Title: Star Trek: Starfleet Corps of Engineers, #62: What’s Past, Book Two: The Future Begins Authors: Steve Mollman and Michael Schuster Release Date: April 2006 Format: eBook ISBN: 1-4165-2046-5

The second title in the Starfleet Corps of Engineers What’s Past mini-series, The Future Begins by Steve Mollman and Michael Schuster is a wonderful tribute to the character of Montgomery Scott.

After being rescued from the U.S.S. Jenolen in 2369 (in The Next Generation's "Relics"), Scotty found himself seventy-five years removed from the time he knew, a twenty-third-century engineer now living in the twenty-fourth century. With the resurrection of the character on screen, Scotty began popping up in the occasional novel and short story.

In The Future Begins long-time fans and first-time authors Steve Mollman and Michael Schuster have taken just about every reference to Scotty in the twenty-fourth century and ingeniously woven them together into one narrative that forms a clear picture of Montgomery Scott's transition from his old life to his new life. That the story also manages to reconcile some of the inconsistencies in Scott's twenty-fourth century appearances is something that any fan will appreciate.

Fittingly, Captain Scott, who now serves as the liaison between the Starfleet Corps of Engineers and the admiralty supervising the S.C.E.'s mission assignments, tells his story to Geordi La Forge, who was instrumental in rescuing him from the Jenolen.

As Scotty tells his story we discover just how difficult the transition was. Mollman and Schuster’s characterization is spot on and the story provides some nice insights into other characters as well, particularly Admiral William Ross. Another highlight of the story is seeing Scotty mix it up with Admiral Nechayev.

The Future Begins is a story that stands on its own, previous familiarity with the S.C.E. series in not necessary to enjoy this respectful account of Captain Montgomery Scott’s twenty-fourth century adventures.

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