NOVEL
The Rings of Time
Attribution
Series:	The Original Series
Author(s):	Greg Cox
Publication information
Publisher:	Pocket Books
Published:	Paperback - January 2012
ISBN:	ISBN 1451655479
Chronology
Date:	2020 / 2270
Stardate:	7103.4

Contents 1 Introduction (blurb) 2 Summary 3 References 3.1 Characters 3.2 Starships and vehicles 3.3 Locations 3.4 Races and cultures 3.5 States and organizations 3.6 Science and technology 3.7 Ranks and titles 3.8 Other 4 Timeline 4.1 Chronology 4.2 Production history 5 Related stories 6 External link

Introduction (blurb)Edit

2020 The U.S.S. Lewis & Clark, under the command of Colonel Shaun Christopher, sets off on humanity's first manned mission to Saturn. But the unexpected presence of a stowaway complicates the mission - as does a startling encounter with an alien probe. But when Colonel Christopher attempts to capture the probe, he suddenly finds himself transported across time and space to a future era of space exploration....

Stardate 7103.4 The U.S.S. Enterprise responds to an urgent distress call from a mining colony orbiting Klondike VI, a ringed gas giant not unlike Saturn. For unknown reasons, the planet's rings are coming apart, threatening the safety of the colony and its inhabitants. Searching for a way to avert the disaster, Captain James T. Kirk and his crew investigate a mysterious alien probe that has just entered the system. But when the probe is beamed aboard, Kirk abruptly finds himself floating in space above Saturn, wearing an old-fashioned NASA spacesuit, with the Enterprise nowhere in sight....

Two missions. Two crews. And a time-twisting crisis that spans the centuries....

SummaryEdit

The Enterprise is dispatched to the gas giant Klondike VI to assist the colony on the planet's moon Skagway: A sudden shift in gravitational forces has made both the planet's rings and the moon itself unstable, meaning Skagway is both buffetted by meteors and in danger of crashing into the surface. A probe is detected heading for the planet that shows evidence of being constructed by the Preservers. When it is brought aboard and Kirk touches it, he swaps bodies with Colonel Christopher at the moment Christopher encountered the probe during his mission to Saturn 250 years previous.

The Enterprise crew try in vain to find a solution to Skagway's problems until Christopher recalls seeing the probe correct a similar problem with the identical hexagonal vortex on Saturn by firing pulses into it. Although the probe is too degraded to function, a rhythm Christopher has had in his head turns out to be the firing sequence and he is able to use the Enterprise's phasers to copy it and stabilize the forces.

Meanwhile, trapped in the past, Kirk helps combat a fire aboard the USS Lewis & Clark. The ship's copilot, Alice Fontana, suspects both Zoe Querez, an internet journalist who stowed away onboard, and Kirk, who she has realized is not Christopher, of deliberately starting the fire and seals them in the airlock. However, the real culprit is the other crewmember, Marcus O'Herlihy, whose daughter Tera is being held prisoner by members of the Human Extinction League to force him to sabotage the mission. He drugs Fontana and sets the ship to crash but Kirk spacewalks around the ship to overpower him and uses his knowledge of future techniques to bring the ship out of the dive.

The Enterprise travels back in time to retrieve Kirk and Spock is able to use a mind meld to help Kirk and Christopher back into their own bodies. While Christopher is returned to his ship for the journey home, the Enterprise helps rescue Tera by firing a stun barrage at the terrorists' hideout, allowing the authorities to take them into custody bloodlessly.

Spock reports that Christopher and Fontana marry, O'Herlihy is allowed to retire quietly and Tera follows him into the space program. However, the crew get a further shock when it transpires Zoe and Skagway scientist Qat Zaldana are the same person: A member of a species from a higher plane of existence who arranged the body swap in order to observe how the two sets of humans would cope with the surrounding crisis.

