessel's head of security and second executive officer until its return home. Following his return, Tuvok worked for Starfleet Intelligence within Romulan space at the time of the Shinzon uprising, and was later rescued from imprisonment by the Titan crew, which he joined when their previous tactical officer became comatose as a result of battle.
- Lieutenant Alyssa Ogawa - Like Riker and Troi, Human female Alyssa Ogawa served for a number of years on both the Enterprises, having begun her Starfleet service aboard the 1701-D as an Ensign and nurse under Dr. Beverly Crusher in 2367. At the recommendation of Crusher, she was promoted to Lieutenant junior grade in 2370 and became a senior sickbay staffmember as Head Nurse, and would report to the command staff of the vessel in Crusher's absence. She also married Lt. Andrew Powell in the same year, and the two had a son. Powell was killed during the last attack on the Enterprise and though Ogawa did transfer to the Enterprise-E, she readily took the opportunity to to leave the vessel with her son and serve within the Titan's sickbay.
- Dr. Shenti Yisec Eres Ree - A Pahkwa-thanh male. Chief Medical Officer of the starship Titan, Dr. Ree's friendly bedside manner is juxtaposed by his fearsome appearance. Standing over two meters tall, this bi-pedal reptile reminds Captain Will Riker of one of Earth's extinct, pack hunting dinosaurs.
- Commander Ranul Keru - An Unjoined Trill male. Chief of Security and Tactical Officer. Commander Keru was rendered comatose from injuries sustained during a battle between Romulan and Reman forces. Captain Will Riker subsequently offered the post to Lieutenant Commander Tuvok until Commnder Keru's recovery.
USS Titan
The USS Titan (NCC-80102) is a Luna-class starship*, designed primarily for scientific discovery. Described as 450 metres long, the Titan was built with state-of-the-art science facilities as opposed to being a more tactically pronounced starship. With a complement of approximately 350 persons, the USS Titan comprises the most racially diverse crew in Starfleet, with less than 15% of the population being human, as well as a number of non-humanoid beings.
Luna-class
The USS Titan is described in the books as being a Luna-class starship, which entered service in the late 24th century. This class of starships was originally conceived in 2369 by Starfleet engineer, Dr. Xin Ra-Havreii. Dr. Ra-Havreii was motivated by the discovery of the Bajoran wormhole that year and so the Luna-class was originally designed to explore planets in the Gamma quadrant. The advent of the Dominion War caused Starfleet to shelve the plans for these exploratory vessels in favor of more heavily-armed starships. With the end of the war, Starfleet re-evaluated the Luna-class plans and decided to proceed with the project. Initially, 12 ships were ordered, and all were completed by 2379. These vessels have been compared to the Constitution-class starships of the previous century, which carried out similar roles.
The Luna-class vessels carry a modest armanent, sufficient to defend themselves in many situations, but not as well armed as the larger Galaxy and Sovereign classes, nor the similarly sized but more combat-oriented Akira-class. As with most starships, Luna-class ships are not designed for atmospheric operations or combat but carry a complement of 8 shuttles of differing specification which are capable of operations in or out of planetary atmospheres. Additionally, as with some other Starfleet ship classes, the Luna-class ships include a "captain's yacht," a larger and more luxurious vessel than typical shuttlecraft for the express use of the vessel's commanding officer.
In real life, the Luna-class was designed by Sean Tourangeau. Tourangeau entered his design into the Starship Titan Design Contest held by Simon & Schuster, Inc. The competition was held in order to obtain a ship design for the Star Trek: Titan series of novels.[3] Because the Luna design has not been featured on-screen, it is not canon, however, the Titan's mention in Star Trek: Nemesis means that the existence of the ship is.
Other mentioned Luna-class vessels
- USS Luna (pathfinder) - Destroyed ("Taking Wing")
- USS Ganymede - Active ("Orion's Hounds")
*Decipher, Inc. in its Star Trek Customizable Card Game has identified the Titan as a Prometheus-class starship
Novels
To date there have been three novels published in the series with a further two planned, the foremost of which will be released in 2007. Event and story summaries are included below.
Taking Wing
Michael A. Martin and Andy Mangels (April 2005)
Leading on from the events of Star Trek: Nemesis, Taking Wing details the political and military situation in Romulan space in the wake of the power vacuum caused by the death of Praetor Shinzon and his prior assassination of the Romulan Senate. Though the Titan is primarilly tasked with exploration, the discord that stirs in the Empire could have disastrous effects for the entire Alpha Quadrant, and the crew is sent to help stabilise the region as competing factions vie for control of the Empire. Riker is ordered to facilitate peaceful talks between the leading factions, but his mission is placed in jeapordy by the remnants of the Tal Shiar, the feared Romulan intelligence service, who seek to further their own interests.
The Red King
Andy Mangels and Michael A. Martin (September 2005)
Once again finding themselves involved in Romulan business, the crew of the Titan are investigating the disappearance of a secret Romulan fleet when they are unwittingly propelled into another galaxy; the Small Magellanic Cloud, where they encounter the Neyel; offshoots of Earth-bound Humanity. Meanwhile, Commander Donatra of the Romulan vessel Valdore, also transported with the Titan crew, rescues a young Neyel; a survivor of an unexplained phenomenon apparently altering the space-time continuum. The Titan's science division soon discover that this is the unintended work of a dormant consciousness that is maintaining all like within the Cloud from one moment to the next, and showing signs of awakening. As the Titan crew consider the implications of their discovery, the young rescued Neyal forms a bond with Riker, who must now deal with ghosts from his past he has failed to put to rest.
Orion's Hounds
Christopher L. Bennett (January 2006)
With the Titan breaking new ground on the outermost reaches of chartered space, the telepaths in her crew become overwhelmed by an alien cry of distress which brings the ship upon a disturbing scene: a civilisation of "whalers" preying upon a familiar species of sentient spaceborne lifeforms. Though the scene appalls the crew, Riker is reluctant to rush to a judgement and orders an investigation which eventually leads to the discovery of a spatial ecosystem that plays home to a stunning array of diverse and giant lifeforms. Whilst attempting to negotiate an end to the whalers' hunt, the Titan crew inadvertently gives the creatures the means to defeat the hunters' purpose, only to learn that the prey are not exactly as they seem.
Note: The Orion of the title does not refer to the green-skinned humanoid species seen within Trek, but is an allusion to mythology and astronomy, likely inspired by the Orion constellation and connected tales.
Sword of Damocles
Template:Future book The fourth book in the series is expected to be written by Geoffrey Thorne who has previously written tie-in novels for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager, though both the author and the title have yet to be confirmed by the publishers.[4] Like the third book of the series, the title refers to a mythological tale, in this case the story of Damocles experiencing the power and authority of Dionysius II of Syracuse only to find a sword hanging above his head suspended by a single horsehair. The tale demonstrates the insecurity of those with power due to the constant fear of loss of that power.
References
- ^ Psi Phi: #1: Taking Wing [Star Trek Books Database] URL accessed June 14, 2006
- ^ STARTREK.COM: Article URL accessed June 14, 2006
- ^ Starship Titan Design Contest Winner URL accessed June 14, 2006
- ^ Psi Phi: #4: Sword of Damocles [Star Trek Books Database] URL accessed June 14, 2006