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"Mutiny on the Dorado" was a 14-page Star Trek: The Original Series comic strip published in 1970. It was the 13th story arc in the UK comic strips series, released in seven parts within issues of TV21 & Joe 90. This was the first of four stories drawn by Mike Noble.

In this story, the USS Enterprise is sent after a border patrol ship whose crew had mutinied.

Description[]

Teaser, 9 May 1970
Mutineers seized the space Federation guardship Dorado and headed for political sanctuary within the Klingon Empire. Aboard USS Enterprise, Captain James T. Kirk received orders to intercept the rebels and demand surrender — or alternatively, destroy!

Summary[]

An assembly with all hands is held aboard the Federation border patrol ship Dorado. Its commander, Captain Louis Jago, has mistreated his small crew to such an extent that they are considering mutiny. Jago had assigned the crew to double shifts, then punished crewman Duncan with solitary confinement in the brig for ten days for having a dour expression. It was the last straw, spurring crewman Erhard Voss and his partners Kefford and Martin to incite a mutiny. Jago and five of his officers are sent off in a shuttlecraft. As a hostage, they keep the remaining officer, a Vulcan lieutenant named Horek. Seeking asylum from the Federation, they evade a Starfleet attack force and head for Scaptar, a border outpost of the Klingon Empire.

The Enterprise is alerted to the mutiny and ordered to stop Dorado before it can be seized by the Klingons, with orders to destroy the guardship if its crew do not surrender. The Enterprise intercepts the vessel, but the Dorado ignores hails and evades them. Kirk orders Hikaru Sulu to lock weapons and fire, but Spock countermands the order at the last moment, allowing the Dorado to escape. Spock confesses that he couldn't let the Dorado be destroyed because their hostage Horek is Spock's cousin. Kirk chastises Spock, saying Starfleet's orders are inviolable and that he intends to destroy the Dorado.

Seeing Enterprise close in on them fast, Voss jettisons the Dorado's main fuel. When the starship fires missiles, their exhaust ignites the fuel, producing a massive explosion which cripples the starship. The Dorado proceeds toward Scaptar, but Duncan and other crewmen begin to doubt Voss.

Meanwhile, repair teams work on the hull and on the bridge of the Enterprise. Spock begins receiving telepathic messages from Horek, who relays his crew's fears. Knowing the mutineers aren't united, Kirk changes tactics. As soon as long-range sensors and monitors are repaired, they locate the Dorado. The patrol ship is appearing to parley with Scaptar, which has sent a delegate up to them in a small spacecraft. When the delegate exits his ship in a spacesuit to travel over to Dorado's airlock, Kirk senses something mechanical. Kirk signals the Dorado, warning them that the delegate is a robot. Voss' crew panics, and Duncan closes the airlock door on the delegate. It is cut in half, revealing a robot which leaks a deadly green gas. The crew suggests surrendering to Kirk, since the Klingons are known to be merciless. But Voss strikes Duncan, fires at the Klingon's spacecraft, and orders the Dorado to Necros, a planet within the Klingon Empire.

While telepathically linked with Spock, Horek confronts Voss with a logical argument against proceeding to Necros. Voss responds by hitting Horek with the butt of a phaser, knocking him out. That is fortuitous, as Spock is capable of telepathically manipulating Horek's unconscious body. Kirk agrees to give Spock an hour. During that time, Spock directs Horek to the ship's nerve center, where he manipulates and reroutes circuitry. The Dorado raises shields as it approaches Necros, repelling a missile strike from the planet. Voss intends to return fire as a show of strength, but as weapons are targeted, a false image generated by Horek on the viewer shows that the Dorado is turning around. Voss assumes the helm controls are malfunctioning and orders the ship to turn back, which actually makes the Dorado retreat toward the Enterprise. Spock programs Dorado's shields to drop when they come into range, and Kirk plans to fire a gas shell through the hull to knock out the crew, ending the mutiny.

References[]

Characters[]

DuncanHorekLouis JagoKeffordJames T. KirkMartinSpockHikaru SuluNyota UhuraErhard Vossmasterslaveunnamed Klingonsunnamed USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) personnel

Starships and vehicles[]

USS Enterprise (Constitution-class heavy cruiser) • Dorado • unnamed Class F shuttlecrafttransit-hopper (space ferry)

Locations[]

Klingon Empire border (NecrosScaptar)
Referenced only
EarthJupiter

Races and cultures[]

HumanKlingonVulcan

States and organizations[]

FederationKlingon EmpireStarfleet

Science and technology[]

airlockcircuitrydefense shieldengineforce fieldfuelgungyrohelmetmasterslavemissileproberobotscannersensorshieldthrustertransporter

Ranks and titles[]

armaments officercaptaincommandercrewcrewmanFederation Starfleet ranks (2260s)first lieutenanthenchmanhostagelieutenantmechanicmutineerofficerrebelStarfleet ranks

Other references[]

communicationsbeambrainbridgebrigdaydeath penaltyemotionenvironmental suitgasguardshiphanginghelmhourhullicelogicminutemutinyparking orbitoutpostparleyprisonsecondsectorStarfleet uniformStarfleet uniform (2265-2270)starshipstratospheretelepathytimeviewscreenwar

