Vanguard: Storming Heaven

Storming Heaven by David Mack wraps up the epic Star Trek series, Vanguard.  Set in the far reaches of explored space, this series has traced the adventures of the crew of Station 47 (Vanguard) and their struggles with the mysterious and powerful Shedai. The back copy promises an explosive conclusion, and Mack delivers. One of my favourite parts of reading novels by the newish crop of writers (over this past almost decade) is not just the great storytelling, but the Easter eggs. I won't give them away, but if you're a fan of The Big Bang Theory or the works of Joss Whedon, you'll have a few "squee!" moments.

Episode night ( Thinkgeek to my rescue)

Last night was episode night with the USS Thermopylae;ae. We weren't filming an episode ( which is really too bad because we had some really fun times) ; but rather LARPing where not everyone knew what was happening. try ad-libbing that.
Not the only thing I had to ad-lib. As I was getting dressed, and my husband was zipping up my skant for me, I noticed something white on the front that looked like the adhesive left behind when you wash something with a sticker on it. Which I would never do with costuming. When I tried to scratch it off, my finger went through! NO clue what it was- my skant was poplin so not moths. There are several spots like that, so it's ruined. Brian said that might mean it's time to get me one with nicer fabric- I said only if he paid for it.

But all was not lost. Luckily I was able to pull out my TOS Dress from Thinkgeek . Submitted for your amusement, some photos from the event :

There were a few things that made pulling off Vulcan hard for me. First, as you can see, I need waaay better ears ( add that to the very long wish list). Second, pot roast. Third, the chicken. Don't ask about the chicken. You had to be there. Fourth, PEOPLE KEPT MAKING ME LAUGH! And last of all, on the way home, The Ramones. I think I'm very far from the Path of Kohlinar.

Book: TOS: Inception by SD Perry and Britta Dennison

Before they were stationed aboard the Enterprise, Captain Kirk and Mr Spock met two brilliant women who would gain their own places in Trek history. While their relationships with Dr Carol Marcus and Leila Kalomi took different paths...with very different consequences- there is no doubt that these relationships affected them and their futures deeply. Perry and Dennison's book brings the two scientists together as colleagues. This book meets my current standard of needing to be a fast read. Enjoyable!

ENT: Harbinger

The Enterprise rescues and alien caught in a spatial anomaly. The alien appears to be dying when he is brought aboard, but it soon becomes evident that those who has placed his ship in the anomaly had sinister purposes.

ENT: Strategem

Stratagem opens with a scruffy looking Captain Archer in a shuttle with an equally scruffy Xindi Primate, Degra. It soon becomes apparent that Archer is not actually fleeing a Xindi prison camp, but has set up an elaborate ruse to get information out of Degra. While they do not get quite the information they wanted, they do get one step closer to their goals.

ST Mirror Universe: The Sorrows of Empire

Combining short stories from previous Mirror Universe collections and weaving them into a cohesive whole, The book by David Mack looks at the question of "Our Universe's crew exposed the logical Mirror Universe Spock to dangerous concepts; what did he do with them?". Starting with Spock's inevitable assassination of Captain Kirk and ending with slightly after his death, this is a must read for anyone who thinks the Mirror Universe is much cooler.

ENT: Chosen Realm, Proving Ground

In Chosen Realm, the Enterrpise meets a ship full of aliens who worship the Xindi spheres. While helping them repair their ship at first seems a way to get much needed information about the spheres, it drags the Enterprise into an internecine war. Nice use of "Let's fake an execution with the transporter".
Proving Ground has some familiar characters joining the Enterprise in Xindi space. General Shran has taken advantage of the Andorian's superior warp capability to catch up to the Enterprise, ostensibly to offer assistance. In the end, it is of course revealed that the Andorians had an ulterior motive.