Star Trek Novel Verse/Characters

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Human characters

Nanietta Bacco

As of the conclusion to Star Trek: A Time to..., Bacco serves as President of the United Federation of Planets. She holds that office through the events of Star Trek: Articles of the Federation, Star Trek: Destiny and Star Trek: Typhon Pact. An elderly human woman, she is charged with guiding the Federation through a period of great instability. She's a bit of an Ensemble Darkhorse: from her introduction as part of a novel's C-plot, she was quickly promoted to a character carrying her own book. Since then, her role has only expanded further.

  • Arch Enemy: Politically, Bacco and Tholian Ambassador Tezrene are almost certainly Arch Enemies. Their first real political tussle occurs in A Singular Destiny, in which Tezrene came out on top. Bacco won the next round in Star Trek: Typhon Pact: Zero Sum Game, before Tezrene once again triumphed in Paths of Disharmony, when her people succeeded in causing further political chaos in the Federation. As of late, Bacco refers to "that bitch Tezrene."
  • Deadpan Snarker
  • Gondor Calls for Aid: In the Star Trek: Destiny trilogy, Bacco calls for aid from all other major powers in the Alpha and Beta quadrants, but their response is tepid and the combined fleet is annihilated within minutes anyway. All that her efforts really accomplish is to antagonize the Tholians.
  • Gunboat Diplomacy: She resorts to this on occasion, but usually only to scare an Ass in Ambassador into negotiating in good faith.
  • I Say What I Say: When Bacco is temporarily duplicated in Star Trek: Department of Temporal Investigations (long story), the two presidents respond to a compliment with a simultaneous (somewhat sarcastic) "oh, please!" Amusingly, they also snark at each other for making the exact sort of grumpy, sarcastic comments that Bacco always makes.
  • Must Have Caffeine
  • Not So Different: There have been a few scenes that compare (and contrast) her with the previous president, Min Zife. A few of them can potentially be read as warnings of how easy it might be for someone of Bacco's integrity to slip nonetheless into less-than-moral conduct. A scene in Zero Sum Game, in which Bacco is confronted by Federation Council members wary of her potentially questionable decisions, announcing their intention to veto a bill only to be outmaneuvered, recalls a scene in A Time to Heal, where President Zife faced a similar confrontation. Where Zife deflected criticism by appealing to humanitarian arguments, while actually up to his neck in illegal activities, Bacco attacks with information on the support she has from other councillors, seemingly convinced that she's on the right side of the moral line. As both novels were written by the same author, the similarities (and contrasts) between the two scenes are likely entirely deliberate.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure
  • Serious Business: Baseball

T'Ryssa Chen

A half-human/half-Vulcan Starfleet officer who tries to distance herself from her Vulcan heritage by acting as distinctly un-Vulcan as possible. Not exactly a model officer, but with lots of potential. Recently joined the crew of the Enterprise. Captain Picard is now guiding her, as a sort of Mentor.

"Did you try to contact her after the Odyssey went boom? Did you try to find her any time during the entire Dominion War? No, this is about you. You had a near-death experience when the Borg hit Vulcan, and by some miracle, you lived. You managed to get rescued, fixed up, and flown to a hospital on the other side of the planet, where you got a lot of time to just lie there and think about how close you came to being just more sand piled on the Forge. Now you've got this big second chance, so now you want to reach out to all those you've hurt and make amends for all your wrongs."

  • Ethical Slut
  • Genki Girl: She's fully aware of it and is doing it intentionally to be different from the Vulcans.
  • Half-Human Hybrid
  • Just for Pun: One of her favorite pastimes.
  • Motor Mouth
  • Naked on Arrival: In an opening scene to the first novel she appears in. Turning it into a joke, as she does with nearly everything, she then asks if her old boyfriend lives nearby; Middle-Eastern appearance, name of Adam...
  • Noodle Incident: In homage to the original Noodle Incident, she has the Tubegrub Incident.
  • Parental Abandonment
  • The Runaway: Ran away at age 7, after learning of the Vulcan kahs-wan survival rite that usually takes place then. She signed onto a freighter as ship's cook (the captain didn't particularly care that she was a young child) before being retrieved.
  • Screw You, Elves

Cervantes Quinn

A trader and independent soldier-of-fortune who becomes tangled up in Project Vanguard, the morally ambiguous Starfleet operation detailed in the Star Trek: Vanguard series. He tries several times to turn his life around, escaping from alcoholism and ties to criminal syndicates only to dip back in again when he suffers another emotional blow.

  • Action Survivor: Although he becomes far more of a traditional action hero during the middle of the series, during his time as a asset of Starfleet Intelligence. Sadly, Quinn is very much in Butt Monkey territory...and not the humorous sort of Butt Monkey, either.
  • The Alcoholic: The reasons why were explained mid-way through the series. He then recovered for a time, only to fall back into alcohol towards the end, after suffering intense personal loss.
  • Expy: Of the soldier-of-fortune characters from Star Trek: The Original Series, like Harry Mudd or Cyrano Jones. Also a bit of a deconstruction.
  • Odd Friendship: With journalist Tim Pennington.

Elias Vaughn

A Starfleet officer with a long history and a deceptively low rank, Vaughn was introduced in the Star Trek Deep Space Nine Relaunch. By this point, he was over a century old, with eighty years experience in Starfleet Intelligence, Special Operations and Tactical. Vaughn was a critical player in several crucial events in Federation history, among them the Tomed Incident, the Betreka Nebula Incident, and the liberation of Betazed from the Dominion.

"He's not the first hundred-year-old I've met who could go up against holographic opponents, or even real ones. Most people don't give it much thought, but there are actually a lot more active centenarian humans in Starfleet than is generally known. One of the benefits of an ever-lengthening life span. Just the same, I'm glad Vaughn's on our side."

Julian Bashir: Why didn't you say that's what you were planning in the first place?
Vaughn: Because, Doctor, when you become a commander, they take the bone out of your head that makes you explain orders.

  • The Gump: That well-known but as-yet-unexplored historical event? Vaughn will probably have been involved. Some readers certainly feel this trope got over-used.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: He tries one in Twilight, in order to save an extra-dimensional life-form from an eternity of loneliness.
  • Instant Awesome, Just Add Dragons: His childhood history on Berengaria VII; he was apparently mauled by a dragon at one point. It was established as early as the Original Series of Star Trek that Berengaria VII is home to dragons, and Vaughn had previously been said to originate there. Eventually, the two bits of trivia made an inevitable linkage. Since Vaughn is the sort of character with a highly adventurous background, it's no surprise he apparently had dragon bites where other children had bruised knees.
  • It Never Gets Any Easier: Particularly notable at the conclusion to Star Trek: The Battle of Betazed.
  • Papa Wolf: In Warpath, when he believes his adult daughter has been murdered by a rogue colleague.

The Federation (non-humans)

Gard

A Joined Trill charged with monitoring and protecting against corrupted Joinings, including an Ancient Conspiracy involving an offshoot of the Trill symbionts.

  • The Hunter: His role in Trill society consists of hunting down Joined Trill who have suffered a corruptive joining and thus become dangerously unhinged. Such a being is almost always a Complete Monster.
  • Legacy Character: Every host of the Gard symbiont fulfills the exact same function in Trill society, in contrast to every other Joined Trill.
  • Punny Name: In fact, the pun has two meanings and a twist. Hiziki Gard first appears as a Trill security officer, and jokingly comments on the coincidental translation of his phonetic name. Later, we learn that Gard is a unique symbiont whose hosts all serve the same role in Trill society -- that of keeping watch for "corrupted" Joinings and dealing with the Complete Monster that results. Therefore, he is a "guard" of sorts for Trill society as well as using the cover of a literal security guard.
  • Really Seven Hundred Years Old

P8 Blue

A member of the Starfleet Corps of Engineers, belonging to the Nasat race. Basically, she's a giant blue pillbug. She's more commonly known by her nickname, Pattie.

  • Batman Can Breathe in Space: It comes in useful.
  • Blessed with Suck: As a "Quiet," she has the ability to communicate with the other sapient race on her homeworld, a talent very few possess. Unfortunately, Quiets have great difficulty with regular language skills (hence the name –- as children, they don't speak). Her childhood was therefore difficult, and she was an outcast for much of it.
  • Humanity Is Infectious: Some of her belief systems are influenced by the humans she works with; she begins to find an interest in history, and even feels slightly maternal towards her larvae, being a little sad when she drops them off at the child care centre, never to see them again.
  • In-Series Nickname: Pattie.
  • Insectoid Aliens
  • My Species Doth Protest Too Much: P8 likes to "shake things up" and have adventures, in contrast to the rest of the Nasats, who are super-cautious, conservative and hate taking risks.
  • Never Accepted in His Hometown: Despite being a perfect ambassador for the Nasat people (friendly, intelligent, kind, brave, humorous), she's actually an outcast on the Nasat homeworld.
  • Stop Being Stereotypical: Her attitude to her fellow Nasats, when they live up to the expectation that Nasats are timid and highly conservative.

