Star Trek #1627: Wildfire, Book 2

PUBLICATION: Star Trek: S.C.E. #24, Pocket Books, January 2003

CREATORS: David Mack

STARDATE: 53781.3 (straight from the previous book)

PLOT: After the USS Orion's saucer section has crashed into the da Vinci, Gomez takes charge of what crew is left to repair key systems before the integrity field drops and the ship is crushed by the gas giant's atmosphere. A crazy plan to salvage the Orion's warp drive and install it in record time so the ship can pull out of the planet's influence is pulled off, but meanwhile, Commander Duffy, convinced that the planet is inhabited by sentient beings, makes the ultimate sacrifice, on a one-way ticket to prevent the Wildfire device's detonation lower down in the atmosphere. The beings recognize that sacrifice and even return the device and his body to the heavily damaged ship, but is it too late for Duffy?

CONTINUITY: Duffy's memories include moments on the Enterprise-D and his relationship with Sonya Gomez there, setting her departure to her next posting (on the USS Oberth) directly after The Loss (and the ship's encounter with a cosmic string fragment).

DIVERGENCES: None.

SCREENSHOT OF THE WEEK - Falling deep into a gas giant

REVIEW: If ever a chapter of S.C.E. felt like a season finale, it was Wildfire Book 1. Book 2 is a worthy continuation that goes the extra light-year by having massive consequences for the cast. Among the dead are at least a couple names one my recognize more than casually, and as for the main one, they're given their due with beautiful flashbacks and lots of inner turmoil, not to mention everyone else's reactions. It got to me. I sobbed through the last few chapters, partly in grief, partly in the hope of relief, as this is Star Trek and it's not over 'til it's over. Writer David Mack manages to make me accept either outcome, which isn't a small feat. Otherwise, it's classic S.C.E., but more intense. The ship is crippled, there's lots to do to save even what's left, much of it cleverly done, and there's a crazy plan involved. The characters are well drawn, and many of them are unlikely to be the same by the time Book 25 rolls around. This could be the biggest, boldest and best story in the line.