Introduction (blurb)[]
When Lelys, ambassador of the plague-ridden colony planet of Orakisa, approaches the Federation seeking help for her dying world, the USS Enterprise speeds to the rescue. Captain Picard and his crew escort the Orakisan delegation to its long-lost sister world, Ne'elat, where the ambassador and the away team are initially welcomed, but then endangered. As the Enterprise officers make their way through a web of planet-wide intrigue, time is running out for the people of Orakisa and the inhabitants of all their sister-worlds as well.
Summary[]
The Enterprise has been assigned to transport a delegation from Orakisa. Orakisa was one of many colony worlds established by Skerris IV who had no contact with the home world or each other. The Orakisans eventually rediscovered Skerris IV and found the population there had destroyed itself. Some of their people underwent irreversible genetic changes in order to repopulate the planet but are now starving to death, unable to process the food there. The only thing that could save them is an enzyme located in a planet native to the planet, n'vashal. It may exist on one of the colonies and the only one that hasn't been checked is Ashkaar, a world that was set to develop free of technology.
When the Enterprise arrives in the system, they are instead contacted by the neighbouring world, Ne'elat, whose leader Udar Kishrit says the colony on Ashkaar failed and they instead set up an advanced (but not warp-capable) society on Ne'elat. Lifesigns on Ashkaar are explained away as penal colonies and military training. However, this is provided to be a lie when Geordi meets and falls in love with Ma'adrys, a woman from Ashkaar now living on Ne'elat and convinced she has been taken up to their version of heaven to serve the "starlords" there.
Riker, Data, Troi and Orakisan ambassador Lelys travel to Ashkaar undercover and find the original agrarian colony still exists, unaware of their origin. The Ne'elatians have pillaged the planet's culture to adopt a superficially spiritual lifestyle, while also planting agents to make sure the Ashkaarians do not evolve to a more advanced state, killing or abducting anyone likely to advance them. Ma'adrys' mother was one of these agents and Udar Kishrit's daughter.
After Lelys helps cure a plague on the planet, another Ne'elatian agent, Avren, drugs her and stirs up the people to blame the visitors for the plague, resulting in her and Troi being taken prisoner while Riker and Troi escape back to the ship. Ma'adrys returns to the planet to restore order and convince the population of what has really been going on.
Geordi contrives to bring the Ne'elatian and Ashkaarian leaders together on the Enterprise but they struggle to come to an agreement even with Ma'adrys and Avren's testimonies and things threaten to spill into violence. However, when Ma'adrys protects him, Udar Kishrit has a change of heart and begins to favour reconciliation. Crusher discovers a drug Avren brought aboard is actually powdered n'vashal, which grows freely on the planet. An awkward deal is struck where the Ashkaarians provide the Orakasians with n'vashal and receive education in technology and medicine from the Ne'elatians. Geordi is left disappointed when Ma'adrys has to leave the Enterprise to become an envoy for the new alliances.
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References[]
Characters[]
- Avren • batlh-ghobbogh-yIH • Bava • Bilik • Blumberg • Beverly Crusher • Data • Fougner • Guinan • Hara'el • Herri • Kinryk • Udar Kishrit • Kolb • Geordi La Forge • Lelys • Ma'adrys • Maskan • Misik • M'kin • Nish • Meeran Okosa • Jean-Luc Picard • William T. Riker • Alexander Rozhenko • Se'ar • Sekol • Shomia • Rak Ti'ask • Deanna Troi • Valdor • V'kal • Lori Wolf • Worf • Yee
- Referenced only
- B'ist • Galileo Galilei • La'akel • Lady of the Balances • Leonardo da Vinci • Mona • N'mar • Louis Pasteur • P'tann • Rika'an • Spot • Stakis • Tutankhamen • Vi'ar • Yaro
Starships and vehicles[]
- USS Enterprise-D
- Referenced only
- USS Marcus
Locations[]
- Ashkaar • Bovridash • Kare'al • Ne'elat
- Referenced only
- Alamo Station • Atlantis • Babylon • Beta Quadrant • Kikal • Malabar Station • Miramik • Orakisa • Skerris IV
Races and cultures[]
- android • Ashkaarian • Betazoid • Human • Klingon • Ne'elatian • Orakisan
- Referenced only
- Ferengi • Vulcan
States and organizations[]
- Federation • Starfleet • Masra'et • Na'amOberyin
Other references[]
- a'dyem • ambassador • Ark conference • away team • bread • bridge • clone • communicator • dagger • dawnsweet • demon • Denebian swamp fever • Evramur • Feast of Flowers • flower • G class star • galingale • Gate of Evramur • hamster • hari'imash • heshkatti • incense • legate • Middle Ages • milk • na'am • n'shash • n'vashal • oberyin • onion • palace • pea • peanut • phaser • Pilgrim • Prime Directive • prune juice • psionic • radiation • sheep • shore leave • shrine • sh'vala • sickbay • Six Mothers • skirret • soup • straw • Talossa fever • Ten Forward • transporter • transporter room • tree • tribble • tricorder • viewscreen • VISOR • warp drive • water
Connections[]
| published order | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous novel: Intellivore |
TNG numbered novels | Next novel: Q-Space |
| chronological order | ||
| Previous Adventure: Frame of Mind |
Next Adventure: Dark Passions, Book One | |
Translations[]
- 2006
- German : Sturm auf den Himmel, translated by Henriatta Blaschke. (Heyne)
External links[]
- To Storm Heaven article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.