Mission's End, Issue 5

"Mission's End, Issue 5" is the fifth and final issue of the Star Trek: The Original Series comic book miniseries Mission's End, published by IDW Publishing in 2009. It was written by Ty Templeton with art by Stephen Molnar. The issues brings to a conclusion the story of Archernar IV, the conflict between the Archernarians and the Crawlers, and the fate of the Heart of God. The events at Archernar also act as a catalyst in the life decisions of James T. Kirk, Spock and Leonard McCoy, with the three departing the Enterprise at the end of its five-year mission to take on the roles they appear in at the start of TOS movie, novelization & comic adaptation: The Motion Picture.

Description[]

The curtain comes down on the original five-year mission. Who will survive the Archernarian civil war? What finally drives Spock and McCoy out of Starfleet? And what happens when you take the most powerful weapon in the known universe... and actually set it off? Join Captain Kirk and the crew for the final mission of the USS Enterprise.

Summary[]

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Log entries[]

Captain's log, Stardate 6011.7.: Everything has gone wrong with the diplomatic posting to Archernar IV — even before the mission was conceived. The two sentient races here — the spiders and the crawlers — are engaged in a religious war over who should possess the "Heart of God" — the indigenous name for an engine of nearly limitless power that runs this artificial world. Hours ago, a section of the Heart of God was removed by crawlers and stolen away. The missing section must be replaced within 90 minutes or the high levels of quadraphasic energy now being emitted from the generator will break down all molecular matter in a three billion cubic kilometer area. Because the crisis is the result of a civil war, the Prime Directive gave us no choice but to abandon the planet and let the locals sort it out. Regardless of the outcome.

My concern right now is Doctor McCoy, and four other members of my crew still missing in the planet's jungle regions... eleven Starfleet officers have already died on this mission. We're not losing Doctor McCoy. The quadraphasic breakdown is stronger here than anywhere else. One thought keeps repeating in my mind. I've been in worse places... and gotten out alive.

Ship's log stardate 6017.9, Lt. Commander Scott, acting captain.: Enterprise had nearly completed the evacuation of Archernar IV, when we found ourselves surrounded by a fleet of Orion interceptors summoned to this classified location by a spy amongst our crew named Lt. Moore. The Orions have laid claim to this planetoid, and with our ship still damaged from an earlier attack, there's little we can do to stop them.

Captain's log, stardate 6035.4.: Enterprise is home. Somewhat battered and bruised, but intact. Returning to Starbase 1 is a time of mixed emotions for a large crew like this. Some have people they're returning home to. Others have only people they're leaving behind...

Captain's log, supplemental.: The ship is emptying out. Only a skeleton crew aboard. I'm pleased to hear most of the senior staff are remaining with the ship for repair and refit. It will be nice to have familiar faces around Starbase One. This is the finest crew I've ever served with. Starfleet is wise to keep them together. Especially now that I'm leaving them behind.

Captain's log, final entry.: I didn't see the resignations of Spock and McCoy as a possibility. And suddenly I find I'm reluctant to walk off Enterprise's deck — too aware of the ones that won't walk off with me. Not just those two officers, but Gary, and Lee — and Sam and Commodore Decker. And so many more. We saved lives and we lost good people. And made a difference in the galaxy for five years. But today is not a day to look back, but to move forward. To face an uncertain future with some certainty... that my best destiny lies in my service as an admiral. And that I have faith — that this is the right direction.

References[]

Races and cultures[]

Archernarian • Crawler • Edosian • Human • Orion • Vulcan
Referenced only: Divine Builders

States and organizations[]

Federation • Federation Council • Starfleet

Science and classification[]

anatomy • cloak • command chair • drydock • engine • evolution • fourth planet • galaxy • hail • lifeform • manacles • matter • medicine • mutation • Omega-weapon • planet • power generator • quadraphasic radiation • quadrant • races and cultures • sector • space • spacecraft • spacedock • spear • star • starship • star system • technology • third planet • time • tricorder • turbolift • universe • viewscreen • warp coil • weapon • year

Lifeforms[]

animal • genetic hybrid • humanoid • insect • insectoid

Materials and substances[]

atmosphere • blood • drink • gas • liquid

Occupations and titles[]

admiral • ambassador • captain • chief engineer • chief medical officer • commander • commanding officer • crewman • doctor • engineer • Federation Starfleet ranks • Federation Starfleet ranks (2260s) • first officer • healer • lieutenant • medical practitioner • officer • science officer • spy

Other references[]

army • assignment patch • beard • boot • civil war • corridor • bridge • brig • captain's log, USS Enterprise (NCC-1701), 2270 • century • city • civil war • civilization • clothing • cruiser • death • decade • dimension • dress uniform • emotion • five-year mission • flag • fleet • furniture • government • hair • Heart of God • history • hour • jungle • kilometer • kiss • law • logic • matter • minute • Monday • month • nation-state • pants • peace • Prime Directive • quarters • rank • religion • science • second • space/time • Starfleet uniform • Starfleet uniform (2265-2270) • subspace rift • title • tunic • uniform • war • warp factor (warp three) • wormhole • year

Chronology[]

2270: The final phase of the five-year mission.

Appendices[]

Background[]

The stardates used numbers continuing from Issue 2 (5948.0) that occurred six months earlier than the stardate used in that issue for current events (6835.7).
This story describes the end of the Enterprise's five-year mission, including events immediately after docking in Earth orbit. Several other versions of this story, including TOS comic: "The Final Voyage", TOS comic: "Year Five", TOS novel: The Lost Years, and TOS - Explorer short story: "Cumulative Damage", have all given differing accounts of these events.

Images[]

Connections[]

Timeline[]

This story takes place at the end of the USS Enterprise's five-year mission in 2270. The issue begins immediately after previous events in Mission's End, Issue 4 and then jumps ahead a week to when the Enterprise is in drydock, setting the scene for Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

published order
Previous comic: Mission's End, Issue 4	TOS comics Mission's End	Next comic: last issue in the miniseries
Previous story: Mission's End, Issue 4	Stories by: Ty Templeton	Next story: most recent Star Trek story
chronological order
Previous adventure: Mission's End, Issue 4	Memory Beta Chronology	Next adventure: The Final Voyage

Publication history[]

29 July 2009: First released by IDW Publishing.
21 October 2009: Collected in the Mission's End miniseries omnibus.
20 February 2020: Collected in Graphic Novel Collection, Volume 100. (Eaglemoss Collections)

External links[]

Mission's End, Issue 5 article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.

Memory Beta, non-canon Star Trek Wiki