Belle Terre (Star Trek: New Earth, Book 2) (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author), (Author) "CAPTAIN JAMES T. KIRK dropped into the soft sand and leaned back against a large log of driftwood..." (more)
Key Phrases: quasar olivium, main colony area, pressure inside the moon, Belle Terre, Quake Moon, Gamma Night (more...)

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Product Description

The Starship Enterprise™ has embarked on its most ambitious assignment yet: to lead a courageous band of settlers to a far-off planet, to defend the fragile colony from alien threats, and to unravel the mysteries of a brand-new Earth!

Belle Terre

A six-month distance from the Federation, the planet Belle Terre offers a new life to more than 30,000 families, pioneers, scientists, expatriates, go-getters, loners, and entrepreneurs, all under the watchful eye of Captain Kirk and his crew. But the would-be colonists have barely settled in the untamed wilderness of their new home when Spock makes a startling discovery: not only does the planet's moons contain a rare ore of almost inestimable value, that same moon is also violently unstable. Within months, it will inevitably explode -- destroying all life on Belle Terre!

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Chapter One

Countdown: 8 Days, 7 Hours

Captain James T. Kirk dropped into the soft sand and leaned back against a large log of driftwood. In front of him the dune slanted down to the beach and the green-tinted ocean beyond. He tried to think back to the last time he had simply sat alone on a beach and relaxed. He couldn't remember ever doing that. But he also couldn't imagine this was the first time, either. He must have relaxed on a beach before, although he had no doubt Dr. McCoy would swear it had never happened. McCoy always said that James Kirk never relaxed.

Kirk supposed that was true. Maybe it wasn't too late to learn. Or more likely, it was time to learn.

He took a deep breath and looked around. There was a slight bite to the ocean breeze coming in over the waves, just enough to take the edge off the heat of the midday sun. The salt and brine smell drifted over the beach, strong enough to be enjoyed by a new arrival, but not overpowering enough to be noticed after the first few moments. The beach sand was almost a pure white, and stretched in a ribbon as far as he could see in both directions.

This planet Belle Terre was everything Governor Evan Pardonnet had said it would be. If this stretch of shoreline near the main colony compound was any indication of the rest of the planet, it was no wonder so many people were so willing to travel so far to get here. Even putting aside the governor's high-minded ideas of freedom of thinking, freedom from government, and freedom from the Federation, this place just might turn out to be the utopia Pardonnet had hoped for.

Below Kirk, ten children, chaperoned by Lilian Coates, played a game a few hundred paces down the beach to his right. The sound of children cut between the gentle slapping of the waves rolling up the sand, then retreating. The laughter and childish shouts of joy were wonderful reminders of the perfect afternoon he was having. As a starship captain, he hadn't had many like this.

He almost stood to go and see how the children were doing, then stopped himself. He had come here to relax.

Alone.

And relax he was going to do if it killed him.

He laughed to himself, the sound carried away on the slight breeze. McCoy would be proud of him. Shocked, but proud.

Kirk took another deep breath and stared ahead. The tinted green of the ocean spread out as far as he could see. The waves were no more than gentle rolling swells. The few clouds in the sky were white, puffy, and nonthreatening.

He took a third deep breath of the clean, fresh air and could almost feel the muscles in his back starting to loosen. It wasn't often that he took a few minutes to himself. And after getting the sixty-two thousand colonists and all their varied ships to this paradise, he deserved the time. If he had his way, he was going to take more time, as often as his Starfleet duties of protecting the colonists allowed.

At the moment a large number of his crew were scattered in twenty different groups over the planet, helping the colonists explore, carve out settlements, and load supplies and equipment to the surface. Every one of his senior officers except Spock had charge of a major operation. And from what he'd been told before he beamed down, everything was going smoothly. At this point, only two weeks after arriving, just about every one of the colonists was living on the surface of the planet, an unprecendented accomplishment.

