Richard Spellman was a 23rd century Human man, a professor who worked for the Federation Bureau of Colonization.
History[]
Prior to 2266, he and James T. Kirk became friends.
In 2266, Spellman led a small expeditionary team of technicians and scientists to assess Selkye's potential for Human colonization. The starship USS Enterprise ferried the team to the planet, then brought them down along with their equipment. While technicians began setting up a base camp, Spellman and his assistant Jean Ravel joined Kirk, Spock and Leonard McCoy in exploring an ancient city. When Ravel discovered little, furry, affectionate creatures called beavos, he was quite taken by them.
The next day, after the Enterprise had left, Spellman and his team felt dramatically sick and weak. They were forced to barricade the base camp entrance when humanoid Selkye toad creatures tried to break in. They recovered after the Enterprise returned and Kirk isolated the beavos. Spellman and his team had to abandon the planet and return to the Enterprise. (TOS comic: "Planet of the Dead")