Captain Kirk's deadliest enemy returns… — Double, Double is a Star Trek novel, the 45th book in the TOS numbered series from Pocket Books. Authored as the first of many Star Trek books by Michael Jan Friedman, Double, Double was released in April 1989.
Description[]
- On a routine exploratory mission, the starship USS Hood picks up a distress signal from a research expedition thought lost long ago—the expedition of Dr. Roger Korby, one of the centuries' greatest scientific minds. Korby himself is dead, it seems, but his colleagues have made a most incredible discovery—a discovery they insist the Hood's captain see for himself. Reluctantly, the captain agrees to beam down…
- Meanwhile, the crew of the USS Enterprise begins long overdue shore leave on Tranquility Seven. James T. Kirk is looking forward to a few days of rest and relaxation… until what seems like a bizarre case of mistaken identity plunges Kirk into a whirlpool of mayhem and murder.
- And puts an inhuman stranger with his memories and abilities in command of the Enterprise.
Summary[]
On the planet Exo III, a duplicate of Brown returns to Korby's laboratory to find the other androids dead. Using the records of Kirk's visit, he is able to construct another android of Kirk, who takes charge of their operation.
The Enterprise helps evacuate an island on the planet T'nufo which is about to be struck by meteors. During the mission, Kirk saves the life of a young native, K'leb, and, as a result, K'leb is bound to serve him for a year or until he saves his life. Reluctantly, Kirk takes K'leb aboard the ship as an honorary crewmember.
Brown and the android Kirk summon the USS Hood to Exo III, where Captain Joaquin Martinez and his landing party are killed and replaced with androids. They smuggle the pair aboard the ship and take them to Midos V, where they begin kidnapping and duplicating colonists, building a small group of androids.
When both the Enterprise and the Hood are assigned to a sector frequented by Romulans, the android Kirk heads to Tranquility Seven, where the Enterprise crew are due shore leave, where he cheats the local crime lord, a Rythrian. When Kirk comes to the planet, he is mistaken for his duplicate and taken prisoner by the criminals, allowing the android to take over the Enterprise. He then takes the ship to Midos Five on the pretext of searching for the missing colonists, where the search parties, including Spock, Sulu, Chekov and Chapel, are captured and duplicated. The empathic K'leb notes the change in Kirk and alerts McCoy to his suspicions.
Kirk escapes from the Rythrian's people and attempts to contact the Federation. He is recovered by the android Martinez who, upon finding out how much he knows, attempts to kill him. He is saved by the arrival of the chief medical officer, Doctor Chin, who has also become suspicious, and manages to destroy the fake Martinez. He and Chin then gather a group of loyal officers, destroy the remaining androids and retake the ship.
The Enterprise, the Hood and the Potemkin are ordered to intervene when the Romulans seize a freighter that supposedly violated their space. The android Kirk attempts to bluff the Romulans into believing he has cloaked ships backing him but they call his bluff and open fire, disabling his ship. The Hood and Potemkin arrive and Kirk tricks the Romulans into flying into range of the still armed Enterprise, which fires on them, damaging or destroying the ships and forcing them to withdraw.
After getting a full list of replaced crewmembers from Uhura, Kirk beams over to the Enterprise and gathers Scotty and his engineers to retake the ship. The android Kirk and his bridge crew attempt to evacuate but Kirk tracks them to the shuttle bay and tricks the android into destroying a shuttle, with the android being destroyed in the fuel explosion.
The Enterprise returns to Midos Five where the crew overpower the androids and rescue the originals of Spock and the others, who Brown had refused to kill. Brown and the others are allowed to settle on Palantine IV, a planet unsuitable for organic life, and, since his suspicions allowed Kirk to convince the crew of his identity and saved his life, Kirk discharges a grateful K'leb from his service.
References[]
Characters[]
- Adler • Seth Ascher • Jamal Banks • Bokeek • Aaron Brown • Campeas • Chaney • Christine Chapel • Christine Chapel (android) • Pavel Chekov • Pavel Chekov (android) • Kai Chin • Donald Clifford • Critelli • Denise DeLong • Hautala • Holgersson • Hwong • James T. Kirk • James T. Kirk (android) • K'leb • Joaquin Martinez • Leonard McCoy • Paikert • Alan Paultic • Montgomery Scott • Silverman • Spock • Spock (android) • Stuart • Hikaru Sulu • Hikaru Sulu (android) • Nyota Uhura • Valjean • Whitehead • Wood (security)
- Referenced only
- Andrea • Roger Korby • Ruk
Starships and vehicles[]
- ChR Ar'kalid • ChR Brak'makh • car • USS Hood • ChR Ka'frah • ChR M'sarr • USS Potemkin • shuttlecraft • truck
Locations[]
- planet Exo III, coordinates 52.2, 74.1, 70.6, Exo star system, the galaxy's Alpha Quadrant
- planet Midos V, Midos star system, the galaxy's Alpha or Beta Quadrant
- planet T'nufo, the galaxy's Alpha or Beta Quadrant
- planet Tranquility VII, Tranquility star system, the galaxy's Alpha or Beta Quadrant
- Referenced only
-
- Starfleet Headquarters, planet Earth, Sol star system, sector 001, treaty boundary quadrant 0, the galaxy's Alpha Quadrant
- planet Palantine IV, Palantine star system, the galaxy's Alpha or Beta Quadrant
Planetary locations[]
- Tranquility VII
- Bruzavpek's • Tranktown
Shipboard locations[]
- USS Enterprise
- bridge • quarters • shuttlebay • transporter room
- USS Hood
- bridge • quarters • transporter room
Races and cultures[]
- Referenced only
- Old Ones
States and organizations[]
Science and classification[]
- air • blood • brakes • cash register • dilithium • earlobe • energy • fog • galaxy • hair • headlight • lifeform • light • machine • matter • mile • minute • mirror • motor • orbit • phaser • space • star • star system • starship • time • transporter • turbolift • vocal cord
Occupations and titles[]
- admiral • bartender • captain • chief medical officer • chief science officer • commander • commanding officer • doctor • driver • first officer • fur trader • lieutenant • lieutenant commander • nurse • pickpocket • trader
Other references[]
- asteroid • bar • beaver • booze • bottle • brandy • chair • credit • crystal • cup • day • death • distress signal • door bolt • drink • emotion • fence • glass • hlinga worm • humanoid • inn • jacket • juice • lapel • lead • Malachi's Boot • meteor • military • money • month • moon • music • planet • plexiglass • pocket • private club • rank • rube • sack • salute • shirt • shore leave • smuggling • sofa • spaceport • steel • table • tea • technology • title • uniform • vestibule • weapon • week • worm • year
Appendices[]
Images[]
Connections[]
Timeline[]
| published order | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous novel: Vulcan's Glory |
TOS numbered novels | Next novel: The Cry of the Onlies |
| chronological order | ||
| Previous Adventure: The Paradise Syndrome |
Next Adventure: The Enterprise Incident | |
| Previous Adventure: The Paradise Syndrome |
Voyages of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) (2264 to 2270) |
Next Adventure: The Enterprise Incident |
Publication history[]
Translations[]
- 1994
- German language: Das Doppelgänger-Komplott, translated by Andreas Brandhorst (Heyne).
External link[]
- Double, Double article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.