Part of the Star Trek: The Next Generation Relaunch.
A series of three books (Hell's Heart, The Jackal's Trick and The Hall of Heroes) written by John Jackson Miller and released from September-November 2016, Star Trek: Prey is set after the events of Star Trek: The Fall, Takedown and Armageddon's Arrow and features both the U.S.S. Enterprise-E and the U.S.S. Titan as political intrigue and paranoia threaten to destroy the Klingon Empire from within.
2285 - Commander Kruge is dead, slain at the hands of James T. Kirk on the Genesis Planet (Star Trek III: The Search for Spock). Kruge's death throws his powerful House into disarray as various factions from within and without try to take leadership. Korgh, protégé of the late commander, is left with the remains of Kruge's various gambits and vows revenge upon both the Federation and the Empire.
2386 - The Enterprise is pulled back from her mission of exploration by Admiral Riker to ferry members of the House of Kruge to the planet Gamaral to celebrate the centennial of their triumph in the battle for Kruge's legacy, presided over by Emperor Kahless himself. However, once on Gamaral Korgh springs the trap he has spent over a century building. Now it's a race against time as Picard, Riker and Worf must unravel the secrets of the aged Korgh before Chancellor Martok's reign is torn apart.
These books contain examples of:
- Bat Family Crossover: Unlike Star Trek: Destiny, this is a much smaller-scale (though no less impactful) crossover between the TNG Relaunch and Titan (with a supporting role from the DS9 Relaunch thanks to the involvement of Ezri Daz and the Aventine).
- Black Sheep: General Kersh is the only member of the House of Kruge who is honorable. However as a female, she cannot lead the House once it is decapitated. Once Korgh's deceptions are revealed, Martok appoints her head of the House.
- The Caligula: Kruge's descendants in the 24th Century (except for Kersh) are mostly braggarts, drunkards, leches, or various types of spoiled gluttons.
- Church Militant: Ykredna and the old guard briefly take back control of the Holy Order of the Kinshaya, and take this trope to its extreme, encouraged via Breen manipulation to launch a crusade against the Klingons.
- Con Man: Buxtus Cross, Betazoid, consummate actor and conscienceless murderer, and the other members of the Circle of Jilaan.
- Continuity Nod: Many, to such events as the Takedown incident in a previous Miller book, the attack on the Federation Consulate by Klahb in Star Trek: A Time to..., and the Breen-Kinshaya shenanigans of The Struggle Within.
- Gambit Pileup: Just about everyone involved in Korgh's scheme has machinations and schemes of their own to gain money, power, or both. By the third book, it's hard to tell who is on what side.
- Give Me a Sign: The Kinshaya look for signs from the gods, and often seem ready to pass off almost anything as such a sign if it helps them politically; as T'Ryssa Chen notes, a 3% increase in taproot yield presented as a miraculous sign must mean the gods favour taproot, but not by much.
- Hand Wave: The various differences in Klingon ships of the same type is explained as being the result of each major House constructing vessels for the Empire, with all of them including slight variations in the design.
- Human Sacrifice: Ykredna tries to feed her rival Yeffir to the god Niamlar, who is known in Kinshaya mythology to devour enemies of the faith (most notably, she supposedly swallowed Kahless). Niamlar, being in reality a giant illusion, suggests Yeffir be kept alive.
- Interquel: The 23rd-century elements of the story take place one year after Star Trek III: The Search for Spock and shortly after the events of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier.
- Literary Allusion Title: Hell's Heart is, of course, that old Star Trek favourite Moby-Dick. The Jackal's Trick is from The Second Jungle Book, which Cross quotes in the novel.
- Old Soldier: Kahless has shades of this, despite being very young, as a result of having the whole sum of the original's wisdom and legacy implanted into him.
- Plausible Deniability: Korgh thinks that he has developed enough escapes in his plan so that no one would ultimately convict him of being involved. At least, until Martok and Worf bring forth the one witness to Korgh's crimes who is utterly unimpeachable: Ambassador Spock
- Succession Crisis: Kruge died without a direct heir to his House. Various factions of his family (legitimate or otherwise) battled for control since the House was a very powerful one, but chose to unite when his military allies tried to seize the house instead.
- Underestimating Badassery: Korgh's plan basically fails because he does this for both sides, as he underestimates what his enemies are capable of and overestimates his own influence over his 'allies'.
- Unperson: The losers of the Battle of Gamaral were branded as traitors and erased from Klingon history. When encountered, they even state they have "no name" and are not Klingons. Korgh suffers the same fate, which allows Starfleet to then arrest him for his crimes against the Federation.
