Raise the Defiant was a 30-page Star Trek: The Original Series comic book story, a sequel to TOS episode & Star Trek 5 novelization: The Tholian Web. It was the first of two stories included in Star Trek Special, Issue 2, published in Winter 1994 by DC Comics. This was author Kevin Ryan's only TOS story not set in the 2260s. In the story, the USS Enterprise-A was assigned to recover the USS Defiant.
Summary[]
- Captain's log, stardate 8544.9. The Enterprise has been asked to assist a Doctor Jurad [sic] with a highly classified experiment.
- Personal log. Whenever Starfleet "asks", trouble always follows.
Doctor Allison Juram arrived via shuttlecraft to brief James T. Kirk on their mission. She was brusque, overbearing and argumentative, particularly when Kirk included his senior officers in the briefing, even though all were involved in the USS Defiant incident 20 years ago. Juram revealed that Defiant's predicament had been a result of testing a prototype phase inverter. The inverter remained active, creating an ever-expanding region of spacial instability which now posed a threat to Tholian and Federation space. Montgomery Scott believed that they use a phase inverter brought by Juram to recreate the phase experiment and locate the Defiant.
To maintain a lock on their universe, a sensor probe with a subspace transmitter was launched. The Enterprise then rendezvoused with three Tholians starships led by Commander Melene, who doubted Starfleet's stated purpose. Melene's ship fired on the Enterprise at the right moment of interphase, shifting it into another universe, but not the right one. However, Scott detected a resonance pattern which linked their phase inverter to the one aboard the Defiant. They followed the resonance pattern, risking a second trip through interspace, and arrived beside the Defiant.
Because time flowed significantly more slowly in this universe, Leonard McCoy estimated that only a few hours had elapsed for the Defiant. He modified his theragen antidote for interphase-induced psychosis to be less intoxicating, just in case it was needed. Spock calculated their return trajectory while towing the extra mass of the Defiant, but as they were about to begin interphase, a feedback loop was triggered in their subspace inverter – sabotage. Their tractor beam, shields and helm suddenly went offline.
Juram's shuttle fled from the hangar bay. As its weapons powered up, Juram confessed to being a Romulan operative. The Romulan government would not allow Starfleet to retrieve test results for phasing technology, particularly since that equipment could see through any cloaking technology and upset the balance of power. Destroying both active phase inverters would produce a chain reaction to devastate large regions of Tholian space, provoking a war that would eventually draw in the Klingon Empire, leaving the entire region weakened and ripe for Romulan conquest.
Scott appealed to her to stop, one engineer to another, but Jarem replied that Romulans were obligated to perform their duty. She activated her weapons – but instead, the shuttle self-destructed. Scott had sabotaged the shuttle's weapons. He'd become suspicious of her when she suggested a Romulan engineering solution to a technical problem, and especially after she suggested leaving the Defiant behind, something Scott felt no true engineer would ever have said. Scott retraced their path back to the primary universe.
References[]
Characters[]
- Pavel Chekov • Grad • Allison Juram's imposter • James T. Kirk • Leonard McCoy • Melene • Montgomery Scott • Spock • Hikaru Sulu • Nyota Uhura
- Referenced only
- Allison Juram
Starships and vehicles[]
- USS Defiant (Constitution-class heavy cruiser) • USS Enterprise-A • Starfleet Type-4 shuttlecraft • three Shard-class Tholian starships
- Referenced only
- USS Enterprise (Constitution-class heavy cruiser) • three Spinner-class Tholian starships
Locations[]
- Horan system
Races and cultures[]
States and organizations[]
- Fleet Museum • Klingon Empire • Romulan Empire • Starfleet • Starfleet Command • Tholian Assembly • United Federation of Planets
Science and technology[]
- cloaking device • communications • computer • dimension • distress call • environmental suit • interphase • interphase psychosis • interspace • laboratory • life support • phase inverter • phasing technology • sensor • sensor probe • shield • subspace frequency modulator • subspace transmitter • theragen • tractor beam • transporter • viewscreen • warp engine • warp speed • weapon
Ranks and titles[]
- captain • commander • crew • doctor • engineer • Federation Starfleet ranks (2270s-2350s) • lieutenant • science officer • senior officer • Starfleet ranks
Other references[]
- alternate universe • bridge • briefing room • captain's log • Captain's log, USS Enterprise (NCC-1701), 2268 • engine room • engineering • galaxy • helm • history • hour • insanity • logic • minute • month • nerve gas • primary universe • Priority one • quarters • security • space • stardate • Starfleet uniform • Starfleet uniform (2265-2270) • Starfleet uniform (2278-2350s) • subspace • time • universe • war • year
Timeline[]
Chronology[]
- 2268 (prior to stardate 5693.2)
- USS Defiant began testing a phase inverter
- 2268 (stardate 5693.2)
- Enterprise discovered Defiant trapped in interspace
- 2288 (prior to stardate 8544.9)
- En route to Enterprise-A, Allison Juram's shuttle was intercepted and a Romulan operative took her place
- 2288 (stardate 8544.9)
- Enterprise-A assigned to salvage Defiant
Appendices[]
Background[]
- Two other salvage accounts exist for the Defiant. Refer to detailed accounts on the USS Defiant page.
- Published in 2001, SCE eBook: Interphase described the Defiant being recovered in 2376.
- Released in 2005, Star Trek: Enterprise described the Defiant being recovered by Tholians in the mirror universe in 2155. And in 2018, Star Trek: Discovery provided additional details.
- The 1997 epic film Titanic was released one year before the comic was published. The story's title "Raise the Defiant" echoed that of the 1980 film Raise the Titanic.
- Pavel Chekov appeared on pages 1 and 16, but had no dialogue.
- Dan Curry's cover art was reused as the cover to ST reference: The Artistry of Dan Curry.
Related stories[]
- TOS episode: "The Tholian Web"
- ENT episode: "In a Mirror, Darkly"
- ENT novel: Age of the Empress
- DSC episode: "Despite Yourself"
- DSC episode: "The Wolf Inside"
- DSC episode: "Vaulting Ambition"
Images[]
Connections[]
| Published Order | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous comic: The Needs of the One Star Trek Special, Issue 1 |
TOS comics (DC volume 2 Specials) |
Next comic: A Question of Loyalty Star Trek Special, Issue 2 |
| Previous story: Requiem TNG novel |
Stories by: Kevin Ryan |
Next story: Resistance Voyager episode |
| Chronological Order | ||
| Previous adventure: Target: Mudd! The Return of Harry Mudd |
Memory Beta Chronology | Next adventure: Pathways Chapter 14 |