Strange New Worlds V
All-new Star Trek adventures – by fans, for fans!

Strange New Worlds V is a short story anthology – the fifth in the Strange New Worlds series – edited by Dean Wesley Smith (with John J. Ordover and Paula M. Block). Published by Pocket Books, it was first released in .

The anthology collected selected stories from the fifth Strange New Worlds writing contest for amateur authors; many of whom went on to write other Star Trek stories.

Summary 
From the book jacket
Back by popular demand! Our fifth anthology featuring original Star Trek, , , and  stories written by Star Trek fans, for Star Trek fans!

The past five Strange New Worlds competitions have drawn thousands of submissions. This new galaxy of amazing stories, proves that our writers keep on expanding the boundaries of their collective imaginations.

Strange New Worlds V features newly released stories spanning the twenty-third and twenty-fourth centuries, from the early days of Captain Kirk and his crew to the later generations of Captains Picard, Sisko, and Janeway. These unforgettable stories explore and examine the past and future of Star Trek from many different perspectives.

Join Strange New Worlds in its thrilling quest to uncover the most compelling Star Trek fiction this side of the galactic barrier!

Contents 
Introduction by John J. Ordover

Star Trek: The Original Series 
 "Disappearance on 21st Street" by Mary Scott-Wiecek (grand prize winner)
 "The Trouble with Borg Tribbles" by William Leisner (third prize winner)
 "Legal Action" by Alan L. Lickiss
 "Yeoman Friggs" by Mark Murata
 "The Shoulders of Giants" by Robert T. Jeschonek

Star Trek: The Next Generation 
 "Bluff" by Steven Scott Ripley (second prize winner)

Picard, Data, Riker and O'Brien are engaged in a game of poker aboard a primitive sea vessel returning to Auckland City, New Zealand from the Great Barrier Island in the Hauraki Gulf, ninety kilometers out to sea and the location of the New Zealand Penal Settlement. During the trip, a pair of Trill tourists donning large protective suits and helmets (to protect against insect bites) observe the increasingly tense game. Data becomes convinced that he can trump Riker, though late in the game when he deactivates his emotion chip to give him a more objective reading of Riker's intentions, he inadvertently lets slip to Riker that he is unsure, thus allowing Riker to triumph.

In flashback, Data experiences a vivid dream in which his nose grows to the size of a redwood tree and a bird taps an egg (a metaphor for his skull) in a nest, releasing a long forgotten secret. Data consults Guinan in the 's Ten Forward lounge, who observes the similarities to Pinocchio in the dream and that it implies Data has told a lie that is now on his conscience. Data too had already reached the same conclusion, and reveals his lie to Captain Picard – that during his captivity at the hands of Zibalian merchant Kivas Fajo and following his assistant Varria's death, Data opened fire on Fajo with intent to kill although the situation did not call for it. Data was prevented by a beam-out by O'Brien, and both O'Brien and Riker noted but did not press why the weapon had apparently gone off and was subsequently deactivated by the transporter system.

The Enterprise picks up O'Brien from Deep Space 9 and sets course for Earth for a formal hearing. A combustion engine driven jeep carries the four officers across Great Barrier Island to the Hauraki Penal Colony – necessary due to the transporter, communication and propulsion interference generated by the prison's defense system. A formal proceeding begins, with a terminally-ill Fajo, Federation Judge Anne Grambs, a Zibalian Federation official and the four Enterprise officers present. Picard questions Fajo, who eventually reveals that he had seen Data fire the disruptor but had declined to mention it during his trial on the basis that it would have tormented Data's conscience and that was satisfaction enough. His admission means that Fajo will not receive any mediated sentence and no further action is taken against Data. We then return to where the story begins aboard the ferry, the bluffing of the poker game running parallel to the lies of both Data and Fajo.

 "The Peacemakers" by Alan James Garbers
 "Efflorescence" by Julie A. Hyzy
 "Kristin's Conundrum" by Jeff D. Jacques and Michelle A. Bottrall
 "The Monkey Puzzle Box" by Kevin Killiany
 "The Farewell Gift" by Tonya D. Price
 "Dementia in D Minor" by Mary Sweeney

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 
 "Fear, Itself" by Robert J. Mendenhall

Star Trek: Voyager 
 "Final Entry" by Cynthia K. Deatherage
 "The Difficulties of Being Evil" by Craig Gibb
 "Restoration" by Penny A. Proctor
 "On the Rocks" by TG Theodore
 "Witness" by Diana Kornfeld
 "Fragment" by Catherine E. Pike
 "Who Cries for Prometheus?" by Phaedra M. Weldon

Star Trek: Enterprise 
 "Remnant" by James J. and Louisa M. Swann
 "A Girl for Every Star" by John Takis
 "Hoshi's Gift" by Kelle Vozka

Afterword by Dean Wesley Smith

Background information 
 This was the first year in which stories based on  appeared.
 Many writers from previous Strange New Worlds return. Mary Scott-Wiecek and Robert T. Jeschonek have gone on to write for other Star Trek anthologies such as No Limits.

External link 
 

Strange New Worlds 05