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"Light of the Day" is a Star Trek: The Next Generation comic, the fourth issue of IDW Publishing's The Space Between miniseries. The comic was written by David Tischman with art by Casey Maloney, and was initially released in April 2007, with a reprint in the omnibus of the series in September of the same year. The story, set in 2369, sees a shuttle from the USS Enterprise-D crash-land on the planet Riat, where the crew find themselves fighting for survival when they enter a Dracon monastery. Meanwhile on the Enterprise, the crew work with a political criminal, Kommandant Ghud, to try and find the shuttle.

Description[]

From solicitations
In "Light of Day," part four of IDW's all-new Star Trek: The Next Generation relaunch, a shuttle craft accident strands Worf, Geordi, and Ro on an unexplored moon. The trio survive the crash, but when the sun rises they are fighting for their lives... against a colony of nocturnal aliens who become deadly killers with each new dawn. Meanwhile, aboard the Starship Enterprise, the situation gets even more grim!

Summary[]

Riat

The shuttle plummeting into the snowy landscape of Riat

In the shuttlecraft Goddard, Worf, Ro Laren and Geordi La Forge look forward to returning to the Enterprise after their recent briefing from Starfleet when a massive wave of solar flare activity forces them to drop out of warp. The shuttle careens out of control and crashes into the snowy mountains of a planet.

The shuttle severely damaged, the group make their way to the shelter of a nearby building. Inside they find out they are in a Dracon monastery on the planet Riat, but no monks come to greet them. Ro has an uneasy feeling about the place, and rightly so; nearby someone watches them through a peep hole.

Meanwhile on the Enterprise Captain Picard goes to the brig to visit the starship's guest, Kommandant Ghud, a former world destroying scientist, now a devoted follower of a religion known as The Light, who is being ferried to his trial for the destruction of the planet Wyath's ecology. From the bridge Riker reports the shuttle has not arrived at its scheduled rendezvous, but on a tight schedule Picard orders the Enterprise to continue on course to Ghud's trial.

On Riat the shuttle group have explored three floors of the monastery without any encounters when they find a corpse, apparently the victim of cannibalism. Geordi hears a noise and dashes off to investigate but falls through a hole in the floor into an underground lake. His VISOR detects an algae in the water that appears to glow to his enhanced vision. Ro speculates that environment would have been cut off from the sun for thousands of years and that the extreme solar flare activity in the system may have affected it. Worf ponders what might happen to someone that drank the water.

Ro Worf Dracon fight

Ro and Worf fighting the monks

Geordi sets off to find a way back up and Ro and Worf do likewise to find a way down to meet halfway. Whilst bickering about which corridors to take Ro and Worf find themselves ambushed by a large group of monks and are forced to fight them off hand to hand, their phasers ineffective.

On the bridge of the Enterprise the crew discuss their conundrum: Wyath law is very strict on time and if they do not arrive promptly the charges against Ghud may be dropped. Meanwhile solar flare activity prevents the Enterprise obtaining detailed sensor scans to track the shuttle. Their discussions on Ghud's morality are interrupted when ensign Newman in the brig calls the bridge to convey a message from Ghud offering assistance in locating the shuttle.

In the monastery the fight continues until Ro finds a solution: instead of shooting the monks she aims for the floor which collapses beneath, causing the monks to fall into the darkness below. Victory is only short-lived, however, as the hole in the floor begins to spread and Ro and Worf have to run to safety.

Kommandant Ghud

Kommandant Ghud

Back on the Enterprise Ghud and Data work in engineering; Picard assures Ghud whatever he does will not affect his delivery to trial; while Ghud is resigned to the fate of the captain's decision he considers himself innocent, relieved of his past deeds in his new life following The Light. The method he develops to locate the shuttle ties in the Enterprise's sensors with those on Starbase 172 and the array Ghud developed on Wyath to triangulate the unique readings given off by Geordi's VISOR and the rare and unique metals found in Worf's sash and Ro's earring. His task complete Ghud is escorted back to the brig.

On Riat Geordi has found his way up to a meditation area when his VISOR fills with static caused by the solar flares. It recovers just in time for him to come face to face with one of the monks. He dashes for cover under a structure in the chamber where the monk tries to grab for him until it is subdued by Worf and Ro. It is another short-lived victory as more monks enter the chamber and converge on the party. The fight begins once more until, to their relief, the team receive a hail from Riker in a shuttle above, ready to conduct their rescue.

Back on the Enterprise Picard and Data see Ghud off in the transporter room, Data left perplexed by the encounter and the concepts of right and wrong as Ghud understood them.

