The Best And The Brightest

This Star Trek: The Next Generation novel (written by Susan Wright) was among the first I ever read and fell madly in love with it, especially the concept of creating all original characters in the Trekverse.  The fact that it focused on a bunch of cadets, rather than the 'heroes' of Starfleet was also something that was nice to see.  Sorting through some boxes, I found it and put it back on the bookshelf where it belonged and was inspired to make a line-up.  So here they are, from 2368 (when the book starts) and 2372 (after they have all graduated).

Nev Reoh -- Older than the rest of the group, he was a failed Vedek who managed to get away from Bajor and joined Starfleet.  At the Academy he majored in Planetary Sciences.  He graduates in 2370 and after a brief assignment as a Mineral Assayer he is posted to the Enterprise-D, until the ship is lost at Veridian III.  Afterwards, he accepts a teaching position at the Academy then in 2372 he transfers to Deep Space 9 with his partner, Starsa.

Moll Enor -- With an exceptional eidetic memory, she is the first host of Enor.  Inspired by her friend, Jadzia, she entered the Academy and started off as an Astrophysics major, but in her third year switched to the Command track.  She graduates in 2371 and is assigned to the Enterprise-D just a month before the ship is lost.  Just prior to her first posting, she finally succumbed to Jayme's pursuit, with the two maintaining a long-distance relationship.

Jayme Miranda -- The Miranda women have served Starfleet as engineers for generations, so when she entered the Academy it was as an Engineering major.  However, at the beginning of her third year she switches to Medicine.  She graduates in 2372 but still has four years of study at Starfleet Medical Academy in Paris.  Since the end of her first year, she has been madly in love with Moll, though it would take the Trill two years to finally admit she felt the same way.

Bobbie Ray Jefferson -- A Rex* born and raised on Earth, his parents connections got him the support of a Command-level officer in order to enter the Academy.  A natural born athlete, though barely able to pass the swimming requirements, it was on survival training in his second year that he met another Rex (other than his parents).  He graduates in 2372 and became a self-defence instructor at the Academy, a posting he is going to enjoy.

Hammon Titus -- Born on a subterranean colony, he never had the luxuries of life on Earth.  A self-assured risk-taker, he had his sights set on great things during his career.  In 2371, he received a field assignment to the Enterprise-D.  When the ship was lost, he was the only fatality, as during the evacuation of the stardrive, he noticed a problem with the docking clamps and remained in the secondary hull to correct it.  He was posthumously promoted to Ensign.

Starsa Taran -- From Oppalassa** she had trouble acclimatising to the environmental conditions on Earth.  At the Academy she majored in Engineering and was something of a prankster, including creating a virus that switched paragraphs of personal logs with other cadets.  In her final year, she had to return home due to complications with her maturation process.  She graduated in 2372 and was assigned to Deep Space 9 with her caraposa, Reoh.


* Rex - A felinoid race, non-allied with the Federation, whose small population are scattered across the quadrant, with some elements proving to be somewhat hostile.

** Oppalassan - A human-looking race who mature later in life than humans, the process is rapid and intense.  Oppalassa is one of the most densely populated planets in the Federation.