Into the Nebula
With the future of the USS Enterprise at stake, Data must save a dying planet!

Into the Nebula is a Pocket TNG novel – #36 in the numbered series – written by Gene DeWeese. Published by Pocket Books, it was first released in .

Summary 
From the booklet
While exploring an unknown region of space, the  encounters a strange nebular dust. Upon further investigation, they discover a planet called Krantin on which the plant and animal life, as well as the civilization are dying.

A series of explosions and a ship that simply disappears into thin air lead the crew to believe another group is causing the devastation of the planet. The leader of the planet's society, however, is wary of trusting the Starship Enterprise crewmembers, and has the away team arrested. With time running out, Data must find a way to save his crewmates or watch as two worlds are destroyed.

While exploring an unknown region of space, the Enterprise encounters a derelict generational ship. After contacting the ship's captain, the Enterprise travels to its home planet, Krantin.

Krantin is found to be surrounded by a strange, choking cloud of dust that was killing the world. Plant and animal life is nearly extinct, and the native population has dropped to just one small city.

The discovery of a large deposit of dilithium, and strange ships that can vanish with no explanation cause Captain Picard to suspect the dust, called the Plague by the Krantinese, is not a natural phenomenon.

Zalkan, a Krantinese scientist, explains that he is in fact from an alternate universe, where Krantin is ruled by a dictatorship called the Directorate. The Plague is the by-product of the Directorate's attempt to take the dilithium reserves of this Krantin, and the vanishing ships are under its control. Zalkan and his allies are underground fighters attempting to overthrow the dictatorship and repair the damage to Krantin's ecosystem.

The Directorate learns of the Enterprises involvement, and attempts to use its universe-jumping technology to take control of the ship. Spot and the other cats on board are able to detect the jumps a few moments before they occur, however, and the attempts fail. With the Directorate defeated, the two Krantins agree to work together, trading dilithium for use of the jumping technology to remove the Plague.

Background information 
 The novel is set after the events of .

Characters 
 Guinan
 Spot

External link 
 

cs:Into the Nebula
de:Im Staubnebel verschwunden
Novels