What happens between V and VI?

[Whofan]

I know it's generally assumed (Well, at least by the DC comics and some novels which are non-canon) that the crew did a 'seven year mission' or something like that after the Nimbus III inciddent, and of course Sulu at some point got promoted to Captain, presumabely three years after TFF.


However, I've read that VI originally had the crew already retired and recalled to Starfleet for one final mission. There's also sort of implied in some of the dialogue I think (McCoy doesn't seem to know that Sulu had been promoted, when you think he would've noticed his absence from the crew) Also the crew hasn't met Valeris, but presumabely they would have had somebody fill in for Sulu (and yes, I know that the DC comics placed Saavik as Sulu's replacement for a while).

 

[Christopher]

It seems the ship did continue in service after TFF, but I like to think that some of the crew moved on to various different assignments as the opportunity arose -- not retired, just not stuck forever in the same jobs on the same ship. And then in TUC they were brought together again specifically for the Klingon mission. (Much as TWOK implies that the crew has gone its separate ways and has simply reunited for the Kirk's-birthday training cruise.)

 

[KirkPicard]

I was always intrigued by that gap in the TOS timeline and enjoyed the comics by David and Weinstein in the early 90s, portraying older, seasoned officers along with their younger crewmates, Sara Tuchinsky, Fouton, Engineer Lucas on the Excelsior, and so on. Perhaps more novels will be be written in this era. I recall a few, such as "Sarek," "Best Destiny," and "Shadows on the Sun" as occurring during this period.

 

[number6]

Scotty bought a boat.

 

[KirkPicard]

Which may have been chronicled in "Fearful Summons" by Denny Martin Flynn, IIRC.

 

[Timo]

And what happens to the Klingons? In STV, there's at least a personal detente between Kirk and Korrd, yet in STVI, Kirk is back to hating all Klingons. Did Korrd backstab Kirk at some point, too, or did the old warrior just fade away and leave Kirk facing yer regular, untrustworthy alien scum?

The novelization tries to paint a picture of a recent resurgence of evil Klingon ways, up to and including an attack against Carol Marcus (who still appears to be Kirk's primary flame at the timepoint, perhaps contrary to other, admittedly later evidence). The movie itself doesn't make the Klingons look any worse than usual, tho, making it seem it's just Kirk who has changed, going from stun ("Errand of Mercy"!) to kill in his old days.

I wonder what the composition of the E-A crew was in the intervening years. McCoy seems to be off the boat (and the loop) altogether, Spock seems to be dedicating himself to the diplomatic path, Scotty may or may not be retiring from the E-A engine room; Uhura and Chekov never have enough lines to cast light on their status.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Sean Aaron]

I think Kirk woke up and realised the events of Star Trek V were all a dream and then had a bunch of adventures that were much better than his Romulan Ale-induced nightmare.

 

[F. King Daniel]

Sulu and Chekov taught at the academy for a about a year (Starfleet Academy videogame and novel), despite being on Enterprise all that time (DC comics)

 

[Christopher]

Perhaps more novels will be be written in this era. I recall a few, such as "Sarek," "Best Destiny," and "Shadows on the Sun" as occurring during this period.

No, those were all set after TUC, as was The Last Roundup. Novels set between TFF and TUC include Probe, nominally by Margaret Wander Bonanno but actually mostly by other uncredited writers (the project was taken away from Margaret during the time when Roddenberry and his assistant Richard Arnold were imposing harsh restrictions on the novel line); The Rift by Peter David; In the Name of Honor by Dayton Ward; most of Excelsior: Forged in Fire by Michael A Martin & Andy Mangels; and the frame segments of Day of Honor: Treaty's Law by Dean Wesley Smith & Kristine Kathryn Rusch and The Captain's Table: War Dragons by L. A. Graf. The Captain Sulu Adventures audiobooks Cacophony by a pseudonymous Peter David and Envoy by Graf are also presumed to be in this period.

Sulu and Chekov taught at the academy for a about a year (Starfleet Academy videogame and novel), despite being on Enterprise all that time (DC comics)

Well, the comics don't chronicle anywhere near the entire span of time between TFF & TUC. One could easily make room for a year at the Academy if one so desired.

 

[C.E. Evans]

Personally, I like to imagine that the Enterprise-A was assigned to relatively routine patrol and support missions for a few years between Star Treks V and VI and that something happened with the Klingons at some point that soured Kirk's attitude towards them considerably.

Upon the Enterprise's return to Earth, I think she was pretty much put in reserve at Spacedock and the crew given other assignments at either Starfleet Academy or Starfleet HQ, with Sulu naturally becoming Captain of Excelsior. Kirk was probably still technically in command of the Enterprise during this time, but as Star Trek VI began, his days as her captain were numbered.

 

[BriGuy]

I know it's generally assumed (Well, at least by the DC comics and some novels which are non-canon) that the crew did a 'seven year mission' or something like that after the Nimbus III inciddent, and of course Sulu at some point got promoted to Captain, presumabely three years after TFF.


