[[quoteright:348:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Poster_2_4678.JPG]]
[[caption-width-right:348:If one wins...''everyone loses.'']]

DarkerAndEdgier sequel to the popular Star Trek fan film ''WebAnimation/StarTrekSpecter''.

The year is 2388, ten years after we last saw our crew of intrepid heroes aboard the USS ''F. Scott Fitzgerald''. The story opens with the dire news that the fractured Romulan Empire--in tatters following the events of ''Film/StarTrekNemesis''-- is united again, and about to invade TheFederation. Their motive? Revenge--because they believe that Starfleet was behind [[Film/StarTrek2009 the supernova that destroyed Romulus the previous year]]. Admiral Thornton tells Captain Bradley Prentice that the Romulans purport to have evidence to back up their claim, and that if they are to avert disaster, he must prove the evidence is false, and discredit the source, a mysterious individual known only as Drakus, who may or may not be human. A short time later, an expert in Romulan psychology arrives to help--none other than Admiral Gaius Reyf.

The ''Fitzgerald'' departs for Romulan space, but while en route Reyf is visited in his quarters by the ghost of Braiyon Garr, who warns him not to venture into Romulan space, that doing so will mean his certain doom--which Garr says he wants to inflict himself. Shortly thereafter, the ''Fitzgerald'' arrives at the edge of the Romulan Neutral Zone, only to find the Romulan battlecruiser that was supposed to be their escort has been savagely attacked. At Reyf's insistence, Prentice agrees to salvage the ship's cloaking device and press ahead, despite the dangers that await them.

With time running out until the start of the Romulan invasion, Captain Bradley Prentice finds himself caught between a mysterious warlord who will stop at nothing to see the Federation destroyed, and a superior officer who may be hiding something--a dark secret which could save the Federation...''or seal its {{doom|yDoomsOfDoom}}.''

For the third film, see [[WebAnimation/StarTrekRedemption Star Trek III: Redemption]].

----
!!The cast:
* Admiral Gaius Reyf. Former commanding officer of the ''U.S.S. F. Scott Fitzgerald''. Assigned as a mission specialist and advisor, but [[HiddenAgendaHero his secretive attitude]] creates tension with his former crew.
* Captain Bradley Prentice. [[TheCaptain Captain]] of the ''Fitzgerald''. A seasoned commander who trusts his people, but is struggling with the odd behavior of his former captain.
* Commander Kendra Ronston. [[TheLancer First Officer]] of the ''Fitzgerald''. [[HonestAdvisor Still not afraid to voice her opinions or concerns]], but time has helped her learn discretion.
* Lt. Commander Jennifer Hargrove. The ''Fitzgerald'''s Chief of Security. Confident and sure of herself, but also more pessimistic than the young ensign we saw in the first movie.
* Lt. Commander Lesley Kal. Operations Officer of the ''Fitzgerald''. In a relationship with Commander Mitchell.
* Lt. Commander Renee Mitchell. The ''Fitzgerald'''s [[WrenchWench Chief Engineer]]. Tough, but dependable. She's tasked with integrating some "special" equipment for the ship's mission into Romulan space.
* Dr. Elizabeth Falwell. [[TheMedic Chief Medical Officer]] of the ''Fitzgerald''.
* [[RedBaron "Drakus"]]. [[GalacticConqueror A warlord]] who appears to be unifying the fractured Romulan Star Empire behind his banner for an assault on the Federation. Little is known about him, though he is rumored to be human. [[spoiler: He is in fact Dr. Braiyon Garr, driven insane by the events of the first movie and now obssessed with destroying both Admiral Reyf and the Federation who "betrayed" him.]]
----
!!Tropes seen in ''Retribution'' include:

* AbortedArc. When our heroes first stumble onto the ''Vaxis'', a hint got dropped about there being a third and unknown weapons signature. Later on, we discover that what was supposed to be a rogue planet has been blasted into rubble (and this fact is referenced later on when Ronston confronts Prentice about Reyf's secrecy). Yet, nothing ever comes of it. WordOfGod says that this was supposed to be leading up to the revelation that Drakus had designed a planet-destroying superweapon which he planned to use to obliterate every planet in the Federation, but this was dropped as too similar to the [[Film/ANewHope Death Star]]. The unknown weapons signature at the ''Vaxis'' battle site, meanwhile, was supposed to have been the key that eventually led everyone to conclude the ISS ''Voyager'' had been involved in that event, but that element was dropped to preserve the mystery surrounding the dark ship's whereabouts.
