The Third Verdict
| Zine | |
|---|---|
| Title: | The Third Verdict |
| Publisher: | |
| Editor: | |
| Author(s): | Beverly Zuk |
| Cover Artist(s): | Beverly Zuk |
| Illustrator(s): | Beverly Zuk |
| Date(s): | 1982 |
| Medium: | print zine, fanfic |
| Size: | |
| Genre: | Legal drama |
| Fandom: | Star Trek: TOS |
| Language: | English |
| External Links: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
The Third Verdict is a gen Star Trek: TOS 132-page novella by Beverly Zuk. Zuk is also the sole artist. It was an unusual story at the time of its release because it focused on the character of Scotty, who was often a supporting character in fanworks but rarely the main focus, and it was a murder mystery featuring no romance or slash. It was praised for its character work in developing Scotty and his backstory.
It tied with Transition for the 1983 "Star Trek Best Writer" Fan Q Award.
Description
From a flyer:
A peaceful mission turns to death. But who really killed Sakti, Goddess of Kendar? Unravel with Montgomery Scott the perplexing puzzle that left Spock with motive and no alibi, McCoy with the perfect opportunity, and Scott with his own finger prints on the child's throat.
Parts
- No Man So Tall... (1)
- Esprit (54)
- Epilogue (131)
Gallery
Reactions and Reviews
A sample of reviews shows a consensus among reviewers praising the characterization of the cast (particularly developing the protagonist, Scotty, and his relationships), a tightly written plot, a refreshingly unique use of the courtroom drama genre within the Star Trek setting, and the quality of the physical copies. Reactions to the illustrations also tended to be positive. Some reviewers found the original characters to be underutilized to some extent.
Unknown Date
A Scotty novel, and a very lovely Scotty novel it is. Beverly Zuk can plot like nobody's business, and her characterization is flawless. Enterprise is on ambassadorial shuttle duty, taking Sakti, the young goddess of Kendar, and Ambassador Vetti and entourage to an All Faiths Conference. Sakti and Scotty take a shine to each other and he becomes her guide/daddy. What he doesn't know until too late, however, is that she must make a perfect sacrifice to the gods before she becomes a woman - which McCoy has revealed to her will be in just about another month. She sacrifices Kirk. Scott finds him and gets McCoy & co. there in time. Realizing, he goes to Sakti to tell her Kirk is alive, and in anger takes her by the throat. She is found strangled 25 minutes later, Scott holding her. Scott is cleared by the hearing, but Vetti insists on a trial, which Starfleet asks Scott to undergo, in Scotland, for the good of the Service. Scott agrees, hoping the trial will reveal the real killer. Vetti, Spock and McCoy are all suspects in his mind, among others. During the trial, Spock and McCoy are staying at Scotty's house, leaving plenty of opportunity for marvelous S/Mc interactions. The courtroom stuff is very fine. Scott's pre-Starfleet history of violent temper is brought out damningly. Spock and McCoy each testify in a manner that brings public opinion sharply against them and suspicion onto themelves, in order to further the defense strategy of reasonable doubt. McCoy agonizes over whether he has lied to both the jury and to Scotty in painting an unfavorable picture of Sakti. Kirk, still very ill, is transported in as the sole defense witness. Scott, when his case is almost won, insists on taking the stand to correct the bad impression of Sakti the others have created -- and in the process awakens the memories he needed to know the true killer - the scent of Vetti in Sakti's room. As the trial goes on, followers of the growing Kendar religion become violent, seeking the death of the god-killer (as well as the undelivered sacrifice). Revelations are tipped to us in perfect timing; we slowly discover what McCoy was doing when he left his critically-injured captain to leave his prints all over the dead girl's room (searching for the poison to find an antidote) and what Spock was doing that was so absorbing he missed all the excitement (meditating on the probability of a revival of the Kendari sacrificial cult). In the end, Scott is acquitted as "not proven" and Vetti, leading a mob to kill all the Enterprise officers, is trampled to death by his own followers as the E-men are transported away. The title, we are told, has two meanings. Scotland apparently has the only legal system that allows a third verdict other than "guilty" and "not guilty" - "not proven" - which is what Scott receives. And, he is tried in three courts - the judicial court, the media court, and the court of popular opinion. The only flaw I see in the novel is that it is stated that Scotty has won in the third court - but that is not actually demonstrated, and doesn't actually seem like the logical outcome. Of course, he has certainly won in Trekdom; perhaps that counts. A few keywords: Living Goddess; Perry Mason; sacrifice; heart; womanhood; tea; Kali; convert; testify; unproven. [1]
1982
This zine looks good and reads well. The art work, though poorly reproduced, is adequate if not handsome. The cover design is splendid — a staff with a scrawl-like title conveys the image of spilt blood, very fitting for the story.
