by Ted Pedersen
COUNTDOWN TO CATASTROPHE!
Commander Sisko has made Jake an offer he can’t refuse—the chance to attend Starfleet Academy Summer Space Camp on Rijar, once home to an ancient civilization, now an archaeologist’s dream. Jake is looking forward to the adventure and maybe finding something in the ruins to write a story about. But from the day they arrive it’s a disaster!
The best friends are on their way to becoming worst enemies—until an accident triggers the countdown of a megabomb that threatens the entire planet! Jake and Nog lead an expedition into the catacombs under the base in a desperate race against time. Their only hope is a terrifying voyage into cyberspace to gain control of the ticking bomb that is about to explode….
Cover art by Alan Gutierrez
Interior Illustrations by Todd Cameron Hamilton
“It’s...coming!”
But what was coming? Jake could see nothing, but then he felt it. The tunnel started to shake. Earthquake!
“Quake!” Professor Kala confirmed. “Take cover!”
There wasn’t a lot of shelter in the tunnels, but Jake managed to squirm under an overhanging ledge next to Nog, both hoping the ledge would not collapse on top of them. It was only seconds, but it seemed like eons. Jake and Nog huddled together and rode out the planetary upheaval.
Then, when the worst seemed to be over: “Jake!”
Jake suddenly felt himself falling backward into empty space….
Star Trek: The Next Generation
STARFLEET ACADEMY
#1 Worf’s First Adventure
#2 Line of Fire
#3 Survival
#4 Capture the Flag
#5 Atlantis Station
#6 Mystery of the Missing Crew
#7 Secret of the Lizard People
#8 Starfall
#9 Nova Command
#10 Loyalties
#11 Crossfire
#12 Breakaway
Star Trek:
STARFLEET ACADEMY
#1 Crisis on Vulcan
#2 Aftershock
#3 Cadet Kirk
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
#1 The Star Ghost
#2 Stowaways
#3 Prisoners of Peace
#4 The Pet
#5 Arcade
#6 Field Trip
#7 Gypsy World
#8 Highest Score
#9 Cardassian Imps
#10 Space Camp
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
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A Minstrel Book published by
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For Ken and Bev,
with love
STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE
Cast of Characters
JAKE SISKO—Jake is a young teenager and the only human boy permanently on board Deep Space Nine. Jake’s mother died when he was very young. He came to the space station with his father but found very few kids his own age. He doesn’t remember life on Earth, but he loves baseball and candy bars, and he hates homework. His father doesn’t approve of his friendship with Nog.
NOG—He is a Ferengi boy whose primary goal in life—like all Ferengi—is to make money. His father, Rom, is frequently away on business, which is fine with Nog. His uncle, Quark, keeps an eye on him. Nog thinks humans are odd with their notions of trust and favors and friendship. He doesn’t always understand Jake, but since his father forbids him to hang out with the human boy, Nog and Jake are best friends. Nog loves to play tricks on people, but he tries to avoid Odo whenever possible.
COMMANDER BENJAMIN SISKO—Jake’s father has been appointed by Starfleet Command to oversee the operations of the space station and act as a liaison between the Federation and Bajor. His wife was killed in a Borg attack, and he is raising Jake by himself. He is a very busy man who always tries to make time for his son.
ODO—The security officer was found by Bajoran scientists years ago, but Odo has no idea where he originally came from. He is a shape-shifter, and thus can assume any shape for a period of time. He normally maintains a vaguely human appearance but every sixteen hours he must revert to his natural liquid state. He has no patience for lawbreakers and less for Ferengi.
MAJOR KIRA NERYS—Kira was a freedom fighter in the Bajoran underground during the Cardassian occupation of Bajor. She now represents Bajoran interests aboard the station and is Sisko’s first officer. Her temper is legendary.
LIEUTENANT JADZIA DAX—An old friend of Commander Sisko’s, the science officer Dax is actually two joined entities known as the Trill. There is a separate consciousness—a symbiont—in the young female host’s body. Sisko knew the symbiont Dax in a previous host, which was a “he.”
DR. JULIAN BASHIR—Eager for adventure, Doctor Bashir graduated at the top of his class and requested a deep-space posting. His enthusiasm sometimes gets him into trouble.
MILES O’BRIEN—Formerly the Transporter Chief aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise, O’Brien is now Chief of Operations on Deep Space Nine.
KEIKO O’BRIEN—Keiko was a botanist on the Enterprise, but she moved to the station with her husband and her young daughter, Molly. Since there is little use for her botany skills on the station, she is the teacher for all of the permanent and traveling students.
