THE ENTERPRISE INCIDENT, THE SEQUEL

 

Name: Killing Time

Author: Della Van Hise

Publication Date: 7/1985

Publisher: Pocket Books (Star Trek #24)

Page Number: 311

Historian’s Note: Sometime between The Counter-Clock Incident and The Motion Picture

Cast of Characters:  Captain/Ensign James T. Kirk       Commander/Captain Spock              Dr. Leonard H. McCoy AKA “Bones”              Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott AKA “Scotty”       Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu              Lieutenant Nyota Uhura            Lieutenant Kevin Riley               Lieutenant/Ensign Jeremy Richardson          Lieutenant  Anderson              Nurse Christine Chapel          Ensign/Commander Pavel Chekov                 Ensign Dane Christensen           Ensign Carl Reichert          Ensign Paul Donner           Yeoman Third Class S'Parva        Crewman Devoran    Crewman Dave Donnelly              Admiral S't'kal            Captain Christopher Pike          Dr.  Palmer      The Romulan Fleet Commander/Preator        General Tavor           Commander Tazol                    Subcommander Sarela            Subcommander Sekor       Lieutenant Rolash                 Centurion Selon            Centurion Tasme

Starships and/or Starbases: USS Enterprise NCC-1701/VSS ShiKahr, VSS S'Tasmeen, VSS T'Ruda, IRV Ravon and IRV T'Favaron

Planets: Canus IV, Earth, Romulus, and Remus

My Spoiler filled summary and review: The adventure begins with Captain Kirk telling Spock of a strange dream he had.  He was on the Enterprise but it wasn’t the Enterprise. In addition to that he wasn’t the captain, Spock was.  Kirk in his dream never made it past ensign, and the whole time he wants to tell Spock that he is supposed to be the captain.  Strangely enough Spock had a similar dream.  McCoy dismisses these events as typical psychology.  

We have a new crew member, Yeoman S’Parva, who is from a species that looks like anthropomorphic dogs.  We also meet Lt. Jeremy Richarson, a human officer who seems to find the dog person attractive. (Thanks author!)

As Kirk goes to sleep reality changes.  He is no longer Captain Kirk of the Enterprise but he is Ensign Kirk of the ShiKahr.  Kirk’s life took a hard turn when he was falsely accused of murder of his instructor.  The Vulcans found him guilty and subjected him to something called the Talos device that messed him up mentally and is now dependent on drugs.  In this reality Spock is the captain of the ship.  He takes pity on Ensign Kirk, for he studied the Talos device and recommended its decommissioning.  Spock is also haunted by strange dreams.  The former Ensign Chekov is now a commander and first officer in this new reality.

Kirk is no longer himself

All of Captain Spock’s attempts to reach out to Ensign Kirk almost end in failure.  Kirk wants off the ship, but he wants prison less and that is his only alternative.  Spock decides to separate Kirk from his abusive roommate.  Kirk might not be a murderer, but he is still a huge pain in this time.  Spock still feels he deserves a fair chance.  

Things start to get strange from low to high.  Ensign Reichert almost destroys the ship with sabotage and Spock gets an insane order from fleet command to start a war with the Romulans.  McCoy finds two sets of brainwaves in the deranged Ensign.  This may be a galaxy wide event.

It turns out the Romulans were behind everything, the author doesn’t try to make this a surprise.  The Romulans decided that they needed to prevent the Federation from forming so they went on a mission do that.  Commander Tazol is excited about this plan because he feels the Federation has been strangling the Romulan Star Empire by denying its chance of expansion.  His first officer and wife, Subcommander Sarela, does not share his enthusiasm, as she pointed out other times their time travel plans did not give them the desired results. The two of them are not a good couple.

Commander Tazol is not a happy camper.

It seems the Romulans plans have all turned sour.  As the Federation no longer exists but it has been replaced by a Federation-like Alliance of Planets that is centered on Vulcan and not on Earth.  The Empire is only moderately bigger.  It seems as if the whole thing wasn’t worth the trip.

