A Time to Die is a Star Trek novel, the second book in the A Time to... miniseries which provides a story buildup to Star Trek Nemesis. While the series encompassed elements of multiple spinoff series as a crossover, the main plot was generally a TNG tie-in, although the books were not branded with the Star Trek: The Next Generation logotype. This installment was written by John Vornholt and released March 2004. The initial concept for the series was for each novel to be a two-part duology, with the naming corresponding to couplets of the well-known prose of Ecclesiastes in the Bible. As such, this second book was a direct followup to A Time to Be Born.
Aspects of these books relating to the continuity of the so-called "relaunch" group of series was revealed in Star Trek: Coda to be part of the First Splinter timeline, an alternate reality that diverges from the primary universe of canon Star Trek, although the conclusion of that timeline leaves open the possibility that non-contradictory concepts and events of A Time to... books might also reflect the continuity of the prime version of events.
Description[]
- It was supposed to be a mission of mercy, until the unthinkable occurred: the destruction of the USS Juno, killing all hands on board. Starfleet Command has unjustly assessed the actions of Captain Picard and the Enterprise crew during that fateful assignment to the Rashanar Battle Site—the sector that saw one of the fiercest conflicts of the Dominion War, and which is now a hazardous interstellar graveyard filled with hundreds of devastated starships. While the court-ordered medical evaluation that relieved Picard of command is ongoing, there is growing speculation that his illustrious career may be coming to an end.
- To clear his former commander, acting captain William Riker and a demoralized skeleton crew agree to conduct a covert operation, and must venture the starship Enterprise back into Rashanar to track down a mythical menace—one that may already be responsible for the annihilation of countless fully armed starships. Unbridled hostility and the promise of death lurk at every turn, but they could never imagine that their only chance of survival may lie in the unexpected return of a long-absent friend…
Summary[]
Wesley Crusher reveals his presence to Commodore Korgan and Counselor Colleen Cabot and persuades them to help Picard. When negotiations with the Ontailians break down, Admiral Alynna Nechayev decides to secretly send the Enterprise back to Rashanar Battle Site under William Riker's command, with Picard, Cabot and Wesley (still disguised as Brewster) along as passengers.
Picard, Christine Vale, Wesley and Cabot enter the battle site disguised as scavengers and Wesley is forced to reveal his identity to everyone to save them from Orions. It becomes clear that the mimic ship is the demon flyer of Ontailian mythology and they have been feeding it antimatter as a tribute. It is also discovered that a gravity sink at the center of the battle site is a rift to a universe of antimatter; the mimic ship has been destroying ships to leech off their antimatter and deliver it through the rift.
Picard's group are contacted by Androssi, who ask for their assistance in recovering one of their number, Fristan, from the Pakleds. Wesley inadvertently causes the destruction of the Pakled ship by luring the mimic ship to their location but manages to rescue Fristan.
Cabot offers to go with the Androssi instead of Fristan and persuades them to destroy the gravity sink while it is in the process of receiving a delivery. The explosion destroys the Androssi ship and Wesley rescues Cabot… only to have her promptly killed in an Orion attack.
Fristan persuades Wesley to transport him to the Enterprise, where he helps the Ontailians take over the vessel and use it as a lure for the mimic ship. Geordi La Forge manages to retake the vessel and Fristan falls to his death when gravity is abruptly restored. Wesley persuades Riker and Data to set the self-destruct while the mimic ship is copying the Enterprise, so it replicates the destruct sequence (knowing the real Enterprise will be saved by the power drain). Wesley then completes the job by setting the fake Enterprise to overload.
With the mimic ship destroyed, the Ontailians elect to remain in the Federation on condition events are not made public and Picard is restored to command. Wesley is welcomed back into the fold by the Traveler and selects Korgan as his apprentice.
