Star Trek Novel Verse

Unofficial fan-used name for the 21st century Star Trek novels with a shared continuity, part of the Star Trek Expanded Universe.

While there is never any official canon status to Trek books (unlike the Star Wars counterparts), the modern line of Star Trek novels from Pocket Books tends to make an effort to be consistent in regards to continuity, with most novels from the year 2000 on generally set within the same reality. References to other books and series, crossovers, shared characters and story arcs between novels are the norm rather than the exception, although each series still aims to be accessible on its own. There is certainly no obligation to keep to a shared continuity - but most authors do, out of choice. Broad Strokes is common, but the majority of 21st century Trek books have a considerably tighter continuity than many people think. It must be noted again that there is no official requirement for it to be this way; it's just the usual choice.

Notably, there are various "relaunch" series, which continue the story of each show beyond its end; revealing, for example, if Bajor joined the Federation, what the Enterprise-E does between and after movies or what the crew of Voyager did after coming home. The Trek line has been considerably more proactive post-Nemesis, and has in fact broken Contractual Immortality (though who died would be a spoiler).

Stand-alone novels that are part of the modern shared continuity include:


 * Star Trek Ex Machina
 * Star Trek: Forged in Fire
 * Star Trek Cast No Shadow
 * Star Trek: Vulcans Heart
 * Star Trek: Hollow Men
 * Star Trek: The Battle of Betazed
 * Diplomatic Implausibility
 * Star Trek Deep Space Nine a Stitch In Time
 * Star Trek Articles of the Federation
 * A Singular Destiny
 * I, Q

Short story collections that are part of the modern shared continuity include:


 * Star Trek: Seven Deadly Sins
 * Tales of the Dominion War

Series that are a part of the modern shared continuity include:


 * Star Trek Deep Space Nine relaunch (17 books so far, 20 if you acknowledge that each Worlds of Deep Space Nine book is actually two full novels in one, 21 if Star Trek Deep Space Nine a Stitch In Time is counted).
 * Star Trek: The Next Generation Relaunch (eight books have been released so far, nine counting the Star Trek: Typhon Pact entry).
 * Star Trek: Voyager Relaunch (seven books so far, the eighth announced)
 * Star Trek Enterprise Relaunch (five books so far, six if you count Rosetta).
 * Star Trek: A Time to...... (nine books, the characters of Star Trek: The Next Generation after Insurrection but before Nemesis).
 * Star Trek: Titan (six books in the series proper, so far, plus the Crisis Crossover Star Trek Destiny trilogy, which is essentially part of the series, and a Star Trek: Typhon Pact entry)
 * Star Trek: The Lost Era (technically 10 books, incluing the Terok Nor trilogy listed below (it has its own page)); since Terok Nor is often billed as a separate series, we might say 7 books in the series proper)
 * Terok Nor (trilogy)
 * Starfleet Corps of Engineers (originally an e-book novella series, collected periodically in paperback installments; 13 collections so far).
 * Star Trek: Vanguard (eight books, plus several short stories).
 * Star Trek: Klingon Empire (four books so far, plus several short stories)
 * Star Trek: Vulcans Soul (trilogy)
 * Star Trek Destiny (Trilogy: Gods of Night, Mere Mortals, and Lost Souls) - This trilogy weaves together elements from Trek's past and future and completely changes the scope of the Star Trek universe. Begins with the discovery of one of Earth's first generation of starships, lost for centuries and now found deep in the Gamma Quadrant. Focuses mostly on four captains, William Riker, Jean-Luc Picard, Ezri Dax, and Erika Hernandez, as the secrets of the origin of the Borg are brought into the light and a battle looms that will profoundly alter the future of the Federation... and the galaxy.
 * A Singular Destiny
 * Star Trek: Typhon Pact (six books, the seventh upcoming, plus a novella).
 * Star Trek Department of Temporal Investigations (DTI) (two books so far).
 * Star Trek: The Genesis Wave (four books, three in the series proper, plus the Genesis Force tie in)
 * Star Trek: Mere Anarchy (six novellas, collected in an omnibus)
 * Star Trek Gemworld (two books)
 * Star Trek: The Brave and The Bold (duology) (Features team-ups between each of the series' regular characters and a guest crew from the continuity; the name is taken from the DC comics series of the same name).
 * Star Trek: String Theory (trilogy)
 * Star Trek Slings and Arrows (novella series)
 * Star Trek Errand of Fury (trilogy)

Novels and series loosely a part of the modern continuity through Broad Strokes include:


 * Star Trek New Frontier (22 books, 18 of which are in the series proper, plus quite a few short stories) - Follows the adventures of Xenexian Captain Mackenzie Calhoun of the Ambassador-class USS Excalibur, a Kirk-like captain whose rebellious and impulsive nature is a return to the 'cowboy diplomacy' of the original series. Written entirely by Peter David, it is notable among Trek literature in that it exists relatively independently from the rest of Trek canon, taking place concurrently with TNG, and its independent nature allows more creative freedom with characters and their fates.
 * Star Trek: Vulcans Forge
 * Star Trek: Stargazer
 * Star Trek: Millennium
 * Star Trek: Mirror Universe: Anthologies set in the Mirror Universe, showing us the gaps between Mirror Universe episodes.
 * Star Trek: Myriad Universes; series set in alternate realities, though they overlap with the main continuity on occasion.


 * The Captain's Table: A series of novels and short stories using an Inn Between the Worlds that only captains can enter as a framing device. Drinks are free, but the price is that each captain must share a tale with the other patrons -- who are perfect peers to commensurate with.

