for S.C.E. #62: The Future Begins
by Steve Mollmann and Michael Schuster
It appears that annotations have become the sort of thing to do, now that Andy Mangels & Michael A. Martin, Keith R.A. DeCandido, Christopher L. Bennett, David Mack and Bill Leisner have provided them - to the joy of many fans who want the inside scoop, so to speak. Here follows the obligatory warning that you might ruin your enjoyment of not only the story which the annotations are actually for, but also lots of others that are referenced in The Future Begins, if you read on without actually having read the story in question.
Errors, mistakes and other things that make you go “Huh?” should be reported to either Steve or Michael.
Initial citations are provided as follows:
Television episodes are listed in quotation marks, followed by an abbreviation of the TV show in question:
TOS=the live-action Star Trek (1966-1969)
TAS=the animated Star Trek (1973-1975)
TNG=Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994)
DS9=Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)
VOY=Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001)
ENT=Star Trek: Enterprise (2001-2005)
Movie titles are listed in italics.
Novel and eBook titles are listed in italics, followed by the author of the novel or eBook, with a prefix indicating series:
ST=Star Trek (general)
TOS=Star Trek (the original series)
TNG=The Next Generation
DS9=Deep Space Nine
VOY=Voyager
ENT=Enterprise
NF=New Frontier
SCE=S.C.E. (Starfleet Corps of Engineers)
SNW=Strange New Worlds short story anthology
TotDW=Tales of the Dominion War short story anthology
Prologue | Situational Engineering | Interlude | Damage Control | Epilogue | Future Construction
Page 1
The
stardate for the frame story places it shortly after stardate 53500,
which is when the gateways crisis occurs according to the Historian’s
Note in Doors Into Chaos by Robert Greenberger. Under the “1000
stardates = 1 Earth year” assumption that’s been used in Trek
fiction as of late, that would place The Future Begins in
July, but the timeline in the front of Unity by S.D. Perry
establishes the gateways crisis occurs in May of 2376, so that
correspondence must not be exactly proportional.
The Tucker Memorial Building is of course named for Commander Charles “Trip” Tucker III, chief engineer of the NX-01 Enterprise, who bit the big one in “These Are the Voyages…” (ENT). The S.C.E. headquarters, was previously seen, but not named or substantially described, in A Time to Die (ST) by John Vornholt. That novel also established its adjacency to the Starfleet Medical facility in San Francisco.
The “Enterprise’s Vulcan transporter chief” is T’Bonz, who first appeared in A Time to Sow (ST) by Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore.
Page 2
Geordi
saw and flew in Zefram Cochrane’s first warpship, the Phoenix,
in Star Trek: First Contact.
An engineer named Captain Jefferies was mentioned as working on the NX Project in “First Flight” (ENT) and “Home” (ENT). Home is the Hunter (TOS) by Dana Kramer-Rolls mentions a George William Jefferies active around the same time period (he married in 2137), and I assume the two are the same character. George Jefferies is the grandfather of Frederick William Jefferies, who invented Starfleet’s omnipresent Jefferies tube. (Note that Home is the Hunter consistently misspells his name “Jeffries.”) It is possible that both are related to Admiral William M. Jefferies, who appeared in Errand of Vengeance: River of Blood (TOS) by Kevin Ryan.
Mahmud al-Khaled had an administrative post in the Corps later on in his career, as first seen in Foundations by Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore.
The time corridor generator buried on Mars is another of the devices first seen in “Requiem for a Martian” (TOS).
The Vissian species previously appeared in “Cogenitor” (ENT).
Scotty’s factor for multiplying repair estimates was established in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. He admonished Geordi for not doing the same in “Relics” (TNG).
Page 3
The
Enterprise-E’s involvement in the “gateways mess”
was chronicled in Doors Into Chaos and the novella “The
Other Side” in What Lay Beyond, both by Robert
Greenberger.
Page 4
The
Enterprise’s mission to Gemworld was seen in the
Gemworld (TNG) duology by John Vornholt.
Geordi served a temporary assignment on the U.S.S. da Vinci under Captain Gold and Commander Gomez in The Belly of the Beast by Dean Wesley Smith, Fatal Error by Keith R.A. DeCandido, and Hard Crash by Christie Golden.
Page 5
The Blood
Many first appeared in Wagon Train to the Stars (TOS) by Diane
Carey.
Page 6
The
22nd-century version of TOS’s three-sided table monitor
was first seen in “Home” (ENT), and it went on to
appear in several other Enterprise episodes.
Page 7
That
Scotty was tapped by Admiral Ross to take over the S.C.E. towards the
end of the Dominion War was established in Interphase by
Dayton Ward & Kevin Dilmore.
