James T. Kirk. Who are these exceptional men and women often asked to make the ultimate sacrifice for the sake of interstellar peace and exploration? What are their stories? Their saga begins in "THE JANUS GATE" book one of three PRESENT TENSE The crew of the "U.S.S. Enterprise(TM) " is exploring the seemingly peaceful and uninhabited world of M-3107 when a bizarre and inexplicable transporter accident causes both Captain Kirk and Dr. McCoy to vanish completely. Transporter records suggest that the two men were transported "somewhere," but their ultimate destination remains a mystery.Now in command of the "Enterprise," Spock dispatches a search-and -rescue team -- consisting of Security Chief Giotto, Transporter Technician John Kyle, and Chief Helmsman Hikaru Sulu -- on an urgent mission to recover the missing officers.But then the rescue team disappears as well!

    Spock's mother, Amanda Grayson, is dying, and Spock returns to the planet Vulcan where he and Sarek enjoy a rare moment of rapprochement. But just as his wife's illness grows worse, duty calls Sarek away—once again sowing seeds of conflict between father and son. Yet soon, Sarek and Spock must put aside their differences and work together to foil a far-reaching plot to destroy the Federation—a plot that Sarek has seen in the making for nearly his entire career. The epic story will take the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise™ to the heart of the Klingon Empire, where Captain Kirk's last surviving relative has become a pawn in a battle to divide the Federation... and conquer it. With Sarek's help, the crew of the Starship Enterprise™ learns that all is not as it seems. Before they can prevent the Federation's destruction, they must see the face of their hidden enemy—an enemy more insidious and more dangerous than any they have faced before...

    Each of these unforgettable stories explores the past and future of Star Trek from many different perspectives. This year's contributors include Kevin Lauderdale, Kevin Killiany, Christian Grainger, Paul J. Kaplan, Muri McCage, Pat Detmer, Gerri Leen, Julie Hyzy, Kelly Cairo, John Coffren, Scott Pearson, Jeff D. Jacques, Jim Johnson, Anne E. Clements, Russ Crossley, Susan S. McCrackin, Catherine E. Pike, G. Wood, Annie Reed, Louisa M. Swann, Brett Hudgins, Amy Sisson, and Frederick Kim.

    Subterranean Press is proud to publish The Sagan Diary, a long novelette that for the first time looks at the worlds of the Hugo-nominated Old Man's War and its sequel The Ghost Brigades from the point of view of Lieutenant Jane Sagan, who in a series of diary entries gives her views on some of the events included in the series... and sheds new light into some previously unexplored corners. If you thought you knew Jane Sagan before, prepare to be surprised.

    GREED. ENVY. WRATH. LUST. GLUTTONY. SLOTH.The Seven Deadly Sins delineate the path to a person’s downfall, the surest way to achieve eternal damnation. But there is a way out, a way to reclaim salvation: blame it on the demons—taunting you, daring you to embrace these sins—and you shall be free. The painful truth is that these impulses live inside all of us, inside all sentient beings. But alas, one person’s sin may be another being’s virtue.The pride of the Romulan Empire is laid bare in "The First Peer," by Dayton Ward and Kevin Dilmore.A Ferengi is measured by his acquisition of profit. "Reservoir Ferengi," by David A. McIntee, depicts the greed that drives that need.The Cardassians live in a resource-poor system, surrounded by neighbors who have much more. The envy at the heart of Cardassian drive is "The Slow Knife,"by James Swallow.The Klingons have tried since the time of Kahless to harness their wrath with an honor code, but they haven’t done so, as evidenced in "The Unhappy Ones,"by Keith R.A. DeCandido.Humans’ darkest impulses run free in the Mirror Universe. "Freedom Angst," by Britta Burdett Dennison, illustrates the lust that drives many there.The Borg’s desire to add to their perfection is gluttonous and deadly in "Revenant," by Marc D. Giller.To be a Pakled is to live to up to the ideal of sloth in "Work Is Hard," by Greg Cox.

    Homesick and worried about the upcoming year apart, Cara is desperate to make these final hours count. Worst of all, Cara is missing Christmas, stuck on board an alien spaceship. When Aelyx learns that Cara is forgoing her favorite holiday, he tries to recreate Christmas in space by researching traditional earth customs…but a few things get lost in translation.Coming December 23rd, this FREE short story will include multi-chapter excerpts of both ALIENATED and the sequel, INVADED.

    Way down. Lower level of hell down. The station is bustling, but residents and visitors are spending more time (and latinum) at the new Deep Space 9's park, sports fields, theater, swimming complex, and who knows what else, than they are at Quark’s establishment. All of Quark's misfortunes just could be reversed, however, when he finds out that one of the steamiest holonovels to hit the Alpha Quadrant in years is up for grabs. And he has an inroad to acquiring it before anyone else. Or does he?

    Little do they know that this beam contains a mystery for the ages

    Unsure if she’s a spy or a pawn in someone else’s game, Ariq isn’t about to let her out of his sight until he finds out…After escaping her fourth kidnapping attempt in a year, Zenobia Fox has learned to vigilantly guard her identity. While her brother Archimedes is notorious for his exploits, Zenobia has had no adventures to call her own—besides the stories she writes. But when she jumps at the chance to escape to the wilds of Australia and acquire research for her next story, Zenobia quickly discovers that the voyage will be far more adventurous than any fiction she could put to paper…

    His only hope for a cure is to accept a innovative treatment which he campaigned against funding, a decision for which he will be branded a hypocrite. The decision has placed him in the crucible of his life.

    Hundreds of thousands have lost the ability to sleep. Enter the Slumber Corps, an organization that urges healthy dreamers to donate sleep to an insomniac. Under the wealthy and enigmatic Storch brothers the Corps' reach has grown, with outposts in every major US city. Trish Edgewater, whose sister Dori was one of the first victims of the lethal insomnia, has spent the past seven years recruiting for the Corps. But Trish’s faith in the organization and in her own motives begins to falter when she is confronted by “Baby A,” the first universal sleep donor, and the mysterious "Donor Y."Sleep Donation explores a world facing the end of sleep as we know it, where “Night Worlds” offer black market remedies to the desperate and sleep deprived, and where even the act of making a gift is not as simple as it appears.

    Spocks! One is the true First Officer of the Enterprise. The other is his complete opposite, a traitor whose very existence poses a grave threat to the crew, the ship, and the Federation itself. One of the Spocks must die. But which one ... ?

    - Patrick Ness

    But Kirk, McCoy, Scotty and the crew join forces again on the Enterprise to thwart an incredibly destructive power—a threat to earth and the human race. This novel is written by the creator of Star Trek, Gene Roddenberry.

    Anderson's The Saga of Shadows: The Dark Between the StarsThis is a slightly edited extract from the first quarter of The Dark Between the Stars, corresponding to chapters 1-2, 6-7, 11-12, 17-19, 22-23, 27-28, 37.