"Taking Shape" is a TOS comic strip. It is the 15th story in the US Comic Strips series, published in newspapers over a period of 15 weeks by the Los Angeles Times Syndicate. The story depicts events from Captain Kirk's second five-year mission aboard the refurbished USS Enterprise (NCC-1701). In this story, aliens duplicate the crew in order to take over the ship.
Description[]
- The Enterprise crew is replaced by shape-shifters from Manark V, resulting in a showdown with Romulans.
Summary[]
An outbreak of Rigellian fever at the Vanowen colony requires urgent treatment, and the Enterprise is dispatched to Manark V to pick up medical supplies. James T. Kirk, Spock, and biologist T'Yee beam down to inspect crates of the supplies. A terrorist strikes Lt. T'Yee with a mace and throws her off a landing platform before Spock can stun him.
Duplicates of McCoy, Chapel, T'Yee.
After the ship leaves for Vanowen, T'Yee reports to sickbay. She becomes suspicious of Chapel, but too late. Embryos hidden in the crates had rapidly spawned hundreds of adult Manarkites, who are able to incorporate bioscan data and shapeshift into other humanoids. Having started with Chapel and McCoy, they slowly substitute themselves for the real crew. But Spock notices McCoy's odd behavior, and knocks him out with a Vulcan nerve pinch. Surreptitiously scanning him, Spock finds non-humanoid brain patterns in "McCoy".
Turbulence from an ion storm and interference from a navigational sensor-masking weapon prevent the real crew from realizing they've crossed into the Romulan Neutral Zone. Three Romulan D7-class cruisers surround and fire on the Enterprise. Spock realizes the aliens are in league with the Romulans. After disabling the ship's warp engines, the Romulans retreat.
Scotty threatened.
During the crisis, Montgomery Scott is injured and reports to sickbay, where he is duplicated. T'Yee distracts Kirk at dinner so "Scotty" can erase invader activity from library computer records, making it harder for Kirk to figure out which crew members are compromised. The duplicates fail to distract Spock, however, and "Scotty" is arrested. The USS Potemkin arrives to take over the medical mission, but the crates are found to be empty, the gestating embryos having eaten all the medicine, and Potemkin departs empty-handed.
In a corridor, duplicates attack Kirk, Spock, and Pavel Chekov, but when incapacitated, one of duplicate's bodies reverts back to the shape of a Manarkite, exposing the whole secret plan to Kirk. Realizing that they've failed, the Manarkites abandon ship on the the nearby planet Murakami IX. However, internal scans still show a full crew aboard, meaning the original crew members are still alive, somewhere. Spock finds Scotty locked in his cabin. They discover the Enterprise's engines have been shut down and their orbit is decaying. Spock and Scott race to find the missing crew and get the engines back online.
"T'Yee" reverts to her true form after death.
Meanwhile, Kirk and Chekov follow the Manarkites into a network of caves on Murakami IX. The cavern floor gives way suddenly below Chekov, sending him to another level. Just before he can rejoin Kirk, "T'Yee" confronts Kirk and telepathically distracts him from an attack from behind. At the last second, "T'Yee" suddenly jumps in the path of Manarkite's phaser blast, saving Kirk's life at the cost of her own. A crowd of Manarkites rush toward Kirk and Chekov. Spock fires ship's phasers on a wide stun setting to subdue the attackers.
At Starbase 14, the Manarkites confess to colluding with Romulans in a conspiracy to take over the Enterprise. Now with warp power, the Enterprise heads for the Organian system to pick up replacement medicine for the sick colony.
Log entries[]
- Captain's log: stardate 9546.3.
- In orbit over Federation member planet Manark V… I have accompanied Mr. Spock and a biologist, Lt. T'Yee, on an urgent mission to the surface.
- Captain's log: supplemental.
- We are proceeding as ordered to the Vanowen colony, which is now plagued by Rigellian fever.
- Captain's log: stardate 9552.8.