However, I've read that VI originally had the crew already retired and recalled to Starfleet for one final mission. There's also sort of implied in some of the dialogue I think (McCoy doesn't seem to know that Sulu had been promoted, when you think he would've noticed his absence from the crew) Also the crew hasn't met Valeris, but presumabely they would have had somebody fill in for Sulu (and yes, I know that the DC comics placed Saavik as Sulu's replacement for a while).

On the point about McCoy and Sulu, McCoy may have known that Sulu was captain of the Excelsior; he may not have known he was on assignment and not free to join them.

As for Kirk and the Klingons - the events that transpired during the course of TFF may have given him a momentary pause in his feelings toward Klingons. But since it was a Klingon that killed his son and Klingons that contributed to the destruction of his ship, those are deep-seated emotions not easily overcome. I'd think that in the absence of any intervening events between TFF and TUC to change his "chummy" attitude toward Klingons at the end of TFF.

 

[Christopher]

As for Kirk and the Klingons - the events that transpired during the course of TFF may have given him a momentary pause in his feelings toward Klingons. But since it was a Klingon that killed his son and Klingons that contributed to the destruction of his ship, those are deep-seated emotions not easily overcome. I'd think that in the absence of any intervening events between TFF and TUC to change his "chummy" attitude toward Klingons at the end of TFF.

Except that it's out of character for Kirk to blame an entire species for the actions of its individual members. And there was never any evidence that he harbored such uncharacteristic racism prior to TUC; it was a retcon tacked onto his character to serve the story, and Shatner himself was reportedly very uncomfortable with it (as was Nichelle Nichols, who refused to deliver lines that would've painted Uhura as racist toward Klingons). In her novelization, J. M. Dillard proposed that there had recently been a series of Klingon raids on Federation colonies, one of which had seriously injured Carol Marcus (a character who continued to have a recurring role in the movie novelizations despite vanishing onscreen after TWOK). So his virulent anger toward the Klingons was painted more as a reaction to recent circumstances than some habitual, ingrained racism.

 

[KirkPicard]

Perhaps more novels will be be written in this era. I recall a few, such as "Sarek," "Best Destiny," and "Shadows on the Sun" as occurring during this period.

No, those were all set after TUC, as was The Last Roundup. Novels set between TFF and TUC include Probe, nominally by Margaret Wander Bonanno but actually mostly by other uncredited writers (the project was taken away from Margaret during the time when Roddenberry and his assistant Richard Arnold were imposing harsh restrictions on the novel line); The Rift by Peter David; In the Name of Honor by Dayton Ward; most of Excelsior: Forged in Fire by Michael A Martin & Andy Mangels; and the frame segments of Day of Honor: Treaty's Law by Dean Wesley Smith & Kristine Kathryn Rusch and The Captain's Table: War Dragons by L. A. Graf. The Captain Sulu Adventures audiobooks Cacophony by a pseudonymous Peter David and Envoy by Graf are also presumed to be in this period.


Quite right Christopher. I was not entirely certain and had neglected to check with the Voyages of the Imagination timeline and Memory Beta. I have yet to read "In the Name of Honor," and "Probe"

 

[KirkPicard]

Perhaps more novels will be be written in this era. I recall a few, such as "Sarek," "Best Destiny," and "Shadows on the Sun" as occurring during this period.

No, those were all set after TUC, as was The Last Roundup. Novels set between TFF and TUC include Probe, nominally by Margaret Wander Bonanno but actually mostly by other uncredited writers (the project was taken away from Margaret during the time when Roddenberry and his assistant Richard Arnold were imposing harsh restrictions on the novel line); The Rift by Peter David; In the Name of Honor by Dayton Ward; most of Excelsior: Forged in Fire by Michael A Martin & Andy Mangels; and the frame segments of Day of Honor: Treaty's Law by Dean Wesley Smith & Kristine Kathryn Rusch and The Captain's Table: War Dragons by L. A. Graf. The Captain Sulu Adventures audiobooks Cacophony by a pseudonymous Peter David and Envoy by Graf are also presumed to be in this period.

Sulu and Chekov taught at the academy for a about a year (Starfleet Academy videogame and novel), despite being on Enterprise all that time (DC comics)

Well, the comics don't chronicle anywhere near the entire span of time between TFF & TUC. One could easily make room for a year at the Academy if one so desired.

Quite right Christopher. I was not entirely certain and had neglected to check with the Voyages of the Imagination timeline and Memory Beta. I have yet to read "In the Name of Honor," and "Probe"

 

[Kegg]

I assume someone at some point decided that the bridge (and the ship in general) needed a lot more black, and redecorated accordingly.

 

[Maestro]

You guys do realize that the whole, McCoy, "Where's Sulu?" thing was just gallows humor about getting old, retiring, and the fear of senility, right?

