The Captain's Table was a bestselling 6-volume series from 1998 in which five Star Trek captains (one from each of the then television series, plus Captain Pike from the Star Trek pilot and Captain Calhoun from Star Trek New Frontier) each told their story. This new anthology unites top Star Trek authors with no less than nine starship captains, each of whom tells his or her tale in the unique setting of the Captain's Table bar – a watering hole reserved solely for captains throughout time and space. Among those whose company readers can share in Tales From the Captain's Table are Jonathan Archer from Star Trek: Enterprise; Captain William Riker of the USS Titan; Captain Kira Nerys, now commander of space station Deep Space Nine; Captain Chakotay, newly appointed captain of the USS Voyager; Captain Elizabeth Shelby from Star Trek: New Frontier; SCE's Captain Gold; the Klingon captain Klag of the IKS Gorkon and Demora Sulu from the Lost Era volume, Serpents Among the Ruins.

Peter David is a prolific author whose career, and continued popularity, spans nearly two decades. He has worked in television, film, books (fiction, nonfiction, and audio), short stories, and comic books, and acquired followings in all of them. Peter has had over fifty novels published, including numerous appearances on the New York Times best-seller list. His novels include Sir Apropos of Nothing (and its two sequels), Knight Life (and its two sequels), Howling Mad, and the Psi-Man adventure series. He is the co-developer and author of the best-selling Star Trek: New Frontier series for Pocket Books, and has written over a dozen other Trek novels. He produced the Babylon 5: Centauri Prime trilogy of novels, and has also had his short fiction published in such anthologies as Shock Rock, Shock Rock II, Other-Were, and Tales of the Dominion War, as well as Asimov's Science Fiction and The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Peter has an extensive, and award-winning, comic book resume, and he has co-edited two short-story anthologies, The Ultimate Hulk and New Frontier: No Limits. Furthermore, his opinion column "But I Digress ..." has been running in the industry trade newspaper Comic Buyer's Guide for over a decade, and in that time has been the paper's consistently most popular feature and was also collected into a trade paperback edition. Peter is the co-creator, with actor Bill Mumy, of the Cable Ace Award-nominated science-fiction series Space Cases, which ran for two seasons on Nickelodeon. He has written several TV scripts for Babylon 5 and its sequel series Crusade and has written several films for Full Moon Entertainment and co-produced two of them. He lives in New York with his wife, Kathleen, and his four children, Shana, Gwen, Ariel, and Caroline. This is the third Star Trek anthology that Keith R.A. DeCandido has edited, following 2004's Tales of the Dominion War and 2003's No Limits (in collaboration with Peter David), and he has edited or co-edited more than a dozen other anthologies in the last decade, including the Nebula Award-nominated Imaginings. As a writer, his first Trek novel, Diplomatic Implausibility, was also where he introduced the I.K.S. Gorkon and established Klag as its captain. This was later followed by the I.K.S. Gorkon series, which consists of three books so far: A Good Day to Die, Honor Bound, and Enemy Territory. His other Treks include five other novels, two novellas, four short stories, nine eBooks, and a comic-book miniseries, many of which have appeared on various best-seller lists. Keith's first original novel, Dragon Precinct, was published in 2004, and his most recent Star Trek novel is a look at the world of Trek politics, Articles of the Federation. He has also written novels, novelizations, short stories, and nonfiction books in the milieus of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Farscape, Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda, Resident Evil, Marvel Comics, Xena, Magic: The Gathering, Serenity, and more. Find out too much about Keith at his official Web site at DeCandido.net. Oh, and his story title translates into English as "Brothers and Fathers." Michael Jan Friedman has written nearly forty Star Trek books, scripted more than a hundred Star Trek comics, and collaborated on what he insists on believing is one of the better episodes of Star Trek: Voyager. In the process, he has stung, annoyed, bruised, embarrassed, punctured, censured, seared, vilified, tortured, maimed, and outright killed more sentient beings than any civilized individual would ever want to contemplate. But what really horrifies him is all the bridge consoles he's destroyed. Let's face it, there are a lot of interstellar ships in Mike's books, and they've all got bridge consoles. Sometimes a whole bunch of them. It's just too easy to blow one up in the face of some walk-on character, sending him cannonballing across the deck in a shower of sparks and black smoke, and writing finis to his noble existence (not to mention his hopes of getting a Star Trek show of his own). Certainly, it's a lot less work than character development. But bridge consoles perform an entire array of valuable functions. We can't just go around beating them up. We have to exercise restraint. It is in this spirit that we are proud to make the following announcement about "Darkness," the first account of Jean-Luc Picard's adventures in the seven-year period between his captaincy of the Stargazer and his captaincy of the Enterprise-D: No bridge consoles were destroyed in the making of this story. "Iron and Sacrifice" marks David R. George III's first return to the character of Demora Sulu since her prominent role in the New York Times best-selling Lost Era novel Serpents Among the Ruins. David's other contributions to the Star Trek universe include the Deep Space Nine novels The 34th Rule, set during the series, and Twilight and The Dominion: Olympus Descending, set afterward. He also co-wrote the story for the first-season Voyager episode "Prime Factors," and he will be penning an Original Series trilogy to help celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the show. David firmly believes in Robert Heinlein's dictum that "Specialization is for insects." David's passions (after his wonderful, beautiful wife, Karen) include art, dance, film, theater, travel, reading, baseball, racquetball, mathematics, the English language, cosmology, quantum physics, and, unaccountably, the New York Mets. He loves talking about writing, and chatting with readers and fans, both at conventions and online. He appreciates Keith R.A. DeCandido's invitation to contribute to this anthology, and hopes one day in his writing to revisit Demora Sulu, as well as John