Tre-minuters universet - Boka 41 i serien, som jag ursprungligen hittade vid min sökning tar mig här .
The Sackers may be the most hated race in the galaxy, so repugnant that their mere appearance makes most Federation citizens ill. That hatred runs both ways, and now the Sackers have stolen a powerful new device that they use to imperil the rest of the universe. They've torn a hole in the fabric of spacetime, an expanding tear so that one universe is leaking into another, and unless the Enterprise (TM) crew can stop it, it will consume everything in its path.
De är äckliga:
The Sackers were cursed with a physical appearance repugnant enough to turn even the strongest stomach. In addition to their nausea-evoking exteriors, they gave off an overpowering stench; most people of other races became violently ill in their presence, vomiting uncontrollably until removed from the sight and smell of the Sackers. And to top things off, Sacker speech was shrill and piercing, causing excruciating pain in their listeners' ears. This standard response to the Sackers was purely a physiological one, and it couldn't be helped. But even after half a century of exemplary behavior, the Sackers still found that their presence inspired reactions ranging from uneasiness to near-violent disgust wherever they went.
De tvingar verkligen Kirk att ta befäl:
"We have need of your assistance," the newly named Babe told him. "Our ship has recently suffered a disastrous accident. Every officer and crew member on the bridge was killed--not one of our command personnel survived. I am a commander-in-training only. We brought you here, Captain Kirk, because we need you to captain our ship."
Från boken, angående flamethrowers:
One of the two Sackers who'd stayed outside the refrigerated cell--the gray one--had a weapon in his hand. Without further ado he pointed it at Hrolfson ... and set him on fire.
Plotvridningen är att orsaken till att sackarna verkar så inkonsekvent fientlig är att
The crew which kidnapped them are adolescents. All of the adults died in the accident, and the children are working off of a vague data entries on how humans act and react, and using equipment they're unfamiliar with.