 

[Mr Silver]

Personally, I disregard TFF in my own personal continunity. It was full of so many plotholes and bum storyline decisions. The biggest of which involves the Ent-A going from Earth to Nimbus III to the Great Barrier in a matter of hours...pretty good for pre-24th century Warp Drive (remember TNG had already established limits in its first season, which was completed by the time TFF was in cinemas)

Furthermore, with TUC, if you factor TFF into continunity it springs up a number of silly scenarios such as the aforementioned 'Kirk hating Klingons again'. It makes sense for me to just act like TFF never happened and instead the ENT-A had an 8 or 9 mission prior to TUC.

Obviously, if you want to tackle what happened between V and VI, theres many novels about that chronicle this period for you to get some inspiration over. In terms of what happened off screen in an on screen sense...Sulu became Captain and transferred to Excelsior, Spock became heavily involved in Diplomacy, The Ent-A had some nifty upgrades and colour scheme swaps and Scotty was planning on retiring. Asides from that, it would seem not much else interesting happened.

 

[BillJ]

As for Kirk and the Klingons - the events that transpired during the course of TFF may have given him a momentary pause in his feelings toward Klingons. But since it was a Klingon that killed his son and Klingons that contributed to the destruction of his ship, those are deep-seated emotions not easily overcome. I'd think that in the absence of any intervening events between TFF and TUC to change his "chummy" attitude toward Klingons at the end of TFF.

Except that it's out of character for Kirk to blame an entire species for the actions of its individual members. And there was never any evidence that he harbored such uncharacteristic racism prior to TUC; it was a retcon tacked onto his character to serve the story, and Shatner himself was reportedly very uncomfortable with it (as was Nichelle Nichols, who refused to deliver lines that would've painted Uhura as racist toward Klingons). In her novelization, J. M. Dillard proposed that there had recently been a series of Klingon raids on Federation colonies, one of which had seriously injured Carol Marcus (a character who continued to have a recurring role in the movie novelizations despite vanishing onscreen after TWOK). So his virulent anger toward the Klingons was painted more as a reaction to recent circumstances than some habitual, ingrained racism.

I always just saw Kirk as an old man angry that was retiring to an empty house.

 

[Botany Bay]

I know it's generally assumed (Well, at least by the DC comics and some novels which are non-canon) that the crew did a 'seven year mission' or something like that after the Nimbus III inciddent, and of course Sulu at some point got promoted to Captain, presumabely three years after TFF.


However, I've read that VI originally had the crew already retired and recalled to Starfleet for one final mission. There's also sort of implied in some of the dialogue I think (McCoy doesn't seem to know that Sulu had been promoted, when you think he would've noticed his absence from the crew) Also the crew hasn't met Valeris, but presumabely they would have had somebody fill in for Sulu (and yes, I know that the DC comics placed Saavik as Sulu's replacement for a while).

I'd also assumed there was a big gap between the final two TOS films. The changes to the bridge, and Kirk's older appearance suggest there is room for plenty of things to happen.

Clearly we need a continuing series of TOS novels to help fill in the gap...hint hint

 

[Christopher]

Personally, I disregard TFF in my own personal continunity. It was full of so many plotholes and bum storyline decisions. The biggest of which involves the Ent-A going from Earth to Nimbus III to the Great Barrier in a matter of hours...pretty good for pre-24th century Warp Drive (remember TNG had already established limits in its first season, which was completed by the time TFF was in cinemas)

I used to do that, but I've changed my mind. I realized that there are only four consecutive lines in the film that even mention the center of the galaxy as their destination, and it's easy enough to just ignore those few seconds and pretend the Great Barrier is somewhere much closer. Or maybe "the Center of the Galaxy" is a poetic Vulcan name for some cosmic formation that's relatively nearby.

My other dealbreaker issue with TFF was the scene of a photon torpedo hitting just meters away from Our Heroes and doing them no harm, even though it's supposed to be a more powerful weapon than a nuclear warhead. But if I'm glossing over details for the sake of accepting the whole, I can just pretend the torpedo burrowed deep underground before going off, or that most of the energy was absorbed or neutralized by the "God" entity somehow.

Furthermore, with TUC, if you factor TFF into continunity it springs up a number of silly scenarios such as the aforementioned 'Kirk hating Klingons again'. It makes sense for me to just act like TFF never happened and instead the ENT-A had an 8 or 9 mission prior to TUC.

Well, there is a gap of quite a few years between TFF and TUC. The Okuda Chronology places TFF in 2287 (since that's the earliest it can be if Nimbus III has been around for 20 years as stated) and TUC in 2293, a full six years. Although it makes far more sense to put TFF in 2285 or early '86 -- if TWOK is in March '85, then TSFS can't be later than April, TVH begins three months later and maybe ends a month or two after that depending on how long the trial takes, and there's an unspecified shakedown period between that and TFF which Harve Bennett has claimed is six months. So realistically it's more like 7-8 years between TFF and TUC. Plenty of time for the depicted changes.