Harriman and the rest of the Enterprise-B crew. David is not a doctor, nor does he play one on television. Award-winning author Christie Golden has written twenty-six novels and seventeen short stories in the fields of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. She is best known for her tie-in work, although she has written several original novels. Among her credits are the first book in the Ravenloft line, Vampire of the Mists, a Star Trek Original Series hardcover The Last Roundup, several Voyager novels including the recent best-selling relaunch of the series, Homecoming and The Farther Shore, and short stories for Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel anthologies. Two more books in the Voyager relaunch, Spirit Walk Book 1: Old Wounds and Book 2: Enemy of My Enemy, were released in November and December of 2004. In 1999, Golden's novel A.D. 999, written under the pen name of Jadrien Bell, won the Colorado Author's League Top Hand Award for Best Genre Novel. Christie launched a brand-new fantasy series entitled The Final Dance through Luna Books, a major new fantasy imprint. The first book in the series is entitled On Fire's Wings and was published in trade paperback in July of 2004. Look for the second in the series, In Stone's Clasp, in September 2005. She invites readers to visit her Web site at www.christiegolden.com. Heather Jarman lives a Peter Parker-like suburban existence; few of her fellow soccer moms could fathom that the mild-mannered woman behind the wheel of the minivan might be a writer of Star Trek fiction and harbor a deep, abiding love for hobbits, the Hubble Telescope, and blue-skinned Andorians. Heather's recent contributions to the world of Star Trek fiction include Worlds of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Book 1: Andor: Paradigm and a short story (co-authored with Jeffrey Lang) in the critically acclaimed anthology Tales of the Dominion War. In 2005, her creative efforts will be part of Pocket Books' celebration of Voyager's tenth anniversary. She lives in Portland, Oregon, with her husband and four daughters. Andy Mangels is the co-author of several Star Trek novels, eBooks, short stories, and comic books, as well as a trio of Roswell novels, all co-written with Michael A. Martin. Flying solo, he is the best-selling author of many entertainment books, including Animation on DVD: The Ultimate Guide and Star Wars: The Essential Guide to Characters, as well as a significant number of entries in The Super-hero Book. He has written hundreds of articles for entertainment and lifestyle magazines and newspapers in the United States, England, and Italy. He has also written licensed material based on properties from many film studios and Microsoft, and his comic-book work has been published by DC Comics, Marvel Comics, and many others. He was the editor of the award-winning Gay Comics anthology for eight years. Andy is a national award-winning activist in the Gay community, and has raised thousands of dollars for charities over the years. He lives in Portland, Oregon, with his long-term partner, Don Hood, their dog, Bela, and their chosen son, Paul Smalley. Visit his Web site at www.andymangels.com. Michael A. Martin's solo short fiction has appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. He has also co-authored (with Andy Mangels) several Star Trek novels (including Worlds of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Book 2: Trill: Unjoined; Titan Books 1-2; Star Trek The Lost Era: The Sundered; Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Mission: Gamma Book 3: Cathedral; Star Trek: The Next Generation: Section 31: Rogue); two Star Trek: S.C.E. eBooks (Ishtar Rising Books 1-2); stories in the Prophecy and Change and Tales of the Dominion War anthologies; and three novels based on the Roswell television series. Back in the twentieth century, Martin was the regular co-writer (also with Andy) of Marvel's Star Trek: Deep Space Nine monthly comic-book series, and has written for Atlas Editions' Star Trek Universe subscription card series, Star Trek Monthly, Dreamwatch, Grolier Books, Wildstorm, Visible Ink Press, and Gareth Stevens, Inc., for whom he has penned several World Almanac Library of the States nonfiction books for young readers. He lives with his wife, Jenny, and their two sons in Portland, Oregon. John J. Ordover, former executive editor of the Star Trek fiction line for Pocket Books and co-developer of the Captain's Table concept (with Dean Wesley Smith), the Star Trek: New Frontier series (with Peter David), and the Star Trek: S.C.E. series (with Keith R.A. DeCandido), is the happy husband of Carol Greenburg and the proud father of Arren Isaac Ordover. Ordover is currently the editor-in-chief of Phobos Science Fiction and Fantasy. Dean Wesley Smith, the co-developer of the Captain's Table concept, has published over seventy novels and a hundred short stories under varied names. He has written novels in every Star Trek series, including the first original Voyager novel, the first original Enterprise novel, and the first S.C.E. eBook. He currently edits Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, now in its eighth year. Louisa M. Swann is currently on leave of absence from an alternate dimension. Born on an Indian reservation in northern California almost forty-nine years ago, Louisa spent her first six months of life bundled up and carried around in a papoose basket. She spent the remainder of her growing years at Lake Tahoe, California. At one time or another she participated in, made a living as, or halfheartedly attempted the following: student, maid, waitress, receptionist, flight attendant, secretary, teacher's aid (unofficial), ski instructor, ski patrol (volunteer), and engineering assistant. Louisa now lives on eighty acres in northern California with her husband (Jim), twenty-something son (Brandon), two horses, dog, cat, a varying population of rabbits, deer, coyotes, bobcats, cougars, snakes, frogs, birds, bugs, and no electricity. She insists on calling herself a writer, a dementia that is consistently fed by her burgeoning Star Trek publications in Strange New Worlds V, VI, and VII, as well as other science-fiction venues. The human members of the family manage to put up with her eccentricities with only a few minor squabbles. On the other hand, the horses, dog, cat, and miscellaneous wildlife understand her perfectly. She often goes to them for grooming when the rest of this dimension becomes a bit too difficult to handle. While on trips to other dimensions, Louisa enjoys skiing, sailing, hiking, and swimming; however, most of her spare time is currently spent laying bricks, a therapy recommended by her dimensional psychologist.