Back on the ShiKahr Dr. McCoy makes a startling discovery.  Remembering the time they went to the mirror universe, McCoy thinks that might have something to do with what they are now facing. He concludes that there are two universes, and one was created by a time alteration.  The big news is their universe that they have lived their whole lives in is the wrong one.  McCoy concludes that these shared dreams are of the other and real universe.  McCoy hypothesis that the people who are acting out are the ones who are the most affected by the change.  McCoy points out that he is probably a doctor and chief medical officer in both realities, so he is unchanged.  People whose lives have been turned upside down are having a rough time. Ensign Kirk is also a good example. He might have been something very different in another life.

Spock trying to help Kirk

Their mission brings them to Canus IV, where they investigate possible Romulan activity by sending down a landing party.  This causes Spock to question his decisions, and Kirk is re-traumatized.  Spock is also dealing with the fact that his pon farr, is kicking in.  In this reality T’Pring had more courage to just outright dump him, instead of cowardly trying to get him to murder his own friend.   

Subcommander Sarela is summoned to meet with the Praetor and shocked to discover that the Praetor is actually a woman.  Her name is Thea, and she is the same Romulan Fleet Commander that Kirk and Spock stole a clocking device from in the unaltered reality.  She explains her father was Praetor until his recent death and since he was sonless, she took over. There is going to be a power struggle in the Empire and Sarela’s husband is on the other side.  The Praetor realizes her father’s plan hasn’t worked she now wants to abduct Kirk to force Spock to impersonate the Praetor (as most people don’t know what the Praetor looks like) and present the Vulcan Tenets of Discipline to the Romulan people. After she wants Spock to use his extraordinary power as a starship commander to negotiate a peace treaty.    

Big plans for Spock

The ShiKahr rendezvous with T'Ruda, a ship commanded by Spock’s former first officer, Captain Christopher Pike, the first human to command his own starship.  Captains Spock and Pike agree that the orders coming from the fleet a clearly insane.  Spock learns that Kirk has not been seen since returning from Canus IV. He finds Kirk in the ship's green and forcibly initiates a mind-meld, during which the two of them become more fully aware of who they were in the unaltered timeline.  During the meld Kirk drops his Academy ring in the loose sand of the garden. Richardson and S'Parva also discover their true selves using the same method.

Suddenly a small Romulan scout ship appears claiming to have drifted of course.  They are intercepted and the crew brought aboard.  Thea and Sarela come aboard and are confined to quarters. Later, two Romulan agents disguised as Vulcan security guards, kidnap Kirk and Richardson from their cabin and transport them to the scout ship and escape to Romulan space.  Thea announces her plans to Spock, and he agrees but only to turn the tables on her.

Spock lets Thea know that the timeline is now unstable and when the get to Romulus rebellions all throughout the Empire convince her that this is true. Kirk and Richardson are brought in after an escape attempt and are recruited on the mission.  Thea reveals that the assassins who went back to alter the past and were androids that her father had purchased.   Little does Thea know that Jim Kirk is the Bane of all Artificial Intelligence, and these androids don’t stand a chance.  The Romulan ship loops around the sun in order to go back to the past.

Now in the late 21^st century they locate the figures they need to save.  When the androids arrive, they attack.  In the battle Richardson is killed and Spock is fatally injured.  Before he passes, he gives Kirk a Romulan disruptor because, as the one who lost the most due to the time change, he should be the one to restore it.  As Spock lies dying the three of them disappear.

Kirk doesn't feat andriods or any other type of AI

Back in the restored universe Kirk awakens to find he is once again Captain of the Enterprise. Still haunted by the dreams, he agrees to a mind meld with Spock.  They are now aware of their other selves, and it explains a ring Kirk found in the garden that belonged to his counterpart.  The ring was located exactly where he dropped it.  Later Kirk puts it back and allows it to disappear. 

Additional thoughts: Well, this now makes two books in row where the enemies of the Federation tried to wipe out using time travel.  In “Ishmael” the Klingons try to use time travel to prevent the existence of the Federation and this time it’s the Romulans.  The Klingons never succeed, in fact, their attempt to change things is itself what caused them to fail.  The Romulans manage to pull it off only to realize that they did not get what they asked for and end up teaming up with our heroes to get everything back.   

I am really tired of people with my name being weirdos or creeps.  We got the silly Ghostbusters guy, the not so nice individual in the new Beetlejuice film. This one isn’t so bad. It’s just that he is sexually attracted to a big dog-like alien.