- We are on course for the Vanowen colony to deliver much-needed medical supplies. I am concerned that there is some uncertainty about our medical personnel's reliability… as their performance at maximum efficiency will be crucial to the success of this mission.
- Captain's Log: Supplemental.
- Dr. McCoy's erratic behavior has aroused Mr. Spock's suspicions. My first officer is convinced this McCoy is an imposter…
- First Officer's Log.
- In order to conduct my examination of the entity claiming to be Dr. McCoy… it has been necessary to immobilize it with a Vulcan nerve pinch.
- First officer's log.
- I have returned the McCoy-imposter to consciousness… and used the Vulcan mind-touch to erase its memory of my having forcibly subjected it to scientific study.
- Captain's Log: Stardate 9574.6.
- Enterprise now experiencing severe turbulence due to ion storm…
- Captain's Log: Supplemental.
- On course through an ion storm to deliver much needed medical supplies to a Federation colony…
- Captain's Log: Supplemental.
- Enterprise has been surrounded by Romulan vessels—and the Romulans don't take captives…
- Captain's log: stardate 9574.7.
- Navigational computer malfunction has resulted in an incursion on the Neutral Zone — and an attack by Romulan warships. However…
- Captain's log: stardate 95748.8.
- The Enterprise has been disabled while carrying medical supplies to the Vanowen colony…
- Ship's log, stardate 9579.4.
- Lt. Commander Sulu recording: Rendezvous with U.S.S. Potemkin proceeding per orders…
- Captain's log, stardate 9579.5.
- The shape-changing aliens who'd attempted to commandeer the ship have stolen phasers from the weapons-store…
- Captain's log, stardate 9579.6.
- On Muakami IX, Lt. Chekov and I have entered the labyrinthine caves to find the Manarkites…
- Captain's log: supplemental.
- Chekov has been lost in the caverns of Murakami IX…
- Captain's log, stardate 9734.2.
- We have remanded the Manarkites to Starfleet custody on Starbase XIV…
- Captain's Log: Supplemental.
- We are proceeding to the Organia system to pick up new medical supplies for the Vanowen colonists…
References[]
Characters[]
- Christine Chapel • Pavel Chekov • James T. Kirk • Leonard McCoy • Montgomery Scott • Spock • Hikaru Sulu • Nyota Uhura • T'Yee • unnamed USS Enterprise personnel • unnamed Starfleet personnel (Potemkin's captain) • unnamed Manarkites (ambassador • governor • terrorist • shapeshifter duplicates)
Starships and vehicles[]
- USS Enterprise (Enterprise-subclass refit Constitution-class heavy cruiser) • USS Potemkin (Miranda-class medium cruiser) • Stormbird-class D7 Romulan cruisers
Locations[]
- Manark V • Murakami IX • Romulan Neutral Zone • Starbase 14
- Referenced only
- Earth • Organia system • Starbase 10 • Vanowen
Races and cultures[]
States and organizations[]
Science and classification[]
- Atalskes phaser IV • biobed • bio-scan • communicator • computer • coordinates • hand phaser • impulse power • integrator bypass control • intercom • ion storm • laboratory • library computer • mace • medical • navigation • PADD • psychology • quadrothorzine • sensor • stylus • subspace communications • tranquilizer • tricorder • turbolift • viewscreen • weapon
Occupations and titles[]
- admiral • personal aide • ambassador • biologist • chief engineer • colonist • doctor • governor • lieutenant • security guard • terrorist
Other references[]
- alien • artificial respiration • atmosphere • brain • briefing room • captain's log • cavern • colony • concussion • corridor • crew • engineering • fear • Federation Starfleet ranks (2270s) • first officer's log • free fall • glass • hour • humanoid • ion storm • lifeform • log entry • logic • maximum warp • orbit • planet • quarters • recreation deck • Rigellian fever • sardine • science • sector • security • shape-changer • ship's log, USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) • sickbay • space • Starfleet uniform (2278-2350s) • stun • telepathy • three-dimensional chess • transporter room • Vulcan mind touch • Vulcan nerve pinch • warp factor (warp 12) • weapons store
Appendices[]
Related media[]
- TOS comic: "The Real McCoy" – In the third comic strip arc, the Enterprise was dispatched to aid an outbreak of Rigellian fever on Tarsus II, leading to McCoy being replaced by a surgically-altered double whose different brain patterns gave him away.