Sonek Pran

A political consultant who performs irregular diplomatic duties for the Federation government; a scholar and, in his spare time, a musician. Whether or not he's a Gary Stu is up for debate.

  • Alien Arts Are Appreciated: He's both a musician from a family of musicians and a Human/Vulcan/Betazoid/Bajoran hybrid. He's therefore been exposed to a great many styles of music, and can play a particularly broad range of tunes. He joins the crew of the starship Aventine for a therapeutic concert at one point.
  • Heinz Hybrid: He's one-quarter human, Bajoran, Betazoid and Vulcan.
  • Omniglot: We might expect Sonek Pran, as a respected scholar and political analyst, to know a few prominent languages, certainly more than the usual. But when it's revealed he can speak perfect Lissepian (the Lissepians being a reasonably well-known trading culture but nothing special), he definitely crosses into Omniglot territory.

T'Lana

A Vulcan counselor assigned to Picard's Enterprise for a time. She clashed with Picard over his particular command style and eventually left the ship.

  • Aborted Arc: The end of her first novel, Resistance, seemed to be setting T'Lana up as a romantic interest for Worf. Then Before Dishonour happened. Worf's with Jasminder Choudhury now, instead.
  • Depending on the Writer: Difficult but with valid opinions, or a total bigot who thinks she's always right?
  • Fantastic Racism: Eventually, she has a bit of this towards everybody who isn't Vulcan, and Worf in particular.
  • Informed Attribute: Her supposed great insight into other cultures never really materializes in any of her appearances.
  • Killed Off for Real: In Star Trek: Destiny.
  • The Stoic
  • Straw Vulcan: There's a good reason Picard wants her the hell off the Enterprise at the end of Before Dishonour. Even Spock completely washes his hands of her after she fails to hear reason. She does acknowledge her own faults in Greater Than the Sum, and herself admits she was completely out of line, as well as unprofessional in the extreme. Sadly she dies before she can redeem herself.

T'Prynn

A Vulcan agent of Starfleet Intelligence, whose morally ambiguous career covered Project Vanguard and a partnership with Elias Vaughn.

  • Arranged Marriage: T'Prynn's did not go well. The ritual combat that was invoked when she filed for divorce also didn't go well. To explain: T'Prynn rejected her appointed mate, Sten, whom she never loved, and decided instead to choose her own companions. Sten was unwilling to release T'Prynn from her betrothal and invoked ritual combat in an attempt to force her to submit. T'Prynn refused; she killed him in the combat that followed. But before he died, Sten forced his katra into T'Prynn's mind.
  • Citizenship Marriage: With Tim Pennington, as a part of one of her many undercover schemes. She needs to get herself off of Vulcan, and requires Earth citizenship to avoid a specifically Vulcan identity check. She therefore marries Pennington, the nearest convenient Earther, and who has agreed to help her.
  • Deadpan Snarker: At times. Particularly notable when she asks if Starfleet personnel assigned to a super-freighter should be given first-class accomodations:

"No of course not. Such generosity from Starfleet would be certain to draw suspicions. Steerage it is then".

It is likely I will never balance the scales of my own guilt and virtue. But that does not absolve me of my responsibility to try.

Mor glasch Tev

An arrogant Tellarite attached to the Starfleet Corps of Engineers. Brilliant, but has difficulty playing nice with his team-mates.

Torvig Bu-kar-nguv

A young crewman aboard the starship Titan. An eager and somewhat exasperating fellow (though also very endearing). He's a Choblik, a race of cyborg Uplifted Animals whose religion is based on respect for technology and the scientific method. He's the Ensemble Darkhorse of the Star Trek: Titan series.

  • Adorkable
  • Cloudcuckoolander: Sometimes, in his own calculating way.
  • Cybernetics Eat Your Soul: Averted. Being from a race of non-humanoid cyborgs, he owes his intelligence to his implants, his people actually being a form of Uplifted Animal. Upgrades throughout childhood and adolescence are celebrated rites of passage in his culture. Ironically, this means Torvig initially has difficulty comprehending the full horror of the Borg Collective (which plays the trope straight). In Star Trek: Destiny, though, the implications finally hit him, and he ends up perhaps the most horrified of all; this trope, and thus the Borg, are essentially the anti-Choblik, their most primal horror.
  • Incredibly Lame Pun: Has now discovered these, to his crewmates' horror.
  • Literal-Minded: His experiments to determine the truth about "gut feelings" consisted of introducing nanites into his crewmate's food, so as to monitor their intestines.
  • Lovable Nerd
  • Odd Friendship: With Ranul Keru.
  • Thank the Maker: Choblik swear on the Great Builders, whom they revere. The Choblik religion also interprets creation in general as the work of a "builder," as Torvig explains:

"It is empirical that we were Upgraded to our current state millennia ago by some technological agency. It is also empirical that the galaxy contains many other life-forms, worlds and phenomena that could not have come into being without technological intervention. And many of the fundamental mysteries of the universe can be resolved by postulating it as a construct of some entity or civilization existing on a transcendent plane. Given the power and pervasiveness that such a creative agency would require, it's logical to interpret all lesser creative agencies in the universe as aspects of the ultimate Builders."

Yevir Linjaren

A Bajoran minister with ambitions to become the next Kai, replacing Kai Winn. He's responsible for setting in motion a lengthy character arc for Kira Nerys, when he casts her from the church for exposing the Bajoran public to heretical texts.

  • Ascended Extra: The Bajoran man who was given the name "Yevir" in the novels first appeared in an episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, as a (very minor) background character. He was actually unnamed in the episode, but Word of God has confirmed that Yevir is intended to be that man.
  • Give Me a Sign
  • Good Shepherd: He certainly has his moments. Despite his questionable decisions involving Kira, he truly cares for Bajor's spiritual well-being.
  • Holier Than Thou: In the first half of the Deep Space Nine Relaunch series, Yevir looks like a re-tread of Kai Winn in some regards (tensions with Kira included). An attitude of Holier Than Thou was certainly part of that. However...he got better later on, particularly in Worlds of Deep Space Nine: Cardassia, where he has a Crowning Moment of Awesome, talking a 14-year-old would-be suicide bomber into standing down, with an appeal to the virtues of faith, hope and trust.
  • Jerkass: Despite his Good Shepherd qualities, he fits this one too.
  • The Power of Trust: In Worlds of Deep Space Nine: Cardassia.

Min Zife

Prior to Bacco, Min Zife held the office of Federation President. His aggressive foreign policy saved the Federation during the Dominion War, but he eventually crossed the line into flat-out illegal (and immoral) conduct. Much of his political scheming was the result of his Chief of Staff's influence -- Koll Azernal, the Man Behind the Man.

  • Alien Arts Are Appreciated: A Bolian, he greatly admired Monet's Bridge Over a Pond of Water Lillies. He left the painting in a prominent position in the Presidental wardroom, considering it a symbol of all the art and culture of the Federation, which he was intent on preserving.
  • Flanderization: Some accuse later portrayals (such as in the Star Trek: Vulcan's Soul books) of flanderizing the relationship between Zife and Koll Azernal, with Zife being an ineffective president relying on scheming Azernal to run the government for him. It is certainly more obvious in Vulcan's Soul than in Star Trek: A Time to....
  • Government Conspiracy

Klingon characters

The Klingons in general

  • Fantastic Caste System: As a result of the Quch'Ha plague (as seen in a two-part episode of Star Trek: Enterprise season four) many Klingon families lost their forehead ridges. A division between those who retained them and those who lost them resulted in an unofficial caste system within the Klingon Empire. The ridgeless Klingons - the Quch'Ha, or "unhappy ones" - were somewhat undesirable in the social hierarchy. Some Quch'Ha disguised their status with artificial foreheads.
  • Finders, Rulers: Unofficially, the Sword of Kahless. Whatever the law says, anyone holding the sword will more or less find themselves ruler of the Klingon Empire. Fortunately, rightful leader Martok has it.
  • King Arthur: The Left Hand of Destiny turned the ongoing Klingon saga into this, in part. Martok is Arthur. Worf is Lancelot, Emperor Kahless is Merlin, Alexander is Percival, Ezri Dax is the Lady in the Lake, Morjod is (obviously, Meaningful Name) Mordred, Gothmara is Morgan Le Fay. Martok's father, Urthog, is another obvious Arthurian homage. And the Sword of Kahless is of course Excalibur.
  • Obfuscating Stupidity: The Klingons often demonstrate this trope in the novels; their enthusiastic bluster, casual violence and fondness for drink disguise the fact that they're every bit as capable of cunning manipulation as any other race; indeed, they're actually extremely political, for all their talk of "warrior's honour". Grodak in Star Trek: Seven Deadly Sins is a perfect example. Toqel, a Romulan politician, severely underestimates him and the Klingons in general, with troubling results for the Romulans and fatal ones for Toqel. Another Klingon character who illustrates the trope perfectly is General Khegh from Star Trek: Titan.
  • Prophecy Twist: According to the novels, the Second Coming of Kahless, long predicted in Klingon religious tradition, was intended as metaphorical, not literal. Thus, the clone of Kahless (created in an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation) is not in fact the "true" second coming, despite Lady Lukara assuring Martok he is a genuine reincarnation. The actual second Kahless is Martok himself.

