Walter Koenig and Chris McAuley Deliver A New Chekov Tale in Latest 'Star Trek Explorer Presents'

Star Trek Explorer presents a fully illustrated deluxe collectors' edition anthology featuring 14 illustrated stories situations from across the Star Trek universe, including Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Voyager, and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

For the first time ever, the book will collect stories including characters from Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: The Animated Series, and Star Trek: Picard!

The Star Trek Explorer Presents: 'A Year to the Day That I Saw Myself Die' and Other Stories collection hits shelves today, December 10; order now on Amazon, Forbidden Planet, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, or wherever you purchase your books.

These self-contained stories include an adventure following the aftermath of Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan, co-written by Mr. Chekov himself, Walter Koenig, a trip into Vulcan history, and, for the first time, stories featuring Picard's Jack Crusher, Annika Hansen/Seven of Nine, and Captain Liam Shaw.

Thanks to our friends at Titan Magazines, we have an exclusive excerpt of the short, "Chekov's Challenge," by Walter Koenig and Chris McAuley, with art by Neil Edwards and Johan Paul-Bove! .

STARDATE 8130

Commander Pavel Chekov stood by the viewport in his quarters aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise, his gaze was fixed upon the stars. The blurred points of light glinted across his eyes as the ship limped towards Earth Spacedock, still some light years distant. The Enterprise had been badly damaged in its most recent adventure, and Scotty had ensured that the senior staff knew that he was performing miracles in engineering, just to keep the ship at warp speed.

Chekov’s thoughts turned inward, towards the weeks since the devastating events surrounding Khan Noonien Singh’s return, and the sacrifice of Mr. Spock. Since joining the service, he’d always felt a passion for Starfleet’s mission to explore the uncharted realms of the universe. As a younger man, the adventures he had shared with the crew of the Enterprise had always filled him with a giddy joy, unsure of what dangers he would face or wonders he would encounter as each duty shift began. He had taken those feelings with him during his short and ill-fated tenure with the U.S.S. Reliant.

Now, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to summon some of that excitement, but once again the memories of Spock’s selfless sacrifice played in his mind like a haunting melody. The guilt that he felt about his part in Singh’s plot was a perfect, bitter chaser. Although his mind had been controlled by a Ceti Eel, he couldn’t help but feel that he could have done something different to prevent the events playing out as they did.

Suddenly, Chekov’s reverie was broken, as a series of shocking explosions rocked the Enterprise. A red hue bathed his quarters and klaxons blared throughout the starship, as Chekov stumbled from his quarters and headed towards the bridge. Admiral Kirk spared the experienced tactical officer a glance as he rushed towards his position, Ensign Kelly gladly yielding the position.

“Glad to have you join us, Mr. Chekov.” Even with the dire nature of the situation unfolding around them, Kirk managed to inject some warmth in his terse tone.

Chekov’s fingers navigated around the tactical console. The sensor readings indicated that a lone Orion pirate ship — a Cruiser-class vessel — had emerged from a gaseous nebula ahead clearly lying in wait for them. The cosmic phenomenon had masked its approach, and enabled it to take the Enterprise by surprise. Chekov guessed that the pirate ship’s sensors had detected the heavy damage the starship had sustained, and that its commander was an opportunist. Booty from a Federation ship would elevate a pirate captains’ reputation — as well as their credit rating.

The Enterprise rocked again with the impact of the pirate ship’s epsilon disruptor blasts. The ship’s shields were holding, but Chekov knew that after their encounter with Khan, the ship’s systems were only operating at sixty percent efficiency, and the barrage was already beginning to seriously compromise shield integrity. To make matters worse, weapons systems were still offline, its energy banks were being diverted to the warp core to maintain speed.

"Admiral, I can confirm from the pirate ship's signature that it's the notorious Orion marauder, the Corsair's Revenge." Uhura’s voice rang out with its customary calm authority over the alert sirens continuing to sound on the bridge.

Kirk leaned forward, his eyes widening, and gave voice to the bridge crew's thoughts. Yet another dreaded enemy had returned from the past.

"Garroth!" The name conjured up past confrontations with the fearless pirate captain who now stalked his ship. The Enterprise had played a cat and mouse game with this commander decades ago, and Kirk remembered how dangerous a foe the Corsair had been.

What are the Corsair's Revenge's intentions? Will the Enterprise escape unscathed this time? You'll have to pick up Star Trek Explorer Presents: 'A Year to the Day That I saw Myself Die' and Other Stories – on sale now – to find out!