Goodbye to Spock

Goodbye to Spock is a Star Trek: The Original Series comic strip by Gerry Conway. It is the 17th story in the US Comic Strips series, published in newspapers over a period of nine weeks by the Los Angeles Times Syndicate. This story depicts events after Captain Kirk's second five-year mission but before. In this story, Captain Spock contracts amnesia after crash-landing on a lost Earth colony world.

Summary

 * Copernicus’ log, stardate 9597.2.
 * Captain Spock reporting. Lt. Cmdr. Singh and I are aboard the Enterprise shuttlecraft ‘Copernicus’ investigating a distress buoy. This buoy is in orbit around a planet in the Fortenue system, and apparently marks the spot where a colony ship crash-landed 200 years ago.

Singh located the distress beacon 100 kilometers within the rings of the planet, but no debris from the colony ship. Suddenly the shuttle was hit by an asteroid.


 * Copernicus’ log, stardate 9597.3.
 * Spock reporting… All power gone… time of crash-landing on planetary surface, 2.03 sec—

Spock dragged Singh out of the shuttle just before it exploded, but Singh was killed and Spock was knocked out. Spock was rescued by three people riding peculiar wingless birds as steeds, one of whom was Lady Dyana, daughter of the chief of their clan. Spock awoke with amnesia, his Vulcan side submerged and all memories blank, and called Dyana a beautiful sight. He didn’t recognizing his name, written on his spacesuit.

Out for a walk, Dyana and Spock evaded her handmaidens and found a private spot for a kiss. But he was seen by Kivin, who reported the two being out alone to her father, high captain Argus. Feeling as though Spock had betrayed the family’s confidence, but not able by their customs to publicly accuse his own daughter, Argus conspired to have Spock killed.

A second shuttle landed in the courtyard, a rescue ship with Kirk and McCoy aboard.


 * Captain’s log, stardate 9602.2.
 * Dining planetside with the feudal descendants of marooned colonists…

They were welcomed to dinner, but drugged by the nectar of the lotus flower, which rendered Kirk susceptible to Argus’ commands. Kirk was dressed in black knight armor and sent to confront Spock and Dyana. As the knight, he slapped Dyana to the ground in front of Spock. Suddenly Argus was present to see Spock respond passively, and demanded Spock challenge the knight or he would never see Dyana again. So compelled, he agreed.


 * Captain’s log, stardate 9602.03.
 * Commander Scott reporting, in temporary command of the Enterprise. We’ve traced Spock’s shuttle to its crash site on the planet below, and, since electromagnetic charges in the rings have temporarily shorted out the transporters, Admiral Kirk left for the site with Dr. McCoy in a shuttle. Their first report is due in ten minutes. I canna but hope they find Captain Spock alive…

In a public arena, seated in knight armor with jousts atop the peculiar wingless birds, it was announced this was a challenge to the death. Dyana demanded it stop, but Argus ordered her to be silent. The joust began, with both Kirk and Spock knocked to the ground. Dyana overheard Kivin telling Argus that Kirk would win because the nectar numbed his senses, and Dyana shouted that out to Spock. Spock evaded the swing of a mace by Kirk.

But as Spock looked up at Argus, and saw his epaulets, a memory sparked. Recognizing them as captain’s epaulets from Starfleet, his memory returned. Spock managed to disarm Kirk with a sword, and helped him up. Dyana fled from the stands, telling her father she would rather die at Spock’s side if he were going to be killed for loving her. Argus ordered them both killed, but at that moment, Scott materialized with four members of Starfleet security and fired his phaser above Argus’ head.

Spock explained to Dyana how he came to be on the planet, but she saw it was emotionless. Asking where her “warm, caring man” went, she kissed him. Spock remained stoic, explaining his Vulcan nature.


 * Captain’s log, stardate 9602.
 * The descendants of the lost colony ship have refused our offer of aid; they are content with their own feudal society, and we respect their wishes, so we’re leaving the Fortenue system…marking it ‘closed’ on Federation maps. And at least one of us is leaving part of himself behind, though he’d be the last person to admit it. Kirk, James T., Admiral of the Starfleet… log out.

Dyana looked to the stars, and back aboard the Enterprise, Spock was quiet.

Characters

 * James T. Kirk • Spock • Leonard McCoy • Montgomery Scott • Hikaru Sulu • Nyota Uhura • Singh • Argus • Dyana • Kivin

Starships and vehicles

 * USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) • Copernicus shuttlecraft colony ship

Locations

 * Fortenue system • Barham Wood • The Keep

Races and cultures

 * Human • Vulcan

States and organizations

 * Omega Level 2 Clan

Science and technology

 * Space buoy

Ranks and titles

 * High Captain

Other references

 * avianoid steeds • castle • Distress code Maxima-A • feudalism • hand maidens • jousting • lance • Lotus flower nectar • mace • mead • Troth • sword

Background

 * Serc Soc is credited with art assists to Ernie Colon, but that was apparently a pseudonym. Alfredo Alcala continued the artwork after Colon quit, illustrating the second half of the story. (http://www.hassleinbooks.com/pdfs/TrekComics.pdf)


 * The story’s title was printed on May 7, 1983, the day before it debuted.


 * This is the second of five stories written by Gerry Conway, famous for co-creating Marvel’s Punisher and scripting the death of Gwen Stacy in The Amazing Spider-Man comic book. Conway wrote the final arc in the strip series, creating a period when Admiral Kirk revisited the Enterprise before the events of.


 * This story follows shortly after the previous one, based on the stardates. The rationale for the story being set in 2279 is based on evidence from the previous story,.


 * In this story, Copernicus and the shuttle Kirk and McCoy used were of a different design than the Copernicus (NCC-1701/5), a SW7 class shuttle. These two shuttles might have been of an experimental design, per the testbed status of the Enterprise during this period.


 * The introduction in the reprint The Newspaper Comics, Volume 2 noted story similarities to and, other instances where Spock’s Vulcan identity was suppressed to such an extent that he expressed emotions and fell in love.

Related stories

 * — Kirk and Spock are manipulated into battling each other to the death.