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The Enterprise leaps beyond our galaxy – into the deadly void of the universe.

Summary

From the book jacket
An alien scientist invents the intergalactic inversion drive, an engine system that transcends warp drive – and the USS Enterprise will be the first to test it! The Klingons attempt to thwart the test, but a greater danger looms when strange symptoms surface among the crew – and time becomes meaningless.
Now Captain Kirk and his friends face their greatest challenge – to repair the fabric of the universe before time is lost forever.

Excerpts of copyrighted sources are included for review purposes only, without any intention of infringement.

Chapter One

Kirk is frustrated at Federation and Starfleet politics, awaiting news of which starship is to be selected as test-vehicle for the inversion drive, a new concept in space travel propulsion. A communiqué from Starfleet Command arrives, revealing Enterprise has been selected. The ship proceeds to Starbase 18. Enterprise is to prepare to leave the galaxy.

Chapter Two

Enterprise puts into port at Starbase 18, orbiting the star Alpha Arietis (also known as Hamal).

Chapter Sixteen

A fleet of Federation starships greets Enterprise home

Background Information

  • This novel's premise was extensively rewritten to become the TNG episode "Where No One Has Gone Before". (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion)
  • Diane Duane's first Star Trek novel, this book introduces many supporting characters who would appear in her later TOS-era novels and comics.
  • Although the stardate given for Kirk's communiqué was 9250.00, this novel is apparently supposed to take place in the final years of the TOS-era five-year mission, even though stardates beginning with a "9" weren't used until the 2290s in canon productions.
  • In the final chapter, the fleet of ships greeting Enterprise was said to include a number of "heavy cruisers of her own class." While it seems unlikely they were all Constitution-class, they may belong to a similar heavy cruiser design, so as not to contradict the concept that there were only about 12 Constitutions in service in the 2260s. The text of the novel states there are 22 heavy cruisers in Starfleet service at the time.

Characters

Canon characters listed below are linked to the main article about them. Non-canon characters are not linked, but those that recurred, appearing or being mentioned in more than one story, are defined further in Pocket TOS characters.

Regular and recurring characters

Star Trek TOS cast

Enterprise staff

James T. Kirk at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
Enterprise captain
Spock at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
Half-Vulcan Enterprise exec and science officer
Leonard McCoy at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
Enterprise surgeon
Montgomery Scott at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
Enterprise chief engineer
Uhura at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
Enterprise communications officer
Hikaru Sulu at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
Enterprise helmsman
Pavel Chekov at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
Enterprise navigator
K's't'lk
Child/creation of K't'lk
Reappears in Spock's World
Mahásë
Starfleet lieutenant, beta shift communications officer subordinate to Uhura
Harb Tanzer at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
Chief of recreation aboard the Enterprise

Other characters

Katha'sat
Starfleet commodore in command of Starbase 18. It was a Hest.
K't'lk
Born around 1406, Hamalki scientist who led the creation of inversion drive.
Rhonda S. Halloran
Starfleet vice admiral stationed on Earth, she relayed news of Enterprise being selected to Kirk.
Klingon captain
Female captain of the IKS Kaza, flagship of the fleet which ambushed Enterprise. After a running battle with over half a dozen Klingon warships, Enterprise was hailed by Kaza's captain, advising them to kill their helmsman so that the afterlife would know which ship's crew to expect next.

Mentioned

B't'kr
Hamalki scientist who was a contributor to the inversion drive design.
Sivek
Vulcan scientist who was a contributor to the inversion drive design.
T'pask
Vulcan scientist who was a contributor to the inversion drive design.