B'Oraq

A Klingon doctor, and the love interest of Captain Klag. B'Oraq trained in the Federation, and thus has unusual ideas about medicine.

  • Awesomeness By Analysis: In A Burning House, B'Oraq wins a death-duel within seconds by simply stabbing her opponent through one of the weakest parts of his armor, penetrating his third aorta. Killed him right in the middle of his monologue, too.
  • Combat Medic: Of all Klingon doctors, she's more or less the only one who remembers the "medic" part is supposed to take priority.
  • My Species Doth Protest Too Much
  • Only Sane Woman: B'Oraq is very reasonable for a Klingon and frustrated by the rest of her people. Her particular agenda in life is to get the rest of the empire to accept the use of modern medicine. She faces fierce resistance, as the Honor Before Reason Klingon culture tends to view medical care as a low priority, and pandering to weakness.

Goran

A dim-witted but loyal soldier of the Klingon Empire. He is "the biggest and the strongest", and quite an asset in battle.

  • Determinator: Goran does not like to lose and will do near-anything to make sure he doesn't. He even goes into a brief Heroic BSOD when he does have his first ever loss. It genuinely confused him.
  • The Big Guy: He's even referred to as 'the big man'.
  • Gentle Giant: Sort of, as long as we keep in mind this is gentle by Klingon standards. He still fights to deadly effect, but rarely shows malice or true blood lust.

Gothmara

An ex-lover of Martok, and the twisted mastermind behind an early attempt to overthrow him as Chancellor.

K'mtok

Klingon Ambassador to the Federation as of Star Trek: A Time to... onward. Holds the position through Star Trek: Articles of the Federation, Star Trek: Destiny and Star Trek: Typhon Pact.

  • Ambadassador: He is, like all Klingon nobles, a warrior.
  • Ass in Ambassador: A particularly hawkish Klingon ambassador, he was appointed as a replacement to the more reasonable Ambassador Lantar. When Federation President Zife went over Lantar's head to talk directly with Chancellor Martok, Martok's political rivals on the Klingon High Council used the opportunity to force their man into the ambassadorship, claiming Lantar had been proven ineffective.
  • Blood on the Debate Floor: Like most Klingon diplomats, not immune to this. When President Bacco calls the ambassadors from the major galactic powers together in Star Trek: Destiny, K'mtok and Romulan ambassador Kalavak end up fighting. After a series of accusations and insults regarding events in prior novels, the two begin to physically scuffle, until separated by Federation security.
  • With Friends Like These...: Despite his usual attitude, he represents the nation that’s probably the Federation’s closest ally.

Kamarag

The Klingon Ambassador to the Federation in Star Trek IV the Voyage Home and The Undiscovered Country. In keeping with his attitude in the films, he's very much an Ass in Ambassador, and thinks very little of humans - Kirk in particular.

Klag

Our main protagonist Klingon when Worf and Martok aren't around. A hero of the empire, he commands the Klingon warship Gorkon.

  • A Father to His Men: Insofar as Klingon values and regulations permit, Klag is extremely proud of his crew and does his best to encourage and uplift their efforts to succeed. Conversely, he also had no problem with killing anyone who proves incompetent per Klingon regulations, and he reacts to attempts to usurp his authority VERY harshly.
  • Artificial Limbs: A plot point - Klag, who lost an arm in a previous conflict, could be fitted with an artificial replacement. He refuses, though, insisting that he's a Klingon, not a Borg. It's one of the Honor Before Reason issues Doctor B'Oraq has to deal with. Eventually, Klag accepts a biological graft - his dead father's arm to replace his own. It's not as effective, of course, but it's a compromise.
  • Badass Transplant: Subverted originally, because having his father's arm attached where a stump used to be threw his fighting talent off by quite a bit in the first book. Over time he's regained some, if not a lot, of his old edge. However, to be fair, even at his worst (when he was merely a Handicapped Badass in prequel novel Diplomatic Implausibility), his skills were still only kinda off their usual game.
  • Cain and Abel: With brother Dorrek.
  • I Gave My Word: Klag promises on his honor to leave the San-Tarah people alone after they defeat his crew in a series of challenges - and their leader defeats him in honorable combat. General Talak, on the other hand, orders Klag to conquer San-Tarah anyway. Klag refuses, and is furious that a Klingon would ask him to break his word.
  • Klingon Promotion: An important part of Klag's backstory involves his frustration at being unable to take command in this manner. As first officer of the IKS Pagh under incompetent Captain Kargan, Klag had every right, and responsibility, to pull off a (literal) Klingon Promotion, but Kargan was a part of the powerful House of K'Tal, and if Klag killed him he'd have an assassin sent after him for sure. The only reason Kargan remained a captain was by blaming Klag for his own screw-ups. After Kargan died in a crash-landing, Klag finally got his own command.

Kopek

An amoral Klingon politician, and a thorn in the side of both Chancellor Martok and Worf. He led the opposition to Martok on the Klingon High Council.

  • Alien Arts Are Appreciated: Kopek decorated his office with items of art from across explored space. Among the paintings, artefacts and sculptures were those created by humans, Vulcans, and Betazoids. This despite the fact that Kopek despised those races. To be honest, he probably justified them as "trophies".
  • Divided We Fall: Usually; but averted when the final test comes in Star Trek: Destiny.
  • Good Is Old-Fashioned: Kopek had no time for the teachings of Kahless and the honour codes Martok is trying to re-establish in Klingon society. Kahless condemned him for it:

"You will fall, Kopek, because you live only to hold on to your power and to accumulate more. Martok works daily to restore the empire to the path of honour, and there is no place for you on that path. You will learn the true way, or you will reap the seeds of self-destruction you have so carefully sown”.

Kurak

Bad-tempered even by Klingon standards, Kurak hates the Klingon military but was forced into it on pain of losing her legal status as a member of a noble House. She wound up as Klag's chief engineer on the Gorkon.

  • The Alcoholic: At one point, she refused to believe that she has alcohol poisoning, because as far as she's concerned alcohol is only a poison to "weak" races such as humans. Usually Klingons are resistant to alcohol, but she'd drunk that much it had overcome even Klingon biology.
  • Defrosting Ice Queen: Thankfully, Leskit serves as her Morality Pet and by the fourth book in the Star Trek: Klingon Empire series, has mellowed her out quite a bit.
  • Hates Everyone Equally: One of the reasons it took her so long to actually show loyalty to Klag rather than the Gorkon's mutineers; though equally, she had no interest in a mutiny because her disdain for Klag was part of her general disdain for all aspects of the Klingon military.
  • Insufferable Genius: Up until towards the end of Star Trek: Klingon Empire book three, when she starts to mellow out a little.
  • Serious Business: Wind-boat racing. She's infuriated when her team loses a contest on San-Tarah, insisting that they've ruined the sport for her.
  • Surrounded by Idiots: Her favourite complaint.

Lugok

A diplomat, involved in the tangled political nightmare that is Project Vanguard. He eventually joins his Federation counterpart in establishing "back-door" diplomatic channels aimed at creating an eventual peace between the Klingons, Federation and Romulans.

  • Ass in Ambassador: Like most Klingon ambassadors. Federation Ambassador Jetanien often acts this way in return, mostly to throw it back in Lugok's face. Funnily enough, Lugok and Jetanien end up in Vitriolic Best Buds territory. And Lugok is genuinely open to a lasting peace.

Tabona, Daughter of Jirak

Matriach of a farming family, one of the first notable Klingon characters not to be a warrior.

Vall

An engineer who served on the Gorkon under Klag and Chief Engineer Kurak. He's well-groomed, rather timid and insists on viewing engineering problems as honourable battles. Kurak called him competent once, which is Kurak-speak for "absolute genius".

  • Kicked Upstairs: In a sense. He didn't fit in on the Gorkon (or among Klingon warriors in general), and rather than have to deal with the...awkwardness...any longer, he volunteered for the role of Emperor of taD. Klag and company swiftly agreed.
  • Lovable Nerd
  • My Species Doth Protest Too Much: Nothing like most Klingons we see, coming across more like a pleasant if whiny human "nerd". He's referred to as "a Grishnar Cat that survives among the targs" by another character.

Wol

A soldier of the empire assigned to the Gorkon, Wol serves as the viewpoint of non-officer, commoner Klingons in many Klingon-centric novels. Despite this, she's actually of noble birth, but was cast from her house and now embraces a new life as a soldier.

