Reunion

Once an officer on Jean-Luc Picard's first starship, the Stargazer , and now captain of the U.S.S. Excalibur , the Daa'V Morgan must resign and return to his homeworld Daa'Vit to become its ruler. Starfleet sends the Enterprise to escort Morgan and his honor guard, fellow Stargazer officers selected by him. But someone is trying to assassinate Morgan; the Romulans may be involved; the Enterprise is caught in a subspace disturbance and may miss the ceremony. In an impressive demonstration of multilevel writing, veteran Star Trek author Friedman ( Fortune's Light ) neatly ties this new book into the series, but also enables it to stand on its own: the patience of longtime fans is not tried by boring synopses, but neophytes will find everything they need in order to understand the people and events. The two plots dovetail nicely, with developments in each heightening tension in the other. New characters from the Stargazer are well drawn, while the familiar crew members of the Enterprise gain depth in their new adventure. ( Nov. )