We start this issue off on QO’NOS the Klingon homeworld. Several Klingons stand around a table talking to April on a comm device. April tell them he has accepted that Phaedus IV belongs to the Klingon Empire, and in order to secure the safty f the innocent Phaedans he asks to be made the Colonial Governor reporting to the Imperial Command. When the Klingons ask why they would allow that, April says he would give them the Enterprise.

Back on the ship Kirk,Spock and Scotty are gathered in engineering. Scotty tells them that the energy field that hit them when they arrived was gone, but April’s program has them locked out of everything, and April controls it all from the bridge. Kirk suggests they take the bridge and Spock says ‘easier said than done’ in his Vulcan way, but agrees it’s the only way. With the aid of their tricorders Kirk and Spock attempt to get to the bridge by way of the Jefferies tubes.

April opens communication with Kirk to tell him he knows what he is doing and drops a blasting shield between him and Spock. They agree to keep trying to get to the bridge separately. April rambles on about Star Fleet as Kirk kicks his way through some panels to end up in 10 forward. where Uhura, Bones and several other crew members are trapped. Kirk tells everyone they ran into some glitches. Bones asks him if what he’s look at out the window was responsible.

Spock makes his way into a turbolift shaft as Scotty comes up with another solution: shut down the warp core. April begins his negotiations with the Klingon commander Kor when Scotty accomplishes his goal of “shutting off the Enterprise”. Kirk uses his badge comm to ask Scotty what’s going on and after he explains, Kirk tells him about the Klingon ship sitting outside.

Spock makes it to the bridge and hits April with a phaser on the lowest setting. April tells him he is trying to save an entire people and that the Enterprise was just one ship. Kirk gets on the bridge and shoots him again. The lights come back on and Kirk get the shields up and Spock gets them out of the area. Later in the brig Krik asks April what he was thinking, saying he could have started a war.

After talking to April Spock gives the Captain an update on the bridge crew and Mudd. Kirk says he is keeping her ship, as it may come in handy some day. He says he hates that they had to run from the Klingons. Spock says that would have started a war, and though Kirk agrees he thinks April was right. That they left the Phaedans to die and if Star Fleet wasn’t out there to prevent something like that from happening, then what are they out there for?

Spock meets up with Uhura and she asks him to promise her he won’t go running off again and he does.

Kirk radios Pike who informs him everything that happened is now classified information, and once he drops off April to forget about him. He tells him to proceed to the Nibin system per orders. “and Kirk, do your self a favor…remember who your real enemies are.”

The final page is set in London at the Star Fleet Data Archives where access is granted to a John Harrison……

Well that’s it folks, now you are prepared to go see the movie. I’m not sure how any of this is going to fit in because I haven’t seen it yet, but if you have already feel free to leave comments, thoughts, and complaints below, or head over to the Message Board of Doom! Also if you want to read these full comics for yourself click here to find a local comic book shop in your area!

I’d like to take a moment to apologize to all my British and Australian readers. I had originally planed to have this all done by the time the movie came out. I didn’t realize you guys were getting it a week and a day earlier than we here in the States. So I am going to try and get these last two done as quickly as I can without skipping over any necessary details. I hope to have the last one out on Monday. So anyway, here we go with part 3 of the Star Trek Countdown to Darkness series. Again, if you haven’t read part One or Two yet take the time to do so now otherwise lets get on with the show!

We open with Sulu and Hendroff tied up in one of the ‘Shadows’ tents. Sulu is upset that he was knocked out for the whole thing noting their captors had been given an evolutionary bump. Sulu manages to get one of his boots of to procure a knife. Hendroff mentions the numerous Star Fleet violations but Sulu tells him he had “special dispensation from the Captain to carry what ever I need.” Hendroff comments that a red shirt would never get away with that.

Back in the caverns Kirk tell April he’s going after Spock regardless of what April thinks (seeing as he lied to him about having Sulu and Hendroff.) April tries to explain his strategy when they are interrupted by one of his men.There is a new arrival on the planet and April tells Kirk he should wait before going after Spock.

Up on the surface Kirk and April greet an incoming shuttle. Mudd and Uhura come off it. Mudd tells April she has everything he asked for and more, but her shuttle is being held captive on the Enterprise. She then quickly introduces herself to Kirk, noting that she’s single! Kirk tells Uhura everything that has happened on the planet up to this point including Spock’s current situation.

Despite Mudd’s disapproval and April saying he can’t go with them Uhura and Kirk make a rescue run in the shuttle. Sulu and Hendroff now freed from their bindings are assessing their escape when the two guards out side the tent come flying in slamming into the poll, followed by Spock.

On the shuttle craft Uhura complains to Kirk about Spock and that this is the second time he unnecessarily risked his life (read Star Trek the Ongoing Series #3 and 4 for the first time). She tells him Spock is guided by his emotions, and hiding it under any logic that will fit. Kirk then asks her if he left her the conn, who has the bridge now?

Lens flairs are cannon

Spock, Sulu and Hendroff make it out of the camp but still end up being attacked by the ‘Shadows’ when the shuttle arrives to save them.

A while later everyone returns to the enterprise with Mudd and April where it is revealed that Klingons had been backing the ‘Shadows’ to help secure the planet as part of the Empire. When Kirk asks why April didn’t say that in the first place, he says he hoped that Kirk might help if he thought it was a simple civil war and not a proxy war for the planet.

After sending April and Mudd to sickbay to be double checked Spock and Kirk talk about what Spock did. Spock admits he was wrong and “put the needs of the few before the needs of the many”

April and Mudd head to the bridge and proceed to stun everyone there. Then April enters a code that gives him full reign of the ship., and shuts down access to the bridge. Spock and Kirk are told by April that he had a fail safe programed into the old Enterprise and he took a gamble that it got transferred to the new ship. They head to engineering. Neither Skotty or Spock can figure out the coding April used in his program. Kirk claims that if April attacks and army backed by Klingons he’ll start a galactic war.

 (Click here to read part 4)

If you liked this and want to know more about what Kirk and the crew have been up to since the last movie (including adventures that happened in Star Trek The Original Series but with the twist of the new timeline) head on over to the Message Board of Doom where we will be taking a look at the ongoing comic series one issue at a time, and you can tell us about your thoughts, hopes, and half baked ideas on the new timeline and what it means to the Star Trek Universe in general.