Lt. Sulu Slashes and Swashbuckles His Way Through Space

Passage, by the Norwegian Artist, Steve Henderson

It cannot be easy steering a gigantic star ship through the clutter of space at exponential speeds of light, but Lt. Sulu does this with unflappable aplomb. The only time Sulu let his guard and shirt down was a sword fighting scene on the original Star Trek series, when he and his pectoral muscles accosted crew members in the sterile hallway, samurai sword awaving away.

Most of the time, however, Lt. Sulu sits at the console, studiously ignoring the mutterings of Lt. Chekhov to his right, and pushes buttons and pulls levers. He fires at things. He looks concerned. He gives small, wise, inscrutable smiles.

Were the Enterprise run along 21st century American business standards, many of the bridge members would be downsized and pink slipped, since Mr. Sulu so efficiently and capably controls the running of the ship (what does the rotating man in the red shirt, off to Lt. Sulu’s left, actually do?).

Because he is so good at what he does, Lt. Sulu would enjoy the challenge of steering the Enterprise through Passage, and surely, through some combination of time and space dimensional warping, he would be able to do so without misplacing a hair on his slickly combed, sleekly shaped head.