Clark Terrell


Captain Clark Terrell was a Starfleet commanding officer who lived during the 23rd century.

In 2285, Captain Terrell commanded the  starship , having been assigned to support the Genesis Project by searching for a suitable planet on which to test the Genesis Device. He had never met Admiral James T. Kirk, but knew of him, in part through his first officer, Commander Pavel Chekov.

During a surface survey of what they believed to be Ceti Alpha VI, Terrell and Chekov were captured by Khan Noonien Singh and his followers, who had been exiled there some 15 years previously. () Terrell and Chekov discovered that they were in fact on Ceti Alpha V, and that Ceti Alpha VI had actually exploded only six months after Khan was marooned.

In order to force Terrell to reveal their purpose on the surface, Khan infested him and Chekov with parasitic Ceti eels, which affected the cerebral cortex and allowed Khan to control them by suggestion. Using Terrell, Khan took control of the Reliant, stranded the Starfleet crew on the surface, and attacked spacelab Regula I, the location of the research for the Genesis Project. When Khan failed to find Genesis, he abandoned Terrell and Chekov on the station as a trap for Admiral Kirk.

The pair were rescued a short time later by a boarding party from the , and subsequently discovered where the Genesis materials had been hidden – underground on Regula I itself. With the Genesis materials uncovered, Terrell held everyone at phaser-point and contacted Khan with the coordinates, allowing Khan to steal the powerful Genesis torpedo.

Believing that Terrell was the one who 'killed everyone they left behind' and intended to take possession of Genesis, David Marcus rushed Terrell in a fit of anger. Terrell fired his phaser, with Saavik tackling David to the ground, knocking him clear of the blast, which instead hit Jedda, who was vaporized. Khan then ordered Terrell to kill Admiral Kirk. However, Terrell resisted this last deadly order. Under immense pain from the Ceti eel, Terrell turned his phaser on himself, choosing to commit suicide rather than murder another Starfleet officer. ()

Appendices

Background information 
Captain Terrell was played by actor Paul Winfield.

According to the script, Terrell's first name was "Clark", which later appeared on a  appearing in ) The script further described him as "about 45, soft spoken and in good shape, but somewhat laconic." 

In the shooting script for Star Trek II, it was revealed that Terrell and Doctor McCoy were old friends. However, the dialogue that established this was cut from the final film.

Director Nicholas Meyer cast Paul Winfield as Terrell purely because, after being impressed by the performer's acting, he wanted to work with the actor. "There was no real reason for him to be the captain of the Reliant, other than my great desire to direct him in scenes!" said Meyer. "I knew he could do it, without any question." (; )

Apocrypha 
Despite being omitted from the film, the concept of Terrell being old friends with Doctor McCoy was incorporated in the  .

Terrell is a recurring character in the Star Trek: Vanguard novel series, in which he serves as first officer of the USS Sagittarius, later becoming its captain. His mirror universe counterpart appears in The Sorrows of Empire.

According to the video game Star Trek: Starship Creator, Terrell was married to a woman named "June". He had two sons, named "Richard" and "Clark Jr.", and a daughter named "Kim".

The alternate reality version of Terrell appears in the IDW comic series Star Trek: Boldly Go, as captain of the USS Concord, and his first name was "Craig" (changed to "Clark" in the trade paperback). Commander  served as his first officer.

External links 
 
 
 

de:Clark Terrell
es:Clark Terrell
fr:Clark Terrell
it:Clark Terrell

Humans
USS Reliant personnel
Starfleet command personnel
Starfleet captains