Rising Son is a Star Trek: Deep Space Nine novel by S.D. Perry. It was published by Pocket Books in 2003. After being sent to the Gamma Quadrant by the Prophets, Jake Sisko joins the crew of an alien ship.
Publisher's description[]
Months ago, young Jake Sisko came upon a mysterious prophecy in the ruins of B'hala, one that told of a Son destined to enter the Celestial Temple of the Prophets and return home with a lost Herald. Certain that the ancient text was intended for him, Jake entered the wormhole to bring back his father, Captain Benjamin Sisko -- missing since his final, fateful confrontation with Gul Dukat in the Fire Caves of Bajor. But Jake's quest has failed. Or so he believes.
Flung across the galaxy by a power beyond his understanding, Jake is rescued by a strange ship with an even stranger alien crew. Joining them on a voyage unlike any he has ever experienced, Jake learns that his search for the truth will lead him to find the last thing he ever expected, and to discoveries far beyond his wildest imaginings.
Part of the tenth anniversary celebration of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
Summary[]
Stardate 53267.5: Expelled from the wormhole and thrown nearly a hundred parsecs into the Gamma Quadrant, Jake's shuttle drifts powerless and he prepares for an icy death. Instead, he is rescued by the Even Odds, a ship of freelance fortune hunters. Self-described "retrievers," they make their living by recovering lost or stolen artifacts and salvage, often running afoul of local authorities. With his shuttle beyond repair, Jake settles in for a months-long trip aboard the Even in the direction of the Anomaly (wormhole).
Easy-going Captain Zin Dezavrim ("Dez") takes an instant liking to Jake, seeing himself in the young man, and works hard to convince Jake to stay with the Even rather than return home. Dez's father abandoned his family for the life of a retriever, and his mother was only marginally interested in him. When Dez was Jake's age, he spent a year tracking down his father, but found the elder man wanted nothing to do with him. Though greatly disappointed, Dez realized that he had to make his own way in the universe and that the last year of adventure was the best of his life. He wants the same for Jake—to stop chasing the father who abandoned him and to follow his own path, with Dez as his surrogate father. First officer Facity Sleedow, a Wadi, shares her people's love of gambling and betting. She has a casual relationship with Dez and is the voice of reason against Dez's most fanciful plans. Pifko "Pif" Gaber is an overeager and talkative canine Aarruri with a love of running, danger, and adventure. Arislelemakinstess is a Friagloim, whose five mushroom-shaped segments (Aris, Le, Lema, Kin, and Stess) can operate independently (hive mind), though only Stess can talk. She also projects emotions. Cardassian medic Allo Glessin, a haunted survivor of the Battle of the Omarion Nebula, keeps to himself. Karemman engineer Atterace Prees works closely with Srral, a living machine who lives inside machines. His "species" was engineered by the extremely advanced Himh to effect repairs and improvements to their global technology network, though they have the free will to chart their own paths. Rounding out the crew are Ferengi accountants/traders Feg and Triv, and artifact specialists Neane Tee, Aslylgof, Brad-ahk'ka, Pri'ak, and newcomer Coamis.
The ship itself is just as unique. Built two centuries ago by an unknown but advanced race, it's had at least a dozen major overhauls utilizing disparate alien technologies. (Mostly) contained within a subdeck is a mysterious chamber(s) known as the Wa—a dimensional shift pocket that changes shape and position at will, and that presents as an infinite room full of colored splotches. Approaching different splotches activates different functions or rooms (such as extra control centers that control unknown things, simulators, etc.); no one's been able to catalog or understand them all. The gray splotches are deemed too dangerous and may be responsible for the unexplained disappearance of the previous crew.
