Thirteenth Story Arc This summary is of a story arc from the newspaper comic strip " Star Trek " . Summary . With the Bebebebeque colony resettled to another world , the returns to Starfleet Command . Captain Kirk has a meeting at headquarters and then briefs his command staff . In celebration of Admiral Nogura ' s birthday , there will be a " sort of spaceship regatta " . The race is to show how the crews of ships work together under extreme pressure . Plus , the idea was the Admiral ' s grandson ' s , who is a cadet . Initially cool to the idea , the crew agrees to participate for the sake of the reputation of the " Enterprise " , becoming enthusiastic at the prospect of winning . One of the ships in the race is the USS " Bold Venture " , commanded by Captain Vera DiMarco . She was in one of Kirk ' s classes at the Academy , and had a crush on him at the time . Kirk accepts her dinner invitation , and he and she verbally spar , trying to get information from each other on their ability to race . After dinner the Admiral ' s grandson , Kyoshi , visits the " Enterprise " and hands Kirk a sealed envelope . In it are instructions that are only to be opened upon reaching the first checkpoint . Similar to a race rally , and because of the different classes of ships included , the " Enterprise " will be the last to leave as it is the fastest . On the way back to Earth , Kyoshi ' s friends discuss how the race is designed to bring out the best and worst in people , and that it is , in reality , Kyoshi ' s psychology term project . DiMarco cheats to see her task prior to reaching her first checkpoint . Kirk opens his envelope at the appointed time , and finds his task is to bring back a Thorian blood rock . The planet where it is found , Thoris Amarnis IV , lies within a loose association of pirate s , thieves , and criminals . At that same time , Kyoshi and his fellow cadets are meeting with those same pirates to make sure they will be ready when the Starfleet ships arrive . They have a deal to delay the ships just a little as an obstacle to overcome , which the pirates agree they will still do . But they also hold Kyoshi and his fellow cadets hostage , figuring they can get a good ransom from Nogura . Meanwhile , the " Enterprise " receives an automated distress call from the " Rim Explorer " , which has been attacked by a cloak ed free trader . The " Enterprise " arrives and the cloaked pirates get nervous , not having expected a warship . However , they quickly recognize that the Klingon s will pay anything for such a trophy . Rescuing the survivors , Kirk learns from Captain Clark that the " Bold Venture " may have received but ignored their distress call . Despite the setbacks , the " Enterprise " continues the regatta . Kirk and a landing party beam down to Thoris Amarnis IV and , to their surprise , find a village when they had been led to believe no civilization was on the planet . Spock ' s tricorder readings indicate that the blood rocks supply heat and light to the village . Kirk feels ill at ease about stealing one , and says he is " beginning to feel like a laboratory rat in a maze . " He decides he will trade for the rock rather than steal it , and assigns Scotty the task of bargaining . Scotty takes to it enthusiastically , spending a lot of time getting the best possible deal . A few parsec s away , DiMarco has discovered that the lifeform she was asked to collect is sentient and has telepathic powers , making her a kidnapper . DiMarco decides to talk things over with Kirk and heads off to Thoris Amarnis IV . The arrival of the other ship alarms the pirates , still under cloak . The cadets figure out how to short out the force field holding them , and after escaping , Kyoshi kicks over the cloaking device that is positioned next to the brig . The kick and some wire pulling totally deactivates it , allowing both Starfleet ships to see the free trader . The cadets are recaptured , and the pirates bargain for their return . But the pirates also learn the Klingons have already paid for the delivery of the " Enterprise " . This means the pirates are obligated to deliver a Federation warship to them or be hunted down . Both DiMarco and Kirk decide the best course of action is to beam into the free trader ship ' s cargo hold and rescue the cadets . DiMarco is acting heroic , which is against her character , but she feels guilty about having ignored the " Rim Explorer " distress call . Kirk brings along with him the blood rock he purchased . The pirates notice the temperature rise in the cargo hold and send a man to investigate . DiMarco knocks him out . When he fails to return , another man is sent . Kirk knocks him out . Then the captain of the ship goes , is captured by Kirk , and is placed in the brig along with his fellow pirates . In fact he is happy to go , as it is preferable to telling the Klingons he cannot deliver . After all that , DiMarco suggests the two remaining ships have an actual , and fair , speed race back . Kirk agrees . Kyoshi expresses some regret at the turn his experiment took , especially after he became a subject in it . The " Enterprise " wins the race back handily and Kirk and DiMarco make a dinner date in Chinatown . Memorable quotes . " " That ' s the stupidest idea I ' ve ever heard ! " "