Spartacus

T.L. Mancour

The Enterprise-D is caught in a Gabriel Storm in space as our saga begins. After days of buffeting, as the storm subsided, they discover another vessel has also suffered damage from this storm. They offer assistance to the Freedom and its Vemlan passengers.

As Picard, Riker, LaForge, and Data discover the secret of the Vemlan race, a fleet of spaceships approach. The new fleet is populated by more Vemlans, a different race, who claim the first group as their property and slaves. Picard soon finds himself caught between the two races, the war between them, the Prime Directive, and Federation laws. In order to prevent the Enterprise from being drawn into the war Picard and Data must pull on all their diplomatic talents.

This novel delves into the philosophical questions of sentience, what is life, and slavery. It is a Commander Data story and helps him to recognize a little more of his own self worth and his personality. We spend some time with our favorite Star Trek Next Generation characters and learn more about ourselves.