1337. Turnaround, Part IIIPUBLICATION: Star Trek: New Frontier #3, IDW Comics, June 2008
CREATORS: Peter David (writer), Stephen Thompson (artist)
STARDATE: Unknown (follows the last issue)
PLOT: Calhoun overtakes the powerless Specter and rifles through its sensor logs while Soleta's colleague Lucius is forced to watch Kebron's holiday snaps. He sees the strange ship arming the Paradox. Aboard the Paradox, Soleta overpowers Jellico and contacts the Specter and Calhoun. Before they can exchange too much information, Jellico rises and overpowers Soleta, throwing her in the brig. There, she has a conversation (and quick mindmeld) with the real Jellico in an adjacent cell. The false Jellico, whoever he is, is on the bridge talking to another Calhoun (future? alternate?) about destroying the New Thalonian Empire, where even now, political forces plan to out Lefler as the mother of Si Cwan's child.
CONTINUITY: See previous issues (Jellico, New Frontier). The multiple Paradoxes trick is a natural extension of the Picard Maneuver (The Battle).
DIVERGENCES: None.
PANEL OF THE DAY - When American spelling gives you nosebleeds.
REVIEW: Ok, this one is actually funny, mostly thanks to Kebron who has always been something of a dry humorist in the Worf vein. The Romulans get some excellent lines too. Things are coming to a head in the storyline as Jellico is revealed to not be himself, leaving his true identity ambiguous for now. I'm always game for a good alternate timeline story, and David has the chops to make those interesting (see Q-Squared, for example). Soleta makes a good protagonist in her sections, smart and decisive, though somebody has something to learn about using thought bubbles or captions. She talks to herself a heck of a lot and it's just not natural. Still, the plot is serviced more than the soap opera this time and I the casual reader will not feel as lost as he or she might have in the first two installments.
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