- For other uses, see Judgement Day.
"Judgment Day!" was the 32nd issue of DC Comics' 1989 series of TOS comics, released in November 1986. Written by Len Wein and illustrated by Tom Sutton & Ricardo Villagran, it continued the story from the previous issue.
Description[]
- Someone sabotaged the mining site, but who? The Federation? The Klingons? The inhabitants? Someone is out to destroy the claims for governorship and it falls to Kirk to clean up this mess.
Summary[]
- Captain's log, stardate 8904.6
- On orders from Starfleet, we have escorted Ambassador Averill Stanton to Magellan's World, a minor frontier mining planet currently under jurisdictional dispute by both the Federation and the Klingon Empire—only to find ourselves smack in the middle of a war zone!
With the destruction of the Federation Mining Operation, Doctor McCoy hurriedly tends to casualties—human and Klingon alike. McCoy notes that the body count would have been much higher if it had occurred at the height of the workday instead of after hours. Admiral Kirk notes that he's assigned Lieutenant Saavik to quietly investigate the cause of the explosion. Ambassador Stanton angrily accuses the Klingons of incompetence, which Captain Koloth vehemently denies. Mace Magellan soon arrives and intimidates Ambassador Stanton into ending his verbal tirade. However, Stanton bristles when Kirk leaves to meet with Saavik, futilely reminding the admiral that he's in charge.
Saavik reports that she and Lieutenant Commander Sulu have completed their preliminary investigation. Out of the Klingons' earshot, Saavik shows traces of nitrox-4 on a fragment of the base's mining structure. Kirk doubts that the Klingons would resort to sabotage given their colony's achievements.
Ambassador Stanton meets with Alisa Ruthven, who boasts about "everything going precisely as we intended." Stanton shows some reservation about being involved in such a scheme. Ruthven prods Stanton into re-committing to their cause by insulting his career. When Stanton leaves, Ruthven notes that she'll have no more use of the ambassador once the Klingons are off the planet.
- Captain's log, supplemental
- Commander Montgomery Scott reporting. The Excelsior is maintaining standard orbit around Magellan's World as ordered, awaiting word from the landing party.
After Scotty reassures an impatient Ensign Nancy Bryce, Uhura reports receiving a garbled subspace signal on an obsolete Federation frequency before the signal is lost.
- Captain's log, stardate 8904.8
- After some discussion, Doctor McCoy and I have decided to take steps to resolve the tense situation on Magellan's World before it can escalate into a war.
Kirk and McCoy enter the Klingon mining camp to meet with Koloth. Koloth angrily tells the admiral that he has nothing to say to him before Kirk tells him that he doesn't believe the Klingons are guilty of the sabotage. Magellan arrives, stating he knows who's responsible, and makes a deal with Koloth.
Magellan confronts Ruthven, telling her he knows what she did. That evening, Ruthven heads for the Star Bar seeking a fall guy. She propositions Koval, slipping sedatives into his drink so he'll pass out after they leave the bar together. He's heavier than he looks, but Ruthven drags him to a vantage point atop a colony building. As Magellan strolls by on his nightly patrol, Ruthven shoots him in the chest with a phaser rifle.
While adjusting Koval and the rifle to make a convincing sniper assassination scene, the pair are beamed into a circle of colonists, Klingons, Stanton, and Starfleet officers. She maintains her innocence until McCoy declares Koval was unconscious during the shooting. Ruthven then admits she and Stanton are working together for the defense of the planet. Suddenly Magellan appears, alive and well, wearing a phaser-proof vest. He points out that she really did it for money, announcing that she is hoarding a cache of dilithium crystals. She grabs Koloth's holstered disruptor. Stanton intercedes, telling her their fight is over, and they fight over the weapon. She accidentally shoots Stanton, and Kirk stuns her with his phaser. Stanton's last words are regrets over his actions, but Kirk promises he'll be well remembered.
On the first day of the tenth year of the colony, elections are over: Klingons have won custodianship of the planet. Koloth sticks to his bargain with Magellan, allowing the Federation to purchase half of any mined dilithium at a reasonable price. Magellan stays on as governor to the relief of his girlfriend Ena.
- Captain's log, stardate 8906.2
- Departing Magellan's World, our mission there a qualified success at best... Recommend the Federation's highest honors be posthumously awarded to Ambassador Averill P. Stanton, who perished bravely and honorably in the line of duty...
Uhura refines the garbled transmission detected earlier. It is a new message from the Constitution-class USS Enterprise to Starbase 6. Kirk orders the Excelsior to investigate.
References[]
Characters[]
- Nancy Bryce • Pavel Chekov • Ena • James T. Kirk • Koloth • Koval • Mace Magellan • Leonard McCoy • Maria Morelli • Alisa Ruthven • Saavik • Montgomery Scott • Averill Stanton • Hikaru Sulu • Nyota Uhura
- Referenced only
- George Armstrong Custer • Daniel
Starships and vehicles[]
- USS Excelsior (Excelsior-class explorer)
- Referenced only
- USS Enterprise (Constitution-class heavy cruiser) • IKS Gr'oth
Locations[]
- Magellan's World (Star Bar)
- Referenced only
- Starbase 6
Races and cultures[]
States and organizations[]
Other references[]
- admiral • ambassador • captain • commander • doctor • ensign • lieutenant • lieutenant commander • tribble
Science and classification[]
- biobed • communicator • disruptor pistol • ecology • nitrox-4 • phaser • phaser-proof vest • rifle • sedative • subspace communications • transporter • viewscreen
Occupations and titles[]
- administrator • admiral • aide • ambassador • captain • commander • diplomat • doctor • ensign • governor • lieutenant • lieutenant commander • mister • sentry
Other references[]
- animal • beam • bridge • cigar • cigarette • defoliant • dilithium crystal • galaxy • honor • hour • landing party • language • lion • liquid • lizard • mining • orbit • Othello • planet • second • second • Stone Age • stun • treaty • tribble • universe • war • warp factor (warp two)
Appendices[]
Related media[]
- TOS episode & Star Trek 3 novelization: The Trouble With Tribbles – Koval said he'd served with Koloth until their ship was buried in tribbles.
Background[]
- Before James T. Kirk entered the Klingon mining facility, he said walking into a lion's den worked for Daniel. This referred to events in Daniel 6:16-23 in the Bible.
- Averill Stanton's final words, about loving the Federation not wisely, paraphrased Othello's final words in Othello, Act 5, scene 2 by William Shakespeare: "Then must you speak of one that lov'd not wisely but too well."
- An Andorian was visible among Excelsior's bridge crew on page 22.
- Koval appeared to be a different Klingon than Koval, who was serving as Klingon Chancellor in 2267 rather than as Koloth's shipmate.
- Koval mentioned Koloth's ship in "The Trouble With Tribbles", later identified in canon as the IKS Gr'oth.
Images[]
Connections[]
Timeline[]
| published order | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous comic: #31: Maggie's World! |
TOS comics (DC Comics, 1st series) |
Next comic: #33: Vicious Circle! |
| Previous story: Maggie's World! |
Stories by: Len Wein |
Next story: Vicious Circle! |
| chronological order | ||
| Previous adventure: Maggie's World! |
Memory Beta Chronology | Next adventure: Vicious Circle! |
External links[]
- Judgment Day! article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.