History Literature / TheFinalReflection

* HistoricalDomainCharacter: The novel-within-the-novel has several historical figures in it, including a cameo appearance by a young Spock and his parents. (In the frame story, the real Spock is visibly unhappy about the novel, and refuses to talk about whether the scene has any basis in truth.)

* OpeningTheFloodGates: When Tagore hears combat outside of his stateroom on the ship taking him to the Klingon homeworld, he opens the hot-water taps in his bathroom, closes the door, and hides under the bed. When his assailant barges into the bathroom he gets a face full of scalding water, distracting him long enough for Krenn to take him out.

* OpeningTheFloodGates: When Tagore hears combat outside of his stateroom, he opens the hot-water taps in his bathroom, closes the door, and hides under the bed. When his assailant barges into the bathroom he gets a face full of scalding hot water, distracting him long enough for Krenn to take him out.

** A subtle one – in the TOS epsiode [[Recap/StarTrekS3E7DayOfTheDove "The Day of The Dove"]], Klingon transporters are seen operating with a different color pattern and without the characteristic screeching sound. Instead of waving it off as [[SpecialEffectsFailure a mistake]], Ford took this and ran with it, indicating that the sound from Federation transporters came from a secondary carrier wave added to provide a bit more safety; the ever-practical Klingons decided a silent transporter was more valuable than worrying about a one percent increase in errors.

* TheSpymaster: Operations Master Meth, the head of Imperial Intelligence.

** A subtle one – in the TOS epsiode [[Recap/StarTrekS3E7DayOfTheDove "The Day of The Dove"]], Klingon transporters are seen operating with a different color pattern and without the characteristic screeching sound. Instead of waving it off as [[SpecialEffectsFailure a mistake]], Ford took this and ran with it, indicating that the sound from Federation transporters came from a secondary carrier wave added to provide a bit more safety; the ever-practical Klingons decided a silent transporter was more valuable than worrying about a one percent increase in "scramble cases".

* BigFancyHouse: Maxwell Grandisson [=III=] lives in the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Atlanta...not as, say, a long-term guest in the penthouse suite, but as its owner and sole occupant (apart from his staff). Doubles as an OldDarkHouse as over the centuries (it opened in 1967), the windows have darkened with age.

** Other bits of history and technology (such as the ''Mann''-class starships and the hijacking of the ''Flying Fortress'' by Klingon privateers) came from the ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek_Spaceflight_Chronology Star Trek Spaceflight Chronology]]'', one of the first semi-canonical attempts to delineate the Federation's history.

* OrangeAndBlueMorality: The Klingons believe that all civilizations are either ''komerex''[[note]](literally "the structure that grows", which is generally translated into Federation Standard as "empire")[[/note]] or ''khesterex''[[note]]("the structure that declines", the members of which are only fit to be slaves for a ''komerex'' of one sort or another)[[/note]]. They have some difficulty figuring out which of these the Federation is.

* {{Fiction 500}}: Maxwell Grandisson [=III=], a man rich[[note]](see BigFancyHouse above)[[/note]] and powerful enough to ask for and get a personal meeting with Krenn and his subordinates. Although interested in making peace with the Klingons, he gives the impression of someone who is used to getting his way in all things; according to [[ColonelBadass Colonel Rabinovich]] he's an [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain anti-Semite as well]].

* FictionFiveHundred: Maxwell Grandisson [=III=], a man rich[[note]](see BigFancyHouse above)[[/note]] and powerful enough to ask for and get a personal meeting with Krenn and his subordinates. Although interested in making peace with the Klingons, he gives the impression of someone who is used to getting his way in all things; according to [[ColonelBadass Colonel Rabinovich]] he's an [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain anti-Semite as well]].

* GeneticMemory: Mention is made of learning languages by "RNA transfer"; it's hinted that the RNA in questions comes from captured Federation citizens.

