Star Trek: Picard Prequel Following Riker and Troi Announced

Star Trek: Picard brought back Jonathan Frakes as William Riker and Marina Sirtis as Deanna Troi from Star Trek: The Next Generation. In the episode, the two former Starfleet offers had retired to the planet of Nepenthe. An upcoming Star Trek: Picard prequel novel will reveal more of their life aboard the USS Titan and their role in events that transpired after the attack on Mars. The book is titled Star Trek: Picard: The Dark Veil, written by veteran Star Trek author James Swallow (Star Trek: Discovery: Fear Itself). The novel is the second Star Trek: Picard tie-in after Star Trek: Picard: The Last Best Hope. It goes on sale in January.

Here’s the synopsis from Simon and Schuster: “The Alpha Quadrant is mired in crisis. Within the United Federation of Planets, a terrorist strike on the shipyards of Mars has led to the shutdown of all relief efforts for millions of Romulans facing certain doom from an impending super­nova. But when the USS Titan is drawn into a catastrophic incident on the Romulan-Federation border, Captain William Riker, his family, and his crew find themselves caught between the shocking secrets of an enigmatic alien species and the deadly agenda of a ruthless Tal Shiar operative. Forced into a wary alliance with a Romulan starship commander, Riker and the Titan crew must uncover the truth to stop a dev­astating attack—but one wrong move could plunge the entire sector into open conflict!”

Fans got to see the USS Titan for the first time in the Star Trek: Lower Decks season finale. In Star Trek: Picard, Riker returned to duty aboard a new ship, the USS Zheng He. Speaking to ComicBook.com, Frakes said he was happy that the series didn’t find Riker and Troi still aboard the Titan while discussing the possibility of more return Next Generation characters.

“I do expect to be back to direct the show, and I also think it’d be a good bet that we’ll see some other members of Next Gen because I think the ‘Nepenthe’ test went very well,” Frakes says. As to what that test was, he said, “I think to see if there was an appetite. I think they suspected there was, but I think to see if it would resonate to have Picard reunite with some of the people in a creative way. I’m glad we didn’t come back on the Titan, for instance, that we were found on another part [of the universe]. It’s 33 years or something. As Picard has changed, so has Riker and Troi, and so has Seven.”

Star Trek: Picard: The Dark Veil goes on sale on January 5th.