Literature / Star Trek: Picard - Firewall

Warning: Star Trek: Picard - Firewall is a direct sequel to events in Star Trek: Voyager and a direct prequel to events in Star Trek: Prodigy and Star Trek: Picard, so Late Arrival Spoilers for those shows may be unmarked on this page.

Star Trek: Picard - Firewall is the fifth Picard novel, written by veteran Star Trek novelist David Mack. It is the first tie-in novel to be published following the conclusion of Picard's run in April 2023. It also marks Mack's return to the 24th Century era tie-in literature following the completion of Star Trek: Coda and its reboot in late 2021.

The novel focuses upon Seven of Nine, picking up her story in the aftermath of the USS Voyager's return home to the Alpha Quadrant. It also dramatizes the pre-established broad strokes of Starfleet's rejection of the ex-Borg Drone and her eventual enlistment in the Fenris Rangers.

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Pre-release material for Firewall provides examples of:

• Actually Pretty Funny: Seven's genuinely amused by the Andorian woman who steals her panties (presumably as a post-coital trophy) after their one night stand together on Starheim.
• The Alcoholic: The early stages of Seven's alcoholism during Picard Season One are shown in this novel.
• Arc Welding: In addition to serving as a follow-up to Voyager, Mack ties together threads not only from all three Seasons of Picard, but also Star Trek: Prodigy, Star Trek: Picard - The Last Best Hope, and world building elements from the audio drama No Man's Land.
• Becoming the Mask: Seven infiltrated the Fenris Rangers as part of a deal with the Federation Security Agency to observe and report in exchange for the approval of her Federation citizenship application. Instead, Seven ultimately falls in with the Rangers and becomes loyal to them.
• Big Bad: General Kohgish, a Qiris Sector military commander who went rogue and set himself up as a local Warlord. Except it turns out it's a subversion He's really just The Dragon to the true Big Bad: Renegade Ex-FSA Spymaster Arastoo Mardani.
• Bittersweet Ending: Thanks to the efforts of Seven, Ellory Kayd, and their allies, General Kohgish and Arastoo Mardanis are brought to justice. Seven and Janeway reach an understanding and Seven remains with the Fenris Rangers. But Seven's mentor Keon Harper was KIA and Seven's romance with Ellory will eventually come to an end. Seven will also not be able to return to the Federation and join Starfleet until nearly 20 years later. More, the eventual collapse of the Romulan Evacuation throws the Qiris Sector into chaos — thus negating all of Seven and company's sacrifices and efforts. Finally, the ending of the novel sees Seven recruit the woman the audience knows is Bjayzl, the Freecloud criminal who will betray her and get Icheb killed.
• Both Sides Have a Point. Janeway's argument with the FSA Director about Seven's loyalties late in the novel. The Director isn't wrong about Seven's behavior during VOY Seasons Four and Five and her attempts to return to the Collective (especially prior to turning points of "The Raven" and "Dark Frontier"). Even after Seven chose Voyager, her behavior and actions were still questionable during the ship's final years in the Delta Quadrant. But Janeway likewise isn't wrong that Seven was experiencing culture shock and being separated from the only home and family she'd known for most of her life. Seven's more questionable actions were also out of her attempt to protect her surrogate Collective — context that only the people who were actually aboard Voyager and saw Seven's struggles and growth firsthand can truly understand and appreciate.
• Broken Pedestal: Both Janeway are Seven are left bitterly disappointed and angry that Starleet and the UFP refuse to see Seven as anything more than an enemy combatant rather than a former Drone who reclaimed her humanity.
• Call-Forward:
  • Seven fears Janeway's threat to Resign in Protest to advocate for her Federation citizenship, noble as it is, will ultimately not work and destroy her career for nothing. This foreshadows exactly what's going to happen to Jean-Luc Picard several years from now when he plays the same trump card after the collapse of the Romulan Evacuation.
    • Likewise, Starfleet and the Federation's reactionary response to Seven's Borg heritage also foreshadows how they'll respond to the Synth Attack on Mars and implement the Synth Ban.
  • Tuvok has accepted a position with Starfleet Tactical, thus setting up his status quo come Picard Season Three.
• The Cameo: Several Deep Space Nine crossover cameos. Captain Solok has a brief apperance (and is still as pompous as ever). Brunt likewise puts in an appearance as a Ferengi bounty hunter hired by Arastoo Mardani.