References

Alpha Arietis at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
Spectral class KO star, primary of Hamal, location of Starbase 18.
IKS Amak (KL-02) at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
Klingon warship, part of the ambush force that attempted to interrupt the test of the inversion drive by attacking Enterprise. Amak was lured into the corona of the star 109 Piscium, following Enterprise. Attempting to turn too sharply, Amak overstressed its hull and imploded.
USS Arizona at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
Defender-class Federation starship, one of those assembled to greet Enterprise back home.
USS Armstrong at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
Cutter type Federation starship.
USS Bismarck at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
Defender-class Federation starship, one of those assembled to greet Enterprise back home.
USS Challenger at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
Federation starship. Kirk recognized the Challenger while entering port at Starbase 18.
USS Condor at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
Federation starship. Kirk recognized the Condor while entering port at Starbase 18.
USS Constitution at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
Federation starship, a light cruiser.
Oddly, the Constitution would presumably be a heavy cruiser, if it was truly the prototype of the class Enterprise. It's possible the ship had been replaced or modified into a light cruiser.
code 064
Starfleet communications protocol for bad news sent by a flag officer
Coma B patrol corridor
Area of space the Enterprise was in when recalled for the inversion drive tests.
USS Dataphda at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
Defender-class Federation starship, one of those assembled to greet Enterprise back home.
Defender-class at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
Type of Federation starship, a multi-hulled battleship. Defenders were so large, Starfleet traffic codes required these ships to maintain an eight kilometer limit in ship formations. Seven of these vessels assembled in the fleet to greet Enterprise home.
USS Divine Wind at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
Defender-class Federation starship, one of those assembled to greet Enterprise back home.
USS Eilonwy at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
Federation starship. Kirk recognized the Eilonwy while entering port at Starbase 18.
elective mass inversion apparatus
Central component to the propulsion system known as "inversion drive."
IKS Enekti (KL-66) at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
Klingon warship, part of the ambush force that attempted to interrupt the test of the inversion drive by attacking Enterprise. Enekti was destroyed when Sulu's aggressive piloting lured Enekti into attacking, overstressing its structural integrity field, shearing off a nacelle.
USS Erinnye
Carrier type Federation starship, one of those assembled to greet Enterprise back home.
Eseriat
Humanoid species with craggy facial features, their skin, hair and eyes are all solid gray. Lieutenant Mahásë was Eseriat.
USS Henrietta Leavitt at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
Federation starship assigned by Vice Admiral Halloran to replace Enterprise in the Coma B patrol.
Hamal at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
Fourth planet orbiting Alpha Arietis, home of the Hamalki species and the location of Starbase 18.
Hamalki at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
Species native to the Alpha Arietis system.
Hest at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
Plural "Hestv," a humanoid species from Rukbah V.
Hilbert field torus
Construct which Scotty ordered built in main engineering. After two weeks of assembly work, Scott had it removed to make way for the inversion apparatus.
USS Hypsipyle
Carrier type Federation starship, one of those assembled to greet Enterprise back home.
USS Inaieu at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
Defender-class Federation starship, one of those assembled to greet Enterprise back home.
Inaieu next appeared in My Enemy, My Ally.
USS Indomitable at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
Heavy cruiser class Federation starship. Kirk recognized Indomitable entering port at Starbase 18, and later the vessel was one of those assembled to greet Enterprise back home.
inertrogen at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
An apparently inert gaseous element used in storing artwork.
USS Intrepid at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
Heavy cruiser class Federation starship, this replacement for the previous Intrepid was one of those assembled to greet Enterprise back home. Her shields were keyed to flare blue, the flag code for a home port of Vulcan.
This ship appeared again in Duane's later novel My Enemy, My Ally. This is presumably the same replacement Intrepid mentioned as being under construction in the Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens novel Prime Directive. In My Enemy, My Ally, the Intrepid is described as a prototype for the modifications seen in Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
inversion drive at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
New form of propulsion to be tested by Enterprise, providing instantaneous travel anywhere in the galaxy, and beyond.
USS Isshasshte at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
Heavy cruiser class Federation starship, Isshasshte was one of those assembled to greet Enterprise back home. Her shields were keyed to flare pale blue, the flag code for a home port of Deneb.
Jane's Fighting Starships
Publication. Kirk mused the assembled fleet greeting them home looked like the holo-foldout of this 23rd century version of Jane's Fighting Ships.
IKS Kaza (KL-8) at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
Klingon warship, with a female captain, part of the ambush force that attempted to interrupt the test of the inversion drive by attacking Enterprise.
USS John F. Kennedy at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
Heavy cruiser class Federation starship, Kennedy was one of those assembled to greet Enterprise back home. Her shields were keyed to flare yellow, the flag code for a home port of Earth.
IKS Kj'khrry (KL-14) at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
Klingon warship, part of the ambush force that attempted to interrupt the test of the inversion drive by attacking Enterprise.
IKS Kytin (KL-55) at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
Klingon warship, part of the ambush force that attempted to interrupt the test of the inversion drive by attacking Enterprise.
USS Lookfar at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
Federation starship. Kirk recognized the Lookfar while entering port at Starbase 18.
USS Marya Morevna
Carrier type Federation starship, one of those assembled to greet Enterprise back home.
IKS Menekku (KL-96) at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
Klingon warship, part of the ambush force that attempted to interrupt the test of the inversion drive by attacking Enterprise.
USS M'hasien at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
Defender-class Federation starship, one of those assembled to greet Enterprise back home.
USS Milton Humason at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
Federation starship. Kirk recognized the Humason while entering port at Starbase 18.
nhwe
Hestv liquor, containing a neuropressor hormone.
IKS Okuv (KL-782) at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
Klingon warship, part of the ambush force that attempted to interrupt the test of the inversion drive by attacking Enterprise.
Constitutions formation