Page 8
The
U.S.S. Gorkon, Admiral Nechayev’s flagship, first
appeared in “Descent, Part I” (TNG).
Page 9
The
dates given here roughly correspond to a timeframe some time after
“The Changing Face of Evil” (DS9), probably around
the same time as “When It Rains…” (DS9).
Admiral Alynna Nechayev’s first appearance was in “Chain of Command, Part I” (TNG). She has since appeared in several episodes of both TNG and DS9, as well as in many novels.
The Kropaslin are a species that first appeared in Michael's
attempted contribution to the abortive Star Trek: Excelsior online
fiction series. Then, they merely served as exotic aliens whose appearance
contrasted heavily with that of normal humans. In writing The Future Begins,
we originally had thought of creating a new, previously unseen species even
though we were a bit hesitant to add yet another race of intelligent aliens to
the already teeming Star Trek universe. Still, the story necessitated the
inclusion of aliens that applied for Federation membership for the first time,
and so we eventually decided to use the Kropaslin (see the image on the right
for a rendition of a nude Kropaslin female - the males are at least half a head
smaller and much less formidable).
Page 10
Though
it’s never expounded upon in the story, there is sort of a
naming pattern for the Kropaslin. There are two ethnic groups
represented in the story, the “majority” and the
“minority.” The names of the majority can follow any
pattern. The personal names of the minority end in –ion
for men and –ios for women, while their surnames end in
–mor. Centuries of migration and cultural contamination,
however, mean that many characters have a surname of one ethnic group
and the personal name of another. (In fact, Bendalion Iamor is the
only character with a “pure” minority name.) The names,
incidentally, are sort of pronounced in the fashion of classical
Latin. (ben-DALE-yun EE-ah-mor)
Page 11
The use
of the terms Witenagemot, thane, and cyning is an effort to do
something different from the usual mode of presidents and
chancellors, senates and councils we get in science fiction.
Page 12
The
names of Kropasar’s political parties, which are so bland as to
be useless in describing ideology, are set up to mirror America’s
Republican and Democratic parties.
Commander Esperanza Piñiero, who is only mentioned here but appears later, first appeared in A Time for War, A Time for Peace (ST) by Keith R.A. DeCandido, where it was established she had served on the Gorkon under Nechayev.
Ambassador Colton Morrow first appeared in A Time to Love by Robert Greenberger. His trip on the Gorkon here is likely the first time he meets Piñiero, with whom he later almost becomes romantically involved in Articles of the Federation (ST) by Keith R.A. DeCandido.
Page 13
That the
Breen use biotechnology in their ships was established in “Scorpion,
Part I” (VOY).
Page 14
The
biotechnology-using Azziz were seen in “The Music Between the
Notes” by Steven Barnes in The Lives of Dax (DS9).
Bioneural gel packs were first mentioned in “Caretaker” (VOY) as an advanced new component of Voyager’s computer systems.
The revival of hostilities between the Federation and the Klingon Empire were chronicled during DS9’s fourth and fifth seasons (2372-73).The Dominion War occupied its fifth through seventh (2373-75).
Kropasar’s location here is based upon the maps in Star Charts by Geoffrey Mandel (page 37).The Omicron Ceti system was seen in “This Side of Paradise” (TOS) and “Conspiracy” (TNG).
The Federation president mentioned here, but not named until later in the story, is Min Zife, who first appeared in A Time to Kill by David Mack.
Page 15
In
an earlier draft of the story, Kropasar orbited the star TNC
73317-7424, a reuse of the T’Lin’s New Catalog system
seen in Memory Prime and Federation, both by Judith and
Garfield Reeves-Stevens.
The El-Aurians are the species to which Guinan belonged, though they were not named until “Rivals” (DS9).
Andorian ale was first seen in “Shadows of P’Jem” (ENT).
That Vega IX was the location of a human settlement was true in the mirror universe (as mentioned in “Mirror, Mirror” [TOS]), and it is presumably the location of the oft-mentioned Vega colony of the “real” universe as well. The Vega colony was the destination of the Enterprise in “The Cage” (TOS).
Scotty hardwiring a replicator to create the perfect haggis was inspired by Traitor Winds (TOS) by L.A. Graf.
The planet of Xaraka XII was first established by the Captain Kirk “psycho-file” included in reprints of the Gold Key Comics.
In this scene, Scotty is plagued by desires for both Scotch and haggis, which is about as stereotypically Scottish as you can get. (All he needs is to be wearing a kilt and playing the bagpipes—given he’s probably in his dress uniform, he most likely is at least doing the former!) We briefly considered substituting a different Scottish dish for haggis to make it less stereotypical, but decided to stick with it, as Scotty’s love for haggis is well-documented in the fiction.
