Michael A. Martin

Pax Galactica. Enemies become allies. Old secrets are at last revealed. Long-held beliefs and widely accepted truths are challenged. Man turns to leisurely pursuits. In this golden age, two old friends are drawn together. They seek to understand, and wonder how what they have long believed, what they have been taught, was never so. Over two hundred years ago, the life of one of Starfleet's earliest pioneers came to a tragic end, and Captain Jonathan Archer, the legendary commander of Earth's first warp-five starship, lost a close friend. Or so it seemed for many years. But with the passage of time, and the declassification of certain crucial files, the truth about that fateful day -- the day that Commander Charles "Trip" Tucker III didn't die -- could finally be revealed. Why did Starfleet feel it was necessary to rewrite history? And why only now can the truth be told?

Prior to the terror-filled times of the Long War--the seemingly endless struggle against the Undine, a paranoid, shape-shifting race once known only as Species 8472--enemy sleeper agents quietly penetrated every echelon of Federation society, as well as other starfaring civilizations throughout the Alpha and Beta quadrants. The ensuing conflict shook humanity to its very core, often placing its highest ideals against a pure survival instinct. All too frequently, the Undine War demanded the harshest of sacrifices and exacted the steepest of personal costs from the countless millions whose lives the great interdimensional clash forever altered. Drawn from his exhaustive research and interviews, The Needs of the Many delivers a glimpse of Betar Prize-winning author Jake Sisko's comprehensive living history of this tumultuous era. With collaborator Michael A. Martin, Sisko illuminates an often-poorly-understood time, an age marked indelibly by both fear and courage--not to mention the willingness of multitudes of unsung heroes who became the living embodiment of the ancient Vulcan philosopher Surak's famous axiom, The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.

To protect the cargo ships essential to the continuing existence of the fledgling Coalition of Planets, the captains of the United Earth's Starfleet are ordered to interstellar picket duty, with little more to do than ask "Who goes there?" into the darkness of space. Captain Jonathan Archer of the Enterprise? seethes with frustration, wondering if anyone else can see what he sees. A secret, closed, militaristic society, convinced that their survival hangs by a thread, who view their neighbors as a threat to their very existence -- the Spartans of ancient Greece, the Russians of the old Soviet Union, the Koreans under Kim Il-sung -- with only one goal: attain ultimate power, no matter the cost. The little-known, never-seen Romulans seem to live by these same principles. The captain realizes that the bond between the signers of the Coalition charter is fragile and likely to snap if pushed. But he knows that the Romulans are hostile, and he believes they are the force behind the cargo ship attacks. If asked, Archer can offer no proof without endangering his friend's life. To whom does he owe his loyalty: his friend, his world, the Coalition? And by choosing one, does he not risk losing all of them? What is the solution to a no-win scenario?

THE BEGINNING OF A NEW "STAR TREK" (R) ODYSSEY After almost a decade of strife against foes such as the Borg, the Cardassians, the Klingons, and the Dominion, the United Federation of Planets is at the dawn of a new era. Starfleet is renewing its mission of peaceful exploration, diplomacy, and the expansion of knowledge. Among the starships spearheading that endeavor is the "U. S. S. Titan, " commanded by Captain William T. Riker and manned by the most biologically varied and culturally diverse crew in Starfleet history. But their mission does not begin according to plan. In the wake of "Star Trek (R) Nemesis, " Praetor Shinzon, slayer of the Romulan Senate, is dead. The power vacuum created by his demise has put the Romulan Star Empire, longtime adversary of the Federation, at the brink of civil war. Competing factions now vie for control of their fragmenting civilization, and if the empire should fall, that entire area of the galaxy may destabilize. To restore order to the region, "Titan" 's long-anticipated mission of exploration is delayed as Starfleet assigns Riker to set up power-sharing talks among the Romulan factions. But even as the first tentative steps are taken toward building a new Romulus, the remnants of the Tal Shiar, the dreaded Romulan intelligence service, are regrouping behind the scenes for a power play of their own. With no other help available, Riker and the "Titan" crew become the last hope to prevent the quadrant from falling into chaos.

Jonathan Archer may go down in Federation history a hero, but right now the captain considers himself a failure. Right under his nose the Romulans attacked and destroyed a helpless human cargo ship, the Kobayshi Maru, and there was nothing Archer could do the save the Maru without losing every member of the crew, and his ship. The captain knows that the Romulans are done testing the waters, they have perfected a way of remotely controlling Coalition ships and using them as weapons against each other, thus succeeding in driving a wedge of suspicion and mistrust between these new allies. The Romulans now are going to strike at what they see as the heart of their problem, Earth. Can the fragile Coalition of Planets hold up to an all out war?

The Old Line State