Star Trek: Voyager Relaunch

Part of the Star Trek Novel Verse, continuing the story of Star Trek: Voyager past the series finale. There are seven books at present:

• Homecoming
• The Farther Shore (This first duology begins exactly where the show left off, and features the crew's early attempts to reintegrate into the Federation).
• Old Wounds
• Enemy of my Enemy (These two are collectively titled Spirit Walk. The starship Voyager itself is literally relaunched, with several new characters)
• Full Circle (A "second pilot" of sorts, bringing the series through the double Wham! Episode of Janeway's death (in the Next Generation novel Before Dishonor) and Star Trek: Destiny.
• Unworthy (In which Voyager leads a new mission back to the Delta Quadrant).
• Children of the Storm.

An eighth is upcoming.

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Tropes used in Star Trek: Voyager Relaunch include:

• Aborted Arc: The changeling arc, set up in the two Spirit Walk books. By the end of the second novel, Enemy of my Enemy, arch-foe the rogue changeling has taken control of the government on the planet Kerovi. No-one knows he's there, and he's evidently up to something worrying. It seems as though the arc is being set up to be a big one, but it's swiftly dropped in Full Circle. He's apparently discovered, and arrested by the Kerovi authorities. In fact, the changeling dies off screen. We don't even visit Kerovi following Enemy of my Enemy.
• Affably Evil: Crell Moset, sort of, though in his case it's a crippling need to be liked. He genuinely wants the subjects of his invasive medical experiments to appreciate him. He's not really cruel in the usual sense, he's just totally lacking in empathy, and believes his science takes priority. Not only does he take steps to try and make his victims feel at ease - including singing pleasant songs - but the closest he gets to threatening is childish pique when people won't let him perform his experiments. In a Continuity Nod to Star Trek: The Battle of Betazed, he seems to genuinely think the Betazoids were selfish in the extreme for taking back their planet and preventing his earlier work.
• Amazon Brigade: The qawHaq'hoch, a Klingon cult consisting of female warriors only. Interestingly, it's never explained why they only accept females. Possibly it's "just tradition" - but it's one they're quite serious about. They draw attention to their status as an Amazon Brigade by using a symbol for birth (Ie., an aspect of life exclusive to women) as the glyph signifying the correct tunnel to their headquarters (see, Only Smart People May Pass, below).
• Antagonist Title: Children of the Storm, although given that this is Starfleet the antagonists are more "potential friends now unfortunately opponents" than genuine villains. There's a lot of Blue and Orange Morality and misunderstanding involved. Nonetheless, the Children are the primary antagonists of the novel.
• Arc Welding: A rather pleasing example with the exploits of Kahless in Full Circle, linking the Voyager Relaunch to the ongoing Klingon saga in interesting ways. In Star Trek: A Time to..., Kahless had replaced himself with a hologram (equipped with a mobile emitter) and wandered off to Cygnet IV, supposedly to "do whatever (he) felt like". It was also a test, allowing him to give his usual Hurricane of Aphorisms when the ruse was discovered. In Full Circle, though, it's revealed why he was on Cygnet IV specifically. The secret headquarters of the qawHaq'hoch are located there, and he's keeping the plates spinning in the plan to keep Miral (B'Elanna and Tom's daugher) safe from the fanatics trying to kill her. Further, the mobile emitter for his holographic replacement was created by B'Elanna herself.
• Biological Mashup: The Indign in Unworthy, who consist of six races literally joined together. They're trying to imitate the Borg Collective and the interdependence of the hive mind.
• Bizarre Alien Biology: The Indign are, as mentioned above, a collective race consisting of six species integrated together symbiotically. Only one of the six is humanoid. The others are a moth-like creature, a non-corporeal race, a silicon-based sphere, a bio-mimetic lifeform coating the sphere, and a cytoplasmic creature that clings to the humanoid like a parasitical centipede.
• Blessed with Suck: Those with Sky Spirit DNA, if only because Crell Moset wants to do experiments on them. In other words, they don't know how to unlock the potential benefits from their genetic heritage, but it makes them a target for the villains.