Page 17
Galaxy
Telpha-Z was explored by the Enterprise in the Gold Key story
“The Peril of Planet Quick Change”; here it’s been
retconned into a star cluster.
The Daystrom Institute, named for Richard Daystrom as seen in “The Ultimate Computer” (TOS) was first mentioned in “The Measure of a Man” (TNG).
Alpha Arietis, also known as Hamal, is the star system home to the arachnid Hamalki, as seen in The Wounded Sky (TOS) by Diane Duane.
Page 18
The
journey of Captain Morgan Bateson and the Bozeman from 2278 to
2368 was seen in “Cause and Effect” (TNG). His
friendship with Scotty was first established in Ship of the Line
(TNG) by Diane Carey.
Scotty is of course recounting the events of “Relics” here.
The disappearance of the Dyson sphere was depicted in the novel Dyson Sphere (TNG) by Charles Pellegrino & George Zebrowski.
Page 19
The
Deirr are one of the four species from the Deneb Kaitos system, as
established in My Enemy, My Ally (TOS) by Diane Duane.
Page 20
Scotty’s
“excitement” can be seen in stories such as Crossover
(TNG) by Michael Jan Friedman, where he steals the U.S.S.
Yorktown in an effort to rescue Spock from the Romulans.
Scotty’s “odd dream about Captain Kirk” was induced by a time travel misadventure that was wiped from the timeline, as recounted in Engines of Destiny (ST) by Gene DeWeese.
The “Hermat lass on Argelius” is Burgoyne 172, who told hir version of this meeting to Selar in The Two-Front War (NF) by Peter David as well as to Shelby in “Through the Looking-Glass” (NL) by Susan Wright.
We’ve not been able to peg an origin for “Honorius” as the Enterprise-E’s designation prior to the D’s crash, though it’s given on websites such as the Daystrom Institute Technical Library. It may have its origins in a cutaway poster of the Enterprise-E.
That Scotty worked on both the Enterprise-E and the Bozeman-A at Starbase 12 was seen in Ship of the Line. His subsequent assignment to the Sovereign was established in Spectre (ST) by William Shatner with Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens. Since the “Shatnerverse” differs from the general novel continuity only in a few instances (such as Kirk being alive), we assumed that Scotty's work on the Sovereign also happened outside the Shatner novels.
Page 21
Scotty’s
previous meeting with Admiral Nechayev “during the Amargosa
crisis” was depicted in “Full Circle” by Scott
Pearson in Strange New Worlds VII. Nechayev’s
part in dealing with the Cardassians was seen in several of her TNG
and DS9 appearances.
Page 22
The end
of Scotty and McCoy’s inspection tour on the Hudson was
seen in “Safe Harbors” by Howard Weinstein in Tales of
the Dominion War.
Leland T. Lynch was one of many chief engineers on the Enterprise-D seen in TNG’s first season. He appeared in “Skin of Evil.”
Admiral John Harriman’s command of the S.C.E. prior to Scotty was established in “Full Circle.”
Page 23
Sanders
was previously seen as the captain of the U.S.S. Malinche in
“For the Uniform” (DS9).
The star Tsugh Kaidnn was seen on a background graphic in “Yesterday’s Enterprise” (TNG)
Page 24
Harriman’s
words to Scotty are a direct quote from “Full Circle.”
Page 25
According
to “Relics” Scotty had served on eleven starships; the
additions of the Enterprise-E and the Sovereign should
put him at thirteen.
Scotty’s (brief) service on the Excelsior was seen in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. That he worked on the Starstalker was mentioned in the fanonical technical manual Starfleet Prototype (thanks to James Dixon’s Timeline for this). His time on the Gagarin was mentioned in Crisis on Centaurus (TOS) by Brad Ferguson.
The Kumari Scotty served on is named for Commander Shran’s vessel as seen in several episodes of ENT, beginning with “Proving Ground.” The Kumari was destroyed in “Babel One.”
Scotty’s obsession with technical journals was first seen in “The Trouble with Tribbles” (TOS).
Page 27
The
planet Mythra, located in the NGC 434 system, was seen in Mission
to Horatius (TOS) by Mack Reynolds.
Page 30
The
Haradin traders were mentioned in “E²” (ENT).
The Helaspont Nebula was established as being near Tzenkethi space in “The Adversary” (DS9); the Star Charts interpretation puts it in the general vicinity of the Breen as well.
