The Ghost Planet
The Ghost Planet
Attribution
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Publication information
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Chronology
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Description[]
- High above the strange unpopulated world thecrew of thestar shipEnterprise battle to save a doomedplanet ... but they cannot know of the fate that awaits them once they succeed!
Summary[]
- Captain's log,stardate 26:06.4.Enterprise moving deep intogalaxy Zelta… We have sighted a strange ringed area… it may conceal a planet… investigation under way…
Spock discovers that the rainbow-colored rings are composed of copper and are circulating around a planet. Investigating, theEnterprise discovers high levels of radiation and a deserted city. Kirk, Spock, Denton and another crewman beam down to the surface, where an automated voice welcomes them and a robot-controlled vehicle arrives to pick them up. It takes them through the ruined city to the central communications building, where Justin I and Justin II, the rulers of the planet, communicate with them over a viewscreen. They explain that the planet's natives were forced to leave after the radioactive rings formed around their planet. Two artificial satellites were constructed to house them, but they are now overpopulated, and with no way to construct more satellites or destroy the rings, the Justins ask Kirk for help. Spock says that destroying the rings is possible, but he will need time to make the calculations. The Justins thank the landing party and sign off.
However, Spock wonders to Kirk whytwo satellites were built, and the other two crewmen find a room guarded by robots which react with hostility when they try to enter it. After disabling the robots, Kirk and Spock enter and discover evidence that the Justins had been fighting a war against each other in which more than 500,000 were killed, and only stopped when the rings forced them to call a truce. Realizing that the war will resume after the rings are destroyed, Kirk confronts the Justins on theEnterprise. They insist that there are no weapons left, and suggest that theEnterprise leave visual detectors on the planet to observe them and ensure that no weapons are ever produced again, to which Kirk agrees.
TheEnterprise succeeds in destroying the rings, and a landing party transports down to test the surface for radiation. While there, they discover a stockpile of nuclear weapons belonging to the Justins, proving that they had been lied to again. The two rulers come down to the planet and attack the landing party while jamming the transporter, preventing them from beaming away. Spock contacts McCoy and has him play films made of the rings in the planet's atmosphere, making it look like the rings have returned. Convinced that theEnterprise can bring back the rings at any time, the Justins stop fighting and agree to let their weapons be destroyed.
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Characters[]
Starships and vehicles[]
Locations[]
Races and cultures[]
States and organizations[]
Science and classification[]
- airlock •battery •bomb •camera •canteen •communications •Geiger counter •laboratory •laser •nuclear weapon •phaser •phaser rifle •power generator •robot •spectroscope •stabilizer •tractor beam •transistor •transporter •tricorder •viewscreen •weapon
Ranks and titles[]
Other references[]
- army •atmosphere •bluff •captain's log, USSEnterprise, 2266 •century •city •civilization •copper •day •death •electronic field •Federation Starfleet ranks (2260s) •Starfleet uniform (2265-2270) •Esperanta •extinction •galaxy •government •hour •language •light speed •log entry •logic •mile •month •mountain •nova •orbit •peace •planet •radiation •rainbow rings •seat belt •second •space •truce •uranium •war •water •year
Appendices[]
Background[]
- This story has been released nine times inEnglish and has been translated 16 times into otherlanguages:French (3x),Italian (3x), Portuguese (3x), Dutch (2x),German (2x), Turkish (2x), andSpanish.
- Carrying a cover date of September 1969, and on sale from late summer, "The Ghost Planet" stands as the first licensed piece of originalStar Trek fiction to be released globally following the broadcast of the final episode of the original series. In theUnited Kingdom, however, the third installment ofTOScomic: "The Children of Stai", theUK comic strips, fifth story arc, was released on June 7, 1969, one week afterTOSepisode: "Turnabout Intruder" aired.
Images[]
Connections[]
Timeline[]
| published order | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous comic: #4:The Peril of Planet Quick Change | TOS comics (Gold Key) | Next comic: #6:When Planets Collide |
| Previous comic: #36:A Bomb in Time | TOS comics (Gold Key) | Next comic: #38:One of Our Captains Is Missing! |
| Previous story: The Peril of Planet Quick Change | Stories by: Dick Wood | Next story: When Planets Collide |
| chronological order | ||
| Previous adventure: Destination Annihilation | Memory Beta Chronology | Next adventure: Open Secrets Chapters 29-30 |
| Previous story: Destination Annihilation | Voyages of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701), Year Two | Next story: The Edge of the Sword |
Production history[]
- September1969
- First published byGold Key Comics
- September1970
- Printed in hardcover inStar Trek Annual 1970 (World Distributors Limited)
- May1976
- Reprinted with a new cover image by Gold Key Comics as issue #37
- August1976
- Printed in theomnibusThe Enterprise Logs, Volume 1 (Golden Press)
- 12 March1977 -4 June1977
- Serialized inMighty TV Comic #1317 - 1329
- June2004
- Printed in the omnibusThe Key Collection, Volume 1 (Checker Book Publishing Group)
- 2004
- The cover, two images and a quote were reprinted on Gold Key Chase Card #5 in the card setQuotable Star Trek (Rittenhouse Archives)
- September2008
- Included onThe Complete Comic Book Collection DVD (Graphic Imaging Technologies)
- August2014
- Remastered in hardcover in the omnibusGold Key Archives, Volume 1 (IDW)
- 2 March2017
- Remastered in hardcover in the omnibusGraphic Novel Collection #5 (Eaglemoss)
Translations[]
- December1972
- Portuguese: As "O Planeta Fantasma" in b/w inJornada Nas Estrelas #13 (1st series) (Ebal)
- September1972
- Italian: As "Il Pianeta Fantasma" inStar Trek Albi Spada #5 (Edizioni Fratelli Spada)
- 1 October1972
- French: As "La Planète Fantôme" inLes Héros de L'Aventure #18 (Remparts)
- 1972 or1973
- French: In the omnibusStar Trek Album #2 (Remparts)
- 3 February1973
- Spanish: As "El Planeta Fantasma" inTV Mundial #241Viaje a las Estrellas (Editorial Novaro)
- 1974
- Dutch: As "De Spookplaneet" in b/w inStar Trek #1 (De Vrijbuiter)
- 1974
- German: Serialized over two issues as “Der Geisterplanet” inZack 1974 #51-52 (Koralle)
- 1974
- Italian: As "Il Pianeta Fantasma" inRaccolta Superspada #3 (Edizioni Fratelli Spada)
- March1976
- Portuguese: As "Os Gêmeos Guerreiros" in Jornada Nas Estrelas #3 (2nd Series) (Abril)
- 10 April1978
- Portuguese: In b/w inO Caminho das Estrelas #5 (Aguiar)
- December1978
- French: As "Les Jumeaux Suprêmes" inRin Tin Tin et Rusty #107 (Sagédition)
- 1978
- Dutch: As "De Spookplaneet" inStrip-album #1 (De Vrijbuiter)
- 1978
- German: Abridged as "Der Geister-Planet" inRaumschiff Enterprise Comic Album #1(Condor)
- 1981
- Turkish: B/W digest-size inUzay Yolu #2 (Alfa)
- 2000
- Turkish: InStar Trek #2 (Alfa)
- 2005
- Italian: As "Il Pianeta Fantasma" in the omnibusThe Gold Key Collection, Volume 2 (Free Books)
External links[]
- The Ghost Planet article atMemory Alpha, the wiki for canonStar Trek.