Captain's Log: Sulu

Captain's Log: Sulu
Cover by David Messina.
Attribution
Series:	The Original Series
Miniseries:	Captain's Log
Writer(s):	Scott & David Tipton
Artist(s):	Federica Manfredi
Publication information
Publisher:	IDW Publishing
Published:	January 2010
Pages:	32
Chronology
Date:	circa 2290-2291

Description

From solicitations

Introducing a brand-new series focusing on some of the most famous Captains in Starfleet history! In the debut issue, Captain Hikaru Sulu, still new to the command of the U.S.S. Excelsior, finds himself once again face to face with one of the Federation's most dangerous and mysterious adversaries -- the Tholians! From the creative team behind Spock: Reflections!

Summary

Aboard the USS Excelsior, first officer Cipriano enjoys a round of fencing with his captain, the legendary Hikaru Sulu, but loses in the face of Sulu's expert application of precision and exploiting pressure points. Before a second round can commence, a call comes in from Admiral Renshaw. There is a minor diplomatic incident which Starfleet Command believes Sulu is equipped to handle. Unfortunately, the other party is the Tholians. Sulu takes the news in stride, believing the crystalline aliens are merely projecting anger at Starfleet due to internal affairs, but is warned to not be late. Seeing that Cipriano does not understand the admiral's warning, Sulu explains the last time he encountered Tholians:

The USS Enterprise was attempting to rescue its sister ship, the USS Defiant, when a Tholian fleet arrived demanding they vacate Tholian space. Spock was able to haggle for additional time but when the Enterprise was unable to leave as planned, the Tholians attacked.

The Enterprise made it out, by the skin of its teeth, but it is not an experience Sulu is eager to repeat. When the two men emerge on the bridge, Janice Rand brings the dire news of a distress beacon from the USS Shepherd. The Excelsior warps to its location and commences rescue but interference from a nearby supernova has rendered communications offline leaving them unable to contact the Tholians.

Thirty-seven minutes later, the Excelsior drops out of warp at the rendez-vous point. Predictably, all hails to the Tholians have gone unanswered and the aliens have responded to this slight against them by establishing a massive energy web the disputed planet of Mirabi 5. Long range scans detect a Tholian fleet on approach which Sulu hails. Putting on his best face, he begins to offer apologies for the delay but the Tholians have no interest. The delay has been viewed as a lack on interest in diplomacy and the Tholians will resolve the matter themselves by removing the colony. Sulu refuses to back down and orders the Excelsior to overtake the enemy fleet.

The Tholians hail the Excelsior, demanding that Sulu move away who refuses. He apologizes for the thirty-seven minute delay and offers the Tholians two choices: Go to war over a thirty-seven minute delay or demonstrate that the Tholians hold mercy in higher regard than they do punctuality. Closing the lines, Sulu commences in a game of chicken, ordering a straight course for the lead ship. At 10,000 meters, the Tholians blink and forgive the delay, agreeing to return to the meeting site and commence discussions.

Cipriano praises his captain who reveals that he was not bluffing. He was ready to fight the Tholians if need be, the Excelsior could have defeated the fleet...probably. As to how he knew the Tholians would not bite? The same reason Cipriano is nursing a fencing wound. It was simply a matter of knowing when and where to apply the right amount of force.

References

Characters

Cipriano • Dailey • Loskene • Lyon • Janice Rand • Renshaw • Hikaru Sulu • unnamed USS Excelsior (NCC-2000) personnel • unnamed Tholians

Starships and vehicles

USS Defiant (Constitution-class) • USS Enterprise (Constitution-class) • USS Excelsior (Excelsior-class) • USS Shepherd (Oberth-class) • unnamed Tholian starships (Tholian starship)

Locations

Te Fiti • Vyell • Vyell IV

Referenced only

Mirabi • Mirabi 5 • Vyell IV border station

Races and cultures

Human • Tholian

States and organizations

Starfleet • Starfleet Academy • Starfleet Command • Starfleet Intelligence • Tholian Assembly • United Federation of Planets

Other references

admiral • captain • colony • commander • communications officer • ensign • fencing • first officer • lieutenant • lieutenant, junior grade • meter • minute • master systems display • phaser bank • photon torpedo • quarters • shields • solar flare • supernova • Tholian web • transporter • turbolift • viewscreen • warp factor

Appendices

Related stories

• The Tholian Web (TOS episode) — Sulu has a flashback to the events of the episode.

Continuity

• Several significant continuity-errors exist throughout this issue, including repeated misuse of a refit Constitution-class starship graphic on display screens onboard the USS Excelsior (instead of an Excelsior-class ship layout).
• Another continuity-error occurs during the rescue of the Oberth-class USS Shepherd — one comic-frame depicts a 1960s Constitution-class starship (likely an accidental reuse of the USS Defiant from earlier in the story), instead of the Oberth-class vessel.
• This comic appears to take place at some point early in Captain Sulu's command of the USS Excelsior (circa 2290 to 2291), after several significant command-staff changeovers (c.f., Excelsior: Forged in Fire), but prior to the events of The Lost Era novel The Sundered (set in 2298, after the events of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country), due to Sulu's relative inexperience with the Tholian race.

Timeline

published order
Previous comic: First issue in the series	Captain's Log comics	Next comic: Captain's Log: Harriman
chronological order
Previous adventure: Not yet placed	Memory Beta Chronology	Next adventure: Not yet placed