I enjoyed how Sarela explains to her foolish husband of the other failed time travel plots. They have tried to use time travel in the past to make life easier for themselves and at one time it led to them wiping out a planetary population.  Yet the Romulans still continue to do it.  You would think they would run into some heavy butterfly effects by now.

Should leave the time travel tricks to the Federation

There must be more to the Romulans changing the timeline than just the simple sling shot effect. Everywhere else in the franchise whenever the timeline has changed, hardly anyone is aware that it occurred.  When the Romulans start to change it, multiple people start having bad dreams as a preview for the new reality.  When reality finally does change people continue to have strange dreams about their old lives driving some of them insane.  Romulans should leave the time travel adventures to the Federation.  

I thought it was interesting that both the Second History crew and the First History crew went on similar missions.  The Second History also had a “Mirror, Mirror” adventure.  Which made me really interested in what the Mirror Universe looked like in this reality.  Clearly its different or else Spock would have identified Kirk as the Mirror Universe captain.

What's their Mirror Universe like?

So, the Romulan Star Empire has a system of slavery with other Romulans as slaves.  And sometimes sex slaves are given away as gifts? Yes, these slaves are still trusted as with weapons and are sent on secret missions to enemy territory.  This isn’t the only version of this we saw something similar of this in the book, “The Fate of the Phoenix.”   

Why was this Spock going through the pon farr now?  Wouldn’t it have kicked in around the same time as the Prime Universe Spock?  Are there more treatments in this reality that can delay it?  That might make sense in a Vulcan-centered Alliance.

It is quite a shock to realize that your very reality that you lived in your entire life, is not real. In most time travel stories time gets mixed up and those characters who have not been changed try to restore the true reality. Understanding that your world or universe is wrong and you aren’t the “real you” requires a whole new level of thought. Of course, it’s easier when your universe is trying to destroy itself.   

A typical time travel adventure

It appears we have Romulan terminators? At this point in history The Terminator had only been out for about a year.  Fortunately, the time device that our heroes use doesn’t require that they travel naked, and the Romulan disruptor serves well at ending the threat and restoring reality. 

Lastly, the Praetor.  As the old Hitchcock quote goes, “You can get people to believe in the impossible but the improbable.”  I am all right with human-looking space aliens starships and time travel.  I can’t believe that someone can screw up as badly as the Romulan Fleet Commander did in “The Enterprise Incident” can not only keep her job but be promoted. I don’t care who her father is.  The book “The Price of the Phoenix” also featured her in a continued leadership role.  I prefer the “My Enemy, My Ally” view of it where she lost everything and correctly blames Kirk and Spock.  Now this could be saved.  We never saw her act as Praetor in the main universe.  Yes, she was supposedly immune to the change.  However, no one knows what the Praetor looks like maybe he didn’t board the ship because he didn’t want to be stuck with the “wrong memories.”  What if Thea was just a bureaucratic assistant who was there to record the change and report back and she returned she was now the Praetor.  She might see it as an extension of a career she should have naturally had.  

This book was also infamous because of the Kirk/Spock slash fiction that was contained in the original edition that was recalled by Paramount Pictures.  As my copy is not original and doesn’t contain the delated passages, I can’t really make a comment on it.

Should it be canon: Considering the whole adventure is one that the main story never actually happened except in the minds of Kirk and Spock, I don’t have an objection to it being cannon. Although I don't care for the part of the Romulan Fleet Commander being the Praetor's daughter/successor.  

Cover Art: Spock is on the front of the cover wearing his Vulcan Fleet uniform.  Behind him is Subcommander Sarela and the Romulan Fleet Commander turned Praetor. Behind them is a city on Romulus and a Bird of Prey flies through the sky.

