Vanderhoven, Ensign—Torpedo room officer, U.S.S. Bombay. KIA. (HAR)
Vanguard—name of the Watchtower-class space station built to become Starbase 47. (HAR)
Vault, the—Top-secret research facility hidden deep inside the core of Starbase 47. It is devoted to research of the Shedai, their artifacts, the Shedai Carrier Wave, and the Taurus meta-genome. Its entrance is concealed within compartment CA/194-6. (STT)
Vekpa, Lieutenant—Klingon officer serving in the occupation force on Palgrenax. KIA. (STT)
Velez, Chief Petty Officer Miguel—Member of the S.C.E. team on Ravanar IV under the command of Commander Dean Singer. (HAR)
Vel’j Tholis —Tholian warship that participated in the attack on the U.S.S. Bombay and the Starfleet outpost on RavanarIV. Of the six ships sent to attack the outpost, it and the Nov’k Tholis were the only survivors. (HAR)
Velrene [The Azure]—Member of the Tholian Ruling Conclave in 2265. (HAR)
Verheiden, Agent—Starfleet Intelligence agent who escorts Anna Sandesjo from her temporary quarters to a secret transport that is intended to smuggle her off of Starbase 47. (RTW)
Veselka, Councillor—Member of the Klingon High Council in 2265, decidedly the most feminine of the female councilmembers. (HAR)
veS’Hov, I.K.S. —Klingon warship sent to Gamma Tauri IV as a show of strength; it was destroyed in the opening salvo by the planet’s surface-based Shedai artillery. (RTW)
Vinueza, Jeanne—Ex-wife of Commodore Diego Reyes. Tall, brunette, native of Luna, high esper skills. Served as president of the New Boulder Colony on Gamma Tauri IV, where she was killed by Shedai sentinels. (HAR/RTW)
Voice, the—Shedai term for Tholians who are yoked to their Conduits; conversely, it is also what the Tholians call the Shedai who speak through them. (RTW)
Vrax, Praetor—Ruler of the Romulan Star Empire in 2265. (STT)
V’Shan —Dancelike Vulcan martial art that involves detailed study of pressure points. (HAR)
Vulcan syrah—Red wine available in Manón’s cabaret in 2266; the ’51 Saylok is a good varietal of Vulcan syrah. (RTW)
Vumelko, Chief Petty Officer Ivan—Starfleet Customs officer on Starbase 47. Paunchy, bug-eyed, world-weary, sarcastic, grouchy. (HAR)
Wallingford, Security Officer—Security officer in charge of restricting access to Starbase 47’s cargo facility. (HAR)
Wanderer, the—Shedai Serrataal, one of the youngest of her kind, but empowered with a unique gift to travel between worlds without the use of a Conduit. Awakens the others of her kind after destroying Palgrenax. (RTW)
Warden—Shedai Serrataal of great age and power. Responsible for meting out justice and retribution. Allied with the Maker. (RTW)
Warfield, Arlys—Federation News Service executive editor. She is Tim Pennington’s boss until he is made the victim of a disinformation campaign that embarrasses FNS, after which Warfield fires Pennington. (HAR)
Watchtower class—Classification for a very large and multimission-capable starbase such as Vanguard, which is made to operate independently very far from the Federation. (HAR)
Xav, Ensign—Tellarite male, science officer, U.S.S. Lovell. (RTW)
Xiong, Lieutenant Ming—Human male, Archaeology & Anthropology officer, in charge of the scientific aspects of Operation Vanguard. Runs the Vault. (HAR)
Yazkene [The Emerald]—Member of the Tholian Ruling Conclave in 2265. (HAR)
Yerad III—Planet on which Zakdorn accountant Sakud Armnoj resided; sort of a low-rent pleasure planet, a Risa or a Wrigleys without all those meddlesome laws. (STT) Yeskene—Second-in-
command of the Tholian warship Aen’q
Tholis, which was destroyed by the Romulan bird-of-prey Bloodied Talon. KIA. (STT)
Yirikene [The Azure]—Crewmember of the Tholian warship
