History Literature / StarTrekCoda

*** ''Oblivion's Gate'' has further parallels to "ComicBook/TimeRunsOut" as [[spoiler: our heroes, like the Avengers and the Incursions, realize there's ''no'' way to stop the Temporal Apocalypse and they're all going to die. Like the various Avengers factions, the Starfleet characters are faced with the choice of giving into that despair and nihilism, or rising to the ocassions as heroes in the face of annihilation -- and even if it won't matter. Finally, like Valeria Richards' advice to her father, the Starfleet heroes essentially realize that while they ''can't'' win, they instead have to figure out how not to ''lose''.]]

** ''The Ashes of Tomorrow'' and the basic setup for ''Oblivion's Gate'' bear similarities to ComicBook/TheAvengersJonathanHickman. [[spoiler: Like Tony Stark and the Illuminati, Picard and his allies have gone rogue to stop the Temporal Apocalypse (and arguably also, like the Illuminati, arrogantly believe their way is the ''right'' one and only they can stop this). Like Steve Rogers during ''Time Runs Out'', Riker is leading the manhunt for the fugitives -- and like Steve's pursuit of Tony, Riker is less focused on actually solving the crisis threatening all of existence and more hellbent on punishing Picard and bringing him to justice at any and all costs. Finally, the Devidians operating from outside of time also mirrors the Beyonders.]]
*** ''Oblivion's Gate'' has further parallels to "Time Runs Out" as [[spoiler: our heroes, like the Avengers and the Incursions, realize there's ''no'' way to stop the Temporal Apocalypse and they're all going to die. Like the various Avengers factions, the Starfleet characters are faced with the choice of giving into that despair and nihilism, or rising to the ocassions as heroes in the face of annihilation -- and even if it won't matter. Finally, like Valeria Richards' advice to her father, the Starfleet heroes essentially realize that while they ''can't'' win, they instead have to figure out how not to ''lose''.]]

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome:
** ''The Ashes of Tomorrow'' reveals a, in-hindsight, completely logical repercussion from ''The Search for Spock''. [[spoiler: After Kirk and company stole the ''Enterprise'', Starfleet unsurprisingly revised all Spacedock security procedures and implemented contingencies to prevent that exact kind of scenario from ever happening again. The security protocol's even named the Kirk Contingency.]]
** [[spoiler: The destruction of the Bajoran wormhole in ''Ashes'' leaves any Alpha/Beta Quadrant ships and colonies in the Gamma Quadrant completely stranded and cut off. While the Gamma Quadrant ''is'' still reachable to Starfleet thanks to their slipstream drive technology, it'll obviously take time to dispatch rescue ships...and Starfleet ''is'' rather busy right now.]]
** [[spoiler: The events of the last half decade within the Novel Verse are cited as one major reason for Starfleet Command and the President's HeadInTheSandManagement over the Temporal Apocalypse. The Federation has been through so much (if anything ''too'' much) in recent years: the Tezwa crisis, the Borg invasion, Nan Bacco's assassination, and the exposure of Section 31 and Uraei. Public faith and trust in the Federation leadership and Starfleet is at an all-time low (and confidence inside the government is not doing much better either). The leadership's trying to be cautious and verify beyond any doubt how bad the situation is before going public or taking large-scale action.]]
*** Ironically, [[spoiler: Riker also uses this same basic argument against Picard after he goes rogue. Between the Borg invasion, his role in Min Zife's removal and execution being exposed, and Rene's rapid aging, Riker thinks the stress and trauma's finally cracked Jean-Luc and he's become delusional.]]
** Worf gets hit with this in [[spoiler: ''Oblivion's Gate'' after they seek refuge in the mirror universe. In his case, he ''is'' the counterpart of Regent Worf. So while the Memory Omega personnel like the Mirror K'Ehleyr intellectually know he's ''not'' the Regent (and even though the Regent's been dead for years at this point), they also still can't suppress their ingrained contempt and hatred of the tyrant. Likewise, K’Ehleyr learning her counterpart was this Worf's true love goes about as well as you'd expect.]]
*** Kira likewise (and not for the first time) runs into this same problem with [[spoiler: mirror universe denizens who remember and still despise the now-dead Intendant Kira.]]