Final Grade: Final Grade 4 of 5

 

SPOCK’S MIND SIFTER ADVENTURE

 

Name: Ishmael

Author: Barbara Hambly

Publication Date: 5/1985

Publisher: Pocket Books (Star Trek #23)

Page Number: 255

Historian’s Note: In between the last episode of Star Trek season 1: “Operation Annihilate” and the first episode of Star Trek season 2: “Catspaw”

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            Lieutenant Kevin Riley               Lieutenant Gilden          Dr. Aurelia Steiner               Ensign Pavel Chekov                 Commander Maria Kellogg     Trae       Khin Khlaru        Colonel  Nch'rth                    Jason Bolt                 Jeremy Bolt         Joshua Bolt            Captain Roland Francis Clancey           Biddy Cloom                  Dr. Sarah Gay             Lottie Hatfield                Elizabeth Darrow            Donnelly               Katy Hoyt                 Robin Manderly                    Sheila Meyers          Joshua Norton                Mrs. O'Shaughnessy                     Candy Pruitt             Aaron Stemple            Dulcie Wainright           Elizabeth Stemple              unnamed Klingons          

Starships and/or Starbases: USS Enterprise NCC-1701, Starbase 12, IKS Rapache, and IKS Schin'char

Planets: Alpha Eridani III and Earth

My Spoiler filled summary and review: The adventure begins with the Enterprise being summoned to Starbase 12, to study the nearby Tau Eridani Cloud.  However, the Klingons are also there, and they don’t seem to be there to observe a white dwarf star.  The pair of Klingon ships are a transport and a cruiser and the transport gives off a lot of power.  Spock, with Kirk’s approval, sneaks aboard disguised as a worker from the Starbase there to unload equipment.  When it comes time to rendezvous later, he never arrives, and it appears he is still on the transport.

Klingons making trouble

Any attempt to rescue him is shot when the transport suddenly accelerates to a high warp speed and vanishes into the cloud. All is not lost however because Spock was able to send a cryptic message.  That message is “White dwarf. Khlaru. Tillman's Factor. Guardian" and along with the numbers eighteen, sixty, and seven.

Aaron Stemple

The story moves to 19th century Seattle, Washington.  Long before it was major American city instead it was just a logging town.  Aaron Stemple, a local businessman, finds Spock unconscious and appears to have been tortured.  Stemple is taken back that the land around the injured man is itself undisturbed, as if the stranger appeared out of nowhere.  Upon looking at Spock’s green blood and pointed ears, he realizes an alien from outer space. (Which, I’ll take more about in my Additional thoughts section.)  Stemple realizing the intolerance of his world—US Civil War being only a few years ago—decides not to return Spock to a local doctor.  He takes it upon himself to save the stranger so, he brings back Spock to his isolated cabin at Eagle Head Point.

 

Lottie Hatfield, owner of a local saloon bar, becomes Stemple’s confidant about Spock’s existence.  Stemple shares his concerns about what Spock’s existence means for their planet and humanity itself.   Later Lottie sees two Klingons. She wants to go back and warn Stemple, but the weather kills that plan.

Gets help

Spock wakes up with no memory of who he is, but he knows he is an alien.  He is also very depressed to the point of almost suicide.  Stemple tries to cheer him up and offers him a job as an accountant.

Back in the 23^rd century Kirk is still trying to figure out what happened to his friend and first officer.  He teams up with Commander Maria Kellogg, who is the commanding officer of Starbase 12. Kellogg points to that there is a Klingon historian named Khlaru, currently on this very Starbase. Tillmann's Factor is a mathematical constant to do with acceleration past light-speed, and the Enterprise this year accidentally created at time warp and was sent back to Earth during the 1960s. Maybe the Klingons have used the white dwarf star to create their own time warp. To Kirk, the number 18-6-7 sounds like a date. 

Kirk and crew trying to find Spock

Kellogg has a Vulcan historian Trae on staff.  Trae explains that the Klingons were conquered by the Karsid Empire centuries ago. Karsid strategy was to locate preindustrial societies and offer them economic and other help. This would lead to increasing interference on their part in those societies until they took over completely. The Klingons overthrew the Karsid Empire before founding their own and this is the reason the Karsids were never able to try this on Earth.