Introduction : how we built the bar
William T. Riker : improvisations on the Opal Sea : a tale of dubious credibility	p. 3
Jean-Luc Picard : darkness	p. 49
Elizabeth Shelby : pain management	p. 77
Klag, son of M'Raq : IoDnl'pu' vavpu' je	p. 107
Kira Nerys : the officers' club	p. 127
Jonathan Archer : have beagle, will travel : the legend of Porthos	p. 175
Demora Sulu : iron and sacrifice	p. 201
Chakotay : seduced	p. 271
David Gold : an easy fast	p. 301
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.

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Introduction: How We Built the Bar

Dean Wesley Smith

Back in the mists of history, around 1997, the Captain's Table was built, to float forever in time and space, allowing only captains of ships through the big wooden front door. If my memory serves, the creation of the Captain's Table was slow, like any construction process -- a labor of love carried out over a number of phone calls between myself and former Pocket Books editor John Ordover.

John and I both loved the tradition of bars in literature, and often talked about the White Hart, one of our favorites. I'm not sure of the exact conversation between us that sent the Captain's Table into full construction, but I do remember that at one point John suggested I create the bar.

Since I had worked as a bartender and have a degree in architecture that I have seldom used, it was a logical assignment. I took the task very seriously, actually going to my architectural studio and drawing up floor plans. As I would in any good design, I included restrooms, determined the location of stairs, provided for liquor storage, and so on. Every detail, all to scale. Then John and I worked out the characters who would be regulars, who would be there to listen to the captains' stories.

We developed the rules of the bar, and how it works with captains of ships from any time and any space. We developed the tradition of captains telling tales, and many of the other details that threaded their way into the bar. Then John hired eight of his writers to bring the Captain's Table to life and write six novels. He assigned each the task of writing in first person, from the captain's point of view while in the bar.

Since I had designed the bar, I was given first choice and picked Benjamin Sisko, writing with my wife, Kristine Kathryn Rusch. The team of L.A. Graf took Jim Kirk and Hikaru Sulu, Diane Carey wrote about Kathryn Janeway, Michael Jan Friedman got to record Jean-Luc Picard's story, Jerry Oltion told Christopher Pike's, and Peter David told Mackenzie Calhoun's tale.

John kept everyone together in details and timeline, even managing to have the different books linked by last and first chapters, with one captain leaving the bar while another came in. John even had the artist put in the faces of the authors in the crowd scene behind the captains in the cover paintings and on the big poster. Only not always on our own books. (Hint: Kris and I are right behind Captain Janeway.)

As a hard-coreStar Trekfan, this was all grand fun for me, not only the creation of the bar, but writing the novel. Since then, I have been editingStrange New Worlds,the annual-contest anthology that lets the fans into the professional writing side ofStar Trek.Over the years, my biggest regret has been that the rules ofStrange New Worldsdon't allow Captain's Table stories. I've really wanted to read more about the bar that floated out there, giving the captains of ships a needed place to relax.

Now Keith R.A. DeCandido has solved that problem with this wonderful book, getting some of the bestStar Trekwriters to drop in to the Captain's Table and listen to more stories from many varied captains. I feel like I have come home.

So sit back and enjoy great stories in one of the most interesting and strange places in all of time and space. And when you leave, don't forget to tip the bartender.

Excerpted from Tales from the Captain's Table
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