The Valiant (Star Trek: The Next Generation) (Stargazer #0.5) (2000)

by Michael Jan Friedman

Lieutenant Commander Jean-Luc Picard, newly in charge of the Stargazer after the death of the captain, must deal with mistrust and treachery among his own crew while meeting the threat of a hostile alien race beyond the galactic rim. Jan Michael Friedman uses the events of the original series episode Where No Man Has Gone Before as background. Years before the events of that episode, the crew of the starship Valiant was stranded beyond the energy barrier at the edge of the galaxy, where their ship was destroyed in order to kill a crew member whose godlike psychokinetic powers drove him to madness, as would later happen to Kirk’s friend Gary Mitchell. The descendants, who have developed their own ESP abilities, bring news of the dangerous alien Nuyyad and offer themselves as allies. But can they be trusted? Picard is rather quick to rely on violence for an officer who will later be renowned as a diplomat, but perhaps that is a sign of his development. Like nearly all Trek novels, it should have been shorter, but it remains an enjoyable read. Originally published as a one-off Next Generation novel, it comes chronologically before the later series of Stargazer novels.