 Spock is given the name Ishmael Marx and is introduced into town as Stemple’s nephew.  They visit Lottie’s place where Spock learns about the town’s big situation.  Jason Bolt, who runs a lumber mill with his two brothers, Jeremy and Joshua, had to overcome a shutdown of his operation as his lumberjacks are upset that there is no female population to speak of in Seattle.  In order to save his business, he promises to find at least a hundred single young women willing to come to the frontier town and stay for a full year.  Problem is he doesn’t have the money to afford it.  So, to meet that second desperate situation he makes a literal gamble.  Stemple puts up much of the money not as a loan but as a bet the Bolt brothers will not succeed.  If the Bolt fails to marry off all the women Stemple wins Bridal Veil Mountain, with their logging company at a fraction of the costs. (This is the overall plot of the Here Come the Brides TV show.) 

Spock is more than successful as Stemple’s accountant, and his skills amaze the town.  It appears the memory plagued Vulcan is fitting in very well on 19^th century Earth.  Spock challenges his benefactor to the morality of this bet of his.  He convinces Stemple to offer the Bolt brothers a way out of the bet by just buying him off. The Bolt brothers don’t have the money, so they head to San Francisco to gamble, and Spock comes up with a method for them to gradually win money.  In a few days they were going to be able to get the $50,000 to pay off Stemple.  While this is going on they are attacked in the street, but they manage to fight them off.  They run into a woman named Sarah Gay.  Gay is a doctor but because of prejudice at the time she was not allowed to be one.  Joshua takes a liking to her.  

Spock tries to help the Bolts out

Spock’s system was working but they got greedy and Jason risks everything on poker but loses.  This means they have to leave San Francisco empty handed and the bet between the Bolts and Stemple is still on.

The ladies of the bet!

Kirk, McCoy, Maria Kellogg, and Trae investigate what the Klingons are trying to achieve. They found that the Klingons tried to destroy the relevant records, but was stopped by Khin Khlaru, who wanted to preserve the integrity of the historical record. The records reveal that the Karsids began their attempt to subvert and take over Earth in 1868, but their efforts were stopped by government of the United States. Before they could overcome that resistance, the Klingon rebellions began that brought about the downfall of the Karsid Empire.  The person most responsible for the US Government being able to resist the Karsid Empire, was no other than the United States representative from Washington Territory – Aaron Stemple.  The Klingons are hoping to stop Stemple thus allowing them to conquer the Earth and prevent the Federation from forming.  The Klingon Empire will still come into existence with no Federation to stand in the way of their territorial ambitions.

During the celebration of Jeremy Bolt and Candy Pruitt’s marriage, Jason proposes to Biddy hoping to finally win the bet.  She turns him down, although she was very flattered by the proposal, but she thinks they would not be a good match.  Sarah Gay arrives unexpectedly, having changed her mind about marrying Joshua.

Spock doing his best to fit in.

Stemple then asks Biddy to marry him, and she accepts.  This means Stemple gets the love of this life but loses the bet, this means that everyone is happy with all they have. At this point in the plot this is the perfect time for Klingon assassins from the future to show up. Seeing Klingons restores Spock’s memory and he sees them go after Stemple.  He gives chase but Spock is not in time to prevent the Klingons shooting temple who is badly wounded but not killed. Spock stops the Klingons finishing Aaron off and they leave, convinced that they fatally injured him. 

Stemple gets his girl!

Spock tries to nurse him back to health with blood transfusions enthusiastically donated by the community.  It doesn’t save him only delays the inevitable, Spock is convinced that he failed in his primary objective.  Just when he is about to come to terms with his failure Captain Kirk and Dr. McCoy arrive.  They took the Enterprise back to the past via firing the warp drive around a star and here they are.  Stemple is brought back to the ship, and his life is saved.  Spock, restored to his previous self, thanks Stemple for all he had done for him.  Stemple is sent back to his own destiny.

Kirk and McCoy show up to rescue Spock!

In his final evaluation Spock conceded that he believes they have always been living in the altered time-line.  The Klingons, in their attempt to change what had happened, ended up bringing the exact events about. Spock also concludes that his mother and therefore himself are the descendants of Biddy and Aaron Stemple.  Stemple is Amanda Grayson’s middle name.

Spock restored!

Additional thoughts: This was a fun story.  In a way it reminded me of the earlier story “Mind Sifter” that involved Captain Kirk after Klingon torture being sent to Earth’s past with no idea of who was.  This was better.  Spock might not have had his memory, but he was clearly himself.  It also did not take place of an impossible timetable. 