The Potemkin with three other heavy cruisers (TOS: "The Ultimate Computer")

USS Potemkin at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
Heavy cruiser class Federation starship. Potemkin was one of those assembled to greet Enterprise back home. Her shields were keyed to flare blue, the flag code for a home port of Earth.
USS Queen Christina
Carrier type Federation starship, one of those assembled to greet Enterprise back home.
USS QE III at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
Federation starship. Kirk recognized the QE III while entering port at Starbase 18.
May be named after a Queen Elizabeth III, or be the third ship to be named Queen Elizabeth, as with the passenger ship QE-2.
USS Raptor at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
Federation starship that was Vice Admiral Halloran's first choice for the inversion drive test.
Recreation
Department aboard Enterprise in charge of the recreation deck, and the morale of the crew. The recreation chief was Lt. Tanzer, a medical officer subordinate to Dr. McCoy.
Rec Room - The Forest

Crewmembers in a holographic forest simulation (TAS: "The Practical Joker")

Recreation room
Area on the Enterprise set aside for crew gatherings and interaction, and relaxation. Harb Tanzer was putting up a forest hologram in the recreation room.
USS Rodger Young at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
Defender-class Federation starship, one of those assembled to greet Enterprise back home.
Rukbah system
Star system, location of the Hestv civilization. This system is also known as Omega Cygni.
Rukbah V
Planet, homeworld of the Hestv.
Starbase 18 at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
Federation starbase, a station in the Alpha Arietis system, 200 million km from Hamal. An oblong space station, Starbase 18 was cigar shaped, and built with elaborate golden spires and architecture. Kirk found the design very alien, full of crystal and mirror finish metal surfaces (see Federation starbases).
USS Surak at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
Heavy cruiser class Federation starship, Surak was one of those assembled to greet Enterprise back home. Her shields were keyed to flare blue, the flag code for a home port of Vulcan.
USS Tao Feng at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
Heavy cruiser class Federation starship, Tao Feng was one of those assembled to greet Enterprise back home. Her shields were keyed to flare blue, the flag code for a home port of Earth.
Tegmenir at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
Species which had discovered Humanity through a single object, a chair. Kirk remembered this example when remembering the folly of characterizing a species by their design or architecture. Apparently the Tegmenir got the wrong idea about Humans, based on the chair.
USS Thermopylae at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
Starfleet Engineering vessel.
USS T'Laea
Starfleet Engineering vessel.
IKS Tukab (KL-94) at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
Klingon warship, part of the ambush force that attempted to interrupt the test of the inversion drive by attacking Enterprise.
USS Valkyr
Carrier type Federation starship, one of those assembled to greet Enterprise back home.
Veriglas at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
An apparently transparent synthetic material used in storing artwork.

External links


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#12: Mutiny on the Enterprise Pocket TOS
Numbered novels
#14: The Trellisane Confrontation
The Final Nexus (#18) Titan Books release order  Vulcan's Glory (#20)
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