Lanz’t Tholis who is imprisoned by the Shedai Wanderer in the First Conduit on Jinoteur IV. (RTW)
Yoçarians—A member of this species was appointed castellan of the capital city of Tamaros III in 147 B.C.E., precipitating the Nemite Revolution. (HAR)
yosa blade—Traditional Nalori melee weapon; Zett Nilric used one to deadly effect on a Tarascan hitman named Qoheela. (HAR)
Zenstala II—Site of a Tholian military outpost destroyed by a Klingon attack fleet in 2265; the Tholians retaliated by destroying Klingon bases on Dorala and Korinar. (STT)
Zett Nilric—Nalori assassin, whose official title is “business manager” for Orion merchant-prince Ganz. Hates Cervantes Quinn. (HAR) Owns and operates a ship, a “Nalori argosy” called the Icarion. Fulfilled a contract with Klingon Imperial Intelligence to assassinate Lurqal, its compromised agent on Starbase 47. (RTW)
zh’Firro, Lieutenant Celerasayna—Andorian zhen, helm officer, U.S.S. Sagittarius. (RTW)
zh’Rhun, Commander Araev—Andorian zhen, first officer, U.S.S. Lovell. (STT/DEW)
zh’Shalas, Master Chief Petty Officer—Andorian zhen, Gamma-shift cargo chief on Starbase 47. (HAR)
Zin’za, I.K.S. —Klingon D-5 battle cruiser; on the forefront of the Klingon effort to unravel the Shedai mystery in the Taurus Reach. (STT/RTW)
Zulo—“Cleaner” for Orion crime boss Ganz; disposes of bodies and evidence professionally; species unspecified. (HAR)
Acknowledgments
My first thanks belong to my wife, Kara, for her constant love and encouragement during what proved to be a very long year of back-to-back projects for me.
I am also grateful to my editor and sensei, Marco Palmieri, for inviting me back for another turn in this new corner of the Star Trek universe that he let me develop with him.
To Dayton Ward and Kevin Dilmore: You guys really upped the ante on the Vanguard series with book two, Summon the Thunder. Part of what inspired me to write this monster of a book—my longest work to date—was a desire to live up to the epic scope and sheer impact of your book. Thanks, gents.
Mike Kidd, who posts regularly on the TrekBBS, suggested this book’s title. Knowing a great title when I see one, I laid claim to it immediately. Gracias, Mike.
Lastly, I am grateful for my many musical inspirations, including jazz pianist Paul Tillotson. Guiding my imagination on this literary journey were soundtracks for The Mummy and King Solomon’s Mines, by Jerry Goldsmith; The Mummy Returns, by Alan Silvestri; King Kong, by James Newton Howard; Passion: Music from the Last Temptation of Christ, by Peter Gabriel; and Batman Begins, by Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard.
Can you tell I wanted to think big?
About the Author
David Mack is the author of numerous Star Trek novels, including the USA Today bestseller A Time to Heal and its companion volume, A Time to Kill. He developed the Star Trek Vanguard series with editor Marco Palmieri and wrote its first volume, Harbinger.!
Mack’s other novels include Wolverine: Road of Bones; Star Trek: Deep Space Nine—Warpath; Star Trek: S.C.E.—Wildfire; and The Sorrows of Empire, in the trade paperback Star Trek: Mirror Universe, Vol. 1—Glass Empires.
Before writing books, Mack cowrote with John J. Ordover the fourth-season Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode “Starship Down” and the story treatment for the series’ seventh-season episode “It’s Only a Paper Moon.”
An avid fan of the Canadian progressive-rock trio Rush, Mack has attended concerts in all of the band’s tours since 1982.
Mack currently resides in New York City with his wife, Kara. Learn more about him and his work on his official Web site, www.infinitydog.com.