The Nogura Regatta

The Nogura Regatta is a Star Trek: The Original Series comic strip. It is the 13th story in the US Comic Strips series, published daily in newspapers over a period of seven 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). In this story, a starship race celebrating Admiral Heihachiro Nogura's birthday is threatened by pirates.

Summary

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

Kyoshi Nogura organized a rally-style race between six starships to celebrate the birthday of his grandfather, Admiral Heihachiro Nogura. Two other captains participating were Kirk’s friend Bob Clark with the Cutter Class USS Rim Explorer (NCC-3913) and Kirk’s former Academy student Vera DiMarco with the USS Bold Venture (NCC-2013). Kirk’s command crew were initially hesitant to participate, but Kirk won them over with the notion of competing for the pride of Starfleet.

That evening, Kirk had dinner with DiMarco, who tried to get Kirk to reveal weaknesses to the Enterprise leftover from their battle with the Kzinti. Kirk said she’d been an unusually aggressive and competitive student. McCoy compared her to a Dalgorian water viper.

Early the next day, Kyoshi explained the rally-style rules to Kirk’s crew. Ships were handicapped to equalize their capabilities, and each was given a sealed pouch to unseal at a designated checkpoint that would reveal a mission to complete en route. As a “warp 12 cruiser,” the Enterprise would depart last. Amongst themselves, Kyoshi and two cadet friends discussed how the race, Kyoshi’s Psychology term project, was designed to “bring out the best and the worst in all participants.”

Clark’s ship reached its checkpoint and was directed to the Hydra Daco system to retrieve a deep-sea batfish. DiMarco tried to break open her pouch before reaching their checkpoint. Enterprise left at 0740 hours at warp 7. At its checkpoint, Kirk learned he had to retrieve a Thorian blood rock on a planet deep within Free Trader Lanes, an area notorious for criminal activity.

Kyoshi’s cadets docked at a Free Trader station and met with Captain Sturdevant, commander of a massive Free Trader pirate vessel. Kyoshi paid Sturdevant to delay the racers, but the pirate instead kidnapped the cadets, headed to the Hydra Daco system, and destroyed Rim Explorer. Focused on the race, DiMarco ignored Rim Explorer’s distress call, but the Enterprise diverted and rescued Bob Clark's crew.


 * Captain's Log: Stardate 7759.3.
 * The Enterprise is in orbit around Thoris Amarnis 4…

Beaming down, Kirk, Spock, McCoy and Scotty found that the blood rocks supplied light and heat to local inhabitants, and taking one would be a crime. Feeling like lab rats, they chose instead to trade for the rock. DiMarco also felt the race was rigged—Bold Venture 's crew had been manipulated into kidnapping a telepathic reptilian—so Bold Venture changed course and joined the Enterprise. Meanwhile, the cloaked Free Trader ship was also in the Thoris Amarnis system. Sturdevant plotted to attack, capture and sell the Enterprise to Klingons.

Feeling guilty for the mess they'd created, the cadets escaped their cell and deactivated the pirate’s clocking device. DiMarco decided to beam aboard and rescue the cadets. Her first officer said the race had changed her, that she wasn’t usually “heroic.” DiMarco felt guilty for having not rescued the crew of Rim Explorer. Kirk and DiMarco beamed aboard the cargo hold of the pirate ship, surprised to see each other. Kirk’s blood rock overheated the cargo hold, leading two pirates to investigate. When they didn’t return, Sturdevant went to check on the hold, only to find himself at the wrong end of Kirk’s phaser pistol. He surrendered, preferring the brig to facing Klingons who’d already paid him for the Enterprise.

Leaving the system with the cadets, DiMarco suggested their, head to head, no tricks, and Kirk accepted. At warp 11.5, the Enterprise crossed the finish line 29 hours later, just ahead of Bold Venture, the last to arrive in the official regatta. DiMarco then asked Kirk to dinner in Chinatown.