Page 31
The
potent power of the Breen energy-dampening weapon was demonstrated in
“The Changing Face of Evil” (DS9), where it
allowed the Dominion to retake the Chin’toka system and destroy
the U.S.S. Defiant.
Page 33
Doctor
Richard Daystrom, the M-5 computer, and most of the related events
referenced here were seen in “The Ultimate Computer”
(TOS). The explanation for the dominance of isolinear
technology over multitronics is our own invention, somewhat
extrapolating from Daystrom’s need to used his memory engrams
on the M-5.
Page 37
Scotty’s
mission with Starfleet Intelligence was depicted in the Star Trek:
Unlimited comic “None But the Brave” by Dan Abnett
and Ian Edginton.
Scotty helping Kirk steal the Enterprise and sabotage the Excelsior is of course in reference to Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.
The Delphi Ardu system was seen in “The Last Outpost” (TNG) where it was home to the last Tkon outpost. Going by Star Charts it is several sectors coreward of our location for Kropasar.
Page 38
Wrightwell,
when he was a commander, served as Nechayev’s aide. He was
mentioned in “Journey’s End” (TNG). In the
initial stages of the story’s planning of the story, he filled
the role Piñiero came to occupy.
Page 40
Scotty
stole the Yorktown from the Starfleet Museum to rescue Spock
from the Romulans in Crossover (TNG) by Michael Jan
Friedman.
Page 41
Two
versions of how Scotty met up with Morgan again have been told:
“Ancient History” by Robert J. Mendenhall in Strange
New Worlds VI and “Out of Time” by Michael Jan
Friedman in DC Comics’ second TNG special. He rescued
the Narisian refugees in Engines of Destiny, and fought with
Koloth in “Old Debts” by Kevin Ryan in the third TNG
special. Note that in “Old Debts” Scotty meets Robin
Lefler, which contradicts the Excalibur trilogy (and our own
story).
Page 43
Admiral
Koike ordered the da Vinci to travel to Maeglin in Here
There Be Monsters by Keith R.A. DeCandido, which occurs
simultaneous to this story. Here, we see the behind-the-scenes of
that order.
The Tellarite homeworld acquired the designation “Tellar Prime” in “Babel One” (ENT).
Page 44
The bar
Strange New Worlds first appeared in Requiem (NF) by Peter
David.
That Archer became Chief of Staff of Starfleet was established in a fleetingly-glimpsed monitor bio in “In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II” (ENT). It was our intention that the described offer actually occurred in the 602 Club (seen in “First Flight”), though we left it vague to avoid creating constraints.
Page 45
Scotty
was introduced to Aldebaran whiskey in “Relics.” It is
green. Saurian brandy has been a staple of Trek since “The
Enemy Within” (TOS).
Page 46
Horga'hns were
introduced in “The Captain's Holiday” (TNG).
Although Risa was first established to be a popular holiday destination in “The Captain's Holiday”, “Two Days And Two Nights” (ENT) told us that it was already known to Starfleet in the 22nd century, so Scotty had probably been there in the 23rd century.
The concept of jamaharon was introduced in “The Captain's Holiday”.
Page 47
Megarites were first seen in
Star Trek: The Motion Picture. In Ex Machina (TOS),
Christopher L. Bennett established that they had to wear "drysuits"
outside their natural habitat.
Page 48
The El
Dorado Holiday and Vacation Resort was first established in
eXcalibur: Renaissance (NF) by Peter David. We also found out
in the same book that Scotty was working there as a greeter.
When we first met them, the people living on Risa were called Risians. Later, they were also referred to as Risans. It is possible that both are accurate, but we chose the former.
Wrigley's Pleasure Planet was first mentioned in “The Man Trap” (TOS).
Casperia Prima was first mentioned in “Change of Heart” (DS9).
Phloston Paradise is a reference to the holiday planet in Luc Besson's film The Fifth Element.
The New Essentialists Movement and the repercussions of their tampering with Risa's weather control system were established in “Let He Who Is Without Sin” (DS9).
Page 49
The Temtibi Lagoon resort
was first mentioned in “Let He Who Is Without Sin”.
Originally, it was Morgan Bateson who spent his vacation on Risa and convinced Scotty to help the Risians with their weather control system. During the editorial process, this was changed to Admiral Ross, which added another layer to their relationship.
Page 50
The official name for the
planet was given as “Risan Hedony” in Star Trek: Star
Charts by Geoffrey Mandel. The same book also offers some data on
the numbers of people living on Risa as well as those visiting the
planet every year.