• Canon Character All Along: The nameless, eager potential Fenris Rangers recruit Seven converses with in the Framing Device. The very last line of the epilogue reveals this isn't some hitherto unknown and random alien woman, but none other than Bjayzl, the Freecloud criminal who'll cause Seven immense personal pain in the years to come.
• Canon Welding:
  • Elements of the Star Trek: Voyager Relaunch are re-canonized (Seven reconnecting with her Aunt, the Doctor's quest for photonic civil rights, etc.).
  • Brunt's post-FCA career as a Bounty Hunter during the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Relaunch is formally re-canonized (thus implying his disgrace and exile from Ferenginar still happened in the mainstream continuity. May also double as Author Appeal, as Mack had used Brunt in his last Titan novel prior to the Coda reset.
• Closet Key: Downplayed. While Seven was already bi-curious before joining the Fenris Rangers, her romance with Ellory Kayd fully pushed her to embrace her latent bisexuality.
• Comic-Book Fantasy Casting: According to Mack, his fantasy casting for Fenris Rangers Keon Harper and Ellory Kayd are Jeff Bridges and Jessica Henwick respectively.
• Coming of Age Story: Mack acknowledges Firewall was constructed to be one for Seven (or at least be a Queernormative spin on the trope).
• Continuity Overlap: Firewall begins in 2381 and concludes in 2386. So, it runs parallel not only to the early events of Star Trek: Picard - The Last Best Hope, but also the lead-up to Season One of Star Trek: Prodigy (specifically the off-screen launch of the Protostar and Chakotay's maiden voyage).
• Create Your Own Hero: Arastoo Ardani's attempts to use Seven as a pawn to bring down the Fenris Rangers from the inside instead ends up creating one very loyal, determined, and pissed off new Ranger.
• Create Your Own Villain: This is part of why Seven pushes Janeway to abandon her lobbying on behalf of the ex-Borg Drone. Seven fears that the more Janeway advocates for her, the more unnecessary enemies the Admiral's going to make both in Starfleet and the Federation government. Indeed, Janeway's loyalty towards Seven ends up earning her the personal enmity of the Director of the Federation Security Agency before novel's end.
• A Day in the Spotlight: For Seven of Nimne.
  • The Fenris Rangers, too. Mack draws upon all the preceding groundwork from Picard and the audio-drama No Man's Land to fully flesh out the organization, their history, the hierarchical structure, and give them their most in-depth world-building so far.
• Didn't Think This Through: Seven's fateful conversation with Bjayzl in the framing device — especially once the topic of Borg technology comes up. While she's being circumspect about her own residual Borg technology and implants, the reader knows it won't occur to Seven until it's too late that she's put a target on Icheb by mentioning him.
• Doomed by Canon: The Qiris Sector. Despite Seven and the Fenris Rangers ultimately bringing down General Kohgish, the collapse of the Romulan Evacuation will render all their efforts in vain and leave it a chaotic, lawless realm by the time of Picard Season One. The prologue even shows the beginning of everything starting to going to hell.
  • Downplayed with the off-screen Chakotay and the Protostar. While they don't actually appear, the reader knows that this is during the lead-up to Prodigy Season One and thus knows their maiden voyage will not go according to plan.
• Early-Bird Cameo: The Dauntless and Tysess make their chronological first appearance here in advance of Prodigy Season One.
• Evil All Along: Arastoo Mardani.
• Expository Hairstyle Change: Mack provides an in-universe explanation for why Seven abandons her VOY-era medium-length French Twist hairstyle and has grown out her hair in the interim before Picard. Seven was trying to use the now-longer hair to help conceal her Borg implants from casual glances.
• Fatal Flaw: Janeway's Undying Loyalty to the Voyager crew — and Seven in particular. As noble and heartwarming as her quest to advocate for Seven is, Seven isn't wrong that it's giving Janeway tunnel vision. She's ignoring the very real dangers of trying to advocate for a former Borg Drone and the damage it's doing to her career (to say nothing of the enemies she's making along the way).
