A Time to Be Born is a Star Trek novel, the first book in the A Time to... miniseries which provides a story buildup to Star Trek Nemesis. While the series encompassed elements of multiple spinoff series as a crossover, the main plot was generally a TNG tie-in, although the books were not branded with the Star Trek: The Next Generation logotype. This installment was written by John Vornholt and released February 2004. The initial concept for the series was for each novel to be a two-part duology, with the naming corresponding to couplets of the well-known prose of Ecclesiastes in the Bible. As such, this first book was directly followed by A Time to Die.
Aspects of these books relating to the continuity of the so-called "relaunch" group of series was revealed in Star Trek: Coda to be part of the First Splinter timeline, an alternate reality that diverges from the primary universe of canon Star Trek, although the conclusion of that timeline leaves open the possibility that non-contradictory concepts and events of A Time to... books might also reflect the continuity of the prime version of events.
Description[]
- The site of one of the Dominion War's fiercest battles, the Rashanar Sector now contains a vast interstellar graveyard littered with the lifeless hulks of hundreds of devastated starships. The explosive destruction of so many varied warp drives has severely distorted the space-time continuum in this region, resulting in dangerous unleashed energies and bizarre gravitational anomalies.
- The Enterprise has been assigned to patrol the perimeter of the danger zone, while other vessels carry out the difficult and highly hazardous task of retrieving the bodies of the dead from the wrecked warships.
- To some alien races, the former battleground is hallowed space. To others, including the rapacious Androssi, it is a scavenger's paradise, ripe for salvage. None expect this ship's graveyard to hold a deadly secret that will force the android Data to make a heart-wrenching decision about the path his life will take -- and that will endanger not only the Enterprise, but Picard's future in Starfleet.
Summary[]
Wesley Crusher has completed his training as a Traveler but has one task still to perform: gazing into the Pool of Prophecy. When he does so, he witnesses the Enterprise being destroyed.
The Enterprise has been assigned to the site of the Battle of Rashanar, a conflict during the Dominion War which left no survivors on either side and has resulted in some curious new laws of physics. Captain Jill Leeden of the USS Juno, in charge of Starfleet operations in the sector, warns them of the dangers of scavengers in the area and that the place is "haunted".
The Enterprise crew get an early sign of the danger of scavengers when a group of Androssi steal the captain's yacht, the Calypso. They are also bothered by the presence of the Ontailians, a Federation member who joined in the latter stages of the war and who seem to have their own agenda for being there.
The Enterprise witnesses the destruction of an Ontailian vessel by an antimatter asteroid, only to learn the vessel was out of the area undergoing repairs at the time. They then see the Ontailians destroy an Androssi vessel that had tried to surrender. Data and La Forge, exploring in the shuttlecraft Hudson see two identical Calypsos before their shuttle is disabled. The Enterprise finds the wreckage of one Calypso and recover La Forge and the Hudson but there is no sign of Data.
Drifting in space, Data sees the duplicate Calypso destroy and then duplicate the Ontailian flagship Vuxhal and realizes it is a mimic ship. After he is retrieved by the Enterprise, Data convinces Picard to destroy the duplicate Vuxhal before it can attack the Enterprise. In retaliation for the apparent destruction of their flagship, the Ontailians destroy the Juno.
Picard is court martialed for his part in the tragedy and, despite a defense from Admiral Nechayev, found guilty of negligence and placed in the care of Starfleet Medical Mental Health. Wesley, who has been posing as Nechayev's aide Ensign Brewster, approaches Beverly and tells her he is there to prevent the destruction of the Enterprise.
References[]
Characters[]
USS Enterprise[]
- Beverly Crusher • Data • Jelpn • Geordi La Forge • Alyssa Ogawa • Kell Perim • Jean-Luc Picard • William T. Riker • Deanna Troi • Christine Vale • Ellen Winslow
Other[]
- The Traveler • Boenmar • Brewster • Colleen Cabot • Edwin Craycroft • Wesley Crusher • Jason Emery • Yerbi Fandau • Ghissel • Korgan • Jill Leeden • Lendal • Moroz • Tujiro Nakamura • Alynna Nechayev • Oierso • Owen Paris • William Ross • unnamed Ontailians
- Referenced only
- Benjamin Franklin • Lal • Lore • Allen Winslow • Thomas Wolfe
Starships and vehicles[]
- Maskar • Vuxhal • IRW Rom'drex • USS Asgard • USS Juno • USS Orlando • USS Seattle • USS Enterprise-E • Calypso • Cortez • Hudson • Polo • Raleigh • Wasp
- Referenced only
- Cousteau (I) • USS Enterprise-D (Galaxy-class explorer)
Races and cultures[]
- Androssi • Argelian • Deltan • Human • Medusan • Ontailian • Orion • Pakled • Traveler
- Referenced only
- Ferengi • Hok'Tar • Kreel
Locations[]
- Rashanar Battle Site • Rashanar sector • Tau Alpha C
- Referenced only
- Ba'ku planet
States and organizations[]
- Federation • Starfleet • Federation Relocation Bureau
- Referenced only
- Dominion
Other references[]
- Alpha Quadrant • Battle of Rashanar • Bird-of-Prey • "boneyard" • captain's yacht • cloaking device • D'deridex-class • Dominion War • emotion chip • Galaxy-class • Galor-class • gravity sink • mekajiki • Ontailian battle cruiser • Overseer • photon torpedo • Pool of Prophecy • Romulan ale • shuttlecraft • Ten-Forward • tricordrazine • tritanium • universal translator • warning buoy
Chronology[]
- Dominion War (2373–2375)
- 2378 (2370s chronology, Enterprise-E voyages)
- Enterprise travels to Rashanar.
Appendices[]
Related media[]
- A similar story concept of the Enterprise being framed by a mimic ship was used in 1990 to wrap up the first year of the TNG comic series from DC Comics.
Background[]
- Cross Cult released a German language translation of this series in 2022-2023 with the title Zeit des Wandels, with this installment titled Geburt.
Images[]
Connections[]
| The A Time to... Mini-Series | ||
|---|---|---|
| A Time to Be Born | A Time to Die | A Time to Sow |
| A Time to Harvest | A Time to Love | A Time to Hate |
| A Time to Kill | A Time to Heal | A Time for War, A Time for Peace |
Timeline[]
| published order | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous novel: Do Comets Dream? |
TNG novels | Next novel: A Time to Die |
| Previous novel: first in series |
TNG novels A Time to... |
Next novel: A Time to Die |
| Previous story: Genesis Force |
Stories by: John Vornholt |
Next story: A Time to Die |
| chronological order | ||
| Previous Adventure: Captain's Peril |
Next Adventure: A Time to Die | |
| Previous Adventure: Captain's Peril |
Voyages of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-E) |
Next Adventure: A Time to Die |
External link[]
- A Time to Be Born article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.