Beaming in from the Delta Quadrant and straight onto your bookshelf is prolific “Star Trek” creator David Mack’s newest sci-fi jewel, “Picard: Firewall,” a 336-page hardcover coming Feb. 27, 2024
On this compelling story set earlier than the unfolding occasions of the premiere season of Paramount+’s “Star Trek: Picard,” “Firewall” focuses on the previous Borg character of Seven of 9 (Jeri Ryan) as she hyperlinks up with a infamous band of area vigilantes and we now have an unique chapter excerpt to share beneath.
Mack is a multi-award-winning science fiction grasp who’s authored 38 novels within the arenas of science fiction, fantasy, and journey, together with the “Star Trek Future” and “Chilly Equations” trilogies. His spectacular resume of writing credit consists of episodes of “Star Trek: Deep House 9” and marketing consultant work on the debut season of the hit animated collection, “Star Trek: Prodigy.”
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Here is the official writer synopsis from Pocket Books:
“An exhilarating prequel journey based mostly on the acclaimed TV collection ‘Star Trek: Picard!’
“Two years after the USS Voyager’s return from the Delta Quadrant, Seven of 9 finds herself rejected for a place in Starfleet and as a substitute finds a brand new dwelling with the interstellar rogue legislation enforcement corps often called the Fenris Rangers. The Rangers seem to be a really perfect match for Seven—however to embrace this new future, she should depart behind all she’s ever identified, and danger dropping a very powerful factor in her life: her friendship with Admiral Kathryn Janeway.”
What Mack discovered most compelling about writing “Firewall” was the necessity to make a deep dive into the psychology of Seven of 9 throughout a crucial section of her life.
“As a result of she and Kathryn Janeway are the one two main canon “Star Trek” characters within the novel, and a lot of the e-book is advised by way of Seven’s perspective, I wanted to immerse myself in Seven’s viewpoint as a queer lady on a journey of self-discovery in addition to that of a heroine on an journey,” Mack tells House.com.
“It gave me an opportunity to attach with a lot of what makes Seven such an important character: her intelligence, her integrity, and likewise her hidden vulnerability. She is a richly layered particular person, capable of include seemingly contradictory multitudes, and that made it a pleasure to discover her psyche throughout her transition from ex-Borg to a totally empathetic human being.”
Here is our unique excerpt from “Picard: Firewall” courtesy of Pocket Books:
She switched again to the group’s channel. “Everybody! Use the storm as cowl!”
The group responded in overlapping transmissions — “Are you loopy?” “Oh, hell no.” “You’ve gotta be kidding!” — till a recent barrage of disruptor pulses from the fighter quelled dissent and spurred all of them into powered dives towards the thunderhead.
“Do not cluster! Cut up up and regroup on—”
One other fusillade of disruptor blasts minimize throughout the strike group’s descent vector—and one tore by way of Ellory’s thruster pack, which exploded in a burst of sparks and shrapnel.
Seven struggled to see previous the inky plume of smoke pouring from Ellory’s fragged swimsuit. “Ell! Speak to me, Ell! Ell, are you able to hear me?”
Harper minimize in: “Her swimsuit’s offline! No energy, no comms! Anybody acquired eyes on her?”
“Affirmative,” Speirs stated. “No motion, falling like a rock.”
“About to lose her within the clouds,” Ballard stated.
Seven keyed her swimsuit’s thrusters to most. “Everybody, get clear. I’m getting into.” Palms outstretched and pointed forward of her, she chased after the unresponsive Ellory and speared her means into the thundercloud only a second behind her.
Every part went pitch-black, after which the world flared blinding white—lightning slashed in nice forks throughout Seven, and whole banks of black cloud pulsed with internal mild, all of it adopted by crushing roars of thunder that hit her with partitions of sonic power.
Her eyes pulsed with inexperienced and purple afterimages, and her head spun from the shock of thunderclaps, however she pressured herself to not blink, to not cross out, to not pull inward or do something to gradual her dive. Palms first, head lowered, she arrowed by way of one other wall of roiling black and grey vapors—to see Ellory only a hundred meters forward of her, tumbling wildly, uncontrolled, with no signal of consciousness.
Beneath them, the stomach of the cloud flared white with electrical fury.
Seven accelerated instantly into Ellory and wrapped her arms round her, after which her legs.
“Pc! Shields!” Her swimsuit’s command system activated the low-power protect usually used for further safety throughout probably the most perilous moments of atmospheric entry.
Please be sufficient—
She and Ellory plunged by way of the underside of the cloud because it resounded with thunder and flashed—only for a number of milliseconds—with sheet lightning hotter than the floor of a star.
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