SCE: Aftermath

Star Trek: S.C.E. #29 — Aftermath

The U.S.S. da Vinci is at last ready to resume its mission after the catastrophic events of Wildfire–but before they can even leave Spacedock, a terrible explosion rocks San Francisco, heralding the arrival of a strange alien structure. With the aid of Captain Montgomery Scott and former Starship Enterprise and Deep Space 9 engineer Miles O’Brien, the S.C.E. must investigate the alien structure and learn if this is an attack, a first contact–or something worse.

What they find may land the Federation in the midst of an interdimensional war, as Commander Sonya Gomez works with Starfleet legends from two generations to untie the secrets of the alien structure before it’s too late!

• “As fascinating as the dilemma is in Aftermath, it is the human drama unfolding between the characters… that makes Aftermath so rewarding to read…. Bennett amply illustrates that he really knows his Star Trek… while at the same time demonstrating a writing style that is both droll and stimulating.” — Jacqueline Bundy, Trek Nation

Trade paperback collection:

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Original e-book:

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S.C.E. is an eBook series about the Starfleet Corps of Engineers, featuring a mix of original characters and TNG/DS9 guest stars.  I came to the attention of S.C.E. editor Keith R.A. DeCandido through my posts to the TrekBBS’s Trek Literature page, and he invited me to pitch.  Getting to write Trek fiction is a lifelong dream come true for me.  Networking pays!

My first thought was that, since the SCE cast was fairly new to me, I’d like to bring in guest characters I was more familiar with.  I thought of Chief O’Brien, which suggested a story set on Earth; that in turn suggested taking a look at the aftermath, both physical and psychological, of the Breen attack on San Francisco from “The Changing Face of Evil.”  I turned in my original proposal in the summer of 2001.  Then September 11th happened, and that tragedy and its aftermath had considerable resonances with the premise of Aftermath, so I reworked my proposal to incorporate those new insights.

As of November 2006, Aftermath is available as the first story in the Corps of Engineers trade paperback collection of the same name.  The title of the series was changed for the sake of greater clarity when the series was “relaunched” in November ’06, and the TPB came out at the same time to cross-promote with the relaunch.

Spoiler discussion and notes