Star Trek: Vanguard: Difference between revisions

* [[Bizarre Alien Biology]]: The Shedai.

* [[Blessed With Suck]]: How did Tholians gain sapience? The answer explains why they're so vulnerable to Shedai telepathic assault.

* [[Bounty Hunter]]: Kajek in ''Declassified''.

* [[Cadre of Foreign Bodyguards]]: The knowledge broker Chathani has several Anticans serving as her bodyguards. She mentions that Antican guards are known across the Taurus Reach for their loyalty, and thus it's implied a fully Antican detail is a status symbol.

* [[Den of Iniquity]]: Aboard the ''Omari-Ekon'', the Orion ship under registry to Ganz.

* [[Domestic Abuse]]: The JAG office on ''Vanguard'' station responded to an unusual case: A Denobulan man who attacked one of his second wife's other husbands (Denobulans have multiple partners, each of whom has up to three mates in turn). Was it simple assault or domestic abuse?

* [[Earthshattering Kaboom]]: Several planets in the Taurus Reach, due to the use of Shedai technology by Federation and Klingon researchers. Some planets were destroyed accidentally as a result of inept use of Shedai artifacts, others were destroyed deliberately by the Shedai Wanderer in her attempts to prevent her people's technology coming into the hands of other, younger races. Palgrenax was one such planet.

** As was Ceti Alpha VI, according to the final book. Project Vanguard is thus responsible for much of the backstory in ''Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan''.

* [[Government Conspiracy]]: Well, large-scale military coverup, anyway.

* [[The Greatest Story Never Told]]: The series concerns itself with this, and certainly a lot of the details about Project Vanguard remain classified in its aftermath. One of the books in [[Star Trek the Lost Era]] demonstrates that a century later the existence of the Shedai is common knowledge in the Federation, at least on the level of "they existed", but much of what the characters did in the Taurus Reach remains unacknowledged. The [[Star Trek Typhon Pact]] novel ''Paths of Disharmony'' features classified records of Project Vanguard as an essential part of its plot, confirming that although some of the events are widely known (the Tholians won't let the memories die, for one thing), much of the true picture is deeply buried beyond the reach of anyone but the highest members of the Federation government and Starfleet Command. The final page of ''Storming Heaven'' pretty much confirms that this trope is the major theme of the series.

* [[Gunship Rescue]]: The ''Lanz't Tholis'' attacks the ''Zin'za'' in order to defend the ''Sagittarius'', so saving the latter ship's crew. The motivation is a classic case of [[I Owe You My Life]]; the crew of ''Lanz't Tholis'' are repaying a debt.

** ''Enterprise'' has one of these in the final book, chasing off a Tholian fleet harrassing the ''Endeavour'' and ''Sagittarius''.

* [[Honor Before Reason]]: The Arkenites take their debts very seriously. So much so, that when Klingons save an Arkenite outpost from a disaster in exchange for the outpost swearing allegiance to the Klingon Empire, the residents then refuse to back out. Even though they don't want to leave the Federation or help the Klingons, they all willingly keep to the promise even when Starfleet shows up trying to "liberate" them. To choose gratification over duty and refuse to repay their debt would, their leader explains, be unthinkable.

* [[Horse of a Different Color]]: The Mellul.

* [[I Owe You My Life]]: This is the reason why Nezrene, and the other surviving Tholians aboard ''Lanz't Tholis'', come to the aid of the Federation officers in ''Reap the Whirlwind''. Previously, the Federation characters liberated the Tholians from Shedai captivity.

* [[Insanity Defense]]: T'Prynn points out it's the only plausible defense she could give, though she doesn't pursue it.

* [[Mind Rape]]: The entire Tholian species suffers this due to the Federation's meddling with the Shedai. No wonder that the Tholians still hold a grudge over 100 years later, as shown in [[Star Trek Destiny]] and [[Star Trek Typhon Pact]].

* [[Mix and Match Critters]]: Sniffy, the half-walrus, half-dog thing. [[Ugly Cute|D'aaawwww]].

* [[My Species Doth Protest Too Much]]: The Apostate. He doesn't particularly want to take back the Taurus Reach and punish upstart younger races. He'd much prefer the Shedai go back to sleep.

** As a more minor example, Manon notes that she's unusual for a Silgov in that she has wanderlust and travels the galaxy. Indeed, she's far from Silgos (opposite side of explored space) and we've never seen another Silgov civilian out in the wider galaxy.

* [[Mythology Gag]]: Ganz' preferred alcohol. [[Star Trek the Original Series|"It's green!"]]

* [[No Holds Barred Beatdown]]: Quinn is on the receiving end of several, at the hands of Ganz's men.

* [[No Paper Future]]: Discussed a little, but averted, when Pennington reads a newspaper:

* [[Offing the Offspring]]: {{spoiler|Gorkon}} kills one of his (adult) children to preserve Klingon honour. This after having just undertaken a complex mission to save the son's life. The whole affair serves as a frustrating example of culture clash between the Klingons and the Federation.

* [[Poisoned Weapons]]: A Chelon's body. When under stress, Chelons secrete a poison through their skin. Jetanien points it out to his Klingon diplomatic counterpart.

* [[Running Gag]]: Jetanien's food being unpalatable.

* [[Saved By Canon]]: In an interesting example of a character being Saved by Canon for the moment, but [[Doomed By Canon]] in the long run, T'Prynn can't die, even when she's in a coma due to [[Mind Rape]], because she's going to die in a transporter accident eighty years later, as shown in [[Flash Back]] in the [[Star Trek Deep Space Nine Relaunch]] novels.

* [[Space Pirates]]: Scalzer's band are an example, one of many. Piracy is a common problem in the Taurus Reach.

* [[Space Station]]: Starbase 47, a.k.a. ''Vanguard'', of course.

* [[Spinoff Sendoff]]: Kirk and the crew of the ''Enterprise'' show up in the first novel; their introduction to the station essentially serves as ours. The Vulcan character is fleshed out through conversations with Spock, the Orion crime lord is introduced through Scotty buying alcohol from him, etc.

* [[Starfish Aliens]]: The Shedai, who can shed their bodies at will and, at higher power-levels/ranks, control multiple bodies simultaneously. There's also the Tholians, six-legged, crystalline beings that can live comfortably in a 300 degree Centigrade environment.

* [[Weapon of Mass Destruction]]: This is part of the potential in Shedai technology, and everyone knows it. The Klingons naturally see the Shedai relics in terms of weapons potential, and are eager to exploit them to this end. The Federation has the possibility of weapons use firmly in mind, because they know that's what the Klingons would use it for. And the Tholians already know the power of weaponized Shedai tech and are horrified at the prospect of its revival.

* [[What a Piece of Junk]]: The ''Lovell''. It's an old ''Daedalus''-class starship that had been decommissioned for half a century before the Starfleet Corps of Engineers claimed it for their own. It has mismatched hull plates, welds and patches all over, and rattles like it's about to explode when it first accelerates to warp speed. But because it's a ship full of engineers who have nothing better to do than tinker, repair, or rebuild things it can keep up with (or outrun) any ship in the fleet.

* [[With Due Respect]]: Made the subject of a joke by Captain Nassir and Commander Terrell:

{{quote| "I assume that was said with all due respect?"<br />