Name: Shadow Lord
Author: Laurence Yep
Publication Date: 3/1985
Publisher: Pocket Books (Star Trek #22)
Page Number: 280
Historian’s Note: In between the episodes “Balance of Terror” and “What are Little Girls Made of?”
Cast of Characters: Captain James T. Kirk Lieutenant Commander Spock Dr. Leonard H. McCoy AKA
“Bones” Lieutenant Commander
Montgomery Scott AKA “Scotty”
Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu
Lieutenant Nyota Uhura Prince
Vikam Bacha Chit Diwan Jata Megra Lord Bhima Bibil Gelu Mumtas Pagu Lord Rahu Schami Tayu Urmi
Starships and/or Starbases: USS Enterprise NCC-1701
Planets: Angira
My Spoiler filled summary and review: The adventure
begins when the Enterprise is assigned to journey to the planet Angira,
whose government is asking for assistance in updating its star charts. Mr. Spock will handle that assignment while
the ship drops them off and completes another mission to deliver medical
supplies to Beta Carinae. Angira is a
primitive planet and how it made contact with the Federation is never
explained. Angira is controlled by an
Empire whose territory encompasses the entire world. The Empire’s government is a hereditary
monarchy. Their latest Emperor, who goes
unnamed is just referred to as “the Emperor,” is trying to reform and update
his world. He wants to turn his Empire
from an agricultural civilization to an industrial one. For his family’s Empire dominated the world
before the industrial age ever had a chance to start. To help improve his world the Emperor sends
Prince Vikam, his youngest and therefore least important son, to Earth to
attend university and report back on the ways of outsiders so that they may
copy their better ideas.
The ninth in the line to Throne of
Angira took to the assignment like a fish takes to water. He loved learning, discovering new ways, he
thought Earth was great and the entire Federation even better, and when he is summoned
home by father, he was rather disappointed. As he and his tutor Bibil, the only Angiran
with him, board the Enterprise, the crew is pleased to discover he is
nothing like what they would expect an Angiran prince to be. He is open, friendly, and eager to learn
about other people. He bonds with Sulu
over fencing. They work out in the rec
area practicing with various types of swords European, Asian, and Angiran. Vikam’s people still use swords as a big part
of everyday life, Sulu requests to go to Angira with Spock and it is granted. 
Spock and Sulu team up for this mission.
The group of four beam down to the planet
Angira. When they arrive, they discover
that not many people are not happy to see their prince. Everyone they encounter simply invokes anger
at the interference of outsiders. This xenophobic
attitude crosses over the political spectrum.
It includes people such as Lord Bhima, who fears the influence of
outsiders will continue to undermine the traditional hierarchical patriarchal
medieval culture; and those such as Urmi, Bibil’s niece, who thinks that the
Federation is going to give the Emperor new ways to oppress the people. These various sides for similar reasons
opposed the Emperor’s reforms.
Nevertheless, the Emperor is employing an all-hands-onboard approach and
has retained several of his critics in positions of power.
It turns out giving power to those who don’t like you is a major mistake because the landing party finds themselves under attack and are forced to defend themselves using Angiran swords. (Spock and Sulu were not allowed to bring their phasers.) They fight well but Sulu does feel that the dream of life-stakes sword fighting is quite horrifying in actual reality. It turns out that this attack is part of a larger coup led by the reactionary Lord Rahu. The Imperial family has been slaughtered, I would compare them to the Romanovs, but this fictional imperial family went out fighting.
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| Sulu's dream not so fun reality. |
They escape with some assistance
from members of the Emperor’s loyalists.
After passing the Prince’s grandfather’s torture chambers they are
attacked by these giant beetle creatures and Bibil is killed by these creatures
saving the rest of the landing party. While this is going on Rahu is building
support and recruits the once loyal and more moderate Lord Bhima to his
cause. As the four (Vikam, Spock, Sulu,
and Urmi escape the place first head to Urmi’s home village. One the way they are attacked by a group of
bandits whose leader is a local lord whose fiefdom was seized the Emperor in
the reforms. They escape but Spock was
injured in the process, and he has to remain behind in Urmi’s village while the
other three Vikram's family's fortress at Kotah.
