Rise of the Federation: A Choice of Futures.

The premature cancellation of Enterprise left fans in the dark about two key events in Star Trek history. The first was the Romulan War, which has since had light shone upon it by Michael A. Martin. The second is the founding of the Federation, a pivotal time that we still know almost nothing about. Until now that is. In this episode of Literary Treks, hosts Matthew Rushing and Christopher Jones dive into the first book in Christopher L. Bennett's Rise of the Federation series, A Choice of Futures. We explore the early struggles faced by the Humans, Vulcans, Andorians, and Tellarites as they work to establish the United Federation of Planets, the combined Starfleet, and the very identity of what these organizations will be. The challenges are many as external threats work to undermine the fledgling union, incompatible technologies are pushed together, internal political debates rage, and old rivalries linger. Even Section 31 gets in on the act as our old friend Trip Tucker continues down a path far from the one he once shared with Archer.

In our news segment we take a first look at Kirsten Beyer's Voyager novel Protectors, Greg Cox's TOS-Voyager crossover tale No Time Like The Past, and get a quick peek at the next installment of Rise of the Federation, Tower of Babel.