Crisis on Centaurus
Encyclopedia
Crisis on Centaurus is a Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...

novel written by Brad Ferguson
Brad Ferguson
Brad Ferguson , is an American science fiction writer. Before becoming a freelance writer he worked as a writer, editor and producer for CBS Radio News in New York...

.

Plot

On the peaceful planet of Centaurus, the capital has been hit by a terrorist anti-matter bomb. Millions are dead, and the Defense Computer has gone in planetary defense mode, preventing any civilian rescue ship from approaching the planet. The USS Enterprise
Starship Enterprise
The Enterprise or USS Enterprise is the name of several fictional starships, some of which are the focal point for various television series and films in the Star Trek franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. It is considered a name of legacy in the fleet...

 has been sent to give what relief they can, but they are in need of help themselves as the ship is falling apart around them due to an unexplainable massive computer malfunction, and the transport is made inoperable by the antimatter's residual tachyon radiation.

The tragedy has a personal touch, as Doctor McCoy's daughter Joanna is among the missing. Captain Kirk soon is captured by the terrorists, leaving Commander Spock in charge. While the enraged surviving Centaurus government members want to capture the terrorists at all costs, Kirk learns that three more antimatter bombs are armed somewhere on the planet, and is forced to take refuge in the one place he cherishes most - the little cabin he had built in Garrovick Valley, on the river Farragut.

On seeing the names 'Garrovick' and 'Farragut' on a map, Commander Spock correctly surmises the position of Kirk's buen retiro, and a scan from orbit reveals an army of government hovercars flitting around the cabin. By leveraging the Enterprise's crippled warp drive's controls, engineer Montgomery Scott and his second-in-command succeed in enabling the Enterprise to enter a planetary atmosphere. The government hit squad's weapons are no match for a starship's phasers set on stun; the captured terrorists are taken in custody, but the secret of cheap antimatter synthesis is lost: its creator was the suicide bomber who set the first weapon off.

In the epilogue, Spock traces the computer malfunction to a quantum black hole accidentally forming, against all odds, within the Enterprise in warp, drilling a hole straight through a good part of the computer memory banks.

External links

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