The major technical complaint I have concerns the paragraphing. There were a few instances in which a person's conversation was split up into two paragraphs when he or she was conversing with some one else, and it was not clear enough who was speaking.
The novel is divided into two books. The first concers [sic] the Enterprise's mission to transport a few Kendari citizens to the "All Faiths Conference on Unity." We are introduced to ambassador Vetti, who displays a bigoted attitude toward those he finds less superior; Sakti, a pre-adolescent girl, naive and curious, chosen "Goddess" of the Kendari faith; and Dara, Sakti's nurse. Sakti and Engineer Scott build up a friend ship based on Sakti's thirst for knowledge and Scotty's affection for the young "tyke" who reminds him of his stepdaughter from a previous contract marriage. As the story unfolds, we find ourselves drawn into Sakti's fears, based on the primitive legends of her people. The final outcome of these fears is attempted murder.
As Book 2 begins, we discover a surprise, and not a pleasant one. There has been a second at tempt at murder — a successful one this time — and Scott is the accused. Although Starfleet has completed its own investigation, the planetary government of Kendar has filed criminal charges against him; and in the interest of interplanetary relations, the Federation has asked Scott to stand trial. As the evidence is brought forth, with testimony from crewmembers who were witnesses, including Spook and McCoy, EVERYONE becomes a suspect, and no one is let "off the hook."
Well. . .almost no one.
The one major flaw in the novel is that, in the absence of any Kendari testimony at trial, there is insufficient insight into the Kendaris' motive to "hang Scott." Although it is stated that the Kendaris refused to be involved in the initial investigation, there seems to be no reason why they could not have been more involved in the trial. This would have given the author a chance to develop the Kendari perspective and resolve the reader's curiosity about the dynamics behind the crime in a more satisfying manner. The Kendari perspective is presented only from the point of view of hecklers at the trial — using them as prosecution witnesses would have allowed them to play a bigger role, in keeping with the development of their culture and ambitions in the first book.
Suspicion could have been raised to a higher level and the mystery made more exciting if Ambassador Vetti, a major character in Book 1, and Nurse Dara, who had emerged in Book 1 as a interesting character whom the reader wants to know more Eibout, had been called to the witness stand in Book 2. But the conversations between Scott cind McCoy, as well as between McCoy and Spock, cure wonderfully well done and show much insight into their long friendship.
The background on Scotty was well thought-out, believable, and interesting — about time we had more information on Scotty! Altogether, I found THE THIRD VERDICT thoroughly enjoyable, with a Perry Mason-type courtroom drama spiced up with our own dear Enterprise crew — thoroughly in character, may I add. To find out the verdict — Guilty, Not Guilty, or (the Third Verdict), Not Proven — read the zine. [2]
The Enterprise is on a peaceful diplomatic mission delivering the Kendari diplomatic mission to the All Faiths Conference on Unity when Scotty meets Sakti, child goddess of Kendar. (On Kendar, young girls are selected from the general populace to serve as goddesses whose only purpose in life is to determine perfection. Before the Reforms, perfection was sacrificed to the gods.) Scotty and Sakti are equally smitten with each other/ and Sakti demands that he be appointed cultural liason. Sakti is a most delightful and intelligent young lady, and she soon charms everyone who comes in contact with her. And you will be as shocked as I was when Sakti calmly walks into Admiral Kirk's office, serves him drugged tea, and stabs him in the heart. Shortly thereafter she is found strangled.
I cannot improve upon the advertising literature which reads: "A peaceful mission turns to death. But who really killed Sakti, Goddess of Kendar? Unravel with Montgomery Scott the perplexing puzzle that left Spock with motive and no alibi, McCoy with the perfect opportunity, and Scott with his own fingerprints on the child's throat."
You cannot imagine how refreshing it was to curl up with a good old-fashioned murder mystery after a steady diet of "get", "lay", "hurt/comfort", and "everybody and its brother are gay" stories. THE THIRD VERDICT is not the cleverest or the most profound murder mystery ever written. I guessed the identity of the perpetrator before guilt was established at the end with a rabbit-out-of-the-hat revelation. And except for the ST setting, it is not even a particularly science fiction-y crime. But this type of story is seldom done in ST fan fiction, much less done as well as THE THIRD VERDICT. It is worth reading just for the sheer novelty of the effort.
