"Strategy" is a Star Trek: The Next Generation comic, the third 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 March 2007, with a reprint in the omnibus of the series in September of the same year. The story, set in 2370, features the USS Enterprise-D under attack from a mysterious hybrid drone ship, made from a combination of Federation, Romulan and Borg technology.
Description
- From solicitations
- In part three of IDW's all-new Star Trek: The Next Generation relaunch, the Enterprise is ambushed in an uncharted sector of space. Shields are down, weapons are off-line, and key personnel are wounded. The attacker remains unknown, flying a warship configured with engineering and technological specifications of Starfleet, Romulan and Borg vessels. Captain Jean-Luc Picard and his crew fight to find the right answers -- before they are all destroyed by the ultimate killing machine. To battle stations, for all-out action!
Summary
Worf enters the corridors of the Enterprise-D, greets a passing ensign and is thrown to the floor by a booming jolt to the ship. As the red alert klaxons wail Worf dashes to Deanna Troi's quarters, ignoring hails summoning him to the bridge; he finds the counselor sprawled on the floor with a wound to the head and calls for medical assistance.
The Enterprise under attack
Meanwhile in engineering, Geordi La Forge informs the captain warp engines are offline, with a minimum of six hours repair time. On the bridge Data announces sensors are back on-line, activating the viewscreen to display an unusually-configured vessel firing on the Enterprise. Jean-Luc Picard orders the ensign at tactical to fire.
Worf enters the bridge, told by Riker he is late, and takes his station, firing on the attacking vessel. The two ships face off above a planet in the Bandor system and as the Enterprise attempts to hail the attacker jumps to warp.
Later in the observation lounge the senior staff debriefs. Geordi informs them the last attack took out the sub-light engines and shields are holding at twenty-four percent, but if they push for more other systems may fail. Sensors are configured to detect the attacker if it returns. Worf announces weapons are online but communications are inoperable, leaving Commander Riker concerned the Enterprise is a sitting duck. Geordi's analysis of the ship notes Romulan, Federation and Borg components, leading Picard to ponder whether the vessel might have a cloaking device. He concludes Starfleet must be warned; the attack could indicate some sort of Romulan-Borg alliance. Data and Geordi suggest a class-9 probe could deliver the information to Starbase 122 in two days.
As the crew depart to get on with their assignments Picard calls Worf back, thanking him for his efforts in saving Troi but reprimanding him for not reporting to the bridge immediately as ordered.
In sickbay Riker inquires into Troi's condition; she was almost lost twice through massive internal hemorrhaging. As the counselor comes round she asks for Worf.
On the bridge Worf and Data discuss the details of the attack, noting the ship had been receiving subspace transmissions from an unknown source. As Riker returns to the bridge they have concluded the attack may have been targeted directly at Counselor Troi. The bridge rocks as the attacker returns; in sickbay Troi is woken.
As the two vessels battle Troi stumbles onto the bridge mumbling about the ship. Riker takes tactical whilst Worf beams with Troi back to sickbay. As Doctor Crusher treats Deanna the Betazoid warns Worf that she can sense no-one on the ship. On the bridge the crew digest that information; if the ship is remote controlled then disrupting its signal should disable it. Data suggests creating a inter-receptive network around the ship to block out the signals.
The aggressor caught in an inter-receptive network
The Enterprise uses the only engines it has left, the maneuvering thrusters, to move in close enough to precisely place the subspace beacons necessary to create the network. As the network forms the attacking ship powers its weapons, the Enterprise having just three percent shields remaining. As Data warns the Enterprise cannot survive another direct hit the aggressor explodes.
The Enterprise at a Starbase
Later, the Enterprise at a Starbase, Worf walks the corridors of the starship, a bunch of flowers in hand, and enters Deanna Troi's quarters to find her and Riker pillow fighting. He apologizes for the interruption but Riker reassures him the two were just recalling old times and reminds Troi the Ktarian chocolate puff he had delivered was Worf's idea, for which Worf receives an impassioned kiss from Troi. Riker bids them farewell, leaving for his own romantic endeavors.
In his ready room Picard and Data discuss the recent attack, Picard irritated at himself for concentrating on Romulan cloaking technology, not considering the race's history with remote controlled vessels. Data concludes the ship must have had a self destruct set to go off if it ever lost contact with its creators. Nothing like the vessel had been previously recorded by Starfleet, Picard concludes it had been designed specifically to destroy the Enterprise, he is concerned the enemy is unknown "and that will keep [him] looking over [his] shoulder for quite a long time".
