Brewster Rockit by Tim Rickard for September 15, 2024

The Trouble with Tribbles for non-Star Trek fans.

Or Flat Cats Factorial from Heinlein’s “The Rolling Stones” The Stones may have gathered no moss, but they gathered a lot of Flat Cats!

Quadrotriticale #5 by Chanel

Pam, obviously, but did she add that the tRumps shampoo??

Why is Cliff asking? Is he having trouble with tribbles?

I suspect the cartoonist had no tribble at all thinking of this one.

In a certain light, Cliff does look like William Shatner.

Beware a lady with that smile.

Ah, but it was no tribble at all.

So that’s why the tribbles cling on to Cliff…

I knew I was old when (years ago) I took my long-haired cat Tribble to the vet, and the young lady at reception stumbled over the name and asked what it meant.

Nobody will admit to that because the result is too funny!

I don’t suppose Pam will let on she’s the culprit. Her plussed expression over Cliff’s situation kinda gives her away. But the real question I have is why would there be such a demand for Tribble hormones on the space station that Pam could go out and buy a bottle to begin with?

Now, see, if tfg wins the election, he can solve two problems at once: send the tribbles to Springfield, OH! (/snark)

My favorite scene in my favorite Star Trek Episode (Part 1):

[Briefing room]

(Ten men are lined up. Chekov has a nice bruise on his cheek.)

KIRK: I want to know who started it. I’m waiting. Freeman, who started the fight?

FREEMAN: I don’t know, sir.

KIRK: All right. Chekov. I know you. You started it, didn’t you?

CHEKOV: No, sir, I didn’t.

KIRK: Who did?

CHEKOV: I don’t know, sir.

KIRK: “I don’t know, sir.” I want to know who threw the first punch! All right. You’re all confined to quarters until I find out who started it. Dismissed. (the men file out) Scotty, not you. You were supposed to prevent trouble, Mister Scott.

SCOTT: Aye, Captain.

KIRK: Who threw the first punch, Scotty?

SCOTT: Um…

KIRK: Mister Scott?

SCOTT: I did, Captain.

KIRK: You did, Mister Scott? What caused it, Scotty?

SCOTT: They insulted us, sir.

KIRK: Must have been some insult.

SCOTT: Aye, it was.

KIRK: You threw the first punch.

(Continued in Part 2)

Part 2:

SCOTT: Aye. Chekov wanted to, but I held him back.

KIRK: You held? Why did Chekov want to start a fight?

SCOTT: Well, the Klingon, sir. Is this off the record?

KIRK: No, this is not off the record.

SCOTT: Well, Captain, the Klingons called you, uh a tin-plated, overbearing, swaggering dictator with delusions of godhood.

KIRK: Is that all?

SCOTT: No, sir. They also compared you with a Denebian slime devil.

KIRK: I see.

SCOTT: And then they said you…

KIRK: I get the picture, Scotty.

SCOTT: Yes, sir.

KIRK: After they said all this, that’s when you hit the Klingons?

SCOTT: No, sir.

KIRK: No?

SCOTT: No, I didn’t. You told us to avoid trouble.

KIRK: Oh, yes.

SCOTT: And I didn’t see that it was worth fighting about. After all, we’re big enough to take a few insults. Aren’t we?

KIRK: What was it they said that started the fight?

SCOTT: They called the Enterprise a garbage scow, sir.

KIRK: I see. And that’s when you hit the Klingons?

SCOTT: Yes, sir.

KIRK: You hit the Klingons because they insulted the Enterprise, not because they…

SCOTT: Well, sir, this was a matter of pride.

KIRK: All right, Scotty. Dismissed. Scotty, you’re restricted to quarters until further notice.

SCOTT: (big grin) Yes, sir. Thank you, sir. That’ll give me a chance to catch up on my technical journals…

Mr Rickard, you should forward a copy to David Gerrold, who wrote the episode. I think he’d get a good chuckle out of it.

I bought a couple of tribbles at a Star Trek convention in the 1970s. Not quite sure, all these years later, where they ended up. But maybe it’s just as well . . .

Now why would he suspect poor innocent Pam.

Guess Brewster gave the alien indigestion yesterday.

It’s a mystery.

So Brewster Rockit is part of the STEU?

Is that a smile on her face?

That episode also gave Shatner a chance to overact more than usual. His putdowns of the Federation representative (Baris) were almost as funny as the Scotty replies.

ROFLMAO!

This one’s a keeper! Every panel is so well done! :-) (Pam’d expression in 4 says it all!)

Latina pheromones??

Good thing there are no Klingons on the ship.