* AlternateTimeline: At the end of ''Specter'', Garr traveled back in time, and in doing so created one of these, which still somehow manages to integrate all the events from ''Specter'' as we saw them. We're still in it now, as you can tell by the designs of some of the sets--some colors and certain design elements are "off" from what we might otherwise expect.
** By far the most visible is the fact that the bridge still has colors from the bridge of the ''Enterprise''-E.
** Then there's Ronston's rank insignia. If you look closely, she has four rank pips, three gold, one black, kind of a "captain junior grade." In the Prime timeline, she'd simply have three gold pips.
** Also, the uniforms worn by Operations officers versus Security officers. Operations officers wear the traditional gold, but Security officers have a more orange hue to their uniforms.
** In the end, when the timeline changes again, suddenly everything is back to its TNG-ish state, right down to the sounds of the bridge and door chimes.
* AnimationBump: A significant one between ''Specter'' and this film. So much so that when material from the first film wound up being re-used for the PreviouslyOn sequence, a later draft of the movie showed that the background plates and character animations had all been re-rendered at higher resolution, ostensibly as a testbed for what would eventually happen with all the material in ''Retribution''.
** Shots from later in the movie that involve [[spoiler:Kristie]] all had to be rendered at different settings than other shots, so that [[spoiler:her ponytail]] would be seen as it was meant to be seen rather than as a wireframe. In the first film, the discrepancy could be explained away as [[spoiler:the android simply being incomplete; this time Prentice goes out of his way to point out that she's been fully completed.]]
** Midway through production, the producer found a new way to render exterior shots to make the hulls look more metallic and realistic, and give the lights (in particular the warp engines) a "glow halo" like they'd always had on the shows. The new render style first popped up in the second battle sequence.
* ArtEvolution: Between ''Specter'' and ''Retribution'', there was considerable evolution to the appearance of the characters. Aside from some obvious facial adjustments to make them appear slightly older, there are more differences in hair and eye color now.
* AsteroidThicket: Justified; [[spoiler:the debris field that the ''Fitzgerald'' flies through is from a planet that was recently destroyed, so the asteroids would naturally be closer together.]]
* BackForTheFinale. To show we're in an altered timeline, presumably one in which the Romulans never got Borg weapons, we see several ships and people we saw destroyed during the final battle and through the course of the story. Admiral Janeway and the ''U.S.S. Voyager'', the gigantic Starfleet command ship (referred to in dialog as the ''U.S.S. [[Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy Judicator]]''), the Romulan proconsul...
* BatmanGambit. How our heroes eventually get Drakus: knowing he'd have all the bases covered, including deactivating their weapons, and that he'd never be able to resist bragging over his achievement, our heroes [[EngineeredPublicConfession trick him into confessing everything on an open comm channel]] to the ''Fitzgerald'', which retransmits the recording to the Romulans, who immediately break off their attack on the Federation fleet and focus their efforts instead on Drakus' flagship.
* BigDamnHeroes: The ''Fitzgerald'' moves in to rescue the Gueridian Proconsul from behind a fleet of over 300 Romulan Warbirds.
* CallBack: Naturally, the events of ''Specter'' are referenced several times, but not immediately, and at first it isn't clear what role (if any) they will play this time around.
** In the shuttle on the way back to the ''Fitzgerald'', Prentice and Ronston discuss how far they've come since. Prentice even jokes about how much of a handful Ronston was back in those days.
*** Ronston also says: "What matters isn't the challenge we face. What matters is that we stick together. And that we come out on top. The captain taught us that."
** Mitchell's line "Ready captain--we'll get there with time to spare, even if I have to get out and push" is a nod to ''Film/StarTrekVTheFinalFrontier'', when Montgomery Scott said something very similar.
** Reyf says that the Romulan fleet is massing in Sector 585, the location where he and Garr finally met up for their ShowdownAtHighNoon.
*** And that fleet is led by none other than [[Series/StarTrekVoyager Admiral Janeway]].
** On Garr's visit via hologram: "Something very similar happened to me ten years ago. At the time, I thought I was hallucinating, and it wasn't until much later that we discovered what I'd seen was real."
** The subtle "coffee cup" gag from ''Specter'' also returns here. In the first film, the presence of coffee cups signaled that Garr was either present, had been or would be soon. In ''Retribution'', both times coffee mugs appear, Garr appears soon after.
** When [[spoiler:Garr]] goes to inspect his armada, he takes [[spoiler:the same runabout we saw all the way back in the prologue of ''Specter'']].
*** We get a hint that it's the same one when Reyf says "When he arrived to deliver the evidence to the Romulans, he was in a [[spoiler:shuttlecraft]]," as opposed to [[spoiler:runabout]].