References[]
Characters[]
- Brewster (alias) • Colleen Cabot • Beverly Crusher • Wesley Crusher • Data • demon flyer • Jason Emery • Erwin • Evol • Fristan • Garsee • Hidek • Jacer • Korgan • Geordi La Forge • Moroz • Mamoru Nakamura • Alynna Nechayev • Owen Paris • Kell Perim • Jean-Luc Picard • William Riker • William Ross • Taluk • Telek (Vulcan) • the Traveler • Deanna Troi • Christine Vale • Vengus • USS Enterprise-E personnel
- Referenced only
- Charles Dickens • Richard Nixon • Min Zife
Starships and vehicles[]
- USS Enterprise-E (Sovereign-class explorer) • USS Hickok (Ambassador-class heavy cruiser) • Skegge • Yoxced • the mimic ship
- Referenced only
- Jem'Hadar battle cruiser • USS Juno (Excelsior-class cruiser) • Runabout Ohio
Locations[]
Rashanar Battle Site (Rashanar sector, the galaxy's Alpha or Beta Quadrant)
- Referenced only
- Ona (the galaxy's Alpha or Beta Quadrant) • SCE Headquarters, San Francisco • China (Earth, Sol star system, treaty boundary quadrant 0, sector 001, the galaxy's Alpha Quadrant)
Races and cultures[]
- android • Androssi • Hok'Tar • Kreel • Ontailian • Orion • Pakled • Alpha and Beta Quadrant races and cultures
States and organizations[]
- Dominion • Maquis • Starfleet • Starfleet Command • Starfleet Corps of Engineers • United Federation of Planets
Science and classification[]
- astronomy • energy • gravity • hologram • holoprogram • hypnosis • lifeform • light • matter • measurement • medicine • photon • psychiatry • technology • time • universe • volcano • weapon
Astronomy[]
Lifeforms[]
- caterpillar • humanoid • demon flyer/mimic ship
Materials and substances[]
- antimatter • atmosphere • blood • drink • food • gas • lectrazine • metal
Food and drink[]
- ale • Romulan ale
Measurement[]
Technology and weapons[]
- android • cloaking device • disruptor • emotion chip • Klingon disruptor • holographic projector • photon torpedo • ship-mounted weapon • torpedo • transporter
Occupations and titles[]
- acting captain • admiral • author • captain • chief engineer • chief medical officer • command division • commander • commanding officer • commodore • counselor • doctor • engineer • ensign • first officer • lieutenant commander • medic • navigator • operations division • operations manager • physician • president (Federation President, US President) • science officer • scientist • sciences division • second officer • security • security chief • tactical officer
Other references[]
- alien • auto-destruct • boot • clothing • court • death • demon flyer • government • graveyard • hair • jacket • jumpsuit • law • mission • mythology • nation state • pants • ponytail • Pool of Prophecy • proverb • races and cultures • science • self-destruct • self-destruct sequence • shirt • Starfleet uniform • Starfleet uniform (2373-2380s) • textiles • title • uniform
Chronology[]
- 2378 (2370s chronology, Enterprise-E voyages)
- Enterprise returns to Rashanar.
Appendices[]
Related media[]
- A similar story concept of the Enterprise being framed by a mimic ship was used in 1990 to wrap up the first year of the TNG comic series from DC Comics.
Background[]
- Cross Cult released German language translations of this series in 2022-2023 with the title Zeit des Wandels, with this installment titled Tod.
Images[]
Connections[]
| The A Time to... Mini-Series | ||
|---|---|---|
| A Time to Be Born | A Time to Die | A Time to Sow |
| A Time to Harvest | A Time to Love | A Time to Hate |
| A Time to Kill | A Time to Heal | A Time for War, A Time for Peace |
Timeline[]
| published order | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous novel: A Time to Be Born |
TNG novels | Next novel: A Time to Sow |
| Previous novel: A Time to Be Born |
TNG novels A Time to... |
Next novel: A Time to Sow |
| Previous story: A Time to Be Born |
Stories by: John Vornholt |
Next story: most recent story |
| chronological order | ||
| Previous Adventure: A Time to Be Born |
Next Adventure: A Time to Sow Chapters 3-31 | |
| Previous Adventure: A Time to Be Born |
Voyages of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-E) |
Next Adventure: A Time to Sow Chapters 3-31 |
External link[]
- A Time to Die article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.