A new collection of short stories from Star Trek Explorer, the official magazine for the Star Trek Universe, beams down this month — and we’ve got an exclusive look at the upcoming publication, complete with an excerpt from one of the new tales!
 
The new magazine kicked off its run last fall, and each issue to date has included some new Star Trek short fiction in each issue — from established and new names to the Trek literature game — and on December 20 Star Trek Explorer Presents: “Q and False” and Other Stories hits stores with fourteen stories to scratch the Trek fiction itch many of you may be feeling in recent months.
 
Here’s the official description for the new release:
 

The short stories contained in the book feature characters and situations from across the Star Trek universe, including Star Trek: Enterprise, Star Trek, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Star Trek: Voyager.

 

These mini-epics, written by acclaimed Star Trek authors, include the strange tale of James T. Kirk’s encounter with the mysterious, seemingly omnipotent being, known as Q, get swept up in an adventure with the dashing Captain Proton, and join Doctor Beverly Crusher as she battles to save Worf from some ferocious predators.

The fourteen stories in the collection include:

• ALL THAT MADDENS AND TORMENTS (Christopher Cooper)
  James T. Kirk meets a mysterious figure following the disaster on the Enterprise-B.
• Q AND FALSE (Lisa Klink)
  The crew of the Enterprise-D’s commitment to the Prime Directive is challenged.
• A NIGHT IN (Una McCormack)
  Garak has an unexpected encounter aboard Deep Space Nine.
• THE OFFER (James Swallow)
  Captain Jonathan Archer has a chance encounter as he prepares for his first voyage in the Enterprise.
• SEVEN>SEVEN (Greg Cox)
  Seven of Nine confronts her inner demons.
• QUALITY OF LIFE (Christopher Cooper)
  Q witnesses the genesis of the Federation’s greatest foes.
• RETRIBUTION (Lisa Klink)
  The Voyager crew leap into action to stop a saboteur.
• BROKEN OATHS (Chris Dows)
  Doctor Crusher faces a challenging ethical dilemma.
• THE WAY TO EXILE (Greg Cox)
  In a coda to the classic episode “Space Seed,” Khan attacks!
• KILL CAPTAIN PROTON! (Lisa Klink)
  An all-new adventure for the holodeck hero Captain Proton.
• CUMULATIVE DAMAGE (Story: Chris Dows)
  Scotty notices something is awry with the Enterprise as he supervises her refit.
• EXPLORERS OF THE STORM (Peter Holmstrom)
  Will Decker and Ilia reunite on Delta IV.
• PREY (Story: Lisa Klink)
  A shuttle craft accident leads Beverly Crusher into a fight for survival.
• GROWING PAINS (Peter Holmstrom)
  Geordi La Forge takes his first steps as an officer aboard the Enterprise.

We can bring you today an exclusive excerpt from the collection’s final story, author Peter Holmstrom’s “Growing Pains,” which tells the tale of Lieutenant j.g. Geordi La Forge’s first experience aboard the new Enterprise-D starship.

GROWING PAINS
Written by Peter Holmstrom. Art by Louie de Martinis.

 

GEORDI LA FORGE TAKES HIS FIRST STEPS AS AN OFFICER ABOARD THE ENTERPRISE.

 

Pain… The first glint of awareness was always the same. Childhood dreams of blissful joy faded, transitioning into a dull throbbing on each side of the temple. For a moment, he let himself believe the dream was real – perhaps the childhood in Mogadishu, Somalia was real, and he’d awaken to find his mother and father back from an exozoology mission. He would be well. But, as it had done many mornings before, the dream faded, the dull pain remained, and Lieutenant, Junior Grade, Geordi La Forge sat up in bed.

 

Geordi instinctively rubbed the side of his head, knowing it would only make the throbbing worse, but unable to stop himself. He had slept on his temple again, right where the VISOR connection to his skull would be made. An instinct to protect a wounded area? Or perhaps his body’s desire to draw attention to the pain, and notify appropriate departments to help thwart infection. The unintended pain came with the VISOR, with no cure.

