Bottalk Reviews

Second year cadet Picard interrupts a lecture on the Earth/Romulan War by Professor Galen to correct him... only to be corrected himself. after the lecture his friend Doqtis seemingly vanishes while Batanides asks if he is going to a party. Picard has no time for such things. later, Picard's rival drags him to the holodeck to replay the Battle of Cheron. the battle soon becomes a fistfight between the who but is interrupted by... Mr Spock. I appreciate the nods to Picard's past here. Galen and Batanides. Boothby. this is certainly a different Picard than the one we see in 'Tapestry'. this Picard is extremely focused and serious minded, no time at all for fun. i have a feeling Doqtis is Q, though i rather hope that isn't the case. Q need not be in every part of Picard's life. still, this is a fun little comic. six out of ten.

On Earth the Romulan Ambassador complains about the actions of Admiral Kirk. the Federation President orders Kirk and crew back to Earth ASAP. in private the President and Admiral Ubah realize they are now closer to war with the Romulans due to Kirk's actions. On the Enterprise a Romulan Bird of Prey decloaks and demands the return of their shuttle. Spock invites them to scan for it and they find nothing. later, the alternate Uhura knocks out Scotty and takes off in her shuttle. the alternate Uhura eventually locates the alternate Chekov. the Romulan ship easily destroys the ship but she is clinging to the surface of the Romulan ship in an EV suit. she fights he war through the ship. Back on the Enterprise, Spock determines that, with the weapon alternate Chekov gave the Romulans near completion, they must destroy the ship. Alternate Uhura going after alternate Chekov in order to save Chekov seems a bit out of character for what we know of her. again, i find the Romulan stuff to be

Worf and Sisko walk towards the Spire of Kahless and hash out some things. Worf admits he does not fully trust Sisko after all the time he spent with the Prophets. Worf tells him that if faced with saving existence or Sisko, he will choose existence. Meanwhile, Crusher and Sela witness Chancellor Martok in battle, taking out warriors before he finally falls himself. though hardly friends, Crusher manages to get Sela to assist her in trying to save Martok's life. Data and Lore also work together while Tom and B'Elanna continue to argue. upon completing their goal Data informs Lore he will make sure he is once again disassembled after the current conflict is over. It's nice seeing Spock and Scotty interact during this time period. the dialogue between Data and Lore flows naturally, especially on the final page. the opening pages with Sisko and Worf show us where each character is and though they share a common goal they are hardly on the same page. the Tom and B'

Captain Sisko interfaces with the Borg device in an attempt to prevent station data from reaching the Dominion. Doctor Bashir leaves Sisko to rescue Latinum. after a running fire fight Bashir convinces Latinum to jump towards him and through the flames. upon returning to the Captain they find him unconscious. he eventually wakes up and beams onboard the Defiant with the others. later, he tells Worf the device was damaged and to destroy it. no one should use it. Bashir makes a tiny change to Latinum which makes him no longer perfect, and therefore not valuable. This was the best issue of this mini. that said, it still felt a bit underwhelming. Sisko using Borg technology to save everyone and experiencing what Picard did should be more interesting than this. the whole story is basically 'What if DS9 had a dog?' i dunno. maybe because i'm a cat person. six out of seven.

The shuttle explodes, giving the prisoners a chance to escape.  the other Uhura confronts the other Chekov but is forced to abandon her revenge when the prime Chekov is injured.  with Kirk and Uhura still onboard the Romulan ship, the others make it back to Enterprise.  McCoy and Chapel begin operating on Chekov.  as Kirk and Uhura decide how to destroy the Orb it is beamed out.   Sometimes Uhura and other Uhura look very dissimilar.  same goes for Chekov.  it would be easy enough to tell them apart from hair styles and uniforms, but making them look so different is off putting.  i still find the other Uhura/Chekov story to be fairly uninteresting.   six out of ten.  

Sisko and Garak face the firing squad but the soldiers turn their weapons into the crowd, killing Damar's enemies.  as the Red Path bears down on Crusher and her group, Sisko arrives just in time to save them.  Sisko spies the Vorta head off and investigates.  he opens a canister that contains a Founder.  instead of embracing it, Vorta kills the Founder.  later, the Theseus returns to DS9 where the Orb is analyzed by various teams. The conclusion of the 'Trial' arc was good.  and a very Cardassian conclusion at that.  i do wish the Vorta's motives were a bit more tangible.  unleashing a captive Founder only to kill it is an interesting twist, and goes to show how some have changed after the war.  but it also feels somewhat disjointed.  seven out of ten

Sisko and Worf meet on Qo'Nos. the two crews do not get along. Kahless makes his speech and the Red Cult rises. Chancellor Martok calls for his arrest. the crews split up into teams to confront the various trouble spots brewing on the surface and in orbit. This is what the two ongoing books have been building to. there are at times jumps in the narrative. people shifting location. makes it a bit jarring at times. still, i do wonder where all this is going. how it will be resolved. how Lore and Sela will betray everyone. cause you know they will. i think some of the bickering between Tom and B'Elanna goes on for far too long. it just feels like manufactured drama.  seven out of ten.