BotTalk Reviews

Through the ages Sisko attempts to find a way back.  He shifts the entire society of Bajor into orbit, into the caste system, into trying to reconstruct the Wormhole.  He sees Jake... or does he.  Finally, in a small ship he enters the Wormhole and confronts his Mother.  He has past their final test and can remain... but, in their roundabout logic, they tell him they can not bring back that which does not exist.  The reality he once knew does not exist.  Will not exist.  Refusing to accept this he breaks the Celestial Temple and leaves it to Kahless to continue his work... I don't know exactly what I was expecting... but it wasn't this.  Sisko's single minded determination to bring back his crew bends the entire planet of Bajor to his will.  We've seen him refuse to give up before but even with reality on the line this seems a bit much.  The confrontation with his mother has been long expected and we get a bit of it here.  But then...

And now the conclusion! In order to keep the USS Cerritos in one piece engineering concocts a way to use the engines to use a warp bubble to survive inside the proto universe. Unfortunately that universe is home to an energy being called koj, which inhabits Sam Rutherford and D'Vana Tendi and talks like some kind of influencer and Rutherford and Tendi are placed inside the ships computer which has a slight 4th wall break of them being floating digital heads in the computer interface. Eventually they all solve the crisis and stop the proto universe from expanding. This works, this entire story works, it shouldn’t but because this is Lower Decks it works, the influencer energy being, the talking heads in the computer, even the ending works in a very Star Trek way that shouldn’t. Yet here we are. The energy being decides on a solution that saves the universe even while our Starfleet heroes keep trying to find a Star Trek like answer that makes everyone happy and sometimes that just ca...

Worf takes Alexander to the Archanis Sector.  There he encounters Martok and the two get into a fight.  It is part of his challenge, a part he passes in standing up to the Klingon High Chancellor.  Meanwhile, on the Defiant, O'Brien is taken hostage by a Cardassian but he manages to escape.  Later, Worf, Martok and Alexander engage in a brief battle and free the prisoners who were scheduled for execution.  Alexander challenges and defeats the overlord.  Proud of him for coming thus far, Worf tells Alexander his final test will be to face Kahless.   This is a perfectly fine issue.  Fine.  But predictable.  Alexander overcomes all his obstacles with help from his father and Martok.  I expect nothing less, but I somehow expected more.  Something more spiritual perhaps.  Maybe that will prove to be the basis of the final challenge?  The Defiant interlude, though, does little to advance its story.  With a Cardassian t...

Sisko arrives on ancient Bajor.  Eventually he is taken in and learns the language.  And over the course of years becomes a respected advisor and a source of fear as well.  He is a source of wisdom and tries to guide the Bajorans and begins to see things, perhaps, as the Prophets see them.   This is an interesting issue.  I have to say I'm not crazy about the idea of Sisko having such an effect on the history of Bajor. You could say that time is a circle to the Prophets and Sisko, so it ends at the beginning and begins at the end.  And I usually enjoy such storytelling.  But I'm not especially crazy about it here.  We'll see where this goes as the story continues.   six out of ten.

The USS Cerritos has had a successful second contact with a pulp sci-fi civilization that was easily handled by all involved, though later Beckett Mariner muses on their very subservient robots… Meanwhile in another sector!  A metastability bubble has expanded and consumed a whole star cluster! It contains a small universe that would throw our universe into unstable chaos and death! The Cerritos rushes in to try and save the universe while the rest of Starfleet is on its way to do more with bigger more advanced starships! Great issue, just great, it could’ve fit in the fifth season easily, the story takes place not long after the first episode, as evidenced by Sam Rutherford ruminating on his alternate self who was a full cyborg and we now see him lightly contemplating if he should do that as that’d make him an even more efficient engineer. One thing I liked about the show, and they do this here, is when the story includes more than just the lower deckers, and in fact shows them a...

As B'Elanna Torres grapples with her new position as Captain of the Defiant, O'Brien approaches her about destroying the self-replicating mines he created several years ago.  Meanwhile, Worf strips his son of his honor and sets him on a course to restore it.  He must complete three tasks.  He faces a member of the house of Martok and his aunt, defending their attacks but unable to retaliate as part of the ritual.  The Defiant begins to destroy the mines over Karemma when a Section 31 ship intervenes.   I appreciate this book coming back to Alexander and trying to undo some of the damage done to his character during the Day of Blood event. Of course, he must undertake a complicated Klingon ritual to restore his honor.  Karemma is a planet we've seen before on DS9.  The Defiant story I'm curious to see where it takes us.  The self-replicating mines have been on O'Brien's mind since his introduction in this book.  It is something I still take i...

Sisko is called to the bridge.  Although the crew arrived in their proper universe nothing remains.  Only a black void... except for the Bajoran Wormhole.  At the very edge of what used to be the Milky Way Galaxy it remains.  Using the last of their failing Dilithium Crystals they set course.  En route, Sisko serves up a lavish meal for the senior staff.  Much later, the Theseus enters the Wormhole... and Sisko seemingly arrives on ancient Bajor. At the end of the universe the crew is, oddly enough, given some much needed down time.  Some drink and think of better times.  Sparks of love ignite.  Miral chases Spot around.  Sisko and Crusher discuss what it is like to lose the love of their life.  You could say little happens in this issue.  And in a sense, you would be correct.  But I very much enjoyed this issue.  As I said, it is much needed.  Though the Kelvin crossover was fun it is nice to see the crew inter...

