Star Trek: Triangle by Sandra Marshak & Myrna Culbreath

Author's Sandra Marhak and Myrna Colbreth bring us the first contact with the Totality. The Enterprise is to take Ambassador Gailbraith to the Zaran homeworld. But along the way they are stopped by the need to explore a portion of space that is much like the Bermuda Triangle where various federation starships and merchant ships have gone missing. And in orbit of one the planets in that triangle is the beachhead of the Totality (Note we do meet the Totality again in the last three Shanter novels the Captain's trilogy) On that planet is a Federation Free Agent (what now we would call a Section 31 operative) who has been given command of the Enterprise but refuses to use it. She is a Zaran who if the Totality finds out if she mates with either Kirk or Spock will be used as a weapon to bring in more of their collective into the Federation. (This book deals with concepts similar to that of the Borg just without nanites) This is an intersting first contact with the Totality and the other collective's within the Federation but I only recommend this book if you want more of a back story to the Captian's trilogy or if you're a Star Trek Fan.