New Earth is a six novel TOS miniseries published in the year 2000. The series, which took place between The Motion Picture and The Wrath of Khan, was meant to provide the set-up for a new ongoing series, Challenger, with the last book being the first installment of that short-lived spin-off (despite being numbered as part of the Pocket TOS line).
Novels (blurbs)[]
Wagon Train to the Stars, by Diane Carey[]
After saving Earth from the threat of V'Ger, James T. Kirk is called again to the final frontier. His new mission: to lead a valiant group of settlers to a distant world, to defend the struggling colony from alien threats, and to explore the diverse mysteries and dangers of a strange new Earth!
Far from the Federation, a newly discovered M-class world has been eyed as a potential home by a group of hardy and determined colonists. Starfleet can spare only one starship to escort the would-be settlers on their perilous voyage, but that ship is none other than the legendary Starship Enterprise, commanded by the most well-known captain in the quadrant. Now Kirk finds himself responsible for the lives of 60,000 men, women, and children -- a task that grows all the more difficult when the expedition is caught in the middle of an ancient feud between two dangerous alien races!
Belle Terre, by Dean Wesley Smith with Diane Carey[]
The Starship Enterprise has embarked on its most ambitious assignment yet: to lead a courageous band of settlers to a far-off planet, to defend the fragile colony from alien threats, and to unravel the mysteries of a brand-new Earth!
A six-month distance from the Federation, the planet Belle Terre offers a new life to more than 60,000 families, pioneers, scientists, expatriates, go-getters, loners, and entrepreneurs, all under the watchful eye of Captain Kirk and his crew. But the would-be colonists have barely settled in the untamed wilderness of their new home when Spock makes a startling discovery: not only does the planet's moons contain a rare ore of almost inestimable value, that same moon is also violently unstable. Within months, it will inevitably explode -- destroying all life on Belle Terre!
Rough Trails, by L.A. Graf[]
Captain Kirk's latest voyage has brought him far into the final frontier. His new mission: to help a determined band of pioneers colonize a harsh and unforgiving world, defend the vulnerable settlers from the constant threat of alien invasion, and protect the planet's unique and precious resources for the sake of the entire Federation!
Months after their departure from Earth, the struggling colonists have barely established a precarious toehold on Belle Terre, a ravaged world still recovering from a catastrophic planetary disaster. Fierce cyclones, storms, landslides, and flash floods make the survival itself a never-ending challenge. While Captain Kirk and the Starship Enterprise patrol the sector, on guard against predatory aliens and greedy space pirates, officers Chekov, Uhura, and Sulu stay behind to assist the hapless settlers in their desperate battle to put down roots in the turbulent soil of an angry planet.
But the imperiled colonists are a fractious and intensely individualistic group, not inclined to take orders or direction from their Starfleet guardians. Chekov and the others find their ingenuity and diplomatic skills tested to their limits -- to save a people who don't want their help!
The Flaming Arrow, by Kathy Oltion and Jerry Oltion[]
Beyond the borders of the Federation, Kirk must bring peace and security to the final frontier. His new mission: to defend an isolated human colony on a newly discovered world, deter aggression from neighboring alien races, and ensure the survival of a brave new Earth!
Belle Terre's stubborn colonists have survived the countless hardships and natural disasters of their new home, only to face a deadly foreign enemy. The alien Kauld, intent on claiming the world's unique resources for their own, are determined to destroy the human settlements at any cost. Months away from any hope of Starfleet reinforcements, the Starship Enterprise is all that stands between Belle Terre and an all-out alien invasion. But Kirk and his valiant crew may not be enough to save the planet from a relentless assault by the ultimate superweapon!
Thin Air by Kristine Kathryn Rusch and Dean Wesley Smith[]
Many light-years away from the safety of the Federation, the Starship Enterprise stands guard over an alien world whose unique natural resources could change the balance of power throughout the galaxy. The ship's crucial assignment: to maintain a Federation presence on the planet below, to defend the world's newly arrived inhabitants from hostile aliens, and to fight a solitary battle against all who would claim the planet's riches for their own.
Against all odds, Kirk and his crew have preserved the struggling Federation colony on Belle Terre, but their heroic efforts may have been in vain. In a last-ditch attempt to drive the entrenched settlers off their new home, the alien Kauld have contaminated the planet's atmosphere with a destructive biochemical agent that will soon render the entire world inimical to human life. With only weeks to spare, Spock races to find a scientific solution to their dire predicament, while Kirk takes the battle to the enemy, determined to wrest the secret of their salvation from the very forces out to destroy the future of this new Earth!
Challenger, by Diane Carey[]
Far from the reaches of the Federation, the Starship Enterprise has been guiding the development of a once obscure planet upon whose fate the future of the galaxy may now depend. The Enterprise has been the sole representative of the Federation, fighting a constant battle to protect the colonists from enemy aliens and standing alone against all those who have their own designs on the colony world.
But all adventures come to an end. It is time for Captain Kirk and the Enterprise to turn over the guardianship of the colony to another ship and crew. The new ship arrives in the midst of a deadly attack on the colony -- and is destroyed. With the Enterprise off fighting a new and powerful enemy that threatens the colony as well as its enemies, Commander Nick Keller, first officer and ranking survivor of the decimated crew, is marooned and at first alone -- but he must find a way to complete his original mission and come to the aid of the Enterprise in what might be its most desperate hour.