Description
- It began with The Lost Years, the long-awaited story of what happened to Captain Kirk and the legendary crew of the USS Enterprise when their original five-year mission ended. Now, it is more than a year later, and Kirk and his crew have settled into their new, separate assignments.
- But when Sulu and Chekov find themselves framed for murder and treason, the two officers are forced to go into hiding. As Admiral Kirk and Uhura frantically search for evidence to prove Sulu and Chekov innocent, they uncover a plot that threatens the very foundations of Starfleet.
- The web of conspiracy is woven tighter as the real culprits and Federation agents close in on the fugitives. Unsure of whom to trust and with time running out, the former USS Enterprise shipmates must once again rely on each other to find the truth and prevent the Federation from facing utter destruction.
Summary
The Enterprise's former junior officers each decline career-advancing posts, instead taking one-year assignments that will allow them to sign on to the Enterprise post-refit.
Lt. Commander Uhura teaches an advanced class at Starfleet Academy, a class audited by the elderly retired captain Jackson Kahle II. Kahle is actually the CEO of UniPhase, Inc., the Federation's chief producer of weapons systems, as well as founder of the Peace Foundation, which recently organized a summit between Starfleet and the Romulan Empire. The octogenarian repeatedly flirts with Uhura and offers his assistance, though Kirk warns Uhura to beware Kahle's frequent poaching of Starfleet officers for his own corporations.
Chekov, having been rejected from Command School, enrolls in security Academy, though he suffers the wrath of the upperclassmen and from the singular persecution of Lt. James Leong. He is also tapped to assist Dr. Mark Piper with his development of a treatment to Klingon disruptor burns at Johns Hopkins University. Chekov later learns that Piper actually hired him to help root out a suspected corporate spy on the research team. The security officer secretly observes Piper's questioning of Peter Broad, but the confrontation leads to Leong's arrival with the disruptor and his murder of Piper. Chekov, and his recordings of the encounter, are seized by the rest of the team, all of whom are accomplices. He escapes, but breaks his arm in the process, and becomes a nationally-recognized fugitive before he can bring the truth to the authorities. He seeks the aid of his security trainer, Commander Gloria Oberste, who agrees to shelter him and help him contact Admiral Kirk. Though Oberste is killed by the assassins, Chekov has taken her lessons to heart, and they ultimately save his life. Dr. McCoy secretly treats Chekov with some first aid, but the ensign again flees, hoping to spare the doctor from involvement. He hides out in the wilderness, but his own attempt to contact Kirk draws the authorities to his position.
Lt. Commander Sulu becomes a test pilot at New Mexico's White Sands Flight Center and is one of two people working on the experimental Wraith II shuttle, recently outfit with the stolen Romulan cloaking device. However, the schematics for the cloak are stolen from base commander Commodore Willis' office. Sulu is arrested, but later released when suspicion shifts to the recently missing senior project engineer, Dr. Hernan Nakai. In truth, Nakai discovered evidence of treachery and, fearing that he would be falsely implicated, fled. He warns Sulu with a prerecorded message, asking the pilot to investigate. Sulu fakes the Wraith's crash and his own death, hiding out on Tasmania (with John Kyle). Soon after, he uses the cloaked Wraith to rescue Chekov from his pursuers amidst a hurricane, and the pair hides out aboard the deconstructed Enterprise, which is empty over the holiday.
Admiral Kirk, Uhura, and Dr. Chapel try to figure out a way to help their colleagues, fearing that a conspiracy is out to discredit them all. Kirk fakes a medical emergency while secretly sneaking off-world aboard the USS DeGama, hoping to locate the traitors who are delivering the stolen cloak specs and the stolen disruptor to a buyer. Shortly before being injured in a firebombing, McCoy shares the fact that Piper secreted evidence of the conspirators aboard the Enterprise before his death. Uhura and Scotty meet Sulu and Chekov aboard the starship and find the evidence, which implicates Kahle. The billionaire used bribery and blackmail to recruit his team of conspirators, orchestrated the thefts of both Starfleet-held Klingon and Romulan technology, and planned to deliver them to the opposing power. The resulting war would disable both enemy powers while UniPhase, Inc. made a fortune selling defensive weapons to the border patrol and colonies. The assassins soon track the officers down and board the Enterprise. Sulu and Uhura narrowly escape aboard the Wraith to deliver Piper's evidence to the Kahle-sponsored Annapolis peace summit. Scotty is captured, but Chekov uses his security training to rescue the engineer and defeat Leong with a minimum of bloodshed.