Where the first issue was a successful swing for the fences this one is… A bunt.   This issue picks up with immediately showing us what happened to the lower decks cast: The Excalbians have returned from TOS’ episode The Savage Curtain to once again kidnap four starfleet officers and have them deal with manifestations of their heroes for entertainment and learning. Only this time they face manifestations of favorite past trek characters (Boimler’s choice of Picard is funny) who all immediately turn into violent and conniving versions of themselves (Kathryn Janeway wanting to separate everyone’s dna ala Tuvix was a nice use of the overplayed Tuvix trope… Janeway did the right thing, get over it!) I’m one of those Trekkies who wants Star Trek episodes that go back to worlds and aliens from the past and I love when that happens, but Excalbians seems like an odd choice, the TOS episode intro’ing them wasn’t great and never left me wanting to revisit the Excalbians, and this one really ...

Chekov's Challenge by Walter Koenig and Chris Mcauley In the aftermath of The Wrath of Khan the Enterprise is attacked by Orion Pirates.  During the space battle the Enterprise is boarded and the Orions intend to raid the ship and then destroy it by placing explosives on the Warp Core.  Chekov and his security team manage to defeat the invaders while Sulu performs a daring maneuver that overcomes and destroys the Orion Pirates.    As a story this is... fine.  It adds very little in my opinion.  We get the sense Chekov is in a state of shock, not only from the death of Spock but from his experiences with Khan.  Placing the story between Star Trek II and III is interesting.  There is a very small amount of time one could just about wedge a small story.  There are a few references sprinkled in the story but as a story written by Chekov himself I expected something more substantial.  I think I would have liked it better if you removed the sp...

Sela breaks her shackles and attacks her father.  She eventually gets a knife in the back as Spock simply observes.  With Sela seemingly down, her father turns his attention to Spock, only for Sela to deliver the killing blow to her own father.  Spock is allowed to leave in peace and later Sela sends a message to all Romulan forces naming a new Praetor.  Later, Worf turns command of the Defiant over to B'Elanna Torres, saying he has been called away.  Some time later Spock and Worf have a discussion and Alexander appears saying that he is ready to reclaim his honor. A lot going on this issue.  We see Spock placed in a position that will lead him to the opening moments of the first Abrams film.  Sela, instead of proclaiming herself Praetor, simply gives that power to another.  Her evolution over this series has been very interesting.  I will say that the inclusion of O'Brien and Julian still feels like an afterthought.  While it was fun t...

The Kelvin Universe Enterprise crew and the Defiant crew get to know each other. Spock... the Prime Spock, warned Kirk about certain future events, hence why the Enterprise was waiting for Sisko and crew.  Eventually, Kirk and Sisko approach Starfleet about working together to stop the reality shockwave unleashed by Lore.  Starfleet agrees and a large fleet of ships is gathered.  The assembled fleet is useless though, as the shockwave hits and annihilates everything.  The Enterprise and Defiant manage to survive, though the Enterprise is eventually overtaken by the shockwave as Defiant escapes. The Defiant has returned to its own time/space continuum but everything is gone.  No stars, no life signs, only the black void of space. Lots of nice moments in this issue.  The Enterprise and Defiant crews geek out over each other and compare notes.  0718, a very underutilized character from the Kelvin films, takes it upon himself to build Data a new body. ...

Lower decks 1. Opens with single panels following a boring and uneventful round of episodic non-adventures with each panel having its own episode title (Cerritos Factor sounds like a novel title btw). Each panel shows Mariner's annoyance at such easy mundane work, and as the lower decks cast is about to unwind on the holodeck, they’re called to the bridge where we find the U.S.S. Bonaventure lost in space since the 23rd century. An away team beams aboard the derelict ship, powers it up and learns the Enterprise under Kirk’s command had found the ship in the odd space anomaly, and the Bonaventure’s crew eventually escaped the time trap that was a pocket in the garment of time. However the ship is abandoned and powered down until the Cerritos away team powers it back up and learns from the ships logs that the crew had copied Kirk and Spock’s solution to breaking free and got out. Billups, Rutherford, and T’ana get the engines working again but some unknown cause causes the ship to ju...

Julian tries to talk Chief O'Brien out of helping Worf and his crew.  Meanwhile, the Romulan ground forces beam down and eventually surround Worf.  In space, B'Elanna Torres is about to sacrifice herself when the Defiant shows up.  Worf continues his battle with the Romulan ground forces commander until he is shot and killed by B'Elanna.  The Romulan Praetor Neral is killed by one of the Antarans Worf trained.  In Romulan Space, Spock is confronted by Sela's father.  He executes the scientist who knew of the instability in the Romulan sun and then aims his disruptor at his daughter.   This is, I think, the first time Miles O'Brien goes into detail about his experiences during Setlik III.  It has been brought up multiple times in TNG and DS9 and is a key piece of his backstory.  This issue feels very messy though.  A lot of jumping around to different POVs.  Which, is to be expected I suppose.  This is the culmination of several...