• Blue and Orange Morality: The Indign are quite reasonable and not overtly hostile, aside from their religious beliefs, which involve the Borg Collective as a model of divinity. The Indign capture spacefarers and "sacrifice" them to the Borg - condemning them to A Fate Worse Than Death - but they don't actually mean any ill-will.
• Body Horror: The experiments conducted by Crell Moset on the Loran colonists warped them into monsters, at least physically. The relatives of one of the supporting characters end up in beastial bodies while retaining their human intellects. It's mentioned that a Federation Think Tank is working on potential means of restoring them, but it's not revealed if they're ever successful.
• The Captain: Chakotay...sometimes. He ends up leaving Starfleet for a while after his Heroic BSOD, but eventually returns to command Voyager. Also, Asfarah Eden is the captain for a while, before getting a promotion to fleet commander. Later, we add Captain Farkas to the list, along with Commander O'Donnell; both of whom command other ships joining Voyager on its latest mission.
• Color Coded for Your Convenience: The Children of the Storm. Their individual skill set is determined by their resonance, which gives a unique color for each.
• Continuity Nod: Many, including nods to Star Trek: The Battle of Betazed in the Spirit Walk books (as part of Crell Moset's backstory) and, in the same duology, to The Left Hand of Destiny (mention of the Battle of Boreth). There are also major tie-ins with Star Trek: Destiny and Star Trek: A Time to... in the later books, notably Full Circle.
• Cool Ship: Project Full Circle throws together a whole fleet of them for a mission back to the Delta quadrant. It includes two Vesta-class ships (see Star Trek: Destiny), and an experimental Emergency Medical Vessel for the EMH. The ships are all equipped with security holograms as well. Most significantly, they feature the new Quantum Slipstream Drive finally perfected in Star Trek: Destiny.
• Dude, Where's My Respect?: Chakotay gives a truly epic speech on the topic in Full Circle. In a session with Counsellor Cambridge, he accuses Starfleet Command of almost criminal negligence in its treatment of the Voyager crew. Despite everything they did and their loyal service throughout their time in the Alpha Quadrant, Starfleet still doesn't trust them (or so Chakotay suggests). Also, he feels they've been dismissed out of hand simply because they didn't participate in the Dominion War. Chakotay bitterly insists that they've never been appreciated and that he's tired of people who are only alive because he bled for them judging and harassing him.
• Elaborate Underground Base: The qawHaq'hoch have one on Cygnet IV. The subtle Continuity Nod to Star Trek: A Time to... is quite pleasing (see Arc Welding, above).
• Energy Being: The Children of the Storm.
• Fictional Document: The Royal Protocol document, bane of Starfleet Officers everywhere. A complete list of dos and don'ts for interacting with alien royals, it's a necessity if diplomatic incidents are to be avoided. It's mind-numbing in its detail. It's full of little rules along the lines of "when greeting the King, touch your head to the ground three times and then wave your left hand. Oh, and under no circumstances wear purple". An important plot point arises when it's realized "Royal Protocol" has a very different meaning to the Borg.
• For Science!: As always, Crell Moset's motivation for everything he does. He may be working for the rogue changeling, but really he's performing medical experiments for his own scientific curiosity.
• God Is Dead: The Indign were recently surprised to learn that the Borg Collective, which they view as their divine model, has departed, a result of the events in Star Trek: Destiny (which the Indign missed). They actually take the revelation surprisingly well.
• Good Is Old-Fashioned: Kahless and his traditionalist philosophies get this from other Klingons, on occasion. But with the Klingon Empire reconfiguring itself in light of Martok’s reforms, the tide is turning. Kahless eventually tells Smug Snake and Complete Monster Kopek that he is going to become obsolete:

"You will fall, Kopek, because you live only to hold on to your power and to accumulate more. Martok works daily to restore the empire to the path of honour, and there is no place for you on that path. You will learn the true way, or you will reap the seeds of self-destruction you have so carefully sown”.