** When Prentice gives his PatrickStewartSpeech to the crew just before they head back towards Romulan space, he almost directly quotes something Reyf said at the beginning of ''Specter'', specifically: "If we all stick together, there's nothing we can't do" (the original line was "If we all stick together, nothing can stand in our way").
*** {{Lampshade|Hanging}} when Prentice turns to Reyf, and he responds, "Well said, captain."
** When Kendra calls Earth to talk to Merv, she repeats almost word for word what Phil said about her in ''Specter'', namely that "the only thing I cared about was the next good time."
** During the epilogue scene in Ten Forward, when Garr is seen talking to Kristie, his animation is re-used from the nightmare sequence in ''Specter''.
* CameBackWrong: Dr. Braiyon Garr.
** DamagedSoul: With a little MonsterFromBeyondTheVeil and InhumanHuman thrown in.
* TheCameo: Overlaps with EasterEgg. A surprising number:
** ''Series/BabylonFive'' in the first scene as set dressing in Admiral Thornton's office.
** Mark Kingsnorth's ''Insignia''-class mesh appears early on in a spacedock scene, and again later as one of [[RuleOfThree three]] ships that rescue our heroes.
** The Rimward Space Station from Franchise/StarWarsLegends makes an appearance here as Drakus' command station.
*** The Mustafar Board Room from ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'' stands in as Drakus' observation room.
*** Later, Palpatine's Death Star throne room from ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'' appears as another observation room.
*** And even later, [[Series/MutantX Genomex]] appears as Drakus' command office.
** Medjai's ''U.S.S. Dumont'' (an updated ''Oberth''-class starship) appears during an early Spacedock flythrough, exactly where a classic ''Oberth''-class ship appeared at the end of ''Film/StarTrekIVTheVoyageHome''.
** In Reyf's quarters, one of the pictures hanging on the wall is a photo of [[Series/MutantX Proxy Blue.]]
** The Romulan consulate building is actually the [[Film/AttackOfTheClones Galactic Senate building]].
*** The conference room is actually the [[Film/ThePhantomMenace Trade Federation Conference Room]].
** In Prentice's quarters is a gold replica of the classic ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|1978}}''.
** And directly above that, in a rare instance of ProductPlacement, is the UsefulNotes/MozillaFireFox Nebula wallpaper.
** Drakus' command ship--the [[WesternAnimation/TaleSpin Iron Vulture]]--is played by none other than the ''Film/EventHorizon''.
** The launch bay at Rimward Station is played by Lorenzo Mangogna's [[Film/ANewHope Death Star hangar bay]], including Andrew Crook's [[Franchise/StarWars Millennium Falcon]].
** In the first officer's quarters, a gold model of the [[Film/GalaxyQuest NSEA Protector]] by one door, and the [[Film/TheBlackHole USS Palomino]] by the other, and [[Series/StargateAtlantis the lost city of Atlantis]] near a wall.
** In Reyf's office on the ''Fitzgerald'', several pieces of artwork on the walls are recognizable as being from the ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' briefing room.
** In the Jefferies Tubes, Hargrove's tool is another appearance by a [[Franchise/StarWars lightsaber hilt]].
** When Kendra contacts the Starfleet Corps of Engineers to speak to Merv, the "office wall" behind him looks suspiciously like a wall from the ''[[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine U.S.S. Defiant]]''.
** The "Romulan mines" the ''Fitzgerald'' flies through are actually recolored [[Film/ANewHope Jedi training remotes]].
** The engine room of the ''Iron Vulture'' is played by a recolored version of Admiral Kamikazo Bacon's ''Sovereign''-class Engineering set.
** In the final scenes, Garr's quarters are a monument to geekdom. In addition to the same two diplomas and gold NCC-1701-A as we saw in his office in [[WebAnimation/StarTrekSpecter Specter]], we also have:
*** [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime The Master Sword, the three Spiritual Stones, and the Triforce.]]
*** [[Franchise/BackToTheFuture The DeLorean.]]
*** A promotional render also shows [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask Majora's Mask]] hanging on a wall, right above a model of [[VideoGame/SuperMario64 Princess Peach's Castle.]]
* CatchPhrase: Prentice's seems to be "We're doomed."
* CharacterDevelopment: A lot of that seems to have happened between ''Specter'' and now:
** Prentice and Ronston seem to be getting along much better.
** For that matter, Erickson apparently married Merv Ronston at some point (it's explained later that it lasted for less than a year, and that Merv went back to take over the Starfleet Corps of Engineers).
** Hargrove, Mitchell, and Kal (all ensigns in the first film) are all grown up and have assumed senior positions on the ''Fitzgerald''.
