Gemworld Book Two of Two (Star Trek The Next Generation, No 59) (Mass Market Paperback)

by John Vornholt (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Sparkling like a three-dimensional snowflake in the depths of space, Gernworld once was one of the Federation's greatest marvels. Six different alien races coexisted peacefully on an artificial world composed entirely of crystal -- until the very substance of Gemworld began to multiply out of control, tearing the world apart. Now the entire planet -- and the Starship Enterprise™ as well-faces total destruction.

The only way to stop the disaster is to turn off the vast network of force fields holding Gemworld's atmosphere in place, but to do so will require the cooperation of each of the planet's half dozen alien civilizations, one of which sabotaged Gemworld in the first place. With time running out, Captain Picard and his crew, including a lovestruck Lieutenant Barclay, must embark on a hazardous trek across the dying planet to find and unite the chief engineers from many strange and exotic races -- while watching out for a mass murderer determined to destroy a world!

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Chapter One

Lieutenant Melora Pazlar hovered above a row of terminals in a weightless, cylindrical chamber inside the protective shell that encircled Gemworld. This chamber was a monitoring station which was usually populated by Elaysian and Alpusta engineers. The Elaysians were in residence, but now so was an away team from the Federation starship Enterprise. Melora hardly considered herself to be a member of that crew, having been on board only a few hours before her dreams had been invaded by the Lipuls' call for help.

Melora glanced at one of the screens. Far beneath the shell and its labyrinth of collectors, generators, pumps, and forcefields floated Gemworld itself -- a dazzling, multihued cluster of spires, prisms, and archways. Seen from afar, her crystalline world was an awesome bauble glimmering in the vastness of space. From within, it was a forest of massive monoliths, dancing light beams, and perpetual shadow.

Not only was Melora's body suspended in midair, which was normal, but her mind felt as if it were suspended, too. She was reminded of the out-of-body experiences humans often claimed to have had, even though few of them ever took the time to understand such phenomena.

It wasn't surprising that the Lipuls' dreamships had first contacted humans, out of all the Federation species. Unlike Elaysians, humans were open-minded, even generous and outgoing. But like Elaysians, they could also be obstinate and blunt. That bluntness was now being amply demonstrated by the harsh words of Captain Jean-Luc Picard, as he lectured Tangre Bertoran and a handful of Elaysian engineers.

In standard Federation language, the captain had already told them they had the equivalent of eight days to live. Did her fellow Elaysians even know how short a time period that was? They didn't have days on Gemworld, in the accepted sense, only refracted sunlight and a strange sort of twilight in the shadows. Gemworld had been inhabited ever since the universe was young, and they thought they had surmounted every obstacle. How could her people possibly comprehend that their life expectancy had come down to eight rotations of a faraway alien planet?

She could tell by the concern on Reg Barclay's face that he understood their predicament -- and the truth of Picard's dire prediction. Counselor Deanna Troi listened with her usual detachment as the captain finished his summation.

"That is quite impossible, Captain," said Tangre Bertoran, in a tone of voice usually reserved for small children who have told grandiose lies. The silver-haired Peer of the Jeptah shook his head in pity. "Thoron radiation is naturally occurring in our atmosphere. And in Earth's too, I understand. It couldn't harm all life on Gemworld, only those who spend too much time near the mutant crystal."

"Which continues to grow every day," insisted the captain. "Commander Data is not given to making errant predictions. Trust me when I say that we have to shut down the darkmatter collectors and the dimensional rift in eight days -- by whatever means -- or we'll all die. If we have to shut down the shell to accomplish that goal, then so be it."

Bertoran wrinkled his nose and forehead ridges as if sniffing a foul odor. "Captain, we don't talk about 'shutting down the shell,' even in jest....That is like saying we need to destroy the Earth in order to stop a weed from growing. Yes, it will work -- but at what cost?"

The captain gestured broadly, making it clear how frustrated he felt. "I don't want anyone to die, especially not two billion inhabitants. My first officer and chief engineer think that we can power your forcefields from the Enterprise for a brief period, taking over while the shell is turned off. You know how all those systems are intertwined -- there's no other choice. If we're successful, Gemworld won't lose any of her atmosphere."

"And if you're wrong, we'll all be dead," replied Bertoran snidely.

"We have eight days to put something together," answered Picard, sounding as if that were plenty of time. "We have considerable experience with forcefields, and my people have already gotten a head start on this. Your people can help by making sealed shelters, bottling air -- whatever is necessary. Believe me, I wouldn't suggest this course if I didn't think we could do it."

Tangre Bertoran grimaced his displeasure. "What you're asking goes against all my upbringing and common sense. It's akin to murder. I don't know, Captain...I need to see Commander Data's sensor readings before I agree to this."

"We've got them." Picard gestured, and Reg Barclay fumbled in a pouch on his belt, finally producing an isolinear chip. Melora smiled at the contrast between this gleaming storage device and the aged violet prism that hung from Reg's neck.

"Can you read isolinear chips?" asked the captain.

Bertoran sneered. "After we joined the Federation, it took us about two weeks to master your language and technology. Now you wish to destroy ours in a heartbeat."

"Your technology has turned against you," said Deanna Troi, speaking up for the first time since the meeting began. Hesitantly, the counselor floated down from the circular doorway, looking uneasy in her weightless state. "We wouldn't go to this much trouble to destroy you. The only thing that can destroy you is doing nothing."

Tangre Bertoran scowled and snatched the isolinear chip from Reg's hand. "Give me a moment."

