Star Trek: Vanguard
Vanguard
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Overview[]
Star Trek: Vanguard provides a greatly expanded look at the geopolitical and cultural context to the events of theStar Trek: The Original Series. Set on a starbase in theTaurus Reach, a region outside Federation space and tucked betweenKlingon andTholian space, the series, in setting itself upon a centralized space station with ambassadorial, legal, and colonizing purposes, purposefully avoids traditional depictions of Starfleet and the Federation to examine the bigger picture of the events of theTOS era.
The series follows the life ofVanguard, under command of a flag officer,CommodoreDiego Reyes. Filled with an ensemble of characters, the series focuses also on unusual Federation characters, such as aRigellian Chelon ambassador,Jetanien, aStarfleet Intelligence mandarin,T'Prynn, a Federation journalist,Tim Pennington, aJAG officer,Rana Desai and anArchaeology and anthropology officer,Ming Xiong.
TheUSS Sagittarius and theIKS Zin'za
The station is supported by three starships, theConstitution-classUSSEndeavour, theMiranda-classUSSBombay, and theArcher-class scout shipUSSSagittarius. Though each is central to the series, and are filled with perhaps characters more familiar to traditionalStar Trek narratives (captains, first officers, science officers, chief medical officers, engineers, etc.), the authors of the series ensure each ship's distinctiveness from one another and from other, more familiar, Starfleet vessels.
The setting ofVanguard during the events ofThe Original Series and between Klingon and Tholian space also ensures that the series concentrates on examining these two states during the 2260s. The earlier careers of important figures such asGorkon andChang are examined, the vying statues of "ridged" and "smooth"-headed Klingons, and the events leading to and surrounding the briefFederation-Klingon War of 2267 ended by theOrganian Peace Treaty. The Tholians are depicted in great detail, proving a history to the events ofTOSepisode: "The Tholian Web", which is placed within the context ofVanguard's operations. The emergence of theRomulan Star Empire from its century of isolation is explored, as well as how the Klingon-Romulan alliance of the 2260s occurred. Finally the origins of the failed "Planet of Galactic Peace" seen inStar Trek V: The Final Frontier,Nimbus III, are explored also.
As the hub of a massive colonization effort, Vanguard Station is populated by a number of civilian inhabitants and ships. One person is a colorful trader and smuggler,Cervantes Quinn, in the same vein ofCyrano Jones. At the beginning of the series, he is beholden to another civilian resident of the station, theOrion merchant-princeGanz. The relationship of these two to the intelligence and espionage apparatus of Starfleet and the Klingon Empire proves central to the series's narrative. Characters are revealed to be, likeArne Darvin in "The Trouble with Tribbles," surgically-altered Klingon spies, and the ruthless efforts taken both by the more militaristic Starfleet of the TOS-era and the other interstellar powers add furtherrealpolitik to the series.
The central mystery of the series, and the secret reason for the Federation push into the Taurus Reach, is a massive genetic mystery, theShedaiMeta-genome. As the series continues, its connection to a powerful and violent ancient threat becomes clearer, as well as this threat's relationship to the origins and emergence of the Tholian species. The scientific successes and failures of theGenesis Device are given foundation in the exploration of the meta-genome in the series, with the 2260sCarol Marcus explored, a civilian scientist imposed by theFederation Council to limit militaristic excesses.
Summary[]
The events ofVanguard commence in 2263 when the USSConstellation discovers on a scan of theTaurus Reach a complex and unknown genetic marker. Unable to spare the resources to study the finding,CommodoreMatthew Decker sends the information toStarfleet Command.
Two years later, after the return of theUSSEnterprise from thegalactic barrier and the transformation ofGary Mitchell andElizabeth Dehner into superbeings, the damaged ship expects to take several months to reachFederation space. Instead, it finds in the Taurus Reach a fully operatingstarbase, numbered 47 and calledVanguard.
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Characters[]
For a complete list of characters, seecharacters inStar Trek: Vanguard.
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Related media[]
- SCEeBook:Distant Early Warning (2006)
- The Black Flag byJames Swallow (Shards and Shadows, 2009)
- In Tempest's Wake byDayton Ward (2012, eBook-exclusive epilogue to Star Trek: Vanguard)
Connections[]
External links[]
- Star Trek: Vanguard article atMemory Alpha, the wiki for canonStar Trek.
- Star Trek: Vanguard article atWikipedia, the free encyclopedia.