November 1973 saw the next issue (21) of Star Trek from Gold Key comics. It was writte by John David Warner, and featured art by Alberto Giolitti (which is getting more inline with the series by the issue) and featured a cover painting by George Wilson.

Didn’t we just have a spooky story in the previous episode?

The issue opens with a silly splash page that shows Spock and McCoy firing their phasers at a group of approaching mummies. That being said, the first panel on the next page has a great looking rendering of the Enterprise.

The Federation starship has arrived at Heitius VII with orders to transport an ancient mummy to a Life Studies Institute. Spock, McCoy, and Dr. Starr, accompanied by a security team, are dispatched in the Galileo to transport the remains and artifacts to the ship.

While Starr and part of the security team escort the mummy to the ship, Spock and McCoy stay planet-side to conduct an informal survey.

Starr heads to the ship’s library to conduct deeper research, leaving two security officers to guard the mummy’s room. That is until it wakes up and gets out of its electronic sarcophagus. The being disables both men, and heads to the ship’s central computer core. It does something within, and returns to its resting sport before the security officers recover. They report in to Captain Kirk.

Kirk orders everyone to alert!

Back on the surface, Spock and McCoy continue their tour of the arid and resource-free dying planet. They discover more mummies and the skeletons and remains of more people. A release is inadvertently triggered and the mummies awake!

When phasers, set on stun, are unable to do anything, the team also discovers that they are unable to contact the Enterprise. The group falls before the strange creatures.

Back on the Enterprise, it’s discovered that the mummy has been able to program a course for the ship. A course that cannot be interrupted, taking them to an uncharted system. All well and good, except that it’s going to cause the ship to pass through Romulan space…

Kirk orders Scotty to get to work on reprogramming the ship, and regaining control. To stop him, the mummy rises again, and attacks the security guards again! It then heads to Engineering. Scotty attempts to hold them off, but it plugs itself into a console and begins opening the antimatter tubes, a move that could end up blowing the entire ship apart.

Back on the planet, Spock and McCoy discover that the mummies are in fact cyborgs, but their organic parts have decayed. They have one of the security men on an operating table and are working on him, adapting him. The mummies are programmed to make more cyborgs… is resistance futile?

On the Enterprise, Kirk calls a meeting as they draw closer to Romulan space. He is joined by Chekov, Uhura, Scotty and Starr. They discuss how to get control of the ship back, and look for a way to stop the mummy.

Starr, shares her research on the history of Heitius VII. It suffered an ecological disaster, and despite being technologically advanced space travel was seen as heresy. Scientists confront thee danger and the disaster, and realize getting off planet may be the best solution. They have another solution as well; maintain the royal line and turn them into cyborgs, giving them a measure of immortality.

The new borg-ified leader wants to convert all of his people, and orders three scientists adapted immediately. The people, however, revolted against the idea, stopping the conversion process, with only four cyborgs being made. The mummy on the Enterprise is continued to lead its people to the stars and survival.

But can Kirk stop it?

On Heitius VII Spock orders phasers set to full charge, which forces the cyborgs to divert energy to their shields, which drains heir batteries quicker, causing them to shut down.

Meanwhile, the Enterprise is fast approaching Romulan space, and a ship (and crew that don’t look like any Romulans we’ve ever seen) is moving to intercept. They plan to blow the Enterprise up as soon as it crosses into their space.

Kirk and Scotty are working on a plan to permanently disable the mummy, and slow the ship. Starr, however, thinks the cyborg is too valuable as a piece of historical knowledge and technology, and pulls a phaser on them.

Kirk is able to deal with her while Scotty short-circuits the mummy just in time.

And with some quick miracle worker wherewithal, Scotty is able to restore the Enterprise computer systems, and the ship warps away from the Romulan neutral zone.

They return to Heitius VII and collect Spock, McCoy, the security team, and the defunct mummies and deliver them to Life Studies. Kirk closes out the story, by recommending some rest for his crew, and perhaps an overhaul for the Enterprise following this encounter.

Will we see that in the next issue? Probably not, as the find themselves under Siege in Superspace!