Nova-Thirteen was a 12-page Star Trek: The Original Series comic strip. It was the 22nd weekly story arc in the UK comic strips series, published in four installments in TV21 Weekly in 1971. This was the fourth of six stories drawn by Vicente Alcázar and Carlos Pino. In this story, James T. Kirk was asked to retrieve a probe lost on the surface of Nova XIII.
Publisher's description[edit | edit source]
- Omnibus teaser
- While investigating the disappearance of a robotic spacecraft exploring Nova-Thirteen on behalf of the Trans-Galactic Zoological Federation, a landing party is attacked by giant cyclopean creatures controlled by small, flute-playing aliens.
Summary[edit | edit source]
A probe lands on Nova XIII and releases a robot to examine the local lifeforms. However, it falls into an animal trap and ceases transmitting. As the USS Enterprise had been relaying its signals onward to Earth, they are assigned to investigate. James T. Kirk and Montgomery Scott travel to the surface aboard the Galileo, finding the probe craft wrecked.
Suddenly, Kirk and Scott are attacked by a giant cyclops. Before it grabs them, though, music from a flute-like instrument makes it back away. Scott pulls out his universal translator, but the diminutive flute-playing Nova XIII native knocks it to the ground and damages it. Several more natives and giants approach with bows and arrows aimed at the landing party. Kirk pretends to stumble on the rough terrain and is able to retrieve the translator.
Kirk and Scott are taken to a small township buried within jungle undergrowth and locked in a prison cell. Soon, they are brought before some sort of tribunal, where Kirk suspects they are sentenced to death. Quickly, they flee into the jungle. As flute notes blare, several giants rouse, but Kirk and Scott evade them in the underbrush — a strong smell of nearby plants mask their own scent. They smear odorous succulent juice over themselves before heading toward the shuttle. They manage to get aboard and launch it, narrowly evading the outstretched arm of one of the giants.
The president of the Trans-Galactic Zoological Federation is excited to read their report, but disappointed that they didn't take photos.
References[edit | edit source]
Characters[edit | edit source]
- James T. Kirk • Montgomery Scott • Spock • Nyota Uhura • unnamed Humans • unnamed Starfleet personnel (admiral)
Starships and vehicles[edit | edit source]
- USS Enterprise (Constitution-class heavy cruiser) • Galileo (class F shuttlecraft) • investigation craft
Locations[edit | edit source]
Races and cultures[edit | edit source]
States and organizations[edit | edit source]
- Starfleet (command division • operations division • sciences division) • Trans-Galactic Zoological Federation
Science and technology[edit | edit source]
- arrow • botany • bow • camera • communications • communicator • computer • engine • gun • landing gear • robot • spear • universal translator • viewscreen • zoology
Ranks and titles[edit | edit source]
- captain • skipper • admiral • chief engineer • Federation Starfleet ranks (2260s) • president • rank • Starfleet ranks
Other references[edit | edit source]
- ant • assignment patch • bridge • flute • cyclops • insect • jungle • moon • mountain • prison • space • star • Starfleet uniform • Starfleet uniform (2265-2270) • vegetation • wildlife
Appendices[edit | edit source]
Background[edit | edit source]
- The story was not printed with a title, but it was given one ("Nova-Thirteen") for its reprinting in the omnibus The Classic UK Comics, Volume 2.
- The unnamed admiral appeared in the previous story, "Key Witness".
- The universal translator was badly damaged after being dropped.
Related stories[edit | edit source]
- TOS comics: "Where Giants Tread", "To Swiftly Go..." – Other confrontations with giant humanoids in the UK comic strips series.
- TOS comic: "Slaves of the Frogmen" – Large rock-creatures were controlled by whistle sounds.
- TOS novel: Giant in the Universe – James T. Kirk, Spock and Montgomery Scott were trapped in glass jars in a laboratory run by an enormous humanoid.
Images[edit | edit source]
Timeline[edit | edit source]
Production history[edit | edit source]
| Published Order | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous comic: Key Witness |
TOS comics UK comic strips |
Next comic: Prison Break |
- 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.
- 19 June 1971: Pages 1-3 published in TV21 Weekly #91.
- 26 June 1971: Pages 4-6 published in TV21 Weekly #92.
- 3 July 1971: Pages 7-9 published in TV21 Weekly #93.
- 10 July 1971: Pages 10-12 published in TV21 Weekly #94.
- 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)
Connections[edit | edit source]
External link[edit | edit source]
- Nova-Thirteen article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.
