Mission to Horatius

Introduction (blurb)
While exploring a new star system, NGC 434, Captain Kirk and the crew of the Starship Enterprise find themselves in an adventure, from one planet to another.

They enlist the help of Grang, a local from NGC 434 to guide them through the system, all while attempting to find the runaway mouse "Mickey" on the Enterprise.

Summary
At the time of the story, Enterprise is due to return for a shore leave from a prolonged mission. The crew is beginning to get upset and prone to an outbreak of space cafard&mdash;a disease that is contagious and often deadly. The supplies and food are running low. However, the ship is unexpectedly diverted, instructed to pick up emergency supplies and to head to a remote section of space where Captain Kirk is to follow secret orders.

The ship is ordered to go to the distant Horatius system populated by anti-Federation colonists to check on a distress call. Upon arrival, the crew starts checking all three planets in the system. The first one, Neolithia, is the world free of modern technology and so low on development scale that its stone-age population is not even capable of sending a distress signal. The second one, Mythra, is a world populated by religious zealots and has normal radio level technology, but denies sending a distress signal. Both planets, however, report attacks by misterious "space raiders" who kidnap citizens and wreak havoc. Kirk decides to help, hopefully without breaking the General Order Number One, and is joined by Grang, a resident of Neolithia.

The Enterprise heads towards the third planet in the system, Bavarya, which turns out to be a technologically advanced world with unusually large population.

In the meantime, Dr. McCoy is trying to prevent an outbreak of space cafard. Also, Sulu's pet rat, "Mickey", escapes, and is seen as a possible carrier of bubonic plague.

Characters

 * Akrumba • Doris Atkins • Chang • Pavel A. Chekov • Christine Chapel • Delvin • DePaul • Dick • Jerry Freeman • Grang of the Wolf clan • Jodl • Kellum • James T. Kirk • Masaryk • Leonard McCoy • Mickey • Muel of the Shaman clan • Muller • Peterson • Janice Rand • Montgomery Scott • Shickle (Doppelgänger) • Anna Shickle • Spock • Stuart • Hikaru Sulu • Taylor • Thomkins • Nyota Uhura • Warren

Julius Caesar • Horatius Cocles • Baal • Homer • Jesus of Nazareth • Laika • Lucifer • Maripol • Noah • Christopher Pike • Lars Porsena • Sarek • Shickle

Starships and vehicles

 * USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) • Westmoreland

Locations

 * Garden of Eden • Ultimate


 * Stellar locations
 * Milky Way Galaxy • NGC 400 • Horatian system • NGC 434


 * Planetary bodies
 * Bavarya • Earth • Mars • Mythra • Neolithia • Proxima Centauri • Venus • Vishnu • Vulcan


 * Planetary locations
 * Asia • Europe • Great Britain • Japan • Jericho • Kansas • National Park of Kyoto • New England • Rome • Tiber River


 * Facilities
 * Space Station K-8 • Starbase 12 • Starfleet Command Center

Races and cultures

 * Bavaryan • Human • Klingon • Mythran • Neolithian • Romulan • Vulcan

States and organizations

 * Clan Shaman • Clan Wolf • Council of Patriarchs • Klingon Empire • Planetary Defense Command • Romulan Confederation • Starfleet • Starfleet Academy • Starfleet Command • United Federation of Planets • United States of America • United Temple

Other

 * 1001 Popular Games Down Through the Centuries • American Civil War • anodyne • antelope • argon • aspirin • Bavaryan wine • boomerang • boxing • Bubonic plague • buffalo • Byzantine • canasta • cat • Cheshire cat • Chinese • chlorine • churl • coal • Code Duello of Bavarya • coffee • Colosseum • confinement syndrome • coup • deflector shield • Doppelgänger • dog • drum • elk • ESP • Earth basic • Etruscan • Explorer 1 • feudalism • flea • Forbidden Rooms • General Order Number One • gin rummy • gladiator • gods • goose • Gothic • Greek • guitar • hallucinogen • Herr-elite • horse • Indian • judo • karate • kata • kenpō • kilt • krypton • LSD • Middle Ages • mile • Nature Boy • neon • nitrogen • Oberst • oil • Old West • Operation Mickey • oxygen • parsec • petroleum • phaser • Phoenician • pilgrim • Ping-Pong • poker • radio • rat • Roman • sandal • Scottish • serf • slavery • Slavic • smog • Space cafard • Space strain • space suit • spear • Sputnik 1 • Stone Age • super phaser • sword • television • Teutonic • The Saga of Mickey the Space Rat • transporter • tribble • Tri-Di show • wine • wrestling • zombie

Sputnik 1 • Explorer 1 • animal • space • Laika • parsec • light-year • Proxima Centauri • warp drive • television • NASA • Soviet Union • USA • Human • disease • scout • Westmoreland • Space Station K-8 • Starbase 12.

Background

 * This novel was the first original story written in the Star Trek universe, but it was not the first book published, as it was predated by the first episode novelization collection by James Blish. Unlike this book, which was aimed primarily at the youth, Spock Must Die! is considered to be the first ever Trek novel aimed at both adults and children.


 * James T. Kirk only violates the Prime Directive three times in this book!

Introduction

 * A brief "history of space travel" is included that appears to combine the real-world situations (circa 1968) with the author's extrapolation of the future events that led to the formation of the Federation. These predictions included the following passage: "Sputnik 1 and Explorer 1 came first. Then, in less than a year, the first animal, the dog Laika, shortly to be followed by the first human in orbit.  And, more quickly, the first spacecraft to carry more than one person, the first crash landing on the moon, the first woman in space, the first spacewalk, the first landing of an unmanned spacecraft and televised shots of the lunar surface." There is a reference to "the discovery of the space warp, of hyperlight speeds.", but Reynolds does not specifically mention Zefram Cochrane.

Chapter 1: Secret Mission

 * McCoy's concern over the development of the highly contagious psychological disease "space cafard" is revisited throughout the novel. Given that this was the very first (original) Star Trek novel and that it was written primarily for children, much of the plot is forgivably unrealistic. This includes "space cafard," which is, basically, a "disease" caused by boredom. Cafard is designed as "melancholy, boredom, listlessness, etc." at http://www.yourdictionary.com/cafard .''
 * Both McCoy and Scotty make references to the Enterprise having been "on continual patrol" for over a year... whether or not this would actually have been possible during the timeframe of the five-year mission depends on the exact defintion of "continual patrol".
 * NGC 400 represents the furtherest edge of the known galaxy, largely unexplored.
 * Interesting reference to the Romulan Star Empire as the "Romulan Confederation."
 * The Enterprise had been on it's way to Starbase 12 for protracted shore leave, but was diverted to Deep Space Station K-8 to take on emergency supplies.
 * Kirk refers to having taken over the Enterprise from Captain Pike (Christopher Pike).
 * Sulu acquired "Mickey" at Space Station K-8... not unlike Uhura acquiring her first pet tribble at Deep Space Station K-7... a fact that hasn't escaped Kirk's notice...

Chapter 2: Mystery Plus Mystery

 * Expanded information regarding the source of the name of the Horatian system can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horatius_Cocles.
 * The Horatian distress call is said to have been sent in "Earth Basic", which is a noteworthy variation on the term Federation Standard and is seen as evidence that human colonists have settled in the Horatian System.
 * The article at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baal contains additional information about the Phoenician god Baal, including confirmation of Mr. Spock's statement regarding their predilection for child sacrifice.