With Kirk's help, Uhura is able to present her evidence to the summit attendees. Kirk's secret weapon, Klingon Commander Kang, fingers Commodore Willis as the man who delivered the Romulan cloak to him, and both empires agree to stand down, refusing to destroy each other to benefit the Federation. Kahle and his conspirators are arrested while the former Enterprise crew is cleared of all charges. Chekov is promoted for his quick thinking, and he, Sulu, and Uhura are guaranteed postings to the Enterprise when it completes its refit.
Notes
- This story takes place before A Flag Full of Stars.
- The novel also dates this story at the end of 2269, but that date does not fit into the chronology.
- Lori Ciana is not featured or mentioned. Kevin Riley is barely included.
References
Characters
- Peter Broad • Pavel Chekov • Keith deCandido • Jackson Kahle • Kang, son of K'naiah • James T. Kirk • John Kyle • Jabilo M'Benga • Leonard McCoy • Gloria Oberste • Mark Piper • Janice Rand • Hikaru Sulu • Nyota Uhura
- Referenced only
- Spock
Starships and vehicles
- USS DeGama (courier) • USS Enterprise (Constitution-class heavy cruiser) • IKS Kozain • WKI-2 (Wraith II-class shuttle) • Serengeti
Locations
- Baltimore • Donatu sector • Earth • New Harborplace • North America
- Referenced only
- Vulcan
Shipboard locales
- auxiliary sickbay • bridge • corridor • hangar deck
Races and cultures
States and organizations
- Klingon Empire • Romulan Star Empire • Starfleet • UniMed • UniPhase • United Federation of Planets
Science and technology
- atmosphere • chronometer • comlink • communicator • disruptor • energy • food synthesizer • galaxy • hair • hour • hypospray • Klingon disruptor • lifeform • matter • message buoy • minute • phaser • phaser pistol • reply pad • security buoy • shuttlecraft • sonic disruptor • space • star • star system • starship • stomach • time • universe • viewscreen • wall communicator • wrist communicator
Lifeforms
- animal • herring • humanoid • Orion fern tree • plant • pony
Ranks and titles
- admiral • ambassador • cadet • captain • chief engineer • chief medical officer • commander • commanding officer • commodore • communications officer • doctor • ensign • first officer • helmsman • lieutenant • lieutenant commander • navigator • officer • rear admiral • security • security chief
Other references
- angel • blanket • bulkhead • chopsticks • clothing • coin • coordinates • corporation • day • December • drink • emotion • Federation Starfleet ranks • Federation Starfleet ranks (2260s) • food • government • helmet • January • month • nation-state • Orion language • pen • planet • rank • Starfleet uniform • Starfleet uniform (2265-2270) • technology • title • turban • uniform • USS • war • water • weapon • year
Foods and beverages
- artichoke • asparagus • Brie • coffee • coleslaw • egg roll • espresso • gazpacho • haggis • hot chocolate • ketchup • ladyfinger • mascarpone cheese • pickled herring • rum • salad • tea • tiramisù • tortellini
Appendices
Background
This is the third in the "Lost Years" series of novels, which recount the events between the end of the original five-year mission and TOS movie: Star Trek: The Motion Picture. It was preceded in the series by TOS novel: A Flag Full of Stars, although it apparently takes place before that novel.
On seeming discontinuity is the wear of uniforms in the book. The Lost Years mentioned personnel at Starfleet Headquarters and Starfleet Operations wearing the newer 2270s uniform, which previously premiered as a uniform that was being transitioned into use on Starbase 10 while the previous 2260s uniform was still in use (in TOS - Annual comic: "The Final Voyage"). Traitor Winds describes the 2260s uniforms for personnel at Starfleet Headquarters, Starfleet Operations and Starfleet Security School, as well as Drydock personnel. The Star-Crossed storyline of DC Comics showed the older TOS uniforms continue after Kirk was promoted to rear admiral, one star, but another source that shows the opposite has the new The Motion Picture uniforms worn on board ship, before the Enterprise left service in The Lost Years.
The descriptions of uniforms in the book agree with the earlier TOS uniforms, but the illustrations on the cover depict the characters in TMP uniforms.
Connections
| The Lost Years novels |
|---|
| The Lost Years • A Flag Full of Stars • Traitor Winds • Recovery |
| published order | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous novel: The Patrian Transgression |
TOS numbered novels | Next novel: Crossroad |
| chronological order | ||
| Previous Adventure: The Lost Years |
Next Adventure: Shadows of the Indignant | |
External link
- Traitor Winds article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.