-->'''Swallow:''' [[spoiler: One of the reasons we decided to take a main cast member and do away with them in this dramatic fashion, is we wanted to say to the readers, 'All bets are off. Nobody is safe, and you’re not going to know how this is going to play out.]]

* TheWorfEffect: The Guardian of Forever is destroyed just to show the threat means business.

* WorfHadTheFlu: [[spoiler: Again, Worf commanding the ''Aventine'' against the ''Titan'' in ''The Ashes of Tomorrow'' due to his aforementioned temporal psychosis.]]
* YouHaveGotToBeKiddingMe: [[spoiler: Picard and Wesley's reactions when they realize that Starfleet Command and the president aren't taking the Devidian crisis seriously enough despite the evidence and arguments they've presented.]]
** [[spoiler: Picard in particular can't believe that diplomatic options with the Devidians are even being proposed. As Picard reminds them, he ''already'' tried that approach back in the previous book, let alone 20 years earlier during "Time's Arrow"....and it ''didn't'' work either time. The Devidians, like the Borg, ''aren't'' going to stop and they ''can't'' be negotiated or reasoned with.]]

* YouNeedToGetLaid: [[spoiler: The Mirror K'Ehleyr more or less tells Worf this during their GladToBeAliveSex.]]
* YouLookFamiliar: In-universe example during ''The Ashes of Tomorrow''. Wesley briefly mistakes Tom Paris for [[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS5E19TheFirstDuty Nicholas Locarno]]. Paris even lampshades it, admitting he gets this a lot.

*** Indeed, as the readership knows all too well, [[spoiler: the Prime Reality Lal will ''not'' be resurrected (nor will Data, though the copy of his memories he downloaded into B-4 ''will'' survive until its termination in 2399). Because the Prime Picard and Beverly never married, Rene will never be conceived. And while the Prime Will and Deanna still have children, their daughter is ultimately Kestra Riker rather than Tasha.]]

** ''Moments Asunder'': A big one for longtime readers of the TNG Relaunch. The future (and previously classified) information Taurik uncovered from the ''Poklori gil dara'' back in ''Armageddon's Arrow'' is ''finally'' revealed: [[spoiler: Among other things, it contained information that the Borg are somehow still active in the 25th Century...which understandably ''shouldn't'' be possible with the Collective's defeat during ''Destiny''. However, with the recovered intel on the Temporal Apocalypse, Starfleet and the DTI now realize that they had it wrong. The ''Poklori gil dara'' isn't from Starfleet's 25th Century, but from an ''alternate'' 25th Century. Their timeline was attacked by the Devidians and their time jump instead catapulted them across timelines rather than their original intended temporal destination.]]

** Also ultimately averted with [[spoiler: the Devidians by the end of the trilogy. Since the Devidians existed in the Prime Reality before the Novel Verse diverged, they survive the undoing of the Temporal Apocalypse. However, it's ''not'' a win for them...because the retroactive erasure of the Novel Verse timeline also erases the chain of events that inspired them to go from being temporal carrion eaters to timeline devourerers in the first place.]]

** [[spoiler: The 2373-A timeline created by the Borg in ''First Contract'' is revealed to still exist due to the temporal shenanigans likewise splitting it off from the Prime Reality. Like the Novel Verse, it is also (and ''finally'') destroyed by the end of ''Oblivion's Gate'' as part of ThePlan to end the Temporal Apocalypse.]]

* HeadIntheSandManagement:[[spoiler: Starfleet Command and the UFP President in ''The Ashes of Tomorrow''. While they obviously agree ''a'' crisis is underway, they're not taking the full scale and scope of the Temporal Apocalypse seriously enough. This is what finally makes Picard and company go rogue to take matters into their own hands before it's too late.]]

** The concluding installment lives up to David Mack's fan nickname of 'The Angel of Death', although it's also a complicated example. [[spoiler: The characters learn early on that the Novel Verse is doomed and they're all going to die no matter what. So while it's technically a KillEmAll, the driving tension is really more about who dies first, how, and whether their deaths will help stop the Temporal Apocalypse before it's too late. Leonard James Akaar and Kellessar zh'Tarash are killed when the Devidians destroy Earth. Sisko dies on the 2373-A Earth. The final battle claims the Mirror ''C.S.S. Enterprise'' characters (Luc Picard, Troi, and K'Ehleyr), Mirror Ezri, Geordi, Wesley, Bashir, Worf, Alexander, Kira, Data, Lal, and the entire ''Titan'' cast (including Deanna and Will). The only heroes still standing in the final seconds are Picard, Beverly, and Rene -- and they all die once Picard initiates the temporal recursion and the Novel Verse is retroactively erased.]]