• Fantastic Racism: Seven's on the receiving end of this as an ex-Borg Drone both in the Federation and outside its borders. But Mack also explores why Seven got this particular treatment worse compared to Picard after "The Best of Both Worlds" and Wolf 359 (and despite his own share of anti-Borg backlash from Sisko, Norah Satie, Liam Shaw, and others). Mack's take is the underlying difference between them is that, for all intents, Picard had better PR. Picard's assimilation lasted mere days — and even assimilated, he was still ultimately crucial to stopping the 2366-67 incursion (to say nothing of the later 2373 incursion). Seven, by contrast, had been a Drone nearly all her life and also had none of Picard's reputation or cache within Starfleet and the Federation; even Janeway's endorsement and lobbying weren't enough to overcome political and public backlash.
  • Towards the end of the novel, it's also revealed that the deciding factor was that Seven chose to reject her dead name and embrace her Borg identity — something the UFP politicos and Starfleet found completely and utterly unforgivable (and in a direct contrast to Picard adamantly and fiercely rejecting his Locutus identity). They saw it as irrevocable proof that she was choosing the Borg over her own kind and was thus untrustworthy at best and a traitor at worst. Presumably, this is also one reason why Starfleet by contrast allowed Icheb to enter the Academy despite his Borg heritage (as he had rejected that identity).
• The Fellowship Has Ended: A major part of the opening of the book is Seven and Janway both reflecting on how the Voyager family has been dispersed and spread out all across the Quadrant as they go on with their lives.
• Fish out of Water: Seven's attempts to adjust to post—Voyager life, the Alpha Quadrant, etc.
  • In a way, Janeway's also dealing with this. She's struggling with readjusting to being back within Starfleet (let alone as an Admiral) after 7 years of operating without that support network and having the buck stop with her in the Delta Quadrant.
• Fix Fic: Among other things, Mack fills in the longstanding plot hole from Picard Season One of why Bjayzl didn't try to harvest Seven's Borg tech if she was targeting ex-Drones. Seven used the scuffle on Zirat to sell a lie that her nanoprobes and implants had been permanently deactivated. The implication is that Bjayzl believed her — which then backfired catastrophically as it's implied this is why she chose Icheb as a backup target.
  • Mack also loosely tackles the plot hole of why Seven was denied entry into Starfleet for her Borg heritage, but Icheb wasn't. Seven's embracing her Borg identity is cited as the reason that crystallized Starfleet and the UFP's reactionary responses. Icheb, by contrast, didn't embrace his Bog heritage (and it's also implied Icheb was far less of a PR and political lightning rod compared to Seven.
• Foregone Conclusion: As was established during Seasons One and Two of Picard, Seven will be unable to gain entry into Starfleet (due to Fantastic Racism over being ex-Borg). She will instead leave the Federation, join the Fenris Rangers and remain with them until becoming caught up in Picard's investigation into the Zhat Vash and the Soong Synthetics during Season One. The attempts to stabilize the Qiris Sector in the long-run will ultimately fail. Finally, Bjayzl will also dupe Seven and infiltrate the Fenris Rangers.
• Framing Device: The book opens in 2386 and a month after the UFP abandons the Romulan Evacuation. Seven is evaluating a potential new recruit to the Fenris Rangers (later revealed to be Bjayzl) and relays her story.
• Happy Ending Override: For Seven alone out of all the returning Voyager crewmen. As an ex-Borg Drone, she's not welcomed home and is viewed by distrust and rage by Federation civilians and Starfleet alike.
• Hero of Another Story:
  • Jean-Luc Picard, who's only mentioned indirectly and in passing (as he's concurrently overseeing the Romulan Evacuation efforts over in The Last Best Hope).
  • Chakotay due to the backstory of Prodigy and the off-screen launch of the Protostar mission.
• How the Mighty Have Fallen: A retroactive variation for the Fenris Rangers during Picard Season One. Mack's take on the Rangers is that they were a legitimate, sanctioned frontier peacekeeping force prior to the 2380s. But as the Qiris Sector begins falling apart as a consequence of the Romulan Evacuation, they lost their legitimacy. The Rangers who remained to continue the fight are struggling to hold everything with limited resources and allies. Everything gets worse after the UFP abandons the Romulans and the Supernova and the organization's a fractured shadow of its former self by the time of Picard Season One.
