I am so thankful for these Star Trek books that have continued the story long after the show ended. The characters are so rich and it's nice to see them from time to time, and the new slew of writers that Pocket Books has penning them really stay true to what we know and expect from them. I look forward to each installment (in this case, almost a year in advance.)

This story takes place a year or so after the events of last year's saga with the Borg, with (thankfully) a completely new enemy: that of the Typhon Pact, a coalition of races that have felt isolated and at odds with the Federation, who now has an experimental flagship (the Aventine, captained by Dax) equipped with Slipstream technology acquired by Voyager. Turns out the Typhon Pact would very much like to get their hands on such technology, so Starfleet recruits Doctor Bashir and an old friend of his (Sarina, from the Jack Pack), to go undercover into Breen territory and do some damage to their stolen prototype.

While a bit padded with unnecessary action sequences toward the end, I liked the development of Bashir's character and how he coped with killing in the name of country, despite his Hippocratic Oath. I also enjoyed his relationship with Sarina. I especially liked the insight into Breen society, and what lies behind their masks. And I loved the twist ending, which sets up the next books in the series (there are 4 total, this time around) quite nicely.