This is not just a Star Trek book; it is crossover with another TV show from the 1960s called Here Comes the Brides.  All the characters that Spock interacts with in the 19^th century are from this series. Now I never even heard of the series before this book, so I did some reading up on it.  Like Star Trek, Brides often would deal with real world issues such as racial discrimination and the importance of tolerance.  The show lasted for two seasons and had over fifty episodes.  I suspect that the show never had a resolution for its characters because the shows main premise: women being brought in for marriage prospects and a bet between Stemple and Jason Bolt is still on going at the start of this story and finally resolved by the end of the book. All the Brides characters are in a good place at the end, with this probably being their last appearance—as unlike Star Trek they didn’t give birth to a franchise—their fans can rest easy knowing how it was all resolved.

Hopefully fans got their resolution

When I was a kid, my sisters, my cousins, and I use to play a game we called “Mix up.” We would all play characters from various franchises and come up with stories on how they could interact together. So, Luke Skywalker could team up with Captain Kirk, the Ghostbusters, and a superhero. This book kind of reminded me of that.

The scene when they were talking about the old Earth Gregorian calendar dating system and since they didn’t use it, they were unaware that BC and AD weren’t used in everyday speech.  I like how Kirk and McCoy used their experience with Edith Keeler to explain that to the base commander.  Although later in the series would make this scene not make sense as the calendar is still used by humans. 

I learned something about math that I didn’t know prior to reading this book.  X²-1=(X-1) *(X+1) I thought that was very cool.  Thank you, Mr. Spock.  

We learned a bit of Klingon history. The Karsid Empire is the Mongol Empire to the Klingons’ Russia.  The Klingons were once the victims of space conquerors until they overthrew them and used their empire to start the foundation of their own interplanetary empire.  Seems this is history that they probably shouldn’t be messing with.

I thought it was funny that the United States Library of Congress is still around despite the unification of Earth Government. 

Although Spock says he thinks they were always in the alternate timeline I have a different opinion.  This reminds me a lot of the first Terminator movie where it was a closed time loop. The attempt to change the past is what caused the very events that you didn’t want to happen to actually happen.  Hence, while the Klingons stop focusing on time travel. 

So, Aaron Stemple, who was played by Star Trek Legend Mark Lenard, turns out to be one of Spock’s human ancestors.  Amazing that Spock, he always has relatives coming out of nowhere.  It was bit of stretch that Stemple was so quick to deduce that Spock was not of this world.  I mean what would even inspire him to believe in life on other planets?  There is nothing about that in the culture of Earth at the time at least that I am aware of.  They do point out that such a world did produce H.G. Wells and his stories so I suppose it could make sense but still seemed that Stemple had formed these beliefs because of plot smarts.  Unless, does anyone who watched this TV show know if Stemple was always going on about aliens trying to invade the Earth?    

Should it be canon: I have no issues with this, I think it would be a great addition to Star Trek canon.

Cover Art: The cover has Spock in 19^th century dress playing chess with a man from that time period.  A beautiful woman looks on standing slightly behind the middle of them.  The cover has a slight deception as in the story Spock grew his hair longer to cover his ears while he was in 1867.

Final Grade: Final Grade 5 of 5

 

A PRINCE AND HIS SWORDS

 

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.

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.

Captain Kirk drills Sulu for his PD violations 

 Additional thoughts: I enjoyed this story because there was a great deal of action and pacing of the story felt quick but not rushed.  Prince Vikam is an interesting person.  His position reminded me of a few people I knew in college.  They came from developing countries, the then came to the United States on a student visa with the idea of getting an education and then going back to their home countries to help make life better there.  But as human beings as they got used to living in a rich country like the United States it created a condition, that the person who explained this to me called “brain drain.” They enjoy America so much that they didn’t want to go back.  Vikam is like this at the beginning of the story despite the fact at home he is a Prince of the imperial house, he found that life was much better as a college student in the United Federation of Planets. 

