IDWs flagship series, Star Trek, continues with an action-packed and mystery-filled fourth issue. Star Trek Issue #4 continues Benjamin Sisko’s mission. When we last left the newly returned Benjamin Sisko and the crew of the USS Theseus, they experienced a rambunctious encounter with Q. Now, per a special instruction from Q, Sisko must seek “…the God City of T’Kon”.
The T’Kon empire is an obscure bit of Star Trek lore. The T’Kon were an ancient species with an empire spanning the galaxy. They had highly advanced technology but were eventually wiped out by a supernova. They were mentioned in The Next Generation episode, “The Last Outpost”, in which the crew meets a surviving member of the species.
Data mention this very encounter in Star Trek Issue #4. The only other reference to them was in the Discovery episode, “Tera Firma Part 2”, in which news of their destruction was featured in a newspaper. For such an obscure species, it’s interesting to see them get a spotlight in this series.
Fathers and sons
Star Trek Issue #4 opens with a conversation between Sisko and his son, Jake. Jake travels aboard the Theseus but hasn’t had a scene with his father in quite some time. Sisko and Jake’s relationship was a central aspect of Deep Space Nine. It’s paramount that it continues to be explored here. Unfortunately, their conversation is painful and awkward. Sisko doesn’t know how to talk to his son. Sisko is too focused on his mission and out of touch with his humanity to connect with Jake. Hopefully, their new relationship will continue to be developed.
Something this issue does is harken back to classic “Treknobabble” or “fake technical language”. To find the homeworld of the T’Kon, Scotty, T’Lir, and Lily create an ingenious solution utilizing Kardashev Tachyons. The writers use in-universe logic to create a logic-based solution to the problem of finding the T’Kon. While it may not make sense to the reader, you believe these characters are working through a problem with science and engineering. They really put the “sci” in “sci-fi”.
Megastructures
When the Theseus finally arrives at the T’Kon homeworld, the world is actually a massive space station larger than the nearby planets. As the ship travels inside, the imagery evokes memories of the TNG episode “Relics”, in which the Enterprise finds a Dyson Sphere. Fitting since that is the episode which brought Scotty to the 24th century.
After discovering that a god-like super brain runs the T’Kon city, the crew detects a new ship entering their space, a Klingon Bird-of-Prey. And onboard it is none other than Kahless the Unforgettable. It is revealed that he is the source of the recent God killing based on a personal vendetta. Kahless feels that gods manipulate species for the worse and vows to end their control.
His argument is clear, but it’s not completely clear why Kahless is so angry at the gods. Despite being a clone, he was never personally wronged by them, and he is considered a god-like man.
The Words vs The Man
One interesting addition to Star Trek Issue #4 is Worf’s text of a personal log. We get insight into his personal feelings on the return of Kahless. He doubts they gave him power, despite not being the real Kahless. He sees differences in the new Kahless compared to the one of legend. But at the same time, it is the same man with the same memories. It is a complicated topic that Worf must grapple with. This is a great piece of world-building, as Kahless’ new reign has not been explored in Star Trek beyond the TNG episode in which he returned.
While not the most character-focused issue, Star Trek Issue #4 advanced the plot in meaningful ways and revealed the source of the mysterious god-killer. It ends on a cliffhanger, so the fate of the T’Kon city and the god-brain will be unknown until the next issue.
More From Trek Central
📰 – INTERVIEW: Star Trek: Picard Showrunner Talks Season 3!
🔥 – NEW Star Trek: Picard Clip Starts The Season 3 Plot
🔍️ – Explore Star Trek: Picard’s Stargazer
Join the Star Trek conversation via our social media platforms:
- Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/TrekCentral
- Instagram – https://instagram.com/TrekCentral
- Twitter – https://twitter.com/TheTrekCentral
- YouTube – https://youtube.com/TheTrekCentral
- Mastodon – https://mastodon.social/@TrekCentral@universeodon.com
- Discord – https://discord.gg/fF2heMbfW8