These books contain examples of:
"The Obsidian Order represented everything that was cancerous about Cardassia; they were an institutionalized form of decay that preyed on the military and the people even as they pretended to serve the same ends as Central Command."
 * A Father to His Men: Female example. Charvanek is a mother to her troops. Another female example would be Janeway, which causes much grief when . Montgomery Scott would be a grandfather to his men aboard the USS Challenger.
 * Actual Pacifist: So far, the Eav'oq seem to be this. They certainly claim to be, and their behaviour backs it up. They refuse to fight and kill, even if it means their genocide by the Ascendants. The Halkans and Caeliar are also examples of Actual Pacifist cultures.
 * Affably Evil: The Overlord of the Redeemers.
 * Ethan Locken. For someone who tortures children to death, he's really quite friendly.
 * Crell Moset, sort of, though in his case it's a crippling need to be liked.
 * After the End: The planet Mestiko, in Star Trek: Mere Anarchy. Much of the series is dedicated to exploring its efforts to rebuild following a planetary disaster.
 * Alien Arts Are Appreciated: Very frequent. The Andorian Art Academy, Betazed Institute of Art, Keorga; all are known and admired by humans for their artistic outputs. Then there's the Running Gag about Sinnravian drad music, which is appreciated by some. On occasion, humans are the aliens in question; Enabran Tain, a Cardassian, approves of human stained-glassed windows, while Klingon Councilor Kopek also has human art displayed in his office. Some planets seem to prefer alien art to their own. In Star Trek Ex Machina, the government of Lorina has decorated its public buildings in a wide variety of alien art forms, most of them from the Federation. The public speakers even play Andorian music. This is probably significant, as the planet's rulers are somewhat obsessive in their distaste for their own people's traditions. One of the art styles on display is Tellarite Erotic Abstract (introduced as part of a Crowning Moment of Funny in Star Trek: Millennium).
 * Alien Blood. Jem'Hadar have amber blood. Nalori have blue blood, joining the Andorians and Bolians in that regard. Pandrilites have black blood.
 * Alien Scrappy: To some, the Huanni are this.
 * Alone in a Crowd: A very effective example in the Star Trek Destiny trilogy, with Erika Hernandez among the Caeliar.
 * Alternative Calendar: Plenty of novels featuring major cultures like the Vulcans, Romulans, Andorians and Klingons give their dates alongside the Earth date. Taken to the extreme in Star Trek Department of Temporal Investigations, which gives dates in Deltan, Cardassian, Tandaran, Vomnin, Romulan, Vulcan, Andorian, Klingon and Risian, along with examples from various human calenders, modern and historical. Those alien calendars have been plotted out in full in the author's annotations.
 * Amazon Brigade: The qawHaq'hoch.
 * Ambadassador: All of the Klingon diplomats, and quite a few of the other nations' ambassadors, too.
 * Amplifier Artifact: Several. In Star Trek: The Lost Era there are the masks upon which Oralian recitation masks are based. The mask in Well of Souls is the best example. Useless to those who are not psi-sensitive, it enhances and focuses the talents of empaths and latent telepaths. It is designed to allow members of its planet's ruling family to enhance their psi talents to the degree that their mind can serve as a vessel for the spirit lifeform Uramtali. Without the mask, these talents would no longer be adequate, as the ruler's genes were diluted by centuries of inbreeding. In the Star Trek Deep Space Nine relaunch, there's the pagh'varam (Bajoran for "soul key") which also serves to boost latent telepathy. It's actually a fragment of a Bajoran Orb of the Prophets.
 * Arc Welding: A rather pleasing example with the exploits of Kahless, linking the Klingon saga to the Voyager relaunch in interesting ways. In Star Trek: A Time to..., Kahless had replaced himself with a hologram (equipped with a mobile emitter) and wandered off to Cygnet IV, supposedly to "do whatever (he) felt like". It was also a test, allowing him to give his usual Hurricane of Aphorisms when the ruse was discovered. In the Star Trek: Voyager Relaunch, though, it's revealed why he was on Cygnet IV specifically.
 * Arch Enemy: Donatra and Tal'aura.
 * Iliana Ghemor and Kira Nerys.
 * John Harriman and Avanteer Vokar.
 * Gothmara and Martok.
 * Arranged Marriage: The foundation of Andorian culture, as groups of four are brought together after genetic mapping to determine likely success in breeding. Andorians are taught to revere the four-way marriage bond above all else: One alone cannot be Whole, nor two, nor three. See the Star Trek Deep Space Nine relaunch and Star Trek Enterprise Relaunch in particular.
 * Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence: Everyone in the galaxy did this simultaneously a quarter of a billion years ago, the result of a Manraloth experiment gone wrong. Trying to unite the multiverse as they had the galaxy, the Manraloth and their allies attempted to tap into the higher dimensional planes with their minds. The resulting surge of energy proved too powerful, overloading the telepathic centres of every Manraloth and transmitting it to any other brain capable of receiving it. The entire galactic population was forced into a state of pure energy, long before most races were ready. It wasn't pretty, apparently.
 * Ass in Ambassador: Often, this being Star Trek. Kamarag, Tezrene and K'mtok are prominant recurring examples.
 * The Atoner: Garak "Fear and isolation, Doctor. You can't have one without the other. Fear isolates and isolation is fear's natural home. Just as my orchids need carefully prepared soil to protect them against disease and pests, fear needs the isolated circumstances to deepen and grow without connective or relational interference. When fear is allowed to flourish in its dark and lonely medium, then any evil that can be conceived by the fearful imagination will emerge. The death toll rises every day. We are now over the one billion mark. This is a numbing, dry statistic. I'm certain that when you read this, Doctor, you will have a disturbed reaction. Others will rationalize that the figure is commensurate with Cardassian complicity. And a third group will simply shrug: it's not their problem. My reaction would probably have been a combination of the latter two. Like most people, I want to get on with the business of my life and what's done is done and doesn't warrant any further loss of sleep or appetite. Our med unit has been converted into a burial unit. It's a logical progression; the survivors have all been accounted for and only the dead remain unclaimed. More immediate, of course, is the potential for decaying corpses to spread disease. So every day now I am engaged in the hardest work of my life; I find that nothing has prepared me for this. My feelings are spent, my moral rationalizations are empty, and I can't say it's not my problem when I'm pulling and lifting and throwing bodies of people who once only wanted to go about the business of their lives. A Federation official suggested that we simply vaporize all corpses. Underneath the suggestion was the judgment that our burial customs are archaic and morbid. At first I became angry and wanted to berate him for his lack of sensitivity as well as for his own culture's morbidity in representing death as sanitary and disassociated from life. But I realized that we were no better. We created technologies that dispensed death efficiently and from a distance; we never took responsibility for our personal actions because we were in the service of a greater good--the Cardassian state. Colonel Kira once told me how many Bajorans died during the Cardassian Occupation, and my mind rejected the figure like a piece of garbage. We'd been in the service of the state, I had told myself, and the state had determined what was necessary. But now I understand why she hated me. More important, I now understand that constant burning, almost insane look in her eyes. Most of us who are left, Doctor, are insane. We have to be in order to survive and emerge from our isolation. It's the only way we can live with the pain of what we did. Or didn't. Each of us accepts the amount of responsibility we are capable of bearing. Some accept nothing, and these people are quickly swallowed by their isolation, their insanity transformed into a rationalized evil. A smaller group accepts total responsibility, and their insanity is an unbearable burden that cripples and eventually grinds them down. The rest of us carry what we can and leave the rest. For myself, Doctor, when a corpse is too heavy to bury I try to remember to ask someone to help me."
 * Auction: The Petraw hold one of these, with governments encouraged to bid for the rights to Gateway technology.
 * Awesome but Impractical: It is pointed out that Borg cubes are essentially this - a clue to the fact that there is more to the Borg than desire for efficiency after all.
 * Badass: Taran'atar, the Jem'Hadar soldier, is humiliated when young human children fail to relate to him as this. They want him to pick them up, because he's funny and looks like an alligator, apparently. He was rather confused and disappointed. See: Star Trek Deep Space Nine relaunch.
 * Balkanize Me: The Romulan Star Empire, post-Star Trek Nemesis, fragmented into factions. Praetor Tal'aura and Proconsul Tomalak were able to unite most of them, as the Federation sought to maintain peace along the borders (the Klingons "helped" by making Remus a protectorate). Commander Donatra, however, declared the worlds and fleets loyal to her independent. There were thus two Romulan states for a while, on opposite sides of the political gulf resulting from the Borg Invasion. Tal'aura's Romulan Star Empire became a member of the Typhon Pact, Donatra's Imperial Romulan State sought alliance with the Khitomer Accord nations.
 * It was feared Thallonian space would fragment following the overthrow of the Thallonian Empire. Eventually, former prince Si Cwan and his allies were able to form a New Thallonian Protectorate...which nearly split in two soon afterwards.
 * Big Creepy-Crawlies: Several Insectoid species, which tend to be intelligent, civilized beings as opposed to monsters or simple animals. Most are highly conservative cultures, and range from the peaceful Nasat, who resemble giant pillbugs and are known for their desire to avoid conflict (see Starfleet Corps of Engineers in particular), through the Orishans, to the hostile Cheka, who resemble spiders. Voloczin from TNG: Indistinguishable from Magic is described by La Forge as being like a mixture of spider and octopus, his initial reaction is atavistic but he swallows it the moment he realises that Scotty and Voloczin are trading typical engineer banter.
 * Binding Ancient Treaty: The Shesshran had one of these with the Fabrini, in Star Trek Ex Machina, which they honoured when the Fabrini's Yonadi descendants wanted to settle on a world in their system. The Nasat had one of these with the Citoac, but forgot about it (the Citoac did not, and were angry). Finally, the Preservers seem to have had one with Koa, or something similar. The "ancient promise" to save the Koa homeworld was ancient indeed.
 * Bizarre Alien Biology: Syrath are crystal life-forms who can regenerate themselves from only small pieces due to non-centralized anatomy, making them effectively immortal, if subject to personality change depending on how much original material is retained.
 * Andorians have four sexes, as do squales. Damiani have three.
 * The metamorphosis undergone by Frunalians probably counts, as their exoskeleton falls off, their biochemistry (and personality) change and a fleshy mane-like sensory organ erupts down their backs. Frunalians know this change as "the Shift".
 * Selkies undergo a metamorphosis from amphibious breeder to fully aquatic adult part way through their lives.
 * Seleneans and their linking spines, with which they communicate chemically.
 * The Tholians, by anyone's standards.
 * Blessed with Suck: Many telepaths in some races, e.g. Naxerans, who suffer from delusions and other psychological problems. Also Nasat Quiets, whose special cross-species communication abilities render them outcasts among their own kind.
 * Blue and Orange Morality: The Manraloth, the Regnancy of the Carnelian Throne, the Pa'haquel, the Frills, the Indign, the Shesshran, the Bynars. None of these alien cultures can be seen as "bad", in fact they are all more-or-less benevolent, "decent" types, but their morality does differ considerably from that of most human societies, which can cause a few problems in dealing with them.
 * The Manraloth's hat is skilled communication and manipulation, and they use these skills to aid in bringing peace to the galaxy. Their methods of doing so conflict with those of the Federation, and they are very, very sneaky and manipulative. Always, though, their intentions are good and noble. The same novel which introduced them also introduced another Blue and Orange Morality culture to the Star Trek universe: The Regnancy of the Carnelian Throne, whose citizens are metaphorically slaves to the Throne itself. They ritualistically "play along" with subjugation as part of their "enslavement" to the values it represents.
 * Introduced in Star Trek Ex Machina are the Shesshran, who operate somewhat differently from Humans, and most other races. They are unashamedly belligerent without apparent motive, and like shooting at things to say hello. They fantasise about killing their own children and generally behave in a bloodthirsty fashion. They're actually quite reasonable and honourable beings — it's just that they are naturally highly individualistic predators, with strong hunting instincts. They reject all hierarchies and authority, and view the universe through the eyes of a lone predator.
