When you consume enough Star Trek content, something frustrating begins to happen. Once you go beyond the movies and TV shows, you start encountering books, comics, games, and more that are completely non-canonical. Every now and then, though, those apocryphal tales are cool enough that you can’t help but wish they were canonical. Case in point? Star Trek: The Next Generation had a forgotten manga with a storyline set directly after “The Best of Both Worlds.” The comic tells a pretty cool story about Riker protecting Picard from nasty Starfleet brass. More interestingly, though, the comic contextualizes the weirdest thing about Star Trek: First Contact: Starfleet’s fear of Picard.
In Star Trek: First Contact, the Borg make a second attempt to assimilate the planet Earth. As in “The Best of Both Worlds,” Starfleet assembles a fleet to intercept these bionic baddies. Unlike before, however, the Enterprise isn’t invited to the party. This is specifically because Starfleet is wary of what Picard might do in this situation after previously being assimilated by the Borg. It’s a frustrating plot point, as Picard was crucial to shutting down the previous Borg invasion. Plus, he proves how stupid these orders are when he violates them, using his secret Borg knowledge to target a weak spot on their Cube and instantly blow it up.
Drama (Legal And Otherwise)
When you think about it, Starfleet’s fears of Picard make less and less sense. Like, if they are that worried the Borg could make him go rogue, why did they allow him to continue serving as captain of the Federation flagship for years after his assimilation? Interestingly, this question is answered in the Tokypop manga Boukenshin. In the story “Loyalty” (which takes place while the Enterprise is visiting Earth during “Family”), Riker is invited to a confidential meeting at Starfleet Headquarters. There, several admirals bluntly tell him that they think Picard taking command of the Enterprise after killing so many people as Locutus of Borg would be a public relations nightmare.
However, not all of the top brass are in agreement with this decision, so they brought Riker in to advocate on Picard’s behalf and argue why he should remain in command of the Enterprise. In addition to worrying about the captain being a PR nightmare, they are worried that he might remain susceptible to Borg control. Riker argues against this with a fairly obvious point: that Picard himself overcame Borg programming when telling Data how to defeat these villains in “The Best of Both Worlds.” If he could fight off Borg control directly after being assimilated, he should be able to fight it off at any time.
His Snark Level Is Over 9,000!
In a surprise move, the admirals then summon Commander Shelby to provide a counterargument. While she agrees Picard shouldn’t be punished for his actions as Locutus, she isn’t convinced that the Borg will be unable to control the captain in the future. At this point, Riker gets impatient and declares that the admirals are conducting a de facto court-martial of a man for crimes he isn’t even responsible for. Next, the admirals try to strong-arm Riker into taking command of the Enterprise and promoting Shelby to first officer. To do otherwise, they warn, would be to hurt his career.
Instead of going along with this, Riker removes his comm badge and declares that he’ll resign from Starfleet if Picard isn’t reinstated. He then promises that every member of the command staff would do the same, leaving Starfleet with a different kind of PR nightmare: a flagship without a crew. Even Shelby removes her own comm badge in solidarity. Eventually, they reach a compromise. The admirals allow Picard to resume command and for Riker to stay as his first officer. Meanwhile, Riker promises to monitor Picard for any signs of Borg control and further promises that he’ll take care of things if that should happen.
Return Of A Friendly Rival
“Loyalty” is a pretty cool story in its own right. But the main reason I wish this story was official is that it serves as a perfect prequel to First Contact. It explains why Picard is ordered far away from the Borg attack on Earth: the admirals never stopped worrying about him and felt like putting him in hailing range of a Cube was too much of a risk. It even explains why Riker checks in on Picard after they get their orders: he’s secretly seeing if news of the Borg’s return has secretly awakened anything they left in his head!
Sadly, “Loyalty” isn’t canonical. But with the (hopefully temporary) death of Star Trek television right around the corner, now is the perfect time to seek out strange new comics and boldly go where no (or, at least, few) fans have gone before!