The Enterprise was in orbit, standing ready to defend the colony ships from any more threats from the Kauld or their new Orion allies. A fleet of Kauld and Orions tried to keep the colonists from reaching this planet, but Kirk doubted they'd have much trouble from them again immediately. The Enterprise and the colonists defeated them handily, but Kirk had no doubt that the Kauld and their enemies the Blood would be back. The Blood leader Shucorion claimed to be a friend to the colonists, but Kirk wasn't so sure of that. The Blood/Kauld conflict would cause the colony trouble at some time in the future.

Just not now.

At the moment everything was going fine. There was time enough to get the colony started and get crops growing. And time for him to relish this beautiful new world just a little.

He reached for his communicator to check in with the ship, then stopped himself once more. There was also time for him to take a few moments to himself. They could find him if they needed him.

He ran his hand through the soft sand, then gazed off down the seemingly limitless beach. Belle Terre was just about as close to Earth as a colony could find. The climate here on the major continent was moderate and the growing seasons uniformly long, thanks to this planet's orbit around its sun. Pulling guard duty on Belle Terre for the near future wasn't going to be so bad after all. There weren't many better places he could think to guard.

But he couldn't imagine spending his life here, either, no matter how beautiful the place was. Space was too big, with too many mysteries to explore. He didn't mind guarding this colony for a while, as long as they needed him and the Enterprise. It was a challenge unlike any he had had before. But when this was done he wanted to get back into deep space.

Down on the beach a child laughed, drawing Kirk's attention that way. He smiled as the children all piled on each other, kicked up sand, laughed some more, then scattered, playing some game Kirk wasn't familiar with. Lilian Coates, her blond hair loose in the ocean breeze, her shoulders straight, her hands in the pockets of her light jacket, stood between the children and the ocean, watching, laughing along with them.

Kirk was amazed that she could even laugh at this point in her life. Her husband had been one of the many colonist casualties on the way here from Earth. With his death, her husband had left her far from home, alone on a colony world. Suddenly without a family, she had to take care of herself and their nine-year-old son, Reynold, in a very harsh and unfamiliar environment. That would be tough on anyone, and would destroy many. But Lilian Coates had just seemed to keep right on going.

He had met her a few times right after her husband had died. She was a strong woman, of that there was no doubt. She was doing just fine, or so it seemed at the moment. Maybe in a few months he'd make it a point to make sure that hadn't changed. Strong people like her were exactly what this colony needed for long-term survival.

He watched her guard the children for a moment, then settled back against the log, closed his eyes, and let the sun warm his face while the ocean breeze cooled him. If lucky, he just might be able to spend the entire next hour right here, undisturbed by the responsibilities of protecting an entire new world full of colonists.

"Captain?" Spock said from behind him.

It didn't seem as if the luck was with him.

Kirk sat up and opened his eyes. Below him Lilian glanced up his way, noting for the first time his presence, then went back to sharing a laugh with the children.

He turned to stare up at the Vulcan as he approached through the sand. "What is it, Mr. Spock?"

"The results of my tests, Captain," Spock said, handing him the scientific tricorder he carried.

"Couldn't it have waited?" Kirk asked without looking at the report. "I was enjoying a little time away from reports just like this."

Spock had been concerned about slight communication problems they'd been having when not in Gamma Night. Before Kirk had beamed down, Spock had been focusing his attention on one of the moons of Belle Terre everyone called the Quake Moon, because it seemed always to be shaking with small quakes, more than likely caused by volcanic activity. Spock had a theory that the communication problems came partly from the moon and had been so intent in his project

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Star Trek (June 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671042971
• ISBN-13: 978-0671042974
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #842,698 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid Trek adventure without the usual clichés, May 22, 2000