  • Lower Deck Episode: Scenes and subplots centred on Wol and her Fifteenth Squad serve as this in the Star Trek: Klingon Empire series.
  • That Man Is Dead: Wol's previous identity was Eral, a noble woman. When she came of age, her parents had Eral betrothed in order to forge an alliance with another house. Eral, however, became pregnant with the child of a servant, whom she loved. She was banished from her house, as her father could not bring himself to kill her (as honour would have dictated). Her lover, however, was executed, and her child taken away. She became Wol, a common soldier, and embraced the new life. Eral is pretty much dead and gone.

Romulan characters

The Romulans in general.

  • Proud Scholar Race: Interestingly, they're shown in several novels to be more like the Vulcans than might be expected. Scholarship is valued highly in their culture. Despite or perhaps because of this, only those of higher class can pursue academic careers.
  • Proud Warrior Race: Along with their scholar tendencies (above), it's a bit of an Alternate Character Interpretation; while the TV series (Star Trek: The Next Generation onward, at least) focused on their sneaky, politically manipulative Chessmaster tendencies, the novels portray the hot-blooded warrior aspect of their culture far more prominantly. They certainly don't lose their Chessmaster traits, though.
  • Vestigial Empire: Back and forth in the novels, post Star Trek: Nemesis. In the immediate aftermath, the Romulan Star Empire fragmented into factions. Praetor Tal'aura and Proconsul Tomalak were able to reunite most of them, as the Federation sought to maintain peace along the borders. Commander Donatra, however, declared the worlds and fleets loyal to her independent. Between losing territory to Donatra, uprisings on the outworlds, and the damage from the Borg Invasion, the Empire was less than half its former size. It was explicitly stated in Star Trek: Articles of the Federation that the Romulans were no longer a superpower. However, they bounced back thanks to membership in the Typhon Pact. That said, the empire will presumably collapse again when Romulus is destroyed (though we're still a few years short of that in the current timeframe...)
  • Villain Team-Up: A leading member of the Typhon Pact, an alliance of six previously xenophobic and aggressive antagonist cultures, united for mutual protection as a sort of rival-Federation.

Charvanek

AKA the female Romulan Commander from "The Enterprise Incident". A proud officer and patriot who follows her own sense of Romulan honour at all times, often leading her into alliance with the Federation. She can be counted upon to safeguard the honour of the Romulan Star Empire no matter the personal cost.

D'deridex

Praetor of the Romulan Star Empire during the early days of the Romulan War. Not the best tactician, or the most stable of leaders; both to Humanity's fortune.

  • The Caligula: Not as bad as Dralath, but he definitely fits the trope by the end.
  • General Failure: He insisted on opening up a second front at Haakona during the war against Earth and its allies. Despite advice from General Valdore and others, he weakened the Romulan war effort significantly. The Haakonan conflict allowed the Human/Andorian/Tellarite alliance to rally, possibly costing Romulus the war.
  • Shame If Something Happened: He pulls this on Valdore, eventually taking his family hostage.

Donatra

Following Star Trek: Nemesis, Donatra became an important figure in Romulan politics, opposing newly seated Praetor Tal'aura, and eventually forming her own government.

  • Arch Enemy: With Tal'aura, who had Donatra's lover executed after he tried to unseat her from the praetorship. Donatra continued to oppose Tal'aura's rule, eventually declaring the fleets and planets loyal to her an independent state.
  • Mentor Occupational Hazard / Rage Against the Mentor: Interestingly, she loses faith in her former mentor Suran and tires of him. In the end, they reach an impasse and she murders him.
  • Sacred Hospitality: When Sonek Pran meets with her in A Singular Destiny, she takes personal responsibility for his safety, in accordance with this trope.

Dralath

The most bloodthirsty praetor in recent history, who nearly started a war with the Klingons and Federation.

  • Blood on the Debate Floor: To the shock of the other senators, he murders a member of the government on the Senate Chamber floor. There's a reason why a character in later books says that Dralath caused more damage to Romulan honour than any other leader she remembers.
  • The Caligula: But also...
  • Evil Chancellor: Dralath, as praetor, is essentially this to Shiarkiek, the emperor (although the praetor has the real political authority, the emperor's figurehead status is still taken very seriously and his spiritual influence is extreme). Dralath even tries to manipulate public opinion by manipulating a drugged-up Shiarkiek.

Gell Kamemor

A diplomat introduced in Star Trek: The Lost Era, who is known both for her patriotism and her desire for stable relations with foreign powers. She eventually becomes Praetor.

Neral

The Praetor during both the Dominion War and the post-war rebuilding period. A ruthless but honourable man, he came to appreciate the Federation but was assassinated before anything could come of his epiphany.

  • Face Death with Dignity: He makes a conscious decision to do so, so his enemies, if they're watching his arranged death, won't have the satisfaction of seeing him run and flail.
  • Deadly Change-of-Heart: His death, and the coup that put Hiren and his supporters in charge, resulted in this for the Romulan Star Empire as a whole. Neral had come to support the idea of permanent alliance with the Federation, but he wasn't able to implement his plans.

Ruanek

A lower-caste warrior who becomes an ally to Spock, eventually living on Vulcan, where he embraces a new role as a scholar. A man with a highly personal stake in the Federation/Romulan peace process. An Ensemble Darkhorse, he first appeared in Star Trek: Vulcan's Forge in a relatively minor role. He proved so popular with readers that he made a reappearance in Star Trek: Vulcan's Heart, his role greatly expanded. He would go to appear in several short stories and the Star Trek: Vulcan's Soul trilogy as well.

Shiarkiek

The elderly emperor; a spiritual figurehead whose moral power is matched by the praetor's political power. He was eventually assassinated during the Dominion War.

  • Becoming the Mask: An interesting example. He was always more comfortable as a scholar than an emperor, and over the years "played" at scholar more and more until he forgot his true responsibility as emperor (at least that's how he sees it. He might be being a bit harsh on himself). He also feels that his true identity - defined, as with many Romulans, by his personal honour - is now lost to him.

“I was a fool, a fool, so seduced by my scholarly research I forgot what I was. Never do that, never forget. For once you do, once you begin trusting others with what should be yours, you never, ever win it back”.

Tal'aura

Following Star Trek: Nemesis, Tal'aura swiftly claimed the vacant leadership and for several turbulant years ruled as Praetor.

  • Arch Enemy: To Donatra. Donatra already hated Tal'aura for several reasons, including her having executed Donatra's lover, and when the Imperial Romulan State was formed, they became political rivals too.
  • Manipulative Bastard

Volskiar

A military command officer who led the infamous assault on Narendra III, slaughtering Klingon colonists. The father of Sela.

"Think, Romulans, of our colony worlds. Think of the honest, hardworking, loyal men and women who ask nothing but to serve the Empire. Now picture foreigners imperiling those Romulan men, women, yes, Romulan children. And such invaders do threaten, brutish creatures who know nothing of honour, nothing of glory: Klingons! Klingons who know nothing but blood lust! You ask, how can this be? Have we not dealt peacefully with the Klingons, even purchased warships from them? Yes! We made that mistake! We let them sell us faulty ships - but no more! That was all part of their plan to weaken us, then overwhelm us".

Cardassian characters

Cardassians in general

  • The Evils of Free Will: Not in the extreme, literal form, but Cardassia has very little tolerance for irregular thinkers, and spreads propaganda insisting that those who behave differently are psychologically and neurologically ill:

“People with beliefs like that usually have a disorder that prevents them from understanding loyalty to anything but their own desires. A defect in their lateral cortex makes them abnormally egocentric, and the same disorder keeps them from having any impulse control. I learned about it in socio-deviance”.

The morality of a Cardassian can only be understood by a Cardassian. The morality of a soldier of the Union is that which serves the Union best.

The Oralian Way

One of the most interesting additions to the Cardassian culture in the novels is the Oralian Way - an ancient religion dating back to the first civilization to arise on their homeworld. The Way is peaceful and encourages a community-oriented perspective that avoids self-centredness while enhancing individual growth. It's seeing a revival on post-Dominion War Cardassia, but is still highly controversial there.

  • Amplifier Artifact: The original masks on which the recitation mask props are based (see below).
  • Good Old Ways: The Oralians represent the remnants of the old Cardassia - a far gentler culture.
  • Mask of Power: Recitation masks, props which the Way uses in its rituals and ceremonies. The masks channel a being's spiritual power. The original masks genuinely do this, being Amplifier Artifacts.
  • The Purge: Cardassian Central Command moved against its ideological competitors by destroying the Cardassian church. Members of the Oralian Way religion were eventually slaughtered in their enclaves on Bajor. They had fled Cardassia due to persecution there, but of course Central Command had its eyes on Bajor, too. See the Terok Nor prequel series.
  • Willing Channeler: The Way's leader, Astraea, who allows her body and mind to be temporarily controlled by the guiding spirit, Oralius.

