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Cover Blurb:
In a world gone mad, Scotty and Dr. McCoy fight for their lives - AGAINST EACH OTHER!
Synopsis
Spock and Scotty beam down to an elite military school to pick up the
Crown Prince Raviki, and bring him back aboard the Enterprise. The Prince turns
out to be a blonde headed young man, wearing a pompous-looking uniform with an
excess of gold trim. When they are introduced, the Prince refuses to shake
hands with Spock. "Do not touch me" he shouts, "it is forbidden!"
The Prince's manners quickly go from bad to worse. He orders Spock to carry
his luggage, and Scotty to carry him on his shoulders to the transport area! "We
were not told that your Imperial Highness couldna' walk" says Scotty. "I
walk perfectly well" the Prince retorts, "but I save myself for more
important things!" Once back aboard the ship, Kirk welcomes the Prince
aboard. Raviki is not at all impressed, and takes the opportunity to appoint
Scotty as his personal attendant!
Later, the Captain gives the senior officers a briefing. "You'll
remember that the Prince's father, Emperor Djan, ruled only through his
parliament" Kirk says, "and his world was quite democratic. But the
Prince's parents were killed in an accident! During the past three years,
General Vlas has ruled while the Prince remained at school. The Federation
fears that Vlas will not give up his rule! You can be sure the General will try
to stop us from delivering the Prince safely, but we'll do it! Meanwhile, his
every wish must be granted!" Prince Raviki quickly takes advantage of
Kirk's words, and orders the crew to play "Space Ball" with him. Dr.
McCoy and Mr. Scott are forced to join the Prince in space suits, outside the
Enterprise, for a game. (complete with baseball gloves, and a bat!)
When the Enterprise arrives at Prince Raviki's home world of Nukolee,
Kirk and the senior staff escort the Prince to the surface in the shuttlecraft
Galileo. Upon landing, a balding man dressed in a white uniform introduces
himself as Dr. Nazino of the Customs Health Authority. "All citizens
returning from long journeys must be examined" he says. "Hold this
medi-analyzer, please". As soon as he gives the device to the Prince, the
man runs away. Scotty notices that the analyzer is getting warm, and realizes
it is a bomb! As he quickly throws it away, it explodes in mid-air. The
landing party narrowly avoids being killed! The "doctor" who gave
them the device manages to escape into the crowd.
An old, grey haired man rushes up to the Prince. "Are you safe?"
he asks. "I would kill myself if any harm had come to you!" Prince
Raviki introduces the man as Subomar, his loyal servant. Kirk asks Subomar is
there has been any unrest on the planet recently. Subomar tells him that there
has been, and that the police have investigated, and been unable to find a
reason for the incidents. Kirk tells Subomar to lead them back to the palace,
so that Prince Raviki can be crowned ruler of Nukolee. As Subomar ushers the
Prince and the landing party into a limousine, he quickly turns on Raviki and
pulls a laser pistol! "Enter and die!" he shouts. Nearby guards
manage to kill Subomar, as Kirk knocks the Prince out of the way of the laser
blast. Another narrow escape!
On the way back to the palace, the motorcade passes alongside the "Lake
of Liquid Fire", a sea of molten lava. A guard riding a "nucle-cycle"
deliberately runs his vehicle through a wall, and into the lava - killing
himself instantly! Spock suspects that something more than treachery is
happening on the planet. Back at the palace, Prince Raviki is welcomed by his
sister Lulo, and General Vlas. Vlas asks the Prince to sign an edict, giving
him military rule to crush the recent plots against the throne. "This is
exactly what the Federated Planets feared" Kirk whispers to Spock. "How
do we slow it down?" Spock steps forward and suggests that that the
attacks might be the result of a form of "madness", not a rebellion.
Raviki refuses to listen. He tells General Vlas to assemble the Supreme Council
the following day, at which time he will sign the edict, and Vlas departs.
At that moment, the Prince's sister arrives, bringing food. As she
serves the men, she pulls out a knife and tries to stab the Prince! Spock grabs
her, and knocks the weapon from her hand. She suddenly comes back to her
senses, and then breaks down sobbing. She confesses to Raviki that two weeks
ago she killed her dog, Bando! "Then it's true Captain" Raviki says.
