Memory Alpha
Register
Advertisement
Memory Alpha
Real world article
(written from a Production point of view)

What does it take to tame a world? Chekov, Sulu and Uhura are about to find out!

Rough Trails is a Pocket TOS novel – #91 in the numbered series, and the third book in the Star Trek: New Earth series – written by L.A. Graf. Published by Pocket Books, it was first released in July 2000.

Summary[]

From the back cover
Captain Kirk's latest voyage has brought him far into the final frontier. His new mission: to help a determined band of pioneers colonize a harsh and unforgiving world, defend the vulnerable settlers from the constant threat of alien invasion, and protect the planet's unique and precious resources for the sake of the entire Federation!
Months after their departure from Earth, the struggling colonists have barely established a precarious toehold on Belle Terre, a ravaged world still recovering from a catastrophic planetary disaster. Fierce cyclones, storms, landslides, and flash floods make survival itself a never-ending challenge. While Captain Kirk and the Starship Enterprise patrol the sector, on guard against predatory aliens and greedy space pirates, officers Chekov, Uhura, and Sulu stay behind to assist the hapless settlers in their desperate battle to put down roots in the turbulent soil of an angry planet.
But the imperiled colonists are a fractious and intensely individualistic group, not inclined to take orders or direction from their Starfleet guardians. Chekov and the others find their ingenuity and diplomatic skills tested to the limits – to save a people who don't want their help!

Excerpts of copyrighted sources are included for review purposes only, without any intention of infringement.

Background information[]

  • This novel contained Chapter Twelve of the serialized novel Starfleet: Year One.
  • L.A. Graf remarked on the novel: "This was fun for us, because we got to recreate a local western Pennsylvania natural disaster: the Johnstown Flood! (If you check the names of several towns on the planet, you'll find they're from the Johnstown area.) By this time, Julia was also doing a lot of herding with her border collies, so we wrote border collies into the plot and used the names of many of our dog-owning friends (with their permission) as characters. And Karen Rose got to use another generation of geoscience students as the scientific crew!" (Voyages of Imagination, pp. 431-432)

References[]

James T. Kirk, USS Enterprise, colony, New Earth, Belle Terre, Pavel Chekov, Uhura, Hikaru Sulu, Quasar olivium

Belle Terre
Belle Terre, also known as New Earth, is a planet colonized in 2273.
Quasar olivium
Substance

External link[]


Previous novel: Series Next novel:
#90: Belle Terre Pocket TOS
Numbered novels
Star Trek: New Earth
#92: The Flaming Arrow
Advertisement