QUARK—Nog’s uncle and a Ferengi businessman by trade, Quark runs his own combination restaurant/casino/holosuite venue on the Promenade, the central meeting place for much of the activity on the station. Quark has his hand in every deal on board and usually manages to stay just one step ahead of the law—usually in the shape of Odo.
Historian’s note: The events of this series take place during the first and second seasons of the Deep Space Nine television show.
CHAPTER 1
No, Jake! Absolutely not!”
“Come on, Nog. It’ll be fun.”
Nog leaned forward and his large Ferengi ears seemed to flap. For a moment Jake recalled that old tale about the little elephant with the huge ears, who kept tripping over them. “Fun? Dressing up and playing stupid Starfleet games. You call that fun?”
Jake thought about it
as the two friends sat in their favorite corner of the balcony overlooking the Promenade. The prospect of spending his summer at the Starfleet Junior Academy on Rijar was not exactly his idea of fun either. “But I promised my father,” Jake replied finally. “He’s already enrolled me.”
“Without asking you?”
“Well, he kind of did … I just didn’t know that was what he was hinting at.”
“Ah, deception. That, at least, is admirable,” Nog said approvingly. “He tricked you into going.”
Jake was going to argue that it was his decision, but thinking about it, he realized the main reason he was attending Space Camp was to please his father.
Commander Benjamin Sisko was in charge of Deep Space Nine, the former Cardassian space station that guarded the entrance to the Bajoran wormhole, gateway to the uncharted Gamma Quadrant. It was an important post that the elder Sisko had worked hard to achieve. And he made it obvious to everyone that he hoped his son would follow in his footsteps and choose to become a Starfleet officer.
While the idea appealed to Jake, he still harbored a certain lack of enthusiasm that made him wonder if Starfleet was really what he wanted to do with his life. This summer at Space Camp would provide an opportunity to explore the possibility without actually having to commit to it. But Jake did not want to go without his best friend.
“Nog, you have to say yes. I don’t want to go away for the summer without you.”
“Then stay here on the station. We can take that camping trip down to Bajor like we planned.”
“You hate camping,” Jake said. “The only reason you want to go is that Major Kira told us about the ancient artifacts we might find in the area.”
“Making a profit while having fun is the best way to spend your vacation.”
“Is that another one of your Ferengi Rules of Acquisition?”
“No. I just made it up,” Nog said, adding, “but it should be.”
“If you stay here by yourself, you won’t get to go to Bajor. And, with no school, your uncle, Quark, will have you working overtime in his place.”
Jake noticed Nog’s ears quivering as he thought about it. He had struck a nerve, or at least an earlobe. Nog was silent for a long time. Then, finally, he came to a decision: “Okay. I’ll go.”
Convincing Benjamin Sisko to nominate Nog to Space Camp proved more difficult. Jake knew his father had probably used Federation favors to get him admitted, and would be reluctant to do it again—especially for a Ferengi who probably couldn’t care less about ever joining Starfleet.
“The Academy is no place for a Ferengi,” Sisko said in response to Jake’s suggestion.
“It’s not the Academy we’re talking about,” Jake argued. “This is only Space Camp. It’s like a vacation.”
“Not as I recall it.” Jake could tell from his father’s glazed-over look that he was recalling his own summer at an Academy Space Camp. Jake never understood why adults always held such fond memories of past events that they probably hated at the time. It’s one of the mysteries of getting older, he decided.
“If you want me to go,” Jake said finally, “then you have to send Nog. I won’t go alone.”
“Is that an ultimatum?” Commander Sisko, like any Starfleet Commander, did not react well to confrontations.
“That’s not what I meant,” Jake added quickly. “It’s just that I—”
His father raised his hand to cut off Jake’s speech. “I know what you meant.”
Jake grimaced, expecting another father-to-son lecture. But instead he was surprised. “You and Nog are best friends, and this school vacation is your time together. You may find this a bit difficult to believe, but I was a teenager once myself. And I think I know how you feel.” There was a long pause, and then: “Okay, Jake, I’ll nominate Nog to Space Camp.”
Jake beamed. “Thank you.”
“No promises. I’m not going to pull strings, but I will recommend him. We’ll leave the decision up to Starfleet.”
For the next few days Jake worried that Starfleet would turn down the request. After all, there were only so many spaces available at Space Camp and Nog was not exactly prime officer material. And if Nog was rejected, then Jake felt he had put himself in the position of having to go on his own.
But Jake learned his concerns were unfounded when his father called him up to his office in Operations.
“This just came in,” Commander Sisko said as he handed Jake a message from Starfleet Headquarters.
Jake quickly read through the message and let out a sigh of relief. “Nog’s application was approved.”
“Surprisingly, Starfleet almost seems eager to have a Ferengi participating in Space Camp.”
