Twin specters from the past arise, and cast forbidding shadows over both Defiant's mission to explore the Gamma Quadrant...and the futures of Bajor and DS9. Bajor and the station are still reeling from the events of the climax of Cathedral. The planet's future as a Federation member, Starfleet's continued presence on DS9, seven years of hard work by the Emissary...everything seems poised on a knife's edge. But even these pale in comparison when the real threat is exposed--a centuries-old secret, a dark power from one world's past, and a plot that could succeed in ripping the Federation asunder. And Kira, chasing an assassin into the very heart of the Alpha Quadrant, could play an unwitting part in bringing the plot into fruition... On the other side of the wormhole and light-years away, Elias Vaughn is confronting a ghost from his own past, as the Defiant picks up, far from where it should be, a Starfleet transponder signal. What he and the crew find when they track the signal to its source sheds light on a dark chapter in his long career, and begins to affect his decisions in the present...potentially spelling disaster for himself and the crew. Robert Simpson brings this chapter of the DS9 saga to a close while keeping some parts of the storyline open; even as some parts of the story end, others are let unresolved. The writing is very good, and the characters shine through even when events seem to overshadow them. The glimpse of Vaughn's past, and of how this affects both him and Prynn, underscores the fragility of their relationship, and just how easily the progress they have made together could come apart. Simpson captures this very well. A well-crafted read, and a very nice surprise at the end, which sets the stage well or what's to come. Enjoy!
Title: Lesser Evil |
1/3/05
