The Brave and the Bold

The Brave and the Bold consists of five interrelated stories, each set in the milieu of each of the five live-action series, in two volumes.

Summary
From the back cover (Book One): The Malkus Artifacts: four deadly machines, weilded as weapons of absolute power by an interstellar tyrant thousands of years ago and scattered across the Alpha Quadrant when he was overthrown. After their existence was discovered in 2151 by Captain Jonathan Archer of the Starship Enterprise, all Starfleet vessels were warned to keep an eye out for these most dangerous devices...

Prelude: Discovery
2151: On Beta Aurigea VII, the crew of the Enterprise find remains from the ancient Zalkat Union, including a record of the fall of its tyrannical ruler, Malkus the Mighty. They discover Malkus possesed four highly advanced devices which he used to his power. After his fall, all four were hidden in locations across the galaxy. Archer decides that going forward, all Starfleet vessels should keep an eye out for these missing devices.

Part 1: The First Artifact
2266: The first artifact is found near the Federation colony on Alpha Proxima II, used by a dismissed civil servant to spread a virus throughout the colony. Commodore Matt Decker of the USS Constellation responds to a distress call, as does the USS Enterprise. While Constellation CMO Lewis Rosenhaus works with Leonard McCoy to halt the plague, Decker and Kirk invoke martial law to keep the colony from falling into anarchy.

Part 2: The Second Artifact
2370: Captain Declan Keogh and the USS Odyssey are assigned to help turn the surface of Bajor's second moon into arable farmland, and to transport new settlers here, including former terrorist leader Orta. When the Bajoran discovers one of the Malkus Artifacts, Keogh has to work with Major Kira Nerys and Jadzia Dax -- and put aside an old grudge against Curzon Dax -- in order to stop Orta from blasting that moon from its natural orbit.

Part 3: The Third Artifact
2371: The USS Hood, under command of Captain Robert DeSoto, responds to a distress call from the USS Voyager, which has suffered a mishap during their shakedown cruise. While the Voyager is repaired, the Hood must help Tuvok infiltrate the Maquis cell of Cal Hudson and Chakotay, and at the same time deal with the discovery of the third artifact in the hands of the terrorist group.

Part 4: The Final Artifact
2376: The fourth artifact, one that actually contains the consciousness of Malkus the Mighty, is found on the Klingon world of Narenda III. The ancient dictator can now control the minds around him, as well as those who have previously encounted other artifacts, including Spock, McCoy, Kira, and DeSoto. The crews of the USS Enterprise-E and the IKS Gorkon join forces to stop the powerful tyrant.

Information

 * Author DeCandido has stated that Commander Joseph Shabalala, first officer of the Odyssey, is the father of Anthony Shabalala, tactical officer of the USS da Vinci of the Star Trek: Starfleet Corps of Engineers series, which he edits.
 * Part Four can be considered a sequel to the novel Diplomatic Implausiblity, which introduced the IKS Gorkon and its crew, and a prequel to the IKS Gorkon book series.
 * Book Two also includes technical specifications and sketches of the IKS Gorkon