Later on the bridge Riker announces Dr. Crusher was able to cure the monks of their ailment. Picard welcomes the shuttle crew back aboard, looking forward to receiving reports from their Starfleet briefings.

References[]

Characters[]

DataKommandant GhudGeordi La ForgeNewmanMiles O'BrienJean-Luc PicardWilliam T. RikerRo LarenDeanna TroiWorf, son of Mogh
Referenced only
Beverly CrusherNoonien Soong

Starships and vehicles[]

Goddard

Shuttlecraft Goddard

USS Enterprise-D (Galaxy-class) • Goddard (type-6 shuttlecraft)
Referenced only
USS Excelsior

Locations[]

Dracon monasteryRiat
Referenced only
Starbase 172Wyath

Races and cultures[]

androidBajoranGhud's speciesHumanKlingon

States and organizations[]

StarfleetUnited Federation of Planets

Other references[]

algaeaway teambloodbridgebrigcivil warcomputerdeflector gridearringecologyelectromagnetismmetalmonkphaserprayerradiationSashsecurity chiefsensor arraysolar flaresnowThe LightVISORwarp drivewarp plasmawater

Appendices[]

Background[]

  • According to IDW's catalog [1], this issue is titled "Light of Day", but according to the inside of the cover, it is actually "Light of the Day".
  • There are some changes to the creative team for this issue of the miniseries, previous issues had inking done by Casey Maloney; for this issue the inking was done by Stacie Ponder. Also changed is the letterer; previous issues of the series had been lettered by Robbie Robbins this issue was done by Neil Uyetake.
  • The stardate given for the Editor's Log on the letters page is 60623.7, which like previous editorial content would place it in 2383.
  • The letters page in this issue includes a brief interview with the series colorist Leonard O'Grady.
  • Page 12 features a reference to Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Worf declares "I... Have had... Enough -- of you!" as he fends a monk off and throws him into a dark pit, echoing James T. Kirk's final words and actions to the Klingon Kruge in the TOS movie.
  • David Tischman originally considered making Kommandant Ghud's character a Tiburon, but went for something new in the end. [2]
  • The advertising pages of this issue include an advert for Klingons: Blood Will Tell, IDWs second miniseries, the first issue of which was released on the same day as this issue.

Covers[]

  • As with previous issues this comic has a number of covers available. Two standard covers, one by Ken Kelly and a photomontage, and a more limited retail incentive cover by Zach Howard, with colors by Thompson Knox.

Images[]

Connections[]

Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Space Between
Issues History LessonCaptain's PleasureStrategyLight of the DaySpace SeedsAn Inconvenient Truth
Creators David TischmanCasey MaloneyLeonard O'GradyRobbie RobbinsAaron LeachStacie PonderNeil UyetakeChris MowryDan Taylor
Cover artists Dennis CaleroZach HowardJeremy GeddesThompson KnoxKen KellyJoe Corroney

Timeline[]

  • This issue is set in season six of the TV series, sometime before the episode "Relics".
published order
Previous comic:
Strategy
TNG comics
The Space Between
Next comic:
Space Seeds
Previous comic:
Strategy
Comics by:
David Tischman
Next comic:
Space Seeds
chronological order
Previous Adventure:
Man of the People
Memory Beta Chronology Next Adventure:
Calculated Risk
Previous Adventure:
Captain's Pleasure
The Space Between
(Chronological order)
Next Adventure:
Strategy
Previous Adventure:
Man of the People
Voyages of the
USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D)
Next Adventure:
Calculated Risk


Publication history[]

25 April 2007
First released by IDW Publishing.
12 September 2007
Collected in The Space Between paperback omnibus. (ISBN 1-60010-116-X)
25 December 2012
Collected in Star Trek Omnibus: The Next Generation. (ISBN 1613775377)
2 March 2017
Collected in Graphic Novel Collection, Volume 5. (Eaglemoss Collections)
28 May 2019
Collected in The Missions Continue hardcover omnibus. (ISBN 978-1-68405-421-3)
17 October 2023
Collected in the Library Collection, Volume 2 omnibus. (ISBN 9798887240299)
Translations[]
December 2009
German: Reprinted in the miniseries hardcover and paperback editions. (Cross Cult: hardcover ISBN 978-3941248458, paperback ISBN 978-3941248441)
February 2009
Italian: Collected in the miniseries omnibus. (Free Books, ISBN 9788863310375)
27 September 2017
Italian: Collected in the Italian release of Graphic Novel Collection, Volume 5. (RCS MediaGroup, ISSN 977228074425770005)

External link[]

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