We never get to see Belunis. She is one of Scotty's short-time romances, and her inclusion in the story serves the sole purpose of showing that Scotty still enjoys the company of women. Ideally, the “Ah ... Belunis” is read/spoken in the same appreciative tone that Indiana Jones uses when he talks about Venice in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
Page 51
A Forfar Bridie is a
Scottish dish of beef, onions and seasoning in a pastry crust.
Dundee Cake is a rich type of cake topped with almonds, often served at Christmas.
Caledonian Cream is a traditional dessert containing, among other things, fresh cheese, brandy and marmalade.
Page 52
The Danish ancestry of
Scotty's mother was established in “Bum Radish: Five Spins on a
Turquoise Reindeer” (SNW6) by TG Theodore. The same
story also gave us a name for Scotty's sister (Kristen), but this
information was superceded by the publication of Gene DeWeese's
Engines of Destiny, which gave us a different name for her
(Clara).
Page 53
Tribblecoms,
the 24th-century equivalent to spam mail, were introduced in John J.
Ordover's Identity Crisis (SCE).
Theodore Quincy was introduced in Renaissance.
Withiki were first mentioned in The Final Reflection (TOS) by John M. Ford, then as a species subjugated by the Klingons. Some of them seem to have been granted asylum by the Federation ...
Page 54
The fact that Leland T.
Lynch had only made it to full commander by 2375 (eleven years after
his first appearance) is supposed to indicate that he is not all that
competent. Or maybe he's simply satisfied with his job.
Captain Xentalir is in command of one of the other Saber-class ships attached to the S.C.E. Our unpublished background information gives her full name as Aht Xentalir Min, and the ship she commands is supposed to be the U.S.S. Khwarizmi, but this has yet to be mentioned in print (and could very well be contradicted by upcoming eBooks).
Lieutenant Borosh is a Gallamite engineer who is first mentioned - as an ensign - in Progress (SCE). Terri Osborne was nice enough to include a reference to him in her story, for which we promptly forgot to thank her. Sorry about that, Terri. Thanks!
Page 55
Sonya
Gomez' Academy paper on subspace accelerators was first mentioned in
Invincible (SCE) by Keith R.A. DeCandido and David
Mack.
The former leader of the S.C.E. team on the U.S.S. da Vinci, a Vulcan called Salek, was first mentioned in The Belly of the Beast (SCE), where we find out that he died during the Dominion War. In Collective Hindsight (SCE) by Aaron Rosenberg, we meet him in a flashback that also details the “Cardassian” attack in which he was killed.
Page 56
Scotty's
parents wanting him to undergo command training is something that was
established in The Kobayashi Maru (TOS) by Julia Ecklar.
“Tarnday” is part of an attempt to create a different culture, the reason being that Federation members should not be automatically assumed to share the Terran seven-day week. This story assumes that there are at least nine days in a week, with two of them being explicitly named (whether or not that means the Risians adopted the seven Terran days and simply added two more is left to the reader).
Page 58
Clara being the name of
Scotty's sister is something which, as mentioned before, we found out
in Engines of Destiny. The fact that she married a Doctor
Hoffmann and moved to a place called Neu-Stuttgart is a reference to
Blackadder (specifially, the Blackadder II episode
“Bells”). Originally, the reference also included a
mention of Hoffmann's farm where he bred Regulan eelbirds.
Page 59
The timepiece on Scotty's
bungalow wall is supposed to be from a planet in the Canopus system
(also called Alpha Carinae). This system includes “the Canopus
planet”, which was first mentioned in “Where No Man Has
Gone Before” (TOS), which may or may not be identical
with one of the other planets established so far (Alpha Carinae II,
Alpha Carinae III/Canopus III, Alpha Carinae V).
Page 60
The
description of the fake warp core in the Engineering Room is based on
the relevant section of the Star Trek: The Next Generation
Technical Manual.
Page 62
Escherites
were first mentioned in Ex Machina.
Mizarthu have been featured in Diane Duane's Spock's World (TOS), Hortas were introduced in “Devil in the Dark” (TOS), and we met our first Gnalish in Reunion (TNG) by Michael Jan Friedman. Originally, this section was longer, also featuring some Aquans and Phylosians, among others. This was cut at some point during the writing process.
Page 63
Romulan kalifal was
first mentioned in “In the Pale Moonlight” (DS9).
It is quite possible that this is a name for a type of Romulan ale.
Scotty quotes Phineas Tarbolde, the famous poet from the Canopus planet, who wrote the sonnet “Nightingale Woman” (“Where No Man Has Gone Before”).
Page 64
Guinan and Scotty first
talked to each other in a bar in Glasgow (Engines of Destiny),
although they had seen each other before, on the Enterprise-B.