During the "Quadrant War," the Dominion annexed the region surrounding the Anomaly's GQ terminus, upsetting the geopolitical landscape. Since the war's end, they've retreated into their borders, leaving less scrupulous species to take advantage of the power vacuum. Among those are the Drang, aggressive and territorial sauropods who believe that the end of the universe is near, and that whoever has the most possessions will be saved by the gods. To that end, they have plundered many worlds. The Even was hired by the Yaron to retrieve their Oracle—a pot containing the mortal remains of their divine being—from the Drang, and the crew plans to make the most of their incursion, picking up other plunder as well in what may be their biggest score in years. They are surprised and uncertain when Dez asks Jake to join the team only two weeks before the mission. Upon arriving at Drang, the landing party are trapped by a transporter scrambler and attacked by guards. Dez and Jake sneak and fight their way to the scrambler, deactivating it so that they can escape. Though the mission was not an easy and bountiful success, they do retrieve the Yaron Oracle and Jake proves his worth by recovering a priceless Giani'aga box.
The Even later makes a run to planet Hw17, where a rival retrieval crew was forced to dump its cargo before being arrested. Lema and Kin are killed by the planet's security measures, and the remaining parts of Arislestess, though physically unharmed, cannot survive without the whole and die a few hours later. In her final moments, she profoundly touches Glessin, encouraging him to truly live again. Using the tragedy and his own history, Dez convinces Jake to stay onboard permanently. Though the Even's crew are friendly and welcoming, and Jake finds fortune hunting exciting, he never quite feels at home in the alien region, where Federation morals are a luxury. There is no Starfleet to help those in need, and his crewmates are more interested in payoffs than in charity. He's unwilling to steal from a graveyard when he realizes that the abandoned Dominion outpost they are scavenging is the site of the massacre of the New Bajor colony. Though Dez claims to be open to Jake's values, it's more of a subterfuge to placate him.
On the planetwide trading post of Ee, Jake encounters a distracted Tosk. Months earlier (about the same time Jake started his own adventure), this Tosk set down on a desolate world in the Idran system. He found a small crystal that gave him a glimpse of a whole city in place of the barren landscape, then implanted in him a new mission—to find the "Other." Lacking any further guidance, he warily set off in a directionless search. At the same time, Jake and Tosk meet Wex, a Trellian pilgrim seeking a local mystic who is helping the planet's poor. When they find her, Tosk is certain that she is the Other, and Jake is shocked to find that its Bajor's lost kai, Opaka Sulan.
Opaka spent a year learning the language of the Ennis and Nol-Ennis tribes and trying in vain to start peace talks. She began meditating on the battlefield, refusing to pick up a weapon in self-defense or vengeance despite being killed multiple times. The soldiers' suspicions eventually gave way to intrigue, and Zlangco and Shel-la agreed to the first of several cease fires. The tribes began to meditate with Opaka, ultimately uniting into one tribe, the Sen-Ennis. Soon after, an alien ship crashed, the latest victim of the planet's security web, and Opaka and the Sen-Ennis nursed her back to health. Upon recovery, the alien revealed herself to be Raiq, an Ascendant. Her people are on a millennia-old Quest to find the Fortress, the hidden home of the True (gods), cleansing the stars of heresy (genocide) as they go. They hope to be judged worthy before burning in eternal fire. As a reward for saving her life, Raiq disables the security grid, as well as the microbes keeping the Sen-Ennis immortal yet infertile, allowing them to have a normal life again. Though most people remain at their new home to raise families, Opaka and some of the Sen-Ennis venture out to the stars, helping those in need on several worlds before ending up on Ee.
Having foreseen this encounter in her dreams, Opaka agrees to help the Tosk fulfill his mission, and then to return to Bajor as the Herald of Jake's prophecy. Dez is easily convinced to ferry Tosk and Opaka to Idran, confiding only in Facity that he suspects Tosk discovered the fabled world of the Eav'oq, who disappeared 50,000 years ago. On the barren world, Opaka follows a strong sense of pagh to a cave containing Bajoran stones arranged unnaturally and alien writing scratched into the wall. Tosk is able to read the text to the group, fulfilling his mission, moments before the Hunters arrive and kill him. Following Tosk's instructions and using his own knowledge of ancient Bajoran archaeology, Jake touches the stones in the proper sequence, revealing the lost Eav'oq and their city in a sort of stasis. At the same time, the Wa momentarily erupts throughout the Even and the entire Idran system moves to the position of the wormhole. One Eav'oq, Itu, awakens and warmly greets Opaka and the landing party, thanking them for restoring his people. The Eav'oq are pacifists who revere the "Siblings" and their "Eyes of Light," but they were attacked for their religious beliefs and fled into a transdimensional realm. Unable to wake themselves, they had left the crystals (like the one Tosk found) for someone else to summon their return. Opaka realizes the similarities (and some extreme differences) in the religions of the Bajorans, the Eav'oq, and the Ascendants: the Prophets, the Siblings, and the True are all the same creatures living within the wormhole/Temple/Fortress; their orbs are the same whether called Tears of the Prophets, Eyes of Light, or Eyes of Fire; Bajoran pagh and Eav'oq res are the same spiritual energy. Opaka marvels at this new "sister" race, though she's uncertain how her people will receive them. She can feel that their pagh is strong, but the Eav'oq have no actual worship or rituals; they believe each person will ascend to become a new Sibling themselves. Though beautiful, their beliefs are quite different from Bajor's, and they challenge Bajorans' singular relationship with the Prophets. However, she is sure that Bajor and the Eav'oq must stand together against the coming Ascendant threat.
