The Wristwatch Plantation

The Wristwatch Plantation is a Star Trek: The Original Series comic strip. It is the 12th story in the US Comic Strips series, published daily in newspapers over a period of 20 weeks by the Los Angeles Times Syndicate. The story was set after, depicting events from Captain Kirk's second five-year mission aboard the refurbished USS Enterprise (NCC-1701). This story was co-written by Larry Niven and features the return of the Kzinti introduced in. In this story, a Kzinti warship attacks the Enterprise with a devastating new weapon.

Summary

 * Captain's Log: Stardate 7731.1.
 * Medical and psychiatric personnel, as well as a sociology team, are remaining on Iskonia to help Lyra and her people to adjust to their new lives. Lt. Marsha Latham and her men are recovering from their ordeal in sick bay, as we proceed to the Neumenedes star system for a well-deserved R&R.

Before Kirk could complete a sentence about their upcoming shore leave, Uhura received a priority message from Starfleet ordering them to divert immediately to Starbase 18.


 * Captain's Log: Stardate 7738.5.
 * R&R has been delayed by a priority mission. We are proceeding to the planet Mimit, in the Zeta-Sagittarii system, with V.I.P. passengers — a delegation of high-ranking Bebebebeque. Because of their stature in the Federation, the Enterprise has been temporarily placed under the supervision of Starfleet Colonial Operations. We have been diverted from normal patrol to determine the fate of a Bebebebeque colony established on Mimit approximately 15 Earth years ago.

En route at warp three on a week-long trip to Mimit, the crew and the Bebebebeque encountered difficulty working together, with the diminutive insectoid species darting about in small anti-grav sleds to avoid the (to them) massive humanoids. As McCoy explained, they have “a real fear of being stepped on” and “feel safer at our eye level.”


 * Captain's Log: Stardate 7739.1.
 * We are en route to the Zeta Sagittarii system with a delegation of Bebebebeque aboard. Our orders are to investigate the fate of their colony, established on the planet Mimit 15 standard years ago. Because of their special needs, and their importance in the Federation, certain areas of the Enterprise have been convertedd for their use. But despite those efforts, difficulties have arisen among my crew — most notably a fatigue syndrome Dr. McCoy has labeled Bebebebequephobia.


 * Captain's Log: Supplemental.
 * A fatigue syndrome, which Dr. McCoy has labeled Bebebebequephobia, is decimating my crew, and I am critically short of personnel to run this ship.

Sickbay overflowed with crew freaked out by the Beeks, but Kirk was hesitant to take action. The species was known for being sensitive and taking offense, with the result being losing them as a trading partner. Kirk was ordered “not to offend them in any way.” Meanwhile, the Beeks found themselves more comfortable with engineers, offering to build a miniature component for Scotty to improve the signal strength of the transporter and modifying phaser controls in the auxiliary control room.


 * Captain's Log: Supplemental.
 * Tensions between my crew and the Bebebebeque continue to escalate everywhere except in Engineering. Starfleet has authorized experimental modifications to the transporter and auxiliary phaser controls, and it is my theory that activity accounts for the lack of hostilities there. However, we are due to arrive at Mimit in one standard week. Lieutenant Commanders Uhura and Sulu are wagering we will not make it without a major incident elsewhere on the ship.

Deciding to consult the Beeks expert that came aboard, Kirk met with Chief Alienologist Mernat, who was a Ferreth, a race that had been trading with the Beeks longer than the Federation.


 * Captain's Log: Supplemental.
 * Only Mr. Spock and I know the real reason for the presence of the Ferreth alienologist, Mernat, aboard the Enterprise. Some of my crew may be involved in smuggling a canister of an illegal drug known as Theep onto the ship using the confusion caused by transporting the Bebebebeque to Mimit as a cover.

Fearing tipping off smugglers, Kirk and Spock agreed not to alert security about the potential threat, leaving them as the only ones to help Ferreth.


 * Captain's Log: Supplemental.
 * Only Mr. Spock and I know the the truth about Mernat, the Ferreth alienologist… He is here as an investigator. Some of my crew have smuggled a canister of Theep… Thiotrichloride Ethepeptine… onto the ship. The drug is a hormonal stimulant affecting only Ferreth males, who kill for mating priviliges as Vulcans do. But, more important, if the drug is here, it is a danger to the ship. Theep is an unstable and highly corrosive substance that will quickly eat through any material… including its own container!

Mernat spent much time in the cargo bay looking for patterns indicative of smuggling. His instincts were proven right. Afraid of being detected, Lucy urged her smuggling partner, engineering Ensign Mike Carpenter, to move a Theep canister from its hiding place in the cargo bay before the Beeks discovered it while taking apart loading machinery.


 * Captain's Log: Supplemental.
 * A fist fight has broken out in the enlisted crew mess hall. Up to now, sporadic arguments involving the Beeks and my crew have been averted, and I only hope this incident is not an indication of a new behavioral trend among ship’s personnel…

Taking advantage of the distraction, Mike Carpenter and Lucy retrieved the Theep canister hidden in the cargo bay. But as they hid it behind a panel in auxiliary control, they were discovered by Pete Conroy. They coaxed Conroy to partner with them, promising wealth when they arrived at their next port, Cyonis IV, but only told him about one of their two Theep containers.