Characters

 * USS ‘’Enterprise’’ crew
 * James T. Kirk • Spock • Leonard McCoy • Montgomery Scott • Hikaru Sulu • Pavel Chekov • Nyota Uhura Christine Chapel • Heihachiro Nogura


 * Other characters
 * Vera DiMarco • Bob Clark • Kyoshi Nogura • Urdiss • Sturdevant • Charlie (pirate) • Melkis

Starships and vehicles

 * USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) • USS Bold Venture (NCC-2013) • USS Rim Explorer (NCC-3913) • Unidentified Daedalus-style starship • Unidentified Starfleet cruiser • Unidentified Cutter Class ship • UFP Academy ship • Free Trader Ship

Locations

 * Starfleet Command Headquarters • Free Trader Lanes • Free Trader Base • Hydra Daco system • Thoris Amarnis 4 Beta 5 • Chinatown

Races and cultures

 * Human • Thorian • Free Trader Kzinti

States and organizations

 * Starfleet Command • Starfleet Academy • Free Traders

Science and technology

 * cloaking device • Starfleet Nav-Buoy • Telepathic reptilian • Thorian blood rock

Other references

 * Dalgorian water viper • Deep-sea batfish • Psychology term project • Romulan ray • Starfleet Academy

Information

 * This story arc was not printed with a title. The title was created for the story's reprinting in The Newspaper Comics, Volume 2.
 * This is the 13th 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 last comic strip story written by Sharman DiVono and the last strip produced in which the crew wears uniforms from.
 * This story was produced before introduced Spacedock. Starfleet Command Headquarters was drawn similar to the orbital office complex in, except with oblong modules surrounding it instead of cylindrical ones. While docked, on the last panel of the story, DiMarco asked Kirk to dinner in Chinatown. It wasn’t explicitly stated if that was on Earth.
 * Six starships were in the race. Scotty said “at least 3 classes of ship” were racing. Five classes were evident in the two panels that showed all six ships, one panel from 7/25/82 and the other from 7/26/82. The six ships were the Enterprise, Bold Venture, Cutter Class vessel Rim Explorer, and three unidentified ships each shown once and only from the side. One was an unidentified Daedalus-style starship, with a spherical primary hull attached to one or more 2270s-era warp nacelles. Another was an unidentified cruiser, with a flying-disc domed primary hull attached to one or more 2270s-era warp engines. The third, shown very small, seems like a second, unidentified Cutter Class ship.
 * This story begins immediately after the previous story, The Wristwatch Plantation, with a log entry closing out events from that story.
 * Chronologically, comic story arcs 7 Heads of State and 8 It’s a Living take place after this story.

Background

 * Artist Ron Harris’ impending departure prompted a shorter story, which was printed in newspapers daily over 49 days (7 weeks).
 * Original comic strip writer/artist Thomas Warkentin ghost-illustrated the final two weeks. (“Forgotten Frontiers,” by Rich Handley, Star Trek Communicator #121 Feb/Mar 1999) The last 12 dailies were unsigned. In addition to differing art styles that distinguish the two artists, their art can be recognized by the shapes of the panels they used. Ron Harris' five stories used rectangular panels, whereas Warkentin's eight stories used rectangular, curved, rounded and circular panels.
 * Paul Chadwick provided art assistance for this story. (http://www.hassleinbooks.com/pdfs/TrekComics.pdf) Daily strips signed PCRH (Paul Chadwick/Ron Harris) were 7/19, 7/20, 7/22, 7/23 and 7/24/82. 7/21 was signed PCRHTW (Paul Chadwick/Ron Harris/Thomas Warkentin). Chadwick may also have helped with the 7/18/82 Sunday strip, as its inking style sharply differs from prior and subsequent Sunday strips, yet is similar in style to the art of the dailies that week.

Related stories

 * – The USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) competed in The Great Starship Race in 2269, but the competition was marred by the arrival of a Romulan warship.
 * – The USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) provided security and assistance for the eCentauris' Cup in 2370, the Federation's major bi-yearly starship race.
 * – Voyager’s Delta Flyer entered the first Antarian Trans-stellar Rally in 2377.
 * - Kirk encountered Morgan Avery, another female starship captain.