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The Fear

"The Fear" is the second story in the sixth issue of the Waypoint miniseries, published in 2017 by IDW Publishing in honor of Star Trek's 50th anniversary. The story is set in the Phase II continuity, an alternate version of Captain Kirk's second five-year mission in which the USS Enterprise was refitted into a different configuration than seen in TOS movie: The Motion Picture.

In this story, a cloaked Romulan scout ship crashed into the Enterprise.

Description

...Captain Kirk must come to the aid of a Romulan ship that's been attacked, but nothing can prepare for the horrible secret lurking its corridors. Dare you face these mortifying monstrosities? We sure do hope so!

Summary

Way6-Fear-Scout
Scout ship

Crewman Bukhari is thrown off his bunk by a jarring impact, and a thundering boom reverberates through his room. He steps into a hallway full of dust and smoke, as a strange shadowy form approaches him. On the bridge, Decker reports that a Romulan scout ship has crashed through the hull into the recreation deck and had wiped out the ship's internal sensors. Scott said shields held the Romulan ship in place to keep the Enterprise's hull from venting atmosphere.

In the rec room, McCoy reports nine dead and 11 wounded. Xon notes a Romulan blood splatter where none should be. With a security team, Chekov leads the way through dripping blood into the wrecked scout ship to find all but two Romulans dead. In sickbay, Kirk questions the two survivors, ship's commander Celsus and Technical Officer Plin. They warn that a monster had gotten aboard their ship, had escaped to the Enterprise, and needed to be vaporized. Xon suggests investigating ways to capture the animal, but Kirk overrules him out of concern for the crew. With internal sensors down, they set about conducting manual searches.

Way6-Fear-Warbirds
Romulan warbirds

Three Romulan ships await silently on their side of the Romulan Neutral Zone. McCoy reports that all of the crew injuries in the rec room were from the impact of the crash, none from an animal. Meanwhile, Plin, Xon and two security officers search down a hallway. Upon realizing that crewman Bukhari was unaccounted for, they proceed into his quarters. There, Xon finds Bukhari behind his bunk, pointing to an alien in the corner. The two security officers suddenly drop their weapons in terror, and Plin grabs a phaser. Before she can fire at the creature, Xon disarms her, then asks Kirk to keep the crew away from the area.

Way6-Fear-Tengku-mal
Tengku-mal

Waiting down the hall, Kirk reminds McCoy that he'd advised giving Xon a chance. Xon emerges from Bukhari's quarters after a mind meld. He explains that the creature was an intelligent species of Tengku-mal which the Romulans had been forcibly breeding as weapons. Tengku-mal communicate through pheromones, but they unintentionally triggered reactions of fear in humanoids. It had harmed only the Romulans, out of self-defense, and requests asylum.

Captain's log.
The Tengku-mal has been granted provisional asylum and we've assigned it temporary quarters...with self-regulating air. Per treaty, we are impounding the Romulan ship as the Federation Council investigates the Tengku-mal situation. On this news, the Romulan warbirds retreated from the Neutral Zone.
Unfortunately, the Romulan officers were soon after found deceased. Time-release subdermal poison. A spy's way out. If it weren't for the fully Vulcan discipline of my new science officer we may have never seen this outcome. Even Spock's human side may have been overwhelmed by the fear. I guess I should just remember to listen to my doctor.

References

Characters

BukhariCelsusChristine ChapelPavel ChekovWillard DeckerIliaJames T. KirkLeonard McCoyPlinMontgomery ScottHikaru SuluXonunnamed USS Enterprise personnel (2270s and 2280s) (security officers)
Referenced only
Spock

Starships and vehicles

USS Enterprise (Jefferies-class heavy cruiser) • Romulan scout shipRomulan warbird

Locations

Romulan Neutral Zone

Races and cultures

HumanRomulanTengku-malVulcan

States and organizations

Federation CouncilRomulan Star EmpireUnited Federation of Planets

Science and technology

cloaking deviceinternal sensormedical tricordermedscannerpalm lightphaserpoisontricorder

Ranks and titles

captaincommanderdoctorexecutive officerrefugeespytechnical officerXO

Other references

assignment patchasylumbridgecaptain's logcaptain's log, USS Enterprise, 2273cargo baycorridorcrew cabinlog entrymind meldpheromoneplanetary surveysection 27sickbayStarfleet uniformtreaty

Appendices

Related media

Background

Images

Connections

Star Trek: Waypoint Comics
#1 ("Puzzles" & "Daylily") • #2 ("The Menace of the Mechanitrons" & "Legacy") • #3 ("The Wildman Maneuver" & "Mother's Walk") • #4 ("The Fragile Beauty of Loyalty" & "Mirror, Mirror, Mirror, Mirror") • #5 ("Frontier Doctor" & "Come Away, Child") • #6 ("The Rebound Effect" & "The Fear") • Special ("Only You Can Save Yourself" & "Consider Eternity" & "My Human is Not" & "Histories") • Special 2019 ("Hearts & Bones" & "Unfathom" & "The Swift Spoke" & "The First Year")

Timeline

published order
Previous comic:
The Rebound Effect
Waypoint Next comic:
Only You Can Save Yourself
Previous comic:
The Rebound Effect
TOS comics (Waypoint) Next comic:
Consider Eternity
Previous comic:
The Rebound Effect
TOS comics Next comic:
All the Ages Frozen
Previous story:
In Thy Image
Phase II stories Next story:
Tomorrow and the Stars
chronological order
Previous adventure:
Starlight, Starfright
Memory Beta Chronology Next adventure:
Legacy
Mission: At the Gates
Previous comic:
Starlight, Starfright
Continuing voyages of the USS Enterprise Next comic:
Legacy
Mission: At the Gates

External links

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