*** Hargrove stands out in particular, as she was the nervous ensign that Reyf met with in his ready room, who's grown into a fierce and determined (if somewhat pessimistic) young woman as security chief.
** Gaius Reyf has gone to being [[DarkIsNotEvil dark]] and {{mysterious|Past}}. Many fans found his explanation for why he's there to be a bit of a HandWave, and that even for a MysteriousInformant HeKnowsTooMuch. This led many fans to conclude early on that there must be [[MoreThanMeetsTheEye more to Reyf than meets the eye.]]
* TheChessmaster: Drakus.
* ConspicuouslyLightPatch: You can usually tell when a shot's going to have camera motion to it--if there's something in the background that's supposed to be animated (i.e. [=LCARS=], alert lights, warp stars, etc.), and it is in one shot but not the next, usually the "next" shot will be a motion camera shot. (Another tell is that the "motion" shots involve background plates whose blur is different from the regular ones).
* ContinuityNod: There are numerous references to canonical ''Franchise/StarTrek'' events, including:
** [[Film/StarTrekNemesis "The Shinzon incident."]]
** [[Film/StarTrek2009 "The Federation tried to stop [the destruction of Romulus in a supernova]."]]
** The officers' combadges are from the future time frame of "All Good Things...", the GrandFinale to [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Star Trek TNG]].
** "...and now they're preparing for an attack the likes of which we haven't seen since the height of the [[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine the Dominion War]]."
** Thornton's office is adorned with several matte paintings from ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries''.
*** In one corner, briefly, you can spot a photo of the ''Enterprise''-D docked at Starbase 74 (from the TNG episode "11001001").
** '''Ronston:''' "First it was the [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Romulans]], then the [[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Klingons]], then [[Film/StarTrekFirstContact the Borg]]."
*** Could also be a call back to events much earlier than the linked things -- to the Federation (and its direct predecessor, the Coalition) that's a chronological list of major enemy powers (the Romulans way back during the Earth-Romulan War, then the Klingons during the TOS period... and finally the Borg in the TNG era) -- the list just end before it gets to the more messy Dominion War period with its three overlapping major enemies.
* CoolStarship: The ''U.S.S. F. Scott Fitzgerald'' returns.
** At one point, the camera pans across the interior of Spacedock towards a fancy and advanced-looking ship, which many fans immediately assumed would be the "future" ''U.S.S. Fitzgerald''. Then the camera pans over it (similar to the end of ''Film/StarTrekIVTheVoyageHome'', and we see the genuine article).
** When the ''Fitzgerald'' loses warp power and the cloaking device in Romulan space, a trio of these comes to the rescue. One is Mark Kingsnorth's ''Insignia'', and another is starship's ''Enterprise-F''.
* DarkerAndEdgier: Compared to ''Specter'', this film is '''definitely''' darker.
** This time, it's not just about one MadScientist obsessing about lost love, hatching a plan with unknown repercussions. This time, it's about an insane warlord who's determined to wipe out TheFederation no matter what it takes.
** [[spoiler:Dr. Braiyon Garr]]. In ''Specter'', he was only mildly threatening, and was a bit of a AntiVillain. This time, after repeated failures, he shoots and vaporizes an aide seemingly without a second thought, and then moves on with his cleverly fiendish sinister plotting.
* TheDayTheMusicLied. Near the end of the film, just when it seems like we've reached whatever remains of his original self within Drakus (complete with a ThemeMusicPowerUp), all of a sudden his eyes flash red and we hear [[OhCrap the Borg theme]].
* DeadpanSnarker: Loads and loads of this. Every character gets in their fair share. The film even opens with one from Admiral Thornton:
-->'''Captain Prentice:''' "You can't be serious, Admiral! The magnitude of this...it's unthinkable!"
-->'''Admiral Thornton:''' "Whether you think about it or not, it's happening anyway."
** How about this one from Prentice, when Garr drops in for his HannibalLecture:
-->'''Captain Prentice:''' "Spare me the villainous posturing. What do you want?"
** Then later:
-->'''Captain Prentice:''' "If you're hoping to win me over with flattery, don't bother. Now if you'll excuse me, I haven't slept in two days, and I'm starting to feel a tad ''cranky''. Why don't you go bother the admiral, I'm sure he'd be ''glad'' you stopped by?"
** At the end of the minefield scene, [[spoiler:Garr]] loudly clears his throat and glares at Prentice until he thanks him for his efforts. His response, in the style of [[Series/StargateSG1 Jack O'Neill]]: "Oh it was nothing, really."
** [[spoiler:Holo Garr]] gets in a nice one at Kristie's expense:
-->'''Garr:''' "See, that's how you can tell I'm the one who programmed you: such boundless optimism."
