Old Loyalties

''The return of Finnegan!

Summary
Starfleet personnel, including Mr. Konom, are sifting through the ruins of the colony on Omicron Ceti IV. An Irish commander comments to his civilian assistant about the horrific nature of the scene, but she comments that she has seen worse.

The commander and Ms. Van Horne speak with Starfleet's Mr. Paul about the devastation, he only responds that he is in charge of the clean-up and that, as members of the Federation Security Legion, the commander and Ms. Van Horne should find out why the attack happened, and stay out of his way. Meanwhile, the shuttlecraft Galileo moves across the sky, passing by the orbiting USS Zephyr. The ship's captain has been dead for two weeks, in a freezer the commander investigates, leaving the question of who was commanding Zephyr. Heather Van Horne summons the commander to view a body inexplicably found naked in the ruins, a woman with a long braid. The Galileo lands, and Ensign Kitty of the Enterprise-A informs the commander that, as a Legionnaires, the commander and his assistant are required to investigate a possible mutiny aboard USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-A).

In the ship's gymnasium, Ensign William Bearclaw spars with a crewman named Hazzard, commenting it is a poor time for a security personnel training session. As other crewmen like Bloemker, Castille and Sterno look on, Bearclaw proceeds to land a number of strikes against Hazzard, finally prompting Hazzard to knock Bearclaw to the floor. Calling a time-out, he calls for a towel. Sterno throws one, far too high for any of the other humanoids to catch. Commander Pavel Chekov arrives with Meyer and Boyajian, demanding Bearclaw's surrender, for the attempted murder of James T. Kirk. Bearclaw tries to run, and is stunned. While Bearclaw is carried outside, his girlfriend, Ensign Sherwood arrives and demands he be taken to sickbay. Chekov and the guards inform her that Bearclaw only deserves the brig after what he's done.

Kirk, bandaged from his recent knife wound, attempts to leave sickbay. Doctor Leonard McCoy requests that he stay, for fear the captain's wounds will re-open. Taking care of one's self is why the doctor believes he himself might live another eighty-seven years, and asks Kirk who he is trying to impress by disobeying medical orders. Sherwood enters, and comments she is impressed that the captain is up and around already. She asks if Bearclaw really could have been the attacker, but Kirk stops her short. He recognized Bearclaw and regretted not being fit enough to fight him off.

Aboard Galileo, the Security Legionnaires read Kirk's file. The commander is shocked, as Kirk commands tremendous crew loyalty, although Heather suspects Kirk's loose command style has inspired his crew to commit severe breaches of conduct.

After her recent marriage to Klingon expatriate Konom, Ensign Nancy Bryce packs her things to begin sharing quarters with him, they are also taking care of the orphaned half-breed Klingon who was named "Moron" by his Klingon keepers. They discuss names, although Konom feels that most Klingon names are fiercer than the albino would ever be. Nancy suggests her late father's name, Bernie, which is accepted by "Moron" almost immediately.

Kirk is shocked to find that the Federation Security Legion commander sent to oversee the trial is an old acquaintance -- Starfleet Academy rival Finnegan!

Background Information

 * The penultimate chapter in the Who Killed Captain Kirk? storyline, collected in that book.
 * This was a sequel to Finnegan's original appearance in.
 * This was part of Peter David's first storyline as a Star Trek comic book writer.
 * At this point in the series, the Paramount Pictures licensing approval for comics was being made stricter, as a result a lot of concepts from Star Trek: The Animated Series were dropped from this and other storylines, as Paramount felt the TAS characters featured in the series thus far, Arex and M'Ress, were going to take focus away from the TOS main characters. This issue featured other non-canon characters that were regular to this series, but were soon to be removed.

