Synopsis: The Epsilon Corridor is Seven of Nine’s destination after her crew rescues a group of Romulans known as the Revalans. Their orders are to relocate the refugees to one of three Class M worlds beyond it. But little is known about the region, where five years pass in known space for every year spent in the corridor.
The Story
Set a few years after the events of Picard season three, this new Star Trek comic finds Seven of Nine well into her command of the Enterprise-G. Raffi Musiker has departed to take command of her own ship, while Jack Crusher and Sidney La Forge remain at their posts.
Several new officers have joined the crew. Dr Alexander Rozhenko is the chief medical officer, and Lily Sato, an Andorian descended from Star Trek: Enterprise linguist Hoshi Sato, handles communications. Bajoran tactical and security officer Keer Durok has deep-seated issues with the Borg and former drones. The ship’s chief engineer, Terimar, is a Romulan who survived the destruction of her homeworld. There is also Rya, a special counsellor whose Starfleet service record contains large redacted sections. Rounding out the crew is the new first officer, Commander Atticus Cassady: an enigmatic former archivist from the Astral Archive who spends much of this first mission caught up in his own tactical analysis.
The story opens with the Enterprise rescuing more than a thousand Revalans from three occupied planets. An offshoot of the Romulans, the Revalans have devoted themselves to art and creativity, particularly ancient Romulan art forms. Barely has the rescue been completed when Admiral Janeway summons Seven with new orders: explore the unknown region beyond the Epsilon Corridor and, if possible, settle the refugees on one of three Class M worlds detected by Starfleet probes.
There is a complication. Time moves differently within the Epsilon Corridor: for every year spent there, five years pass in known space. Starfleet does not know whether the effect is natural or caused by some kind of device, and hopes Seven’s crew can find out. The issue closes just as the Enterprise enters the Epsilon Corridor and discovers that it may be far stranger than Starfleet’s reports suggested. Worse still, someone is watching them.
Artwork
Dennis Menheere, who also provided the art for Star Trek: The Last Starship, gives this comic a somewhat psychedelic feel. My first reaction was, “Huh!” That isn’t necessarily a bad thing; it just means I may need to adjust my expectations, and I suspect the style will grow on me. Menheere does a solid job of capturing the characters’ likenesses while bringing his own style to them, which, as someone who dabbles in art, I can tell you is no easy task. I’m looking forward to seeing how he brings the spatial anomalies of the Epsilon Corridor to life as the story unfolds.
Overall
This is a promising start. The Epsilon Corridor reminds me of the Enterprise NX-01’s introduction to the Delphic Expanse: both are full of anomalies, although the Expanse didn’t have a time distortion that meant five years passed in the Alpha Quadrant for every year spent inside it.
Seven’s new crew should make for some interesting drama as we get to know them, although readers of the previous Star Trek comics will already be familiar with Lily Sato. Adding to the intrigue is the mysterious alien watching the Enterprise, whom we glimpse at the end of the issue. The message they send to someone called the Archon has already got me wondering who that is and what they want with Seven’s crew.
- Covers9.4
- Story9.1
- Artwork9.8
- Lettering9.4
- Colours9.8