* DramaticThunder:
** Type 1: The initial shot of the consulate building is backed by ominous stormclouds overhead and a clap of thunder, foreshadowing the coup eventually instigated by Drakus' operatives.
** Type 3: During the conversation in the same scene, a particularly emphatic "'''I believe'''" by the proconsul is accompanied by loud thunderclap. Then a few minutes later, the proconsul trails off after saying, "Only Drakus' most trusted aides have ever seen his face; anyone else who is summoned before him...", and right on cue, there is thunder and lightning as we understand that Drakus is most definitely a CardCarryingVillain.
* DramaticDrop: When Garr first appears, Reyf is so startled that he drops the mug of coffee he's just ordered.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Prentice's comes in the shuttle, as does Ronston's, as they discuss their fond memories of what they learned from Reyf during his tenure as captain.
** Hargrove's comes during the crew briefing, where we learn that she's pragmatic but pessimistic, a stark change from the young and nervous ensign we saw in ''Specter''.
** Mitchell's comes later, when she's sitting next to Kal's biobed in sickbay waiting for her to wake up.
* EvilLaugh: If you thought Garr's was creepy in ''Specter'', wait till you hear it ''this'' time around.
* TheFaceless: Drakus for most of the film, until TheReveal. The only hint we get about his identity before that comes early on, a very quick glimpse of a very human ear when he turns to address a Romulan aide.
* FanFilm
* FatherToHisMen: Prentice, much like Reyf. When Kal is injured during their escape from New Romulus Prentice furiously [[CallingTheOldManOut chews out Reyf]], rank be damned, for nearly getting one of his crew killed.
* FirstNameBasis: Most of the crew of the ''Fitzgerald'' seem to be on this with each other.
** Captain Prentice and Commander Ronston refer to each other as "Kendra" and "Bradley."
** The chief of operations is referred to mostly as "Lesley."
** The chief engineer is usually referred to as "Renee."
** The chief of security is usually referred to as "Jennifer."
** Notably averted though, in that '''everyone''' refers to Reyf as "Admiral."
%%* FourEyesZeroSoul: Garr.
* GlowingEyesOfDoom: Drakus. His eyes [[RedEyesTakeWarning flash red]] early on when he addresses his aide.
** Dr. Garr had this several times in ''Specter'', but curiously when he first appears to Reyf as a hologram, he doesn't. Fans have questioned that, but the creator has pointed out that Garr's SinisterShades have changed--they used to be gold with clear lenses, but now they're black with blue lenses.
* GlowingMechanicalEyes: [[spoiler:Garr's]] eyes glow red when he gets angry.
* HandWave:
** The reason for a number of small things, such as [[spoiler:the Garr hologram's]] glowing red eyes, or the green clouds our heroes find when they reach the Romulan Neutral Zone for the second time.
*** Actually the green clouds make a certain amount of sense: the scene involves a field of cloaked mines, and when the viewscreen switches to a sensor graphic, it wouldn't have looked nearly as [[RuleOfCool cool]] without false-color clouds behind them.
*** WordOfGod says the fact that the clouds are blue in the sensor graphic (already established as [[spoiler:Garr's]] primary color) was no accident.
* HannibalLecture: Braiyon Garr drops in on Captain Prentice just to deliver one of these.
* ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy: Subverted in the New Romulus battle sequence--the disruptor shots all hit their intended target, it just so happened that the target had good shields.
* IronicEcho: In the holodeck scene, the holographic "good" Garr begins the conversation by saying, "Magnificent, isn't it?", referring to the elaborate and detailed simulation he's created. When Reyf and Kristie confront Drakus on the bridge of his ship, he begins that conversation (while looking out at the ongoing battle) with the same words.
** In ''Specter'', when the Kristie android spoke to Garr aboard the ''Fitzgerald'', it was a heartwarming scene that was very warmly lit. The same thing happens here, except it's the opposite in every way: the lighting is cold and austere, the music is subdued and haunting, and even the camera angle is reversed.
* {{Irony}}: Admiral Thornton tells Prentice and Ronston to expect an expert in Romulan psychology, adding "I think you'll be pleasantly surprised." Several times after that, the characters gripe about being stuck with an interloper.
-->'''Ronston:''' "Probably some...back room ''wag'' from the diplomatic corps eager for some field action."
** Then later:
-->'''Prentice:''' "This mission is going to be tough enough without being saddled with a know-it-all bureaucrat."
** Guess who it turns out to be.
* LightIsGood: The interiors of the ''Fitzgerald'' are, for the most part, brightly lit (except when the ship is cloaked), and even the ones that aren't look warm and inviting. By contrast, Drakus' command station is dark and austere, metallic and decidedly ''uninviting''.
