Description[]
- On the planet Stentor, silence is not only golden; it is the key to maintaining peace in world devastated by a great war. But that calm is shattered when a group known as the Ghazi create a new technology that intercepts old Earth radio signals and rebroadcasts them across the planet. Each day the din grows more deafening. When Captain Sulu and the crew of the USS Excelsior are summoned to investigate sub-space interference emanating from Stentor, Sulu and his communications officer Terra Spiro discover that the Ghazi actually believe the signals are the voices of the gods.
- Now, Sulu must somehow convince the Ghazi — without violating the Prime Directive — that the transmissions are not a divine voice before violence erupts on Stentor once again.
Summary[]
The Excelsior has been sent on a follow-up mission to Stentor, a world the Federation has made first contact with, although only the ruling class, the Sensorial, are aware of this. The Sensorial are the ones who commune with the flute trees, which contain the whispers of their ancestors, and maintain a peaceful contemplative existence following a great war.
The Excelsior experiences a communications blackout and it becomes clear a dissident, Ghazi, has been receiving old Earth transmissions and believes them to be messages from the gods, forming a religion around them. He is broadcasting throughout the world using the flute trees as an amplifier, but this is wrecking them and also causing paranoia in the Sensorial.
Sulu sends science officer Terra Spiro undercover to shut down the transmissions, then beams Ghazi aboard the Excesior. This exposure to the truth results in him making peace with Sensorial leader Krandravex and beginning to spread the words of Sulu instead.
References[]
Characters[]
- Ghazi (Voiced by Lee Wilkof) • Kandravex (Voiced by Lynne Thigpen) • Stuart Mulligan (Voiced by Simon Jones) • Terra Spiro (Voiced by Maryann Plunkett) • Hikaru Sulu (Voiced by George Takei)
- Referenced only
- Sylvia
Starships and vehicles[]
Locations[]
Races and cultures[]
- Human • Stentorian
Other references[]
- flute tree • Sensorial • The Ghazi • windsong
Appendices[]
Images[]
Connections[]
| Media featuring the USS Excelsior (NCC-2000) under Captain Hikaru Sulu | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| episodes/movies | The Undiscovered Country • Flashback | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| novels | The Undiscovered Country • The Fearful Summons • The Captain's Daughter • The Ashes of Eden • Starfleet Academy • The Captain's Table: War Dragons • The Lost Era: The Sundered • Excelsior: Forged in Fire • Flashback • The Lost Era: One Constant Star • Burning Dreams | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| short stories | "Dilithium Is a Girl's Best Friend" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| comics | Tests of Courage (The Tabukan Syndrome) • A Wolf in Cheap Clothing (1 • 2 • 3 • 4) • Captain's Log: Sulu • The Undiscovered Country • The Veteran | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Captain Sulu Adventures (audiobooks) |
Cacophony • Envoy • Transformations | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| games | Shattered Universe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| characters | Hikaru Sulu • Pavel Chekov • Janice Rand • Dmitri Valtane • Leonard James Akaar • Lojur • Tuvok • Altos Viger | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Timeline[]
| published order | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous story: Transformations |
Captain Sulu Adventures | Next story: Envoy |
| Previous story: Q-Squared |
Stories by: Peter David (as J.J. Molloy) |
Next story: The Captain's Daughter |
| chronological order | ||
| Previous adventure: "jubHa'" |
Pocket Books Timeline | Next adventure: Envoy |
| Previous adventure: Klingon Academy |
Memory Beta Chronology | Next adventure: Envoy |
| Previous story: War Dragons |
Voyages of the USS Excelsior | Next story: Envoy |
External links[]
- Cacophony article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.