Trekipedia

New Earth, Book Two: Belle Terre

A lush and distant world hides a deadly secret!

• Stardate Unknown
• Released June 2000

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 enigmatic riddles of a brand-new Earth!

A six-month distance from the Federation, the planet Belle Terre offers a new life to more than 60,000 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 one of 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!

Written by Dean Wesley Smith with Diane Carey
New Earth concept by Diane Carey and John Ordover

Cast:

• Admiral James T. Kirk
• Commander Spock
• Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy
• Commander Montgomery Scott
• Lieutenant Commander Hikaru Sulu
• Lieutenant Commander Nyota Uhura
• Lieutenant Pavel Chekov

Guest Cast:

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Excerpt

“The bottom line, Mr. Spock,” Kirk said.

“The pressure inside Belle Terre’s third moon is building and has been for some time. The moon will soon explode and, in the process, will destroy all life on this planet.”

“Explode?” Kirk asked. “Are you certain?”

“Yes, sir,” Spock said.

Kirk nodded. When Mr. Spock said he was certain, the event would happen. “How did we miss this?”

“The moon’s crust makes scanning difficult,” Spock said.

“How long?”

“So far I have been unable to ascertain the exact time of the explosion, again due to the nature of the olivium.”

“A day? A week? A year?” Kirk demanded. “I’ve got over sixty thousand colonists to get off this planet and out of harm’s way.”

“My data is insufficient to allow me to predict the explosion exactly, sir,” Spock said. “I may be able to give you a more accurate time frame after a few more hours of research.”

“Do it,” Kirk said, “and quickly . . .”