"My whole planet has gone mad - even my beautiful sister!" Kirk
convinces the Prince not to turn over military rule to General Vlas. The
General, however, is watching the events from a secret view screen in another
part of the palace. He orders his allies to storm the palace in one hour!
Meanwhile, the landing party sees a news report on a viewscreen. The broadcast
shows pictures of a comet that passed nearby recently, showering the planet with
tiny meteorites which filled the air with wisps of gases. "That's it!"
Spock says, "This Sanduy's comet enveloped the planet in a gas that brought
spells of madness to the entire population! Now we know how to..." He is
interrupted as troops loyal to General Vlas begin storming the gates of the
palace!
The landing party and Prince Raviki hide in the throne room as the
troops begin searching the palace for them. "What is your plan, Captain"
the Prince asks. "How do we slow up General Vlas?" "He's going
to be issuing orders in your name" Kirk says, "but you will broadcast
to your people, telling them the truth!" Kirk orders McCoy and Scotty to
beam back up to the Enterprise, find the comet, and analyze the gasses to
produce a cure. He, Spock, and Raviki manage to sneak out of the palace, and
travel to a nearby television studio. They break into a sound room and
interrupt an announcer in the middle of a live broadcast. The Prince takes the
man's place, and tells his people to "rise up and let the soil run red
with the blood of Vlas and his traitors!" Unfortunately, they discover
that Vlas has knocked out the signal before the message went out! They leave
the studios and try to get to the central communications center, in order to
reach the citizens of the planet.
!"
Meanwhile, back on the Enterprise, Dr. McCoy and Mr. Scott don space
suits, and begin collecting samples from the meteor that passed near Nukolee.
Their first spacewalk doesn't yield enough of a sample to analyze properly, so
the two suit up again and go out a second time. McCoy accidentally sniffs some
of the samples and goes crazy! He attacks the Engineer in space. Scotty
manages to knock the Doctor out, and bring him back to the ship. McCoy later
recovers, and is able to produce an antidote for the meteor gas.
Near central communications, Prince Raviki, Kirk and Spock are nearly
stoned to death by citizens under the effects of the gas. The Prince strips off
his fancy uniform, and stands before his people as just a boy. "Listen to
me, my people" he yells. "I want only good for my world! If you
don't believe me, then strike me down now! Kill me!" The citizens are
stunned into silence by this brave act. At the same time, Scotty flies overhead
in the shuttlecraft Galileo, spreading the meteor gas antidote in the
atmosphere. Law and order are quickly restored on the planet - the citizens
stunned that they could have acted so terribly toward the Prince. "I'm
sorry you do not wish to stay behind, Scotty" Raviki tells the Engineer as
the Enterprise prepares to depart, "I would name you a baron or a duke! We
could play space ball, and..." "Nay your highness!" Scotty cuts
in. "Much as the thought delights me, I must return to my
responsibilities! Ochhh! What a shame!"
(Summary by Mark Lookabaugh)
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STAR TREK is a Registered Trademark of Paramount Pictures
Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Gold Key is a registered trademark
of Western Publishing Corp.
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Spock and Scotty beam down to an elite military school to pick up the
Crown Prince Raviki, and bring him back aboard the Enterprise. The Prince turns
out to be a blonde headed young man, wearing a pompous-looking uniform with an
excess of gold trim. When they are introduced, the Prince refuses to shake
hands with Spock. "Do not touch me" he shouts, "it is forbidden!"
The Prince's manners quickly go from bad to worse. He orders Spock to carry
his luggage, and Scotty to carry him on his shoulders to the transport area! "We
were not told that your Imperial Highness couldna' walk" says Scotty. "I
walk perfectly well" the Prince retorts, "but I save myself for more
important things!" Once back aboard the ship, Kirk welcomes the Prince
aboard. Raviki is not at all impressed, and takes the opportunity to appoint
Scotty as his personal attendant!