Throughout their trip both to the
village and to the fortress options are discussed. At one point Spock suggested they hide
somewhere and wait for the Enterprise to pick them up, with Vikam and
Urmi given refuge status. Vikam actually
likes the idea, but Urmi wants to fight for her home and Sulu tries to convince
the Prince not to give up. With so many
of his family dead Vikam is now likely the lawful heir of the Empire. Except he wants nothing to do with it he was
not trained for it and on top of that he thinks his society is horrible. Everything he sees just reinforces that. All his father’s reforms while nice in theory
had been horrible in practice. 
Despite his dislike for such crew weaponry it turns out Spock is quite good.
As their journey continues Vikam
experiences a change of heart he starts to understand that he may be able to do
some good if he assumes power. When they
reach Kotah he finds the Council of Elders hesitant to acknowledge him as the
true heir. Nevertheless, he is able to
raise an army amongst the people made up of many of his father’s veterans that
he will use to oppose Rahu.
The two sides engage with their armies,
and it turns out that the Angirans do have some larger gun-powder type
weapons. During the course of the battle
Vikam is knocked unconscious, so Sulu in a very non-prime directive way takes
command. When the Prince wakes up, they are about to see victory only to
discover that Rahu has Spock as a hostage. Vikam challenges Rahu to a dual Rahu accepts
so long as he can have Lord Bhima as his champion. Vikam accepts this and defeats his former
mentor. Rahu tries to weasel out of it
but his attempt to kill Vikam fails when Bhima takes an arrow meant for the
Prince. Rahu is killed and the war is
won.
Vikam is now set to become emperor and will hopefully have a regium that is better than his father’s. The Enterprise arrives to pick up its two officers, and Captain Kirk gives Sulu a run-down about the Prime Directive. It turns out Sulu is in the clear as Spock had already sent a report in that provided an explanation and justification for his actions.
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| Captain Kirk drills Sulu for his PD violations |
I also felt that perhaps Vikam’s initial reluctance to accept the throne also makes me wonder if his conditioning as a younger son had a lot to do with it. In royal houses governed by the inheritance of primogeniture as a younger prince he would have been taught at a young age that the throne was his oldest brother’s destiny not his. As ninth in line to the throne he would rarely move closer to it but every time his older brothers had sons of their own, or when their sons produced sons, he would fall further. The whole point in sending him away was to give him something to do. He was probably made to feel guilty if he ever secretly wanted the crown. Now that it was being thrust upon him, he would be hesitant to accept it. As we saw in the movie The King’s Speech it can be something that a younger brother has a hard time accepting.
Even though it’s addressed a little
bit at the end, there are still some major prime directive violations
here. For I don’t understand while the
Federation is even talking with the government of Angira. The story keeps repeating that their
technology at best is comparable to the 17th century Earth. The
Federation should not even allow the people of Angira to know that other more
advanced civilizations exist. Instead,
we see the Federation sending Spock to update their star charts and their schools
accepting foreign exchange students. Despite the liking of the Prince, they
shouldn’t be helping him fight off a coup.
If the destiny of Vikam’s dynasty is to go the way of the Romanovs, then
that is planet’s natural development and no Starfleet officer should interfere,
much less command his armies, as Sulu did.
I don’t really buy Spock’s explanation at the end because that Rahu was
not a real revolutionary. Rebels might
have many reasons, not all of them good.
Now in the episodes “Errand of Mercy” and “Friday’s Child” have Starfleet contacting and negotiating with
underdeveloped civilizations. However,
in those episodes the Federation has survival type reasons to do so. In the former the Federation is at war with
the Klingons and planet Organa is in a strategic location for both powers. If the Federation doesn’t make a move the
Klingons certainly will. In the later the planet had a source important natural
resources that was extremely important to again both the Klingons and
Federation and like before if they don’t move the Klingons will. To the Federation credit they didn’t try to
force their way in, nor would they offer unfair deals. None of these scenarios
are present in this situation. 
Not the first time the Federation dealt with a planet their values say they shouldn't.
Should it be canon: I wouldn’t mind the story being
canon despite my prime directive concerns it is not only Star Trek tale that
contains contradictions. Maybe they
could come up with a better explanation for the Federation’s involvement later.
Cover Art: The cover has Spock, Sulu, and Prince
Vikam armed with swords fighting off the giant beetle creatures seen in the
story. Somethings are off though. The creatures seem bigger than described,
Prince Vikam, who is said to have fur doesn’t seem to have any, Sulu is in a
blue uniform, and neither he nor Spock have any rank insignia showing.
Final Grade: Final Grade 3 of 5