Astraea

Leader of the Oralian Way, an ancient and benevolent Cardassian religion. Astraea is an inherited title for she who channels Oralius, the Guiding Spirit. The current Astraea is a woman named Miras Vara, a former student who revived the Way after a chance encounter with a Bajoran Orb.

  • Blessed with Suck: Miras Vara's spiritual awakening in Terok Nor may be for the good of Cardassia, but her new life is hardly a happy one, seeing as she has to give up her old identity and live on the run as an outlaw. Then there's her prophetic knowledge of her planet's future destruction, which she knows she is powerless to prevent. She sees it regularly in her dreams, and is haunted by the vision.
  • The Cassandra
  • Good Old Ways
  • Good Shepherd
  • Ironic Echo: Her humble greeting, "you're always welcome", is repeated by Elim Garak at the end of A Stitch in Time. It's ironic that Garak, a "night person" should quote the channeler of the light.
  • Legacy Character: "My mother's name was Astraea. My daughter's name will be Astraea".
  • Psychic Dreams for Everyone
  • Refusal of the Call: Miras Vara tries, but Oralius is persistant. Eventually she gives in.
  • Talking in Your Dreams: Oralius appears in Miras Vara's dreams to convince her to become Astraea. Vara tries not sleeping to avoid Her, but of course it doesn't work.
  • Willing Channeler: Part of her job description as Guide for the Way.

Other characters

Taran’atar

A Jem'Hadar soldier assigned to Station Deep Space Nine by Odo in the aftermath of the Dominion War. It was hoped that he would learn to respect the ways of the Alpha Quadrant, so as to help his people eventually liberate themselves from their narrow role as disposable soldiers.

  • Badass
    • Badass Grandpa by Jem’Hadar standards; at 22 years old, he’s been an “honoured elder” for two years already; most Jem’Hadar die in battle before they reach 15.
  • Crisis of Faith: As time goes on; it gets that much worse when the Founder Leader tells him she is not divine as he's always believed.
  • Determinator
  • Genius Bruiser: Kira Nerys is used to seeing him in the holosuite, spending his spare time training himself for battle. Usually this consists of fighting hideous and powerful opponents; but on one occasion she finds him studying advanced mathematics - at a level far beyond her comprehension.
  • Gone Horribly Right: In a sense, Odo got what he wanted; Taran’atar broke free of his training and conditioning as a slave to the Founders. Too bad his doing so caused him to go on a violent rampage.
  • Hallucinations: No breakdown is complete without them.
  • Happiness in Slavery: At first. A large part of his Character Development is both the realization that he is a slave, and his finding a form of freedom acceptable to both himself and others.
  • Heel Face Turn: The first protagonist character from the Dominion.
  • Humans Through Alien Eyes: At times. Among the more notable examples is his visit to the nursery in Twilight, as he tries to comprehend the behaviour of the human children. Confronted with typical child-like irrationality, he wonders if they are defective. Also, he is intrigued and somewhat discomforted by their complete lack of fear, in stark contrast to the attendant adults. When one small boy brushes up against him, disrupting his invisibility shroud and exposing his presence, he is even somewhat humiliated. In all, he leaves considerably more confused than enlightened.
  • The Mole: Later in the series.
  • Odd Friendship: His relationship with Kira was heading towards this.
  • Super Soldier

Zett Nilric

An assassin (official title was "Business Manager") for the Orion crime lord Ganz. Appears in Star Trek: Vanguard.

Alien species

The Alonis

A minor aquatic race with membership in the Federation.

  • Making a Splash: The Alonis do not possess opposable digits. In order to build a civilization, they instead use their limited but effective telekinetic control over water. They essentially "shape" the water into "tools". The exact limit on the ability has not been determined (yet) but possibly it depends on the individual.
  • Our Mermaids Are Different: They have quasi-humanoid (though scaly) upper bodies, albeit with fins instead of arms, and a fish-like lower body. The mermaid comparison is made at least once.

The Andorians

The blue-skinned Andorians have been explored in depth in the novels, with their four-way marriage system interpreted as a four-sex biology. While this interpretation initially clashed a bit with portrayals in Star Trek: Enterprise, more recent novels have reconciled the two approaches into one consistant view of the race (Your Mileage May Vary though).

  • Alien Blood: It's blue.
  • Armor-Piercing Question: "Are you Whole?" Supposedly asked of the mythical hero Thirishar by all-powerful Uzaveh (AKA Andorian God), the question drives the modern Andorian culture in its entirety. To be truly Whole requires both reassembling in unity the four genders derived from the hero Thirishar (essentially, bonding with three others in an marriage quad) and gaining knowledge of the "missing piece", an elusive aspect of racial knowledge hidden to the Andorian people.
  • Arranged Marriage: The foundation of Andorian culture, a result of their low birth rate and general infertility. Having four sexes and a thin window of opportunity for successful births, they need to get their young adults making babies as soon as possible. Quads are brought together after genetic mapping to determine likely success in breeding. Andorians are taught to revere the four-way marriage bond above all else: One alone cannot be Whole, nor two, nor three.
  • Bizarre Alien Biology: The four sex paradigm.
  • Butt Monkey: Some Andorian characters sourly reflect that their race seems to be this for the universe in general.
  • Creation Myth: An Andorian creation myth referencing the sundering of their race into four genders is essential to the in-depth exploration of their culture.
  • Dying Race: The books establish the Andorians as this, at least by the 24th century. Their complex four-sex biology is failing them and their window of fertility has dropped to only four or five years. Unless their genome can be repaired, they face extinction within fifteen generations. Note that events in later books - Star Trek: Destiny most notably - make the problem even worse.
  • Fictional Political Party: The Parliament Andoria is split between the Visionists (who are conservative and somewhat isolationist), and the strongly pro-Federation Modern Progessive party (liberal).
  • Instrument of Murder: The Andorian flabjellah is a combination sidearm and musical instrument.
  • Occupiers Out of Our Country!: As of the late 24th century, a vocal minority of Andorians have come to view the Federation as essentially an oppressive force manipulating Andor for its own ends at the expense of the planet's own national and cultural identity. The idea is encouraged by the Tholians, who arrange to drop a proverbial bombshell at just the right (wrong) time.
  • Overly Long Name: Andorians often have very long names, and combined with their fondness for lisping sounds can be quite a mouthful. Luckily they have a shorter "familiar" name that can be used instead.
  • Pronoun Trouble: The four-sexed Andorians have a multitude of gender-specific words but usually accept male or female pronouns so as to avoid confusion among offworlders.
  • Science Is Bad: As of the late 24th century, the Andorian population are up in arms over the nature of the research rumoured to be undertaken by the Science Academy; the re-engineering of the Andorian genome. In an attempt to solve the Andorian fertility problems and genetic crisis, the possibility of re-engineering four-gendered Andorians as two-gendered beings is being discussed. Such a project would tear the traditional Andorian culture to tatters, and the idea is condemned by many.

The Arkenites

A minor Federation member race, with a strong sense of duty and a physiological sensitivity to magnetic fields.

  • Call a Rabbit a Smeerp: An Arkenite character in Star Trek: Titan describes his dead pet, which is clearly a cat. Not literally - it's an fictional animal given a made up name - but it's obvious that what we're talking about is an Arkenite cat.
  • Honor Before Reason: The Arkenites take their debts very seriously. So much so, that when Klingons save an Arkenite outpost from a disaster in Star Trek: Vanguard, in exchange for the outpost swearing allegiance to the Klingon Empire, the residents then refuse to back out. Even though they don't want to leave the Federation or help the Klingons, they all willingly keep to the promise even when Starfleet shows up trying to "liberate" them. To choose gratification over duty and refuse to repay their debt would, their leader explains, be unthinkable.

The Betelgeusians

A highly competitive race who wander space in nomadic communities. Most Betelgeusians encountered in the novels (all minor supporting characters so far) are younger males who've joined Starfleet to gain experience and training, which they'll take back to their people in order to win a place in a pack.

  • Boisterous Bruiser: The default Betelgeusian characterization.
  • Pride: Theirs is strong, but also easily damaged if they feel they've been slighted or denied a chance to prove their worth.
  • Rite of Passage: For Betelgeusian males, their entire adolescence is essentially one long Rite of Passage. Chased from the pride by elder males as they approach puberty, they spend their teenage years and early manhood surviving alone in the wider galaxy, often winding up joining organizations like Starfleet to earn experience. Then they return to a pride and fight its members to win acceptance, and membership.
  • Too Many Mouths: Betelgeusians have two; a beak-like one for speaking with, and a toothy one which they use to eat.

The Breen

The Star Trek: Typhon Pact series finally established some concrete facts about Breen culture. They're a multi-species organization who hide their true identity by wearing body-concealing suits (some are refridgerated, because one of the major Breen races lives in sub-zero environments).

