Somehow, Star Trek: The Last Starship slipped past me last year and it is brilliant! Usually, a limited series or short arc in comics will have one, wow, game changer moment. This one issue had such moments every few pages! Highly recommended to any Trekker or fan of great sci fi stories! The regular cover by Francesco Francavilla has a mass explosion of starships and one ship, golden, pulling away from the destruction. The IDW Publishing limited series is by the writing team of Jackson Lansing and Collin Kelly with art by Adrian Bonilla. Star Trek: The Last Starship Vol. 1 collects the nine issues in a trade paperback.
Side note: I’m a casual Trekker, seen an episode here and there, so just on a cold read found wild concepts that tied into the various series. The latest Star Trek in the 24th century, 2401, was season 3 of Picard, “The Last Generation” (2023). The Last Starship takes place in the 31st century, 3069, so 669 years in the far future of Star Trek! The latest Star Trek show, Starfleet Academy, takes place post-The Last Starship, in 3194, the next century.
It begins with the Captain’s Log, Stardate 749047.7, nine panels show a combadge with the Starfleet star symbol. It is in some bright field and taken out by the blue, Andorian, hand of the captain. He says that it is a moment that has taken nine centuries! He polishes the badge with a cloth and then places it on his red uniform with white stripes. This reveals the U.S.S. Sagan, a new ship with struts from the front saucer holding the nacelles, four curved flanges that are separted from the ship!
It is leaping into warp with two shuttles at its side. The U.S.S. Sagan has the best namesake named after Carl Sagan. Two green ships like lanterns follow them. A closeup of the eyes of Captain Delacourt Sato as he takes command. The massive bridge has a console on the level above the captain’s chair. It almost feels the wide bridge of the Space Battleship Yamato, but with digital screens and white walls instead of the dark, cramped bridge. Captain Sato addresses the delegate for the Gorn as the representative for the First Starfleet.
The Gorn are a classic villain from “Arena” (1967), the eighteenth episode of the first season of Star Trek. It was written by Gene L. Coon based on the 1944 short story by Fredric Brown. Sato explains that the Gorn are the last “warlike sovereignty” and will be left in isolation if they refuse negotiations. The Gorn captain appears and the first officer, Wowie Carter, reports that the Gorn powered up their weapons! Sato quickly orders communications officer Valqis that any captain that goes to red alert “loses his chair”!
He has navigation officer Hana to continue following the Gorn. Sato checks on engineering chief Silyk, a six armed, insectoid alien with a helmet, interlaced with beams. He reports that the warp field is stable, but “strange.” I really like this bizarre, beam controlled engineering, it makes me think of Salaak of the Green Lantern Corps. Captain Sato reflects on the conquering ways of the Gorn since the last starship battle, thirty five years ago. He says they have evolved from their past, “let that be our last battlefield.” A variation of the title from third season Star Trek episode, “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield” (1969).
The Gorn captain appears on hologram, we see moments of The Gorn, closeups of Sato and his combadge. The captain accepts Sato’s offer in a large panel and joins the Federation! Then, the Gorn captain says there is a “thrumming” and we get a small red panel of The Gorn! An explosion rips into the bridge! Sato calls for a red alert. He gets the report that the Gorn ships are gone. Also, warp core breaches for the Reykjavik, the Solana, and Martok, the rest are cut off.
A historical victory bringing the Gorn into the Federation and then a tragedy of every warp ship destroyed! Silyk reports from engineering that they only have seconds. He says he felt the warp core breaches through “vibrations of space time.” Something has caused this tragedy, destablizing the dilithium matrix to destroy ships. This is an event that we found from the season 4 episode of Star Trek: Voyage in “Living Witness” (1998). An anti-matter phenomenon that caused his galaxy wide disaster, being or beings, it couldn’t be a hostile people, maybe beings that do not like being used to create warp drives?
This is not a problem with the warp core that can be solved in an episode, but a way to destroy starships! I just like that a magical device that travels across the galaxy could be a liability. Moving at warp speed, Captain Sato says they cannot use escape pods, Silyk says torpedoes can be modified with a transport buffer. A closeup of Silyk’s helmet, eyes sliding back in worry, only one torpedo can be made that can hold four people!
Silyk orders the youngest crew members, but Silyk apologizes. Sato says he has made a direct order, the torpedo launches, and Silyk says he is already dead! A two page spread has the destruction of the U.S.S. Sagan with long panels of the torpedo racing into open space. Another two page spread has the title page. Epic. Closeup of Sato’s closed eyes. It is 72 hours later on Earth.
He in shadows on his bunk. Sato walks outside, his bright red shirt and white pants stands out from the citizens and buildings, the only other color is the orange of large screens showing The Burn, on buildings and one person’s datapad. Incredible colors by Heather Moore. A thin panel shows the shadowed citizens seeing the one trillion death toll. We see with the Golden Gate Bridge and Starfleet Headquarters that this is San Francisco.
Sato continues his walk, his face down in shadow, towering above him is a trio of statues, Captain Janeway with a tricorder, Kirk in the center drawing a phaser pistol, and Captain Picard hand by his combadge. There are flowers placed at the base of the statues, it is mostly in shadows, a beautiful, chiaroscuro image. Tiny panels of Sato entering the large doors of Starfleet Command. He is at a row of seats holding his head and then his name is spoken. It is Wowie who apologizes and says that everyone is in a fog since they will pulled from the buffer.
Five+ Warp Drives out of Five!
#StarTrekTheLastStarship, #JacksonLanzing, #CollinKelly, #AdrianBonilla, #FrancescoFrancavilla, #CaptainDelacourtSato, #WowieCarter, #Silyk, #Hana, #Vilquis
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