Key Witness

Key Witness was a 27-page Star Trek: The Original Series comic strip. It was the 21st weekly story arc in the UK comic strips series, published in nine installments in TV21 Weekly in. This was the third of six stories drawn by Vicente Alcázar and Carlos Pino. In this story, James T. Kirk and Spock were assigned to a covert mission at a spaceport on Romulus.

Description

 * Omnibus teaser
 * Enterprise junior technician George Maquire is set to testify as a witness in the murder trial of mobster Scarface Cass Conway, but Romulan pirates besiege the vessel transporting him to Earth.

Summary
Near the end of his shore leave on Earth, junior technician George Maguire visited his favorite recreation establishment, Louie's in New Pacific City. Unfortunately, he arrived at an inopportune moment, witnessing the murder of the bar's owner by mob leader "Scarface" Cass Conway. Maguire escaped, but feared for his life. Authorities arrested Conway pending trial, with Maguire as the lone witness.

Two months later, an escort ship was sent to retrieve Maguire for the trial. He was serving aboard the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701), but panicked and refused to board the escort, requiring a Vulcan nerve pinch to render him unconscious. When he awoke aboard the two-man escort, Maguire wrestled with the controls, diverting the ship into the Romulan piracy sector where it was intercepted by a Romulan raider commanded by Captain Varkas. The escort was compelled to follow the raider to a spaceport on Romulus.

Meanwhile, near Pluto, James T. Kirk wanted to pursue both ships through Romulan space to retrieve the three captured crewmen. Starfleet wanted to prevent technical secrets aboard the escort to be revealed, so they authorized a covert operation. Kirk and Spock beamed directly to the outskirts of the spaceport. They hid behind a hovercraft, riding onto the base past security. Disguised as Romulans, they relieved guards at the brig, but then a sergeant ordered them to escort the three prisoners to be executed by a firing squad. Spock knocked out the sergeant with a nerve pinch, then freed Maguire and the escort's crew. The group proceeded towards a silo which housed the captured escort. When a general alarm blared across the spaceport and a force field formed around the silo, they sabotaged a generator, plunging the facility into darkness.

Varkas and a pair of guards hid within the silo and ambushed the escapees with weapons fire, killing the pilot and wounding the navigator. Varkas' gun jammed, however, and he was forced to flee. He amassed a group of hovercraft and tanks to destroy the escort and silo. As the Starfleet personnel boarded the escort, Maguire apologized for his paranoia and vowed to testify against Conway. Together, the group powered up the escort and launched it, narrowly avoiding tank blasts. The vessel quickly escaped from Romulan space and rendezvoused with the Enterprise.

"Scarface" Conway was killed in prison, so Maguire remained aboard the Enterprise.

Characters

 * Cass Conway • James T. Kirk • Louie • George Maguire • McCoy • Neronus • Scott • Spock • Sulu • Uhura • Varkas • unnamed Humans (criminals) • unnamed Romulans • unnamed Starfleet personnel (admiral, pilot, navigator, subspace radio operator, off-duty personnel)

Charles Dickens

Starships and vehicles

 * USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) ( heavy cruiser) • GK 1500 (escort) • groundcar • Romulan raider • tank

Locations

 * Romulan Neutral Zone (Romulus • Spaceport) • Sol system (America • Earth • Federation Headquarters • Louie's • New Pacific City • Pluto)

Jupiter • Saturn

Races and cultures

 * Human • Romulan • Vulcan

States and organizations

 * Federation • Federation Command • Pacific City Police • Romulan Empire

Science and technology

 * airlock • battery missile • bullet • communications • communicator • deep-probe scanner • engine • engine • environmental suit • force field • gun • helmet • intercom • long distance transporter • navigation • Neilson stretcher • pistol • rifle • scanner • sedative • sonic disruptor • viewscreen • wrench

Ranks and titles

 * admiral • armaments officer • captain • commander • commanding officer • crewman • criminal • Federation Starfleet ranks (2260s) • guard • guard • mobster • navigator • officer • pilot • radio operator • rank • secret agent • sentry • sergeant • serviceman • skipper • Starfleet ranks • technician • witness

Other references

 * The Alcazar • assignment patch • battle stations • beam • bridge • devil • distress call • dog • engineering • execution • firing squad • fishing • galaxy • gambling • general alarm • hour • iron • mob • mile • month • PADD • pig • Pino's Show • piracy • police • prison cell • quarters • rat • refit • Romulan language • sickbay • Starfleet uniform • Starfleet uniform (2265-2270) • transporter room • Vulcan nerve pinch • war • Zodi

Background

 * The story was not printed with a title, but it was given one ("Key Witness") for its reprinting in the omnibus The Classic UK Comics, Volume 2.
 * This story established the existence of a limited mob in Las Vegas-like New Pacific City on Earth in the 23rd century, with Conway described by Spock as Earth's worst criminal.
 * This was the second of four appearances by Romulans in the UK comic strips series. Perhaps for lack of reference material available to the writer and artists, in this story and the last one, arc 12 "The Marshall Plan", Romulans were presented as space-faring Romans wearing helmets and capes. Romulans would be depicted with pointed eyebrows in arc 32 "The Perithees Alliance" and finally with pointed ears (but regular eyebrows) in arc 36 "Shell Game".
 * Due to an unfamiliarity with Star Trek, the writer described Romulan piracy outside of their borders. Romulan territory was located near the Sol system, and it was possible to beam from outside Romulan space onto Romulus, which was spelled "Romulas" in the May 8 segment.
 * The unnamed admiral in this story was reminiscent of Voysey, but with less hair.
 * Kirk and Spock were said to speak the Romulan language fluently.
 * The star system containing Romulus (which in later stories would be established as Eisn) was depicted as a binary star in this story.

Related stories

 * – In 2368, Spock worked for the unification movement on Romulus in the 24th century.
 * – In 2371, Montgomery Scott and Leonard McCoy rescued Spock on Romulan-held Constanthus.

Timeline

 * Spock called McCoy "Mac", suggesting a placement early in their association, but after the events of.

Production history

 * None of the UK weekly installments were printed with titles.
 * Each segment began on the cover and continued onto two interior pages of TV21 Weekly magazine.


 * : Pages 1-3 published in TV21 Weekly #82.
 * : Pages 4-6 published in TV21 Weekly #83.
 * : Pages 7-9 published in TV21 Weekly #84.
 * : Pages 10-12 published in TV21 Weekly #85.
 * : Pages 13-15 published in TV21 Weekly #86.
 * : Pages 16-18 published in TV21 Weekly #87.
 * : Pages 19-21 published in TV21 Weekly #88.
 * : Pages 22-24 published in TV21 Weekly #89.
 * : Pages 25-27 published in TV21 Weekly #90.
 * December 2016 : Reprinted in the omnibus The Classic UK Comics, Volume 2 (IDW Publishing)
 * 1 February 2018 : Reprinted in the omnibus Graphic Novel Collection #29 (Eaglemoss)
 * : Pages 25-27 published in TV21 Weekly #90.
 * December 2016 : Reprinted in the omnibus The Classic UK Comics, Volume 2 (IDW Publishing)
 * 1 February 2018 : Reprinted in the omnibus Graphic Novel Collection #29 (Eaglemoss)