It is not at all unlikely that, although Guinan was nowhere to be
seen during “Relics”, Scotty and her met again before he
left the Enterprise-D.
Takarans were first seen in “Suspicions” (TNG). It is assumed that they are yet another species known for their alcoholic drinks.
Page 65
The
drinking habit is something that is both extrapolated from onscreen
evidence and explicit references in Engines of Destiny.
Whether Scotty really is an alcoholic is something about which the
readers are free to make up their own minds.
Page 66
It is
our assumption that Scotty was born and spent his early life in
Aberdeen, even though the evidence is more than shaky in this regard.
That he had moved into his sister's house is established in Engines
of Destiny.
Page 67
An
Antedean soaking spot has been neither seen nor featured in fiction
before. Since Antedeans are fish-like bipeds, it is assumed that they
have special hygienic needs, and they would most certainly prefer a
bathroom that was adapted to their needs. Imagining how such a
soaking spot looks like is something that is left to the reader.
“Khitomer” is, of course, a reference to the events of The Undiscovered Country, specifically the peace talks on the planet Khitomer, during which Scotty helped uncover a conspiracy that involved members from the Federation, the Klingon Empire, and the Romulan Star Empire.
Page 68
The Breen attack on Earth
happened in “The Changing Face of Evil” (DS9).
Page 69
Admiral Leonard McCoy was
first seen in the 24th century in "Encounter at Farpoint"
(TNG) and continues to appear in Star Trek fiction.
Arcturus, in addition to being a real star system, contains a planet that is generally referred to by the same name. Behind-the-scenes information for ST:TMP established that Arcturians made heavy use of cloning technology. For that reason, the planet seemed like a good place to hold a medical conference.
Page 70
Krung
Thep is the Thai name for Bangkok. The reason for McCoy's office
being located there is simple: Earth's a big place. :)
Page 71
The Carrington Award was
first mentioned in “Prophet Motive” (DS9) where
Dr. Julian Bashir was established to be the youngest person ever to
be nominated for it. Note that McCoy won the award - which is
generally considered to be a acknowledgment of a person's lifetime
achievement - twice. [If we assume that “Prophet Motive”
takes place around stardate 48600 - an assumption based on dates
given in both previous and subsequent episodes - this would give us a
date of early August for the announcement of the winner if we
followed the “1000 stardate units = 1 year” assumption.
As tthe scene with McCoy takes place in March, this would indicate
that the winners receive the awards over half a year after they are
chosen - perhaps to give them time to travel across the Federation
from their home to the planet where the award ceremony takes place.]
Page 72
Duritanium is a type of
alloy used in construction, known since before 2152 (“Minefield”
[ENT]). Plasteel is a material mentioned in numerous novels
(not limited to
Trek).
Page 73
Admiral
Pavel Chekov was established to be alive in 2377 in Vulcan's Soul:
Exodus (ST) by Josepha Sherman and Susan Shwartz. The same
book also established that Admiral Nyota Uhura had survived until at
least that date. Her working for Starfleet Intelligence is from
Vulcan's Heart (ST) and has since been mentioned in other
novels as well (such as Catalyst of Sorrows by Margaret Wander
Bonanno, for example).
Page 78
The bit
about the codes being based on engineering protocols and warp-field
physics is something taken from Crossover.
Admiral Nechayev's office is on Starbase 395, but it is unknown where this starbase is located exactly.
Zha is a polite form of address for the Andorian zhen gender. For detailed information about the four Andorian genders, read the post-finale DS9 novels, especially those written by Heather Jarman (This Gray Spirit and Andor: Paradigm [Worlds of Deep Space Nine, Volume One]).
Page 79
Theodore Quincy's request of
people to call him “Thomas” is likely to be due to an
editing error (in the first printing of Renaissance, at the
very least). In Renaissance, the character is introduced as
Theodore, but later he asks Scotty to call him “Thomas”.
We decided to treat this not as an error, but as a peculiar character
trait.
Page 80
“Varasday” is
another Risa-specific term, intended to add a bit of an alien touch.
M/ARA is the abbreviation for “Matter/Antimatter Reaction Assembly”, which is also called the warp reactor, warp engine core or main engine core (ST:TNG TM).
Page 81
“Asymmetrical
peristaltic field manipulation” is one of many complex terms
found in the index at the back of the ST:TNG TM, and
the first to catch Michael's eye when he wrote the section in
question.
Page 84
Kaferian apples were first
mentioned in “Where No Man Has Gone Before” and shown in
an illustration in Worlds of the Federation by Shane Johnson.
It is not all that implausible to assume they can be used in pies ...
