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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[]

Starbase 13

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.

IKS Varchas

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.

Lighthouse

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...

Pharos

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 BoyceGabrielle CarlottiCaymanDermot CusackKaaj, son of TorgKirKoljMoves-With-Burning-GraceSita MohindasNanoNumber OneChristopher PikeRaegerSpockJosé TylerVirkaHal Wyethunnamed USS Enterprise personnelunnamed Starbase 13 personnelunnamed IKS Varchas personnel

Starships and vehicles[]

USS Enterprise (Constitution-class) • IKS Varchas (D7-class battle cruiser) • unnamed brigand starships

Locations[]

Marrat NebulaMarratStarbase 13Pharos siteworldProject Pharos

Races and cultures[]

ArcturanHumanKhodiniKlingonLirinOrionVulcan
Referenced only
Tholian

States and organisations[]

Federation StarfleetKlingon EmpireMarrat brigandUnited Federation of Planets

Science and technology[]

dilithiumdisruptorEPS conduition stormphaserphoton torpedotricorderwarp engine

Ranks and titles[]

captainchief engineercommandercommodoredoctorfleet admiralnurseyeoman

Other references[]

blood debtevasive maneuversFort Apachegold rushlanding partylighthousemain engineeringtransporter roomwar

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[]

Background[]

Early Voyages fonts

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[]

Media featuring Christopher Pike
Episodes and movies The Original Series The CageThe Menagerie
Movies Star TrekkStar Trek Into Darknessk
Discovery Will You Take My Hand?BrotherNew EdenPoint of LightAn Obol for CharonSaints of ImperfectionThe Sound of ThunderLight and ShadowsIf Memory ServesProject DaedalusThe Red AngelPerpetual InfinityThrough the Valley of ShadowsSuch Sweet Sorrow
Short Treks Q&AThe Trouble with EdwardAsk Not
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
Novels Killing TimeaEnterprise: The First AdventureVulcan's GloryLegacyThe RiftWhere Sea Meets SkyBurning DreamsA Less Perfect UnionaThe Children of KingsChild of Two WorldsDesperate HoursThe Enterprise WarThe High Country
Short stories "Conflicting Natures" • "A Private Anecdote" • "Sins of the Mother" • "The Greater Good"m
Comics Early Voyages "Flesh of My Flesh" • "The Fires of Pharos" • "Our Dearest Blood" • "Nor Iron Bars a Cage" • Cloak and Dagger (12) • "The Flat, Gold Forever" • "Immortal Wounds" • "One of a Kind" • The Fallen (12) • "Futures, Part One" • "Future Tense" • "Futures" • "Now and Then" • "Thanatos" • "Nemesis"
Starfleet Academy "Return to the Forbidden Planet" • "A Prelude to War"
Crew "Shadows of the Past" • "The Ends of Eternity"
other "All Those Years Ago..." • "To Walk the Night" • "Door in the Cage" • Alien Spotlight Alien Spotlight, Volume I (VulcansOrions) • Mirror Imagesm (1245) • Spock: Reflections, Issue 2Star Trek Movie Adaptationk (23456) • Captain's Log: PikeAftermath (123)
k : Kelvin timelinem : Mirror Universea : alternate reality

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[]

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