Tom Paris warns Sisko of Species 8472, even providing the Captain with a log entry from Kathryn Janeway where she doubts the peace she once made with said species.  later, T'Lir mentally hears the screams of 8472 as they approach.  They invade the ship with intentions of taking it out of their realm.  Fluidic Space is boiling, thanks to the destructive shockwave Lore unleashed.  Using the Mycelial Network they manage to escape, though as a result they are displaced 120 years in time.  They are then confronted by the Enterprise A... of the Kelvin Universe. I've always been interested in Species 8472 since their debut.  I have to say seeing them here is kind of a letdown.  I thought it was a mistake for Voyager to make peace with them, and somewhat expected this issue to be an all out battle.  Not so much.  Having the issue focus on Tom, for the most part, was nice.  Sometimes characters get lost in the mix of this comic.  It happens ...

The Pleroma explodes with the USS Theseus barely managing to stay ahead of the shockwave.  Dr. Beverly Crusher, still in command, directs Tom to fly through the Guardian of Forever.  As the ship begins to break apart from the strain T'Lir uses his powers to restore shields.  Meanwhile, Benjamin Sisko speaks to his mother.  He attempts to use his 'Prophet' abilities to lead the ship to safety.  The Theseus emerges... in fluidic space.   A lot going on in this issue, what with the universe seeming to crumble around our crew.  This is the second time (that I'm aware of at least) we've seen a ship fly through the Guardian of Forever, the first was a TOS shuttle in a fan film.  Again, I'll say I wish Scotty had more to do.  At times it feels like TOS characters like Scotty and Spock in Defiant have little to do but serve a specific function.  After all this back and forth I do wonder where exactly Sisko will end up.  Will he return with...

On the edge of the Neutral Zone the Defiant is pulled out of warp by a small shuttle.  The pilot is Dr. Julian Bashir.  He asks that Miles O'Brien not get involved in the Romulan matter... a request that comes directly from Section 31.  In prison Spock learns how the Romulans destabilized their star in a failed cloaking experiment.  Spock is saved from the Romulan guards by Sela, they attempt to escape together but are caught by her father's forces.    After all these years we finally know what caused the supernova that destroyed Romulus.  The Romulans, in an attempt to cloak their entire solar system during the Dominion War, accidentally destabilized it.  A secret which has been kept secret.  It is nice to see Ro Laren and B'Elanna Torres working together.  After so many issues of their bickering they work well together.  The interaction between O'Brien and Julian was very brief this issue, brief and somewhat tense.  I hope we...

Our first story is told from the perspective of a Tribble during the episodes The Trouble with Tribbles (Star Trek: The Original Series: Season 2, Ep 15) and Trials and Tribble-ations (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Season 5, Ep 6).  It is... extremely silly but also fun at the same time.  Our second story is from Strange New Worlds and has La'an Noonien-Singh dealing with her feelings for Kirk after the episode Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow (Strange New Worlds: Season 2, Ep 3).  She talks with his brother Sam at great length.  It is fine but it doesn't really add any anything in the end.  It feels like a rehash of things we've already seen.  Our third story is set in the future of Discovery.  Michael Burnham brings a lost girl back to her mother.  Simple as that.   Our next story is set during season seven of Deep Space Nine and features Quark's dog Latinum playing baseball with the senior staff.  It is also silly and fun.  The ...

In a Romulan prison Spock is held by Sela and given the task of discovering why her father overthrew the Praetor.  Meanwhile, O'Brien leaves Keiko and sets out to find Worf.  Worf, Ro Laren and B'Elanna Torres work to fortify their position and protect the indigenous population from the oncoming Romulan attack.  They discover a couple of hundred year old Hirogen ships.  In space, O'Brien finds the Defiant but is currently occupied by Kzinti scavengers.  After a short scuffle Miles forces the Kzinti to depart and assumes command of the Defiant. I have to say I'm a bit more interested in Miles than Worf and his crew playing Seven Samurai... or three samurai I suppose.  The Romulan coup continues to be the central driving force.  Once again we get some veiled reference to the oncoming supernova that will eventually destroy Romulus.  This was never fully explained and it seems we may finally get an explanation in a future issue.  Said it before b...

Lore confronts the Pleroma and in the process kills Charles Evans.  He has a bomb that can tear the Pleroma, and the rest of the universe, apart and he wants only one thing... for Sisko to give Lore his position as Emissary.  As Lore and Sisko verbally fight one another T'Lir and Sato infiltrate Lore's Bird of Prey.  They manage to escape with Data's head.  Back in the Pleroma, after making no progress with the higher beings nor Sisko, Lore activates the bomb and the universe begins to tear itself apart as the Theseus speeds away.   There is a lot going on in this issue.  The verbal confrontations between Sisko and Lore, and Sisko and his mother are the big scenes here.  Though with all the super powered, 'higher' beings you'd think there would be more of a confrontation.  But other than Charlie attempting to confront Lore, there are no fireworks here.  It gives the higher beings the sense of being above even this situation, but the double ed...