* KillEmAll: Played with during [[spoiler: ''Oblivion's Gate'' once it's made clear the Novel Verse is doomed and everyone in it is dead one way or the other. While everyone ''does'' indeed die, the focus is less on killing 'em and more on making those deaths ''matter'' in trying to stop the Temporal Apocalypse in time.]]

** After the release of ''Ashes'', James Swallow's [[https://blog.trekcore.com/2021/11/interview-james-swallow-star-trek-coda-ashes-of-tomorrow indicated]] that [[spoiler: he, Ward, and Mack did not want to use the ''Voyager'' characters in order to honor the conclusion of Kirsten Beyer's VOY Relaunch tenure.

* PyrrhicVillainy: [[spoiler: The ending of ''Moments Asunder'' reveals this is the inevitable outcome of the Temporal Apocalypse for the Devidians if they're not stopped. They're gorging themselves on the neural energies of countless timelines and will never have enough to sate their appetites. But their campaign is weakening space-time as they move from newer alternate timelines to older, more stable timelines and realities. Their avarice will end up collapsing all of time and existence and will destroy both their food sources ''and'' themselves.]]

** Subverted with [[spoiler: the now-insane Riker during ''Oblivion's Gate'' when he illegally commandeers Starfleet resources to hunt down Picard and defies direct orders to stand down from Akaar and President zh'Tarash. ''He'' certaintly thinks he's doing this trope, but he's actually only making things worse.]]

** Worf commanding the [[spoiler: ''Aventine'' against Riker and the ''Titan'' in ''The Ashes of Tomorrow''. It should be an even match, but instead, Worf botches the engagement and nearly jeopardizes their entire mission. It's a justified instance, though, because Worf is suffering from temporal psychosis in the middle of the battle and is thus off his game.]]

** ''The Ashes of Tomorrow'' and the basic setup for ''Oblivion's Gate'' bear similarities to ComicBook/JonathanHickmansAvengers. [[spoiler: Like Tony Stark and the Illuminati, Picard and his allies have gone rogue to stop the Temporal Apocalypse (and arguably also, like the Illuminati, arrogantly believe their way is the ''right'' one and only they can stop this). Like Steve Rogers during ''Time Runs Out'', Riker is leading the manhunt for the fugitives -- and like Steve's pursuit of Tony, Riker is less focused on actually solving the crisis threatening all of existence and more hellbent on punishing Picard and bringing him to justice at any and all costs. Finally, the Devidians operating from outside of time also mirrors the Beyonders.]]

* AdultFear:
** [[spoiler: Rene Picard is hit by a Naga's RapidAging attack and is aged into a young man with a six year old's mind. Picard and Beverly are helpless to do anything for him.]]
** Fear of losing [[spoiler: Deanna and Tasha to an existential crisis is a factor in Riker's hostility towards Picard during ''Ashes of Tomorrow''. However, in this instance, it's also worth noting that Riker's fear is also being influenced by his temporal psychosis and the fears/terrors of other deceased Rikers.]]

* AdultFear: [[spoiler: Rene Picard is hit by a Naga's RapidAging attack and is aged into a young man with a six year old's mind. Picard and Beverly are helpless to do anything for him.]]

* AllForNothing: [[spoiler: In ''The Ashes of Tomorrow'', Riker declares that by aiding Picard, Tom and B'Elanna have thrown away their futures and all the goodwill and redemption they've gained in the decade since returning from the Delta Quadrant. Tom [[WorthIt counters]] that if Picard ''doesn't'' stop the Temporal Apocalypse, it won't matter...because there will be no future for ''anyone'']].

* AlternateTimeline: [[spoiler: ''Oblivion's Gate'' confirms in-story for the characters what the readership already knows: That the Novel Verse is ultimately an alternate timeline (dubbed 'The First Splinter' in-universe). The surprise for both readers and characters is learning ''where'' and ''when'' it diverged from the Prime Reality: The events of ''Film/StarTrekFirstContact'' and the ''Enterprise''-E's jaunt back to 2063.]]
** [[spoiler: The 2373-A timeline created by the Borg in that film is also revealed to still exist due to the aforementioned temporal shenanigans likewise splitting it off from the Prime Reality. Like the Novel Verse, it is also (and ''finally'') destroyed by the end of ''Oblivion's Gate'' as part of ThePlan to end the Temporal Apocalypse.]]

