Line #2 Literature/StarTrekTheBattleOfBetazed


1	[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/thebattleofbetazed_5638.jpg]]
2	A book in the Literature/StarTrekNovelVerse. Featuring characters from ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' and ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' (including Elias Vaughn of the Literature/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineRelaunch), it tells the story of the Dominion occupation of Betazed (Deanna Troi's homeworld), and the fight to liberate the planet. Betazed fell to the Dominion in the ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' episode [[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS06E19InThePaleMoonlight "In the Pale Moonlight"]].
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4	From the back cover:
5	->''In the darkest hours of the Dominion War, as the Federation's downfall seemed ever more certain, Jem'Hadar and Cardassian forces conquered Betazed, the homeworld of Deanna Troi. Their victory sent shock waves through the Alpha Quadrant, and put the Dominion within striking distance of Vulcan, Andor, Tellar -- and possibly Earth itself. To secure their position in the very heart of the Federation, the Cardassians begin constructing space station Sentok Nor in orbit of Betazed. The station is to serve as both the seat of the Dominion occupation and the site of horrific experiments by Cardassia's foremost exobiologist, the infamous Dr. Crell Moset. With Starfleet's forces spread too thinly in the ongoing struggle to retake Betazed outright, the U.S.S. ''Enterprise'', along with some old and new friends, is deployed to carry out a dangerous and desperate plan. But no matter what the outcome, the consequences could alter Betazed irrevocably, forcing Deanna Troi to choose between her world's survival and its very soul.''
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7	----
8	!!This novel contains examples of:
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10	* AffablyEvil: Crell Moset, the MadScientist. One of a trio of villains, he features alongside the ruthless pragmatic Gul Lemec and the restrained amoral Vorta, Luaran.
11	* CallForward: The epilogue. Deanna and Riker acknowledge that they belong together, setting the stage for [[Film/StarTrekNemesis their marriage]].
12	* CanonImmigrant: Crell Moset is originally from ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'', although no other ''Voyager'' characters appear here.
13	* ColdBloodedTorture: Okalan, a member of the Betazoid resistance, is tortured by Dominion forces who remove his fingers and his eyes.
14	* ContinuityNod: Elias Vaughn's participation in the liberation of Betazed was already established in the ''Literature/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineRelaunch'', hence his appearance here. His exact role, and the mission itself, were left undescribed in those novels, simply being a part of his back story. There was therefore a lot of flexibility, but the authors made sure to keep it consistant by featuring the character. ''The Battle of Betazed'' also makes a ContinuityNod to several other novels where Vaughn made an appearance, including tales of ''Literature/StarTrekTheLostEra''.
15	* EmotionBomb: The Betazoid Resistance [[spoiler: eventually use a technique of this kind to overwhelm the Jem'Hadar occupying the planet.]] They project every emotion they have.
16	* FantasticFruitsAndVegetables: ''Cavat'', a Betazoid cereal. Also ''Sadi'', a tart yellow fruit.
17	* FauxAffablyEvil: He's arrogant and smug whenever he believes to be in a position of power, and has no sympathy for his thousands of victims.
18	* ForScience: Crell Moset's motivation, both in his experiments at Betazed and in everything else he does. He may be working for Central Command and so the Dominion, but really he's performing medical experiments for his own scientific curiousity.
19	* FreudianExcuse: Averted. Psychopathic killer Hent Tevren had a normal family and doting parents. He kills people mostly because he enjoys it, not out of any great trauma.
20	* FunWithAcronyms: Surface Operations Blacks ([=SOBs=]).
21	* ItNeverGetsAnyEasier: Elias Vaughn, by this stage in his career, is ''very'' tired of casualty reports and damage figures. He's seen too many battles, too much death. This is a subtle ContinuityNod to his story arc in the ''Literature/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineRelaunch'' series, which begins a year or so after this.
22	* ItsAllAboutMe: Crell Moset.
23	* KickTheDog: Gul Lemec, upon capturing members of the Betazoid resistance trying to smuggle medical supplies to save their children, pours the cure into the dirt and has the hospital destroyed.
24	** NecessaryEvil: To Lemec, doing this means the Betazoid resistance will be forced to surrender quicker with their children's lives at stake.