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ReferencesEdit

CharactersEdit

Brubaker • Christine Chapel • Pavel Chekov • Shaun Geoffrey Christopher • Skooka Dawson • Faris • Alice Fontana • Tera O'Herlihy • Maggie Ita • James T. Kirk • Kwan • Shirin Ludden • Mascali • Leonard McCoy • Marcus O'Herlihy • Zoe Querez • Schneider • Montgomery Scott • Simone • Spock • Stoltzfus • Hikaru Sulu • Nyota Uhura • Celeste Voss • Qat Zaldana • Jase Zero

Referenced only 

Apollo • Robert April • Jonathan Archer • Balok • Buck Bokai • Jeff Carlson • Casanova • Chekov • John Christopher • Katie Christopher • Kevin Christopher • Rory Christopher • James Kirk Christopher-Fontana • Zefram Cochrane • Matthew Decker • Joe DiMaggio • Shepard Fairey • Ben Finney • Bill Gates • Amanda Grayson • Gus • Hultquist • Jesus • Steve Jobs • Miranda Jones • Edith Keeler • George Samuel Kirk, Sr. • George Samuel Kirk, Jr. • Winona Kirk • Kodos • Lady Gaga • Debbie Lauderdale • Sumi Lee • Janice Lester • Abraham Lincoln • Carol Marcus • David Marcus • Gary Mitchell • Miramanee • Montezuma • Lisa Nowak • Shannon O'Donnell • Jocelyn O'Herlihy • Plummer • Lincoln Roberts • Ruth • Emilia Sakamoto • Sarek • Khan Noonien Singh • Will Smith • Spock (mirror) • Trelane • H.G. Wells

Starships and vehiclesEdit

Columbus • USS Enterprise (Constitution-class) • Galileo • USS Lewis & Clark • Renaissance

Referenced only 

Apollo 11 • Ares IV • SS Botany Bay (DY-100-class) • USS Darrow • DY-100 • USS Farragut • Model T • USS Republic • Solar Queen • Soyuz • RMS Titanic • USS Vancouver

LocationsEdit

asteroid belt • Atlantic Ocean • Cape Canaveral • Cassini Division • Earth • Klondike • Klondike VI • Saturn • Skagway • Yukon Gap

Referenced only 

Aleutian Islands • Alpha Centauri • Area 51 • Arret • Asia • Bhopal • Blinogu • Camus II • Canada • Chernobyl • Colonial Williamsburg • Deneva • Enceladus • France • Gamma Hydra IV • Georgia • Gideon • Gulf of Mexico • Houston • Hubble Telescope • India • Indiana • Iowa • Johnson Space Center • Jupiter • Kansas City • Kashmir • Luna • Manhattan • Mars • Mediterranean Sea • Middle East • Millennium Gate • Mir • mirror universe • Moscow • Mount Rainier • Myrddin V • New Pangea • Nova Limbo • Omaha • Pacific Northwest • Platonius • Pluto • Psi 2000 • Puget Sound • Roswell • Russia • Smithsonian • Star City • Tarsus IV • Tartarus Prime • Thomas Jefferson Elementary School • Tora Bora • Titan • Valhalla Prime • Vulcan • Vulcan's Forge • Yosemite National Park

Races and culturesEdit

Human • Vulcan

Referenced only 

Bline • Deltan • Ferengi • Gorn • Horta • Klingon • Metron • Native American • Organian • Preserver • Romulan • Tholian • Vian

States and organizationsEdit

Human Extinction League • NASA • Order of the Faceless • Starfleet • Starfleet Command • United Federation of Planets

Referenced only 

Central Intelligence Agency • Department of Homeland Security • Eastern Coalition • Federal Bureau of Investigation • Scientology • Starfleet Academy • United States Air Force • United States Senate • Vulcan Science Council

Science and technologyEdit

agonizer • airlock • artificial gravity • astrogator • blog • booster rocket • camera • Celsius • class J gas giant • communicator • deflector • deuterium • dilithium • disruptor • e-mail • escape pod • EVA Maneuvering Unit • fire • fire extinguisher • flash drive • fusion reactor • Geiger counter • Glock • hypospray • ice • impulse engine • intercom • Internet • ion storm • jet pack • keyboard • laptop • laser • LIDAR • light year • nitrogen • Nomad • oxygen • phaser • photon torpedo • probe • radiation • radio • respirator • resveratrol • Sacagawea • satellite • sensor • sensor web • shields • slingshot maneuver • solar sail • spacesuit • syringe • television • thermometer • thruster • time travel • tractor beam • transporter • treadmill • tricorder • turbolift • video game • Voyager 1 • zero gravity

