For other uses, see Twilight.

Twilight is a Star Trek: Deep Space Nine novel by David R. George III. It was published in 2002 and was the first novel of the Mission Gamma miniseries.


From the book jacket
The time has come… for a father and daughter to confront their past while a mother and son fight for the future, for lovers to be tested and for friendships to transform, and for worlds on opposite ends of the galaxy to face the dusk… or the dawn.

Synopsis Edit


the resolution of the Gateways crisis, the Defiant leads the effort to resettle thousands of Europani from their refuge on Torona IV. However, the Jarada are angered that their payment of intelligence on the Gateways is now worthless and they attack the Defiant. The ship narrowly escapes and Prynn is badly injured, spurring Vaughn to push harder for a reconciliation with his daughter. She resists his efforts for a personal relationship but agrees to treat him more cordially in professional situations, her attitude almost getting her reassigned from the three-month mission of exploring the Gamma Quadrant. The Defiant undergoes repairs and refits to install science labs and enhanced library computer capacity. Charivretha zh’Thane again confronts Thirishar ch’Thane about his responsibilities to their people; he reacts poorly when his bondmates—Thavanichent th’Dani, Vindizhei sh’Rraazh, and Shathrissía zh’Cheen—arrive with the same agenda, though he does agree to return home for the shelthreth upon the completion of the GQ mission. Shar’s bondmates remain on the station, dealing with their own personal issues; wildcard Thriss in particular does not cope well. Vaughn is anxious to explore, feeling like he’s waited decades to begin, and evokes Lewis and Clark’s “Corps of Discovery” to commemorate the mission.

Kasidy warns Kira of a possible schism in the Vedek Assembly over the Ohalu prophecies. Kira earns Taran’atar’s respect and a measure of understanding when she tries one of his training programs. She encourages him to see more of the station to better understand other cultures, though after a hostile run-in with Nog, he only explores the station while shrouded. This leads to two incidents in which he is discovered skulking around the daycare and Quark’s bar, and more poor reactions. Trier has negotiated a generous contract for herself as Quark’s new dabo girl, though she sees herself more as a business partner than an employee. She unilaterally hires a dabo boy, Hetik, and though Quark is incensed on several levels, both she and Hetik draw enough business to keep their jobs.

The USS Mjolnir delivers the belligerent Admiral Leonard James Akaar to the station. Akaar questions Kira over Bajor’s commitment to Cardassian reconstruction, its handling of Europani refugees, and its growth within the Alpha Quadrant community. Though frustrated by his interrogations, she’s excited to learn that they’re the first step in considering Bajor’s renewed bid for Federation membership. Akaar and zh’Thane join First Minister Shakaar and Second Minister Asarem Wadeen in touring Bajor and in preparing for an official summit on DS9, to include delegations from Trill (Ambassador Seljin Gandres, aide Hiziki Gard) and Alonis (Ambassador Tel Ammanis Lent). After only a few days of talks, Shakaar announces that Bajor will join the Federation. Most people are thrilled, though Quark and Ro feel there will be no place for them within the new order; they grow closer and Ro agrees to a date with Quark.

Vaughn, (XO) Exri Dax, Bashir, Nog, Shar, and Prynn explore to the Gamma Quadrant, making first contact with the peaceful and friendly Vahni Vahltupali. The Vahni are roughly humanoid, but lack any speech or auditory organs, instead communicating through patterns of light and color on their skin. Nog helps to engineer a translator that includes a mesh worn over the chest, replicating the Vahni language and converting it to audio for the Starfleet crew. Though only on the verge of warp capability, they have met other species and initiated contact with the Defiant. The mission goes exceedingly well until an energy pulse shatters the Vahni moon and wreaks havoc on the planet. Thousands are killed, and though the Defiant crew are able to deflect the largest moon fragments from striking the planet and killing many more, Ensign Gerda Ronness is killed in the effort. Ezri privately deals with the loss, as her orders led to Ronness’ death, and Bashir over-worries about her, but he is rebuffed as Ezri’s feelings are not affecting her duties. The Vahni inform Vaughn that the pulses have been hitting their world for years, though they are getting stronger and faster; the next pulse will destroy the planet.

