Idol Threats

A hotshot young officer goes on an unauthorized mission after being promoted to command by the death of his captain.

Background Information

 * This issue has a similar plot to.

Creators

 * Based on Star Trek created by Gene Roddenberry
 * Writer: Mike Carlin
 * Artists:
 * Tom Sutton (pencil art)
 * Ricardo Villagran (inking)
 * Michele Wolfman (color art)
 * Helen Vesik (letter art)
 * Joe Brozowski (cover pencil art)
 * Bob Lewis (cover inking)
 * Editor: Robert Greenberger

Regular and recurring characters

 * James T. Kirk : USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-A) commanding officer, a Starfleet captain.
 * Spock : Vulcan Half-Vulcan Starfleet captain serving as Enterprise-A exec and science officer.
 * Pavel Chekov : Enterprise-A security chief, a Starfleet commander. Chekov appears in a few panels in this issue but does not have any dialog.
 * Uhura : Enterprise-A communications officer, a Starfleet commander.
 * Hikaru Sulu : Enterprise-A helmsman, a Starfleet commander.
 * Arex.jpg Arex : Enterprise-A navigator. Kirk orders Arex and Sulu to take the vessel to sector 9.
 * Ronald R. Penn : Starfleet cadet-commander who receives Captain Fields's order to take command of Cluster and the vessel's trainee crew. ''Even though the rank insignia drawn on Penn's uniform looks roughly like that of an ensign, he is addressed as both "cadet" and "commander" in dialog, and apparently was in a position of authority over other lieutenants and lieutenant commanders on the bridge.
 * Romulan commander : Romulan starship commander who assualts the Cluster landing party, and then the vessel itself, after Penn's counter-attack. The same commander encountered during "The Doomsday Bug" storyline.

Mentioned

 * Tongo Rad : Kirk mentions that he just ditched a Federation "watchdog" assigned to Enterprise-A at their last stop.

Other characters

 * Fields : Captain of the USS Cluster. Fields led an ill-fated landing party that was massacred in a Romulan ambush.
 * Ventura : Starfleet cadet-lieutenant, a communications trainee assigned to USS Cluster. ''In some panels, Ventura's rank insignia is roughly drawn as a lieutenant junior grade, but in other clearers shots it is a full lieutenant's bar.
 * Bigelow : Starfleet lieutenant commander assigned to USS Cluster. Bigelow wore the yellow uniform patches of a pilot, and answered to orders Penn addressed to the helm, but Penn also addressed another female ensign as the "helmsman".
 * Marciari : Starfleet crewmember lost on the ill-fated USS Cluster landing party. ''It wasn't clear if the female on page one was named Testa, Marciari or McVey, but she must be one of those three.
 * McVey : Starfleet crewmember lost on the ill-fated USS Cluster landing party. ''It wasn't clear if the female on page one was named Testa, Marciari or McVey, but she must be one of those three.
 * Testa : Starfleet crewmember lost on the ill-fated USS Cluster landing party. ''It wasn't clear if the female on page one was named Testa, Marciari or McVey, but she must be one of those three.
 * Keller : Starfleet crewmember lost on the ill-fated USS Cluster landing party.
 * "Spitz" Spithogiannis : Starfleet crewmember lost on the ill-fated USS Cluster landing party.
 * Sajak : Romulan subordinate officer.
 * Cluster helmsman : Blonde female ensign, with gray uniform patches, assigned to the helm on USS Cluster. ''Since she wore gray insignia, it would seem she specialized as a navigator, despite being referred to as "helmsman" -- or she could have been filling both roles. Mr. Bigelow also responded to orders.
 * Andorian ensign : Andorian Starfleet ensign, with yellow uniform patches, assigned to USS Cluster. His uniform indicates he was probably an engineer, since he was not holding a pilot position -- yellow uniform insignia denote pilots or engineers.