"Forging Alliances" is the last of five TOS manga stories in the 2007 anthology Kakan ni Shinkou (To Boldly Go). It was published by TokyoPop, written by Paul Benjamin and drawn by Steven Cummings. In this story, a Vulcan celebration of Surak's birthday is disrupted by an attack of le-matya.
Description[]
Summary[]
- Captain's Log, Stardate 3982.4.
- The Enterprise is in orbit around the planet Vulcan, our Science Officer Spock's homeworld. Ambassador Sarek, Mr. Spock's father, has requested his son's presence at an important ceremony. It is a celebration of the birth of Surak, the Vulcan philosopher who turned his people from violent warriors into the logical, emotionally-reserved beings we know today.
At Sarek's invitation, Kirk and McCoy join Spock at the ceremony. But just as it begins, at least six le-matyas and a feral Vulcan boy attack the group. Stunning one particular le-matya triggers a painful reaction in the boy, who collapses, and then the rest of the animals flee. Sarek recognizes the boy as S'Vol, son of Forge wildlife expert Tar'ak. S'Vol disappeared months ago in The Forge during his Kahs-wan maturity test and had been presumed dead.
After administering to a Vulcan who had been poisoned by a le-matya during the attack, McCoy joins Kirk, Dr. Sassik and Tar'ak to investigate the boy and a le-matya he'd defended. During the conversation, Tar'ak, Spock and Sassik become excessively argumentative and attack Kirk and McCoy. Once the aggravated Vulcans have been knocked out, Sarek calls to alert McCoy of illogical behavior around the hospital. McCoy discovers the boy was covered with the le-matya's saliva.
Reviving Spock, the agitated Vulcan determines S'Vol to have composite DNA of animals native to The Forge, and that he was projecting feelings of madness telepathically. Spock speculates that if S'Vol had been injured during his Kahs-wan, he might have been protected like a cub by a female le-matya sensitive to their shared DNA, allowing them to share a psychic bond that awoke the boy's animal DNA and drove him into a bestial state. With Vulcans attempting to break into the hospital room, McCoy hastily injects S'Vol with a telepathic suppressant. The Vulcans return to normal.
Tar'ak explains that his son had been born prematurely, with his mother dying in childbirth. To save his son, he petitioned the Vulcan Council to allow him to alter his son's DNA. He ended up stronger than other Vulcans until the time of Kahs-wan.
Sarek completes the birthday ritual, welcoming Kirk and McCoy not as observers but as direct participants.
References[]
Characters[]
- James T. Kirk • Leonard McCoy • Sarek • Sassik • Montgomery Scott • Spock • S'Vol • Tar'ak • unnamed USS Enterprise personnel (2260s) (helmsman • navigator) • unnamed Vulcans (ministers, ritual attendees)
- Referenced only
- Surak
Starships and vehicles[]
Locations[]
- Vulcan (The Forge • Forge hospital • Hall of Debates)
- Referenced only
- Earth • T'Khut
Races and cultures[]
States and organizations[]
Science and technology[]
- behavioral chemistry • biobed • biology • computer • DNA • genetic engineering • hypospray • laboratory • medical tricorder • medscanner • phaser • physiology • poison • scanner • staff • telepathic suppressant • telepathy • tranquilizer • viewscreen
Ranks and titles[]
- ambassador • captain • counselor • crewman • doctor • philosopher • physician • rank • science officer • warrior
Other references[]
- emotion (anger) • animal • beam • birthday • blood • disease • distress call • heart • helmet • homeworld • hospital • hour • Kahs-wan • le-matya • lifeform • logic • month • mountain • quarantine • saliva • sehlat • species • stretcher • surgery • T'Ved-Surak ritual • technology • t'ved • weapon • year
Appendices[]
Related media[]
Spock visited family ritual sites in:
- TOS episode & Star Trek 3 novelization: Amok Time
- TOS - Year Four comic: "The Enterprise Experiment, Part 5"
- TOS comic: "The Needs of the One"
Sarek previously met the Enterprise crew in:
- TOS episode & Star Trek 4 novelization: Journey to Babel
- TOS novel: The Vulcan Academy Murders
- TOS novel: The IDIC Epidemic
Spock's Kahs-wan occurred in:
- TAS episode & Log One novelization: Yesteryear
- TOS - Crucible novel: The Fire and the Rose
- TOS comic: "Lt. Commdr. Spock: Psycho-File"
Background[]
- Three ministers were shown when Tar'ak petitioned the Vulcan Council to save his son's life through genetic engineering. The other four could have been off-panel, or it was possible that the matter could be decided by the heads of the Vulcan Ministry of Science, Vulcan Ministry of Health, and Vulcan Ministry of Thought. The Hall of Debates was shown, though not named.
- The T'Ved-Surak ritual took place at an unspecified location in The Forge with rock structures similar to those seen at Spock's place of Koon-ut-kal-if-fee, but was on flat land rather than on a precipice.
- Leonard McCoy mentioned having performed heart surgery on Sarek, in TOS episode & Star Trek 4 novelization: Journey to Babel.
- T'Khut was seen in the sky, though it was not mentioned.
Images[]
Connections[]
| Manga stories | ||
|---|---|---|
| TOS manga | Shinsei Shinsei | "Side Effects" • "Anything But Alone" • "'Til Death" • "Oban" • "Orphans" |
| Kakan ni Shinkou | "Cura Te Ipsum" • "The Trial" • "Communications Breakdown" • "Scaean Gate" • "Forging Alliances" | |
| Uchu | "Art of War" • "Bandi" • "The Humanitarian" • "Inalienable Rights" | |
| TNG manga | Boukenshin | "Changeling" • "Sensation" • "The Picardian Knot" • "Loyalty" |
Timeline[]
| Published Order | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous comic: Scaean Gate |
TOS comics (Star Trek: The Manga) |
Next comic: Art of War |
| Chronological Order | ||
| Previous adventure: The Hollow Crown, Issue 2 Romulans: The Hollow Crown |
Memory Beta Chronology | Next adventure: Faces of Fire |
| The above chronology placements are based on the primary placement in 2268. The Memory Beta Chronology places events from this story in 1 other timeframe(s): | ||
| Previous adventure: Burning Dreams Chapters 17, 18, & 19 |
2261 (flashback) |
Next adventure: Time Out of Joint 2261 flashback |
Production history[]
- September 2007
- First printed in the manga anthology Kakan ni Shinkou. (TokyoPop)
- October 2007
- Reprinted in the prose anthology The Sky's the Limit. (Pocket Books)
- March 2009
- Reprinted in the omnibus Star Trek: The Manga - Ultimate Edition. (TokyoPop)
- 5 December 2019
- Reprinted in Graphic Novel Collection #89. (Eaglemoss Collections)
External link[]
- Forging Alliances article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.