- Battle with the Klingons! — "The Fires of Pharos" is a Star Trek: The Original Series comic published by Marvel-Paramount Comics in 1997, it is the second issue in the Star Trek: Early Voyages series, set during Christopher Pike's captaincy of the USS Enterprise. The story sees the Enterprise arrive in the Marrat system (after its mission was delayed in the previous issue); there the Enterprise battles with Marrat brigand pirates and Klingons to secure the dangerous Marrat Nebula.
Summary[]
The Enterprise drives the brigand fleet off from Starbase 13
In the Marrat Nebula... Lieutenant Tyler moves the USS Enterprise through evasive maneuver sigma-delta-one before turning the starship about to finish driving off the remainder of hostile fleet that had been attacking Starbase 13. With the starbase's docking array damaged and communications out, a team lead by Captain Pike beams over to assess the situation.
The team is greeted by Commodore Hal Wyeth, as Yeoman Cusack helps the medical personal set up a triage center to help the starbase's wounded the Commodore fills Pike and Spock in on the local situation; The station, originally built to help police the dangerous region, has itself come under siege in a response by local pirateers to another Starfleet plan to bring order to the region in Project Pharos, the building of a huge "lighthouse" on a nearby planet. What's more, while they were drilling the foundations for the lighthouse, the engineering teams found vast amounts of extremely pure dilithium, and the Commodore fears this valuable find has been leaked when, two hours earlier, contact was lost with the engineering teams on the planet.
Kaaj's D7
Elsewhere in the Nebula... Klingon Commander Kaaj punishes one of his officers for doubting his command abilities and then takes his ship in pursuit of the Enterprise as she moves off from Starbase 13.
On the Enterprise, Captain Pike informs a badly disrupted Commodore Wyeth of the Enterprise's progress towards the Pharos siteworld and receives a word of warning from the experienced veteran of the region "expect the unexpected". In response the Captain has Mr Tyler commence broadband sensor sweeps to locate the said unexpected. Meanwhile, Spock finishes his analysis of the earlier brigand attack. The fleet consisted of an unusual combination of Orion, Arcturan, Khodini and renegade Human vessels. With evidence of a deadly criminal alliance Pike moves the ship up to yellow alert as the Enterprise reaches her destination.
The Enterprise approaching the Pharos siteworld
Number One leads a landing party to investigate the lighthouse and quickly find evidence of recent disruptor fire before coming under fire from Klingons themselves.
Above, the Enterprise is also engaged by the Klingons. Unusually efficient Klingons who take advantage of the Starfleet vessel's weaknesses. Kaaj decimates main engineering before making himself known to Pike demanding a surrender.
Meanwhile, below, Yeoman Cusack attempts to lighten the mood by relaying a tale of his and Pike's earlier encounters with the Tholians. Above, Pike and Kaaj engage in a battle of words, Pike refusing to surrender whilst Kaaj threatens the Enterprise's destruction and warns of that a "Federation ploy" to keep the rich dilithium deposits on the unclaimed world below to itself could lead to war. At a stalemate, Pike looks for an alternative solution...
The fires of Pharos
On the Pharos siteworld, Number One successfully leads the landing party behind the attacking Klingons and defeats them. The landing party locates survivors from the engineering teams and beams back to the Enterprise.
Pike, having devised his new strategy, arms phasers. Kaaj warns of escalating the situation, to which Pike retorts that is exactly what he wishes to avoid, and fires... on the planet!
The planet ignites into a blazing beacon, which Spock estimates given the vast fuel reserves of the body will burn for decades to come. Detecting a new group of Federation vessels moving into the area, the Klingons depart, but not before Kaaj warns; Pike owes him a blood debt for his humiliation, "BortaS bir jablu'DI reH QaQqu'nay" (Revenge is a dish best served cold)...
References[]
Characters[]
- Phillip Boyce • Gabrielle Carlotti • Cayman • Dermot Cusack • Kaaj, son of Torg • Kir • Kolj • Moves-With-Burning-Grace • Sita Mohindas • Nano • Number One • Christopher Pike • Raeger • Spock • José Tyler • Virka • Hal Wyeth • unnamed USS Enterprise personnel • unnamed Starbase 13 personnel • unnamed IKS Varchas personnel
Starships and vehicles[]
- USS Enterprise (Constitution-class) • IKS Varchas (D7-class battle cruiser) • unnamed brigand starships
Locations[]
Races and cultures[]
- Referenced only
- Tholian
States and organisations[]
Science and technology[]
- dilithium • disruptor • EPS conduit • ion storm • phaser • photon torpedo • tricorder • warp engine
Ranks and titles[]
- captain • chief engineer • commander • commodore • doctor • fleet admiral • nurse • yeoman
Other references[]
- blood debt • evasive maneuvers • Fort Apache • gold rush • landing party • lighthouse • main engineering • transporter room • war
Chronology[]
This comic takes place very shortly after the preceding issue, "Flesh of My Flesh", which saw the Enterprise diverted from the mission shown in this issue. It occurs some time before "Our Dearest Blood", which itself takes place shortly before "The Cage", placing this comic in 2254.
- Stardate 2378.1 (c. 2254)
- The USS Enterprise arrives in the Marrat system to support Starbase 13 against brigand attacks. The Enterprise discovers the attacks are being orchestrated by the Klingon Kaaj, attempting to sabotage Starfleet's Project Pharos. (Events of the story. No calendar date given, but the stardate is close to those of other Early Voyages stories which take place around the episode "The Cage", in 2254.)
Appendices[]
Related media[]
- "Flesh of My Flesh" (EV comic) - This issue depicts the Enterprise's mission in the Marrat system which she had previously been diverted from to deal with the Ngultor threat in Flesh of My Flesh.
- Kaaj's blood debt - Kaaj tries to have his blood debt with Pike repaid with attempts at Pike's life in EV comics: "The Flat, Gold Forever", "Thanatos" and "Nemesis".
Background[]
Early Voyages title variations
- This issue features a slightly revised version of the Star Trek: Early Voyages title; the original title from the previous, and first, issue of the series, "Flesh of My Flesh", arranged the titles on a slight curve. This issues straight line version of the title continued to be used until the fourth issue of the series. The fifth issue reinstated the curved design, which remained in use until the conclusion of the series.
- Amongst the 18 pages of advertisements in this comic is one page that advertises subscriptions to Marvel's comic, highlighting Star Trek comics with an image of the USS Voyager. Another page advertises toys produced by Playmates to tie in with the film Star Trek: First Contact.
- The uniforms of the Starbase 13 personnel are shown with a distinctive assignment patch which appears only in this issue.
Images[]
Connections[]
Timeline[]
| published order | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous comic: Flesh of My Flesh |
EV comics | Next comic: Our Dearest Blood |
| chronological order | ||
| Previous adventure: Flesh of My Flesh |
Memory Beta Chronology | Next adventure: Our Dearest Blood |
Production history[]
- March 1997
- First published by Marvel Comics.
- September 2008
- Re-released on The Complete Comic Book Collection DVD. (Graphic Imaging Technologies)
- May 2009
- Reprinted in Star Trek Omnibus, Volume 2. (IDW Publishing)
- 26 November 2013
- Reprinted in The Stardate Collection's Volume 1 omnibus. (IDW Publishing)
- 27 April 2017
- Collected in the Graphic Novel Collection's Volume 9 omnibus. (Eaglemoss Collections)
Translations[]
- 25 October 2017
- Italian: Collected in the Italian release of Graphic Novel Collection, Volume 9: Primi Viaggi. (RCS MediaGroup, ISSN 977228074425770009)
External link[]
- The Fires of Pharos article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.