So... I really got behind on this one. I think I started reading it sometime last year, but other stuff got in the way. Next, I lost track of the dang thing. When I finally got around to finishing it, let's just say that it took longer than I thought it would take. So, Game of Thrones has come to an end. While I’ve only seen one episode and bits and pieces, I’ve enjoyed all the furor that’s been said about the last season. It’s even making me want to revisit something that’s related to the book I’m talking about today. I’ll probably talk about that later this week, though. I’m still not that interested in seeing more GOT especially since I have a lot of other things I want to see.
I haven’t read too many Voyager novels. While I do have a
couple, I haven’t gotten to them yet. Today’s pick is Fire Ship from The
Captain’s Table collection. As you can tell by the cover, it’s all about
Captain Kathryn Janeway, someone who’s not exactly one of my favorite
characters. I think I know why it took so long to get to this one. The book is
written by Diane Carey, who I almost got mistaken for Diane Duane, another Trek
novelist. Carey’s done quite a few Trek novels, and some were even
novelizations of episodes. It’s not stated when it takes place, but I looked
online and it says that it takes place right before the episodes, “Year of
Hell.”
Star Trek: The Captain’s Table – Fire Ship
Writer: Diane Carey
BRIEF BLURB: Janeway visits The Captain’s Table and recounts
a story of where she got separated from the Voyager. She ends up on a salvage
ship has to deal with learning two new cultures and stopping a war.
SYNOPSIS
Captain Janeway and Tom Paris are visiting a planet in the
Delta Quadrant. Somehow, Janeway is able to find the Captain’s Table out here
of all places. She goes in and loses track of Tom. Like the rest of captains,
she gets pulled into a conversation and ends up recounting a somewhat recent
tale.
Janeway and the Voyager were on shore leave visiting a
species called the Iscoy when they and the colony is suddenly attacked. They
call themselves the Menace, and they pretty much destroy everything. Janeway is
able to flee via escape pod and thinks she sees Voyager get destroyed as well.
After some time, she is found by the Zingara, a salvage ship ran by a race
called the Omian. She tries to tell them what happened, but they brush her off
and think she’s delirious since she suffered injuries in the attack.
As Janeway gets caught up more on her new living
arrangements, she learns more about the Omian people through Quen, the captain.
It turns out that there was a war that broke out in their system and the
salvagers were pretty much the losers. In order to make ends meet, they have to
salvage remains from their war. She also finds out that the Omians don’t have
women in space. She learns first-hand how tough the salvage business is when
the Zingara gets into a tussle with a rival ship. They do get helped out by
Oran, Quen’s brother, in another ship. She still tries to tell the crew about
the threat of The Menace, but she gets rebuffed and told to clean tiles since
she’s new here.
The Zingara has another run-in with a rival ship and the
crew all gets incapacitated except for Janeway. The weapon being used didn’t
stun her since she’s human, so she takes a small cargo ship over to the rival
vessel. When she makes it there, not only does she see that their ship has it
better than the Zingara, she also finds one of the Menace as a prisoner. Janeway
get captured, but she’s is able to escape along with the Menace prisoner.
When Janeway makes it back to the ship, she informs the crew
about the other ships’ living conditions. The crew start to trust her more. Janeway also
finds out more about the Menace who are a race called the Lumalit. We even get
out the female’s name: Totobet. Her people basically go around in this part of
space pillaging planets essentially because they have no way to control their
population numbers. Janeway is pretty angry about this, but she does come to
understand and sympathize with Totobet. She finds out that Totobet and other
Lumalit females have had to give up their children when the population gets too
high.
Realizing that the Omian people are next on the Lumalit’s
list, she rigs the ship to go a part of space where the Lumalit reside. When
the crew find out about this, they lock her up. Nine days pass and the Zingara
make it to Lumalit space. When they see that Janeway was right, they high-tale
it back to their system. They devise a plan to let the Omian people know that
an alien force is coming to conquer them. They put the plan into action and it
does get the warring factions to concentrate on fighting the Lumalit. Janeway
is made captain of the Zingara since Quen was injured. They do all they can
against the Lumalit until, suddenly, the Voyager shows up and takes down what’s
left. In the end, Janeway and Voyager are able to help both species out with
their issues. The story ends with Janeway leaving the bar, finding Tom, and
wondering if Chakotay (who was a captain) could enter the bar.
OPINION
I thought that this was a fine read. Even though it only
focuses on Janeway, we got a decent story out of her. I thought it was interesting
that we didn’t get any breaks between Janeway’s story and the bar. I actually
liked that this time because that’s one area where some of the other books struggled
with. I know the DS9 one annoyed me with that aspect. Janeway’s not my favorite
captain, but Carey did her best to make her cool here.
It was nice to see Janeway try to interact with the two
species and learn their cultures. She had to use what she knew from her
experience to try to get the Omians to trust her. She actually stays on the ship
for a considerable amount of time. I
also thought her interactions with Totobet were interesting. It was also
interesting seeing Janeway cope with the fact that she may just be the only
Starfleet person left in the Delta Quadrant. Remember that she supposedly saw
the ship explode, and she has to process all of that. I also liked that she’s
the one who noticed how weird The Captain’s Table was.
Of course, there are things that weren’t too good about the
book. It takes a long time for things to really get going. I think that’s one
reason it took me so long to get back to this one. It’s not until she heals up
where the book starts to get interesting. I also thought the ending was okay. I
know the Voyager had to show up, but that felt a little cliché. There were also a couple of times where Janeway
did something that I think she wouldn’t do. Then again, the stakes were high.
Other than those things and small nitpicks, I liked this one.
In the end, Janeway’s trip to The Captain’s Table wasn’t
half-bad. If you’re a Janeway fan, unlike me, you’ll probably like this one. Well,
I got two more books left to do. Since they involve captains who aren’t as
popular, maybe I’ll get to them sooner than later. Anyway, I gotta go to bed.
Peace, God Bless, and don’t commit mutiny. You don’t want to tick the old man
off.
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