While issue 37 of Gold Key Comics was a reprint of Star Trek issue 5, issue 38, which was released for July 1976, brought a new story, and a new artist. Arnold Drake wrote One of Our Captains is Missing! while Alden McWilliams delivered the art, which is solid and makes the characters recognizable, and George Wilson gives us another gorgeous cover painting

The splash page is split into two panels. There is a new captain on the Enterprise who is angrily ordering Scotty back to his station, and in the other a bare-chested Kirk is fighting with a giant in a trial that could lead to his death.

Captain Zarlo is dispatched from Starfleet to take over command of the Enterprise. The ship that delivered him takes Kirk to his next assignment. Scotty is less than impressed with Zarlo’s record and is rather upset by the whole thing.

Kirk claims its all routine, but Spock senses a deeper worry about Kirk’s as yet unnamed new assignment. Zarlo comes aboard and immediately shakes things up by ordering drills (nuke drills?! I think Zarlo is in the wrong fleet).

The scene moves to a strange planet where a couple of xenophobes are picking on and hitting a horned alien. And the alien gets arrested for it! But it’s all a ploy, the alien is Kirk in disguise, and he is meeting secretly with the planet’s prime minister.

He’s there to help in a conflict the planet has with the Togotans, another race on the planet. Kirk is there because the Klingons may be backing them.

The Togotans are an isolated race deep in one of the unexplored continents, they are peaceful artists, but soon they were also made into slaves, exploited labor, all to the prime ministers frustration. And now the Togotans are fighting everyone, with help from the Klingons.

Kirk is made to look up like a Togotan so that he can investigate. But then they reveal to him that the Togotans don’t talk, they communicate psychically and Kirk thinks he’s being set up.

He soon finds a Togotan village, and yes, the Klingons (they don’t look like Klingons) are arming them. But are the Klingons on the right side? these people are fighting for their freedom from slavery? Before Kirk can investigate further, he’s captured and brought before the Togotan leader. And he will be put on trial.

Back on the Enterprise Scotty is clashing with Zarlo. And Zarlo’s log reflects the fact that the crew are rejecting him.

Meanwhile Kirk squares off for battle! He battles a being called Ndarpo with weapons and fists.To get the upper hand on Kirk, Ndarpo uses psychic projections.

Kirk, eager to putt an end to things, grabs the chieftain and escapes at blade point. He tries to explain that the klingons will exploit his people and steal their freedom. After making his case, Kirk pretends to leave but hides, then backtracks to the village to look after the people and stop the Klingons.

Things are complicated for Kirk. He can’t report in due to damage to his communicator and the clock is ticking before he’s classified as lost and the mission scrubbed. Yet ,somehow, he’s able to message Scotty and uses Cockney rhyming slang to disguise his message.

Once the engineer figured out Kirk’s missive, Zarlo confirms Kirk’s mission. But the Enterprise must remain on her assignment. When mutiny is threatened (!) Zarlo recognizes loyalty and orders the Enterprise to Kirk’s position.

Kirk is watching the chieftain in discussion with the Klingon, his picture projections showing that he wants his people to earn their freedom themselves and not with the help of outsiders. The Klingon refuses, promising unique weapons, but Kirk confronts the Klingon, and the two will fight with weapons and ideologies.

Kirk gets the upper hand just as the Enterprise arrives to confront the Klingon D7 cruiser in orbit. The Klingon ship flees (running? not very honorable) and Kirk is able to help forge peace between the peoples of the planet (I thought they wanted to do that by themselves?).

Zarlo bids farewell returning to his previous assignment and McCoy and Spock snipe at one another as the adventure continues.