Jake thought about it and realized it was not really that surprising. While the Ferengi were not great space warriors in the class of the Klingons, or even the Cardassians, they were a race that relied on wit and cunning (plus an ample dose of deception) and to have a Ferengi in Starfleet might actually prove beneficial.
Whatever Starfleet’s reasons, Jake was just happy that Nog had been approved. Excited, he rode the turbolift down to the Promenade to break the good news to Nog.
“Just because I’m attending their silly Space Camp doesn’t mean I’d ever consider dressing up in a Starfleet uniform for real,” Nog said when Jake told him the news over Java Cones at Quark’s.
“Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it,” Jake replied. “You might even like it.”
“No chance,” Nog said as he slurped the sweet honeylike nectar coating off his cone. He threw a cautious glance over his shoulder at Quark, who was totaling up the morning’s profits. It was early afternoon and business was slow. “I’d better tell Uncle Quark.”
“Shouldn’t you tell your father first?”
Nog shook his ears. “No. He won’t care. If I want to go, then he’ll accept it. He’s my father. But my uncle’s another matter. He’ll probably consider this an affront to Ferengi tradition.”
When Nog had finished his cone, he got up and slowly walked over to face Quark. Jake accompanied him for moral support, certain that Quark would do his best to talk Nog out of going.
But Quark’s reaction turned out to be the exact opposite of what Jake had anticipated.
“I’m delighted.” Quark grinned broadly as he clapped a hand on Nog’s shoulder after Nog had blurted out his intentions.
“You are?”
“Of course I am. To be invited to Space Camp is a real honor.”
“You don’t mind that I’m going?” Nog asked, still in obvious shock.
“Why would I be? A Ferengi’s presence is just what Starfleet needs to shake them up a bit.” Quark poured three large Solarian shakes and set them on the bar. “Commander Sisko already informed me that Nog had been accepted.”
Jake wasn’t surprised at that. His father would have expected Quark to pop his ears over the prospect and probably wanted to smooth Nog’s path. But that didn’t appear to have been necessary.
“By the way,” Quark told Nog, “before you leave, stop by my quarters. I have a little going-away present for you.”
And then the three toasted the coming summer adventure over Solarian shakes. This was going to be exciting, Jake thought—not yet realizing just how exciting.
CHAPTER 2
Six days later, like a sleek silver arrow, a station runabout sped away from Deep Space Nine and, the Bajoran star system. Silently it streaked through the dark interstellar night en route to Rijar.
Chief Engineer O’Brien was piloting. Jake and Nog were the only passengers.
“You’re going to have a great time,” O’Brien told the boys.
“That’s what my dad keeps telling me,” Jake replied.
Nog remained silent and from the look on his face. Jake wondered if his Ferengi friend wasn’t already regretting his decision to come. And they hadn’t even arrived.
“I’m surprised Commander Sisko didn’t want to fly you to Rijar personally,” O’Brien
said.
“Professor Kala is in charge of Space Camp. He was my father’s teacher when he was at the Academy. I think he wanted to make sure I didn’t get special favors.”
“From the stories I’ve heard about Kala you don’t have to worry about that,” O’Brien replied. “He’s a strictly by-the-book man.”
“Unfortunate,” Nog mumbled. “I could have used a few extra favors.”
“Come on, Nog,” Jake said. “It’s not going to be so bad.”
“You were saying,” Nog whispered to Jake. “About it not being so bad.”
“Quiet in ranks,” a loud voice boomed. The Senior Cadet, who had introduced himself as Wingate (he hadn’t bothered to give his first name), glared at Nog. This was not exactly the reception Jake had anticipated.
There were eight of them standing under the sweltering Rijarian sun. They had been assigned to one of four cadet-novice teams. There were thirty-two “campers” in all, making up a diverse collection of races. They were all teenagers, though that fact wasn’t apparent from the look of some of the alien types. Twhat, the squat boy from Algeron, had skin that reminded Jake of rusted iron and a physique that was more rhinoceros than human. Fortunately he had a gentle disposition.
But even if Twhat hadn’t, Wingate, who was a stocky Terran only a few years older than the rest of them, would not have been intimidated. Nothing would intimidate him, Jake thought as he marveled at the force of will Wingate exercised over the group. He was a second-year Academy cadet—a real cadet—but he acted almost like a Starfleet officer. There was a quiet strength about him, much like his father’s, that Jake admired and hoped to emulate. Maybe Jake was Starfleet material in spite of his doubts.
“Stargazing again, Mr. Sisko?” Jake snapped out of his thoughts and found himself looking into Wingate’s steel gray eyes.
“Ah, no … yes, sir. I was.”
“I appreciate your honesty,” Wingate replied. “But I’d rather have your attention.”
