THE YEAR IS 2311 It is a year of infamy, a year that later generations will remember as one that altered the course of history at the cost of thousands of lives. It is the year of the Tomed Incident, and its tale can at last be told.

In the midst of escalating political tensions among the Klingons, the Romulans, and the Federation, Starfleet goes forward with the inaugural flight of "Universe," a prototype starship that promises to revolutionize space exploration. But the "Universe" experiment results in disaster, ravaging a region of space dangerously close to the Romulan Star Empire, apparently confirming suspicions that the Federation has begun testing a weapon of mass destruction.

As the military buildup accelerates on both sides of the Neutral Zone, Captain John Harriman of the Federation flagship "U.S.S. Enterprise (TM) " NCC-1701-B is fated for a final confrontation with his oldest enemy at a flashpoint in history -- with the Beta Quadrant one wrong move from the outbreak of total war.