Review by Roger D. Noriega (*****Spoilers Herein*****) 

Long before Janeway, long before Seven of Nine, long before First Contact, when the Borg were the most fearsome beings in the known universe, we were given a grand adventure – one which rekindled the fear again, one which reminded us that not all stories end in happiness and one which returned the nightmare to us once gain.

“Who are you?” asked Picard 

“I am pain. I am loss. I am grief. I am implacable, unstoppable. I am passion made into fury, love twisted to fate. I am vendetta!” 

It is legend in starfleet academy history that Jean Luc Picard is the biggest stiff since James Kirk. We also learn that Picard has trouble with women, even though he has a full head of hair, and one of his nemesis in school: cadet Korsmo – later a peer, Captain Korsmo.

Picard has dreams of a woman, one who speaks of her mission, speaks of who she is and of help – help for herself, for all of them: “Help us, save us, avenge us; do not forget us – never forget us”.

The Borg has returned and discovers the Penzatti – an advanced race where their planetary defenses are controlled by computers. Such control that when the Borg show up, the computers lay down for their “saviors” – here we witness a full Borg assimilation. The Borg beam in and begin their quest to bring the galaxy to perfection. It is frightening and sad. The U.S.S. Repulse arrives to help the survivors and they discover that the Borg didn’t finish their task – the Borg cube was destroyed. Starfleet panics: something of immense power destroyed this Borg cube and that something could be hostile to the United Federation of Planets. The fleet is mobilized again!

The U.S.S. Enterprise rushes to Penzatti and amongst the wreckage and survivors, Geordi discovers a Borg drone disconnected from the collective and alive. In her Geordi finds his Dulcinea as he is Don Quixote on the quest to take on windmills.

"Deana was quite lovely, wasn’t she?”

“Appropriately so,” said Picard to Guinan. "After all, she is Dulcinea, the ideal woman that Don Quixote strives for, and for whom he endures hardship after hardship. Yet he derives emotional strength merely from the knowledge of her existence. He performs deeds to prove himself worthy of her, yet he feels he never can be worthy of her.”

“Did you ever have a women like that, Captain, a dream girl? An unattainable woman?”

“Once, many years ago, I had a dream girl."

Once there was Locutus . . .

                                                            . . . now there is Vastator.

The Ferengi want profit. They live for the deal. Should a deal bring them Latinum, it is done. Should a new market open, A Ferengi will be there to reap the profits. Damon Turane finds his niche: a deal with the Borg. Turane offers his knowledge of the science of the deal. The Borg offer . . . The Borg make no offer for deals are irrelevant. Science is irrelevant. The post of speaker is vacant, but to a Ferengi such as Turane, public positions such as these are not to their liking. “Like” is irrelevant to the Borg.

Now with Vastator, the Borg attend to the problem at hand: one of its cubes is missing, presumably destroyed. Three Borg cubes are tasked to investigate.

Geordi is able to ascertain that his disconnected Borg is none other than Reannon Bonaventure: The Brass Lass. “She would transport any freight, anywhere. She would deal in anything, legal or illegal.” She had a cloaking device and a ship called the Phantom Cruiser, “and as much guts as anyone had”. She was a brave folk-hero, but now she was a mindless Borg drone. Geordi wants her back in the land of the living.

The only thing coming back is the Borg. The cause of the loss has been determined: It will be assimilated it or destroyed.

This time the Enterprise is not the target, nor is it of interest to the Borg. Will the Enterprise sit idly while its mortal enemy may be defeated or worse, vanquishes the new threat? Will Picard rally or become the Vendetta himself?

Peter David spins one of his best tales ever. He blends a wonderful mix or the old and the new and he fills in many shadows of the Borg – long before First Contact and Voyager’s engagements with the Borg. The story is lively, full of mystery, action, and sadness. Didn’t get enough of Wolf 359? Not to fret, the Starfleet shows its worth, ingenuity and bravery. Read this story and let it take you on a grand adventure.

Roger’s rating: 5

Is there anything better?