STAR TREK: The Next Generation
Starfleet Academy #3:
"Survival"

written by Peter David.
Illustrated by James Fry
Published in December 1993 by Minstrel Books.
ISBN: 0-671-87086-6, 111 pages
cover by Catherine Huerta

Synopsis:
The book picks up where #2 left off, the five Academy cadets, Worf, Soleta, Mark McHenry, Tania Tobias and Zak Kebron and four Klingon cadets, K'Ehleyr, Gowr and two others, are stranded on the wrecked colony on the planet Dantar IV were still awaiting rescue. The days marched on with no rescue, tempers between the two groups flared. Soleta reconnoitered and discovered the crashed hostile ship that had attacked the colony and was shot down. She investigated within the wreck and ran into the pilot who was a Brikarian. She and the Brikar fought and she emerged victorious. While looking for Soleta, Worf and K'Ehleyr talk, and they learn that they both had difficult times growing up. They meet up with Soleta who is carrying the unconscious pilot. They help her back to camp. They bind him and when he awakens he refuses to talk. Soleta does a mind meld on him and they learn that before Dantar IV was c colonized by the Federation and the Klingon Empire. the Brikar had located a hidden underground weapons base there. The base was to have been used to conduct guerilla operations against the Federation. The Academy and Klingon teams decide to the use the communications system in the base to summon help. While the most of the team investigated the base, Baan escaped and tried to drown them all by flooding the underground chambers. The two teams manage to avert death, recapture Baan and send a distress call to Starfleet. A ship came and picked them all up, with the Klingons transferring to one of their ships later. K'Ehleyr stated that she liked diplomacy and might pursue it.

Notes:

• This book wrapped up the story begun in Academy #2.

• As with Academy #1 and #2, this book was targeted at young adults, but was very well written and can be enjoyed by all ages.

• This book's handling of K'Ehleyr is somewhat at odds with how K'Ehleyr was depicted in the STAR TREK: The Next Generation episodes "The Emissary" and "Reunion." In those episodes, K'Ehleyr clearly preferred her human side and disdained her Klingon attributes, much as B'Elanna Torres later would in STAR TREK: Voyager. In this book, however, K'Ehleyr tried to be act fully Klingon and was ashamed of her human side. It is, of course, possible to reconcile this perceived disparity by proposing that after some time, or a particular incident, she changed her personality 180 degrees. But this seems unlikely since she was very adamant about her views both in the book and in the episodes.

• In this book we learn that the Brikar and Federation had a minor war in 2358, and that the Brikar were trounced handily.