Star Trek: Picard wrapped up its three-season arc earlier this year, and yet there are still many Trekkies calling for a spinoff adventure. Fans don't want to have seen the last of The Next Generation crew, and they're especially eager to see Jeri Ryan back as Captain Seven of Nine to explore space with Jack Crusher and Raffi . We're still waiting on any form of confirmation that a spinoff could even happen, but there is a new project on the way that will detail a previously unseen era from Seven's life.
Prolific sci-fi author David Mack, who wrote for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and worked as a consultant on Prodigy, announced on Twitter that he's been working on a Seven of Nine adventure titled Star Trek: Firewall. This story will bridge part of the gap between Voyager's return to Earth and Seven's eventual rejection from Starfleet due to her Borg affiliation. Take a look at the full synopsis via the Amazon listing, which lists a release date of February 27, 2024:
Two years after the USS Voyager’s return from the Delta Quadrant, Seven of Nine finds herself rejected for a position in Starfleet…and instead finds a new home with the interstellar rogue law enforcement corps known as the Fenris Rangers. The Rangers seem like an ideal fit for Seven—but to embrace this new destiny, she must leave behind all she’s ever known, and risk losing the most important thing in her life: her friendship with Admiral Kathryn Janeway.
Star Trek: Picard began with Seven of Nine already established in the Fenris Rangers, so this book will be a prequel of sorts for the Paramount+ show, detailing her journey into that faction. It's also worth noting that this book somewhat serves as a Voyager sequel as well, as there's still not a ton that we know for sure about what happened in the years after Seven came to Earth with the crew, since it never got the follow-up movie it deserves.
We know, for example, that Seven and Chakotay were in a relationship at the end of Voyager, but that Seven was single when she met up with Picard years later. I'd love to hear how or why that relationship ended, though I know from CinemaBlend's conversation with Jeri Ryan she was never interested in pursuing the Chakotay relationship beyond Voyager anyway. Will Star Trek: Firewall honor that and provide a reason for their eventual split?
One other interesting tease is that it appears this book will feature some meaningful scenes between Seven of Nine and Admiral Kathryn Janeway. That's pretty notable all on its own, because Star Trek: Picard was never able to get Janeway and Seven in a scene together.
Fans are hungry for that interaction, and given there's only light chatter about Janeway coming to live-action, this could be one of the only chances in the near future for the characters themselves to shares the same space. It also might be the best option for actresses Jeri Ryan and Kate Mulgrew, who had some tensions working together on Star Trek: Voyager.
At face value, it may be hard to see how this book has anything to do with whether or not we'll be able to watch a Star Trek: Picard follow-up with our Paramount+ subscriptions. It does seem relevant to me, however, that the franchise is looking to flesh out the details of Seven's story just after she officially became a Captain in Starfleet. These details about her life could be integral to any future writers room that may be tasked with crafting her future adventures. So I see this new David Mack novel as another positive sign we'll see more from the heroine in the 25th century at some point.
Stream Star Trek: Picard right now on Paramount+, and keep that subscription handy because Strange New Worlds Season 2 is just around the corner. Not to mention there are also a number of other upcoming Trek shows on the horizon, all of which fans should be excited for.
