Mary Sue, We Hardly Knew Ye

 Much to my surprise, today I learned that a friend and co-worker attended college with, and befriended, one Janet Kagan, the author of a much-loved Trek novel,   "Uhura's Song".      http://www.amazon.com/Uhuras-Song-Star-Trek-No/dp/0671652273/ref=pd_bbs_sr_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1204854648&sr=8-4

(My family named a cat after one of the alien characters...)   CAVEAT:   if  Mary Sue stories are not your cup of tea, pass it by.    I won't be offended   8)     Truly, in addition to the "find-a-cure" main story and the "first contact" secondary thread, this reeeeally is a Mary Sue story.)

Unfortunately, the circumstance under which I acquired this new knowledge was my friend's making unexpected weekend plans to attend a memorial service across the river  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janet_Kagan    8(