"Once Burned"

written by Peter David.
Published in September 1998 by Pocket Books.
ISBN: 0-671-02078-1, 262 pages
cover image by by Dru Blair

Synopsis:
Half a decade before he would captain the U.S.S. Excalibur, Mackenzie Calhoun was a newly-promoted commander and was assigned as the Executive Officer of the Excelsior-class U.S.S. Grissom. A few short months after he reported aboard, the Grissom embarked on a fateful mission. The Grissom's captain went into a dangerous situation that ended in tragedy. Executive Officer Calhoun had feared the worse beforehand, but was incapable of preventing the disaster.

After the incident, which would later be called the Grissom Disaster, Calhoun was brought up on charges and a court-martial was held. He was exonerated, but the whole situation prompted Calhoun to part company with Starfleet.

But what exactly happened in the Grissom Disaster? And what was Calhoun's involvement in it? That is the story that is told in Captain's Table: Once Burned.