 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 why the Federation is even talking with the government of Angira.  The story keeps repeating that their technology at best is comparable to the 17^th 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

THE CATS ARE SICK

 

Name: Uhura's Song

Author: Janet Kagan

Publication Date: 1/1985

Publisher: Pocket Books (Star Trek #21)

Page Number: 373

Historian’s Note: Sometime between Turnabout Intruder and More Tribbles More Troubles

Cast of Characters:  Captain James T. Kirk       Commander Spock              Dr. Leonard H. McCoy AKA “Bones”              Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott AKA “Scotty”       Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu              Lieutenant Nyota Uhura            Dr. Evan Wilson          Dr. Joseph M'Benga          Lieutenant Kevin Riley                Lieutenant Vuong               Nurse Christine Chapel          Ensign Pavel Chekov                 Ensign Marie-Therese Orsay         Ensign Azuela             Yeoman First Class Jaramillo                 Crewman Ridly         Crewman Thomas        Colonel Mickiewicz     Dr. Dziedzic              HotSpring to-Allanien         All Loops               Brave Tongue       Jinx to-Ennien          Catchclaw to-Ennien              EagerTalker to-Ennien       Grabfoot to-Ennien          Sunfall to-Ennien              TooLongTail to-Ennien             WhiteWhisker to-Ennien                Knots      Left Ear Patterner of Vensre            SilverTail           Brightspot to-Srallansre            CopperEye to-Srallansre       Distant Smoke to-Srallansre               Fetchstorm to-Srallansre            Quickfoot of Srallansre         Stiff Tail to-Srallansre            Winding Path to-Srallansre               Sunfall of Ennien           ThreeTimes       Rushlight to-Vensre         Settlesand to-Vensre        

Starships and/or Starbases: USS Enterprise NCC-1701, USS Dr. Margaret Flinn (registration unknown), Dr. James Barry (registration unknown)

Planets: Eeiauo and Sivao

My Spoiler filled summary and review: The Enterprise is in orbit around the planet Eeiauo, whose main inhabitants are an intelligent humanoid cat-like species. The planet is under quarantine due to a disease known as ADF syndrome that has symptoms that begin with hair loss and conclude with total body paralysis, although the brain appears normal.  Among the afflicted is Lt. Uhura’s old friend Sunfall, whom she meets as a young officer and uses to exchange songs with.  Dr. McCoy is on the surface of the planet trying to lead research into the epidemic.  To help the Enterprise out, Starfleet has assigned Dr. Evan Wilson, to temporarily take McCoy’s place as Chief Medical Officer.  The new Acting CMO has a personality that clashes with the other senior officers, particularly Spock and Kirk.  

Uhura, going over some of the cultural songs she learned from Sunfall, comes to the conclusion that the people of Eeiauo might have been originally from someplace else.  She shares her evidence with Spock, and he agrees.  When they try to confront the Eeiauoans about this they are quick to deny and wish to change the subject.  However, McCoy gets his assistant, Quickfoot, to admit the truth to them.  Two thousand years ago, their ancestors were exiled from their home world, Sivao.  The reasons are not given but it is a clear mark of shame for them.

Trying to figure out, how they will help the Eeiauoans.

Things get from bad to worse when it is discovered that ADF Syndrome can jump species and Nurse Chapel and others are infected.  The disease works faster in humans with more deadly results. Two crew members are redshirted by it.     

Uhura and Spock come up with a theory that the original home world’s inhabitants may currently hold the cure to ADF.  Using astronomical references in some of the older Eeiauoan songs, Spock and Uhura locate the planet.  Kirk leads a landing party that includes Spock, Wilson, Uhura, and Chekov.  They find the local people friendly enough but when Kirk tries to explain why they are here one of the locals slaps him.  Back on Eeiauo, McCoy comes up with a treatment that can delay the effects of ADF but does not eliminate.  The extra time is needed because he too is also infected.

McCoy discovers that humans can get this thing. 

 The reason the Sivaoians have a hard time dealing with the Enterprise’s landing party is they are not sure whether their visitors were adults.  Kirk makes the point that he commands a starship, and Starfleet does not grant such commands to children, or for that point employee children at all.  Nevertheless, they are still confused.  They discover through their friends (Sivaoians who clearly seem like adults but are legally considered children) that in order to be called adults they have to undergo a rite of passage that has them journeying to another village.  The journey can be dangerous with predators lurking and geographical challenges. One of their new friends, Jinx, tried and failed three times. 

Kirk leading the landing party!

