Smoke and Mirrors

Smoke and Mirrors was an eight-page Star Trek: The Original Series comic strip published in. It was the seventh of 11 annual stories in the UK comic strips series, and appeared in Valiant and TV21 Summer Special 1972 in black and white.

Publisher's description

 * Omnibus teaser
 * When a Klingon commander named Tharrk attempts to enslave the planet Fornia, Kirk and Spock work to sabotage the Klingons' destructive new weapon and free the planet's population.

Summary
Kirk and Spock met with the president of the peaceful planet Fornia during a diplomatic visit. Suddenly a Klingon battle cruiser bombarded their cities from orbit. Klingon Commander Tharrk appeared, declaring himself military governor of Fornia, now part of the Klingon Empire. Should there be any resistance, orbital attacks would resume. The forward section of Tharrk's battle cruiser contained a new Klingon weapon: an energetic light beam.

After a fight, Kirk and Spock escaped. Kirk ordered the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) to leave orbit and assume they were dead if he didn't contact them within 12 hours. To get a better look at Tharrk's ship, they visited an observatory run by Professor Markan. Spock studied the battle cruiser and developed a plan. That night, while Markan spread rumors, Kirk and Spock stole two crates of bombs from a munitions storage area. Tharrk concluded that the Federation men would use the bombs against his ship.

That morning, Kirk and Spock launched a weather satellite covered with solar panels, but drew attention. Tharrk brought the president and some Klingon guards to the observatory. He ordered everyone to watch as the satellite approached his cruiser. But when the cruiser fired its weapon at the satellite, the beam reflected off its solar panels and hit the cruiser, heavily damaging it. Kirk and Spock disabled the Klingons and handed them over to the president. Kirk promised that the Federation would defend Fornia against future attacks.

Characters

 * James T. Kirk • Markan • Spock • Tharrk • unnamed Fornia natives

Starships and vehicles

 * Tharrk's battle cruiser

USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) ( heavy cruiser)

Locations

 * Fornia

Races and cultures

 * Fornia native • Human • Klingon • Vulcan

States and organizations

 * Federation • Klingon Empire

Science and technology

 * armor • bomb • communicator • dam • explosive • observatory • probe • rocket • solar panels • weather satellite

Ranks and titles

 * ambassador • captain • commander • Federation Starfleet ranks (2260s) • first officer • guard • intelligence officer • military governor • president • professor • spy • Starfleet ranks

Other references

 * atmosphere • beam • city • diplomacy • dog • galaxy • government • hostage • hour • light • mirror • orbit • peace • planet • second • slavery • snake • space • Starfleet uniform • Starfleet uniform (2265-2270) • starship • sun • Vulcan nerve pinch

Timeline

 * The apparent freedom with which the Klingon Empire and Federation could attack each other suggests a placement prior to the establishment of the Organian Peace Treaty.

Production history

 * July 1972 : First printed in Valiant and TV21 Summer Special 1972 (IPC Magazines)
 * September 2017 : Reprinted in the omnibus The Classic UK Comics, Volume 3 (IDW Publishing)

Background

 * Valiant and TV21 Summer Special 1972 was a 96-page comic book omnibus released in Australia, Great Britain, Malaysia, Malta, New Zealand, Rhodesia, South Africa and West Africa. Its only Star Trek story, "Smoke and Mirrors", was printed on pages 18-23.
 * This story was not printed with a title, but it was given one ("Smoke and Mirrors") for its reprinting in the omnibus The Classic UK Comics, Volume 3.
 * It and "The Marshall Plan" were the only stories printed entirely in b/w in the UK comic strips series. The last six stories of the US Comic Strips series were printed entirely in b/w, beginning with "Taking Shape" and ending with "Getting Real".
 * The initial release date was July 1972. (Valiant and TV21 Summer Special 1972 article at the Star Trek Reading Order website)
 * The story had many parallels to . In both stories, a Klingon occupation force overran a peaceful planet with strategic value. Kirk ordered the Enterprise to leave orbit. The military governor considered Kirk and Spock spies and threatened to kill hostages. Kirk and Spock also sneaked into a munitions storage area at night.
 * The story stated that Fornia was in another galaxy, though it seems unlikely that two advanced civilizations would send ships to the same planet in another galaxy at the same time and not notice each other along the way. It's possible the author misused the word galaxy.

Related stories

 * – In 2266, Spock designed a prism amplifier to reflect an energy blast back at a Lerow rocket.
 * – In 2267, Commander Kor landed a Klingon occupation force on Organia.