Review of "Star Trek the Early Voyages: The Battle On Rigel," number 3 in the series

 Review of

Star Trek the Early Voyages: The Battle On Rigel, number 3 in the series

Five out of five stars

 The crew of the pilot must battle to survive

 This story features the crew of the original Star Trek pilot, “The Cage,” where the Enterprise is lured to a planet where the remaining inhabitants have great mental powers of illusion, but little real capability to do anything else. The “Early Voyages” sequence of comic stories describes the adventures of the Enterprise under Captain Christopher Pike, with Number one as First Officer and Spock as another bridge officer.

 In this case, the Enterprise is on Rigel VII, supposedly to initiate deep contacts between the planet and the Federation, where Rigel VII will join the Federation. The society on Rigel VII was recently very warlike with the large and powerful Kaylar specifically bred to be the elite warrior class. When the story opens, the Kaylar are conducting the Festival of Light, which honors their code of battle.

 At first, things seem normal when suddenly, the Enterprise crewmembers on the ground are cut off and under deadly attack. Captain Pike is lured away from the others by a beautiful woman that is an aide to one of the high government officials. It is a trap, yet despite being much smaller than his opponent, Pike is able to defeat the Kaylar in a maneuver that Star Trek viewers will recognize. Once all is understood, the Rigellian application to join the Federation is denied, although what will happen next is not specified.  

 This story is very engaging, and in many ways quite realistic. Many of the episodes of all Star Trek series have as a premise that planets are eager to join the Federation. It was refreshing to read of an incident where there was strong and deadly opposition to their planet becoming a member of the Federation.