The Saboteur Within

The Saboteur Within was a 14-page Star Trek: The Original Series comic strip. It was the 33rd weekly story arc in the UK comic strips series, published in seven installments in Valiant and TV21 in. In this story, a disembodied saboteur threatened to destroy the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701).

Publisher's description

 * Teaser, November 4, 1972
 * Passing within tactical range of the Klingon-held planet, Cereon, the starship Enterprise was safe within its force-shield. But an intruder was beamed aboard — the spirit of a Cereonian slave, that quickly destroyed Crewman and took control of his body…

Summary
Using a body detachment tank, the disembodied will of a Cereonian was sent to the Enterprise, where it killed and possessed. Although he tried to blend in, the intruder responded irrationally and then attacked his coworkers. Connors nearly strangled James T. Kirk before Leonard McCoy could knock him out with a hypo. To avoid an examination, the Cereonian abandoned Connors' body and sought another. But that created a mystery, as scans showed Connors had been dead for more than an hour. Spock deduced what was happening based on the medical data, their proximity to Cereon, and the Cereon potential for thought projection.

The crew were ordered to work in pairs to limit the intruder's threat. In response, Klingons diverted a battle cruiser to shoot at the Enterprise. A weapon's blast knocked out McCoy, leaving medic alone and vulnerable to the Cereonian. A lucky shot by the Enterprise destroyed the cruiser, but by then Peterson had locked himself in the engine core and begun to disable overload safeguards. Shuttlecraft were readied in case the crew needed to abandon ship.

Kirk attempted to drill through the door to main engineering. Meanwhile, Spock borrowed a thought projector device McCoy used to calm disturbed patients. Once Kirk punctured the door, Spock used the device to disrupt the saboteur's concentration and scramble contact with his masters. Realizing their agent might be compromised, Klingons readied three more Cereonians. But Spock suspected that, with his thoughts scrambled, the saboteur might be susceptible to mental coersion. Spock telepathically suggested that the Cereonian abandon Peterson's body, return to Cereon and destroy the Klingons' equipment. The Cereonian obeyed, triggering a large explosion on the planet and ending the crisis.

Characters

 * • Dorman • James T. Kirk • Leonard McCoy • • Sorkon • Spock • Hikaru Sulu • Nyota Uhura • unnamed Cereonians • unnamed Klingons • unnamed USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) personnel (helmsman)

Starships and vehicles

 * USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) ( heavy cruiser) • Sorkon's battlecruiser • unnamed Federation shuttlecraft

Locations

 * Cereon

Earth • Jupiter

Races and cultures

 * Cereonian • Human • Klingon • Vulcan

States and organizations

 * Federation • Klingon Empire

Science and technology

 * body detachment tank • computer • disembodied projection • environmental suit • force field • laboratory • library computer • main power pod • medkit • missile • monitor • phaser • scanner • sedation dermo-gun • thought projector • viewscreen • wrench

Ranks and titles

 * armaments officer • assassin • captain • commander • crewman • doctor • Federation Starfleet ranks (2260s) • professor • rank • skipper • slave • Starfleet ranks

Other references

 * assignment patch • beam • brain • bridge • continent • day • duty shift • fleet • ghost • hangar deck • lifeform • minute • quarters • replica • second • sickbay • slavery • space • Starfleet uniform • Starfleet uniform (2265-2270) • steel • telepathy

Background

 * This story was not printed with a title, but it was given one ("The Saboteur Within") for its reprinting in the omnibus The Classic UK Comics, Volume 3.
 * Valiant and TV21 covers during this story arc featured historical figures who have appeared in Star Trek. Issue #57 featured Genghis Khan, while issue 60 featured Leonardo da Vinci, his painting of the Mona Lisa, and his designs for a tank and helicopter.
 * Klingon scientists were shown simulating the overload of a warp core in a replica of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) to confirm that this would blow up the starship. Published in October 1972, this may have been the first time an Enterprise was shown blowing up.

Related stories

 * , – Other encounters with disembodied entities.
 * – A Klingon scientist aimed a metaweapon at Earth.
 * – A Klingon scientist used a mass hypnosis machine on the Enterprise crew.
 * – Dorado mutineers attempted to parley with Klingons on Scaptar.

Chronology

 * As with two other Klingon-centric stories in the UK comic strips series, "The Klingon Ultimatum" and "By Order of the Empire", Klingons used science and manipulation to attain their goals rather than attack directly, which suggests a placement after enforcement of the Organian Peace Treaty in 2267, even though the story included brief combat between Federation and Klingon ships.

Production history

 * This story was serialized in two-page sections over seven consecutive weeks in Valiant and TV21 magazine. Issues 58, 59, and 61 were 36 pages, with the Star Trek segment printed in color on pages 18-19. Issue 62 was 40 pages with the segment printed on pages 20-21. Issues 57, 60, and 63 were 44 pages with the segment printed on pages 22-23.


 * : Pages 1-2 published in Valiant and TV21 #57.
 * : Pages 3-4 published in Valiant and TV21 #58.
 * : Pages 5-6 published in Valiant and TV21 #59.
 * : Pages 7-8 published in Valiant and TV21 #60.
 * : Pages 9-10 published in Valiant and TV21 #61.
 * : Pages 11-12 published in Valiant and TV21 #62.
 * : Pages 13-14 published in Valiant and TV21 #63.
 * September 2017 : Reprinted in the omnibus The Classic UK Comics, Volume 3 (IDW Publishing)
 * 1 February 2018 : Reprinted in the omnibus Graphic Novel Collection #29 (Eaglemoss)
 * : Pages 13-14 published in Valiant and TV21 #63.
 * September 2017 : Reprinted in the omnibus The Classic UK Comics, Volume 3 (IDW Publishing)
 * 1 February 2018 : Reprinted in the omnibus Graphic Novel Collection #29 (Eaglemoss)