War and Madness was a five-issue comic book story arc within the regular monthly TNG series from DC Comics. Published in 1995, it comprises issues #71-75 and involves Tholians, Gowron and the Liberated Borg.
Summary[]
When the Tholian Web Spinner-class starship Narqal destroys the USS Stockholm and assaults Federation colonies, Admiral Gregory Quinn dispatches the USS Enterprise-D along with Tholian military tactics expert Kyle Riker. When the Enterprise arrives at Beta Barania, three Tholian ships ensnare the starship with a constricting Tholian web. The first officer of the Narqal asks his commander to reconsider destroying the Enterprise, but is relieved of duty. As power levels on the Enterprise grow dangerously low, Geordi La Forge and Data find a blind spot in Tholian sensors, disable the flagship and escape from the web.
Tholians retreat at the arrival of four Klingon warships. Gowron explains that several Klingon outposts have also been destroyed, and he believes the Federation is responsible for starting a war with Tholia. The Enterprise comes to the defense of Starbase 180 and disables Narqal. First Officer Nethrax reveals that their attacks were made in retaliation for unprovoked attacks on Tholian outposts by a Klingon Bird-of-Prey, which Gowron identifies as the missing IKS Taj. Its last reported coordinates were near Ohniaka III, the world where Hugh and the Liberated Borg were last seen.
With Gowron's approval, Nethrax takes a skeleton crew along with William T. Riker, La Forge, Data and Kyle Riker into Tholian Assembly territory on a risky mission to track down and confront the Taj. Most of Nethrax's crew remain aboard the Enterprise for their own safety, along with their comatose commander.
Narqal locates the Taj and learns that its Klingon crew had died from radiation poisoning near a spacial anomaly. The vessel was then commandeered by Liberated Borg led by rebel Enab. To learn the secret behind the Tholian organic collective, he kidnapped and studied dozens of Tholians, only to leave his prisoners as mindless husks, because the Tholian collective had not existed for many years. Narqal disables the bird of prey and arrests its crew for trial in a Tholian court. Nethrax returns the Taj and the four Federation personnel to the Enterprise and retrieves its crew.
Creators[]
- Writer: Michael Jan Friedman
- Artists: Gordon Purcell, Terry Pallot
- Colorist: Rick Taylor
- Letter: Chris Eliopoulos
- Editor: Margaret Clark
Issues[]
- #71. Part 1 – "The First Casualty"
- #72. Part 2 – "A Handful of Dust"
- #73. Part 3 – "The Dying of the Light"
- #74. Part 4 – "Ceremony of Innocence"
- #75. Part 5 – "Cry Havoc"
Appendices[]
Images[]
Connections[]
| published order | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous comic: The Last Verse |
TNG comics | Next comic: Suspect |
| chronological order | ||
| Previous adventure: The Third Artifact The Brave and the Bold, Book Two |
Memory Beta Chronology | Next adventure: A Q to Swear By Strange New Worlds III |
External link[]
- War and Madness article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.