897. Death Before DishonorPUBLICATION: Star Trek v.2 #3, DC Comics, December 1989
CREATORS: Peter David (writer), James W. Fry and Arne Starr (artists)
STARDATE: 8481.7 (follows the last issue)
PLOT: Though one of the parties refuses to negotiate for peace, Ambassador Palmer is undeterred and sends the landing party back to the Enterprise while he deals with things. In orbit, the ship is ambushed by Klaa. Kirk drops shields and beams the bird-of-prey's torpedoes to the Klingon ship's rear, an impressive maneuver that sends Klaa retreating. Palmer is then beamed to the Enterprise in critical condition, having been beaten up severely by a nasty head of state who thinks he can hide behind the Prime Directive. Kirk beams down and seemingly disintegrates him, forcing a peace settlement, though the bad guy is actually beamed away.
CONTINUITY: Klaa and Vixis continue to appear courtesy of ST V. Scotty and Uhura's rapprochement in ST V is alluded to.
DIVERGENCES: None.
PANEL OF THE DAY - Oh those precocious Klingons!
REVIEW: Clever use of the technologies available to both Starfleet and the Klingons, plus a lot of humor (especially in the Kirk-Spock relationship), equals a fun reading experience. As for the subplots, David seems mostly interested in romance. Sulu may have a crush on Li, and he's apparently interested in exploring the Scotty-Uhura relationship intimated in ST V. The one false note, to me, seems to be the recurring gag about Sulu being touchy about his height. This is the legacy of ST III's "don't call me Tiny", which only made sense because he was up against a giant. I've never thought of Sulu as short, and it doesn't make sense to give him such a hang-up.
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