* LimitedWardrobe: The characters are always--'''always'''--seen in Starfleet uniforms, unless someone is recovering in sickbay.
** When Drakus' true identity was revealed, many viewers complained about the fact that he was wearing [[spoiler:the same Starfleet uniform variant as had been seen in ''Specter'']]. Some suggested that a cloak or robe of some kind might be a better choice--but aside from the producer's affinity for the existing outfit, in 2011 the selection of clothing for the P4 male was very limited.
* LivingMacGuffin: It's ultimately revealed that the true purpose of the ''Fitzgerald'' being behind enemy lines was to find and kill Drakus, by any means necessary, because [[spoiler:of his true identity as the evil Dr. Braiyon Garr.]]
* LoveHurts. A running theme in this film and in ''Specter'' seems to be broken relationships.
* MagicalSecurityCam: Just exactly where the "intelligence footage" of Drakus that Reyf shows the crew comes from is never explained.
* MalevolentArchitecture. Drakus' command ship (considering it's played by the USS ''Event Horizon'', this is practically a given for anyone who recognizes it).
** And yet, it still manages to be [[RuleOfCool cool]] with the addition of some TronLines.
* MissionBriefing: "...and we know that any Romulan incursion would have to pass through these four sectors."
* MoodWhiplash: We go from Drakus being evil and threatening, to Mitchell being warm and compassionate with Kal.
* MrExposition: In a particularly gutsy move, the film's first scene is almost four minutes of straight exposition, explaining the circumstances of the past ten years.
* TheMutiny: At one point, Prentice seriously considers defying Reyf's orders by having his senior staff break into classified Starfleet files and override the Admiral's security lockouts on Cargo Bay 6. When Reyf confronts him and threatens that he could be court-martialed, Prentice says if that's what it takes he'll [[ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight walk into a court-martial with a clear conscience]] if it means the Federation survives.
* MysteriousPast: We don't know exactly what happened to Braiyon Garr after his ill-fated time jump, only that it almost killed him.
** Likewise, we don't know exactly what Reyf has been up to--only that he's become affiliated with Starfleet Intelligence somehow.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Drakus.
** And his flagship, the ''Iron Vulture''.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: When Drakus abandoned Rimward Station, he set the autodestruct. But wait, there's more: the self-destruct sequence wouldn't have activated if the away team hadn't triggered a holographic message left for them by Drakus. What triggered the holographic message, you ask? Why, the voiceprint of one Admiral Gaius Reyf, of course!
* NoFlowInCGI: When the Ops console explodes during the scene over New Romulus and Commander Kal is thrown to the deck, amazingly her ponytail is completely intact.
* NoodleIncident: When Prentice takes the helm of the ''Fitzgerald'' to elude the Romulans, he references "the Battle of Witch Head." All we know about it is that it involved the ''Fitzgerald'' going ''very'' fast around a moon.
** And that there were ''twelve'' Jem'Hadar fighters.
* OhCrap: When Reyf realizes just who it is that's mysteriously appeared in his quarters: "Braiyon!"
** When Drakus' aide brings him word of the latest failure to eliminate the ''Fitzgerald'', the aide's terrified expression has OhCrap written all over it...just before Drakus shoots and vaporizes him for his failure.
** Amazingly, ''fans'' had this reaction to the end of the scene showing Garr's second visit to the ''Fitzgerald'', which showed Reyf observing Prentice's quarters after Garr beamed away.
** During the confrontation on the ''Iron Vulture'' near the end of the film, for a moment it looks like our heroes have gotten through to Drakus...the music is soft and gentle, his scary Borg-like voice is gone, there's a tender moment between he and what he thinks is his long-lost lover...but then his eyes flash red, and in his scary voice, snarls "NO!" Both Reyf and the female android have terrified looks on their faces.
* OminousLatinChanting: After TheReveal of Drakus' face, the BGM starts to do this. The effect is very eerie now that we know who Drakus really is.
* PardonMyKlingon: In one scene, the tactical officer ''swears'' in Klingon. We don't know what it means, but based on Prentice's reaction, it ain't pretty.
* PreviouslyOn: The film opens with a brief recap of the events of ''Specter''.
* PublicSecretMessage: The Proconsul put the coordinates to Drakus's station on a display monitor while he transmitted his distress call, though it took a while for the ''Fitzgerald'' crew to figure it out.
* RammingAlwaysWorks. How our heroes eventually defeat Drakus: physically ramming his ship with the ''Fitzgerald'' and hurling it into the black hole.
