- This page details James Komack in the primary universe; for the James Komack in the Kelvin timeline created by Nero's temporal incursion see James Komack (Kelvin timeline).
Admiral James Komack (also known as Byron Komack, Franklin Komack, Westervliet Komack or Sebastian Westervliet) was a Human male serving in the Federation Starfleet as a flag officer in the 23rd century. He served in many posts, including the head of Starfleet Command for Sector 9 in the 2260s decade and with the senior admiralty on Earth. In the opinion of Rear Admiral Heihachiro Nogura, Komack was a “rules person” rather than a “people person". Komack "seemed disposed to view the universe around him from a stark, black-and-white perspective, rather than learning to appreciate the myriad shades of gray to be found in the broad spectrum between those two extremes." (VAN novel: What Judgments Come)
Early Career
Early in his career, Komack served for a time at Starfleet Academy, overseeing the institution’s ethics review board, where he also was known as being unforgiving with regard to discipline, particularly if it involved cheating or other dishonorable behavior on the part of a cadet. (VAN novel: What Judgments Come)
Sector 9
In late 2266, Komack was one of the four flag officers making up the court martial of Commodore Diego Reyes on board Vanguard. Admiral Komack was the only member of the panel to have previously encountered material to do with Vanguard, and only in a very distant manner. He laughed on occasion at Reyes's dry wit during in the trial. (VAN novel: Open Secrets)
In 2267, Komack ordered the USS Enterprise to proceed to Omicron Ceti III and determine the fate of the colony that was established on the planet. When Captain James T. Kirk reported that the colonists had survived, Komack ordered Kirk to evacuate them to Starbase 27. (TOS episode: "This Side of Paradise")
A few months later, Komack denied Captain Kirk's request to divert from Altair VI to Vulcan. However, following a request from T'Pau, Komack granted the request. (TOS episode: "Amok Time").
Starfleet Command
Before 2268 the admiral was transferred to the senior staff at Starfleet Headquarters on Earth from his previous posting as the head of the command element overseeing Sector 9. There Komack built a solid reputation as a no-nonsense officer who got results, and tolerated little in the way of deviations from established or accepted policies and procedures. (VAN novel: What Judgments Come)
In early 2268, Komack ordered the Enterprise to planet NGC 667, in order to retrieve Dr. Revati Jendra, who was suspected of violating the Prime Directive. (TOS short story: "First, Do No Harm")
Also during that year, Komack would interfere with a sensitive issue on Starbase Vanguard, ordering its security chief Haniff Jackson to launch a black-ops rescue or assassination of Deigo Reyes from the Orion merchantman, the Omari-Ekon. He gave Jackson three days to plan the op, which ultimately was unsuccessful. (VAN novel: What Judgments Come)
Later that year, Komack ordered the Enterprise away from the starship Yonada, when Captain Kirk was initially unable to move Yonada from its direct course for Daran V. (TOS episode: "For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky").
Following first contact with the people of Elysia, Komack ordered the USS Lovell and the USS T'Saura to find a safe passage into and out of the Delta Triangle. (SCE eBook: Where Time Stands Still)
Retirement
In 2293, Komack spoke at Captain Kirk's memorial service in the grounds of Starfleet Academy, and stated that his days as head of Sector 9 was fraught with challenges and filled with rewards, because Kirk reported to him. (TOS - Crucible novel: The Fire and the Rose)
Alternate timelines
In the alternate reality created by Nero, Admiral Komack was among the high-ranking officers who presided over Lieutenant James T. Kirk's Starfleet Academy hearing for cheating during his Kobayashi Maru scenario in 2258. Later, after Kirk took command of the USS Enterprise and helped save Earth and Captain Christopher Pike from Nero, Komack was present at Kirk's promotion to captain of the Enterprise. (TOS movie: Star Trek)
In another alternate timeline, Komack was an admiral and the direct superior of Captain Christopher Pike of the UESS Enterprise. In 2264, he ordered the Enterprise to return to Earth from Vega colony immediately. Once on Earth Pike met Komack along with Admiral Garth and Prime Minister Carter Winston who ordered Pike to escort a mission to talk with the Interstellar Coalition. (Star Trek: Myriad Universes novel: A Less Perfect Union)
Background
Actor Byron MorrowMA played Admiral Komack (no first name given) in TOS episode: "Amok Time" and he also appeared as an admiral in "For the World is Hollow...". In the latter episode, the character's name was never spoken, but identified in the credits as "Admiral Westervliet". The TOS - Crucible novel: The Fire and the Rose gives Komack's name as Westervliet Komack which was clearly an attempt on the part of author, David R. George III, to explain the apparent contradiction.
However, in Where Time Stands Still, Admiral Komack is given the first name Byron. Open Secrets gives him the first name Franklin. The 2009 movie, Star Trek and What Judgments Come give Komack's first name as James. Dayton Ward, the author of all three novels has said that the first change was a mistake but the second was to conform to the name established in the movie.
External link
- James Komack article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.