• Hypocrite: While it's not explicitly pointed out, all the UFP and Starfleet arguments that Seven's Borg heritage makes her untrustworthy, that she's secretly still loyal to the Collective and is an infiltrator, etc. And yet these same people didn't exactly bat at an eye at letting a post-assimilation Jean-Luc Picard remain in Starfleet or put him right back in the Captain's Chair of the Enterprise-D (though some like Norah Satie did voice this argument at least once).
• Interquel: The novel acts as a bridge between the conclusion of Star Trek: Voyager and Season One of Picard. It also acts as bridge for Seven as a character — between her Voyager-era post-Borg characterization and the more human and emotional Picard-era characterization.
• Law Enforcement, Inc.: The Fenris Rangers used to be a company of Private Military Contractors that handled law enforcement in the Qiris Sector. Played a lot more sympathetically than most, they proceeded to continue enforcing justice after the governments that hired them have collapsed. Now they're viewed as vigilantes.
• Like a Son to Me: Janeway outright admits she considers Seven to be the daughter she never had. It's why she fights so fiercely to get Seven accepted by Starfleet and the Federation and ignores the danger and damage to her career.
• Love at First Sight: Seven falls for Ellory Kayd during their first meeting.
• Mentor Occupational Hazard: Care to guess why we never heard or saw Keon Harper on Picard?
• Morally Bankrupt Banker: Zigzagged with the Ferengi. Their banks are helping to launder General Kohgish's stolen wealth, but this is also in the middle of Rom's tenure as Grand Nagus. So, there's the x-factor of Rom's ongoing reforms and that impacting Kohgish and Arastoo Mardani's attempt to recover the money Seven and the Fenris Rangers stole from them.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:
  • Starfleet pulling out of the Qiris Sector to aid the Romulan Evacuation is what sets off the events of the novel and leads to Arastoo Mardani and his colleagues going rogue.
  • As established in "Stardust City Rag", Seven not only lets Bjayzl into the Fenris Rangers, but accidentally tells her about Icheb — thereby setting of the chain of events leading to the harvesting of his Bog implants and nanoprobes and Seven's Mercy Kill.
• Police Are Useless: According to Seven in the opening, the Capetown police believe it was local teenagers who were responsible for the anti-Borg vandalizing of her home. But they've also made no real effort to find said perpetrators (with the implication they secretly condone the action).
• Prequel: To Season One of Picard, dramatizing how Seven of Nine joins the Fenris Rangers. It's also a very loose prequel to Season One of Prodigy as well.
• Put on a Bus: Aside from Seven and Janeway, none of the other VOY characters appear. This is justified at least with Chakotay (whose chronological status is locked in by the backstory of Prodigy Season One), the Doctor (due to Prodigy Season Two), and Tuvok (due to his Picard Season Three status quo). From a real-world perspective, it's also possible Mack couldn't use any other VOY characters to avoid contradicting whatever plans Prodigy or other current projects may have for them.
• Private Military Contractors: The Fenris Rangers used to be this alongside Law Enforcement, Inc.. Played more sympathetically than most as they were seasoned professionals who enforced the law for legitimate governments with rules of engagement as well as a devotion to the rule of law. This has degraded due to the fact the government they used to serve no longer exists.
• Rank Up: According to Janeway's updates on the Voyager crew, Harry Kim has finally gotten a promotion.
• Resign in Protest: As was established during Picard Season Two, Admiral Janeway threatened to resign in protest if Seven's Federation citizenship and Starfleet applications weren't approved. Seven leaving Earth was in part to stop her from going through with a decision she knew her former Captain would regret (and which likely won't even work).
• Remember the New Guy?: Seven's Fenris Ranger mentor Keon Harper and lover Ellory Kayd, who've never been mentioned or appeared on Picard prior to this novel.
• Renegade Splinter Faction: Arastoo Mardani and his renegade ex-FSA colleagues. They go rogue partly because of the legitimate concerns about renegade Romulans taking advantage of the Qiris Sector situation, but also really because they see it as a chance to set themselves up as black market kingpins and political makers.
• Resolved Noodle Incident: For the backstory of "Stardust City Rag". The Framing Device finally reveals the specific details of how Bjayzl infiltrated the Fenris Rangers, duped Seven, and learned of Icheb.
• Rules Lawyer: Seven uses this to try and get Starfleet to intervene in the Qiris Sector situation partway through. Unfortunately, she's dealing with Solok, AKA a Vuclan Starfleet Captain. And as a Vulcan, Solok does this right back to her to justify not intervening.
• Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: Deconstructed. Janeway tries to use this trope and her favors and connections (both pre and post-Voyager celebrityhood) to advocate for Seven. If it were any other member of Voyager's crew, it would've worked. But in the end, even Janeway's celebrityhood and influence just can't overcome the long-ingrained institutional hatred and terror everyone in the Federation government and military have towards anything Borg-related.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: After over 2 years of futilely trying to be accepted by the UFP and Starfleet, Seven finally decides to remove herself from Earth.
• Self-Fulfilling Prophecy. Seven is driven out of the Federation and Starfleet by Fantastic Racism and the belief she's a traitor and untrustworthy. She then falls in with the Fenris Rangers, comes into conflict with Starfleet, and undermines Federation interests trying to stop General Kohgish — thus "proving" Starfleet was right about her being a traitor and untrustworthy. When she hears this argument, Janeway naturally and acidly lampshades Starfleet's stupidity and shortsightedness.
• Series Continuity Error: Minor example when Keon Harper is advocating for Seven and she's compared to Picard's assimilation. His transformation into Locutus, as per the opening scroll of "Emissary", was stated to have lasted 6 days, whereas here it's stated as lasting mere hours. Then again, this is a non-Federation paramilitary group, so it could easily be hand-waved away as them getting the details wrong.
• Simultaneous Arcs: Downplayed. Again, Firewall is running parallel with the first part of The Last Best Hope. While Picard's mentioned in passing (albeit indirectly) and the repercussions of the Romulan Evacuation directly impact this novel's events, the overlap's technically minimal.
• The Sociopath: Arastoo Mardani is outright called one by the FSA Director.
• Superman Stays Out of Gotham: Starfleet has no official presence in the Qiris Sector due to the Romulan Evacuation (between the reallocation of personnel and resources and the Sector's proximity to the Romulan border and the ongoing Neutral Zone headaches). The power vacuum and chaos is also what prompted Arastoo Mardani to go rogue.
• Time Skip: Firewall opens 2.5 years after the events of ''Endgame".
• Trans Tribulations: A variation. Mack expands up on the groundwork from Picard Season Three and plays up the Trans allegory of Seven's post-Borg life and identity. Just like Captain Liam Shaw two decades later, people like Seven's Aunt continue to deadname Seven (calling her Annika rather than listen to or accept Seven's request that her birth name no longer holds any meaning for her). This ends up being a major part of why the Federation Council and Starfleet rejected her Citizenship and Starfleet Academy applications. They saw Seven's refusal to use her deadname and embrace her Borg identity as proof she was more loyal to the Borg than to humanity.
• Tuckerization: Mack named a Daundtless Starfleet character Lt. Shawna Benson, sister of Julie Benson. Both are writers on Star Trek: Prodigy (and Mack had previously worked with both of them while serving as Prodigy's creative consultant). Mack also did it to bookend a similar Tuckerization for Julie in his 2022 TOS/Vanguard crossover novel In Harm's Way.
• Vigilante Man: This is how the Fenris Rangers are viewed by Starfleet. There's actually some wiggle room as they were a legitimate bunch of contracted police before but the governments that hired them no longer exist.
• Villains Act, Heroes React: By the end of the novel, Seven has come to feel this is one of Starfleet's inherent flaws — especially given their mishandling of the Qiris Sector situation. It's part of why she becomes loyal to the more-proactive Fenris Rangers and their mission.
• Wham Line: The closing line of the book reveals that the potential Fenris Ranger recruit's Seven's been speaking to and evaluating in the Framing Device is none other than Bjayzl, the Freecloud criminal whose infiltration of the Rangers and duping of Seven will ultimately lead to Icheb's death.
• Whatever Happened to the Mouse?:
  • In-universe, Tom and B'Elanna are this when Janeway updates Seven on the status of the Voyager senior veterans. Janeway hasn't spoken to them in over a year and has no idea of their current whereabouts or status quo.
  • Ellory Kayd's fate between the end of the 2381 narrative and the 2386 framing device. It's implied she and Seven eventually broke up in the interim, but her exact fate is left unrevealed.
• You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Janeway's reaction when she learns the real reason Starfleet and the Federation Council rejected Seven's Academy and Citizenship applications. She can't believe the politicos and brass would be that petty and reactionary.