Considered one of the most prolific writers working in modern fiction, USA TODAY bestselling writer, Dean Wesley Smith published far over a hundred novels in forty years, and hundreds of short stories across many genres. He currently produces novels in four major series, including the time travel Thunder Mountain novels set in the old west, the galaxy-spanning Seeders Universe series, the urban fantasy Ghost of a Chance series, and the superhero series staring Poker Boy. During his career he also wrote a couple dozen Star Trek novels, the only two original Men in Black novels, Spider-Man and X-Men novels, plus novels set in gaming and television worlds.

John J. Ordover previously edited and oversaw the Star Trek franchise licensed novels. He is also the co-creator of many Star Trek spin-off series.

Paula M. Block (with Terry J. Erdmann) have jointly written two previous Star Trek: Deep Space Nine ebook novellas: Rules of Accusation and Lust’s Latinum Lost (and Found). Their most recent nonfiction work, Labyrinth: The Ultimate Visual History, was the recipient of the Independent Publisher Book Awards’ 2017 bronze medal for best coffee table book. They also are the co-authors of the nonfiction titles Star Trek Costumes: Five Decades of Fashion from the Final Frontier, Star Trek The Original Topps Trading Card Series, Star Trek The Next Generation 365, Star Trek The Original Series 365, Star Trek 101, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion, The Secrets of Star Trek Insurrection, The Magic of Tribbles, and Star Trek: Action! Their additional titles include Monk: The Official Episode Guide and The 4400 Companion. While director of licensed publishing for Paramount Pictures, Paula was co-editor of Pocket Books’ short story series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. They live in Southern Oregon with their two collies, Shadow and Mandy.

Contents

Introduction

Dean Wesley Smith

STAR TREK®

Whales Weep Not [Third Prize]

Juanita Nolte

One Last Adventure

Mark Allen and Charity Zegers

Marking Time

Pat Detmer

Ancient History

Robert J. Mendenhall

Bum Radish: Five Spins on a Turquoise Reindeer

TG Theodore

A Piece of the Pie

G. Wood

STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION®

The Soft Room [Second Prize]

Geoffrey Thorne

Protecting Data's Friends

Scott William Carter

The Human Factor

Russ Crossley

Tribble in Paradise

Louisa M. Swann

STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE®

Fabrications

Brett Hudgins

Urgent Matter

Robert J. LaBaff

Best Tools Available

Shawn Michael Scott

STAR TREK: VOYAGER®

Homemade

Elizabeth A. Dunham

Seven and Seven

Kevin Hosey

The End of Night

Paul J. Kaplan

Hidden 230

Jan Stevens

Widow's Walk

Mary Scott-Wiecek

ENTERPRISE™

Savior

Julie Hyzy

Preconceptions

Penny A. Proctor

Cabin E-14

Shane Zeranski

SPECULATIONS

Our Million-Year Mission [Grand Prize]

Robert T. Jeschonek

The Beginning

Annie Reed

Contest Rules

About the Contributors