Trekipedia

New Earth, Book Three: Rough Trails

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

• Stardate Unknown
• Released July 2000

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 their limits—to save a people who don’t want their help!

Written by L.A. Graf
New Earth concept by Diane Carey and John Ordover

Cast:

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

Guest Cast:

Excerpt

The shuttle broke clear of the dust and hurtled into shockingly transparent air. Chekov’s instincts had been right—they were only seconds away from contact with the surface.

Dust-swarmed inertial dampers struggled against the violent shifts in mass, but couldn’t entirely save them from the impact. It came with a weird sluggishness, as if the ground had somehow oozed around their shields instead of crashing into them. Then silvery curtains of water geysered up over the windshield, and all view of this world was drowned . . .