The references to the Enterprise-B's encounter with the Nexus as seen in Star Trek: Generations and the subsequent media interest in Kirk's death and Harriman's involvement are a logical outgrowth of the number of journalists seen on the Enterprise-B during her maiden voyage. Note that Scotty, one of Kirk's friends who was on the ship during the entire crisis, does not blame Harriman at all.
Page 85
Nechayev is, of course,
referring to the theft of the Romulan cloaking device in “The
Enterprise Incident” (TOS).
The Axanar were first seen in “Fight or Flight” (ENT). There is currently no story that deals with the Enterprise's fight with the insurgents; the passage is based on TOS references to a battle between the Federation and the Axanar (“Whom Gods Destroy” and “Court Martial”) at some point before the series started. Even though there was a peace mission later on, it is not too much of a stretch to imagine that some people are not all that happy with the way things are. Originally, the script included a mention of security chief Giotto, who was to have died during an Axanar attack on the Enterprise.
The Pelosians' extinction problem was introduced in “Q2” (VOY), and detailed in Ex Machina. We establish that even though the Pelosians were saved in the end, Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise couldn't do it without violating quite a few Starfleet regulations.
As mentioned earlier, the Starstalker project is a reference to Starfleet Prototype, a fan publication.
Page 86
The
Talin incident is documented in Prime Directive (TOS)
by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens.
Gorborasti palmsnakes have not been featured anywhere before, don't worry.
Page 89
Originally, Beltz was an
actual background character who had lines of dialogue and a
backstory. This, however, was cut when it turned out that the story
was too long and he served no purpose that impacted the plot
directly. He was intended to add a little flavor to the story and
function as one of a handful of new friends that Scotty made since
his attempt at leaving the Fleet. Indeed, in an earlier draft, Scotty
refers to Beltz, son of Usreth, by using the tlhIngan Hol word
jup, which means “friend” in English.
The bit about “juicy Klingon romance novels” is a remnant of a scene where it was established that Scotty received such novels from Beltz in exchange for technical aid.
Page 90
Geren'zrix is supposed to be
a member of the same species as Lieutenant Vilix'pran, who was
introduced in “Heart of Stone” (DS9).
It is implied that zhutanii is the polite form of addressing an entire Andorian quad, although we will try not to be mad if future DS9 novels contradict this.
Page 91
The “old Fleet
proverb”, according to which rumors travel at warp 10, is a
reference to the opening sentence of Spock's World: “The
joke is in Starfleet that the only thing that can travel faster than
warp 10 is news.”
Page 92
Epsilon
Ceti is the name given to the Risian system in Star Charts.
The U.S.S. Cerberus, a Prometheus-class starship, was established to be Ross's flagship in Avatar, Book One (DS9) by S.D. Perry.
Page 94
Lydia
Littlejohn was the President of Earth in the early 2160s, as
established in Starfleet: Year One (ST) by Michael Jan
Friedman. Written before ENT was even announced, the history
as depicted in SF:YO is not entirely compatible with what was later
shown on screen, and it takes a little bit of tweaking by a dedicated
fan to make both accounts of that period work together.
Page 95
Chronologically speaking,
Romulan minefields and cloaking devices were first seen in the
aptly-named “Minefield” (ENT). Note that we wrote
“crudely disguised” (emphasis added), which is
intended to hint at the “arms race” taking place between
the fledgling Federation and the Romulan Star Empire. By this, the
apparent contradiction with “Balance of Terror” (TOS)
is intended to be resolved.
The Xindi attack on Earth happened in “The Expanse” (ENT).
Page 98
Admiral Leonard James Akaar
is the same person as the son of Teer Akaar born at the end of
“Friday's Child” (TOS). He was established to be a
Starfleet admiral in Twilight (DS9) by David R. George
III.
Admiral Mondolen is a character from an unpublished and unfinished fanfic story by Michael (for those who are interested: his first name is Hevlan, and he's human - although we never intended to mention all that in this story).
Cartwright is the name of the Starfleet admiral portrayed by Brock Peters in Star Trek: The Voyage Home and Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country. The latter film established him to be one of the chief conspirators that intended to provoke a new war between the Federation and the Klingon Empire.
Th'Zhalin, T'Vreen, Usbek-Wran, Almodóvar and Ortolappin have not yet been featured in any story. All we know about them is that Ross includes them in his speech about people who do bad things for good reasons.
