- See Kelly for other articles with titles that contain, either by relationship or by coincidence, this character's surname.
Richard Kelly was a 20th century Human man, an officer in the United States Navy who served with the Office of Naval Intelligence aboard the aircraft carrier USS Arizona in the early 1940s.
Biography[]
In 1941, Kelly was stationed at Pearl Harbor and shared a residence with his wife Elsa Kelly in Honolulu, Hawaii.
On Saturday, 6 December, he suspected impending war with the Empire of Japan and shared his concerns with Elsa at home as they got ready to attend an officer's club dance, unaware that a time displaced James T. Kirk overheard their conversation. When they arrived at the dance, Richard discussed his theories with Admiral Grant, who agreed with him, and they arranged a formal meeting on Monday.
Having to return home unexpectedly, Kelly was surprised to witness Elsa leaving their home with Kirk, and followed them to a friend's house. As Elsa and Kirk took a walk on the beach, Kelly and a group of Naval Intelligence officers searched the house. Discovering Kirk's communicator, they concluded that he must be a spy and arrested Kirk that night. Elsa helped Kirk escape, and early the next morning Kelly's team continued searching as warplanes approached Hawaii. (Phase II episode: "Tomorrow and the Stars")
Appendices[]
Background[]
The unpublished script for this story, not included in the lengthy summary published in TOS reference: Phase II: The Lost Series, clarified Kelly's role aboard Arizona. Because his career had stalled, Elsa tried to convince Kelly to retire from the Navy and take a vice president position at her father's company. However, he thought he'd just made a breakthrough and planned to work over the weekend in his cabin aboard the USS Arizona. While preparing for his meeting, he realized he'd forgotten some papers, hence his unexpected return home. Kelly was about the same size as Kirk.
Had he not left Arizona, Kelly likely would have been killed during the historic 7 December bombing of Pearl Harbor. However, as both Kellys were away from key military targets at the time, they probably survived.