25	* MadScientist: Crell Moset, the Cardassian biologist who is currently engaged in invasive medical experiments on Betazed's orbital station. He first appeared in ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' (well, a hologram based on him did, anyway). His mission here is to try and produce telepathic Jem'Hadar, by transferring Betazoid brain material into Jem'Hadar soldiers.
26	* MegaManning: Tevren inverts this, forcibly uploading his psi-murder technique to Deanna, in a manner reminiscent of [[WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender Hama forcing Katara to learn Bloodbending]]. Unlike Katara, Deanna can't use it, but the knowledge still scares and disgusts her.
27	* MercyKill: Cort Enaran (leader of the Betazoid Resistance), kills his friend Okalan with a poison dart, to spare him further pain as he's tortured by Dominion forces.
28	* MindOverMatter: Hent Tevren and his fellows, part of a secret society, successfully unlocked the potential for telekinesis in the Betazoid brain.
29	* MindRape: Hent Tevren is fond of inflicting this. He even knows how to commit MindRape-murder, tearing a mind apart with the power of his own thoughts.
30	** [[spoiler: As he's dying]], he inflicts this on Deanna, giving her a front row seat for his vicious life history.
31	* ObfuscatingStupidity: Data and Troi in one scene, while undercover on Betazed's neighbour world, Darona.
32	* PlanetVille: Cort Enaran is leading the Betazoid Resistance. Having one group of resistance fighters under one mountain chain referred to as "the Betazoid Resistance" seems to take us into PlanetVille territory. That said, Enaran and other leaders are former members of the parliament, so their resistance cell (near the capital) might be considered ''the'' resistance. Still, the novel probably runs afoul of this trope.
33	* PragmaticVillainy: Gul Lemec runs a ruthless military occupation of Betazed with entire families and towns destroyed in retaliation towards acts of resistance, but believes this will intimidate them into submission and prevent further casualties. He clearly doesn't want to act this way and would prefer a peaceful proceeding, but it's made impossible by Moset kidnapping telepathic Betazoids by the thousands for his unethical experiments and Luaran, the Vorta overseer who ranks over both, sees Moset's research more important than the wellbeing of the Betazed population.
34	* PutOnABus: Mr. Homn, Lwaxana's valet, is strangely absent, and indeed isn't even mentioned. This despite usually appearing whenever and wherever she does (or being specifically mentioned as travelling elsewhere if not). A later novel went and transformed this into a BusCrash; ''Literature/StarTrekATimeTo'' revealed that he died during the initial invasion, so explaining his absence. The death is eventually shown in a short story, part of the ''Tales of the Dominion War'' anthology.
35	* PyrrhicVictory: Betazed is liberated, but at the cost of a great number of resistance fighters. The ending isn't quite as upbeat as might be expected.
36	* SelfMadeOrphan: Hent Tevren, whose parents were his first murder victims.
37	* TookALevelInBadass: Lwaxana Troi, resistance fighter. In fact, the Betazoid Resistance in general, seeing as these are Betazoids we're talking about.
38	* TryToFitThatOnABusinessCard: Sark Enaran is the scion of the Fourth House of Betazed, Heir to the Blessed Books of Katara, and Holder of the Sacred Scepter of Betazed. And of course Lwaxana Troi is Daughter of the Fifth House, Holder of the Sacred Chalice of Rixx, and Heir to the Holy Rings of Betazed.
39	* VillainBall: Crell Moset lowers the shields of Sentok Nor in the middle of a battle in order to allow his latest shipment of Betazoid prisoners to experiment on through, allowing the Enterprise to beam aboard a team to initiate the self-destruct and cause the destruction of the station and Moset's own capture at their hands.
40	* VillainExitStageLeft: Luaran, the Vorta overseer, who beams out in a climatic scene using a Dominion long-range transporter. She leaves her Cardassian colleagues behind to be captured, though. Luaran appears in ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' season seven, which takes place later in the Star Trek internal continuity, so this might explain why she was allowed to escape. On the other hand, she ''is'' a [[TheNthDoctor Vorta]], so she could easily have been killed here without it damaging said continuity.
41	* WhatTheHellHero: Deanna Troi is horrified to learn that the Betazoid Resistance [[spoiler: wants to bring in Hent Tevren, the telepathic serial murderer, to teach resistance fighters how to kill with their minds]]. She insists that to do so would violate everything their society stands for.
42	* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: Hent Tevren is an extremely powerful telepath. He's also a psychopath.
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Context Literature / StarTrekTheBattleOfBetazed