Page 100
The
U.S.S. Leonov was first seen in the May picture of the 2003
Ships of the Line calendar, which included a bit of text about
her crew trying to escape the warp core breach by landing on an
L-class planet. The Ross backstory is from an unfinished outline that
would have explored more of his clandestine dealings in the employ of
both Starfleet Intelligence and Section 31, resulting in the eventual
assignment of Scotty as the S.C.E. liaison to the admiralty. As it
turned out, what we have now is a much better story, mostly because
we didn't go down that route. Also, a story with Scotty as the main
character is probably more fun than one with Ross, to be honest. :)
The Tzenkethi were first mentioned in “The Adversary” (DS9). Various novels have hinted at the conflict between the Federation and the Coalition, but so far we have not been given much information about it - which was reason enough to add this bit.
Page 101
The Arias Sector is
supposed to be the region of space where the mission took place that
Kathryn Janeway refers to in “Caretaker”. Perhaps it was
named for, say, Don Luis Arias, a Spanish envoy to South America in
the 16th century.
Page 104
Ross is referring to the
events of “Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges” (DS9).
Page 107
The U.S.S. Lollipop
was first mentioned in “The Arsenal of Freedom” (TNG) as
part of a ruse devised by William T. Riker. It is assumed that the
name is generally used in a jocular manner throughout the Fleet. Who
knows, maybe the Shirley Temple classic “On the Good Ship
Lollipop” is a popular song in the Federation of the 24th
century ...
Page 108
Daluvia
is the name of a planet mentioned previously in Demons of Air and Darkness
(DS9) by Keith R.A. DeCandido. The inclusion was always intended as an
hommage to our esteemed editor's work (do not believe those who claim
otherwise). Also, Oceania has always been at war with Eurasia.
36 Ursae Majoris is a real star, and one of the first known to possess extrasolar planets. In addition, it is shown on the cover of Star Charts, which made the search for a star to include rather easy. :)
Ross's full middle name has not yet been stated in any source, and so Michael decided to do it. The reason for choosing “Johannes” is, among others, the lack of non-English names in televised Star Trek which he admits to be a pet peeve of his. Also, it's the name of his brother, so that was a good reason, too. :)
Page 112
The
description of the El Dorado's lobby complete with a fake sun is
taken from Renaissance.
Page 113
Hekarans were introduced in
“Force of Nature” (TNG).
Page 114
The bit
with Morgan Primus and Robin Lefler is taken straight from
Renaissance. The only difference is that Scotty's accent is no
longer phonetically rendered, which makes it slightly more readable.
:)
Page 115
The
reference should include the Excelsior, not the Enterprise,
since Chapel was established to be a member of the Excelsior's
crew in The Lost Era: The Sundered by Michael A. Martin and
Andy Mangels.
Scotty mistakenly thought James Kirk had come to liberate him from his transporter prison in "Relics". Such a mistake is understandable, considering that he spent 75 years stored in a pattern buffer.
Page 118
Rafe Viola and his “son”
Nik first appeared in Renaissance. Nik killed Quincy in that
novel and threw Scotty down the El Dorado's computer shaft, only to
discover in Restoration (NF) that Scotty had survived.
Page 120
The Lohlunat Festival in
Suraya Bay was first mentioned in “Two Days and Two Nights”
(ENT).
Page 121
Caldos Colony was first mentioned (and
seen) in “Sub Rosa” (TNG).
Page 125
Lasca was
seen in an alternate reality in “Non Sequitur” (VOY),
and despite being the only canonical member of the S.C.E. to appear,
he has never before shown up in the S.C.E. stories. In
that episode, he worked on the experimental Yellowstone
runabout with Harry Kim. The Yellowstone boasted new
tetryon plasma warp nacelles, but suffered from continual dilithium
fracture problems.
You can see an amazed looking Guidon in the picture on the
right.
Page 126
The
“retractable sensor pod” line is intended to explain why
the Yellowstone has a sensor pod in some shots in “Non
Sequitur” and not others.
Page 129
Captain
Bor Loxx is a character that's appeared in various pieces of
Michael's (unpublished) Trek fiction, but The Future Begins is
his first appearance outside fanfic.
The Akarana is
named for the Maori name for the city of Auckland, to maintain
consistency with the use of Earth cities for other ships of the
Istanbul-class. In previous drafts, the ship was the
Avalon of the Bell-class, and later, the Aotearoa
of the Enarchis-class (with Aotearoa being the Maori name for
New Zealand).
Page 130
The Istanbul class
was first mentioned in “The Schizoid Man” (TNG).
We imagine the design as being consistent with
that established by the ASDB.
The Palais de la Concorde in Paris was established in A Time to
Kill (TNG) by David Mack.
Page 132
Tiburonians
have previously appeared on screen in “The Way to Eden”
(TOS), “The Savage Curtain” (TOS), and “The
Ship” (DS9).