* AnyoneCanDie: And how! [[spoiler: The Guardian of Forever, Ezri Dax, T'ryssa Chen, Taurik, and others all die in the first book alone.]]

** The concluding installment lives up to David Mack's fan nickname of 'The Angel of Death', although it's also a complicated example. [[spoiler: The characters learn early on that the Novel Verse is doomed and they're all going to die no matter what. So while it's technically a KillEmAll, the driving tension is really more about who dies first, how, and whether their deaths will help stop the Temporal Apocalypse before it's too late.]]
*** To elaborate on the final butcher's bill, [[spoiler: Leonard James Akaar and Kellessar zh'Tarash are killed when the Devidians destroy Earth. Sisko dies on the 2373-A Earth. The final battle claims the Mirror ''C.S.S. Enterprise'' characters (Luc Picard, Troi, and K'Ehleyr), Mirror Ezri, Geordi, Wesley, Bashir, Worf, Alexander, Kira, Data, Lal, and the entire ''Titan'' cast (including Deanna and Will). The only heroes still standing in the final seconds are Picard, Beverly, and Rene -- and they all die once Picard initiates the temporal recursion and the Novel Verse is retroactively erased.]]

* BookEnds: A meta one for James Swallow in ''The Ashes of Tomorrow''. Swallow's very first contribution to the Novel Verse was the short story "Closure" for the ''Voyager'' anthology ''Distant Shores''. As he concedes in the Afterword, ''Coda'' thematically brings all of his work in the Novel Verse full circle.

** David Mack gets one in ''Oblivion's Gate'' with the cameo of Sonya Gomez and the ''[=DaVinci=]''. His very first contribution to the Novel Verse was the ''Literature/StarfleetCorpsOfEngineers'' novel ''Wildfire'', so having the S.C.E. characters return (albeit briefly) works as a nice bookend.
*** In addition, Mack's first direct-to-paperback books in the Novel Verse were ''A Time To Kill'' and ''A Time To Heal'' from the ''Literature/StarTrekATimeTo'' series. As ''Oblivion's Gate'' is his final direct-to-paperback book in the Novel Verse, Mack likewise includes plenty of callbacks and nods to that earlier duology.

* CallForward: [[https://blog.trekcore.com/2021/11/interview-james-swallow-star-trek-coda-ashes-of-tomorrow According]] to Swallow, [[spoiler: O'Brien's death scene]] during ''The Ashes of Tomorrow'' was intended to be a subtle CallForward to ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekLowerDecks'' [[spoiler: and the [[Recap/StarTrekLowerDecksS1E03TemporalEdict statue]] in the future citing Miles as perhaps the most important person in Starfleet History.]]

* EasilyForgiven: [[spoiler: The ''Titan'' crew towards Riker in ''Oblivion's Gate'' after his temporal psychosis is cured and explained to the ship. Even with all the weird crap and possessions Starfleet (to say nothing of the ''Titan'' itself) has dealt with, Riker understandably did ''not'' expect to be forgiven by Vale or his crew after his actions and behavior throughout the last two books.]]
** Likewise, [[spoiler: Picard and Riker easily and quickly reconcile when the ''Titan'' arrives at the final battle at the Devidian temporal collider. It doesn't hurt that they're the cavalry and this is literally their last chance to reconcile before the temporal recursion's initiated.]]

* ForegoneConclusion: Regardless of how it ends, this trilogy ''will'' conclude the Novel Verse. Ironically, this also means we have ''no'' idea ''how'' it's going to conclude. Since it doesn't have to ensure the continuation of this continuity, ''anything'' can happen and ''anyone'' or ''anything'' can die.

*** Mack also leaves it ambiguous if [[spoiler: the Prime Reality Borg ''didn't'' arise from the Caeliar, or if it's just the 2373-A Borg (given Starfleet never existed in this reality and thus Erika Hernandez and the ''Columbia'' never stumbled upon Erigol and set off that particular chain of events).]]
* FromBadToWorse: Meta example. David Mack has cheerfully [[https://www.trekbbs.com/threads/coda-book-1-moments-asunder-by-dayton-ward-review-thread.309148/page-3#post-13904394 invoked]] this Trope after the release of ''Moments Asunder'' and in response to the angry reactions to the kickoff's body count.