* RealLifeWritesThePlot: WordOfGod says that there's a real-life reason why the Chief of Operations changes from "Lesley" to "Commander Kal" shortly into the film, as well as why there's MoodWhiplash between some scenes.
* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: [[spoiler:Dr. Braiyon Garr. Apparently, following the events of ''Specter'', the ISS ''Voyager'' was thrown back not ten years, but [[Film/StarTrekGenerations seventy-eight]], but because he's been rejuvenated by Borg nanoprobes, he doesn't appear to have aged a day since we first met him.]]
* TheReveal: The first glimpse we get of Drakus' face. Even the {{BGM}} thinks it's SeriousBusiness.
* RuleOfFunny: Most of the exchanges between Prentice and Ronston seem to have been written with this rule in mind, as early on they each get a number of [[OneLiner One Liners]].
-->'''Prentice:''' "A Federation starship with Romulan upgrades. That's just wacky."
** Or this:
-->'''Ronston:''' "Running headlong into hostile territory. Trusting our lives to untested, experimental weapons. WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong?"
-->'''Prentice:''' "Now now, let's not predict disaster before we even leave spacedock."
-->'''Ronston:''' "Fine. I'll wait 'till we're in open space. '''Then''' I'll predict disaster."
-->'''Prentice:''' "That's all I ask." ''(looks at pad)'' "It looks like the only thing we're waiting for now is our specialist to arrive, then we can leave. This mission is going to be tough enough without being saddled by a know-it-all bureaucrat."
-->'''Ronston:''' "Didn't I ''just'' hear someone preaching the power of positive thinking?"
-->'''Prentice:''' "No idea what you're talking about. Whoever it was must've been '''insane'''."
** When the tactical officer swears in Klingon, Prentice [[DeadpanSnarker dryly responds]], "No need for that kind of language, lieutenant."
** After the flight through the minefield, Prentice congratulates his helm officer on a job well done. [[spoiler:Dr. Garr]] loudly clears his throat from across the bridge.
** In the shuttle, when the away team is attempting to penetrate Drakus' shields, [[spoiler:Holo Garr]] and Kristie have this exchange, which is also a CallBack to an episode of ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'':
-->'''[[spoiler:Holo Garr]]:''' "Kristie, stop breathing down my neck!"\\
'''Kristie:''' "My breathing is just a simulation!"\\
'''[[spoiler:Holo Garr]]:''' "So is my neck, stop it anyway!"
* ScareChord: The sting from "Klingon Attack" that plays right after we get our first glimpse of the villain near the beginning of the film.
* SequelHook. ''Retribution'' ends with one of these. After what we think is the Final Scene, we cut back to Sector 585, where Drakus' familiar shuttle decloaks near the black hole. He makes several veiled threats against Captain Prentice for his interference, then in an OhCrap moment, the camera pans to show the dark shuttle cockpit and [[spoiler:an Evil Reyf with glowing red eyes and an evil voice step out of the shadows and say one word: "Indeed."]] Then the shuttle flies off into the distance as the credits roll.
* ShadowDiscretionShot: When Drakus vaporizes an aide bringing news of failure, instead of seeing it actually happen, we get a closeup of his face, with the glow of the phaser energy reflecting off his face.
* ShoutOut: ''Retribution'' actually has two categories of this--one for cast members, and one for everything else.
** In the category of cast members, characters who were named after real people, usually acquaintences (current or former) of the executive producer:
*** Admiral Margaret '''Thornton'''
*** Captain '''Bradley Prentice'''
*** Commander '''Renee Mitchell'''
*** Lieutenant Commander Jennifer '''Hargrove'''
*** Lieutenant Commander '''Lesley Kal'''
*** Navigator Ensign '''Leets'''.
*** While technically not a cast member, the name of the shuttlecraft '''Guibert''' fits this.
** In the category of "everything else":
*** Raul Mamoru's Starbase 54 mesh appears in the film as...Starbase 54.
*** '''Ronston:''' "Drakus? Sounds like something out of [[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1987 a childrens' story]]."
*** Garr says that after his experience he is [[Franchise/{{Terminator}} "living flesh over a titanium endoskeleton."]]
*** '''Prentice:''' [[Film/ANewHope "We're doomed."]]
*** '''Reyf:''' [[Film/WillyWonkaAndTheChocolateFactory "Can't get out backwards. Gotta go forwards to go back...better press on."]]
*** When the ''Fitzgerald'' enters battle at New Romulus, Prentice orders [[AttackPatternAlpha Attack Pattern]] [[Series/StargateSG1 Sierra Gulf One]].