 * The Pahkwa-thanh have always considered their prey animals sapient. They don't eat humanoids and "civilized" beings, not because they have an objection to it as such, but because it would be rude. Humanoids don't consider themselves part of nature; to eat them would be impolite, which Pahkwa-thanh are not. If you think you're prey, though, they'll happily eat you. The Frills are another more-or-less-friendly race that is happy to eat sapient prey. Both Frills and Pahkwa-thanh, it should be noted, are Federation members.
 * Body Horror: The Hamexi.
 * Brains and Brawn: Rehaek and Torath are a villainous example, possibly crossing over with Those Two Bad Guys at times.
 * Brainwashed: It seems pretty much anyone who crosses paths with Ych'a is brainwashed in some way for some purpose at some point, whether they're her allies and colleagues or her enemies.
 * Iliana Ghemor discovers a means of.
 * Broad Strokes: Not all the little details add up, but most of the series currently running contribute to a shared continuity (the tropes listed here being those which relate to this continuity).
 * The Caligula: D'deridex was revealed to be this, to Admiral Valdore's considerable vexation. In fact, a lot of Romulan leaders become this; Dralath among them.
 * Capital City: Let's see. Among the recurring locations are the following capital cities: Laibok and later Lor'Vela (Andoria), Cardassia City (Cardassia), Ki Baratan/Dartha (Romulus), vosTraal (Mestiko), New Samarkand (Alpha Centauri), Ashalla (Bajor), Medara (Betazed), Leran Manev (Trill), Keelee-kee (Tezwa), Iaron (Damiano), Shi'Kahr (Vulcan), hiLeyi'a (Pacifica).
 * Captured Super Entity: The Mirdonyae artifacts and their ability to contain the powerful Shedai in Star Trek: Vanguard.
 * Carnivore Confusion: Averted in many cases. The Pahkwa-thanh have always considered their prey animals sapient. They don't eat humanoids and "civilized" beings, not because they have an objection to it as such, but because it would be rude. Humanoids don't consider themselves part of nature; to eat them would be impolite, which Pahkwa-thanh are not. If you think you're prey, though, they'll happily eat you. The Frills are another more-or-less-friendly race that is happy to eat sapient prey. Both Frills and Pahkwa-thanh, it should be noted, are Federation members.
 * For a less pleasant sapient-meat eater, the Fethetrit consider slow consumption of a sapient being, while keeping them alive as long as possible, to be sport.
 * Character Filibuster: Apparently, Bera chim Gleer is infamous for these. See Star Trek: A Time to... and Star Trek Articles of the Federation.
 * Continuity Nod: Many. Sometimes too many, for some readers.
 * Cool Old Guy: Elias Vaughn, in the Star Trek Deep Space Nine relaunch. 102 years old and still going (relatively) strong, a former agent of Starfleet Special Operations. Montgomery Scott qualifies as well as of Indistinguishable from Magic. Simply because he's Scotty, and the Romulans know him simply as "The Miracle Worker", and the Klingon Empire is happy to loan him their top starship pilot because he asked nicely.
 * Cool Ship: The Vesta-class for the Federation, including the U.S.S Aventine.
 * Also Riker's ship, the Luna-class U.S.S. Titan (Star Trek: Titan).
 * The Qang-class for the Klingons (Star Trek: Klingon Empire).
 * The Spectre for the Romulans.
 * The Minstrel's Whisper.
 * Corrupt Corporate Executive: Rod Portlyn, a recurring villain in Starfleet Corps of Engineers.
 * Cosmic Keystone: The Pagh'varam.
 * Create Your Own Villain:
 * Cross Through: Various novel series, such as "The Captain's Table".
 * Cycle of Revenge: Cardassians have a bad habit of getting into these. The Klingon/Kinshaya conflict is another example.
 * Dangerously Genre Savvy: One of the most triumphant examples is Weyoun, in Star Trek: Millennium.
 * Deadpan Snarker: Sivak. Also Theno, and Selar's brother Slon as well. In fact, there seem to be quite a few of these characters around. A Servile Snarker is even more common.
 * Death World: Tholia. While we've not yet truly explored it, it's basically like Venus, only worse. Of course, Tholians are adapted to it, so to them Earth would be a Death World.
 * Depopulation Bomb: The Miradorn nearly fell victim to one of these that would have killed all twinned Miradorn (that's 98% of them) had it not been stopped. It wasn't actually intended to be a depopulation bomb, though. It just went horribly wrong.
 * Disappeared Dad: Efrosian families consist of a mother and her children. She is supported and aided by the whole community, including her male lovers, but Efrosians do not mate for life and most will never know their fathers. In fact, the nearest Efrosian word for father is "Seed Donor". The Gnalish are another race where males have no role in rearing the young.
 * Domestic Abuse: This can be complicated when dealing with dozens of races, each with its own standards and customs. For example, the JAG office on Vanguard station responded to an unusual case: A Denobulan man who attacked one of his second wife's other husbands (Denobulans have multiple partners, each of whom has up to three mates in turn). Was it simple assault or domestic abuse? Then of course there's the fact that some cultures (e.g. Klingons) consider mutual violence perfectly normal. In one story, a Vostigye believes a Human's lover is being abusive, and the Human tries to explain it's not so - it's just that their lover is a Klingon, and therefore considers rough-and-tumble part of a healthy relationship. As said, the issue is complicated.
 * Dying Alone: Darok. Interestingly, this is not a sad thing; he dies peacefully and happily..
 * Earthshattering Kaboom: Quite a few:
 * Thallon, by virtue of the Great Bird of the Galaxy.
 * Several planets in the Taurus Reach during the 2260s, due to the use of Shedai technology by Federation and Klingon researchers. Some planets were destroyed accidentally as a result of inept use of Shedai artifacts, others were destroyed deliberately by the Shedai Wanderer in her attempts to prevent her people's technology coming into the hands of other, younger races. Palgrenax was one such planet...as was Ceti Alpha VI.
 * The Shalra homeworld was destroyed by a space-dwelling lifeform, which fed on the remains.
 * Oghen, and possibly other worlds in the Neyel Hegemony, were destroyed by the effects of the Red King protouniverse.
 * Erigol, deliberately destroyed in order to maintain a stable time loop.
 * Dokaal.
 * Easter Egg: Many of the books, especially those edited by Marco Palmieri, feature a fifth location alongside the usual New York/Toronto/London/Sydney under the Pocket Books logo on the title page. It's always an in-universe location that's important to that book's story.
 * The Eeyore: aMershik is an Eeyore from an entire civilization of Eeyores.
 * Elves vs. Dwarves: Dorset vs Bader, more or less. Dorset are tall, elegant and artistic, while their traditional foes the Bader are short, stout and skilled at physical labour.
 * Emotions vs. Stoicism: The Vulcan/Romulan situation has expanded to include multiple Romulan governments, Remans, and the Watraii.
 * As Star Trek: Titan: "Synthesis" showed us, an Andorian trying to play cards with a Vulcan, a Choblik and a Selenean (all known for stoic logic in contrast to Andorian passion) is going to get very, very frustrated....
 * Huanni vs Falorian. The highly emotional and expressive Huanni have a stoic offshoot race called Falorians, who were once slaves.
 * Ethical Slut: Several cultures among the Loads and Loads of Races. The Deltan, Efrosian, Argelian, Rianconi and Risian cultures are all examples (though they differ in how they express it). The trope is explored in some depth in the Star Trek: Titan series. Xin Ra-Havreii is an Efrosian, a culture where respectful sexual contact between work colleagues (or anyone you find attractive) is perfectly acceptable, indeed celebrated. Ra-Havreii also calls the Rianconi an “enlightened culture” upon discovering they’re the same. However, another character, Aili Lavena, complicates the trope. Her race exist in two life phases - an amphibious youthful/breeder stage and an aquatic form later on. The aquatic form is an Ethical Slut culture, but those in the amphibian stage are supposed to dedicate themselves to family life and avoid such sexuality. Lavena gave in to temptation and essentially tried to be an Ethical Slut too early, abandoning responsibility to her children. As such, she is now an Ethical Slut who is a non-Ethical Slut.
 * Everything's Better with Sparkles: As the Manraloth well know. Sparkles are one of the features with which they augment their skin.
 * Evil Counterpart: Uramtali seems to be this to Oralius. Perhaps more accurately, Uramtali represents fear and isolation where Oralius represents love and connection with others.
 * Excalibur: The Sword of Kahless is essentially the Klingon equivalent. Not to be confused with the IKS Sword of Kahless, nor with the USS Excalibur...
 * Expressive Ears: The Huanni.
 * Face Heel Turn:
 * Fantastic Arousal: Bynars and the smell of strawberries, apparently.
 * Fantastic Caste System: The Gorn have a caste system, which includes Political, Warrior, Technological and Labourer castes. The Tzenkethi also have a caste system of sorts, with different echelons into which their citizens are placed after testing in youth. However, they dislike it when people use the term "caste" to describe these echelons. The Shedai, meanwhile, are divided between the ranks of the Nameless, confined to a single form, and the elite who can take on multiple forms at once. Other races with caste systems include Balduk, Pandrilites, Tholians and Yrythny.
 * Fantastic Drug: Red Ice.
 * Fantastic Fruits and Vegetables: Many. Just a small selection: Clamdas, Hilrep, Horvas, and Vithi.
 * Fantastic Measurement System: Often. For example, 6 human months equals about 4 Vostigye ronds, and nearly 40 Talaxian niziks. A Romulan Veraku is about 63 minutes.
 * Fantastic Racism: Lots. Neyel calling Tholians "devils", for one example.
 * The racial tensions between mainstream Andorian and Aenar on Andor following the global warming projects of the early 23rd century.
 * The Tessma calling the Trill "vermin lovers".
 * The Todanians, towards the V'enah. Dear god, the Todanians.
 * Fantastic Slurs: A'Sloointa Dinpayav! ("No Necked Offworlder").
 * Gul Monor likes calling the Klingons "Foreheads".
 * "Singleton" is a terrible slur on Bynaus, signifying one who is unfit for bonding with another; a rejected person.
 * "Scrit" for Cardassian orphans.
 * Fantastic Rank System:
 * Cardassian ranks, from highest to lowest, are Legate (canonically established), Jagul, Gul (canonically established), Dal, Dalin, Glinn (canonically established), Gil, Garresh, Gorr.
 * The Ferengi rank DaiMon (like a captain) was canonically established; Star Trek: The Lost Era established GuiMon as the next rank up (similar to an admiral).
 * Breen ranks such as Thot (canonically established), Chot, Ghoc, etc, are attached to the front of a Breen's short-hand name, so that the Breen Deshinar Tibbonel, for instance, is known as "Chot Nar".
 * Gorn ranks include the Ozuk, and Warrior Caste units are led by a First Myrmidon.
 * Kinshaya ranks include Vicar, Deacon and Bishop. Yes, they're Church Militant, alright.
 * Fantasy Pantheon: Plenty. The Andorians have Uzaveh the Infinite, Thori and the First Kin. The Cardassians/Hebitians have got Oralius and the Fates, plus possibly Uramtali, while the Hermats have a pantheon, and the Damiani worship Ho'nig (as do some of the Miradorn). The Blessed Exchequer of the Ferengi has gotten a whole mass of lesser gods to aid him, and the Betazoids have Great Fire and The Four Deities.
 * Fantasy World Map: Most writers keep a copy of Star Trek Star Charts at hand.
 * Fictional Political Party: Several examples. The Parliament Andoria is split between the Visionists (who are conservative and somewhat isolationist), and the strongly pro-Federation Modern Progessive party (liberal). On planet Mestiko, meanwhile, there's the Payavist Inward Party, which objected to alien interference in the world's rebuilding following the "pulse" disaster. It eventually overthrew the Zamestaad government in a coup. Finally, on Kropasar, the two major parties are named "Agreement" and "Consensus".
 * Fire, Ice, Lightning: Sarissa's journey. Vulcan (fire), Remus (Ice), Watraii homeworld (lightning)
 * For Your Own Good: Pretty much everything the Manraloth do to manipulate mortal races. They genuinely want to help, and they are very, very, very manipulative.
 * Forgot Flanders Could Do That: The 34th Rule (no, not THAT Rule 34, the 34th Rule of Acquisition...), features Ferengi Grand Nagus Zek thinking up a highly intelligent and deadly serious scheme to gain profit - and it succeeds magnificently. The Ferengi were always supposed to be supreme businessmen and expert swindlers, but on TV they quickly morphed into comic relief after failing to work as a threat on Star Trek: The Next Generation. The comedy overshadowed the other traits so much it got to the point where the supposedly master schemers could be easily beaten at their own game by having an attractive woman flash her eyes at them. In this novel, though, Zek reaffirms the initial Ferengi reputation for ingenious profit-making. Word of God confirms that this was part of the novel's purpose: reverse the Flanderization of the Ferengi.
 * Forgotten Phlebotinum: The phase-cloak seems to go through this a lot. After its introduction (and successful use) in an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, it's largely ignored. A short story in a Star Trek: New Frontier anthology eventually suggested the prototype was destroyed soon after the episode. By the time of Star Trek: The Genesis Wave, the Romulans are making use of the technology again, or something very much like it, but then it drops off a second time, and when Star Trek: Titan comes round no-one's using it. Finally, in the recent Star Trek: Typhon Pact series, we're explicitly told the Romulans have finally perfected it. Let's hope it sticks this time...
