#04. Opinion.

So, Enterprise is finally ready to launch, although it's hardly in a condition to travel at warp speeds (a warp is a speed measure in ST universe, warp 1.0 is already faster than speed of light and Enterprise's cruiser speed is around 7 to 8 warps. The problem is, while the vessel travels at warp speeds, space is somehow bent around them thus very accurate tuning is vital in using warp drives). Still, Kirk is confident everything's going to be fine until the interception. Spoiler ahead: he is wrong.

Honestly, I'd chicken out in the face of such a threat. Kirk didn't and most of the crew didn't either (a lot of them were sure that having Kirk as a captain was a guarantee that the mission will be a success). That earned them a deep expression of respect from me.

#04. Summary.

The former Enterprise doctor and Kirk's close friend, Bones McCoy, also arrives and is worried about Kirk's condition after all those earth-bound years and his addiction to Enterprise which might affect his performance as the captain.

James T. Kirk gathers everyone in the recreational deck and puts the Epsilon IX record on the big monitor for everyone to see with their own eyes what they were going to deal with.

In a few hours, Enterprise floats out of the space dock and prepares to head towards the Intruder.

#04. Words.

01. bask - наслаждаться
02. fringe - крайность
03. lachrymose - сентиментальный
04. lukewarm - тепловатый
05. snub - относиться с пренебрежением
06. middleman - посредник
07. dwindle - истощаться
08. revenue - выручка
09. roseate - оптимистичный
10. denunciation - порицание
11. stiff - окостеневший
12. ostentation - демонстрация
13. flush - прилив
14. vapor - испарения
15. sallow - болезненный
16. quip - колкость
17. scud - порыв
18. robin - дрозд
19. splendor - величие
20. sheer - полнейший, сущий

#03. Opinion.

The upgraded Enterprise isn't, to be honest, terribly better compared to the original specifications. And the problems already present and the ones to happen along the way really diminish the importance of those upgrades. But more on this later, since I've already finished the book, I'll wait till the story progresses to the point where it really plays out.

The scene of Kirk's arrival lasts almost half an hour without a single word, just shots of him in the shuttle and the Enterprise in the docks. I had to skip it, it was impossible to pay attention to such a boring sequence.

Decker might be as bold as brass while speaking with Kirk, but he's right, the truth is completely on his side. Kirk just wanted the captain's chair back and the Intruder was a nice opportunity to do so, and that's all there is to it.

#03. Summary.

All these years Enterprise was being remodeled and because of the sudden mission it had to accomplish it was being prepared for immediate launch, thus dropping a lot of the important repairs and the fine-tuning. Most of the old crew is happy to see James back, Kirk informs Decker that he's sorry things turned out this way, but Decker quips that Kirk was definitely not sorry, just wishing to command the Enterprise once again. Which was definitely not a misconception.

A transport beam failure happens, resulting in the death of several crew members on the way to Enterprise, one of them being the new science officer. Kirk assigns Decker to the science console in addition to his XO (executive officer, second-in-command) position. A female Deltan (Deltans are a race known to secrete strong pheromones so they had to maintain an oath of celibacy while on starships) navigator, Ilia, arrives on board. She had a relationship with Decker before, so he is glad to see her on board, yet Kirk makes sure that Ilia's oath is intact, which was quite insensitive, but Kirk tried to regain his authority as the captain, even though his position as a legendary person (because of the extraordinary succesful five-year mission) helped a lot to motivate the crew.

#03. Words.

01. falter - заикаться
02. verity - истина
03. legislature - законодательные учреждения
04. waylay - подстерегать
05. starch - церемонность
06. plodding - трудолюбивый
07. reticence - сдержанность
08. turntable - дека, вертушка, проигрыватель (речь о пластинках)
09. innocuous - безвредный
10. grinding - перемалывание
11. murk - мрак
12. drab - однообразный
13. trudge - устало тащиться
14. impinge - вторгаться
15. repercussion - последствия
16. conceivable - потенциальный
17. wangle - уловка
18. concession - признание
19. affluent - обильный
20. hoard - запас

#02. Summary.

I still can't exactly understand why the Intruder's mental waves were only distinguished by Spock (definitely not because of his internal emergency radio, the same as Kirk's) since there are a lot of Vulcans with better telepathy abilities. Maybe something about him being a hybrid was relevant to the Intruder, but it doesn't actually play in the following story. Technically he did receive the same message as Kirk did and thus was the only Vulcan aware of the entity, but then again - seconds later he telepathically shared that message with the Kolinahr masters.

Kirk definitely has an Enterprise addiction, like I have an Internet addiction...