And on top of this, THE THIRD VERDICT is a MUST READ for Scotty fans. Ms Zuk makes him a sympathetic protagonist and examines sides of his character which are seldom explored. She even speculates on his pre-Star Fleet career in testimony at his trial. Why his trial takes place in a Scottish court is not explained to my satisfaction, but it does make a splendid setting for some good theater. Don't we all love trials? THE THIRD VERDICT would have made a good (if long) episode. If you like mysteries, you will probably enjoy THE THIRD VERDICT.
The print job and the layout are good. The illustrations are workmanlike, but add to the enjoyment of the work. Rated PG. [3]
1983
This novel is unusual from most of Star Trek fan fiction in that it focuses on Scotty rather than the Big Three. In the novel, the Enterprise is assigned to transport a planet's child-goddess and her companions to a religious conference. Almost immediately, a friendship forms between the young girl and the chief engineer, but it is soon overshadowed by her duties as her people's goddess -- the most important of which is to choose the perfect sacrifice for her religion. She chooses Captain Kirk because he is the best captain in Star Fleet and almost succeeds in killing him. Later, she is found strangled in her cabin, and all the evidence points to Scotty as the prime suspect. The rest of the novel deals with Scotty's trial and how his friends come to his defense. I enjoyed the novel, especially the part where Kirk explains why the Enterprise's crew was chosen as it was. I thought the novel was well-written and didn't find too many things like typos to disrupt the flow of the story. There was one thing that bothered me and that was why Scott's trial was held in a Scottish court rather than in a Star Fleet Court. Either I overlooked the reason, or the author didn't include one. The artwork was not abundant, but it was well done, and it was drawn by the author. As I said I found the zine enjoyable and very readable. I believe that others would find it so, too. [4]
In this, Bev Zuk's second novel, the author has continued and expanded the character of Mr. Scott she began sketching in THE HONORABLE SACRIFICE. Here, Us. Zuk gives us not only excellent Trek and science fiction, but a murder mystery with one of the best courtroom dramas this reviewer has read in amateur or professional fiction. It was impossible to relax while reading THE THIRD VERDICT or, having once begun, to put it down until the last word. I also found it impos sible to cheat and skip forward; the novel is so tight ly written that later scenes don't make sense until earlier ones have been read. Any canny reader of Christie or Stout will have the murderer picked out as soon as the individual arrives' on the scene. The prob lem is that Mr. Scott's bloody fingerprints are on the young victim's throat, and there is no evidence whatso ever to prove the real culprit's identity to a Scottish court sitting in the ancient Parliament House in Edin burgh. The title comes from the fact that there are three possible verdicts for a capital crime in Scot land I won't go into the reasons for the location of the trial. Suffice.it to say that they grow naturally, and without too much visible contrivance, from the characters' goals and the complexities of Federation law and society. The ancient ceremony, complete with gowns and periwigs, prisoner's dock, and even the cross of St. Andrew, provides the reader with an opportunity to compare our own contemporary culture to the future culture designed by Gene Roddenberry and logically enlarged upon by the author. She has done her homework. Anyone privileged to have visited Edinburgh and Scotland's coastal islands will be treated to flashes of recognition from familiar landmarks and weather conditions. The novel is constructed in two parts, the first much shorter than the second, and with an epilogue. Part One introduces the characters and Mr. Scott's lifelong battle with his temper. It ends with the attempted murder of Kirk and the murder of his assailant, Sakti. This 13-year-old girl is considered a goddess by the people of her socially backward planet, and by converts Federation-wide. Part Two begins with Mr. Scott pleading "not guilty" to a charge of capital murder before a Scottish female judge with red hair peeping from under her powdered wig, while angry mobs of the goddess' followers scream outside, and sometimes inside, the court. As the testimony of the various witnesses unfolds, the story resumes where it left off in Part One. Most of the courtroom action is seen through Scotty's horrified eyes. His dilenma; He loved the child who tried to murder his captain as a father loves; he is grieving for her. Yet his best chance of acquittal is to destroy her character, to allow her to be held up before the jury as an unnatural monster. Scotty's feelings are presented with compassion and psychological insight, as are the occasionally desperate efforts of his friends, principally Spock and McCoy, to free him. All of the testimony, the give and take between prosecution and defense, and the judge's comments and rulings demonstrate a thorough knowledge of courtroom procedure and law, as well as human (and alien) nature. But one piece of Kirk's testimony became, for me, a special high point. He blithely explains that when he was made captain of the Enterprise, Starfleet was both blessed and cursed by having in its ranks certain irascible geniuses who seemed unable to cooperate or work with the military system. As an experiment, all these individuals were put together on one ship, with Kirk, who had no preconceived notions about the handling of a large group of officers. He says, "It was a success." In any trial the most obvious