 * A Form You Are Comfortable With: The Seleneans. In their natural state they are only semi-Humanoid at best, and rather ferocious looking. The Selenean Pod Mothers, who have great control over their offspring's genetics, have bred certain broods designed specifically for offworld contact. These individuals, Y'Lira Modan of Star Trek: Titan among them, take a form more pleasing to humanoid eyes, but retain the ability to shift into their natural state if need be.
 * Freudian Excuse: In a sense, entire cultures have this. No culture in Trek is "evil" by nature, but the traumas of their development often forge them into unpleasant antagonistic societies (an idea that may have started in Deep Space Nine as the Founders' Start of Darkness came from their desire to impose order and safety in a galaxy that persecuted them). Fear and hurt on a civilization-wide level resulting from dark and harmful pasts, leading to a culture lashing out in aggression and conflict, is a staple theme, particularly in portrayals of the Cardassians and Klingons. In fact, whole ongoing sagas explore these two societies coming to terms with themselves and their deep-stated fears. The Tholians, Romulans and even Borg have also had their "Freudian excuses" explored. Greatly simplified, for Klingons it's the Hur'q invasion, for Cardassians the climatic catastrophe that nearly starved them, for Tholians oppression by the Shedai, for Romulans the difficulties of the exodus from Vulcan. As for the Borg, see Star Trek Destiny.
 * General Failure: Praetor D'deridex insisted on opening up a front at Haakona despite the Romulans being occupied fighting the Human/Andorian/Tellarite alliance. Admiral Valdore had no choice but to follow orders, despite knowing a war on two fronts would be a disaster for Romulus.
 * Genetic Memory: The Tholians. Encoded in their crystalline molecules is every memory of their people, dating back to the first moment of sapience. Many are buried deep, of course, not generally available to a given individual unless they're brought to the fore by powerful emotional or psychic triggers. Due to the short lifespan of members of many Tholian castes, memories and experience are often "uploaded" to the next generation from the pool of ancestral memories. This is one reason why Tholians hold grudges for an uncomfortably long time - the memories are fresh in their minds for generations.
 * Getting Crap Past the Radar: Nog refers to another character as a "cold hearted Moogi-jokk". Seeing as we know that "Moogi" means "mother" in his language, we can guess what he's saying.
 * Giant Spider: The Cheka, introduced in the Star Trek Deep Space Nine relaunch books, are a sapient Giant Spider species. They control the expansionist Magisterial Cheka Kingdom, in the Gamma Quadrant. Then there's the semi-sentient Comes-in-the-night-kills-many, which was essentially a giant spider wielding clubs. They're extinct, now; wiped out by the Jem'Hadar after threatening a Dominion farming colony. Also, friendly aliens the Pak'shree resemble a cross between a Giant Spider and a giant crab or beetle. Finally, there's the Koas, who are like spiders with the head of an octopus. They're friendly, too.
 * Glamour Failure: Gleau's Selelvian charms, which usually allow him to manipulate if not control others, do not work on Janos.
 * God Is Dead:  Also, the Indign were recently surprised to learn that the Borg Collective, which they view as their divine model, has departed.
 * Good Guy Bar: The Captain's Table.
 * Good Shepherd: Several. Hadlo in Terok Nor, albeit with a Cardassian twist. Bennek is this, but sadly it does the Oralians no good...
 * Government Conspiracy: Trill. While never sinister conspiracies, Trill has so many that eventually they can't suppress all the secrets anymore, there's a general uprising, much political embarrassment and almost a conflict with Bajor as a result.
 * Krax, on Ferenginar, and Mev Jartek, on Cardassia, both run conspiracies within their new, progressive governments aimed at making those governments look good, but using questionable methods. Their bosses, Grand Nagus Rom and Castellan Alon Ghemor, don't know about them, and wouldn't support these actions if they did. In the case of the Cardassian example, Garak knows (of course), but doesn't approve.
 * Even the Federation has these, thanks to President Zife and Koll Azernal.
 * Gunboat Diplomacy: The Voth sending an entire city ship to Vostigye space in order to make their demands, in "Places of Exile".
 * President Bacco resorts to this to stop the Carreon messing the Deltans around and start negotiating properly. See Star Trek Articles of the Federation.
 * Harmful to Minors: There are actually quite a few cases of children being more or less traumatized for life. Among the worst is Tsana of Aeron, who at 9 years old sees her entire family murdered by Markanian soldiers. In fact, she pretty much has her 13-year old twin brothers' blood splash all over her. Also, there's Moke, who at 11 sees his mother shot dead in front of him. And Jason Garrett, at 12, is terrorized by evil aliens who possess his friend, is taken hostage at gunpoint and physically abused by his captor, sees his father die in front of him, and then nearly gets shot down by a Cardassian patrol ship.
 * Happiness in Slavery: Other cultures don't immediately understand that the citizens of the Regnancy of the Carnelian Throne are metaphorically slaves, who play along with subjugation as a ritualistic expression of their "enslavement" to justice.
 * Has Two Mommies: A fair few characters. In the Star Trek Enterprise Relaunch, Trip Tucker's brother and his husband have adopted a son together. In Star Trek: The Lost Era: The Buried Age, among the supporting characters, there are two female scientists who are married and raising children. In the same series, in the novel Serpents Among the Ruins, one character is shown to have two male parents, and a Romulan woman with an (adult) son mentions a wife. There are probably others I'm overlooking.
 * Cheating a bit: The Andorians have four sexes, two of which - shen and zhen - are more or less "female" (shens make eggs, zhens suckle undeveloped young in a pouch) and two of which - chan and thaan - are "male". Andorians, therefore, have two mummies and two daddies by default.
 * He Who Must Not Be Seen: Overseer Biron's sponsor in Starfleet Corps of Engineers.
 * Heaven: For the Klingons, Sto-vo-kor.
 * For Bolians, the Vein of Mystery.
 * For Efrosians, Endless Sky.
 * For Betazoids, Great Fire (in some interpretations).
 * For Trill, Mak'Relle Dur.
 * For Xenexians, Kaz'hera (a Warrior Heaven).
 * For Cardassians, the Hall of Memory.
 * For Nausicaans, Heart of the Sky.
 * Klag seemed to think "Those Who Run With The Dead" in San-Tarah culture were in heaven. Apparently, this is not so.
 * Heavyworlder: The S'ti'ach, who resemble metre-high four-armed blue teddy bears, but are denser than they appear. In early books they are said to be superdense, but in a later book a character points out the perils of having a lot of mass on a high gravity world. Apparently, this is a rumour spread by the S'ti'ach themselves; they're aware of how cute they look to humanoids, and want to discourage anyone from picking them up and giving them cuddles.
 * Heel Faith Turn: Rajari, although the degree to which it was genuine is questionable.
 * Arguably Garak. While he was always great fun to watch on TV, it's in the books set after the TV series where he becomes an actual hero, and it coincides with his re-commitment to the Oralian Way.
 * Heroic Sacrifice: Among the more notable examples, the crew of the Imperial Romulan Warbird Verithrax, who destroyed themselves saving planet Ardana from destruction.
 * Heroic Vow: Essentially used satirically with the Cardassians, who love to exclaim, "this I vow!" as a demonstration of supposed willpower and strength after they've decided they really want something. Usually the vow comes across as tragic if the Cardassian is a good guy in over their head (Ataan) or laughable if the vower is actually no hero at all, only thinks he is (Dukat, Kell, I'm looking at you two).
 * A straightforward example would be where Captain Klag vowed to defend San-Tarah against General Talak.
 * Historical In-Joke: So, so many.
 * Hive Mind: The Tholians, while all individuals (and indeed possessing just as many dreamers, dissenters, seditionists and individualists as any other Trek culture) have a version of this on the instinctive level. The Tholian lattice connects the minds of all Tholians, distributing basic race-knowledge to all and allowing individuals to commune with one another. The lattice is regulated carefully, with different castes having different degrees of access. On occasion, it can indeed cause the entirety of the Tholian race to share an experience, as was the case with the telepathic assaults of the Shedai.
 * And, of course, the Borg...especially the new Borg that give Starfleet an intense new war after they've "evolved" into consuming rather than assimilating.
 * Hold Your Hippogriffs: All the time:
 * "Like a targ out of gre'thor" (Klingon).
 * "If life hands you ungaberries, you've got to make detergent". (Ferengi)
 * "Played me like a Syn Lara" (Trill)
 * "The Bloodwing's share" (Romulan)
 * "Like h'vart in an ally" (Romulan)
 * "The pin that broke the zipthar's wing" (Denevan human)
 * "If Ice Bores kill your Ailicorne, make Ailicorne steaks". (Andorian). There are also the Andorian axioms "Absence makes the heart forget" and "What goes around comes around...but with a sharper knife".
 * The Ferengi morality tale of "The Boy Who Cried Audit"
 * "Like Honge on fresh meat" (Cardassian). Also the Cardassian saying "the enemy of my enemy is also my enemy, but may prove useful".
 * "Sap and fog", for when Nasats are being dismissive.
 * "Screw with the Mugato, you're getting the horn".
 * "In a Tribble's eye!"
 * Hope Springs Eternal: The ending of The Sorrows of Empire is both one of the bleakest and simultaneously most uplifting there is.
 * Hungry Jungle: The Nasat homeworld.
 * Hurl It Into the Sun: ...although if it's a) the Dancing Star or b) the Black Mass, that isn't actually going to work...
 * ...nor if it's a nuBorg hypercube...
 * Hurricane of Aphorisms: Emperor Kahless. Martok calls it "tiresome". See Star Trek: A Time to... in particular.
 * The Hypnotoad: A rare civilized example, in Berlis and any other Troublesome Mind among the Isitri. Usually totally innocent and friendly people, they don’t actually realize they’re doing it. They just naturally assert their will over everyone around them, on a massive scale, as part of Isitri telepathic contact. These crowds of people then consider it their greatest purpose in life to ensure the Troublesome Mind is comfortable and gets what he or she wants. From the viewpoint of the Troublesome Mind themselves, people just go out of their way to make them comfortable and be considerate to them. Life is one long Crowning Moment of Heartwarming. Aren’t people nice? This is part of the reason a Troublesome Mind is rarely hostile- they have no experience of mistreatment.
 * I Believe I Can Fly: Elaysians on their planet, Gemworld. This is due to its extremely low gravity.
 * In Harmony with Nature: The Irriol race, to the point of sacrificing themselves to predators if the ecosphere is best served by their death. There's also the Kazarites, essentially the Dr. Doolittles of the United Federation of Planets. Kazarites have telepathic and empathic links with animals, and accordingly have a culture greatly concerned with preserving natural eco-systems. This empathy extends to animals beyond Kazar itself, allowing them to aid in the restoration of other, more damaged planets. In Star Trek: Mere Anarchy, their "ecopaths" play a role in the terraforming of central planet Mestiko, which has been heavily damaged by a pulsar.
 * Instant Awesome, Just Add Dragons: A battle during the Romulan War takes place on Berengaria VII. Dragons show up to eat Romulans. There's no particular reason for it, but, hey, we're on Berengaria, previously established in throwaway lines on the TV shows as home of the dragons, so lets have them eat people. If Elias Vaughn's childhood misadventure on Berengaria ever gets fleshed out further, it will probably count too.
 * Instrument of Murder: The Andorian flabjellah is a combination sidearm and musical instrument.
 * Insufferable Genius: Mor glasch Tev in Starfleet Corps of Engineers. Also, the most intelligent members of the Tiburonian race are sometimes said to be particularly likely to fall into this category - "brilliant but difficult", to use one character's phrasing.
 * Interservice Rivalry: Very common. In the Klingon Empire, the Klingon Defense Force and Imperial Intelligence hold each other in considerable distaste. In particular, there's a subplot in Star Trek: Klingon Empire involving I.I's displeasure with Captain Klag, and his Honor Before Reason tactics. Also, in the Star Trek: The Lost Era novel The Art of the Impossible, Captain Qaolin of the Defence Force and his Imperial Intelligence liasion really don't like each other - again, because the berserker battle-hungry tendencies of the warriors clash with I.I's "dishonourable" sneakiness and caution. The Klingons aren't the only ones; the Romulan military takes its codes of honour, and the passionate brotherhood between warriors, very seriously. The cool, passionless underhanded tactics of the Tal Shiar intelligence agency therefore offend them, as does their tendency to question a warrior's loyalty. The Tal Shiar, for their part, view the military leadership as inbred, unimaginative fools. Then there's Cardassia, where Interservice Rivalry is endemic, particularly between the Central Command and the Obsidian Order. In the first Terok Nor novel, Skrain Dukat sums up Central Command's angle on the Order:

""Blood shed for a friend is sacred, a debt of honour. And if you won’t stand and fight beside a friend in blood, then you are not a Klingon. You are not a warrior. Run home to your beds and hide, I have no use for you! I won’t die in the company of such petaQ’pu. The sons of our sons will sing of these battles. Time will erase our sins and fade our scars, but our names will live on in songs of honour. The Borg are coming, my brothers. Stand and fight beside me now, and let us make warriors born in ages to come curse Fek’lhr that they were not here to SHARE OUR GLORY!”"
 * Interspecies Romance: Many.
 * Klingon-Jewish wedding, anyone?
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Kant Jorel, more or less. Phigus Simenon is also probably this. Mor glasch Tev is probably just a jerk, though.
 * Jerkass: Councillor Molmaan, though that's simply his Zaldan cultural heritage, being a member of a culture that Will Not Tell a Lie under any circumstances.
 * Journey to the Center of the Mind: This happens reasonably often. Sometimes too often. Examples: The Annuated of the Trill symbionts take Dax on one of these after she pesters them for information. They essentially "pull" her telepathically ino their minds, letting her sort through their memories. Also, Lipul Dreamships more or less explore the universe in this way. Meanwhile, the dark spirit Uramtali violates people's minds, forcing her way into them, with unpleasant results.
 * Kaleidoscope Eyes: The Kressari. On screen, the Kressari makeup gave them very stiff, inflexible faces. The books therefore give them colour-changing eyes as the primary means of expressing themselves. Eye colour changes according to mood.
 * Killed Off for Real: Notable deaths include: Most notable of all,   and (possibly).
 * King Arthur: The Klingon stories, most notably The Left Hand of Destiny, have turned the ongoing Klingon saga into this, in part. Martok is Arthur. Worf is Lancelot, Emperor Kahless is Merlin, Alexander is Percival, Ezri Dax is the Lady in the Lake, Morjod is (obviously, Meaningful Name) Mordred, Gothmara is Morgan Le Fay. Martok's father, Urthog, is another obvious Arthurian homage.
 * Know When to Fold'Em: The Klingons, of all people, when their attempt to invade the Thelasian Trading Confederacy is uncovered. Never mind; they get control of those worlds anyway, through politics.
 * Lady Land: Several examples. First, there’s the Pak'shree homeworld. Pak'shree are born neuter, become male at puberty (and spend their adolescence having sex and competing to do so), before becoming female at maturity. All Pak’shree in authority are thus female by default. As male and immature are synonymous, Pak'shree often have trouble relating to males of other races without sounding (unintentionally) sexist. The inhabited worlds of the Cygnet system are also examples of Lady Land. Cygnet XIV, the Cygneti homeworld, was historically (22nd century) blatantly sexist towards males, with intellect and authority only ever considered feminine traits. This causes problems for male humans in the Star Trek Enterprise Relaunch. Holor Sethe in the Star Trek: Titan series demonstrates that in some ways it hasn't changed too much by the 24th century. Interestingly, and perhaps wisely, the all-female Klingon warriors of the qawHaq'hoch established their headquarters on Cygnet IV in the Star Trek: Voyager Relaunch. It makes sense; Klingons are patriarchal, so usually Klingon females operating without any males would be seen as odd; Cygnet might well be the nearest system to Klingon space where no-one would blink to see an all-female quasi-political organization.
 * Then there’s the Megarite homeworld of Megara, where the ruling matriarchs are considered to be the more sophisticated of the species. They spend their lives sitting on beaches, doing little else, and consider travel to be "beneath" a female. The males are relegated to the distasteful realm of offworld trade and diplomacy, though many of them seem to enjoy it, being considerably more raucous and spontaneous than the somewhat stuffy females. Of course, there are exceptions, those Megarites who reject the traditional system. The young female Spring Rain On Still Water (in Star Trek Ex Machina) prefers the more adventurous male life, and has been condemned by her matriarchs for "lowering" herself.
 * Law of Alien Names: There's a series of "rules". While there are exceptions to all of these (no one culture or race can be truly homogenous in any custom), we have the following trends:
 * Tellarites have three names, usually of one or two syllables, the middle being a connective that appears to be chosen from a small pool. Examples include Bera chim Gleer, Bersh glov Mog, and Mor glasch Tev.
 * Hermats have a name followed by a number, e.g. Burgoyne 172 or Rulan 12.
 * Among the Nasats, names are letter-number-shell colour, e.g. P8 Blue, Z4 Blue, C29 Green or V1 Red.
 * Triexians have two names connected by "na", e.g. Krelis na Then and Arex na Eth, or sometimes "ko", as in Nexa ko Tor.
 * Andorians have long first names and a family name prefixed with th', sh', zh' or ch', depending on gender (e.g Thirishar ch'Thane, Hravishran th'Zhoari, Sessethantis zh'Cheen or Kellarasana zh'Faila). They also have a shorter "familiar" name to compensate for the length- in the four examples given, these would be Shar, Shran, Thantis and Kell.
 * Coridanite names very frequenly end in a V.
 * Tholians have a single name, which usually ends in "ene". Examples include Tezrene, Yilskene and Kasrene.
 * Damiani names have two syllables separated by an apostrophe, followed by a letter, an apostrophe and ullh, ullho or ullhy. Examples include Ra'ch B'ullhy, Je'tran T'ullh and Ne'al G'ullho.
 * Romulan names commonly end in "k" (Charvanek, Ruanek, Kalavak, N'Vek), as do Vulcan names (Tolek, Sivek, Taurik). D' and N' are common Romulan prefixes, while T' is a Vulcan feminine prefix.
 * Thallonians have the honorific "Si" (Zoran Si Verdin, Jang Si Naran, etc).
 * Betelgeusians like the "uu" sound, and apostrophes, e.g. Kuu'iut or Uuvu'it.
 * Rhaandarites like the "aa" sound (Gaanth, Zaand).
 * Manraloth like the "ae" sound, e.g. Giriaenn.
 * Denobulans like "m", "g", "p" or "f" sounds.
 * Betazoid males have names of one or two syllables (Tam, Cort, Gart, Ven), the females of two, three or four (Anissina, Mollarana, Damira), while their family names often end in n (Enaran, Kaldarren, Povron) or x (Xerix, Mryax, Xerx).
 * Efrosians tend to use a "Ra-" prefix on the surname (Ra-Yalix, Ra-Havreii, Ra-Ghoratreii), but not always.
 * Benzite names are two syllables and harsh-sounding (Meldok, Salmak, Cardok).
 * Alonis have long names like Quirmirkis, Nerramibus or Liezakranor. When off-world, they add a shorter additional name to the beginning to designate their function (“Tel” is diplomat, “Los” is soldier), and split the name in two (e.g. Los Tirasol Mentir is probably Tirasolmentir back home, Ambassador Tel Ammanis Lent is probably Ammanislent).
 * Bolian names tend to be one or two syllables.
 * In fact, most races and cultures show patterns in their naming, often subtle ones. It is possible in many cases to identify a character's species or culture by name alone.
 * The Lifestream: The Vinculum.
 * Living Ship: An interesting example with the Pa'haquel, who use Star-Jelly cosmozoans as ships; first re-animated corpses, but later truly living individuals.
 * Lizard Folk: The Gnalish.
 * Loads and Loads of Characters.
 * Loads and Loads of Races.
 * Love Dodecahedron: Captain Klag has read an erotic novel in which an Andorian and a Damiani become caught up in a dangerous love Septangle...
 * Luck-Based Mission: The ship known as Minstrel's Whisper essentially turns any mission into this, using as it does an alien power source comparable to the Infinite Improbability Drive. Rather than probability as such, it's luck which it manipulates. A character even dies temporarily from a sudden peanut allegy that - most unluckily - happens to now affect him. Another character later uses technology from the Minstrel's Whisper to help bring a crisis on New Mirada under control.
 * Making a Splash: The aquatic Alonis do not possess opposable digits. In order to build a civilization, they instead use their limited but effective telekinetic control over water. They essentially "shape" the water into "tools". The exact limit on the ability has not been determined (yet) but possibly it depends on the individual.
 * Malevolent Masked Men: The Watraii (at least at first).
 * Manipulative Bastard: Common among villains, particularly if the villain is Cardassian, Romulan, or, funnily enough, Klingon. If it is possible for a manipulative bastard to be benevolent, Ariel AKA Giriaenn would be this, too...(see Star Trek: The Lost Era).
 * Married to the Job: Darrah Karys accused Darrah Mace of this. Also, Ven Kaldarren believed Rachel Garrett was like this, which led to their divorce and troubles over her relationship with their son.
 * Martial Pacifist: Jasminder Choudhury and Rennan Konya. Of course, the Starfleet of the United Federation of Planets (which they both serve) is pretty much this overall.
 * Mask of Power: The rituals of the Oralian Way (a Cardassian religion) involve masks that channel the wearer's spiritual power so as to allow one to become closer to the gods, even serve as a vessel for Oralius. The Dithparu's mask is a sinister reflection of this. See Star Trek: The Lost Era in particular.
 * Meaningful Funeral: Several examples:  Meanwhile, President Bacco feels she has a duty to make ex-president Jaresh-Inyo's funeral service memorable. Particular cultural traditions explored include Elaysian funerals such as Zuka Juno's, where the body is consumed by carnivorous citizens at the Blood Prism (See Star Trek Gemworld) and Tiburonian services, where the deceased person's ashes are consumed by friends and colleagues.
 * The Messiah: Erika Hernandez gives off some rather strong messiah-vibes in the end.
 * Missing Floor: The sub-subbasement in the Federation Embassy on Qo'noS. It becomes quite important during one particular story-arc.
 * Monochromatic Eyes: The Damiani have eyes of solid silver or white, and Seleneans have solid green eyes.