• Heroic BSOD: Chakotay, following Janeway's death.
• Heroic Vow: B'Elanna tries a few, particularly in the Spirit Walk books, presumably as part of her effort to embrace her Klingon heritage more readily.
• Hold Your Hippogriffs: The old Cardassian saying, "the enemy of my enemy...is still my enemy, but may prove useful". Also serves as a Title Drop for the second Spirit Walk novel.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Admiral Montgomery. Although he's such a jerk at first that his heart of gold is quite a surprise when it shows through. Then again, this is Star Trek; pleasant people need not apply to the admiralty...
• Killed Off for Real: No less than Kathryn Janeway herself...only not actually in this series. Instead she dies in the Next Generation novel Before Dishonor. The first four Voyager relaunch books take place before this, Full Circle moves between timeframes both prior to and after the event, and Unworthy onward are set fully afterward. Naturally, the death has divided the fan community. That said, its aftermath, explored in Full Circle, is considered by many to be the highlight of the series.
  • Dr. Kaz was also killed off in Full Circle, dying at the Battle of the Azure Nebula (part of the tie-in with Star Trek: Destiny). As he was a joined Trill, this was essentially a double death; the symbiont perished with its current host.
• Legendary in the Sequel: The Huanni race were introduced in the novel The Last Roundup, in the person of cadet Skalli Jksilli. When a new Huanni character shows up in the Voyager Relaunch, mention is made of the august career Skalli has enjoyed, becoming a great diplomat.
• Losing the Team Spirit: The Voyager crew really have difficulty functioning together following Janeway's death. It doesn't help when Tom and B'Elanna fake B'Elanna's death, as well as that of baby Miral. As of Children of the Storm it seems they've recaptured the team spirit, though.
• Mad Scientist: Crell Moset.
• Meaningful Funeral: For Janeway in Full Circle.
• Mind Over Matter: The Children of the Storm. They're an example of the non-corporeal subtrope, where their primary interaction with the outside world is via telekinesis. This includes travelling through space in "ships" held together and propelled by the power of thought.
• Mind Rape: Fistrebil in Full Circle, who is addicted to the pain of others and apparently trawls her victims' memories to experience it in its full intensity. Tuvok defeats her with some good old Vulcan mental discipline, though.
• The Mole: Willem Batiste is a member of Species 8472.
• Mother of a Thousand Young: The "Mother" of the Children of the Storm - basically, an intelligent gas giant. The non-corporeal children are her "thoughts".
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Reg Barclay is technically responsible for the escape of Sealed Evil in a Can the Eight and the murders of several Neyser. He was trying to get the EMH a girlfriend.
• Offered the Crown: Brenna Covington tries to convince Seven of Nine to replace her as she dies - that is, become the next Queen of Covington's artificial Borg Collective. The lure is tempting on a basic emotional level, but naturally Seven doesn't accept.
• Omnicidal Maniac: The remnants of the Borg Collective, in the end. As Full Circle ties in to Star Trek: Destiny, we see the Borg in their "you will be annihilated" mindset.
• Only Smart People May Pass: Entry to the qawHaq'hoch headquarters requires correctly choosing one of several possible passages. Janeway selects the correct one after carefully considering the glyphs marking each doorway. She deduces that the symbol in question, "birth", relates to the qawHaq'hoch's Amazon Brigade status, though of course her tricorder translated the old glyphs for her, no doubt taking something away from the designer's intent.
• Prophecy Twist: In Klingon mythology, the Curse of the Gods, as well as the apparent eventual return of the gods. It's hinted that "the gods" were a race of Precursors who genetically influenced the Klingons. The myth of the first Klingons "killing the gods who created them" may therefore refer to an uprising or attack on these beings. The prophecized Curse of the Gods, that may destroy the Klingon Empire, is in fact a genetic "time-bomb" that represents a genetic mutation whereby Klingons are born as non-sapient, highly destructive animals. The mutation is also beneficial - in fact, it's likely that natural selection favours these mutant forms. Miral Paris, who is supposedly the Kuvah'magh, or Klingon saviour, at least according to some interpretations, is prophesised to prevent the future death of Klingon civilization by finding the Gods, bringing them back to the Klingon homeworld. Or so it's hinted. At any rate, they have many generations before the mutant births become common.
• Proud Warrior Race: B'Elanna and Tom are waist-deep in Klingon prophecy, and all the bat'leth-wielding fun this inevitably entails, due to their daughter being the Kuvah'magh. B'Elanna has been trying to make an effort to acknowledge her Klingon heritage, but as is often the case with Klingons it blew up in her face.
• Put on a Bus: Astall, as of Full Circle.
• Pyrrhic Victory: The Borg war (see Star Trek: Destiny for more information).
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Admiral Montgomery in the end, despite his early appearances.
• Rousing Speech: An unusually bitter and troubling example given by Janeway's sister Phoebe at Janeway's funeral, encouraging Starfleet to make the Borg pay for her death.