  • A Day in the Limelight: The Star Trek: Typhon Pact novel Zero Sum Game.
  • The Alliance: Are themselves an example (a confederacy, specifically), and are also part of the Typhon Pact.
  • Dark Is Not Evil: The Breen salutation "Night and silence protect you", and its reply "may darkness bring you fortune". Breen like darkness - or anything that aids you in hiding - and are, at their best, a perfectly "decent" people. At their worst, they're an...
  • Evil Counterpart: Like the Federation, they draw on multiple races and cultures, and no race is legally subordinate to another. Where the Federation celebrates its diversity and the potential for new perspectives, the Breen fear bias to an extreme degree, and insist on hiding their diversity even as they utilize it. The Federation is open and bright, the Breen are secretive and dark.
  • Fantastic Rank System: Breen ranks include Thot (canonically established), Chot, and Ghoc. They're attached to the front of a Breen's short-hand name, so that the Breen Deshinar Tibbonel, for instance, is known as "Chot Nar".
  • Fictional Currency: Sakto.

The Bynars

Small, androgynous beings who appeared in one episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Their computer-dependent society is explored in greater detail in the novels, particuarly the Starfleet Corps of Engineers. Bynars are named both for their close relationship with computers and resulting tendency to think/communicate in binary, and their social structure: linked pairs forming a single Bynar unit.

  • Fantastic Slurs: "Singleton" is a terrible slur among the Bynars, signifying one who is unfit for bonding with another; a rejected person. To the Bynars, who (almost) always operate in pairs, this is the ultimate insult. Protagonist character "Solomon" is on the receiving end of such abuse due to his decision not to take another mate upon the death of his partner.
  • Pronoun Trouble: They use "this unit" in place of "I" or "we", neither of which quite work for them.
  • Turned Against Their Masters: The Bynars reverse the usual situation; they're a race of organic beings bio-engineered by machine intelligences, and who later rebelled against their robotic masters.

The Caeliar

Advanced and secretive aliens whose biology has been converted into nanotechnology. They appeared in Star Trek: Destiny, their history being tied to that of the Borg Collective.

  • Actual Pacifist: To the extent that they'd rather die than allow harm to come to others even through lack of action on their part. When the human characters they're holding captive rebel, they're convinced to co-operate when one of the humans shoots his own colleague.
  • All Powerful Bystander: They can resolve the Borg crisis in Star Trek: Destiny relatively easily. Convincing them to actually care about the outside galaxy, and confront their own stagnation as a people, is far harder.
  • Advanced Ancient Acropolis: Their capital city, Axion.
  • Crystal Spires and Togas
  • Dying Race: They lost the ability to reproduce when they advanced to their current form. They didn't think it would be a problem, until 98% of their people were lost in an Earthshattering Kaboom.
  • Hidden Elf Village: Their homeworld of Erigol is kept isolated from the rest of the galaxy, and anyone who stumbles across it is taken prisoner, never allowed to leave.
  • Hive Mind: A benign, low-level version called the Gestalt. They're all full individuals though.
  • Perfect Pacifist People: They see themselves as such.
  • Space Elves: Isolationist, peaceful, convinced of their own superiority and not afraid to express it, and dedicated to scientific and philosophical pursuits while ignoring the wider galaxy.
  • Stable Time Loop: Their history.
  • Sufficiently Advanced Aliens

The Caitians

A feline race introduced in Star Trek: The Animated Series, who in the novels have a tendency to leave and rejoin the Federation apparently on a whim.

The Chelons

One of several races to call the Rigel system home, the Chelons are based on the green "sabre-toothed turtle" Rigellians of Star Trek: The Motion Picture. The most notable Chelon character is Jetanien of Star Trek: Vanguard, a Federation diplomat.

The Children of the Storm

Introduced as a Sequel Hook in the Star Trek: Destiny trilogy, the Children starred in a follow-up novel from the Star Trek: Voyager Relaunch. They're a powerful non-corporeal race who defended their region of space against the Borg - one of the only races ever to do so.

The Damiani

Members of the United Federation of Planets, known for having three genders. Recurring character Ra'ch B'ullhy is a Damiani.

  • Bizarre Alien Biology: Three sexes.
  • Horned Humanoid: With the number of horns signifying sex. One horn on the forehead distinguishes males, three (one on the forehead and one on each temple) signifies a female, and two (the temple horns and no forehead horn) mark the third sex.
  • Monochromatic Eyes: Their eyes are solid silver/white.

The Deltans

Introduced in Star Trek: The Motion Picture, much is made in the novels of both their attitude to sexual intercourse (put simply: a normal and non-troubling part of interpersonal relations) and their emotional maturity.

  • Arch Enemy: The Carreon.
  • Bald Women: They’re all bald.
  • Emotions vs. Stoicism: Actually somewhat avoided. As part of the whole “emotionally mature” thing, they embrace their passions fully yet also demonstrate a calm and reserved demeanour much of the time.
    • Their conflict with the Carreon is partly this, though; Deltans are a flexible Ethical Slut culture, free with their emotions and desires (albeit also strongly disciplined), while Carreon are stoic and reserved, and rather intolerant of such openness. The Carreon also have a tendency to hypocritically show great interest in the Deltans' sexual nature while loudly condemning it.
  • Ethical Slut: Sexuality is an important part of their lives, and they have few emotional hang-ups over it. Always their love of sex is portrayed as a healthy aspect of a mature culture, not as something dirty.
  • Foil: The Star Trek: Titan book Sword of Damocles introduces the gloomily pessimistic Thymerae as a foil for the Deltans, represented in that novel by Peya Fell. The Carreon also serve this role to some extent.
  • Heroic Willpower
  • Interplay of Sex and Violence: The Deltan armed forces draw from those Deltans who have a...more combative...element to their sexuality. This being Deltans, it's usually well-controlled and healthy, but, put simply, the Deltan armed forces equate controlled force with sexuality. As a Deltan character says, if their rivals the Carreon insist on wanting conflict, who are the Deltans to deny it, particularly if some of their own can find a healthy outlet for their desires in the process?
  • Space Elves
  • Vestigial Empire: A willingly vestigial one. They turned inwards centuries ago and now control only a few star systems, considering space travel and colonization a “noble savage” sort of concept. They still get annoyed when the Carreon try to settle their old holdings, though.

The Eav'oq

A long-lost "sister species" to the Bajorans; non-humanoids living on the other side of the Bajoran wormhole, also guarded and guided by the Wormhole Aliens, who are known as "Siblings" in Eav'oq culture. The Eav'oq's rediscovery provoked a reinterpretation of the Bajoran faith.

  • Actual Pacifist: They certainly claim to be total pacifists, and so far their behaviour supports it. They refused to fight and kill even when faced with potential genocide at the hands of the Ascendants.
  • Hidden Elf Village: The Eav'oq city on Idran VIII, hidden within subspace to protect the Eav'oq survivors from the Ascendants' genocidal rampage.
  • Rule of Three: The number three appears to have considerable significance for the cultures involved with the Wormhole Aliens; the Eav'oq, the Bajorans, and the Ascendants (who themselves make three, obviously). Connected to this, we have the trio of the Voice, the Hand and the Fire. Further, there are nine orbs (three times three), and nine Emissaries. The Wormhole Aliens certainly like the number three, though for what reason (other than this trope, of course) is as yet unclear.
  • You Can't Fight Fate: They seem destined to face the Ascendants. It will no doubt be revealed as part of a greater plan, because it's notable that after having hidden in subspace to prevent their total extinction at Ascendant hands, they come out of hiding just as the Ascendants are preparing to come back.

The Efrosians

The species to which the Federation President in The Undiscovered Country belonged. Members of the United Federation of Planets, from an ice-covered world.

  • Disappeared Dad: They're raised by mothers alone, and most never know their father. Efrosians aren't monogomous, and women take many lovers who often help with the children. The "seed-donor" (their closest term to father) is rarely among these later partners, though.
  • Ethical Slut: In Efrosian culture, respectful sexual contact between work colleagues (or anyone you find attractive) is perfectly acceptable, indeed celebrated.
  • Heaven: Their version is named "Endless Sky".
  • Starfish Language: Their spoken language is actually based on music; they can also communicate complex schematics and diagrams through song.

The Elabrej

A race new to spaceflight who made the mistake of antagonizing the Klingons. They were defeated, with the Klingons unsure if they even wanted to bother annexing the Elabrej homeworld.

