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"The Trial" is the second of five TOS manga stories in the 2007 anthology "Kakan ni Shinkou" (To Boldly Go), published by TokyoPop, written by Mike Wellman and drawn by Nam Kim. In this story, James T. Kirk was put on trial by an isolationist planetary government, while Spock and Leonard McCoy endured an incomprehensible bureaucracy.

Description[]

Kakan ni Shinkou back cover
Kirk is put on trial for crimes he has yet to discover...

Summary[]

Captain's Log, Stardate 4610.3.
Science Officer Spock reporting. We are scanning nearby planets for signs of Captain Kirk, who mysteriously disappeared from the bridge just moments ago. It is undetermined yet whether he was beamed off or if he was abducted by lifeforms who boarded the ship without our knowledge...

While the nearest planet was Kos, diplomatic ties between it and the Federation had broken "some time ago." Being reclusive but having no other leads, Kos is hailed. They refuse to respond to anyone from the war-mongering Federation. When Spock insists on a visit to investigate Kirk's disappearance, they are told to register with the Commission of Outlander Affairs and given coordinates.

Kirk awakens to face a jailer bringing him food. Appealing to her that holding him was against Federation law, he is told he'd be arraigned tomorrow. In the next prison cell, a fellow prisoner — a Klingon — tells him Federation law doesn't apply here.

Beaming down to the coordinates, Spock and McCoy face a large door. They are told they couldn't simply register, and a diplomat was sent. The diplomat locates Kirk in his database and says Kirk will be standing trial tomorrow, but the charges are confidential. Requesting to see Kirk, the diplomat said they'd have to speak to the Secretary of Outlander Criminal Affairs. Spock notes, "their bureaucracy appears near impenetrable," and suggests McCoy's "aggressions" might be helpful.

A beleaguered-looking attorney introduces himself as Kirk's lawyer. Kirk asks what the charges were, but the attorney replied "Is there anything you aren't guilty of?"

Meeting Secretary Delf S'urm, Spock and McCoy faced more bureaucracy. Negotiating, they manage a visit with Kirk. Kirk believes that, once he figures out what he is charged with, it should be possible to prove he is innocent. Allowed to eat together in a vast dining room with other prisoners on trial, they sit with the Klingon, Commander Kafk, who had been grabbed off his ship in the same manner as Kirk. Resigned that his crew left him for dead after being missing so long, he resolved never to let the Kosians break his spirit. This is the sixth year of his trial.

At Kirk's trial, Judge Omandoro said Kirk is accused of "intergalactic treachery of the highest order." The prosecutor says they couldn't allow him to continue his five-year mission because of the threat he poses to the galaxy. Kirk would be incarcerated for an indefinite period and the Enterprise escorted back to Earth. Taking over from his defense attorney, Kirk gives a rousing speech about their mission and of his humanity, confessing to personal weaknesses and failings. Taking a chance, he pleads guilty. The court sentences him to life in prison, but suspends the sentence, assigning him to the custody of his crew on permanent probation.

On his way out with Kirk and Spock, Kirk suggests to Kafk that he plead guilty to "get off this rock," but the Klingon refuses to "bend the truth to serve his own purposes."

References[]

Characters[]

BergolasPavel ChekovKafkJames T. KirkLeonard McCoyOmandoroDelf S'urmMontgomery ScottSpockHikaru SuluNyota Uhura
Referenced only
Sun Tzu

Starships and vehicles[]

USS Enterprise (Constitution-class heavy cruiser) • groundcarstruck
Referenced only
D7-class Klingon battle cruiser

Locations[]

Kos (Intergalactic Court of the Planet Kos)
Referenced only
Andalorean Spice MinesGamma Colony of KoshellSector 001

Races and cultures[]

AndorianBreenGornHumanKlingonKosianVulcan

States and organizations[]

Commission of Outlander AffairsUnited Federation of Planets
Referenced only
Klingon Empire

Science and classification[]

coordinatesFeinbergerspectaclestransporter

Ranks and titles[]

captaincommandercriminaldiplomatdoctorfirst officerjudgelawyerlieutenantprisonerprosecutorscience officersecretarySecretary of Outlander Criminal Affairs

Other References[]

arraignmentassignment patchbridgebureaucracycaptain's logcaptain's log, USS Enterprise, 2268civilizationcrewdaydepositiondiplomacyFederation lawFederation Starfleet ranks (2260s)five-year missiongalaxygovernmenthegh'bathistoryhomeworldhourinquisitionKoon-ut-kal-if-feeloglog entrylogicmoonorbitplanetPlanet of Kos versus Captain James T. KirkPrime Directiveprisonprobationrabbitraces and culturessectorsectorStarfleet uniform (2265-2270)transporter roomtrialtribunaluniverseyear

Appendices[]

Related media[]

Kirk on trial in:

Kangaroo courts in:

Incarceration without charges in:

Background[]

Images[]

Connections[]

Manga stories
TOS manga Shinsei Shinsei "Side Effects" • "Anything But Alone" • "'Til Death" • "Oban" • "Orphans"
Kakan ni Shinkou "Cura Te Ipsum" • "The Trial" • "Communications Breakdown" • "Scaean Gate" • "Forging Alliances"
Uchu "Art of War" • "Bandi" • "The Humanitarian" • "Inalienable Rights"
TNG manga Boukenshin "Changeling" • "Sensation" • "The Picardian Knot" • "Loyalty"

Timeline[]

Published Order
Previous comic:
Cura Te Ipsum
TOS comics
(Star Trek: The Manga)
Next comic:
Communications Breakdown
Chronological Order
Previous adventure:
Scaean Gate
Memory Beta Chronology Next adventure:
Made Out of Mudd
New Visions
Production history[]
September 2007
First printed in the anthology Kakan ni Shinkou. (TokyoPop)
5 December 2019
Reprinted in Graphic Novel Collection #89. (Eaglemoss Collections)

External link[]

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