"For the love I bear her, and for the love each of you still carry with you, I call upon you not to rest until those who are responsible for my sister's death are made to answer for what they have done. If you truly honour what she lived for, if you truly wish to memorialize the contributions she made to this Federation, do not forget how she lived, or how she died. Do not seek to heal this wound. Keep it open. And let it give you the strength you need to find and destroy the monsters who took her from us. Do not take 'no' for an answer. She wouldn't have."

• Scary Dogmatic Aliens: The Warriors of Gre'thor, a Klingon religious sect dedicated to finding the Kuvah'magh... so they can kill her.
• Sealed Evil in a Can: The Eight, disembodied criminal minds, who are now loose thanks to a Nice Job Breaking It, Hero on the part of Reg Barclay.
• Sequel Hook: Again, the Eight.
• The Shrink: Astall is clearly a type two. Hugh Cambridge is clearly a type three, sometimes of the "tough love" subtype.
• Significant Anagram: Captain Eden was told by her "uncle" Jobin that she was rescued from the planet Sbonfoyjill. She eventually realized, after trying to locate it in databanks and finding nothing, that sbonfoyjill is an anagram for "Jobin's Folly".
• Spirit Advisor: Black Jaguar, who actually takes on corporeal form at one point, thanks to Chakotay unlocking the potential of his Sky Spirit DNA. She's a dangerous Spirit Advisor, whose appearance heralds a great trial and who tends to destroy those who prove unworthy of her.
• Starfish Aliens: The Greech, and many other components of the Indign. Also the Children of the Storm.
• Stay in the Kitchen: Tillum Drafar shows a variant on this, with the view that mothers should not be working outside the home. Among his people, biological necessity compels women with young children to dedicate their time entirely to the infant. When confronted with B'Elanna Torres, who balances her work with her motherhood, he implies she is a poor mother for doing so and initially treats her dismissively. B'Elanna, once she understands the reason for his prejudice, manages to challenge it in a non-confrontational but effective manner.
• Suicide Attack: The Children of the Storm try a few of these. One of the advantages of travelling in a highly-compressed sphere of noxious gases held together by the power of thought is that you can blow it up and take much of your surroundings with you.
• Taking the Kids: B'Elanna - as part of the staged separation she and Tom Paris play out, so as to eventually fake B'Elanna and Miral's deaths.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: In later novels, the Voyager crew themselves were reduced to this; things got pretty complicated between them. As of Children of the Storm, they seem to have settled into smoother friendship again.
• Thank Your Prey: Both Chakotay and B'Elanna engage in this. Chakotay is usually a vegetarian, but when he finds it necessary to kill deer for food in the absence of edible plants, he does so. He offers ritualized thanks to its spirit. B'Elanna, undertaking the wilderness trek that is the Challenge of Spirit, also gives thanks to an animal she's slain, in keeping with her efforts to reembrace her Klingon side.
• There Are No Therapists: Averted, very much so. See The Shrink, above.
• To Absent Friends: Word for word, in Children of the Storm
• Villainous Breakdown: Mad Scientist Crell Moset experiences one of these, in Enemy of My Enemy. In fact, Dr. Kaz deliberately induces one in him, as a form of vengeance.
• Vision Quest: An important part of the Spirit Walk duology. Chakotay even brings aspects of his vision into the real world at one point, thanks to his souped-up DNA. This includes his Spirit Advisor Black Jaguar, who briefly becomes corporeal enough to help him in battle.
• Warrior Poet: Emperor Kahless.
• Working with the Ex: Captain Asfarah Eden and her ex-husband Willem Batiste work together on Project Full Circle. There is still considerable hurt between them, as they openly acknowledge. Of course, their inability to relate to each other isn’t surprising given that Batiste is actually a member of Species 8472.
• You Have Failed Me...: The rogue changeling comes close to this several times when Crell Moset's research proves fruitless.