The Klingon Gambit
Is the Enterprise doomed at last?

The Klingon Gambit is a Pocket TOS novel – #3 in the numbered series – written by Robert E. Vardeman. Published by Pocket Books, it was first released in .

Summary 
From the book jacket
When Captain Kirk and his crew are ordered to challenge the deadliest Klingon starship Terror, they think they're ready for anything. The defenseless Vulcan crew of a Federation science ship has been wiped out, and the Klingon battle cruiser has the  in its sights, ready to destroy it…

But Captain Kirk can't seem to make decisions, Spock has started to throw temper tantrums. And Chekov has disobeyed vital orders. The crew of the Enterprise are losing their minds… one by one… all victims of… THE KLINGON GAMBIT…

From the book jacket of another edition of this book
THE KLINGONS ARE HUNGRY FOR WAR … THEIR TARGET: THE ENTERPRISE!When Captain Kirk and his crew are ordered to Alnath II to challenge the deadliest Klingon starship Terror, they're ready for anything – or so they think. But the defenseless Vulcan crew of a Federation science ship has been wiped out. The remaining members of the Alnath II mission have discovered a fabulous ancient city – but their report doesn't make sense. The Klingon battle cruiser has the Enterprise in its sights, and is ready to destroy it.But Captain Kirk can't seem to make decisions. Spock has started to throw temper tantrums. And Chekov has disobeyed vital orders.The crew of the Enterprise are losing their minds … one by one … all victims of …THE KLINGON GAMBIT 
 Memorable quotes 
"I act from the precepts of formal logic. While logic cannot always produce a correct answer, it succeeds more often than it fails. Therefore, it is logical to employ logic all the time. The odds are decidedly in your favor. - Spock

 Background information 
 The stardate for this novel would place this story between the events of  and .
 The peace treaty imposed by the Organians is established to cover a seven-hundred-and-fifty parsec zone.
 Doctor M'Benga claims his internship on Vulcan, previously mentioned in , lasted four years.
 The novel was reprinted as a limited edition hardcover by Gregg Press in 1984.

 Cover gallery 

 Characters 
 Enterprise crew 
James T. Kirk  Captain.
 Spock  Science officer.
 Leonard McCoy  CMO.
 Montgomery Scott  Chief engineer.
 Uhura  Lieutenant.
 Hikaru Sulu  Lieutenant.
 Pavel Chekov  Ensign.
 Christine Chapel  Nurse.
 Candra Avitts Lieutenant.
 Heather McConel  Engineer.

 Joseph M'Benga  Doctor.
 Kyle  Transporter chief.
 Patten  Lieutenant. Security officer.
 Gordon  Lieutenant

 Other 
 Kalan  Klingon. Captain of the IKS Terror.
 Kislath  Klingon officer.
 Threllvon-da  Andorian archaeologist.
 Thoron

 Mentioned 
 Tackett Admiral and Starfleet chief of staff.
 Sullien  Vulcan captain of the T'pau.
 Kolloden  Klingon High Lord Admiral.

 References 
Altair VI; Andorians; ; Federation; Klingon battle cruiser; Klingon; Organians; Starfleet Command; Treaty of Organia; Vega; Vulcan
Alnath II

Argelius II  Planet. There is a casino there where Kirk once lost money gambling.Argelius II was seen in .

Delta Canaris IV  Recently-discovered class-Q planet. Described as similar in appearance to Jupiter and home to civilization of lifeforms less than a millimeter thick in length.

USS Dominion  Federation starship, dreadnought.
This vessel was mentioned previously in Franz Joseph's Star Fleet Technical Manual.

USS Konkordium  Federation starship, a dreadnought.
This vessel was mentioned previously in Franz Joseph's Star Fleet Technical Manual.

Starbase 7

Starbase 16

IKS Terror  Klingon Empire dreadnought.
Although the vessel was described in the book as more advanced than a standard Klingon battle cruiser, the cover pictured a menacing looking .

T'pau  Vulcan science vessel
A vessel named  was mentioned as retired in .

External links 
 
 

de:Das Klingonen-Gambit
Klingon Gambit, The