Situation critical! – "Blood Enemies" was the penultimate 79th issue of DC Comics' 1989 ongoing series of Star Trek comics, written by Kevin Ryan. This is part two of The Chosen story arc, with art penciled by Steve Erwin and inked by Terry Pallot.
Description[]
- The USS Enterprise rushes to answer a distress call from Starbase 14, finding only wreckage where the base should be. The attack echoes a resent assault on a Klingon outpost, and all evidence points to the Romulans. Kirk is ordered to work alongside a civilian specialist to learn the truth...but the answers may prove lethal.
Summary[]
At Starbase 7, Kirk learns that the incident at Tarnak II has incited the Klingon Empire to cut off diplomatic relations with the Federation and began mobilizing for war. However, a suspiciously similar incident occurred recently with Romulans apparently destroying the Starfleet scout USS Aquila. Admiral Springer assigns the Enterprise to conduct a joint investigation just as a priority one distress call is heard from Starbase 14 near the Romulan Neutral Zone, and dispatches the Enterprise there instead.
At Starbase 14, Kirk finds the station severely damaged with thousands dead. Montgomery Scott, Spock, and Leonard McCoy eject the overloading warp core of the station and rescue nearly 100 survivors while Koram watches aboard his bird-of-prey.
Federation Ambassador Julia Bertrand's shuttle lands in the hangar deck. She briefs the ship's senior officers, pointing out that Koram's starship may be a Tal Shiar vessel. Koram admits he cannot explain why weapons signatures at the Starbase were Romulan any more than Kirk can explain the Starfleet weapons signatures at Tarnak II, and agrees to a joint investigation of Starbase 14.
Log entries[]
- Captain's log, stardate 6221.4
- The Enterprise has made it to Starbase 7 in excellent time. After our attempt to answer a Klingon distress signal — an attempt that did no good and may have caused an interstellar incident — I fear that we have only receive bad news. In his message Admiral Springer alluded to an incident involving the Romulans. Whatever it is, if the Romulan incident is more pressing than the Klingon situation, wince we may be looking at war with the Klingons, I can only speculate what it could be.
- Captain's Log, Supplemental
- We are en route to Starbase 14. I fear the worst, for the starbase and for the Federation if the Romulans are responsible. The Romulan War was devastating one hundred years ago, and our capacity for destruction has grown since then.
- Captain's Log, Personal.
- I have extremely mixed feeling about greeting the Federation ambassador. It may be a hunch... Or it may be the result of my past experiences with diplomats, but the feeling persists.
- Captain's Log, Supplemental
- We have rescued a total of seventy-two survivors from the station, all but two of them children. all of the survivors are being transferred to the USS Salk, a Starfleet medical ship. Over five thousand deaths, and seventy orphaned children, yet I fear we are looking at only the beginning.
- Captain' Log, Personal.
- As a young cadet, I met the legendary Captain Robert April and asked him for advice. "Go with your gut" the old man told me. Now my gut is telling me something is wrong — that I am missing something important. With the stakes this high, I only hope we can find what that is before it's too late...
References[]
Characters[]
- Julia Bertrand • Pavel Chekov • James T. Kirk • Koram • Leonard McCoy • Montgomery Scott • Spock • Springer • Hikaru Sulu • Nyota Uhura • unnamed USS Enterprise personnel (communications officer • transporter chief)
- Referenced only
- Robert April
Starships and vehicles[]
- USS Enterprise (Constitution-class heavy cruiser) • Koram's Bird-of-Prey (Vas Hatham-class Romulan bird-of-prey) • USS Salk (Starfleet medical ship) • Starbase 12 diplomatic shuttle
- Referenced only
- USS Aquila (Hermes-class) • D7-class Klingon battlecruiser
Locations[]
- Organian Treaty Zone • Romulan Neutral Zone • Starbase 7 • Starbase 14
- Referenced only
- Meta IV (Meta system) • Starbase 12 • Tarnak II (Tarnak system)
Races and cultures[]
States and organizations[]
- Federation Council • Klingon Empire • Romulan Star Empire • Starfleet • Starfleet Medical Corps • Tal Shiar • United Federation of Planets
Science and classification[]
- atmospheric force field • cloaking device • computer bank • distress signal • EV suit • explosive bolt • hull • intercom • lifesigns • life support • observation port • phaser • sensor • sensor log • shields • subspace channels • transporter • tricorder • viewscreen
Occupations and titles[]
- admiral • ambassador • cadet • captain • chief medical officer • diplomat • doctor • lieutenant • mister • officer • political officer
Other references[]
- assignment patch • beam • blood • bridge • briefing room • captain's log, USS Enterprise • captain's personal log, USS Enterprise • day • diplomacy • diplomatic shuttle • Federation Starfleet ranks (2260s) • humanoid • landing party • log • minute • month • outpost • priority one • radiation • reactor • report • Romulan War • school • shuttlebay • transporter room • war • weapon
Appendices[]
Images[]
Connections[]
Timeline[]
| published order | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous comic: #78: The Hunted |
TOS comics (DC volume 2) |
Next comic: #80: Collision Course! |
| Previous story: The Hunted |
Stories by: Kevin Ryan |
Next story: Collision Course! |
| chronological order | ||
| Previous adventure: The Hunted |
Memory Beta Chronology | Next adventure: Collision Course! |
| Previous story: The Hunted |
Voyages of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701), Year Four | Next story: Collision Course! |
External link[]
- Blood Enemies article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.