The Defiant traces the pulse to its source: a barren, abandoned planet in an otherwise pulverized star system. The atmosphere is too thick and irradiated to scan or transport through, so Vaughn, Shar, and Tenmei take a shuttle to the surface. Energy discharges cause the shuttle to crash kilometers away from the vortex at ground zero, and Shar is badly injured. Vaughn covers the remaining distance to the vortex on foot while Prynn repairs the transporter and cares for Shar; they experience distorted memories and feelings of abandonment and extreme loss.

On Defiant, a strange gray mass appears, resisting scans and putting Ezri into a coma when she touches it. Upon reviving, she insists that the mass is alive and the crew deduce that it extends through both normal and subspace. Dax reconnects with the mass, despite Bashir’s protestations, and learns the history of the planet and the vortex. The world was once home to the Prentara, a pre-warp species with an extensive virtual reality network. They inadvertently created the vortex and discovered something they called the Thoughtspace on the other side. The Thoughtspace greatly augmented the VR network but began sending energy pulses through the vortex, causing widespread damage and driving the Prentara to madness; wars, mass suicides, and other disasters eradicated the entire population. The Prentara called the beings who inhabited the Thoughtspace the Inamuri, but in fact the Thoughtspace itself was a single creature living in complete isolation in its own pocket universe. Having never encountered another life-form, it defended itself against the Prentara with the pulses, but was terribly lonely when its defense unintentionally wiped out the Prentara, which it considered both invaders and saviors (from its isolation) simultaneously. Since then, the Inamuri has been using the pulses to widen the vortex and push through to reconnect with other beings.

The Defiant crew send their intel to the surface in a probe, along with explosives and a plan to seal the vortex. However, after reading Dax’s report and “communing” with the Inamuri (through his memories), Vaughn refuses to trap the Inamuri in eternal solitude, instead altering the explosives to fully open the vortex. The Inamuri fully emerges onto the planet, saving the lives of the away team and enabling the Defiant to recover them. Reexamining their memories and confronting their emotional traumas (through the lens of the Inamuri) bring Vaughn and Prynn to a deeper understanding with themselves and each other. Years ago, Vaughn’s orders led to his wife Ruriko’s death, and his pain kept him from being there for Prynn when she most needed him. Now, though, they can both forgive him and move forward together.



Leonard James AkaarAleco VelRey AlfonzoAsarem WadeenJulian BashirSam BowersBrestolJohn CandlewoodJeannette ChaoShathrissia zh'CheenCostelloThavanichent th'DaniDax (symbiont)Ezri DaxEivos CalanEnkar SirsyEtana KolVic FontaineFroolSeljin GandresHiziki GardGaviGordimerGrimpHetikJoshuaEdgardo JuarezKira NerysTel Ammanis LentCathy LingAkellen MacetKaitlin MerimarkMirehMornNguyenNogBryanne PermenterQuarkKrissten RichterVindizhei sh'RraazhRo LarenGerda RonessRozahn KatherSelznerJason SenkowskiShakaar EdonShul ToremGrazia SilverioTaran'atarPrynn TenmeiCharivretha zh'ThaneThirishar ch'ThaneT'rbTreirElias VaughnVentuKasidy YatesYevir Linjarin
Referenced only 
Acto ViriBuzz AldrinJonathan ArcherNeil ArmstrongBlessed ExchequerChornaWilliam ClarkMichael CollinsCorat DamarDarhe'elAudrid DaxCurzon DaxJadzia DaxLela DaxTobin DaxSkrain DukatEivos AudjEleenLeif EricsonFlanner PoshGaloren SenElim GarakAlon GhemorTekeny GhemorJohn HarrimanHatram NabirKalena HokuItamis NathJaliaGregory JarvisEdward JellicoKavalMikaela LeishmanMeriwether LewisEthan LockenFerdinand MagellanAamin MarritzaPhillipa MatthiasChrista McAuliffeMcEnteeRonald McNairElaine MelloAlejandro MontenegroMonyodinAlynna NechayevOdoOpaka SulanEllison OnizukaJean-Luc PicardPralonJudith ResnikReydauRionojRomWilliam RossDick ScobeeShetthiusShintralBenjamin SiskoJake SiskoJoseph SiskoMichael J. SmithAnn SpillaneDemora SuluHikaru SuluSynta KayanilRuriko TenmeiAlfred TennysonTora ZiyalUngtaeWalterWinn AdamiWorfZherathrizar