Ranks and titlesEdit

astronaut • captain • chief engineer • colonel • commander • commodore • doctor • ensign • first officer • governor • helmsman • lieutenant • lieutenant commander • nurse • Senator • science officer • yeoman

OtherEdit

2001: A Space Odyssey • apple cobbler • Assignment: Armageddon • asteroid • automobile • Barbarella • beer • Bhopal disaster • Bible • bridge • brownie • bungee cord • C/2018-G2 • captain's log • carbon dioxide • cargo bay • chain mail • champagne • Chernobyl disaster • chicken soup • The Chrysalis Experiment • cockpit • coffee • The Cold Equations • colony • comet • dinosaur • dog • dog tag • dollar • Eagle Scout • First Amendment • football • Great Depression • Gulf oil spill • Harry Potter • Hurricane Katrina • kamikaze • katra • ketchup • Kobayashi Maru scenario • macaroni and cheese • MacGyver • mind meld • mirror • mugato • Nobel Prize • Occam's Razor • orchid • pizza • plomeek soup • Roman candle • root beer float • sanctuary district • Saurian brandy • shuttlebay • shuttlecraft • sickbay • space amoeba • steel • Sub-Mariner • sushi • tattoo • tea • titanium • toilet • transporter room • UFO • Velcro • Vulcan nerve pinch • wine • World War III • wrench • yellow alert • YouTube

TimelineEdit

ChronologyEdit

Production historyEdit

Published Order
Previous novel: The Children of Kings	TOS novels	Next novel: That Which Divides
Previous story: "Work Is Hard"	Stories by: Greg Cox	Next story: Most recent Star Trek story

Related storiesEdit

• TOS episode: "Tomorrow is Yesterday" - The Enterprise crew recalls meeting John Christopher, Shaun's father, on several occasions.
• TOS episode: "The Conscience of the King" - Kirk recalled his meeting with Kodos after Governor Dawson mentioned not wanting to be like the infamous governor.
• VOY episode: "One Small Step" - Shaun Christopher thinks of how it will be up to the Ares crews to investigate Mars at a later time, while he goes to Saturn before them.
• DS9 episode: "Past Tense" - Shaun Christopher refers to the thousands of homeless crammed into the sanctuary districts first seen in this episode.
• DS9 episode: "Little Green Men" - Shaun Christopher recalls how the DY-100 class was based on Ferengi ships that crashed at Roswell.
• TOS novel: The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh, Volume 2 - Shaun Christopher recalls the mysterious disappearance of the DY-100 prototype from Area 51.
• VOY episode: "11:59" - Shaun Christopher recalls the last thing he heard about Shannon O'Donell was that she was working on the Millenium Gate.
• TOS episode: "Is There in Truth No Beauty?" - James Kirk recalls how Miranda Jones were sensors similar to those of Qat Zaldana, though for different reasons.
• TOS episode: "The Corbomite Maneuver" - When he saw the alien probe approaching, Kirk recalled how probes, such as Balok's, had been dangerous in the past.
• TOS episode: "The Changeling" - When he saw the alien probe approaching, Kirk recalled how probes, such as Nomad, had been dangerous in the past.
• TOS episode: "The Paradise Syndrome" - When he saw the writing on the probe, Kirk immediately recalled the obelisk and his time with Miramanee.
• TOS episode: "The Mark of Gideon" - When he boarded the Lewis and Clark, Kirk initially wondered if it was a trick like the one performed by the inhabitants of Gideon.
• TOS episode: "The City on the Edge of Forever" - Kirk recalled how even a minor change in history could have huge consequences when he considered what he would do because he was in the past.
• TOS episode: "Turnabout Intruder" - When Kirk switched bodies with Shaun Christopher, he recalled being forced to switch with Janice Lester and was thankful that he was at least the correct gender in this switch.

External linkEdit

• The Rings of Time article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.