 * My Instincts Are Showing: Caitians, among others.
 * Names to Run Away From Really Fast: Averted with the names chosen by the Nacene in human form. Tremble, as the forces of Phoebe face down the forces of Vivia in epic battle!
 * Never Accepted in His Hometown: P8 Blue, who is a perfect ambassador for the Nasat people (friendly, intelligent, kind, brave, humorous) is actually an outcast on the Nasat homeworld.
 * Never Speak Ill of the Dead: The unformed Founder girl informs Nog and Sam Bowers "I miss First, I miss Second, I miss Fourth...I do not miss Third", to which Nog mutters "yeah, good riddance". Bowers elbows him, even though the Founder evidently won't mind given that she's just stated she didn't like the Third.
 * Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: When you need a space adventure but your protagonists are peaceful scientist-explorers, this is a frequent way to create a conflict. A few examples include: Voyager meddling around in the Monorhan system in Star Trek: String Theory, which tore open a wound in the fabric of reality and started the unravelling of the strings, Titan attempting to destroy an asteroid striking Droplet to save a relatively small number of natives (which accidentally resulted in a crisis that threatened all the natives), and Zelik Leybenzon's death scene.
 * No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: The Borg in the Star Trek Destiny trilogy. The combined forces of the United Federation of Planets, Klingon Empire, Romulan Star Empire, Imperial Romulan State, Cardassian Union, Breen Confederacy, Gorn Hegemony, Talarian Republic and Ferengi Alliance are slaughtered without the Borg fleet being slowed down.
 * No Such Thing as Alien Pop Culture: While the various TV series tended to play it straight, it's usually averted in the novels. For example, A Singular Destiny features a character owning a large collection of Klingon novels and comics; most of these had been introduced in earlier books, only to be collected together here for Continuity Porn. In the Star Trek Deep Space Nine relaunch, a popular joke involves the crew of Defiant all reading their way through a melodramatic Klingon novel, and the same series introduced a Bajoran children's educational series, The Adventures of Lin Marna. Meanwhile, in Star Trek: Klingon Empire mention is frequently made of the Narm Charm found in the politically-charged animated series "Battlecruiser Vengeance". In one novel, Ezri Dax is distracted by her memories of a Trill nursery rhyme.
 * Noodle Incident: The Tellarite Story in the Star Trek: Starfleet Corps of Engineers series (though we do get a reasonable number of details, much remains nebulous). Also, in homage to the original Noodle Incident, T'Ryssa Chen of the Star Trek: The Next Generation Relaunch has the Tubegrub Incident.
 * Oh My Gods: All the time:
 * The Betazoid "Great Fire!" and "By the First/Third/appropriate number House!"
 * The Efrosian Xin Ra-Havreii sarcastically replies to comments that the planet he's on is pleasant with "yes, yes, a virtual Endless Sky you've brought us to".
 * The Tellarite "By Kera and Phinda!"
 * The Nausicaans' "Four Winds". Savonigar's tegol, "free at last from the prison of his flesh, soared with the Wind, to the Heart of the Sky, where his ancestors awaited his arrival".
 * The inhabitants of Yakaba are good, Kolk'r-fearing people.
 * The Selenean "Spines of the Mothers!"
 * The Damiani "By Ho'nig"
 * Romulan "Elements!"
 * Choblik "By the Grace of the Great Builders" (overlaps with Thank the Maker, given that Choblik are cyborgs who were non-sapient until the Builders installed their implants).
 * The Koas worship The Architect of Time.
 * The Bolians have the Vein of Mystery.
 * The sacred Ferengi prayer "this is my final offer!"
 * Omnicidal Maniac: The Borg Collective, following the loss of the transwarp network. The Borg's new goal, until they are stopped/saved is simply "destroy everything". In particular, see Star Trek Destiny.
 * One Federation Limit: There are a few duplicates, but also a lot of variety. Here goes: United Federation of Planets, United Planets of Tellar, United Rigel Colonies, United Earth, First Federation, Klingon Empire, Andorian Empire, Danteri Empire, Romulan Star Empire, Cardassian Union, Deltan Union, Breen Confederacy, Confederacy of Vulcan, Regnancy of the Carnelian Throne, Gorn Hegemony, Tholian Assembly, Tzenkethi Coalition, Ferengi Alliance, Nyberrite Alliance, Metron Consortium, Sheliak Corporate, Talarian Republic, People's Republic of Coridan, Republic of Bajor, Magisterial Cheka Kingdom, Plutocracy of Ardana, Ubarrak Primacy, Devore Imperium, Krenim Imperium, Karemma Foundation, Kazon Collective, Borg Collective, Vidiian Sodality, B'omar Sovereignty, Hierarchial Order of Voth, Holy Order of the Kinshaya, Haakonian Order, Hermat Directorate, New Thallonian Protectorate, the Dominion, the Hierarchy.
 * One Steve Limit: Subverted by the four Vulcans named Solok.
 * Cardassian characters are also particularly notable for sharing names - a character in The Never-Ending Sacrifice has the same first name as one of Dukat's sons. In the same book, a minor supporting character shares a family name with an established major character but is likely not a relative.
 * Winn Mara, a Bajoran, is not a relative of Kai Winn Adami, as far as we know.
 * Our Zombies Are Different: The Fris'len. Mutant Vulcan vampire-zombies. Yes, really. They've only appeared in flashbacks - one of planet Vulcan's many dark secrets.
 * Overly Long Name: The D'Naali typically have these. The Andorians often have very long names too, and combined with their fondness for lisping sounds can be quite a mouthful. Luckily they have a shorter "familiar" name that can be used instead. Manraloth have very long names, but being immortal it probably makes sense.
 * Papa Wolf: If Ree is to be taken as an example, the male Pahkwa-thanh. Also, Elias Vaughn after he thinks Taran'atar has killed his (adult) child.
 * Pardon My Klingon: Alien curse-words are a good way to present realistic swearing without giving offense, even in print. As well as the obvious Klingon examples, we have: Frinx, the all-purpose Ferengi sexual euphemism, Grozit, the Xenexian all-purpose curseword, Aili Lavena and "cultural kyeshing diversity", Nog calling Taran'atar a cold hearted Moogi-Jokk, and the Tellarite Khrught. On the other hand, in the language of the Skorr, shit is a perfectly acceptable term for a marriage partner.
 * Skor is ancient Greek for shit.
 * Planet of Hats: Often averted, with races who are somewhat one-dimensional on screen made far less so. A few examples:
 * The novels show considerable diversity in their Vulcan characters (even though the simple hat of “logic” still fits the vast majority). These include stuffy old racists who use their own brand of logic to advocate Vulcan superiority or isolationism (like Soreth in Star Trek Ex Machina), Space Amish communities with strange insular customs (see Star Trek: Vanguard), xenophile enthusiasts who experiment with other cultural norms, at least one Vulcan who supports Surakian ideology yet demonstrates emotion outwardly to better fit in with aliens (yet claims he isn't feeling the emotion), a Deadpan Snarker or two (President Bacco's secretary Sivak, Soleta in Star Trek: New Frontier), individuals who play up the strereotypes as much as possible, those who reject Surakism and just show their emotions, complete pacifists and pragmatic fighters...to say nothing of the massive political divisions between those who support reunification with Romulus and those who don't, those who find Starfleet too violent and those that support/serve in it, those that are active in the Federation and those that have practically no contact with aliens. Sure, the vast majority still wear the logic hat, but there's a lot of variety in there.
 * On TV, "Tellarites do not argue for a reason, they simply argue". In the novels, Tellarites are quite diverse, and differ hugely in how they express themselves; Thur chim Gliv in Losing the Peace is hugely different from Mor glasch Tev. Of course, in one story Tev claims pride is the Tellarite hat. It's a valued trait to them, not a vice. And to be fair, the "loves to argue" hat is still largely intact- it's canonically a feature of their mainstream culture.
 * In the Star Trek: Klingon Empire series, one novel in particular (A Burning House) was dedicated to essentially showcasing the diversity in Klingon culture. First, the Klingon farmers were explored in some depth (one notably shrugged off the "good day to die" warrior ethos as not something she was particularly concerned with). They also had a far friendlier relationship with the various subject races, like Phebens. The labourers and workmen of the cities were also explored (in both the capital and in a run-down city where industry has packed up and left for newer pastures, leaving many out of work). There were also Klingon opera singers, lawyers, policemen, etc. Earlier books in the series, which focused on the warriors, also made a point of portraying them with much diversity, including an elderly Klingon who was previously a warrior but has since moved into farming and now "prefers fertilizer to blood". The Klingons only appear one dimensional to aliens because the political caste and the warriors (which are now the same thing anyway) are all those aliens ever get to see, unless they travel the empire itself and connect with the common people. Even the warriors show considerable diversity under that hat. In the novel Diplomatic Implausibility, the warriors are presented as highly diverse; we have the whiny engineer Vall, the Deadpan Snarker Leskit, the eager young officer Toq...
 * The Romulans in the Original series were the Proud Warrior Race, in the more modern shows their hat was intrigue. The novels present them with considerable complexity, including uniting these two interpretations, giving various Romulan characters a mix of traits drawn from both. Some are more towards the intrigue side of the scale, some the warrior side. Some Romulans are essentially warrior-politicians (Neral, Narviat, Dralath as a darker and more bloodthirsty variant), some noble soldiers of the Proud Warrior Race type (e.g. Charvanek, Tal and Ruanek (and he's of a different caste to the first two, and so expresses the tendency differently), and others are little more than thugs. Some Romulans are masters of intrigue, some are more concerned with the practical matters of politics, science or whatever else they do. Also, most characters of note are of the nobility, and don't represent the average citizen in the street. As with the Klingons mentioned above, the Romulan farmers, carpenters, teachers, artists etc are there- we just have far less focus on them.