Chronology[]

Appendices[]

Related media[]

Background[]

  • The story was not printed with a title, but it was given one ("Mutiny on the Dorado") for its reprinting in the omnibus The Classic UK Comics, Volume 1.
  • Debuting artist Mike Noble would continue with the series for 26 weeks, until issue #57.
  • The Klingons have an unusual appearance in this story, looking like a hybrid of QuchHa' and HemQuch Klingons, and might belong to an unnamed splinter species. One is prominent on the cover for May 23, 1970 and a group of them are seen in a panel of that week's segment. This variety of Klingon was previously featured in "The Klingon Ultimatum". QuchHa' Klingons would be seen when Klingons next appeared in the UK comic strips series, in "By Order of the Empire".
  • This story was promoted on five covers. Dorado was featured on the covers for 9 May and 6 June 1970. The transit-hopper interplanetary vessel appeared on the 23 May and 30 May covers. The masterslave robot was featured on the May 30 cover, and Horek appeared on the 13 June cover.
  • Spock countermands Kirk's order to destroy the Dorado, citing the same reason he would later give for refusing to kill Sybok in TOS movie: The Final Frontier, because Horek is his relative.
  • Spock says full Vulcans can transmit their thoughts telepathically. Horek reads Spock's mind while at his post aboard the Dorado. Spock receives Horek's thoughts even when the Dorado is preparing to parley at Scaptar. Spock says he can only receive thought-transmissions unless Horek is unconscious, at which time Spock can manipulate Horek's body.
  • The guardship crew do not wear Starfleet uniforms or assignment patches, nor do they behave in any way as if they were Starfleet personnel. Though this is left unexplained in the story, they are probably Merchant Marines.
  • The USS Bozeman serves in the Starfleet Border Service in 2278, part of the Federation Division of Law Enforcement. As this division was overseen by the Federation, a Merchant Marine vessel like the Dorado could have been operated by this division. (TNG novel: Ship of the Line)
  • The previous arc was printed in black and white. Stories returned to color with this arc.
  • The Dorado was most likely named after El Dorado, a mythical city on Earth made of gold, since the vessel was colored gold and the mutineers' wish for asylum in the Klingon Empire was shown to be an unreal expectation. The guardship could also have been named after the Dorado constellation which was visible from Earth.
  • The mutiny is said to have been the first in Federation history and is not made public.

Images[]

Connections[]

UK comic strips
Weekly story arcs "Life Form Nonexistent" • "The Crucial Element" • "Beware the Beast" • "The Third Party" • "The Children of Stai" • "Skin Deep" • "The Eagles Have Landed" • "Spectre of the Zond" • "Nor Any Drop to Drink" • "Menace of the Moloth" • "The Klingon Ultimatum" • "The Marshall Plan" • "Mutiny on the Dorado" • "The Ageless One" • "Thorpex" • "Under the Sea" • "Revolt on Dak-Alpha" • "Where Giants Tread" • "I, Emperor" • "Slaves of the Frogmen" • "Key Witness" • "Nova-Thirteen" • "Prison Break" • "Vibrations in Time" • "The Aging World" • "By Order of the Empire" • "Creeping Death" • "Ground Zero" • "The Collector" • "To Swiftly Go..." • "The Mindless Ones" • "The Perithees Alliance" • "The Saboteur Within" • "The Void of Storms" • "Spheres of War" • "Shell Game" • "To Rule the Universe"
Annual stories "Target: Zargot" • "A Bite of the Apple" • "Captives in Space" • "Planet of Rejects" • "Gateway to the Future" • "The Zodian Sacrifice" • "Smoke and Mirrors" • "Planet of the Dead" • "What Is This Thing Called Spock?" • "The Gods Have Come!" • "Rock and a Hard Place"
Collections The Classic UK Comics (123) • Graphic Novel Collection (102029121)

Timeline[]

Published Order
Previous story:
The Marshall Plan
TOS comics (UK comic strips) Next story:
The Ageless One
Chronological Order
Previous adventure:
I, Emperor
Memory Beta Chronology Next adventure:
The Ageless One
Previous comic:
I, Emperor
Voyages of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701), Year One Next comic:
The Ageless One
Production history[]
  • This was the last Star Trek story printed in the magazine TV21 & Joe 90. Mid-story, starting with issue #37, the publication was renamed TV21 Weekly.
May 1970
  • 2 May: Pages 1-2 published in TV21 & Joe 90 #32.
  • 9 May: Pages 3-4 published in TV21 & Joe 90 #33.
  • 16 May: Pages 5-6 published in TV21 & Joe 90 #34.
  • 23 May: Pages 7-8 published in TV21 & Joe 90 #35.
  • 30 May: Pages 9-10 published in TV21 & Joe 90 #36.
June 1970
April 2016
Reprinted in the omnibus The Classic UK Comics, Volume 1 (IDW Publishing)
11 May 2017
Reprinted in the omnibus Graphic Novel Collection, Volume 10. (Eaglemoss)

External links[]

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