By	John DiBello (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Pocket's Star Trek publishing program seems to have shifted in focus over the past several months: rather than publishing stand-alone novels, we've seen a number of multi-book series ranging from the excellent ("Millennium" for Deep Space Nine) to the, mmm, not-quite so-excellent (not mentioning any names!). I'll frequently pick up a Trek book based on the author ("Millennium" was written by the always-entertaining Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens), but in the case of "Belle Terre" I bought it mainly because of the intriguing concept of this multi-book series: Kirk and company are assigned to escort a group of colonists to a deep-space planet for colonization. I haven't had a chance yet to pick up the first book in the series "Wagon Train to the Stars" (I will, because it's written by another of my fave Trek authors, Diane Carey), but #2, "Belle Terre", is a fun read and intriguing enough to make me look at the rest in the series as well. When the idyllic world the colonists land on threatens to be destroyed, Kirk and the Enterprise crew must race against time and exceptionally long odds to save the planet. Characterization is dead-on, always a plus when dealing with characters based on real actors (the grumpy, argumentative, but humanist McCoy is so authentic you can hear the late De Kelley in your head as you read). I've also got to commend Smith and Carey for the character of the colony's governor...it's a long-running Trek cliché that colony governors are thick-skulled, selfish diplomats, butting heads with Kirk and endangering themselves and others. This character rises above that cliché with a much more interesting personality--he's an individual with different ideas and goals than Starfleet, but he's willing to do everything to help Kirk and Spock's dangerous plan to stop the planet's moon from exploding. The conclusion is no happy-ending cop-out...the planet is saved (did you doubt it?), but at incredible cost...and, as befits a decent book series, a cliffhanger subplot featuring a scout ship investigating a nearby dead planet obviously leads into book three without taking the attention away from the plot at hand. In short, a decent Trek novel, nothing exceptional, but very good suspense, characterization, and an intriguing plot that's different enough from the usual Trek storylines to make me check out "Star Trek: New Earth #3: Rough Trails" next month.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nicely done, June 5, 2000

By	Michael Hickerson (Augusta, GA) - See all my reviews

My main concern going into this book was after "WagonTrain to the Stars" that the next four books would stall out withmajor developments until Diane Carey came in to wrap things up in August. The good news is that, for now, that hasn't happened.

"Belle Terre", while considerably shorter than "Wagon Train to the Stars", packs no less of a punch. As was hinted in book one, things aren't going to be peaceful when the crew arrives at the planet--and they're not. An imminent disaster will happen in just eight days--the destruction of a moon that will destroy the lush world the colonists have come to settle. It's up to Kirk and company to pull another miracle out of their hats and save the day. The book works nicely because it allows the crew to fail and to work through it to come up with an answer. It also introduces some nice supporting characters and gives the ma bit of character depth as well. In addition, it's a nicely plotted and suspenseful book that really takes advantage of the crew working against the clock to save the day.

I've got to admit I'm hooked now on New Earth. Having devoured the first two books, I find myself anxious for the next four. It certainly makes June seem a bit longer as I wait for parts three and four.

My only major problem with the book is that it drops some of the interesting storylines from part one. No mention is made of the traitor's fate nor do we get any confirmation that the Orions are still a threat. Also, with the Enterprise and the colony in a disputed war-zone, there should have been some development there. I'm willing to overlook these sins of omission for now, simply because we've got four more books to go and develop these.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Star Trek hackwork, August 14, 2000

By A Customer

Here's a question: Why, unlike the first book in the New Earth series, is BELLE TERRE written as if the target reader is a 9-year-old? The vocabulary and sentence structure are barely up to the standards of a YA (young adult) novel, and the story itself is a simple-minded meet-the-deadline crisis that ends exactly the way one thinks it will.

The book is needlessly divided into four arbitrary "parts"; the natural assumption here is that it was done for padding, a fair conclusion when one sees a countdown ("Four. Three. Two....") divided into separate paragraphs. The dialogue is straight from the cliche encyclopedia, with enough "one-quarter impulse, Mr. Sulu"s and "course plotted and laid in sir"s to fill three or four bad novels. And the author's idea of a scare? "Skeletons." That's right: skeletons.

My advice: skip directly to Part Three and a different author, where there should be enough background to discern the essentials of this piece of hackwork.