Kakan ni Shinkou

Kakan ni Shinkou is the second volume of Star Trek: The Manga, published by Tokyopop. In this volume, Kirk is placed on trial for unknown crimes, Scotty must enter a war zone to retrieve dilithium crystals, aliens use the Enterprise for deceptive purposes, and more!

Back cover

 * From the back cover:
 * Manga meets the Final Frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise...''
 * Manga-style art and Star Trek tales collide again in this next volume of TOKYOPOP's voyages of the U.S.S. Enterprise™, commanded by Captain James T. Kirk. Once again ten artists and writers from across the artistic spectrum deliver up brand new tales of new worlds and new civilizations featuring the classic Star Trek line up. In Kakan ni Shinkou: Kirk is put on trial for crimes he has yet to discover... Uhura demonstrates the true power of communication... Bones gets to the core of Vulcan emotion... Scotty has to extract dilithium crystals from a mine in the middle of a war zone... and an alien delegation uses the Enterprise'' as a vessel of deception!

Te Cura Ipsum

 * "Captain's log, stardate 5216.4. A catastrophic accident has crippled my ship and claimed the lives of a Starfleet dilithium specialist and several engineering crewmen.  The loss of life, while certainly tragic, is the least of our worries.  Dr. Hackard's experiment has thrown us light years from our previous position and overloaded several of the Enterprise's core systems, knocking our warp drive, transporter and shields off line. This would be a simple repair procedure if we were in spacedock, but the nearest starbase is now forty days' journey away – at warp factor six.  With only impulse power available, it will take months to arrive, on a course that skirts the Neutral Zone.  And a recent increase in Romulan patrols makes that far too dangerous to attempt without shields."


 * "Ship's log, stardate 5216.8. Lieutenant Sulu in temporary command.  Crews are working to repair the warp engines and transporters, but the damage is extensive and the progress is slow.  Repairs on the shields will have to wait until Mr. Scott returns from the planet.  Mr. Scott's teeam has discovered a dilithium vein and is beginning to excavate a suitable replacement crystal.  Long range sensors continue to monitor Romulan activity near the Neutral Zone.  Since we have minimal weapons online, in the event of a Romulan incursion, my orders are clear:  Abandon my captain and the landing party, and take the Enterprise to safety."


 * "Captain's log, supplemental. The Kalan healer, Misha, has successfully treated Mr. Spock's sickness.  Mr. Scott and his team have returned to the Enterprise and have notified me that the transporter will be back online within the hour."


 * "Captain's log, stardate 5218.1. Mr. Scott and his team successfully extracted a replacement dilithium crystal without disturbing the Suja moss.  Mr. Spock is expected to make a full recovery, but slowly, which should please Doctor McCoy to no end, and keep Nurse Chapel happily occupied for a while.  To be safe, we'll take a course that avoids the Neutral Zone.  We should arrive at Starbase 42 for complete repairs in 23 days... barring any further incidents."


 * Writer: Wil Wheaton; Artist: EJ Su

The Trial

 * "Captain's log, stardate 4610.3. Science officer Spock reporting.  We are scanning nearby planets for signs of Captain Kirk, who mysteriously disappeared from the bridge just moments ago.  It is undetermined yet whether he was beamed off or whether he was abducted by lifeforms who boarded the ship without our knowledge..."


 * Writer: Mike Wellman; Artist: Nam Kim with Matt Dalton, A.J. Ford, Ben Harvey, and Sang S. Kim.

Communications Breakdown

 * "''Captain's log, stardate 3623.5. It has been twelve days since Nomad, an antiquated Earth probe reprogrammed for genocide, wiped Lt. Uhura's brain of its language and learned memory.  She has spent every waking moment re-educating herself to her former adult levels.  After holding in orbit over a week to exact immediate repairs, we have just left the Malurian star system on a course for a Starfleet facility for further ship servicing.


 * Writer: Christine Boylan; Artist: Bettina M. Kurkoski

The Scaean Gate

 * "Captain's log, stardate 4556.7. At the Academy, Professor Maher always said that any starship mission that wasn't driven by pure science was probably driven by economics.  Our current mission now seems to prove his point.  The need for trade has led the warring planets Elethia and Alsand to strike a delicate partnership.  The Alsandit royal line has ended and they have asked to be ruled by the Elethian monarch.  However, she must live on Alsand for the peace to work.  The Enterprise has been ordered to transport the Elethian monarch from her homeworld to her new seat of government; a short distance, but one fraught with potential dangers.  Beyond the hostile factions within these two worlds, rumors speak of other perils: pirates, scavengers, and a mysterious, and apparently vicious, insectoid alien race known only as the Harst.  All of this has soured my mood in regard to our diplomatic assignment.  But the dread I feel for the difficulty of this mission is overshadowed by only one thing more intrinsically unpleasant to me... the inevitable diplomatic reception."


 * "Captain's personal log... the Enterprise is a little more than two days out from the planet Asland. In a matter of hours, a vessel from Asland will be meeting us to escort us the rest of the way. Since yesterday's attack, we have been running at yellow alert, as I expect another, similar test of our capabilities. At least our unknown assailants will have been left in no doubt of our ability to defend ourselves.  But the word "test" keeps coming back to haunt me.  Were we attacked because that was about when an attack should have occurred -- the time when a prudent command would have expected it?  Did our attackers expend no more force than necessary to fulfill our expectations?  Were we meant to beat them off as easily as we did... so that we'd assume there would be no further attempts?  If that was the purpose, it hasn't worked."


 * Writer: Diane Duane; Artist: Don Hudson

Forging Alliances

 * "Captain's log. Stardate 3982.4.  The Enterprise is in orbit around the planet Vulcan, our Science Officer Mr. Spock's homeworld.  Ambassador Sarek, Mr. Spock's father, has requested his son's presence at an important ceremony.  It is a celebration of the birth of Surak, the Vulcan philosopher who turned his people from violent warriors into the logical, emotionally-reserved beings we know today."


 * Writer: Paul Benjamin; Artist: Steven Cummings

Background Information

 * Cover art by Bettina M. Kurkoski
 * The Japanese title Kakan ni Shinkou (果敢に進行) roughly translates as "To Boldly Go."
 * In addition to the five manga stories, the volume includes a preview short story titled "Suicide Note", written by Geoff Trowbridge, from the Pocket Books compilation volume The Sky's the Limit.