Chain Mail (Gateways) Book

Book two of the Gateways series, Chainmail, introduces a story apparently independent of the first book, One Small Step. It features Commander Nick Keller and the hybrid crew of the "Challenger", first seen in the New Earth series when Keller took over guardianship of the colony Belle Terre from Captain Kirk. Keller is trying to rescue his first officer, the Blood Shucorion, and bosun Zane Bonifay from an alien vessel, whose strange interior resembles a metallic jungle filled with thousands of metal-embalmed bodies. But getting his crewmen back is only the start of his problems. Shucorion claims that Bonifay disobeyed a direct order, and by Blood law he must face execution. Keller can't afford to go against the treaty between the Blood and the Federation, but how can he abandon his own crewman to a death penalty? While he grapples with this dilemma, a mysterious Gateway opens in empty space, and an immensely powerful alien craft comes through, crewed by people who have been toughened by hundreds of generations struggling to tame the environment of an inhospitable metal planet. Diane Carey has created some truly alien environments on the metallic planet and within the mysterious alien ship, and the combination leads to a book that stretches the Star Trek universe in interesting ways. The "Challenger" is much less squeaky clean than most Starfleet vessels, and Keller is a comparatively uncertain commander still struggling to find his own power, which adds to the tension. The story will be continued in a later volume of the series, but this is an intriguing beginning. --Elizabeth SourbutRead More