Creators

 * Based on Star Trek created by Gene Roddenberry
 * Writer: Peter David
 * Artists:
 * Gordon Purcell (pencil art)
 * Ricardo Villagran (inking)
 * Michele Wolfman (color art)
 * Tim Harkins (letter art)
 * Jerome K. Moore and K.E.Z. (cover art)
 * Editor: Robert Greenberger

Regular and recurring characters

 * James T. Kirk : USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-A) captain. Kirk was recovering in sickbay after being attacked by a man appearing to be Ensign Bearclaw. ''Kirk was bandaged in the same way he was after being stabbed in
 * Spock : Vulcan Enterprise-A exec and science officer. Spock points out that a regulatin enacted ten years prior called for the Federation Security Legion to be called to the scene.
 * Leonard McCoy : Enterprise-A surgeon.
 * Uhura : Enterprise-A communications officer.
 * Pavel Chekov : Enterprise-A and security chief.
 * Sean Finnegan : Federation Security Legion commander. ''Although Finnegan introduces himself as a commander, his rank insignia appears to be that of a captain in the few panels it is visible.
 * Heather Van Horne : Civilian assistant to Commander Finnegan.
 * Konom : Klingon Enterprise-A ensign. Konom was part of the clean-up effort on Omicron Ceti IV, and later wa helping Bryce come to terms with the strange Klingon boy found during the battle.
 * William Bearclaw : Enterprise-A security ensign.
 * Elizabeth Sherwood : Enterprise-A relief helm ensign.
 * Nancy Bryce : Enterprise-A navigation ensign.
 * Burnside : Enterprise-A crewperson. He waved "hello" to Kirk in the corridor.
 * Bloemker : Enterprise-A security ensign, found dead and naked on OMicron Ceti IV.
 * Bloemker's duplicate : Shapeshifter aboard Enterprise impersonating Bloemker. She is present in the gym when Bearclaw is arrested, and escorts Commander Finnegan and Ms. Van Horne to their quarters.
 * Bernie : Formerly known as "Moron", this growth-stunted Klingon albino is cared for by Bryce and Konom. ''Pocket TNG: "Strike Zone" suggests he later receives the name "Kobrai" in his old age.
 * Hazzard : Enterprise-A security crewman who has a rough training session with Bearclaw, mments before the latter's arrest. ''Hazzard might've been an alien, judging by his scarlet skin and upturned nose.
 * Sterno : Unusually tall Enterprise-A security crewman. Sterno's upper body is never shown in any of his appearances.
 * Bernie Bryce : Nancy mentions her late father, a Starfleet science officer on USS Gallant. The Klingon "Moron" renamed himself "Bernie" after him. ''This was the first time her father's name was revealed. Bernie's death was shown in DC TOS volume 1 #1: "The Wormhole Connection".


 * Phil Burroughs : The late captain of USS Zephyr. Burroughs was found in a freezer, having been dead for weeks. Paradoxically, a man matching Burroughs's description had murdered most of his own crew and used his vessel to destroy Federation and Klingon outposts.

Other characters

 * Meyer : Enterprise-A security crewman. ''Possibly an ancestor of the Meyer who is featured in numerous Peter David-written novels taking place in the 24th century.
 * Boyajian : Enterprise-A security crewman. ''Possibly an ancestor of the Boyajian who is featured in numerous Peter David-written novels taking place in the 24th century.
 * Paul : Starfleet crewperson in charge of the clean-up of the devastation Commander Finnegan was investigating. Mr. Paul didn't find it unusual that an Enterprise-A crewperson was among the dead on the planet, as the Enterprise was notoriously slow in filing death notices to their personnel files. From Mr. Paul's comments, it seems he was not part of the Enterprise'' crew.
 * Maddy : Starfleet crewperson, she was Mr. Paul's assistant.
 * Kitty : Enterprise-A ensign who piloted Galileo to Omicron Ceti IV to retrieve Commander Finnegan.
 * Shuttle officer : Enterprise-A officer with large cranial horns and greyish-green skin who accompanied the Galileo to the surface.

Timeline

 * 2250 : Kirk's freshman year at Starfleet Academy. As a "plebe", he was the subject of torment by upperclassman Sean Finnegan.
 * 2266 : Kirk and the crew encounter Cadet Finnegan's simulacrum at the amusement park planet.
 * 2276 : Starfleet enacts a regulation requiring the Federation Security Legion to investigate all cases of crew violence against commanding officers.
 * 2286 : Enterprise reconnoiters in the Omicron Ceti system investigating the destruction of the Federation colony and the hijacking of USS Zephyr.