Jake finds the Even's crew carrying out minor plunder of the Eav'oq city and realizes that Dez had no intentions of charity; he was only chasing the next reward. Wary of Dez's different values and well-intentioned though still hurtful lies, and finally accepting his own life's path, he decides to return to Bajor with Opaka. Dez snaps at him, then pleads, but they ultimately part on good terms. After spending a few days with the Eav'oq, Jake, Opaka, and Wex pilot Tosk's ship towards the wormhole. Their ship breaks apart, but they are "rescued" by Weyoun aboard a Jem'Hadar ship before being delivered to the approaching Defiant. Jake learns that he can chart his own course, independent from his father, having helped to change the face of the Gamma Quadrant on his own merits, and that his adventure was a promising start to a whole series of stories.
Notes[]
This story establishes Opaka's given name as Sulan, the Ascendants, the Ea'voq, and the crew of the Even Odds (later revisited in Sacraments of Fire).
The last time Dez was as quick to trust (as he is of Jake), Vash took advantage of him.
Friagloims are born as 3-, 4-, or 5-segment beings, no more or less.
Merdosians, such as Pri'ak, have transparent teeth implanted in place of real teeth due to cultural belief that liars' tongues turn color. It's more of a cultural habit than it is based in fact.
The Ennis/Nol-Ennis homeworld is Tevlin-De.
The Ascendants' Quest (and Cleansing) have been going on for millennia, their homeworld lost to time. They have a lifespan of at least 300 years. Their numbers are diminishing, and they now rely on advanced technology to carry out their mission. They gather every fifty years to exchange information, technology, and to mate.
References[]
Characters[]
- Arislelemakinstess (Aris, Le, Lema, Kin & Stess) • Aslylgof • Brad-ahk'la • Bryn • Coamis • Zin Dezavrim • Elshada • Fajgin • Feg • Pifko Gaber • Allo Glessin • Halada • Itriuma • Itu • Korin • Misja • Opaka Sulan • Atterace Prees • Pri'ak • Raiq • Golin Shel-la • Jake Sisko • Facity Sleedow • Srral • Tadia • Neane Tee • Triv • Tosk • Umi • unnamed Eav'oq • Wex • Weyoun • Yimis • Zlangco
- Referenced only
- Akorem Laan • Bareil Antos • Julian Bashir • Frank Chalmers • Mason Cooley • Ezri Dax • Jadzia Dax • Dezavrim's father • Vic Fontaine • Gaba • Gabek • Gabele • Giani'aga • Hyrcham the Swib • Istani Reyla • Jaro Essa • Jirro • Kesha • Kira Nerys • Li Nalas • Mardah • Morn • Nog • Keiko O'Brien • Miles O'Brien • Odo • Off-Zel • Opaka Fasil • Ptasme • Quark • Rom • Sfeila • Shakaar Edon • Benjamin Sisko • Jennifer Sisko • Joseph Sisko • Rebecca Jae Sisko • Rym Thijmen • Palor Toff • Vash • Vilix'pran • Winn Adami • Kasidy Yates • YimMa • Zek
Locations[]
- Drang • Ee • Gamma Quadrant • Hw17 • Idran IV • Idran system • The Laughing This • New Bajor • unnamed moons
- Referenced only
- Aarru • Ajilon Prime • Alpha Quadrant • Arshiv • Arshiv Prime • Ascendant homeworld • Bajor • Bajoran wormhole • Beras • B'hala • Buof • Celestial Temple • Deep Space 9 • Earth • Enskith • Enskith VI • Ferenginar • The Fortress • Founders' homeworld • Friagloim homeworld • Ga • Galaxy's edge • Himh homeworld • Merdosa • Omarion Nebula • Orias system • Preth • Quark's • Ri • Romulus • Syll VIII • Teplan • Terok Nor • Tevlin-De • Tombs of Luw • Tosk homeworld • Vic's lounge • Xlidu Expanse • Yaron
Starships and vehicles[]
- Ascendant vessel • Even Odds • Even Odds dropship (dropship) • freighter • Jem'Hadar fighter • Tosk starship • transport • Venture (shuttle)
- Referenced only
- Cardassian warship • Danasket • D'deridex-class (warbird) • USS Defiant • escape pod • Glimnis • Keldon-class (cruiser) • land hopper • Merdosian salvage ship • My'lta • Romulan warship • USS Saratoga • science vessel • survey ship • transport shuttle • USS Yangtzee Kiang (runabout)
