Year Five, Issue 1 is the first comic issue of the Year Five miniseries, published by IDW Publishing. It was released in April 2019.
Description[]
- The crew of the USS Enterprise left Earth four years ago. They've traveled to strange new worlds, defeated impossible foes, and made universe-changing decisions. But now, with the end in sight, they'll have to face their biggest challenge yet. Step aboard the Enterprise with Kirk, Spock, Bones, Uhura, Sulu, Scotty, and Chekov as they begin the end of their original five-year mission and boldly go into an uncertain future in this new continuing Star Trek series!
Summary[]
As the USS Enterprise hurls towards its fate, a broken Kirk sits on an empty bridge, mournfully reciting his last captain's log and reciting the oath as a shadowed figure aims a blaster at his head.
Before any of that, the Enterprise arrives at the Lloyd Zeta hypergiant, the largest stellar object that Starfleet has ever detected, and it is due to go supernova in five minutes' time, unleashing a shockwave of gamma radiation that will effectively sterilize any world within ten thousand light years. The Enterprise is here to oversee the operation of the Einstein-Rosen Ouroboros, which will consume the excess energy and form a never ending Einstein-Rosen bridge, while preventing the giant's collapse into a singularity. This is quite literally the most dangerous task the Enterprise has faced and there is no room for error.
With everything in place, Kirk retires to his quarters, reflecting on the four years (to the day) that he's spent aboard his now aging vessel and mourns that their fifth anniversary will be spent elsewhere. McCoy enters with a bottle of saurian brandy where Kirk reveals he's been promoted. When they return to San Francisco, he'll become an admiral. Though McCoy is ecstatic, Kirk is melancholic. He explains it to his friend by recalling his father's collection of books. Rather than reading to his sons however, George Kirk made them memorize and recite them, with Kirk realizing the trick was repeated phrases that stuck in the mind and gave the authors a sense of balance. While it may have been a memory trick to Homer, to the human race, those repeated descriptions became history. And that's why Kirk can't go a day without saying "Captain James T. Kirk of the USS Enterprise." Without that title, who is he?
On the bridge, Uhura picks up a distress call from Lloyd Zeta-9, a Tholian distress call, with Kirk ordering a course set for the planet, in spite of standing orders to remain by the hypergiant.
When the away team beams down into the Tholian colony however, they find it in ruins. Since the Tholians' crystalline biology casts doubt on whether anything will be detected via tricorder, Spock orders the harmonic resonator to be activated. The device quickly picks up the remains of the Tholians… scattered all around, their bodies shattered and… frozen. Such a vicious attack would suggest that the invaders had extreme familiarity with Tholian biology, sending Kirk's mind back to the Iliad, pondering that the Tholian colonists fell victim to a Trojan Horse sent by other Tholians.
The debate is broken by a hostile Tholian attacking the redshirts, its skin, harder than even an Andorian diamond, reflecting the phaser beams. Ordering his crew to distract the alien, Kirk fiddles with the resonator. After Spock breaks his hand punching the attacker, Kirk fires a sonic blast that blasts a hole clear through the Tholian's torso.
As the away team picks up the pieces, Scott calls about a massive starship that has just arrived while the redshirts uncover another survivor… a Tholian child.
Reflecting on these events, Kirk notes they will forever haunt his dreams and how all the pain and strife that resulted from his decisions could have been avoided. Though his crew survived four years, it was the fifth that would truly test them. The weight of the whole galaxy, countless trillions of lives, balanced on the life of the child, and the most dangerous decision of Kirk's career.
Log Entries[]
- Captain's log, stardate 7013.2.
- It has been exactly four Earth years since the Enterprise left Federation space on its mission of discovery. Starfleet Command may not have meant it as a gift, but their orders gave the crew an anniversary light show they'll not soon forget. The crew performed admirably, as I've come to expect. It seems these days that even Mr. Spock's vaunted logic is no match for Lt. Sulu's expert mastery of the helm… …Nor Chief Engineer Scott's wonder at the incredible device sent by starfleet to complete our mission. No doubt it won't do a thing to stop him from reminding me each day that our technology is now ancient by fleetwide standards. As she has so many times now, today, the Enterprise and her crew touched the unknown and brought us one step closer to true understanding. No captain could be prouder and yet as the crew celebrates… …I know there will not be a fifth anniversary for this crew among the stars. It weighs on me, that knowledge. Deep in my soul, i know the next time we celebrate a day like today… …We'll be home.
- Personal Log. Kirk, James T. Admiral.
- I don't sleep much anymore. I know I should, but I can't. No matter how hard I try. When I close my eyes… …That's when i remember. My… arrogance. My mistakes. Four years of our mission, but it was the fifth that would take everything from us. So much pain could have been avoided. So many lives… And I think about that moment. The moment I can't wish away. The entire weight of the galaxy trillions of worlds… …Balanced at a single point. On the life of a child. And the most dangerous decision of my entire career.
References[]
Characters[]
- Bragg • Bright Eyes • Pavel Chekov • James T. Kirk • Leonard McCoy • Montgomery Scott • Gary Seven • Shimizu • Spock • Hikaru Sulu • Nyota Uhura
Starships and vehicles[]
Locations[]
- Lloyd Zeta • Lloyd Zeta-9
Races and cultures[]
States and organizations[]
Science and classification[]
Technology and weapons[]
- Einstein-Rosen Ouroboros • harmonic resonator • phaser
Ranks and titles[]
Appendices[]
Related media[]
- DSC episode: "Such Sweet Sorrow": The shockwave of a supernova will threaten planets across a distance of several light years.
- TOS episode: "Balance of Terror": "Don't destroy the one named Kirk."
- TOS movie: Star Trek Beyond: Kirk and McCoy have a discussion about the future over a bottle of saurian brandy.
- TOS movie: The Motion Picture: Kirk has been promoted to admiral, a position he is reluctant to claim.
- TOS episode: "Shore Leave": McCoy proposes celebrating Kirk's promotion by returning to Beta Omicron Delta III.
- TOS episode: "Court Martial": Kirk notes that his father had a collection of books "like that lawyer on Starbase 11."
- TOS episode: "Wolf in the Fold": Scott remembers the crew meeting "the ghost of Jack-the-bloody ripper."
- TOS episode: "Tomorrow is Yesterday": Scott mentions the crew's time travelling.
- TOS episode: "The Tholian Web": The crew travel to Tholian space.
- ENT episode: "In a Mirror, Darkly": The Tholians are vulnerable to cold and sonic vibrations.
- TOS episode: "Arena": Kirk recalls his duel at Cestus III.
Images[]
Connections[]
| Star Trek: The Original Series — Year Five | ||
|---|---|---|
| Omnibuses/Issues | Odyssey's End | 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 |
| The Wine-Dark Deep | 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 | |
| Weaker Than Man | 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 | |
| Experienced in Loss | 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • Captains of Sea and War | |
| Creators | Brandon Easton • Jackson Lanzing • Collin Kelly • Jody Houser • Jim McCann | |
| Cover artists | Greg Hildebrandt • Stephen Thompson • Charlie Kirchoff • J.J. Lendl • Marc Laming | |
| previous comic: first in series |
The Original Series (Year Five) | next comic: Year Five, Issue 2 |
|---|
External Links[]
- Five, Issue 1 article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.