In the "Star Trek" episode "Miri" (October 27, 1966), the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise beams down to a planet that, quite mysteriously, has the same continental layout as Earth. When Kirk (William Shatner), Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley), Spock (Leonard Nimoy), and Yeoman Rand (Grace Lee Whitney) beam down to investigate, they find a burned-out, post-apocalyptic wasteland. The only survivors are children, and Kirk will eventually learn that all the planet's adults were wiped out by a fatal virus centuries
before. The virus also turned the adults mad, and they turned to badgering, hunting, and harming the planet's uninfected children. The children remember this time, and have come to see all adults as sinister and untrustworthy, calling them "grups," short for "grown-ups."
The same virus, as a side effect, also slowed the aging of the children, so they have been kids for over 300 years, unable to grow up or become wise. They will eventually hit puberty, though, and when they do, the virus infects them immediately. The world is dying out, and only resentful children, gathered into cults, remain. Their food supplies are dwindling, and they will likely all starve within a year. Oh yes, and the Enterprise crewmates were infected with the virus the instant they beamed down, so they have to beat the clock to find a vaccine. It's a pretty bleak episode.
"Miri" ends when Kirk convinces a young girl, the titular Miri (Kim Darby), that childhood must end and that adulthood isn't all that scary. She convinces the leader of the kids, Jahn (Michael J. Pollard), that the Enterprise crew are okay. Dr. McCoy, brilliant doctor that he is, finds a cure for the virus, and Kirk vows to send doctors and teachers to Miri's planet to help them become adults. It's a clean ending to a potentially sad story.
Readers of "Star Trek" comics and novels, though, know that wasn't the end of Miri's tale. A 1989 novel shockingly murdered Miri, and a follow-up 1998 comic book series revealed that, despite McCoy's efforts, the plague returned.
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Miri Dies And Jahn Goes On A Mission Of Revenge
It's worth recalling that Kirk, as is his usual wont, never returned to Miri's planet to check up on how they were developing with those doctors and teachers that he sent. This was a common problem on "Star Trek," as was seen in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan." Sometimes a follow-up mission is warranted, perhaps just to ensure that a vengeful, genetically altered warlord hasn't lost his private planet to an environmental cataclysm, and that he's not fostering thoughts of violent blood revenge against you. A Starfleet captain's ability to zip away in a faster-than-light starship usually meant that they were literally leaving their problems behind them.
The follow-up to "Miri" began in Judy Klass' novel "The Cry of the Onlies," published in 1989. In Klass' book, Jahn became discontented with the Federation adults on his world. Because fighting was all he ever knew, Jahn rose up in rebellion against the Starfleet officers, longing to leave his homeworld. He attempted to stow away on a starship, and entreated that Miri join him. Perhaps predictably, Jahn is caught, and a fight breaks out. Sadly, a phaser went off during the fracas and accidentally clipped Miri, killing her. Miri, who was so gentle in "Miri," and who seemed eager and full of hope about finally growing up, was killed in a violent accident. It's not exactly the path that Trekkies might have imagined for her.
After the events of "The Cry of the Onlies," Jahn swore a mission of revenge. The story picked up in a 1998 issue of "Star Trek: Untold Voyages," in an episode called "Past Imperfect." That issue, set eight years after the events of "Miri," saw Jahn finally stealing a shuttlecraft and seeking out Dr. McCoy to get revenge. It seems that McCoy's vaccine wasn't as permanent as anyone initially thought, and the plague has returned.
Dr. McCoy's Vaccine Eventually Wore Off
In the world of "Past Imperfect," Dr. McCoy has an adult daughter named Joanna, a character that was only mentioned once in an episode of "Star Trek: The Animated Series." McCoy is on a nearby Starbase visiting Joanna when Jahn arrives to kill him. When Jahn learns that McCoy has a daughter, though, his plan changes. He'll kidnap her, and bring her back to his homeworld, infecting her with the plague.
After the abduction, the Enterprise springs into action. Kirk and co. return to Miri's homeworld, and confront Jahn. It's revealed that Jahn and the other kids on the planet, the Onlies, have murdered dozens of Starfleet officers, enraged that the plague returned. There's a tense stand-off where Jahn threatens to kill Joanna with a phaser while her father watches. McCoy, unusually spry, ends up pouncing on Jahn, disarming him. He then sets to work making a new serum that, he hopes, will remain effective. Sadly, McCoy will never have a chance to see if it is effective, as the Onlies have declared that Starfleet is now verboten from their world. Starfleet usually likes to open relations with other planets and help those in need. In this case, they essentially created a tribe of vengeful xenophobes. Good work, Kirk.
Oh yes, and Kirk, just to heap a last spoonful of tragedy onto the story, visits Miri's grave. The kids of her homeworld had so much potential, but their lives ended up being marked by centuries of anger and violence. And Miri died anyway, shot down by a stray phaser beam.
Not all "Star Trek" stories end happily, of course, but this tale is particularly bleak. Happy nightmares, kids.
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