Close Encounters - Book 1: Rileeta

by OrionXIII

Follows Rileeta's life after The Dosadi Suite: Cycle 5. Begins at the opening of The Next Generation episode First Contact. Picard has some history with the leader of the First Contact Team that Riker had gone down to liason with. The story will proceed through the events of 'First Contact' backfilling the story as it goes along. ST: TNG Characters show up more in Ch 7

1. Foreward

FOREWORD

All three books present in this novel deal with the theme of the Federation's Prime Directive. For those of you not terribly familiar with the Star Trek universe (all rights owned by Paramount) or its Prime Directive, allow me to provide a brief background.

"The United Federation of Planets (abbreviated as UFP and commonly referred to as the Federation) was an interstellar federal republic, composed of planetary governments that agreed to exist semi-autonomously under a single central government based on the principles of universal liberty, rights, and equality, and to share their knowledge and resources in peaceful cooperation and space exploration. One of the most powerful interstellar states in known space, it encompassed 8,000 light years and at least a thousand planets. The total number of formal members worlds was over one hundred and fifty.

Unlike its imperial rivals, who derived power from a single species subjugating other races, the Federation's various member worlds joined willingly and were equals in the Federation's democratic society. The Federation Starfleet was incorporated to maintain exploratory, scientific, diplomatic, and defense functions." (Source: /wiki/United_Federation_of_Planets)

One of their foundational ethical principles was a directive of non-interference known as The Prime Directive. "The Prime Directive had 47 sub-orders by the latter part of the 24th century. However, a high-level summary was "no identification of self or mission; no interference with the social development of said planet; no references to space, other worlds, or advanced civilizations." The directive provided guidance on what constituted prohibited "interference" with a society, covering such matters as:

Providing knowledge of other inhabited worlds (even if individuals or governments in the society were already aware of such)

Providing knowledge of technologies or science

Taking actions to generally affect a society's overall development

Taking actions which support one faction within a society over another

Helping a society escape the negative consequences of its own actions

Helping a society escape a natural disaster known to the society, even if inaction would result in a society's extinction.

Subverting or avoiding the application of a society's laws

Interfering in the internal affairs of a society "

(Source: /wiki/Prime_Directive)

For clarity, units and numbers are converted to more human-friendly terms. Dosadi use base-8 numbering and most space-faring nations base distance calculations on the wavelength of the hydrogen absorption line – a universal constant – rather than Earth-centric light-years or parsecs.

This novel is a sequel to The Dosadi Suite, but can be read as a stand-alone as well.

Book 1: Rileeta

This story follows the career of Corin's adopted daughter Rileeta (See The Dosadi Suite: Cycle 5 – Finale) as she is brought into conflict with the Federation's Prime Directive and Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the USS Enterprise.

Book 2: Shard

This story deals with the life of Sharden, a Dosadi male who has been an outcast his entire life, but who believes he has found a home in Starfleet. However, he also must struggle with the Prime Directive when the choice is to obey the code and allow over a billion sentient beings to die, or to commit a heinous crime in the Federation's eyes.

Book 3: Chance

The Dosadi captain of a small Federation science scout discovers a barbaric and oppressive society and decides to fan the flames of rebellion in direct violation of the Prime Directive.