*** Followed a minute later by [[AttackPatternAlpha Attack Pattern]] [[Film/StarTrekTheMotionPicture Epsilon 9]].
*** Prentice's method of escaping the Romulans was inspired by a tactic from the [[Series/{{Andromeda}} Battle of Witch Head]].
*** Leets' method of calling out the course changes by degrees in pitch and yaw is a nod to Mr. Sulu's evasive maneuvers in ''Film/StarTrekTheMotionPicture''.
*** In a way, the entire minefield sequence is a shoutout to the climax of the TNG episode "Booby Trap," right down to the choice of music. In both cases, a ''Galaxy''-class starship wades slowly through a debris field lined with hidden dangers.
*** While on the holographic [[Series/ThePriceIsRight Price is Right set]], every single shot except for two originates directly from the show. Eagle-eyed fans can probably tell which shots correspond to what [[spoiler:pricing game staging]].
*** When our heroes arrive at Rimward Station and are talking about how to find the missing Romulan fleet, Prentice wryly suggests "sending hundreds of probes to every corner of the quadrant," not realizing that [[Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack Darth Vader already tried that.]]
*** The computer algorithm Drakus used to wipe the main computer at Rimward Station was known as '''Korff'''-21.
*** When Prentice appears on the bridge of the ''Iron Vulture'', he insults Drakus, who responds with an outraged and very [[Series/StargateSG1 Goa-uld-like]] utterance of "The '''impudence!'''"
*** Toward the end of the film, Commander Ronston's [[spoiler:"Time's up!" as the Fitzgerald rams the ISS Voyager]] are reminiscent of the final moments of the ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' episode "Year of Hell."
* SpaceStation: Several:
** Starbase 54.
** The starbase from which Drakus appears to be directing the battle plans.
* StockFootage: Unlike ''Specter'', this time the creator has no qualms about re-using footage. Early preview clips showed several exterior shots recycled from ''Specter''.
** Early on, the shots of the ships flying through spacedock are recreations of similar shots from the end of ''Film/StarTrekIVTheVoyageHome''.
** The same two exterior shots of Rimward Station appear over and over again, usually backed by a StockSoundEffect of wind from ''Film/TheBlackHole''.
** After the scene in Engineering when Mitchell discovers the trick with the plasma grid, the first shot of Reyf walking down the corridor is recycled from ''Specter''.
** It's not exactly StockFootage, but to the fullest extent possible, camera setups from ''Specter'' have been recycled here, simply re-rendered with the updated sets.
** The chase through the asteroid field re-used footage originally created for the prologue sequence of ''Specter'', but new material was created as well, meaning that the asteroid field changes appearances from one shot to the next.
* StockSoundEffect: As mentioned above, the sound of eerie wind from ''Film/TheBlackHole'' accompanies the exterior shots of Rimward Station.
** Then later, the sounds of explosions from the same movie show up during the chase through the AsteroidThicket.
* TakeThat: [[Film/ANewHope "Fear of superweapons]] is no way to run an Empire."
* ThereAreNoCoincidences: Only a few hours after the ship leaves Starbase 54 for Romulan space, Braiyon Garr shows up, after ''ten years'' in hiding. Prentice almost says it in the corridor outside Reyf's quarters.
* TimeyWimeyBall: Most of the time travel plot elements come down to this. Justified in that as Reyf said in the last film, "We could already be living in an alternate timeline and just don't know it."
* TookALevelInBadass. Commander Ronston at the end of the film.
* {{Understatement}}: Ronston: "It sounds like he's harboring something of a grudge." This, after Garr explicitly said he has it in for the admiral.
* UnnaturallyBlueLighting: Every time we see Garr on screen, the lighting somehow manages to turn blue. This is especially pronounced in his first appearance in Reyf's quarters.
* VoiceOfTheLegion: Drakus has this. And because PowerMakesYourVoiceDeep, his voice [[EvilSoundsDeep is very deep]].
** And when he appears to Reyf as a hologram, Dr. Garr has a (slightly) less ominous version. [[spoiler:Guess why.]]
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Averted with what many viewers assumed was a throwaway line about Merv and Kendra Ronston being married, and now apparently divorced--it was assumed Merv had simply been "written out" and that would simply be that. Then, unexpectedly, he shows up late in the film, when Kendra calls him to try and smooth things over.
* WholePlotReference: At the beginning of the final act, Reyf and the Kristie android have a discussion in his quarters about Drakus not being completely evil and that there has to be some good left in him. Sounds a lot like the same reason [[Film/ReturnOfTheJedi Luke Skywalker was looking for Darth Vader]].
* YouHaveFailedMe: Drakus says this word for word after an aide fails to secure the destruction of our heroes. [[spoiler:Moments later, Drakus shoots him with a phaser set to maximum.]]