References
Characters
- Beverly Crusher • Data • Karp • Geordi La Forge • Jean-Luc Picard • William T. Riker • Deanna Troi • Worf, son of Mogh
- Referenced only
- Sherlock Holmes
The Enterprise under attack in the Bandor system
Starships and vehicles
- USS Enterprise-D (Galaxy-class) • hybrid drone ship
- Referenced only
- Borg Cube • Romulan warbird
Locations
Races and cultures
States and organizations
Other references
- bridge • class-9 probe • cloaking device • disruptor nacelle • engineering • Epsilon theta 3 • flower • hemorrhage • honor • inter-receptive network • Ktarian chocolate puff • maneuvering thruster • warp nacelle • phaser • plasma burn • positronic brain • remote control • saucer section • self destruct • sensor • shields • shield frequency • sickbay • subspace beacon • subspace communication • warp core • warp engine • warp signature
Appendices
Related media
- An Inconvenient Truth (TNG comic) - Another of the hybrid starships featured in this issue can be seen in the background of the concluding issue of the miniseries. The vessel’s presence would seem to indicate the vessel was operated by a group of conspirators within Starfleet, though their motives for attacking the Enterprise are not revealed. It is also possible the conspirators procured the hybrid vessel from whoever else it was who had it attack the Enterprise.
- Romulan remote controlled vessels - This comic referred to the Romulans previously using remote controlled vessels, as seen in the ENT episodes: "Babel One", "United", "The Aenar" and novel The Good That Men Do.
- Borg-Romulan alliance - Whilst the origins of the mystery attacker are not revealed, the speculated alliance between the Borg and Romulans has been shown to have formed on other occasions; in the novel The Return and the video game Armada.
Background
- In addition to artwork by the series artist Casey Maloney some of the inking in this issue is done Aaron Leach.
- The stardate given for the Editor's Log on the letters page is 60550.3, which like previous editorial content would place it in 2383.
- Five of the ten advertising pages in this issue are devoted to promoting IDW's second miniseries Klingons: Blood Will Tell. A one page introduction is followed by an interview with the miniseries' writers Scott and David Tipton, and then a three page preview of the first issue.
- In the letters page of the fifth issue of the series, IDW editor Dan Taylor, in a response to correspondence by Memory Beta user 8of5, confirmed that the unnamed ensign Worf leaves sprawled on the floor at the beginning of this comic survived the incident "just fine".
Covers
- As with previous issues this comic is available in several different covers, however unlike previous issues, this issue had three rather than four covers available. Two standard covers were equally available; one by Jeremy Geddes and the other a photomontage. The third cover was an alternate photomontage with more limited availability as a retail incentive. Zach Howard did create a cover for this issue as he did for every other issue of the miniseries, however this issue's was not used.
Quotes
"Mr. Data, what is the most effective method of severing sub-space communications?"
"Several types of radiation-"
"The most effective, Data"
- - Picard getting Data to the point.
Images
Connections
| Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Space Between | |
|---|---|
| Issues | History Lesson • Captain's Pleasure • Strategy • Light of the Day • Space Seeds • An Inconvenient Truth |
| Creators | David Tischman • Casey Maloney • Leonard O'Grady • Robbie Robbins • Aaron Leach • Stacie Ponder • Neil Uyetake • Chris Mowry • Dan Taylor |
| Cover artists | Dennis Calero • Zach Howard • Jeremy Geddes • Thompson Knox • Ken Kelly • Joe Corroney |
Timeline
- This issue is set in season seven of the TV series.
| published order | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous comic: Captain's Pleasure |
TNG comics The Space Between |
Next comic: Light of the Day |
| Previous comic: Captain's Pleasure |
Comics by: David Tischman |
Next comic: Light of the Day |
| chronological order | ||
| Previous Adventure: Playing God |
Memory Beta Chronology | Next Adventure: Lapse |
| Previous Adventure: Light of the Day |
The Space Between (Chronological order) |
Next Adventure: Space Seeds Epilogue |
| Previous Adventure: Eye of the Beholder |
Voyages of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) |
Next Adventure: Genesis |
Publication history
- 30 March 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
- Strategy article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.