The Riddled Post

Star Trek SCE (ebooks) Novellas #9

by Aaron Rosenberg

STARFLEET CORPS OF ENGINEERS The dilithium mining outpost on BorSitu Minor is an understaffed, uninteresting, unspectacular place full of miners, engineers, and scientists who have never done harm to anyone, nor do they have anything of value.

Yet the outpost has been devastated by a brutal assault, with almost all hands lost -- and the survivors have no idea what attacked them. Worse, the attack weapon appears to have the power to penetrate the outpost's powerful shields. That has the crew of the U.S.S. da Vinci worried, as it could just as easily destroy a starship!

Now the S.C.E. team, led by Commander Sonya Gomez, must find out the truth behind what ravaged the outpost, and hope that someone hasn't unleashed a weapon that could destroy them all!

Genres: Star Trek, Science Fiction, Fiction, Ebooks

82 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2001

About the author

Aaron Rosenberg is an award-winning, bestselling novelist, children’s book author, and game designer. He's written original fiction (including the NOOK-bestselling humorous science fiction novel No Small Bills, the Dread Remora space-opera series, and the O.C.L.T. supernatural thriller series), tie-in novels (including the PsiPhi winner Collective Hindsight for Star Trek: SCE, the Daemon Gates trilogy for Warhammer, Tides of Darkness and the Scribe-nominated Beyond the Dark Portal for WarCraft, Hunt and Run for Stargate: Atlantis, and Substitution Method and Road Less Traveled for Eureka), young adult novels (including the Scribe-winning Bandslam: The Novel and books for iCarly and Ben10), children's books (including an original Scholastic Bestseller series, Pete and Penny's Pizza Puzzles, and work for PowerPuff Girls and Transformers Animated), roleplaying games (including original games like Asylum and Spookshow, the Origins Award-winning Gamemastering Secrets, and sections of The Supernatural Roleplaying Game, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, and The Deryni Roleplaying Game), short stories, webcomics, essays, and educational books. He has ranged from mystery to speculative fiction to drama to comedy, always with the same intent—to tell a good story. You can visit him online at gryphonrose.com or follow him on Twitter @gryphonrose.

Reviews

[Casey Pettitt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Star Trek: S.C.E. #9: The Riddled Post by Aaron Rosenberg had a solid premise — a mysterious space station, a problem in need of solving — but the execution fell a bit flat for me. The story unfolds in a very straightforward, almost clinical fashion, lacking the tension or stakes that have helped elevate previous entries in the series. While there's a mystery at the heart of the plot, it's solved rather quickly, and what follows feels more like a checklist of tasks than a compelling narrative arc.

There are some good character moments scattered throughout, but they're not enough to overcome the overall sense of detachment. It's not a bad story, just one that doesn't do much to stand out — and in a series that thrives on fast pacing and inventive engineering problems, that made it feel disappointingly forgettable.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice little story with the SCE crew where they have to find out how a mysterious weapon ravages an outpost.

[Michel Siskoid Albert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aaron Rosenberg's first Trek novel features some lackluster prose in places, but he gets the characters quite well, and once he gets into his CSI groove, you happily follow the clues with him. As in CSI, the solution isn't half as important as the way you get to it, and the short book is full of procedural information, with various departments chipping in. It's an engineering mystery, sure, and Stevens gets to shine in it, but there are also strong roles for Security Chief Corsi and resident linguist Bart. As the mystery unfolds, the reader gets drawn in efficiently, and SCE's trademark - original use of Star Trek tech/skills we've seen a hundred times before - isn't ignored.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent threat for the team to defeat.

[Taaya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Das Ende - oder eher die Einstellung der Crew am Ende - ist kurzsichtig und erschütternd. Eigentlich sollten gerade die Ingenieure anders denken und selbst schon an Erforschung und Verbesserung des Dings (Spoiler) arbeiten.

Und mal ehrlich ... 20% des Buches sind Werbung für die anderen Bücher des Verlags?! Ist das überhaupt erlaubt?

[Nicky2910 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Star Trek: S. C. E.: #9 The Riddled Post by Aaron Rosenberg Part 9 of the SCE is perhaps the first real ensemble-story. Everyone has his or her tasks and a moment in the spotlight when the crew is called to investigate the destruction of a dilithium mining colony. What at first gives the impression of an external attack with a new kind of weapon turns out to be an unfortunate accident with an advanced dilithium detection tool.
 
The story and the characterization themselves are nothing really special, as this is a very case-related story with no new aspects to any of the crew. The writing, especially at the beginning of the story, seemed a bit awkward, but improves as the plot advances.
 
Overall, this is maybe the first part of the SCE that could be skipped - if there were not the ending. With which part of Starfleet does the device end up exactly? And will it pop up again - and this time with a much more sinister programming? All the secrecy and hush-hush with which the device was removed from the daVinci only suggests one answer...

[Rich Meyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

The one thing I think anyone will like about the SCE/COE series of novels is that they are definitely good, solid storytelling in the proper Star Trek traditions. So far, the whole series (I'm up to book #9 with this one) has exemplified Star Trek with a melange of alien races, new and old characters, and action and humor. The Riddled Post serves up a mystery - a more technical one, but a mystery nonetheless, with the same high standards I've come to expect with this series. Recommended reading!

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting mystery story that utilizes the entire cast of S.C.E. quite well. I am enjoying the crew dynamic and the procedural style of the stories featuring these characters. Not exactly groundbreaking or enthralling, but a satisfactory story that makes me want to read more about this crew.

Full review: http://treklit.blogspot.com/2015/04/S...

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mining outpost has been destroyed and the Da Vinci is sent to investigate. This is a form of mystery with the crew trying to work out why and how they outpost was damaged. It's a good plot and it works in this short story format. A good read.

[Elaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

SCE ebook #9; also in "Some Assembly Required"

[John Barclay · Rating 3 out of 5]

A kind of engineering whodunnit. Fun.