1133. Field Trip / Pickpocket / Program 359PUBLICATION: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine #6, Malibu Comics, January 1994
CREATORS: Mike W. Barr / John Vornholt / Colin Clayton and Chris Dows (writers), Rob Davis and Terry Pallot (artists)
STARDATE: Unknown (between In the Hands of the Prophets and The Homecoming)
PLOT: In Field Trip. Sisko and Dax bring Keiko's class to the Gamma Quadrant to catalog some plants. On the return trip, a malfunction disables life support and zaps the Starfleet officers. It's up to Keiko, Jake and Nog to figure out a way to find the Wormhole using Dax's tricorder. In Pickpocket, while Odo's away, Quark and Bashir capture a Klingon pickpocket who uses a short-range transporter hidden in a baby carriage. In Program 359, Dax and Bashir peek into Sisko's holosuite program where he's been reliving the battle of Wolf 359 and trying every possible strategy against the Borg. It's proven to him that there's nothing he could have done to change the outcome and save Jennifer, and that makes him feel a little better.
CONTINUITY: Appearances by Keiko, Nog and Morn. We first saw the Saratoga fighting the Borg at Wolf 359 in Emissary.
DIVERGENCES: None.
PANEL OF THE DAY - Kids have no respect... only using the Celestial Temple as a roller-coaster.
REVIEW: I admit it. I didn't think you could reasonably cram three solid stories in one regular-sized issue. I was wrong. Each of these has something going for it. Field Trip is probably the slimmest, though it's fun to see Keiko take charge. Pickpocket is probably the most fun, with its evil Klingon nanny hiding a knife in her milk bottle, and Quark's "Irregulars" (the guys who owe him money and thus, favors, like Morn). Program 359 includes some Sisko-on-Borg action in what amounts to a good character moment. How is this as good or better than some multi-issue stories, I don't know. Maybe DS9 is uniquely suited to running many stories because of its larger canvas. In any case, I'd be grateful for more issues like this.
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