As Kirk assigned disciplinary action for the brawl to Scott, they were interrupted by a yellow alert. Uhura recognized an approaching vessel as a Kzinti warship. It had a old-style warp drive and was armed with lasers and particle beam cannons in violation of the Treaty of Sirius.


 * Captain's Log: Stardate 7748.5.
 * Everyone aboard the Enterprise is experiencing an intense pain, much like that of a migraine headache. According to Mr. Spock, it is because our minds are being read by a Kzinti telepath…

Spock urged the crew to think of eating raw vegetables, but it wasn’t enough to stop Telepath aboard the warship Giant Killer from learning all about the starship’s mission. Needing to prevent the Enterprise from reaching Mimit, F-th Captain prepared to fire his ship’s new weapon.


 * Captain's Log: Supplemental.
 * Despite my full report of the incident with the Kzinti telepath, Starfleet has ordered us to the Bebebebeque colony on Mimit without investigating the purpose of the armed Kzinti warship…

As Sulu prepared to depart at warp four, the Theep canister hidden in auxiliary control started leaking, causing circuit failures. Scotty and Chief Engineer of the Seventh Nest located the trouble, but shields wouldn’t respond as Giant Killer fired Hamstringer, a beam weapon that shut down the Enterprise’s gravity.


 * Captain's Log: Supplemental.
 * The Kzinti weapon has burned out our artificial gravity generators. Without them we are forced to operate the Enterprise while contending with the true weightless condition of outer space. Our malfunctioning deflector shields and phasers, coupled with this new problem, make it necessary for us to retreat from the Kzinti. Our speed is the only effective weapon we have.

Giant Killer’s engines were no match for the starship. F-th Captain urged Flyer to get their speed up to warp 3.8 to pursue as quickly as they could.


 * Captain's Log: Stardate 7749.2
 * Cruising at warp 10, we have accomplished an ignoble but successful retreat from the Kzinti warship, and we are proceeding to the Bebebebeque colony on Mimit. Gravity has been restored to some areas of the ship, and repairs are under way on the malfunctioning phasers and shields. We have also found the cause of those malfunctions… a leaking container of Theep hidden in auxiliary control…


 * Captain's Log: Supplemental.
 * The Enterprise’s artificial gravity generators have been repaired and partial power has been restored to our deflector shields with the help of the Bebebebeque engineers. We are now due to arrive in the Mimit system in a few hours, and I have called a meeting in my quarters to inform the landing party.

Carpenter found their other Theep canister leaking into Transporter 3's circuit junction. He was confronted by Pete Conroy, and, angered by the sight of a second canister he hadn't been told about, a fight ensued. Mernat had followed Lucy and both saw the fight, but vapors from the Theep affected Mernat and he went into a killing fever. The transporter short-circuited and beamed Conroy and Carpenter into space. Lucy was caught by security, McCoy injected a counter-agent into Mernat, and a team spread foam to stop the Theep from dissolving through the deck.


 * Captain's Log: Stardate 7750.3
 * Due to a transporter malfunction caused by a second leaking container of Theep, the landing party, consisting of myself, Lt. Commander Sulu, Lt. Marsha Latham, and the First High Councilor and his Nest, are going down to the surface of Mimit via shuttle. The fate of the Bebebebeque colony, established there 15 years ago, remains a mystery…

The team headed down in a Surak class shuttle with a warpsled. A ground-based defense squad of Kzinti spacecraft launched from the surface. It’s flagship, Blood Gnat, attacked the Enterprise with particle beam cannons while their rear guard tackled the shuttle. The shuttle fired phasers in response, but a direct hit sent it spiraling out of control. They managed to separate the shuttle from its warpsled but it plummeted and crashed on the surface.

The Beeks were uninjured and tried to revive the humans as a large creature started ripping through the hull to eat them. Fumbling with Lt. Latham's phaser rifle, four Beeks were able to stun the creature. The humans revived and called the ship. Their signal was intercepted by the Kzinti base, which sent out a hunting party to kill them. Mimit Beek colonials, slaves on the base, were ordered to assist, but secretly they alerted hidden compatriots who beamed over the shuttle.


 * Captain's Log: Stardate 7752.3
 * The Bebebebeque colonials have warned us that a Kzinti hunting party is on its way here. We are making use of the colony’s hidden transporter base to escape…


 * Captain's Log: Stardate 7752.3
 * 15 years previously the Bebebebeque colony on Mimit was nearly destroyed by Ravagers. The Kzinti, coming to Mimit to hunt these animals, saved the colonists, then enslaved them.

Now in the colony’s hidden transporter base with knowledge about how to defeat the Hamstringer weapon, Kirk relayed that information to his ship. Their hidden base was located directly underneath the Kzinti’s base, however, and Kzinti traced the signal. But the creature, a Ravager, was part of a large, starving herd of hundreds that had followed the Kzinti hunting party back to their base and started storming it. The Kzinti were too busy fighting the Ravagers to worry about Kirk’s team.

