Changes: West

Revision as of 17:25, 2 August 2015

West unmasked — West, exposed as the assassin

Colonel West was a Starfleet officer in the late-23rd century. In that capacity, he was a member of the conspiracy to sabotage peace talks between the Federation and the Klingon Empire in 2293.

West presented Operation Retrieve, the plan to infiltrate Klingon space and rescue James Kirk and Leonard McCoy, to the Federation President after the two Starfleet officers were convicted of the assassination of Klingon Chancellor Gorkon. The president overruled the plan, however, choosing to respect interstellar law in the matter.

Later, at the Khitomer Conference being held near the Romulan border, West disguised himself as a Klingon and attempted to assassinate the Federation President. Taking position behind a large window and taking aim at the president with a sniper rifle, West prepared to fire, but missed at the last instant as Captain Kirk pushed the president out of the way. After Captain Spock announced that another conspirator, Lieutenant Valeris, was in custody, West took aim at Valeris, intending to eliminate her to prevent her from testifying, but was stopped when Scotty burst through the door, shooting him with a phaser. West was thrown through the glass and fell to the ground, dying on impact. Examining the body, Colonel Worf noticed that West's blood was not Klingon, and unmasked him, revealing West's role in the conspiracy. (Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country)

Appendices

Background information

Colonel West was portrayed by Rene Auberjonois, who later portrayed Constable Odo in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. He noted, "I did it because Nick Meyer is a personal friend and asked me to." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 23, No. 6, p. 39) Recalling how Meyer invited him to play the part, Auberjonois said, "He called months before they started it. He said, 'It would be a hoot if you came and did a day's work on it.' ... I did it as a lark." (Star Trek - Where No One Has Gone Before, paperback ed., p. 173)

West was named after Lt. Colonel Oliver North, who participated in the Iran–Contra affair. (Cinefantastique, Vol. 22, No. 5) In fact, West was styled after North and was essentially a thinly veiled political jab made by Nick Meyer. (Cinefantastique, Vol. 23, No. 6, p. 39)

West never actually appeared in the theatrical version of Star Trek VI, since his scenes were deleted. However, he can be seen on the VHS and DVD releases of the movie, but is not listed in the cast credits at the end of the VHS or DVD. Rene Auberjonois was under the impression West's involvement in the film had been completely cut until he learned, from an audience at a Star Trek convention, that it had been reinstated in the VHS version. (Star Trek - Where No One Has Gone Before, paperback ed., p. 173)

In 2009, The Undiscovered Country was re-released on DVD, omitting the West scenes, as it was the first DVD release of the theatrical cut. The theatrical cut is also the only version released to date on Blu-ray.

While identified in dialog as a "colonel", West wore the uniform of a Starfleet vice admiral (equivalent to a lieutenant general). The display that West shows during the briefing, does mention a Starfleet Marine Corps, suggesting (along with his rank) that West is actually a Marine himself.

His mirror universe counterpart appeared in the novel The Sorrows of Empire.

