Warning! The following contains SPOILERS from Star Trek: Khan Episode 6, "The Good of All."
“The Good of All” opens in 2296 as Captain Sulu orders Ensign Tuvok to keep an eye on Dr. Rosalind Lear and find out more about her motives. Tuvok is unsure, and the pair nicely play on the tensions shown in the Star Trek: Voyager episode “Flashback.” Sulu is intent on discovering why Lear is trying to exonerate Khan Noonien Singh, even as he wants to get at the truth as well.
Back in 2267, the log entries reveal Khan forging an alliance with the telepathic aliens, named the Elboreans or “Elbs” as the Augments call them. Khan and their leader, Delmonda, forge an understanding over some vodka (Khan: “And I've never trusted a man who wouldn't drink with me.”) as Khan assigns names to their communication, a nice touch.
The conversation is fascinating to listen to as the Elboreans fled their home as they were cultural revolutionaries, giving them common ground with Khan’s people. Yet Khan is wary, openly telling his wife, Marla McGivers, that “the four most terrifying words in the English language are, ‘We come in peace.’” That leads to Marla noting how Khan literally cannot grasp people being helpful without expecting anything in return.
In a nice parallel to the Sulu/Tuvok scenes, Khan has Ivan keep an eye on the Elbs as they create an underground realm they call the Sunless Sea. While it has water, the supplies will only last five years with the situation up top getting worse. And speaking of…
Ivan crosses the line
Things get dramatic when a cave-in causes Madot to miscarry her child. An emotional moment has Khan trying to help her cope by saying she can try again only for Madot to lose control and scream on wildly about why anyone would bring a child into this horror of a world (words that impact a pregnant Marla).
This ties into Joachim feeling somewhat like Khan has been knocked off his pedestal and seemingly secondary next to the Elbs. Meanwhile, the leader of the Augments is focused on having a child, in addition to worrying about the aliens. He and Marla even argue about baby names.
Khan is wary of the alien alliance, yet there's hope this partnership with the Elboreans can help both sides survive. Unfortunately, Ivan’s paranoia about the Elbs breaks out as he kills one just to prove they can be harmed. It is clear Ivan has been hit hard by Ceti Alpha VI’s destruction, and the Elbs putting him in a trance while they figure out his punishment isn’t helping matters.
A surprising offer and revelation
Khan and Delmonda argue about Ivan’s fate which ties to the Elbs building something from the wreckage of their ship. Khan realizes it’s a smaller escape craft. He assumes it is for the Elbs... only for Delmonda to reveal it’s for Khan’s people! Marla’s narration sums up Khan's state of mind, and, for once, he is dumbstruck at the Elbs giving them a chance to escape.
We know that won’t work as it moves back to 2296 as Lear confronts Tuvok for spying on her and stealing information. Tuvok presses on about her secrets, and Lear drops the bomb that her source for this information is none other than Delmonda!
How did Delmonda escape Ceti Alpha V? Did anyone else go with him, and why did Khan and the others stay behind? How does Dr. Lear fit into all this, not to mention the fate of Marla and the other Elbs?
The adventure brings up more questions than it answers, and once more the depth of the story enthralls to make this audio drama an exciting listen. Share your thoughts about the latest episode of the Star Trek: Khan podcast with us on the Redshirts Always Die Facebook and X pages.
New episodes of Star Trek: Khan drop every Monday through Nov. 3.