He and his entourage retreated to a monitoring console, where they plugged in the chip and studied the data, muttering in low tones. Melora hovered overhead, uncertain whether she should join her fellow Elaysians or stay with her unfamiliar crew. Since coming back to Gemworld, she had felt increasingly torn between her duty to Starfleet and a natural inclination to protect her people and her homeworld. The two shouldn't be mutually exclusive, but Starfleet represented the whole Federation, not just one peculiar planet.

Her split allegiance had never been an issue before, because Gemworld had always seemed like a memory from a past life, something that would never intrude on her Starfleet commitments. But being here, visiting her old enclave, seeing the frightened faces and the crumbling, mutant crystal -- it had become clear that Gemworld needed her more than Starfleet did.

For now, the dimensional rift not only threatened their solar system, but it could endanger the entire quadrant if left unchecked. Captain Picard had made it clear that he would sacrifice his ship and every soul on her planet to keep that from happening. And he probably wouldn't hesitate to use the Enterprise's weapon systems.

Reg Barclay looked at Melora and smiled sweetly, jarring her out of her depressing reverie. His boyish, earnest face brought out a smile in her, and she realized how glad she was to see him again. Here she was -- perhaps in the last days of her life -- and she had met a perfectly charming man who doted on her and strove to protect her. In fact, he strove to protect all of her people, as proven by the shard around his neck.

He was an unlikely hero -- and an even more unlikely acting senior engineer for the Elaysians -- yet he performed both duties valiantly. Looking at Reg brought out a respect and affection in Melora that she had thought she could never feel for anyone. And her feelings were amplified by the guilt she felt over not being totally honest with him....The last thing she wanted to do was to hurt Reg, or any member of the Enterprise crew. They were trying to help, but they didn't fully understand.

Did Reg know how she felt about him? Did it even matter -- with all the obstacles they faced?

Yes, it matters, decided Melora. This should be a time to feel for one another -- to seek love, and give it. What did it mean to fight for life if

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 233 pages
• Publisher: Star Trek (February 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671042718
• ISBN-13: 978-0671042714
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #649,034 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Really not as bad as the cover suggests, April 3, 2000

By	Dmitrij Gawrisch (Bern, Schweiz) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

When I first saw the cover of this book, I thought it was some cheap "Star Trek" literature with its only function to fill in the gap between January and March. (The book was published in February.) Nevertheless, after some thinking, I bought Gemworld 1 and 2 and read them from the beginning of the first chapter of Book 1 to the last one of Book 2. After maybe page 10 of Book 1 I couldn't put it away anymore. I simply had to read it and look what happens next. The return of Melora Pazlar was really surprising but it added to both books an interesting element that pushed the action forward. Reginald Barcley's presence made the "Star Trek" universe less perfect and, as a result, the characters more like ourselves. The passionate relationship of those remarkable people increased the value of the novel even more.

Additionally, I found Gemworld itself a fascinating planet that should have been shown in one of the TV series. Imagine a world without gravity built of cristals with six completely different intelligent species living on it, every one of them unique in its own way, but still cooperating with each other. That picture makes me dream every time I think of it.

The only negative point about these books was Vornholt's attitude toward the Enterprise and her senior officers. As far as I can tell, only Deanna Troi played an important role in the novel. The rest, including Captain Picard and Data, appeared on the covers and also in the books themselves, but both didn't act as we expected them to after watching "The Next Generation" for seven years. Barclay, Melora, Troi and Gemworld as the stage of all major events were principal characters of the novel series and they did their job well. All in all I like this book very much and recommend it to everybody who likes reading science-fiction and "Star Trek".

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fitting Star Trek conclusion, May 6, 2000

By	Kathryn Janeway, USS Voyager (USS Voyager, Delta Qaudrant) - See all my reviews

This book was truely very good. Of course you wonder why Troi and Barclay or Palzar did not appear on the covers but still, it was good. Unlike the pervious review, I feel as if this book does portray the crew as they appeared 7 years on the Enterprise-D and now E. First of all, Picard actually leaves the ship for an away team! He does his usual negotiation bit with the Gemwolrd aliens but it was his norm. Riker defends the Enterprise as he did in Generations and Insurection. Troi helps out the crew but still does her psychopath bit. Crusher is more of a wall flower in this book, only having a few scenes. I don't want to give away the entire plot but here is why you should buy this book: A) The Enterprise is hijacked. B) The away team may... or may not finish their misson. C) Palzar must choose between duty to Starfleet or her planet D) Someone does not return to the Enterprise when it leaves :) Now have you noticed how most books have Picard and Data saving the day? That does get a bit boring in my opinion. Now finally Troi, who usually takes a back seat in the novels as simply a step in one chapter influence as we often see Dr. Crusher do as well, saves the day! GEEZ... everyone needs to have at least ONE book where they help save the ship! Troi, Barclay, and Palzar with the help of the others truely come to the rescue. Also, this explains the friendship between Troi and Barclay as we see in Voyager's " Pathfinder" and " Life Signs ". I mean... we all know Troi helps everyone she can but why would she leave the Enterprise-E and Riker to go help the annoying Reg Barclay! Simply pick up this book and read it. Its really good :)

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gem World next generation, November 27, 2000

By	Laury Kim Fitzwater (apo 2746, AE United States) - See all my reviews

Gem World was a truly wonderfull storey, with a very interesting alian planet to save and some marvelous characters plus the added bonus of Mr. Barclay in loooove. It has plenty of twists and turns and keeps you guessing till the end. A must read for star trek fans and sci fi fans.