** The ending of ''Moments Asunder'': [[spoiler: As stated in Bittersweet Ending, Picard and company learn that the scale and scope of the Temporal Apocalypse is ''far'' worse than they thought. The Devidians' actions aren't just affecting nearby timelines, but ''all'' timelines. If the Devidians aren't stopped, they could bring down all of existence...and the Novel Verse's timeline might have to be destroyed to halt the cascade...]]

* GrandFinale: This will be the final trilogy of books set in the ''Literature/StarTrekNovelverse.''

* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: According to Wesley in ''Moments Asunder'', this appears to have been the collective reaction of higher powers like the Organians, the Metrons, and even the Q to the Temporal Apocalypse. Wesley had previously sought out their assistance, only to discover they had moved on from this reality.[[spoiler: However, Wesley's also afraid that the Devidians might have targeted them as they did the Travelers, but Geordi at least doesn't think so. If the Devidians ''had'' wiped out the aforementioned higher powers, they'd be bragging about it (as they were about the Traveler purge).]]
** After the release of ''Oblivion's Arrow'', David Mack revealed that [[spoiler: the real-world reason Q didn't appear in the trilogy was because they were barred from using the entity due to his role in ''Picard'' Season Two.]]

** Ward also stated that in his outline, Future Wesley was nicknamed [[ComicBook/OldManLogan Old Man Wesley]].

** Also in ''The Ashes of Tomorrow'', a Starfleet ship is mentioned named the [[{{Series/Raumpatrouille}} USS Orion, under the command of Captain McLane.]]

* SpannerInTheWorks: [[spoiler: Riker ends up being this for Picard and Wesley when they brief Starfleet Command on the Temporal Apocalypse in ''The Ashes of Tomorrow''. They knew trying to get the Admiralty on board wasn't gonna be easy, but they were also understandably expecting Will would be one of their biggest advocates and allies (especially given he was there in "Time's Arrow" and has a better understanding of the Devidians than anyone else at Command). Instead, Will is off his game, distracted, and unsupportive.]]
** [[spoiler: Picard and Wesley were also understandably expecting DTI would support them in this briefing given their involvement in the previous book. After all, if ''anyone'' at Starfleet can understand the scale and scope of the Temporal Apocalypse, it would be the Department of Temporal Investigations. To their surprise, DTI ends up taking a more neutral stance and while Picard knows it isn't over yet, he also knows the chances of convincing the Admirality without DTI's support have now just plunged significantly.]]
* SplitPersonality: [[spoiler: ''The Ashes of Tomorrow'' reveals this is more or less what's been afflicting Worf and Riker since ''Moments Asunder''. Countless psionic fragments of their dead counterparts from other realities destroyed by the Devidians are bleeding into the Novel Verse's timeline and rooting themselves in Worf and Riker's psyches -- and with them, all their pain and terror. Spock even characterizes it as a Temporal Personality Disorder.]]

* TakingYouWithMe: [[spoiler: Nog, Ro, and Quark's deaths during ''The Ashes of Tomorrow'' in a nutshell.]]

* TakeThat: Meta Example. In a pre-release interview, Dayton Ward [[https://blog.trekcore.com/2021/09/interview-dayton-ward-star-trek-coda-trilogy discussed]] how the development of the trilogy was influenced by how Disney had handled the same situation with ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'' during the lead-up to the release of ''The Force Awakens''.
-->'''Ward''': When we first started to get a sense of just what was involved in realigning the book lines with the new shows, we said we don’t want to do a ''Star Wars''. We definitely don’t want to tell people who’ve been buying these books for 20 years, “None of this counts, none of this matters, you wasted all your time and your money. Oh, and by the way, buy our new books which are tied back into the show now!” How do you sell that? You don’t.
** ''The Ashes of Tomorrow'' has an arguable In-Universe one towards Kirk. [[spoiler: Earth Spacedock's revised security protocol to prevent a repeat of the hijacking of the ''Enterprise'' during ''The Search for Spock'' is explicitly named after Kirk. One might imagine the Spacedock command crew, like Styles and the ''Excelsior'', were left humiliated by the incident and this was their small revenge.]]