1190. Loyalty TestPUBLICATION: Starfleet Academy #3, Marvel Comics, February 1997
CREATORS: Chris Cooper (writer), John Royle and Tom Wegrzyn (artists)
STARDATE: Unknown (follows the last issue)
PLOT: Matt Decker is inducted into Red Squad and soon asked to participate in a mission to sabotage Earth's power grid. He refuses and Admiral Leyton locks him into a transporter buffer. Six days later, he is freed and Omega Squad is attacked by Red Squad. They prevail and Red Squad is soon up on disciplinary charges. They leave a message of warning to Matt Decker, however, that they'll get their revenge...
CONTINUITY: See previous issue (Red Squad). The bombing that sparks events in Homefront occurs behind the scenes; blood screening ensues. Red Squad disables Earth's power grid in Paradise Lost, also concurrent with this issue. Admiral Leyton from those episodes appears, as does Jake Sisko.
DIVERGENCES: None.
PANEL OF THE DAY - Not invited on the Valiant, then.
REVIEW: I should have checked the dates. When this series started, I was worried it would clash with DS9, which would invariably contradict Nog-related stories. Not so. Cooper has a firm grasp of the Earth bound events of the DS9 era, and is using them to good effect to tell behind the scenes stories. The Changeling bombing, Leyton, Red Squad, Jake's visit to Earth... They're all here and well used. The art by guest artists Royle and Wegrzyn is a little bit funkier than the usual, with Nog especially looking strange, but pleasant enough, cleaner than the Renaud-Lanning team.
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