1264. FuturesPUBLICATION: Star Trek: Early Voyages #14, Marvel Comics, March 1998
CREATORS: Ian Edginton and Dan Abnett (writers), Patrick Zircher and Steve Moncuse (artists)
STARDATE: 9521.9 (follows the last issue; the stardate is in the alternate future, placing the events during The Undiscovered Country in our own timeline)
PLOT: At first Pike wants nothing to do with Kirk's reckless ass, but when he sees a time displaced Colt, he sits down and listens. After it's been ascertained that the timeline is rejecting Colt and that she will die within four days, Pike decides to follow Kirk's original plan to return her to Algol deep inside Klingon space. Number One, captain of the Excelsior, is called in to prevent the Enterprise from causing an interstellar incident... which is already under way. Chang has returned with a few more birds-of-prey...
CONTINUITY: See previous issues (alternate timeline TOS crew, Algol, General Chang). The character I tentatively identified as Mr. Kyle is actually an older José Tyler. Carlotti is now CMO, Grace is still chief engineer, Boyce is retired, Number One got her own command (Excelsior, which we see) and under her, we find Nano and Chekov.
DIVERGENCES: None.
PANEL OF THE DAY - Hey, that's Sulu's cup!
REVIEW: This great alternate timeline story continues to rock, with the revelation of where Pike's crew has wound up over the years (makes me wonder what happened to them proper). Really neat to see Number One on Excelsior, highlighting the fact that Sulu never got his own command. Maybe it's because he's weapons officer, never landing in the pilot/command seat because Pike kept José in that chair. Sita is the only who doesn't rate a mention (sadly). The combination of the Pike/Kirk crews provides a couple nice moments, such as Pike knocking Kirk's block off and Scotty visiting Grace's engines. The romance subplot between José and Colt is well used here to create pathos, and again makes Colt the stronger character. It's going to be rock'n'roll until they get to Algol, but I hope to see more character moments along the way in the next issue.
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