  • Asshole Victim: The Klingons are in their region of space on a mission of general conquest; Klingon Captain Klag and his crew are nonetheless the protagonists of the Star Trek: Klingon Empire novels. The Elabrej government is oppressive and they're close to societal collapse anyway, with their general Crapsack World status making it easier to get behind the Klingon attempts to stomp all over them.
  • Bizarre Alien Biology: That said, in the scenes from their point of view they evaluate the humanoid Klingons along these terms. The Elabrej oligarchs are shocked to hear that Klingons can only see what is in front of them (or to the immediate side), due to having only two small organs on the front with which to experience vision.
  • Extra Eyes: The Elabrej apparently have eyes, or equivalent, all over.
  • Fantastic Caste System: They have a vertically stratified caste system. There are also the lowly non-strata beneath everyone else. Only the very highest caste, the Vor, are traditionally permitted on the government council, though in recent times the next caste down has claimed a few seats. There's also a growing revolutionary movement.
  • Starfish Aliens

The Gnalish

Grumpy lizard people, who have been a part of the Federation for many decades and show up periodically all over the place. Only one is a major character, though; Phigus Simenon of Star Trek: Stargazer

The Gorn

In the novels, the reptilian Gorn become a member of the Typhon Pact. Territorial and wary, they're probably one of the Pact's moderate members, but their various castes often have different outlooks and agendas.

The Huanni

A hyper-emotional race who embrace their passions to the full. Unlike the Proud Warrior Race Klingons or Byronic Hero Andorians, Huanni are pacifists. They have a darker side, though; deliberately hiding their history as slavers and the oppression of their sister-species Falorians.

  • Dark Secret
  • Elves Versus Dwarves: They're willowy and ethereal, while Falorians are stockier and more industrial.
  • Emotions vs. Stoicism: The Huanni celebrate and embrace emotion to the full. Their offshoot race, Falorians, are in contrast stoic and controlled (and take pride in this).
  • Expressive Ears: They can learn to keep them under control, but usually the ears change position in response to emotional shifts.

The Indign

A collection of races native to the Delta Quadrant. They live alongside Borg space, though the Borg rejected them as unworthy of assimilation. Their religion is based around reverance for the Collective, and they seek to immitate the Borg by achieving full interdependence. One day, they hope, they will finally prove worthy of being assimilated.

  • Biological Mashup: The Indign consist of six races literally joined together.
  • Bizarre Alien Biology: Definitely; they're a collective race consisting of six species integrated together symbiotically. Only one of the six is humanoid.
  • Blue and Orange Morality: They're quite reasonable and not overtly hostile, aside from their religious beliefs, which involve the Borg Collective as a model of divinity. The Indign capture spacefarers and "sacrifice" them to the Borg -- condemning them to A Fate Worse Than Death -- but they actually mean well.
  • God Is Dead: In the aftermath of Star Trek: Destiny, the Indign are dealing with this; the Borg Collective is no more.
  • Starfish Aliens: The Greech, and many other components of the race.

The Kinshaya

Their name and several other details taken in homage from earlier Star Trek works, the Kinshaya of the modern continuity are a race in near-continuous war with the Klingons. Their nation, the Holy Order, is a member of the newly formed Typhon Pact.

The Kurlans

The "Blugill" parasites from Star Trek: The Next Generation season one make a reapperance in the modern novel continuity, and are revealed to be Kurlans (an ancient race previously known only by name and a few snippets of culture). They're involved in a feud against the Trill.

The Manraloth

An incredibly advanced, immortal race who once controlled the entire galaxy, during a long-past "golden age." Master manipulators, the Manraloth united the entire Milky Way in peace, using their talents to prevent conflict and bring people together. Their civilization collapsed when an experiment in breaching the boundaries between the mortal realm and the "higher" dimensions went horribly wrong.

  • Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence: Everyone in the galaxy did this simultaneously a quarter of a billion years ago, the result of that Manraloth experiment gone wrong. Trying to unite the multiverse as they had the galaxy, the Manraloth and their allies attempted to tap into the higher dimensional planes with their minds. The resulting surge of energy proved too powerful, overloading the telepathic centres of every Manraloth and transmitting it to any other brain capable of receiving it. The entire galactic population was forced into a state of pure energy, long before most races were ready.
  • Blue and Orange Morality: The Manraloth's methods of bringing about peace and unity conflict with those of the Federation, and they are very, very sneaky and manipulative. Always, though, their intentions are good and noble.
  • Everybody's Dead, Dave: Something modern-day revived Manraloth have to deal with.
  • Everything's Better with Sparkles: One of many artificial changes to their appearance bred into Manraloth biology.
  • For Your Own Good: Anything the Manraloth do, ever.
  • Immortal Procreation Clause: Being immortal, Manraloth rarely need to reproduce; when they do, they can alter their own physiology to bring their body back into breeding mode, although it takes some time to completely undergo the changes.
  • Omniglot: They engineered themselves that way.
  • Overly Long Name: As an example, Giriaenn Lilaeannin eb Vairan Gela-syr.
  • Teenage Wasteland: The Manraloth see the modern galaxy as this. The races of today have grown up without the oversight of the Manraloth and their galaxy-spanning alliance, and are frequently at war. These unruly, rather brutal child races require Manraloth guidance to mature healthily. Or so the revived Manraloth believe.

The Nasat

Members of the Federation; cautious, conservative beings resembling giant pillbugs.

The Neyel

Descended from a human colony lost in deep space, the Neyel are genetically-enhanced humans who altered their genome to better survive in their new environment.

  • Batman Can Breathe in Space: For a brief period; Neyel have engineered themselves to survive vacuum for a time.
  • Dark and Troubled Past: Their racial history is one long traumatic struggle for survival, later transformed into a violent imperialism.
  • Evil Counterpart: A mild case; Neyel are to humans what Romulans are to Vulcans; an imperialist, xenophobic offshoot.
  • Fantastic Racism: Towards Tholians, whom they consider non-sapient "Devils."
  • Fantastic Rank System: "Drech'tor" is the equivalent of captain and "Subdrech'tor" is the equivalent of commander; these have obviously evolved from the titles "director" and "sub-director". There's also "subaltern", an archaic British term for any commissioned rank below captain.
  • Lost Colony
  • Prehensile Tail

Pacifican "Selkies"

Called Selkies due to their two-stage lifestyle (human-compatable air-breather moving to fully aquatic), this race is from the ocean planet Pacifica.

  • Ethical Slut: The race exists in two life phases - an amphibious youthful/breeder stage and an aquatic form later on. The aquatic form is an Ethical Slut culture, but those in the amphibian stage are supposed to dedicate themselves to family life and avoid such behaviour.
  • Ironic Name: Sort of. The term "selkie" brings to mind a being who, despite an aquatic nature, forms relationships with humans on land before later returning to the sea. This is indeed how visiting humans relate to Pacifica's natives (Starfleet officers on shore leave particularly); however, in Pacifican culture it's the late-stage aquatic form that's supposed to be sexually available. The younger air-breather stage is the one that's supposed to distance itself from potential sexual partners in order to focus on raising children. "Selkie" is a name that obscures and contradicts the reality...or the reality of the Pacificans themselves, if not the human visitors' perceptions.
  • Underwater City: Their capital.

The Pahkwa-thanh

A recent member of the Federation, the Pahkwa-thanh are a cross between a komodo dragon and a Dromaeosaur. They're known for being very, very polite...and very carnivorous. Dr. Ree in Star Trek: Titan is a Pahkwa-thanh.

  • Blue and Orange Morality
  • Everything's Better with Dinosaurs
  • I'm a Humanitarian: They believe their prey animals are sapient, and would eat a human if it thought it were prey. However, humans and most other races believe themselves separate from nature, so to actually attack them would be rude. Pahkwa-thanh are never rude.
  • Jabba Table Manners: Being predators, their metabolism requires they "play" with their food before eating it. Thus, the mess they make of eating isn't to portray them as abhorrent but simply as alien.

The Seleneans

Members of the United Federation of Planets; a stoic race bred in various "batches" for different tasks.

  • A Form You Are Comfortable With: In their natural state, they are only semi-Humanoid at best, and rather ferocious-looking. The Selenean Pod Mothers, who have great control over their offspring's genetics, have bred certain broods designed specifically for off-world contact. These individuals, Y'Lira Modan of Star Trek: Titan among them, take a form more pleasing to humanoid eyes, but retain the ability to shift into their natural state if need be.
  • Monochromatic Eyes: All Seleneans have solid green eyes.
  • Oh My Gods: "Spines of the Mothers!"
  • Will Not Tell a Lie: Not for moral reasons but because their usual form of communication makes it pointless.

The Shedai

An advanced race who once controlled a vast empire in the Taurus Reach region. They were roused from hibernation in Star Trek: Vanguard, when the Federation stumbled across their technological relics. Finding younger races meddling on their worlds, the re-awakened Shedai lashed out in vengeance.

The Tellarites

The pig-like aliens from the TV shows are defined in the novels by their pride and their unusual sense of manners. It was established onscreen that they argue and bluster for the sake of it, and the novels expand on their morality to show them finding delight in clever and witty opponents. It's less Jerk with a Heart of Gold, and more like a system whereby having a heart of gold is demonstrated through being jerkish.