 * As for humans, the modern novels often suggest that humanity's hat is essentially a sort of ideological creativity, or a tendency to express themselves in ways that push the boundries - basically, humans don't like being contained or controlled, and resist any attempt to confine them, either in outlook or literally. This would fit the portrayal on the various TV shows — the resistance to authority from the pilot, the desire for space exploration and knowledge for knowledge's own sake, Weyoun thinking an anti-Dominion rebellion would start on Earth, etc. In one novel, a Tellarite says creativity defines humans as logic defines Vulcans. This creativity expresses itself in various ways - including the formation of a vast variety of cultures, religions and nations that outnumber those of most other species; so making the apparent lack of a hat actually a part of our hat. This variety comes precisely because humans will squabble over the slightest of rules and end up dividing every creed or faith or nation into hundreds of smaller ones if given the chance. They just seem to naturally seek a creative diversion, something new, and become attached to their ideological tangent over current "reality", for better or worse.
 * Plant Aliens: The Mabrae are actually animals, but they live symbiotically with plants, and wear individually tailored plants as an extension of their body, rather than clothes. Security guards have tough bark as natural body armour, while diplomats and politicians grow exotic, colourful flowers. They consider segregation between flesh and leaf to be barbaric. Then there's the Citoac, who are indeed sapient plants (very secretive ones who were forgotten about by their planet's other intelligent race). Finally, the Lomar creatures are, essentially, sapient moss - see Star Trek: The Genesis Wave.
 * The Phoenix: The Great Bird of the Galaxy.
 * Poisonous Person: When under stress, Chelons secrete a poison through their skin. Ambassador Jetanien explains this to his Klingon diplomatic counterpart in order to warn him off; another Chelon posthumously kills a Hirogen hunter with his poison in Star Trek Destiny.
 * The Pollyanna: The Risians are desperately trying to be this at present, following the loss of their homeworld. Whether it will work out for them remains to be seen; part of the problem is that Risians pride themselves on their hospitality, but now they are dependent on that of others.
 * Pose of Supplication: A useful tool of diplomacy; some cultures will respond well to it. The Regnancy of the Carnelian Throne is built upon symbolic acts of submission, whereas the Voth respond well when paid tribute to, but become angered if not given what they see as their due.
 * Pride: A defining trait of the Tellarites; it isn't a sin to them, it's a valued cultural virtue. However, no-one is more prideful than the Voth, who view themselves as the rightful rulers of the Delta Quadrant and expect tribute and reverence from others. No Voth would ever bend or bow to a non-Voth, particularly an exotherm.
 * Then there's the cautionary parable of Palwin Of The Fields, a Tamarian legend demonstrating the price of hubris, but offering hope of escape through madness.
 * Pronoun Trouble: Many examples. In Star Trek: New Frontier, hermaphrodite Hermats use s/he and hir, and there's a whole Hermat Language Council, to explain why they did away with the pronoun hish and the practice of calling a commanding Hermat officer "shir". The Hermat pronouns are later applied to other hermaphrodite or androgynous races like the Talosians. Also, a Damiani is either he, she or it, depending on sex. The four-sexed Andorians have a multitude of gender-specific words but usually accept male or female pronouns so as to avoid confusion among offworlders. A Syrath is an it, being asexual (but Damiani its are not asexual). Bynars use "this unit" in place of I or we, neither of which works well for them.
 * Prophecy Twist: The Second Coming of Kahless was intended as metaphorical, not literal. Thus, the clone of Kahless is not in fact the "true" second coming, despite Lady Lukara assuring Martok he is a genuine reincarnation. The actual second Kahless is
 * Proud Merchant Race: The Orions.
 * Proud Warrior Race: The Daa'Vit, and the Children of San-Tarah. See also, Star Trek: Klingon Empire, which as anyone who knows anything about Klingons can guess, is essentially Star Trek: Proud Warrior Race: The Series.
 * Punny Name: Gard. Also DaiMon Blud, though he kindly requests you don't draw attention to it.
 * The Purge: Cardassian Central Command destroys the Oralian Way religion (although pockets manage to survive) in a purge of believers in the enclaves on Bajor. The Oralians had already fled persecution on Cardassia, but of course Central Command had its eyes on Bajor, too. See: Star Trek: The Lost Era.
 * Pyrrhic Victory: The Borg war, pretty much, as shown in Star Trek Destiny and its aftermath. . There isn't any mood to celebrate, and the rebuilding will take a long time.
 * Reasonable Authority Figure: Councillor Ra'ch B'ullhy, Councillor T'Latrek, and Admiral Masc are among the recurring characters who fit the trope.
 * Religion of Evil: The Redeemers. Their mandate is to teach others about the grace of Xant - which means imposing their faith on entire planets on pain of genocide. Ironically, they consider their evil to be serving a greater good. Thanks to Insane Troll Logic, they act in the opposite manner to how Xant would want them to. This will serve to speed up his promised return, apparently - so by being ruthless and genocidal now, the Redeemers will, in the long-run, help bring Xant's wisdom and light to the galaxy a lot quicker. Plus, how can they possibly measure up to his godly example? Best not to try, and instead encourage the god to return and bestow his incomparable wisdom himself. Or possibly the Redeemers are just utterly insane...
 * The Remnant: Kitana'klan's little fleet, which is still fighting the Dominion War three months after the official surrender of Dominion forces.
 * Reptiles Are Abhorrent: Averted, usually. The Saurians (the name tells you everything), Chelons (ditto), Pahkwa-thanh, and Resaurians (and again) are all friendly. In more detail: the Pahkwa-thanh, which are carnivores and resemble a cross between a komodo dragon and a featherless dromaeosaur, are members of the United Federation of Planets who have contributed much to medical science and medicine. Dr. Shenti Yisec Eres Ree from Star Trek: Titan is a Pahkwa-thanh. The Chelons and Saurians are also prominant in the novels, and active Federation members. Indeed, we've seen a fair amount of actively heroic members. Ambassador Jetanien of Star Trek: Vanguard is a Chelon, as was a particularly heroic member of the U.S.S Aventine crew in Star Trek Destiny. Saurian characters like Razka and Bazel have also done quite a bit for the Federation and its citizens. The Resaurians, meanwhile, are snake-people who are as varied as humans - many are friendly, some hostile. Even the Xindi-Reptilians have calmed down a bit in the novels; one served as Federation Secretary of Space Exploration as of the timeframe of early Star Trek: The Next Generation. The Kanes, on the otherhand, are an example of this being played straight.
 * Resignations Not Accepted: Tomas Roeder discovers this about Section 31.
 * Retcon: Several. The move from a totally discontinuous mass into a far more unified continuity has resulted in a fair number of these. A particularly good example: in Star Trek: Vulcans Heart, Romulus' capital city was given the name Ki Baratan. It had previously been called Dartha, but that was in a story set a century prior. Later novels used the time gap for a reasonable Retcon: the capital's name changes as new regimes come to power. Now, books set in the 22nd or 23rd centuries use "Dartha", those set in the 24th use "Ki Baratan". The name change is explicitly mentioned in the first Star Trek: Titan novel. Another good example is the Andorian issue. The Andorians were initially portrayed quite differently between Star Trek: Enterprise and the Star Trek Deep Space Nine relaunch novels (specifically, Enterprise gives no sign of the four genders that are central to the novels' depiction of Andorians, and at least strongly implied that they just have the usual male and female), but later books skillfully (YMMV) resolved the seeming contradictions. The various portrayals now add up neatly. Also, in the Star Trek Enterprise Relaunch, the names of Xindi characters are a blend of screen names and those given in early novelizations. For example, the Xindi known as Dolim was named "Guruk" in the first novelization, so in later books his full name is given as "Guruk Dolim".
 * The Revolution Will Not Be Vilified: Usually averted. Rebel movements are often very ambiguous and/or complex. The Silgov, though clearly victimized, are presented as questionable in some regards themselves, willing to victimize Koa in turn in order to get what they want.
 * The X'Mari Resistance are sympathetic, but clearly no saints.
 * On taD, while the al'Hmatti are indeed victimized by Klingon oppression, at least one Klingon overseer is genuinely upset to discover an al'Hmatti he thought was a friend was a terrorist/freedom fighter. His distress when the al'Hmatti in question turns on him is portrayed with great sympathy. Both Klingon and al'Hmatti are treated with respect by the author throughout.
 * The Nachri rebels are questionable in conduct, too, although their grievances may well be legitimate.
 * On the other hand, played straight on Kevratas.
 * Rousing Speech: At times. Martok to the High Council in the Star Trek Destiny trilogy is a good example:


 * Rule of Three: The Wormhole Aliens' faithful - three races (the Eav'oq, the Bajorans, and the Ascendants), a holy trio of figures (the Voice, the Hand and the Fire), nine sacred orbs (three times three), and nine Emissaries. The Wormhole Aliens certainly like the number three. Added to this the Hebitian love of the number, and the frequent hints that Hebitian culture is connected to that of the Bajorans, and we have a whole interconnected spiritual community valuing the rule of three, though quite why (other than this trope of course) remains unclear.
 * Running Gag: Sinnravian drad music (and the fact that everyone who isn't Carol Abramowitz or Nog hates it), Fo Hachesa bungling his grammar, Vance Hawkins always getting hurt or roughed up.
 * Sacrificial Lamb: 111.
 * Scary Dogmatic Aliens: The Ascendants certainly count. Their entire culture is dedicated to a violent crusade, one that will see them reconnect with their gods, the True (who are the Wormhole Aliens, known to Bajor as the Prophets and to the peaceful Eav'oq as the Siblings). The Ascendants destroy all who worship falsely or commit blasphemy against the True. They do not appear to have a problem with non-worshippers, though.
 * The Redeemers are another culture of religious fundamentalists; indeed, the only members of their species left are this, as most were wiped out by the Redeemer virus, which the survivors later used to cower subjugated (converted, "saved") peoples.
 * The Holy Order of the Kinshaya appears to be a military theocracy, with crusades against the Klingon "demons", though given Klingon attempts to destroy Kinshaya worlds they are somewhat more sympathetic than most fundamentalists.
 * Sealed Evil in a Can: Several. There's the Dithparu (essentially evil spirits) in their magnetic prison, Malkus the Mighty (who was sealed in a box, to be exact), the now The Eight, who got loose in the Star Trek: Voyager Relaunch, setting up a Sequel Hook.
 * Self-Destruct Mechanism: Often. There's even a self-destruct in a prison facility at one point. Who puts a self-destruct in a prison?! The Obsidian Order, of course.
 * Self-Made Orphan: Hent Tevren, the Betazoid serial murderer.
 * Servant Race: The Bynars were originally this to a race of now-departed AIs, though they now have their own civilization.
 * The unnamed race who once colonized Sarindar created artificial creatures to gather food for them; two of these remained intact up until 2376 and took the form of crystal creatures known as shii, contributing to the legend of the monster shii.
 * Servile Snarker: All the time. Sivak, Theno, Darok...many, many more.
 * Shame If Something Happened: The Romulan nobility seem to like this a lot. Koval pulls it on Pardek, whose daughter is "such a lovely child", D'deridex pulls it on Valdore, and Sela on Kevratan rebels.
 * Sharpened to a Single Atom: The Tholians have these. The edge of the blade is a single molecule thick. The swords become important to the plot in the novels The Sundered and Reap the Whirlwind.
 * The Shrink: Astall is clearly a type two. Hugh Cambridge is clearly a type three, as is Haaj, who is of the tough love sub-type (Cambridge can be like that at times, but Haaj takes it to the top).
 * Single Biome Planet: Justified with Droplet, a water world based upon genuine and cutting-edge scientific speculation.
 * The Genesis Wave transformed worlds into swamp planets.
 * taD and Kevratas are essentially ice planets; it's hinted Pandril is too.
 * Sins of Our Fathers: The Cardassians. All the time, and to terrible extremes.
 * Smug Snake: Klingon Councillor Kopek. A century earlier, his position as the Smug Snake on the Klingon High Council is held by Councillor Duras. There's a Duras in every era of Trek; the "original" Duras in the 24th century, who was a villain in Star Trek: The Next Generation, was in decline. The Duras in Star Trek: Enterprise was yet to truly ascend. The Duras of the Original Series era, seen in Star Trek: Vanguard and Star Trek: Errand of Fury among others, is from a House in its prime, and he knows it. What he doesn't know is that his house is soon to suffer terrible setbacks because he's underestimated his rivals.
 * Space Cold War: The Typhon Pact vs the nations of the Khitomer Accords. Six previously antagonistic races, the Breen, Gorn, Tholians, Tzenkethi, Romulans and Kinshaya, formed new galactic superpower the Typhon Pact, which is a rival to the United Federation of Planets. The Federation responded by expanding their alliance with the Klingons to also include the Ferengi and the Cardassians, while also courting the Talarians. Now there are two large political blocs competing politically, economically, and technologically.
 * Space Station: Naturally, quite a few. Starbase 47, a.k.a. Vanguard, is probably the most memorable, being the setting of the Star Trek: Vanguard series.
 * Stable Time Loop: Star Trek likes this one. Examples from the novels include the history of the Caeliar race, including the destruction of their homeworld Erigol, and the history of planet Orisha. The War of the Prophets, meanwhile, is a stable time loop that connects multiple conflicting timelines together too.
 * Star-Killing: It's suggested that the supernova which destroyed the homeworld of the Tkon Empire (as seen in the TNG episode "The Last Outpost") was caused artificially and with malice. This would answer the question of why a technologically advanced civilization with the power to move entire star systems could have been taken by surprise by a supernova. Also, the Ascendants in the Star Trek Deep Space Nine relaunch have a weapon capable of destroying stars, as seen in Worlds of Deep Space Nine: The Dominion.
 * Starfish Aliens: Most cosmozoans (space-dwelling life-forms), for example Star-Jellies (giant telepathic space-jellyfish) and Branchers (known to those who watched Star Trek: The Next Generation as the Crystalline Entity).
 * The Noh-angel cluster entity.
 * Ontailians, furry sloth-boa-octopus people who drape from trees.
 * The Strata, silicon-based creatures who can "reboot" from the dead.
 * Syrath, crystal creatures standing on four slim limbs, with manipulator tenticles and fleshy glowing sensory domes. They're also effectively immortal; see Bizarre Alien Biology.
 * Alpusta, black sea urchin-like creatures who spin webs; Yilterns, colony creatures who swarm as one being; Gendlii, which is an intelligent fungus.
 * Children of the Storm, non-corporeal beings floating in telekinetic force fields.
 * The Greech, and many other components of the Indign, a conjoined race consisting of six very different species welded together.
 * Starfish Language: The Vahni Vahltupali communicate visually, flashing patterns across their skin. They can even "sing". Meanwhile, the Citoac (a race of Plant Aliens) communicate using sound - but in a very different way from how we use it. They make noises of a pitch that stimulates the brain of another being, directly influencing their neurology. Finally, Efrosian language is music-based, as are those of several aquatic species, among them the Alonis.
 * Stay in the Kitchen: The Nalori, who resent having a female performing administrative work at their facility on Sarindar.
 * Strange Salute: The Kinshaya flare their wings to salute, and make a shrieking noise while doing so. This also serves to display the wing colours that signify family lineage, and the Kinshaya's social station. The salute therefore reinforces the hierarchy in more ways than one.
 * Suicide Attack: Several races and nations use this as a tactic. Most notably, the 22nd century Romulans send a ship to make a suicide run on planet Coridan, causing an antimatter explosion that kills a billion people and leaves the world aflame. 200 years later, even though the population has recovered, dilithium fires still burn on Coridan; indeed, the Burning Sea is a tourist attraction. The Romulans went on to do thr same thing to Draylax.
 * Superior Species: Trek likes this one. The Manraloth and the Caeliar are two examples of super-advanced, technologically sophisticated elder races introduced in the novels; interestingly, they avoid taking Star Trek's usual "energy being" route and instead use nanotechnology to transcend their natural biological forms.
 * Also, the trope is played with when the Klingon crew of the I.K.S Gorkon are on Elabrej. In the role of the "wise visitors" from the stars, the advanced Klingons lecture the Elabrej rebels who try their hardest not to cause too much death, targeting empty buildings and the like. The Klingons inform them a superior culture knows that the way forward is to cause maximum mayhem and violence, as often as possible.
 * Taking the Bullet: Pharh is one memorable example.
 * Talking in Your Dreams: The Cardassian "Fates" communicate like this. Non-corporeal creatures apparently inhabiting a mysterious dimensional plane that intersects with our own, they can telepathically influence mortals. In particular, with individuals of the right genetic makeup (or whose minds have been altered by particular artifacts), they can appear in dreams and hold "conversations" - or alternatively just plant images and desires. In the Terok Nor books, their apparent leader, Oralius, uses it to find the next Astraea so as to keep the Oralian Way religion and the compassionate, noble aspect of Cardassian society alive. Her Evil Counterpart Uramtali uses it to telepathically rape young boys. See Star Trek: The Lost Era.
 * Lipul Dreamships.
 * Teenage Wasteland: The Manraloth - a race of revived Precursors - see the modern galaxy as this. The races of today have grown up without the oversight of the Manraloth and their galaxy-spanning alliance, and are frequently at war. These unruly, rather brutal child races require Manraloth guidance to mature healthily. Or so revived Manraloth believe.
 * Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Any threat to the entirety of known space results in this, as the Federation tries, with varying degrees of success, to gather all the local powers into a coalition. It sort of works during the Gateways and Genesis Wave crises, and in the desperate days of the Borg Invasion, but there's always a lot of complaining. Now the Typhon Pact has been formed, we'll be seeing more teamwork, so presumably more teeth clenching...
 * Terraform: The humans are terraforming Venus, with help from the Bynars. Other examples:
 * Ijuuka in Star Trek: A Time to..., though  interfere.
 * The Genesis Wave disaster terraformed - more accurately Lomarformed - dozens of planets pretty much instantly. The problem is many still had people on them at the time...
 * There Are No Therapists: Averted.
 * There Is No Kill Like Overkill: The Shedai Wanderer, who's a little too eager to blow up planets as a solution to her problems.
 * They Do: Several story-arcs result in a marriage.
 * Think of the Children: The Governor of Pacifica in Losing the Peace, who was concerned about refugees' effects on the Selkie breeding islands, but might possibly have been simply annoyed by the refugees...
 * Too Many Mouths: Betelgeusians have two; a beak-like one for speaking with, and a toothy one which they use to eat.
 * Trademark Favorite Food: Tev does like his apple ranchers.
 * Training From Hell: Cardassian higher education, at least if you're training for service to state intelligence. The Cardassian youths at the Bamarren Institute in Star Trek Deep Space Nine a Stitch In Time are the best example.
 * Tree-Top Town: The Nasat homeworld. Nasats evolved on the floor of the forest, but their civilization now resides in the canopy.
 * Turtle Power: The Chelons. As the name suggests, turtle-people. Friendly, powerful bipedal turtles who secrete poison in battle. Plus, Jetanien, the most notable member of the race, is a smartass.
 * The Unpronounceable: The full-length version of many an Andorian name. There's a reason people call Thelianaresth th'Vorothishria "Thelian".
 * Unwanted Rescue: This is why Admiral Akaar is angry with Tuvok, more or less.
 * Vestigial Empire: Back and forth with the Romulans, post Star Trek Nemesis. In the immediate aftermath, the Romulan Star Empire fragmented into factions. Praetor Tal'aura and Proconsul Tomalak were able to reunite most of them, as the Federation sought to maintain peace along the borders (the Klingons "helped" by making Remus a protectorate). Commander Donatra, however, declared the worlds and fleets loyal to her independent. Between losing territory to Donatra, uprisings on the outworlds, and the damage from the Borg Invasion, the Empire was less than half its former size. It was explicitly stated in Star Trek Articles of the Federation that the Romulans were no longer a superpower. However, they bounced back thanks to membership in the Typhon Pact. That said, the empire will presumably collapse again when Romulus is destroyed (though we're still a few years short of that in the current timeframe...)
 * Villain Team-Up: The Typhon Pact, an alliance of six previously xenophobic and aggressive antagonist cultures, is an unusual example, because most of its members are genuinely interested in peaceful co-existence. While the Tholian Assembly just wants to spite the Federation, on the whole the Typhon Pact is not primarily motivated by hostility; it's far more complex than that. The degree to which its member states will remain hostile is uncertain. See Star Trek: Typhon Pact.
 * Warrior Poet: The Katai, an elite band of warrior-scholars on the Klingon monastery world of Boreth, are a whole official organization of these. Okay, so it's not a large organization, but still...WarriorPoet is practically their job description.
 * Weapon of Mass Destruction: The planet Tezwa's illegally acquired W.M.Ds drives one particular arc; see Star Trek: A Time to.... Then there's such superweapons as the Genesis Wave and whatever star-killer technique the Ascendants use.
 * Will Not Tell a Lie: Zaldans, who find falsehood of any kind disgusting. Their culture is fanatical in its Will Not Tell a Lie morality. This causes problems in one novel, A Singular Destiny. Evidence suggests that planet Zalda is refusing refugees; this isn’t true, but the faked records are convincing enough. The situation is made considerably worse in that their representative is completely outraged at the very idea of being Wrongly Accused - of being lied at and made to look like a liar himself - and storms off rather than defending himself. Seleneans are also a Will Not Tell a Lie culture, but unlike Zaldans it isn't for moral reasons but because their usual form of communication makes it pointless.
 * Willing Channeler: The energy beings known as the Fates can enter into a being's mind and control their body while their own consciousness is inert. The being has to be a) the right sort of person with the correct genes or mental abilities, and b) willing. Astraea, the leader of a Cardassian religion based upon worship of the mysterious "good" Fates led by Oralius, is the best example of the truly Willing Channeler. See: Terok Nor and Star Trek: The Lost Era. The Evil Counterpart to Oralius, Uramtali (leader of the Night Spirits) shows up in the Star Trek: The Lost Era novel Well of Souls. She cheats a bit; she ensures her host is "willing" by placing him in a situation where if he refuses his child suffers.
 * Wise Beyond Their Years: Demora Sulu in The Captain's Daughter.
 * Worthy Opponent: Savonigar cheerfully hails Iliana Ghemor (Mirror version) as this after she defeats him. She returns the acknowledgement. Then there's the Children of San-Tarah, conceived as an entire race of worthy opponents for the Klingons.
 * Yodel Land: The Urwyzden system is a deliberate parody of the popular idea of Switzerland. It features: mountains, banking, ski slopes, banking, complete neutrality, and banking.
 * You Have Failed Me: The Klingons, often. Also the Androssi, a race invented for the novels. It's actually averted with Androssi Overseer Biron's Sponsor in Starfleet Corps of Engineers, who is quite understanding on those occasions where Biron fails in his task. Biron himself, on the other hand...