The Best and the Brightest
The future of Starfleet!

The Best and the Brightest is a Pocket TNG novel – also considered to be part of the TNG Starfleet Academy series – written by Susan Wright. Published by Pocket Books, it was first released in .

Summary 
From the book jacket
Every year, Starfleet Academy in San Francisco attracts many of the most talented and ambitious young people in the Federation. They come from all over the Alpha Quadrant, from hundreds of worlds and species, to prepare themselves for the challenges of the final frontier.

Meet a new generation of cadets: a newly joined Trill just beginning the first of many lives; a Bajoran Vedek who finds himself torn between his vows and an unspoken love; a reckless young man fond of pushing the limits; a feline alien raised among humans; a brilliant but immature young woman with a lot to learn; and a native-born Earth woman with a talent for engineering.

Together they will learn about courage, life, teamwork, and themselves. Their future is just beginning – but one of them will not survive!

Background information 
 When Pocket editor John Ordover approached author Susan Wright to develop this novel and a new cast of characters, she was keen to include gay characters and relationships between characters of the same gender, because she "felt that the promise of a future without discrimination and bigotry had not been fulfilled". Although the Paramount licensing division approved the story, Wright noted that "they insisted that the word "gay" should not be included. They said that in the Trek universe sexual orientation was not even noticed". ()
Wright had wanted the characters to reappear in a  novel, given that several of the characters were posted to Deep Space 9 after graduation. ()
 Original pre-release cover slicks promoting this unnumbered novel were headed Starfleet Academy rather than . This version of the cover appeared in .
 An extract from this novel appeared in . The extract also featured short character summaries for each of the main characters.

Cover gallery

Characters

Main characters 
 
 Bobbie Ray Jefferson

Enterprise-D crew 
 Lieutenant Commander Kriss
 Guinan
 Worf
 Data
 William T. Riker
 Lieutenant Meg'han
 Jean-Luc Picard
 Lieutenant B'll
 Ensign Dontorn
 Ensign Karol

Other cadets 
 Elma
 T'ress
 Buck Wu
 Ijen
 
 Eto Mahs
 Yllian Mantegna
 Puller
 Qita
 
 Sendonii
 Ho Campbell
 Vestabo

Starfleet 
 Reginald Barclay
 Jadzia Dax
 Admiral 
 Professor 
 Admiral James Leyton
 Tho
 Aston
 Admiral Marley Miranda

Other characters 
 Jaresh-Inyo
 Keethzarn
 Meesa
 Lewis Zimmerman
 EMH
 Raylin Miranda
 Maree Taran
 Jord
 Oxitar

Referenced 
 Winn Adami
 Tolian Soran
 B'Etor
 Lursa
 Wesley Crusher
 Joshua Albert
 Nicholas Locarno
 Sito Jaxa
 B'Elanna Torres
 Rachel Garrett
 
 James Kirk
 Miles O'Brien
 Brendenson
 Harry Kim
 Dani Miranda

References 
 Klingon 
 Bajoran 
 Cardassian 
 Horta 
 Romulan 
 Trill
 Vulcan 
 Orion
Antaranan 
Kostolain
Rex

External link 
 

cs:The Best and the Brightest
Best and the Brightest, The