* OrangeAndBlueMorality: The Klingons believe that all civilizations are either ''komerex''[[note]](literally "the structure that grows", which roughly translates as "empire")[[/note]] or ''khesterex''[[note]]("the structure that declines", whose people are only fit to be slaves for a ''komerex'' of one sort or another)[[/note]]. They have some difficulty figuring out which of these the Federation is.

* ShoutOut: Tagore's library includes ''Literature/SpaceCadet'', ''Literature/TheInnocentsAbroad'', and ''Literature/TheOnceAndFutureKing''.

* GeneticMemory: Mention is made of learning languages by "RNA transfer".

* [[Fiction500 Fiction 500]]: Maxwell Grandisson [=III=], a man rich[[note]](see BigFancyHouse above)[[/note]] and powerful enough to ask for and get a personal meeting with Krenn and his subordinates. Although interested in making peace with the Klingons, he gives the impression of someone who is used to getting his way in all things; according to [[ColonelBadass Colonel Rabinovich]] he's an [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain anti-Semite as well]].

* Fiction500: Maxwell Grandisson [=III=], a man rich[[note]](see BigFancyHouse above)[[/note]] and powerful enough to ask for and get a personal meeting with Krenn and his subordinates. Although interested in making peace with the Klingons, he gives the impression of someone who is used to getting his way in all things; according to [[ColonelBadass Colonel Rabinovich]] he's an [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain anti-Semite as well]].

* FakeStatic: An ensign under Krenn's command tries a version of this on Krenn, who isn't fooled for a moment.

** ''Latrunculo'', a Romulan game similar to Klingon ''klin zha'' and Human ''chess'', is the name (with a slightly different ending) [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latrunculi of an actual Roman strategy game]].

* AerithAndBob: After joining the navy, [[MeaningfulNameChange Gelly becomes Kelly]]. During a layover at a Federation starbase during the first peace mission, some Starfleet personnel joke that there's an Irishman on the Klingon crew.

* AerithAndBob: After joining the navy, [[SignificantNameChange Gelly becomes Kelly]]

* BigFancyHouse: Maxwell Grandisson [=III=] lives in the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Atlanta...not as, say, a long-term guest in the penthouse suite, but as its owner and sole tenant.

* LockedInAFreezer: Krenn and two loyal subordinates are locked in his ship's walk-in freezer by a traitor. The situation is even more serious for the hero than usual because Klingon biology is keyed to very warm temperatures; while trying to escape, he remembers stories about exposure to subzero temperatures causing the blood to freeze in other Klingons' surface capillaries and the skin to turn black and slough off "like bark from a tree".

* CavalryBetrayal: [[spoiler:Inverted]] at the end of the book, as [[spoiler:Krenn swoops in with his SuperPrototype dilithium-powered battlecruiser to intercept a Klingon bombardment fleet sent by a faction of the Imperial government to destroy a Federation colony and provoke a war]].

"Then you may join us, "[[APupilOfMineUntilHeTurnedToEvil Kian]] said, excited. "There will be high glory--"\\

--->"[[spoiler:Captain Krenn]]? I…was not told you were in this sector. Are you not commanding the…diplomatic mission?"
--->"I was. But no longer."
--->"Then you may join us, " [[APupilOfMineUntilHeTurnedToEvil Kian]] said, excited. "There will be high glory–"
--->"No," [[spoiler:Krenn]] said, "you are mistaken." He turned to ''Mirror'''s Weapons officer, spoke a phrase of Battle Language.

--->"No," [[spoiler:Krenn]] said, "you are mistaken." He turned to ''Mirror'''s Weapons officer, [[OhCrap spoke a phrase of Battle Language]].

* MercyKill: The only kind [[spoiler:Tagore]] has ever performed. [[spoiler:[[TearJerker On his wife]]]].

In the prologue, Captain Kirk notices odd behaviour in his crew returning from shore leave. When he asks Dr [=McCoy=] for an explanation, [=McCoy=] hands him a book...