Out of the Cocoon

Starfleet Corps of Engineers #12

by William Leisner, Kevin Killiany, Phaedra M. Weldon

When something in the galaxy needs to be fixed, tweaked, investigated, or repaired, the Federation sends in the best: the Starfleet Corps of Engineers. Traveling throughout the quadrant on the Sabre-class U.S.S. da Vinci, Captain David Gold, former Starship Enterprise™ engineer Commander Sonya Gomez, and the crack S.C.E. team solve the problems of the galaxy, one disaster at a time. Whether dealing with the legacy of Captain Jean-Luc Picard’s decision regarding the Mariposa colony, stopping an alien predator from destroying a pre-warp culture, fixing a planet-wide power outage, or repairing the damage done by the Dominion to a former ally, the Corps of Engineers is on the case!

But not all problems are technical: Dr. Elizabeth Lense deals with the consequences of her unexpected pregnancy, Security Chief Domenica Corsi encounters a Prime Directive crisis, Dr. Bart Faulwell faces a personal crossroads, and Chief Vance Hawkins must try to lay the ghosts of the Dominion War to rest.

Cover Artist: Tom Hallman

Genres: Star Trek, Fiction, Science Fiction

560 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Kathleen West · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a Christmas present to me. A collection of multiple stories. I have not yet read any of the other books in the series. I guess I am a little picky reader since I am a sci-fi writer myself + Trekkie + engineer/science nerd so I thought some of the mentioned tech solutions/gadgets sounded more out of Wizardry than actual science/physics of some believability. Anyways, there were different stories by different authors. Not having read the previous books I had a hard time visualizing the characters, their species, etc.. and their backgrounds. Kind reminder to gently remind the reader in the stories about the characters, etc...

[Jimyanni · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gets a weak four star rating, but it's definitely closer to four than three. The four novellas that make it up are all fair to middling stories; the first has an interesting if depressing plot twist, the second is a perfect example of why the Prime Directive is a terrible idea when enforced to the letter of the law, the third takes an interesting look into the character of Bart Faulwell and non-traditional gender roles, and the fourth a similarly interesting look into dealing with former enemies after a war. Of the lot of them, the last story is probably the weakest; its main thrust is pretty standard fare for the Star Trek universe, although it manages to avoid being truly trite. None of the stories are great, but none are bad, either, or even truly down to mediocre.

[Tommy Verhaegen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Again a lesser album in the series - actually i had to go through it again to be able to write this review, that's how little it impressed me. It has some good parts of course but overwhelmed by psychological problems it leaves way too little room for science and action. And i was not impressed by some of the storylines, but that is my personal taste of course. Overall i am still glad to have started reading the series with high priority. On to the next volume.

[John Barclay · Rating 4 out of 5]

YEA! Back to all the reasons that I like Star Trek Books and the S.C.E. in particular. An interesting story with lots of twists and turns about characters facing moral and scientific dilemmas. Yes, it's yet again a Lense story, but this time it makes a lot of sense and as part of the overarching storyline it's needed. More of this please!

[Elaine]

2011

[Michael O'Donnell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Four episodes of next gen. Written like screen plays. If you have seen a lot of Star Trek you will enjoy.

[Crispin · Rating 1 out of 5]

not very good.