Kirk decides the landing party will attempt the rite.  Unfortunately, they have to leave the phasers and communicators behind.  They face many challenges and must hold a night watch to guard against predators.  During the journey a bridge collapses on them sending Kirk, Wilson, and Jinx into the water.  Kirk is able to rescue Jinx, whose people have not mastered the art of swimming. When the landing party does not report Scotty goes to check up on them but doesn’t learn much.

After the landing party is reunited Chekov begins to exhibit symptoms of ADF syndrome, which he takes to it hard.  Wilson notices that Jinx, who is an apprentice healer, was unable to recognize the plague song that Uhura had learned, she suggests to Uhura that she sing the song in a different key. Uhura attempts this and that seems to end the difficulty in translation.  Jinx eventually identifies a variation of the song and explains that the disease is one that the call "Noisy Baby," easily cured it years ago.

Uhura spreading the news of the plague being beaten.

They complete their journey and are all now considered adults by local laws.  Jinx chooses AnotherStarFreedom as an adult name, in honor of Uhura.  They are able to reconnect the two groups who had separated for 2,000 years both are embarrassed by the cause of separation. The cure is passed along, saving the population in the nick of time.  The Enterprise gets three cheers from the other Starfleet vessels. 

In closing it turns out that Wilson wasn’t who she says she was. After the mission was over, she was immediately reassigned.  Kirk and McCoy decide to reach out, but when they do they meet a male Evan Wilson.  It turns out this “Evan Wilson” they were working with was a Sivaoan name Tail-Kinker to-Ennien.  She is a benevolent trickster, and this wasn’t the first time she did this.  She once impersonated an engineer named Martha Bodner who also critically helped Starfleet before. In her final message she challenges Spock to find her.

Additional thoughts: This okay Star Trek story.  One on hand there was a classic Star Trek problem of “these friendly people are dying and how do we save them?”  However, it was often slow moving and it didn’t really command my attention the way some other stories can.  I did like how Uhura has a much more prominent feature in the story.

There was, however, a big plot problem that I had with the story.  So, the local Eeiauoans are stricken with this horrible illness.  While treating them it is discovered that they originally came from a planet called Sivao.  Uhrua and Spock then to the conclusion that since the Eeiauoan people originated there, then the people living there now must possess the cure to the condition. I am sorry but that doesn’t make any sense.   That is like if a disease in the United States struck the Italian-American population hard, that since they are Italian-American and their ancestors came from Italy then logically Italy must have the cure.  Now this turns out to work because of plot armor, but I would have liked someone to make an objection.  

I also thought it was interesting that the Enterprise is told by Starfleet that the prime directive could be ignored when they arrive at Sivao. Although we saw in “Friday’s Child” that Starfleet and Federation may look the other way when their important interests are involved.  In that episode they were trying to secure dilithium mining rights.  This case is more noble, trying to save the lives of innocents from a deadly plague.

So, the character of Dr. Evan Wilson.  Throughout the book I was wondering what the point of this character was. I thought it was odd that Starfleet would send a doctor out to temporarily take over McCoy’s responsibilities when he was gone.  McCoy has other doctors on his medical staff either one of them could step into that role, M'Benga being an obvious example, why does Starfleet feel the need to send someone of equal rank to replace him?  It would be if Kirk was going away for a week and Starfleet assigning another captain instead of just having Spock runs things for him in the meantime.  Well, we get our answer in the end Dr. Wilson wasn’t Dr. Wilson, but a Sivaoian, who appears to have wanted to have a firsthand in helping to re-unite her species. It reminded me of the second part of “The Menagerie” when we learn that Commodore José Mendez was just an illusion created by the Talosians. 

Should it be canon: I don’t see anything in this story that would contradict established on film.  Therefore, I would have no problems with it being canon.

Cover Art: The cover has Spock, Uhura, and a Sivaoian (from the viewers right to left) standing in front of a planet that I assume is either Eeiauo or Sivao.  Above their heads and in front of the planet flies the Enterprise. The cover is a bit of a lie, because it shows a refitted Enterprise and Spock is wearing his “The Motion Picture” uniform.  Yet, this story takes place in the original five-year mission.

Final Grade: Final Grade 3 of 5