conflict is between prosecution and defense, but in THE THIRD VERDICT this surface conflict plays point-counterpoint to the internal struggles of the characters and serious cultural rifts within the Federation: military vs. civilian, theism vs. secularism, scientist vs. layman, stability vs. progress. Seme of these dichotomies are shown most effectively when psycho-tricorder readings are ruled inadmissible as evidence; however, all concerned accept Spock's telepathic evidence as a normal part of Scotland's heritage! One note of warning. We experience the goddess Satki's attempt to cut out Kirk's heart from the child's point of view. It is graphic, physiologically accurate, and not for those prone to nausea or nightmare. The scene is also completely necessary to the plot and mood of the novel. As one would expect, all of the illustrations are from the author's pen. They are refreshingly few, each well-chosen in content and beautifully drawn. Intricate "puzzle" borders straight out of the Book of Kelts decorate the title pages of both main sections and the epilogue. Similar designs are incorporated on a striking two-color cover. THE THIRD VERDICT has been prepared with TLC in editing, copy-editing, and proofreading by Mardy Lamski, Lois Welling, and Colette Mak, as well as others. The care shows, both in lack of typos (there were one or two, but I found one in an English grammar recently!), and in clarity of reproduction. This is a must for anyone interested in an expanded view of the Trek universe. A single reading won't be enough. [5]
1987
THE THIRD VERDICT was an interesting zine which developed the character of Scotty. The Enterprise is ordered to pick up a diplomatic party from the planet Kendar. Included in the diplomatic party is the 'goddess' Sakti who is a young girl of thirteen. She takes a Iiking to Scotty and demands that he be her escort throughout the ship instead of Spock. Not much is known about the Kendarian religion and why Sakti is considered a goddess except that the Kendarians revere perfection and must pursue it in all aspects of their lives. Sakti hears that Captain Kirk is the best commander in Star Fleet and she repeatedly asks if that means he is perfect and Scotty answers yes. Sakti then sets up Kirk as a sacrifice, because as part of her duties as goddess, she must find a sacrifice which is the best representative of perfection. She drugs Kirk and begins to ceremonially cut out his heart but because of her lack of human anatomy, Kirk survives. Scotty comes to see Kirk and is horrified at the sight of the captain. He calls for helps and saves the captain's life by stopping the blood long enough for McCoy to get him into surgery. Scotty goes to Sakti's cabin to confront her as to why she tried to murder the Captain. When she finds out that Kirk is alive she is frightened and screams that he must die, the sacrifice must happen. Scotty gets angry and shakes Sakti, and she gets more hysterical. Scotty leaves before he really loses his temper and hurts her but returns to try to reason with her. When he returns, Sakti has been murdered and he is charged with her murder. The ambassador gets really nasty and drags Scotty through several trials where Scotty is. finally acquitted. Throughout the trial, Scotty hus the help and support of the Enterprise screw who help with the testimony. The characters were well developed and the. artwork complemented the zine well. I especially liked collages of the characters as they seemed to allow you into their thoughts and feelings. The story was well done and tightly written with nicely-paced action. Scotty fans will enjoy this zine as it builds up Scotty's background and provides another view of the world of Star Trek. [6]
1986
The Third Verdict is a unique case in law. A starship officer in the interests of good interplanetary relations is asked to a murder charge. As a Scot, he is entitles to have this conducted in his homeland under Scot's law. this is Scotty's story; caught up with a diplomatic voyage and the wishes of a goddess, he ends up caught; trapped by his own memories. Exonerated by Starfleet. they then find that the general public considers that a 'cover up' have been made. So the trial is convened to find the truth. Rich in character, Beverly has written a fine, gripping drama. No-one on trial for murder goes through such searching self-examination than these participants. Jim has been almost murdered too - he is the catalyst for Scotty's trial. Spock and McCoy find their friendship tested; Scotty finds his friends and fellow Scots bewildering - he doesn't understand the why. All along we know he didn't do it but the real villain Vetti pulls the strings that cloud the issue right up to the end. Rawer and the guest of it is the real villain, 'not proven' is the third verdict where the prosecution have failed to present the case either way. This trial and its outcome takes place in Scotland with all the pomp and ceremony they can muster; it is very good to know that these still exist in the 23rd century. It is also good to know that 'second sight' or 'telepathic ability' is considered admissible in a country that has never denied its existence. PS. I am little biased coming from the country. [7]
1990
Bev Zuk has the gift of drawing you into the narrative... The Third Verdict is about suffering -- Scotty's, as he is the central character... The trial scenes are realistic and completely absorbing. Much information about Scotty's early life and entry into Starfleet is revealed. His relationship with Spock, McCoy and Kirk is examined as is the relationship between McCoy and Spock. The story also has some deeper points to make about truth and justice.[8]
References
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