The DS9 Relaunch both pioneered and showed how a multi-book storyline (vs. single episodic novels) could work well, and with the other series adopting the same model and the Trek verse solidifying into a unified timeline and story line, it has never been a better time to be a Trek fan--even though I'm about 13 years behind! Nevertheless, thirteen years after publication of this book, I now ask myself, why did I wait so long to read it? Or rather, why did I put off gathering and reading these volumes that concluded with this latest installment?

Having read all the DS9 Relaunch titles through Unity--except for the Left Hand Klingon duology, next on my list, yes I know out of order, but including [b:The Battle of Betazed|422928|The Battle of Betazed (Star Trek The Next Generation)|Charlotte Douglas|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1387711071s/422928.jpg|412033], the introduction of Elias Vaughn (and kudos to Perry for picking up this character and making him a central DS9 player), and even the first few volumes of the Starfleet Corps of Engineers (with a significant DS9 installment) and even the comic N-Vector that predates the relaunch proper (see [b:Star Trek: Other Realities|249790|Star Trek Other Realities|Tony Isabella|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1173132195s/249790.jpg|242042])--I must declare this a satisfying story to conclude the first arc of the relaunch (introduction of new crew, exploring the Gamma quadrant, Bajor's journey to enter the Federation, and the discovery and fallout of the new prophesies). The concluding pages had me both laughing and crying and as a result how could I rate this any less than top-notch? Perry totally understands the veteran actors and has crafted new, believable and lovable characters from the various races of the quadrants. I am giddy with anticipation to continue the DS9 story, including the tie-ins of the TNG Relaunch, SCE, NF, VOY Relaunch and Titan lines.