AdarakAlpha QuadrantAshallaAssay officeBajorBrintallDeep Space 9Gamma QuadrantKendra ProvinceOperations centerPromenadeQuark'sReplimatSisko's houseStation commander's officeTorona IVTorona systemVahni systemVahni VahltupaliYolja River
Referenced only 
AlonisAndorBeta VIBerengaria VIIBeta Antares IVB'halaCanopus PlanetCape CanaveralCapellaCardassiaCaves of Mak'alaChin'toka systemDahkur ProvinceDelta QuadrantDernaEarthEndallaEuropa NovaFarius PrimeFerenginarThe FlamesThe ForestHawaiiJeraddoLecelonMuseum of Bajoran History and ArtOmarion NebulaOuter IslandsPacific OceanPentaboPraxisRigelRintannaRomeThe RunnersSindorinSolThe TempleVerilliaWyntara Mas Province

Starships and vehiclesEdit

Chaffee (Type-10 shuttlecraft) • USS Defiant (Defiant-class) • USS Euphrates (Danube-class) • USS Gryphon (Akira-class) • Jarada warshipUSS Mjolnir (Norway-class) • Sagan (Type-10 shuttlecraft) • Trager (Galor-class)
Referenced only 
USS Ad AstraApollo 11ArietoChallengerUSS Enterprise-DUSS Enterprise-EIRW TomedKamalKree-thaiUSS SentinelUSS TamberlaineUSS T'Plana-HathUSS Wellington

Races and culturesEdit

AlonisAndorianBajoranBolianCapellanCardassianFerengiHuman (Europani) • InamuriJem'HadarLurianMatheniteMelkotianOrionRintannanTellariteTrillVahni VahltupaliYridian
Referenced only 

States and organizationsEdit

Bajoran MilitiaCardassian UnionDominionOhalavaruStarfleetUnited Federation of PlanetsVedek Assembly
Referenced only 
Bajoran Archeological AuthorityCardassian Liberation FrontCorps of DiscoveryFederation Department of Temporal InvestigationsFoundersOrion SyndicatePromenade Merchants' AssociationStarfleet Corps of EngineersTen Tribes of Capella

Science and technologyEdit

ablative armorbenzocyatizinebicepsBurkhardt's diseasechromiumcloaking devicecompanelcordrazinecortical stimulatordelactovinedeuteriumholosuiteHoudiniIconian gatewayimpulse engineinertial damperisoboraminejevoniteketracel-whiteorbOrb of the EmissaryOrb of MemoryOrb of Prophecy and Changepattern enhancerPrentaran interfacepulse phaserpulse phaser cannonquantum torpedorodiniumshatterframestellar cartographySymbalene blood burntricorderwarp enginewarp nacelle

Ranks and titlesEdit

captaincoloneldabo boydabo girlEmissary of the ProphetsFirst Ministerfleet admiralhonored elderkailieutenantMinister of DefenseMinister of Statesergeantsub-nagusteer

Other referencesEdit

Advanced Tactical TrainingalvaAndorian aleArgelian sparkling wineArgelian teacakeAscension of the EmissaryAttainderaurowaqqaBajor at PeaceBajoran religionChristopher Pike Medal of ValorCity of B'halaconference roomcrossover bridgedaboDominion WarFerengi Rules of AcquisitionforaigagargoylegarlicgroszhasperatjebretKaferian apple compotekagannerrakatterpodkavakava nutKoltari stewmapa breadMaraltian seev-alemoba jamOccupation of Bajororb experiencepagh'tem'farpasta fagiolipooncheenpooncheeneePrime DirectivepylchykraktajinoSaurian brandyshelthrethSiege of AR-558Skorrian frittersnail juicespringballSulu shuttle stuntsurfingTarkalean teatranyatreni catUlyssesvole fightingWhen the Prophets CriedYridian brandy


Background informationEdit


Related storiesEdit



Star Trek: Deep Space Nine relaunch publications and stories
Omnibuses Twist of FaithThese Haunted Seas

External linkEdit



published order
Previous novel:
Horn and Ivory
Gateways #7: What Lay Beyond
DS9 novels
Next novel:
This Gray Spirit
Mission Gamma
chronological order
Previous Adventure:
Some Assembly Required
Pocket Next Adventure:
Divided We Fall
Previous Adventure:
Rising Son
Chapter 8, Sections 3-4
Part Two
Next Adventure:
A Good Day to Die
Previous Adventure:
A Good Day to Die
Parts Three and Four
Next Adventure:
Past Life