Races and cultures[]
- Aarruri • Ascendant • Bajoran • Cardassian • Drang • Eav'oq • Ee natives • Eline-dumayo • Ferengi • Friagloim • Hissidolan • Human • Jeflinic • Jem'Hadar • Karemma • Merdosian • Rentician • Srral's species • Tosk • Trelian • unnamed races and cultures • Vorta • Wadi
- Referenced only
- Argrathi • BiaMertis • Breen • Bwada • Dosi • Gocibi • Himh • Horgin • Iconian • Klingon • Metron • Ool'sp • Organian • Q • Parada • Prophets • Rodulan • Romulan • Swib • T-Rogoran • Twelfthray • unnamed races and cultures • v'Xaji • Yaron
States and organizations[]
- Dominion • Hunter • Sen Ennis
- Referenced only
- Allies • Chamber of Ministers of the Third Republic of Bajor • Ennis • Federation News Service • The Five Kings • Founders • Group 67 • Nol-Ennis • Obsidian Order • Starfleet • Tal Shiar • United Federation of Planets • Vedek Assembly
Ranks and titles[]
- agent • appraiser • archaeologist • assistant • athlete • bartender • beggar • captain • chief • chief engineer • consultant • copilot • counselor • creditor • dabo girl • doctor • drink server • Emissary of the Prophets • engineer • engineering tech • equipment dealer • farmer • First Minister of the Third Republic of Bajor • first officer • fortune hunter • gemologist • glinn • Grand Nagus • gul • instructor • journalist • kai • medic • minister • pilot • refugee • reporter • researcher • sage • salvage dealer • servant • smuggler • soldier • spy • technician • terrorist • thief • tour guide • trader • vedek • vendor • writer
Science and technology[]
- actuality-web room • AD light • adrenaline • air filter • alien • alloy-density illuminator • android • animal • antigrav halo • artificial gravity • arva node • atmosphere • automated medbay • beacon • biology • bird • black hole • blood • bone • brain • canine • cartilage • centimeter • chemical • chemical water • cloaking device • clock • clock patch • clone • codebreaker key • com • com piece • coma • communication board • communication collar • communicator • computer • conduit • control panel • core stick • database • dimension • dimensional-shift subspace deck • directional pickup • directional sensor • disposal system • disruptor • distress beacon • drug • earpiece • Eav'oq vanishing crystal • egg • energy • energy storm • energy weapon • engine • environment suit • evolution • exoskeleton • explosive • fail-safe backup system • feather • feeding belt • fiberpatch storage board • filter • fire • fish • flight control console • folded space • force field • force field generator • fountain • fuel tank • fungus • fur • geology • gravity • hair • handheld scanner • heart • high-intensity optic device • holo • holodeck • holodecoy • hologram • holosuite • hour • humanoid • humidity mesh • Hunter bow • hypo • hypo gun • hypothermia • ice • ice storm • Iconian gateway • industrial incinerator • insomnia • intercom • interspatial gateway • ketracel-white • klick • lifeform • lift tube • light panel • light panel connector • light-year • liquid • long-range sensor • magnetic field • magnetic flash effection • mammalian • manual height adjust • math • matter • medical bioreader • medicine • meter • microbe • mine • minute • mirror • monitor • muscle • non-corporeal lifeform • nose-filter • observation relay • oil • optical board • optical sensory bulb • orbit • oxygen • padd • parasite • parsec • particulate transmitter • phaser rifle • physics • plant • plasma • proximity sensor • psionic wave disruption • pulse survey • rain • reader • recycler • remote • repeater hardware • replicator • reptile • root • satellite • scale • scan patch • screen cube • search key • second • secondary communication array • sedative • seed • sensor • sensor array • sensor line patch • sensor-repellent containment box • sensory probe • shadow-trigger pit trap • shields • shifter • shower • silicon • skull • snow • space • space station • spanner • speaker • star • starship • star system • stat reader • stomach • sublight • subspace • subspace relay • subspace variance • support beam • surgery • system connector • temp station • tendon • Teplan blight • text translator • thermal oil • time • toilet • tongue • translator • translator implant • transmitter • transponder • transponder beacon • transporter • transporter pad • transporter tag • transport scrambler • trifiltered sensor array console • universe • vein • viewscreen • visor scope • vocal cord • wall comm • warp drive • water • weather shield • wormhole
Other references[]
- access code • accounting • Aclim Age • Ahswidus cup • Akada chair • alcohol • alehouse • algae • alloy • alpha-currant nectar • Alphie • Ancient Bajoran • androgyny • Appliance Worm • archaeology • architecture • armor • art • Ascendant language • ashflake • Avatar of Peace • Axwism • Bajoran earring • Bajoran prophecy • Bajoran religion • ball • baseball • basket • basotile • basted espod • bathing cubicle • bathroom • Battle of the Omarion Nebula • bean • belt • bench • Bienwon'ata lamp • bill • birthday • blanket • bloodwine • bodysuit • book • boot • brain blast • brandy • bread • bridge • bulkhead • camouflage • candied roast-bird • candle holder • carb-protein pack • cargo hold • casino • century • chula • chula hall • citrus • city • civil war • Class M • clay • clothing • club • cockpit • cocktail • coin • collar • communications • conference room • contract • control stand • corridor • crown • crystal • curis rib • currant juice • currency • dabo • dagger • dance • day • demon • dezomin • dirak • directed-channel message • dog • Dominion War • Dominion War Accords • dom-jot • Dosi birth-rite mask • dessert • disposable cup • Drang language • earring • Eav'oq language • Ee shield tower • emergency signal • emotion • empathy • engineering • Ennis-Nol-Ennis language • equipment cart • era stone • Eyisla Age • fabric • Ferengi Rules of Acquisition • ferment-grape • field report • Five Kings • flower • folk art • food • Friagloim language • fruit • gambling • Gamma-speak • garden • gear belt • gem • genocide • Giani'aga box • glass • glove • goblet • god • gold • government • grass • gravel • greenhouse • grem • gruel • half paeg • hevgin • history • homeworld • honey • hors d'oeuvres • hospice • hull • The Hunt • Hunted • ice fishing • immortality • industrial fabricator • irrigation • jacket • jewel • jewelry • journal • juice • katterpod • kava • kejelious • kiosk • klon paeg • knife • lab • landing party • language • latinum • leather • lemon • library • library bank • linen • liquor • lizard • lodging house • mace • magic • maintenance bay • mantra • map • Mardi Gras • meat • meditation • mess hall • metal • metal foil • military • millennia • mining • mini-transport case • monastery • money • monster • month • moon • mountain • museum • mushroom • music • myth • nightmare • Occupation of Bajor • ocean • ochshea • ochshea-hos • Off-Zel vase • orb shadow • orphanage • the Other • outpost • oyster • pagh • painting • paint • parliament • peace treaty • peach • pearl • pet • pillow • planetoid • planet • poem • pottery • Prime Directive • prospect-propensity test • psionics • puppy • quadrant • Quadrant War • quarters • quarteth • The Quest • quinteth • raktajino • Reckoning • religion • res • resin bead • restaurant • rock • salad • Saurian brandy • science • science survey file • sculpture • seafood stew • sector • Seerwagah clay furniture • self destruct • sensor jam • serk • Sh'dama Age • shipyard • shoe • shuttlepad • Siblings • sickbay • smuggling • snail juice • song • souvenir • spice • spinewater • stardate • Starfleet brat • statue • stew • stick • stone • sto • storage locker • subdeck • sugarfruit • suicide • synthehol • tattoo • tavern • tea • technology • temonis • Thas • Three Bay • Tirges dagger • toolkit • toy • T'p urn • transmitting station • transporter room • Treaty of Bajor • True • Tumika Age • Unnameable • uniform • urn • vase • vegetable paste • Veltan sex idol • victory shroud • VihnAKAn scissor pearl • Wa • Wa festival • Wadi lullaby • war • water tube • weapon • weather • week • whistle • whistling rock • wine • wine rack • wint • wood • work permit • xenophobia • Yaron Oracle • Yaron robe • year
Appendices[]
Background information[]
- Rising Son introduces the Ascendants, the Ea'voq and the crew of the Even Odds.
- Opaka's given name is revealed to be Sulan in this novel. The name has been used in later Star Trek: Deep Space Nine novels, as well as in the Star Trek: Terok Nor series and in the Prophecy and Change short story "Ha'mara".
- Rising Son is Marco Palmieri's favorite Star Trek: Deep Space Nine novel. (Voyages of Imagination)
- This book was named one of the top Star Trek novels in TV Zone #207. Other novels to be included in the top ten list were The Galactic Whirlpool, The Entropy Effect, The Final Reflection, My Enemy, My Ally, Once Burned, The 34th Rule, Ex Machina, A Time to Kill and Crucible: Provenance of Shadows.
- Some information excluded from this book, such as the species names of Dezavrim, Aslylgof, and Brad-ahk'la (as well as her home planet and system) are shown in the novel Sacraments of Fire.
Related Stories[]
- Rising Son begins just at the end of Avatar, Book Two and ends just prior to the last scene of Mission Gamma: Lesser Evil. The events of the DS9 novel: Demons of Air and Darkness and the TNG novel: Doors Into Chaos (part of the Star Trek: Gateways miniseries) are also mentioned.
Connections[]
| published order | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous novel: Mission Gamma Lesser Evil |
DS9 novels (Post-Finale) |
Next novel: The Left Hand of Destiny, Book One |
| chronological order | ||
| Previous Adventure: Gumbo |
Next Adventure: Cold Fusion | |
| The above chronology placements are based on the primary placement in 2376. The Pocket Books Timeline places events from this story in eight other timeframes: | ||
| Previous Adventure: Collective |
early May 2376 Chapter 8, Section 2 |
Next Adventure: Doors Into Chaos |
| Previous Adventure: Caveat Emptor |
mid June 2376 Chapter 8, Sections 3-4 |
Next Adventure: Twilight Part Two |
| Previous Adventure: Oaths |
late June 2376 Chapter 8, Section 5 |
Next Adventure: This Gray Spirit |
| Previous Adventure: This Gray Spirit |
early July 2376 Chapter 9 |
Next Adventure: Foundations, Book One |
| Previous Adventure: Wildfire, Book 2 |
late July 2376 Chapter 10 |
Next Adventure: Being Human |
| Previous Adventure: A Good Day to Die Chapters 5-13 |
early August 2376 Chapters 11-14 |
Next Adventure: Home Fires |
| Previous Adventure: Stone and Anvil |
mid August 2376 Chapter 15 |
Next Adventure: Honor Bound |
| Previous Adventure: Lesser Evil |
late August 2376 Chapters 16-20 |
Next Adventure: Ishtar Rising, Book 1 |
Translations[]
- 2012
- German : So der Sohn, translated by Christian Humberg. (Cross Cult)
External links[]
- Rising Son article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.
- Trek Nation review