The Eternal Tide

Publisher's description

An all-new novel that continues the epic saga of the starship Voyager!

As the Voyager fleet continues its exploration of the Delta Quadrant, investigating the current status of sectors formerly controlled by the Borg becomes the fleet's priority. Two of the fleet's special mission vessels, Galen and Demeter are left at New Talax to aid Neelix's people while Voyager, Quirinal, Esquiline, Hawking, and Curie move out to do a systematic search for any remnants of the Borg or Caeliar. As this mission begins, Fleet Commander Afsarah Eden, who has shared what little she knows of her mysterious past with Captain Chakotay, begins to experience several more "awakenings" as she encounters artifacts, people, and places that make her feel connected to her long lost home. She is reluctant to allow these to overshadow her mission, but this becomes increasingly difficult as time passes...

Summary

The Doctor makes a discovery about Eden's genetic structure: She only has genes from a single, male parent. Eden, the Doctor and Cambridge leave Voyager to investigate a possible connection with the Mikhal Travellers, while Voyager investigates the planet where Riley Frazier's collective of former Borg drones were left. They discover that most of the drones joined the Caeliar but a few dozen, led by Riley, stayed behind to care for their children, only to be forced underground when the Tarkons colonised the planet. While help from the USS Achilles, Voyager is able to rescue Riley's people and relocate them on Arehaz, the planet where the Borg originated.

At the same time, Eden's group learn of the Anschlasom, an ancient race who discovered a gateway to another dimension and caused a breach between the two realities. She realises her "uncles", Jobin and Taller, entered one of the breaches and found her but are now trapped in it, having re-entered a breach in the Beta Quadrant.

Q Junior and Amanda Rogers learn that Janeway's death has become a fixed point, existing in all multiverses. Q Junior convinces his mother to bring Janeway to him from a point just before her death, where he manages to direct her and Kes to restore her to life. Amanda tries to investigate the original timeline before Janeway's future self helped Voyager return home and finds at that moment they were involved in the incident where Seven was killed. She finds an area of blank space but when she enters it she ceases to exist and no-one in the Continuum except Q Junior can remember her. Q Junior sends Janeway to the Achilles.

Four vessels from the fleet stumble across a similar blank area of space. Their attempts to probe it fracture the anomaly, causing parts of the ship to be swallowed up. The crewmembers in those parts of the ship encounter Taller and decide they must sacrifice themselves and remove all contamination to repair the anomaly. The Achilles beams aboard the crewmembers from the unaffected areas of the ships shortly before they are destroyed but Taller refuses to follow suit and the anomaly is merely returned to how it was before Starfleet arrived. Eden orders the ship to return to the Alpha Quadrant while her group and Janeway return to Voyager.

Jobin contacts Voyager, admitting Eden was created by something inside the anomaly to fulfill Taller's wish for a daughter. Eden slowly realises the truth: The anomaly contains a pure Omega molecule which, if it becomes stable, will destroy the multiverse. The anomaly is the Omega Continuum, a polar opposite of the Q Continuum. The Anschalom's initial encounter with it granted both continuums sentience and brought the Q into being. It also accelerated the universe's natural life cycle and every other encounter with it has accelerated things still further. In the original timeline, Janeway erased it and thus destroyed the Q. Q appears, believing killing Eden will resolve things, but she strips him of his powers.

Torres and Seven work out a way to seal the anomaly by Chakotay piloting a shuttle inside on a suicide mission and Voyager and the shuttle firing pulses simultaneously. However, the attempt fails. The Continuum appear to confront Eden but she absorbs their powers and, heavily under the influence of Omega, prepares to take them into the anomaly, destroying the Q. Janeway attempts to dissuade her before Q Junior appears, revealing he carries all the power of the Q and will serve as a sacrifice in their place. He and Eden enter the anomaly together, collapsing it, and return Chakotay, Jobin and Taller to their original locations in space as they do so.

References

Characters

Reginald Barclay • Phinnegan Bryce • Hugh Cambridge • Chakotay • Nancy Conlon • Parimon Dasht • Ezri Dax • Gregor Denisov • The Doctor • Tillum Drafar • Afsarah Eden • Regina Farkas • Atlee Fife • Riley Frazier • Clarissa Glenn • Aytar Gwyn • Krim Hoch • Tonil Hornung • Icheb • Bal Itak • Kathryn Janeway • Sadie Johns • Q (Junior) • Harry Kim • Kenth Lasren • Livermore • Mischa • Neelix • El'nor Sal • Seven of Nine • Liam O'Donnell • Miral Paris • Thomas Paris • Devi Patel • Jean-Luc Picard • Female Q • Q • William T. Riker • Malcolm Roach • Amanda Rogers • Rosati • B'Elanna Torres • Vorik • Vanessa Waters • Worf • Xin Chan

Referenced only: Alana • Dante Alighieri • Avery • Nanietta Bacco • Willem Batiste • Costa • Lilia Dasht • Lukas Dasht • Merilee Dasht • Rowena Dasht • Selena Royer Dasht • Fredericks • Ghert • Erika Hernandez • Miles Jobin • Kahless, son of Kahless • Kaplan • Kol • Meegan McDonnell • Miller • Kenneth Montgomery • Nacona • Purifoy • Quinn • Carson Taller • Naomi Wildman • Zabetha • Lewis Zimmerman

Other

electrokinetic storm • Holy Rings of Betazed • La Vita Nuova

Timeline

Production history

published order
Previous novel: Children of the Storm	Voyager unnumbered novels	Next novel: Protectors
Previous novel: Children of the Storm	Novels by: Kirsten Beyer	Next novel: Protectors
chronological order

Appendices

External link

The Eternal Tide article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.

Memory Beta, non-canon Star Trek Wiki

The Eternal Tide

Contents

Publisher's description

Summary

References

Characters

Locations

Starships and vehicles

Species

States and Organizations

Science and technology