 

Doctor Crusher tried to tell him as much when he first reported to the Enterprise, three months before.

 

“I see two choices. The first is painkillers—”

 

“—Which would affect how this works. No. Choice number two?”

 

“Exploratory surgery. Desensitize the brain areas troubling you.”

 

“Same difference. No, thank you, Doctor…”

 

It had been a long shot, of course. Even Doctor Beverly Crusher, one of the best and brightest of the Federation, wouldn’t have a miracle cure which no other medical textbook had. Still, he’d allowed himself a glimmer of hope. Instead, he received another sympathetic shrug of the shoulders.

 

That conversation rolled through Geordi’s head as he strolled through a lush forest on the planet Ruan IV, with an away team from the Enterprise.

 

“How much further, Minister?” Commander Riker asked the amphibian minister leading the charge. The Federation had been contacted by the Ruan IV with promises of powerful medical resources, if a trade treaty could be reached.

 

“Thessss temple isss ahead, Comanderrrr.”

 

The planet had a long history of religious activity tied to nature. Yet, there was no denying, the claims of medical miracles from the natural plant life were… intriguing.

 

Despite extensive education in antimatter power and dilithium regulators at the Academy, Geordi accepted a helmsman position on the Enterprise – no better way to be on the front lines of the latest discoveries, both for technological advancements, and maybe… just maybe… a cure for himself…

 

 

Geordi’s red and black uniform bounced off the multi-colored display of plant life around him. Unlike the natural sight experienced by other humans, Geordi’s VISOR subverted his blindness to translate the visual landscape into complex electrical signals directly to the brain. He could see… everything. The whole range of the EM spectrum, translated by his VISOR, to his brain. Color, sound, heat, and even vibrations coalesced into a wide symphony of inputs.

 

Security chief Tasha Yar strolled up.

 

“I always thought the Federation was a secular system, yet here we are negotiating with a people that prides themselves on their religious heritage. Why?” Geordi always found Tasha’s voice the most soothing of the crew. While he didn’t technically have the frame of reference to know what humans described as objectively beautiful from a visual perspective, he imagined her to be a very beautiful person.

 

Geordi shrugged. “Hope? Hope of something better, left undiscovered?”

 

“Arrrivvveeeddd,” The Ministered indicated from the front of the party. Geordi stood before a large ornate temple, spread into the side of a mountain. The temple seemed to be made of plants, each flower, fungi, and bush ungulated in unison, as if connected.

 

“Theyssss heallsssss.”

 

As they neared the Temple, Geordi was hit with a cacophony of visual input. “Commander, I…” Every wave, from sound to light to heat, crashed into Geordi’s VISOR in ways he’d never seen before. “Whoa… Would you look at that.”

 

“What is it, Geordi?” Data asked. Geordi focused on the android, finding comfort in the almost lack of VISOR inputs from his lifeless friend.

 

“Everything is… changed. This temple has a very different resonance frequency than any I have ever seen.”

 

“Recommend caution, sir. This may be a trap.” Tasha’s soundwaves cut through the cacophony like cool water, giving an anchor of normality to latch onto.

 

“Nosssss… issss sacred placcceee,” the minister reassured.

 

“Commander, if these lifeforms are truly different than anything we have seen, the possibilities for scientific advancements would be significant,” Data countered.

 

The pain through Geordi’s temple increased. Perhaps something associated with the planet? Perhaps just his imagination.

 

“Are they safe to harvest? Scientific study will be required before a trade deal can begin.” Riker authoritatively proclaimed. The minister nodded and bowed.

 

Geordi did his best not to show his discomfort. “Sir, I’d like to assist with the sample analysis. I think my VISOR readouts may be useful.” Tasha’s body temperature rose, clearly not pleased with this support of a potential threat.

 

“Do it.” Riker nodded towards Tasha. “Hopefully this mission proves uneventful.”

 

It was… on the planet.

You can read all of these new short stories from the Star Trek Universe in Star Trek Explorer Presents: “Q and False” and Other Stories which is available for preorder now from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Forbidden Planet, and other retailers.