- TOS episode: "Requiem for Methuselah" – Described effects of Rigellian fever and its cure as ryetalyn.
Background[]
- This was the first of six stories printed entirely in black and white (b/w). It was told in 90 individual strips published Monday through Saturday over a period of 104 days (15 weeks). It was not the first Star Trek comic to appear only in b/w, however. That honor belonged to three stories published in A Book to Color, a coloring book printed in 1967. The first all b/w comic strip story arc, released in 1970, was TOS comic: "The Marshall Plan".
- This story was not printed with a title. Rich Handley chose the new title for the story's reprinting in The Newspaper Comics, Volume 2. (http://www.hassleinbooks.com/pdfs/TrekComics.pdf).
- The story took place in 2277. Despite it beginning on stardate 9546.3, the story continues immediately after the previous story arc, "A Merchant's Loyalty", which began on stardate 8123.2.
- The USS Potemkin depicted in this story was a Miranda-class starship. It was apparently a different vessel than the Constitution-class USS Potemkin seen in TOS episode: "The Ultimate Computer", TOS novel: The Wounded Sky, and refit by the 2280s in ST video game: Starfleet Command.
- The story featured 17 log entries, including a ship's log by Hikaru Sulu and two personal logs by Spock.
Production[]
- T'Yee was intended to be Saavik, but Paramount wouldn't allow them to use the existing character.
- Artist Padraic Shigetani was dissatisfied with his work on story arcs 14 and 15. He said syndicates usually had three months of strips in reserve, but they'd run out on Star Trek, and he was asked to produce material in "as little as a day! It killed me!" (Star Trek Communicator Issue 121: "Forgotten Frontiers")
- Daytime Emmy-Award winning writer Martin Pasko wrote eight other comic stories set during Captain Kirk's second five-year mission. He also wrote one story set in 2267: "A Small Matter of Faith".
Images[]
Connections[]
| US Comic Strips stories | ||
|---|---|---|
| Stories | "Called Home" • "Dilithium Dilemma" • "The Real McCoy" • "Double Bluff" • "Aberration on Abaris" • "Husian Gambit" • "Heads of State" • "It's a Living" • "The Savage Within" • "Quarantine" • "Restructuring Is Futile" • "The Wristwatch Plantation" • "The Nogura Regatta" • "A Merchant's Loyalty" • "Taking Shape" • "Send in the Clones" • "Goodbye to Spock" • "Terminally Yours" • "The Retirement of Admiral Kirk" • "Getting Real" | |
| Collections | The Newspaper Comics (1 • 2) • Graphic Novel Collection (15 • 24 • 34) | |
Timeline[]
| Published Order | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous comic: #14: A Merchant's Loyalty |
TOS comics US Comic Strips |
Next comic: 16: Send in the Clones |
| Previous story: There's No Space Like Gnomes'! |
Stories by: Martin Pasko |
Next story: A Small Matter of Faith |
| Chronological Order | ||
| Previous adventure: A Merchant's Loyalty |
Memory Beta Chronology | Next adventure: The Blaze of Glory |
Production history[]
- 1 November 1982 – 12 February 1983
- Published in daily newspapers. (Los Angeles Times Syndicate)
- 1 October 2013
- Collected in The Newspaper Comics, Volume 2. (IDW Publishing)
- 12 April 2018
- Collected in Graphic Novel Collection, Volume 34. (Eaglemoss Collections)
External links[]
- Taking Shape article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.