The Thallonians

Introduced in Star Trek: New Frontier, which mostly takes place in their former territory, the Thallonians later show up for cameos in other novels. Many are refugees, following the collapse of the once-powerful and isolationist Thallonian Empire.

  • Balkanize Me: The struggle to hold the worlds of Thallonian space together in the aftermath of the Thallonian Empire's collapse drives much of Star Trek: New Frontier. Without the iron fist of the Thallonians imposing peace, the many worlds of the region revert into old hostilities, and countless little wars flare up. Eventually, protagonist Thallonian Si Cwan and his allies succeed in establishing a New Thallonian Protectorate, uniting most of these worlds into one nation. Then the Protectorate ends up having a civil war...
  • Deadly Decadent Court
  • The Extremist Was Right: The Thallonians brought peace to the warring races of their sector by conquering them all, forcing squabbling factions to settle on different planets, and generally ruling with an iron fist. They were a harsh and often brutal empire...but they did keep the peace. With the empire gone, Si Cwan rightly fears all the old conflicts will start up again.
  • Proud Warrior Race
  • Royals Who Actually Do Something: Once the revolution and subsequent collapse of the empire puts an end to the Deadly Decadent Court, anyway.
  • You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Some of them. Many, like Si Cwan, shave their hair. Also, a Thallonian's hair yellows as he ages.

The Tholians

From their relatively few appearances on-screen, the Tholians have become a major part of the novel continuity. Their racial Backstory is essential to the plot of Star Trek: Vanguard, and they are now part of the Typhon Pact.

  • Absurdly Sharp Blade: A particular weapon established in Star Trek: The Lost Era, later appearing in Star Trek: Vanguard.
  • Arch Enemy: Of late, they seem to be this to the Federation.
  • Bizarre Alien Biology
  • Fantastic Caste System
  • Genetic Memory: Encoded in their crystalline molecules is every memory of their people, dating back to the first moment of sapience. Many are buried deep, of course, not generally available to a given individual unless they're brought to the fore by powerful emotional or psychic triggers. Due to the short lifespan of members of many Tholian castes, memories and experience are often "uploaded" to the next generation from the pool of ancestral memories. This is one reason why Tholians hold grudges for an uncomfortably long time - the memories are fresh in their minds for generations.
  • Hive Mind: While they're all individuals (and indeed have just as many dreamers, dissenters, seditionists and individualists as any other Trek culture), Tholians have a version of this on the instinctive level. The Tholian lattice connects their minds, distributing basic race-knowledge to all and allowing individuals to commune with one another. The lattice is regulated carefully, with different castes having different degrees of access. On occasion, it can indeed cause the entirety of the Tholian race to share an experience, as was the case with the telepathic assaults of the Shedai.
  • Sins of Our Fathers: Several generations after the disaster that was Project Vanguard, many Tholians still hold a grudge against the Federation.
  • Starfish Aliens: Tholians are six-legged, crystalline beings who can live comfortably in a 300-degree Centigrade environment.
  • Uplifted Animal: They gained their sapience artificially, after being used as living batteries to boost Shedai communications.

The Trill

The Trill were explored in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, which established that their society was partially built on a lie - that far more Trill humanoids are capable of joining with the long-lived Trill symbionts than is commonly believed. The novels explore the political conspiracies and cover-ups of Trill society in further detail. Eventually, they're gripped by civil unrest, and a diplomatic crisis unfolds concerning Trill's relationship with the rest of the Federation in general and Bajor in particular.

  • Depopulation Bomb: The Trill homeworld is eventually hit by a series of pulses harmless to the vast majority, but deadly to Joined Trills, who form a priviliged minority. Many of the Joined are killed, with the average citizen completely unaffected.
  • Empire with a Dark Secret: Trill is a Federal Republic with a Dark Secret. The generational conspiracy among the Trill government is revealed to be more extensive than merely lying about the number of Trills suitable for Joining. It also involves a cover-up of a shameful time in the Trill's history, records of which were destroyed.
  • Government Conspiracy: Trill has so many that eventually they can't suppress all the secrets anymore, there's a general uprising, much political embarrassment and almost a conflict with Bajor as a result.
  • Hypocrite: The Trill culture is based on respect for knowledge and memory; their society is built on a generational conspiracy and cover-up.
  • Occupiers Out of Our Country!: Unjoined political groups come to see the symbionts as a manipulative race of overlords controlling Trill society; after all, the Joined hold all the positions of overt political authority, and as far as some unjoined are now concerned, the humanoid Joined are puppets of the symbionts.
  • Really 700 Years Old: The Trill symbionts were already established as a long-lived race, but the novels expand on their life-cycle considerably. The Annuated of the symbionts, their eldest egg-layers, are thousands of years old. Even the relatively young Caretaker symbionts like Memh are over six thousand. Dax, at slightly over 300, is essentially still a baby. When Memh and Dax meet, Dax is surprised to learn that six thousand-year old memories she accessed from the Annuated feature the same symbiont she's currently communicating with.

The Tzenkethi

A reclusive race whose government joined the Typhon Pact. They're morally opposed to the Federation's democratic ideals.

  • A Day in the Limelight: The Star Trek: Typhon Pact novel Rough Beasts of Empire, though they later play important roles in other books of that series.
  • Artificial Gravity: They manipulate gravity on a local scale so they can use every surface of a room for work or recreation. They consider using only the floor to be a foolish waste of available space. Also, they're psychologically uncomfortable with open spaces and prefer the sense of enclosement that comes from having workstations on every wall, floor and ceiling. The effects are shown in the Terok Nor and Star Trek: Typhon Pact series.
  • Democracy Is Bad: This trope defines their cultural worldview, and determines Tzenkethi hostility to the United Federation of Planets. They believe democracy is a destructive ideology that must be opposed, and relate to it in a way similar to how the West viewed communism.
  • Fantastic Caste System: They're divided into echelons determined through universal tests and genetics, with the individual best suited for a position being placed there. They object to outsiders calling it a "caste system," though.
  • Light Is Not Good: They are considered stunningly beautiful by other races, and literally glow with soothing light. They're often extremely manipulative, though.
  • Manipulative Bastard: Their role in the Typhon Pact.

The Xenexians

A tough, often warlike race from the backwater desert world, Xenex. The most famous Xenexian is M’k’n’zy of Calhoun, AKA Mackenzie Calhoun of the Excalibur. He’s The Captain of the Star Trek: New Frontier series.

  • Fantasy Pantheon
  • Human Aliens: Xenexians are almost indistinguishable from humans, aside from having additional eye colours such as Calhoun's purple.
  • Martyrdom Culture
  • Warrior Heaven: The Xenexian afterlife of Kaz'hera is a single battle, repeated ad infinitum, basically analogous to Sto'vo'kor, Klingon heaven. In Kaz'hera, there are no regrets, no grudges, no responsibilities; only endless mayhem and the ability to fight and die over and over. Calhoun apparently believes in it; his human wife does not.

The Zakdorn

Although not explored in any detail, these fussy and dour aliens are portrayed as commonly involved in the Federation beaurocracy, building on their characterization from Star Trek: The Next Generation, which showed them to be both meticulous record keepers and master tacticians. The most notable Zakdorn character was Koll Azernal, the immoral Chief of Staff to the Zife Administration, but they show up in minor positions (usually beaurocratic ones) in many novels.

  • Proud Scholar Race and Proud Warrior Race: An interesting example; the latter is an extension of the former. They're masterful armchair tacticians, though they're untested in actual conflict because their reputation for analytical brilliance means others are wary of attacking them (or, for races like the Klingons, unimpressed and not considering it worth the time to engage them).
  • With Friends Like These...: Allies of humans, although the human characters who have to spend time with them (like Quinn and Pennington in Star Trek: Vanguard) grimace at the thought. Zakdorn have a reputation for being difficult, complaining often.

The Zaldans

A race whose culture considers any form of deception immoral, including polite lies.

  • A Day in the Limelight: The novel A Singular Destiny is their most notable apperance, and the first to explore their culture and history to any degree.
  • Blue and Orange Morality
  • Jerkass: Zaldans are practically required to be one by their culture (at least to human eyes). From their viewpoint, of course, other races are rude for engaging in falsehood.
  • Will Not Tell a Lie: They find falsehood of any kind disgusting.
  • With Friends Like These...: Zalda's relationship to the rest of the Federation. No one really likes the Zaldans due to their prickly and extremist social norms. They play an important role within the Federation, though, facilitating trade with the Klingon Empire.
  • Wrongly Accused: In A Singular Destiny, evidence suggests that planet Zalda is refusing refugees; this isn't true, but the faked records are convincing enough. Their representative is outraged at the very idea of being Wrongly Accused, of being lied to and made to look like a liar, and storms off rather than defending himself. Eventually, it's revealed the faked records are part of a plot to destabilize the Federation.
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