The Perithees Alliance

The Perithees Alliance was an 18-page Star Trek: The Original Series comic strip. It was the 32nd weekly story arc in the UK comic strips series, published in nine installments in Valiant and TV21 in. In this story, the Federation sought an alliance with the Perithees system.

Publisher's description

 * Omnibus teaser
 * Hoping to secure an ally against the Romulans, Kirk welcomes Ambassador Sork of the Perithees Planetary System to the Enterprise. The Romulans, however, abduct the dignitary from Kirk's care to sabotage negotiations.

Summary
Ambassador Sork visited the bridge of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701). When an unidentified vessel drifted into range, it piqued his curiosity. Kirk reluctantly agreed to let him accompany Pavel Chekov's boarding party. The four people entered an airlock to find the spacecraft undamaged and empty. Suddenly the ship blasted away, firing a weapon that temporarily disabled the Enterprise.

Admiral Voysey and Kirk agreed that the vessel had been a trap, and that only the Romulan Empire would benefit from a failed alliance. The Enterprise headed for Tekton, the nearest Romulan-controlled planet. Once in orbit, Spock detected heat signatures consistent with a rocket landing. Kirk and Spock dematerialized in the transporter, but at the last second Montgomery Scott realized their coordinates were locked onto a volcano and quickly deflected the beam. They rematerialized in a jungle, alive but unconscious, and were found by sentient ape-like Tektonians. After recovering, Spock realized the apes were non-hostile, but his communicator was damaged and he did not have a universal translator. Soon afterward, a probe from the Enterprise spotted Kirk and Spock with the apes. Hikaru Sulu beamed down with a translator, and after a discussion the Tektonians led the three officers to a Romulan base.

Scheming to derail an alliance, the base's commander had allowed Chekov and Sork's team to escape from their prison cell, but booby-trapped a nearby rocket. Sork would appear to die at the hands of the Federation. Kirk, Spock and Sulu sneaked into the base and located Chekov and Sork. Together they dodged weapons fire and escaped in the rocket. But Kirk smelled a trap. Kirk locked the rocket's helm controls, and then all seven beamed back to the Enterprise —the rocket flipped over and crashed into the base.

Sork appreciated Kirk's resolve and agreed that they should become allies.

Characters

 * Auguston • Pavel Chekov • Beggs Hansen • James T. Kirk • Montgomery Scott • Sork • Spock • Hikaru Sulu • Nyota Uhura • Voysey • unnamed Tektonians • unnamed Romulans

Starships and vehicles

 * USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) ( heavy cruiser) • Rocket • Romulan starship

Locations

 * Tekton

Earth • Jupiter • Perethees

Races and cultures

 * Human • Romulan • Tektonian • Vulcan

States and organizations

 * Federation • Romulan Empire • Starfleet (command division • operations division • sciences division)

Science and technology

 * airlock • communicator • computer • convulsor • coordinates • electromagnetism • engine • grenade • gun • helm • library computer • mass-nullifier • missile • phaser • pistol • radio • remote control • rifle • rocket • science • sensor • shield • tele-detector probe • tele-scanner • thermal detector • tracker • type-2 phaser • universal translator • weapon

Ranks and titles

 * admiral • ambassador • armaments officer • captain • chief engineer • commander • commanding officer • crewman • ensign • Federation Starfleet ranks (2260s) • guard • helmsman • jailer • officer of the watch • rank • sentry • skipper • Starfleet ranks

Other references

 * alliance • alpha watch • ape • assassination • assignment patch • atmosphere • beam • bridge • cat • cave • city • colony • fourth dimension • gas • gravity • helmet • hostage • jungle • lifeform • minute • orbit • prison • radiation • second • sign language • space • star system • Starfleet uniform • Starfleet uniform (2265-2270) • transporter room • tree • universe • volcano • Vulcan nerve pinch • yard

Background

 * A vessel identical to the Romulan's decoy ship subsequently appeared in Gold Key Comics' "The Mummies of Heitius VII" as a Romulan border patrol ship. That story was published in November 1973.
 * Admiral Voysey's hair was colored brown in this story, making him look younger than in his other three appearances.
 * Romulans in this story wore helmets, had pointed eyebrows, and did not wear Roman clothing, which made them look more like canon Romulans, although they were not drawn with pointed ears. In their next and final appearance in the series, arc #36 "🇰🇲", they would finally be drawn with pointed ears, but went back to having human eyebrows and wearing Roman clothes.
 * The Romulan headquarters building was identical to the Federation Council building seen in "To Rule the Universe", except with stairs at the bottom.
 * A Tektonian called Kirk shrewd, a word Keras also used to describe him.
 * The ship's helmsman, Beggs Hansen, also appeared as a helmsman in two episodes of TOS. His name was spelled "Hanson" here.

Chronology

 * This story takes place after Pavel Chekov joined the crew in February 2267 but before the Romulan vessel's next appearance in 2267, otherwise it would have been recognized.

Production history

 * This story was serialized in two-page sections over nine consecutive weeks in Valiant and TV21 magazine. Issues 49 and 50 were 36 pages, with the Star Trek segment printed in color on pages 18-19. Issues 48, 52, 53, and 54 were 40 pages with the segment printed on pages 20-21. Issues 51, 55, and 56 were 44 pages with the segment printed on pages 22-23.


 * : Pages 1-2 published in Valiant and TV21 #48.
 * : Pages 3-4 published in Valiant and TV21 #49.
 * : Pages 5-6 published in Valiant and TV21 #50.
 * : Pages 7-8 published in Valiant and TV21 #51.
 * : Pages 9-10 published in Valiant and TV21 #52.
 * : Pages 11-12 published in Valiant and TV21 #53.
 * : Pages 13-14 published in Valiant and TV21 #54.
 * : Pages 15-16 published in Valiant and TV21 #55.
 * : Pages 17-18 published in Valiant and TV21 #56.
 * 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 17-18 published in Valiant and TV21 #56.
 * 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)

Related stories

 * – Other stories featuring Romulans in the UK comic strips series.
 * – Reappearance of the Romulan vessel.
 * – Other encounters with sentient apes.