External link

Patrick West at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works

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+{{sidebar individual
-[[Image:West.jpg|thumb|Colonel West in the Federation President's office.]]
+|image        =West.jpg
-[[Image:West as klingon assassin.jpg|thumb|Colonel West disguised as a Klingon assassin.]]
+|imagecap      =Colonel West
-[[Colonel]] '''West''' was an [[officer]] in [[Starfleet]]'s military forces in [[2293]].  He was part of a group of [[Federation]] personnel involved in the [[Khitomer conspiracy]] that attempted to destabilize the peace negotiations with the [[Klingon Empire]].
+|image2     =West as klingon assassin.jpg
+|imagecap2   =West disguised as a Klingon
+|gender           =Male
+|species          =[[Human]]
+|affiliation      =[[Starfleet]]
+|rank             =[[Colonel]]
+|occupation       =[[Starfleet]] [[officer]]
+|status           =Deceased
+|datestatus       =2293
+|actor            =[[Rene Auberjonois]]
+}}
+[[File:West unmasked.jpg|thumb|West, exposed as the assassin]]
-West helped prepare and present [[Operation Retrieve]], the aborted mission plan to use a military incursion to rescue [[James T. Kirk|Kirk]] and [[Leonard McCoy|McCoy]] from [[Rura Penthe]], a [[Klingon]] [[penal colony|penal]] [[asteroid]].  When asked what would happen if the operation provoked a full-scale war, West confidently commented, "''...we would clean their [[chronometer]]s.''"
+[[Colonel]] '''West''' was a [[Starfleet]] officer in the late-[[23rd century]]. In that capacity, he was a member of [[Khitomer conspiracy|the conspiracy]] to sabotage peace talks between the [[Federation]] and the [[Klingon Empire]] in [[2293]].
+West presented [[Operation Retrieve]], the plan to infiltrate [[Klingon]] space and rescue [[James Kirk]] and [[Leonard McCoy]], to the [[Federation President]] after the two Starfleet officers were convicted of the assassination of [[Klingon Chancellor]] [[Gorkon]]. The president overruled the plan, however, choosing to respect interstellar law in the matter.
-Colonel West was killed as he attempted to assassinate the [[Federation President]] during the [[Khitomer Conference]], disguised as a Klingon warrior. ({{film|6}})
-<br clear=all>
-== Background ==
-Colonel West was portrayed by [[Rene Auberjonois]], who would later portray Constable [[Odo]] on [[DS9]].
+Later, at the [[Khitomer Conference]] being held near the [[Romulan]] border, West disguised himself as a Klingon and attempted to assassinate the Federation President. Taking position behind a large window and taking aim at the president with a sniper rifle, West prepared to fire, but missed at the last instant as [[Captain]] Kirk pushed the president out of the way. After Captain [[Spock]] announced that another conspirator, [[Lieutenant]] [[Valeris]], was in custody, West took aim at Valeris, intending to eliminate her to prevent her from testifying, but was stopped when [[Scotty]] burst through the door, shooting him with a [[phaser]]. West was thrown through the glass and fell to the ground, dying on impact. Examining the body, Colonel [[Worf (Colonel)|Worf]] noticed that West's blood was not Klingon, and unmasked him, revealing West's role in the conspiracy. ({{film|6}})
-Named after Lt. Colonel Oliver North who participated in the Iran-Contra scandal. (North/West) {{incite}}
+== Appendices ==
-West never actually appeared in the theatrical version of ''Star Trek VI'' since his scenes were deleted. However, he can be seen on the VHS and DVD releases of the movie, but is not listed in the cast credits at the end of VHS or DVD.
+=== Background information ===
+Colonel West was portrayed by [[Rene Auberjonois]], who later portrayed Constable [[Odo]] in ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]''. He noted, "''I did it because [[Nicholas Meyer|Nick Meyer]] is a personal friend and asked me to.''" (''[[Cinefantastique]]'', Vol. 23, No. 6, p. 39) Recalling how Meyer invited him to play the part, Auberjonois said, "''He called months before they started it. He said, 'It would be a hoot if you came and did a day's work on it.' ... I did it as a lark.''" (''[[Star Trek - Where No One Has Gone Before]]'', paperback ed., p. 173)
+West was named after Lt. Colonel {{w|Oliver North}}, who participated in the {{w|Iran–Contra affair}}. (''[[Cinefantastique]]'', Vol. 22, No. 5) In fact, West was styled after North and was essentially a thinly veiled political jab made by Nick Meyer. (''[[Cinefantastique]]'', Vol. 23, No. 6, p. 39)
-While identified in dialog as a "colonel" (a military [[rank]] not contained in Starfleet's naval system, perhaps implying that he was a member of - as has been often suggested in the [[FASA]] RPGs - a Starfleet equivalent of the Marine Corps), West wore the uniform of a Starfleet [[vice admiral]] (equivalent to a [[lieutenant general]]). This is probably a costuming error, as, assuming he was part of a Starfleet military force, the rank equivalent to a military colonel would be a naval [[captain]], he should have a similar insignia worn by Kirk and the other captains of this era.
+West never actually appeared in the theatrical version of ''Star Trek VI'', since his [[deleted scene|scenes were deleted]]. However, he can be seen on the VHS and DVD releases of the movie, but is not listed in the cast credits at the end of the VHS or DVD. Rene Auberjonois was under the impression West's involvement in the film had been completely cut until he learned, from an audience at a [[Star Trek convention|''Star Trek'' convention]], that it had been reinstated in the VHS version. (''[[Star Trek - Where No One Has Gone Before]]'', paperback ed., p. 173)
-There is a military practice known as "frocking" that allows an officer to fill the billet of a higher rank on a temporary basis. These frocked assignments are usually only made to fill a critical vacancy in a time of emergency or war. Such an officer would wear the uniform of the higher rank and enjoy most of the privileges of that rank for the duration of the assignment. This type of temporary ranking is also known as a "brevet commission".
+In {{y|2009}}, ''The Undiscovered Country'' was re-released on DVD, omitting the West scenes, as it was the first DVD release of the theatrical cut. The theatrical cut is also the only version released to date on Blu-ray.
-There is another practice for an officer ranked higher than colonel being referred to as such - in the [[British]] army, a [[general]] officer (equivalent in rank to an [[admiral]] officer, that West wore the pin of) can be called colonel as a titular commander of a regiment. The full title given to said general is "colonel of the regiment".
+While identified in dialog as a "colonel", West wore the uniform of a Starfleet [[vice admiral]] (equivalent to a [[lieutenant general]]). The display that West shows during the briefing, does mention a '''Starfleet Marine Corps''', suggesting (along with his rank) that West is actually a Marine himself.
-== External link ==
-* {{NCwiki|Patrick West|Patrick West}}
+His [[mirror universe]] counterpart appeared in the [[novels|novel]] ''[[The Sorrows of Empire]]''.
+=== External link ===
+* {{mbeta|Patrick West}}
 [[de:West]]
+[[fr:West]]
 [[Category:Humans]]
-[[Category:Starfleet personnel]]
+[[Category:Starfleet command personnel]]