In orbit, Giant Killer arrived and joined the battle, firing its Hamstringer, but this time the Enterprise’s shields held. Spock would have to maintain a “full-strength bombardment” to deplete Giant Killer’s dilithium crystals, while not losing the Enterprise’s shields in the process.

Learning that there were Beek slaves on Giant Killer, Kirk conceived a battle strategy. Sulu and Latham located a Ravager group and got its coordinates. Giant Killer’s Beeks prepared to drop shields at the right moment. With the secret transporter, Beeks then beamed Ravagers onto Giant Killer’s bridge, sending the ship careening out of control.

Unnoticed, Blood Gnat landed at the Mimit base to retrieve Kzinti survivors. Powerless and drifting into deep space, Giant Killer exploded, its surviving crew having beamed to Blood Gnat. Blood Gnat fled to the “nearest free trader outpost,” its crew now exiled from Kzin.


 * Captain's Log: Stardate 7760.5:’’’
 * With the Bebebebeque colony now safely transplanted on another uninhabited world, the Enterprise returns to Starfleet Command Headquarters…

Characters

 * USS ‘’Enterprise’’ crew
 * James T. Kirk • Spock • Leonard McCoy • Hikaru Sulu • Montgomery Scott • Nyota Uhura • Pavel Chekov • Marsha Latham • Umeki • Hadley • Gunderson • Farnsworth • Lucy • Mike Carpenter • Pete Conroy


 * Other characters
 * First High Councilor • Chief Engineer of the Seventh Nest • Mernat • F-th Captain • Flyer • Telepath • Arm-of-the Hamstringer • Blood Gnat’s Captain • Mimit Base Communications Officer Srith • Patriarch of Kzin

Starships and vehicles

 * USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) • Giant Killer • Blood Gnat • Death Dagger • Surak class shuttle

Locations

 * Mimit in Zeta Sagittarii system • Starfleet Command Headquarters Cyonis IV • Alpha Parnaculon IV • Rigel III • Sol VI • Saturn • Beta Lyrae system • Argelius II • Neumenedes

Races and cultures

 * Human • Bebebebeque • Ferreth • Kzinti • Ravager

States and organizations

 * Starfleet Colonial Operations • Kzinti Patriarchy • Federation • Starfleet • Mimit Defense Squadron

Science and technology

 * access plate • alienologist • anti-grav sled • artificial gravity generator • auxiliary control • auxiliary phaser controls • cargo loading machinery • cargo bay • carpet leaf • crossover circuit • deflector shield • Ferreth hormonal stimulant • Ferreth mating ritual • first-generation warp drive • free fall • free fall exercises • fuel line • gravity stabilizer • Hamstringer • hand phaser • hibernation • impulse power • laser bank • matter converter • Mimit ground car • orbvcs • particle beam cannon • phaser rifle • sensor range • signal amplifier • Theep • Theep canister • Thiotrichloride Ethepeptine • transporter controls • warpsled

Other references

 * 3-D Chess • carnivore • crab appetizer • headache • herbivore • hunting party • drug smuggling • Kzinti coming of age ritual • police ship • Sargassian wufti juice • smuggler • slavery • Sthondat • Treaty of Sirius • vegetarian • water pistols

Background

 * Larry Niven described the development of this story, having co-written the story at DiVono’s invitation. The authors worked out the plot together, and then DiVono adapted it to work in the format of a daily newspaper strip, for which Niven was unfamiliar. The Ferreth and Theep were Divono’s creations, introduced as a means of creating vulnerabilities for the ship.
 * Presented daily over a 20 week span, this story was the longest in the series. It was initially conceived as being longer. According to Niven, overworked artist Ron Harris wanted to quit the strip near the end, but was willing to complete the story, if it would end sooner. The authors preferred not to change artists. A longer, dynamic, epic battle was shortened by DiVono by having Ravagers disable the Giant Killer.
 * Niven and DiVono considered novelizing the original story or reprinting the strip in book form. According to Niven, they had initially gotten permission from Paramount, but it was revoked after a staff change.
 * This story arc was not printed with a title. Larry Niven provided its title in his book. (“Playgrounds of the Mind,” Larry Niven, 1991, Tor Books)
 * This is the 12th of 20 story arcs set after the events of, and is set during Captain Kirk's second five-year mission aboard the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701). It is the fourth of five comic strip stories written by Sharman DiVono.
 * This story begins immediately after the previous story, . The next story,, starts with a log entry closing out events from this story.
 * Recurring characters: Security officer Umeki appeared in four of Sharman DiVono’s comic strip stories. He also appeared in, , and . Security officer Marsha Latham also appeared in . They were romantically involved.

Related stories

 * - Introduced Larry Niven’s Kzinti, exploring the Treaty of Sirius and various Kzinti lore.
 * Harlan Ellison's The City on the Edge of Forever, Issue 1 – The original script by Harlan Ellison also featured a rare look at Starfleet crewmen smuggling drugs for financial profit.