by Kevin Gaussoin, Editor-in-Chief
IDW continues to team up beloved Star Trek characters from The Original Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and beyond to tell stories that we didn’t realize we’ve been aching for (maybe for decades).
This week, we can momentarily set aside the multiverse spanning epic by Kelly and Lanzing, and instead Christopher Cantwell can talk about Star Trek: Defiant things more close to home. Or he could if B’Lanna would have followed Worf’s orders!
Official Description:
Alexander’s cha’DIch Worf has tasked him with a near-impossible task for his Errand of Valor: rescue the workers rebelling against a deuterium mega-power, Archanis Inter-Corporate. He must fight selflessly in the name of the helpless…even if it costs him his life. If that weren’t enough of a challenge, a face from Alexander’s bloody past appears to test where his heart truly lies. Meanwhile, in the minefield of the Alpha Quadrant, Ro, B’Elanna, and O’Brien find themselves in a stalemate between the Cardassians and Section 31 that could end explosively.
After the events of “The Stars of Home” which concluded in Star Trek: Defiant #21, Worf ordered B’Elanna Torres to take command of the Defiant and bring the crew home before finally turning the ship over to Kyra Nerys at Deep Space Nine. Well that didn’t happen. Chief O’Brien asks B’Elanna to stop off and destroy some of those self-replicating mines, as they are blockading off planets that need interplanetary trade to survive. Miles dug deep into acting Captain Torres’ empathy and basically asked her what Janeway would do, so of course: side mission.
On the other hand, Worf, Martok, and our troubled li’l Klingon Alexander are in the middle of Alexander’s quest to regain his honor after becoming a murderous bastard during the “Day of Blood” storyline. The first of three errands, that of punishment, was completed last issue. Next, Alexander must complete “The Errand of Valor” where “a warrior must commit a selfless act in the name of the helpless.”
Considering our current real world mess, I have to say I’m thrilled to see that even Klingons can show compassion for those who have been abused by the corporate masters that control a whole planet and don’t mind killing their employees. Perhaps one day soon the warlike among us will also put a stop to the greed of the few, but until then? We have Star Trek.
As per usual, this iteration of IDW’s ‘Trek team is ideally assembled. Editor Heather Antos once again employs perpetual maybe-misnomer Christopher Cantwell to sing us Star Trek fans yet another sequential-art song of our heroes’ epic tale of epic epicness. Of course she also assigns awesome artist Ángel Unzueta, complementary colorist Marissa Louise and lauded letterer Clayton Cowles to deliver the visual phasers on stunning, right into our eye-holes. I’ve said this before, and I’ll continue to remind you guys: when you’re publishing comics about established characters, it better be believable. Thankfully, this team continues to make us, the fans, see and hear the characters we know and love. In these untapped episodes, IDW expands the Star Trek multiverse with more stories about our favorite characters.
…Except when we’re talking about what’s literally going on in the other Star Trek book. Without giving you too much Lore, I’ll just advise you to read that series as well.
Next issue? The Errand of Vengeance! See you here.
Rating: 
ComicsOnline gives Star Trek: Defiant #23 4 out of 5 Rites of Quv.
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