Dino Riders (1989 series) #2

Picking up immediately from the previous issue's cliffhanger, Questar stands trial before a tribunal of three Valorian judges — Mind-Zei, Aries, and Serena's grandfather — on the charge of murdering his half-brother Tark. Questar pleads not guilty, claiming self-defense. Key witnesses testify: Magnus insists Questar murdered Tark to eliminate a rival, while the stoic Gunnur reports only the facts — he saw Questar fire one shot at Tark. Aries has already made up his mind: he believes Questar guilty and plans to hold his silence on what Tark told him, hoping to ruin Questar politically.

Meanwhile, outside camp, Yungstar and Llahd bicker about the trial, and Pandora — ill and distressed — urges them to focus on fighting the Rulons rather than each other. Elsewhere, Yungstar stumbles across Cassi, Llahd's sister, who had slipped away from the camp. The two share a brief romantic moment before a distant roar sends them running back.

Not far away, the Rulons have captured a wild Tyrannosaurus Rex. Despite Hammerhead's warning that the creature is stronger than expected, Lord Krulos orders the brain-box fitted. The T. rex is enslaved, and Krulos declares it will be his personal mount for the assault on the Valorian ship — and the S.T.E.P. technology within.

Back at the trial, the Valorian tribunal invokes the ancient law of the mind-probe: the three judges project waves of telepathic energy into Questar's mind to determine absolute guilt or innocence. The ordeal is intense — Questar screams under the scrutiny, and Serena, watching, begs them to stop. Questar refuses: "No — finish it." Afterward, the judges withdraw to deliberate. Aries claims Questar's psionic defenses are too strong and that he may be hiding the truth; he votes guilty. Mind-Zei believes Questar innocent. The casting vote falls to Serena's grandfather — Pandora's grandfather too — who upholds the Valorian principle of innocent until proven guilty. Questar is acquitted. He is still First Citizen.

Aries refuses to accept the verdict. Questar, shaken by the trial and tormented by grief for Tark, rides out alone on his dinosaur Lightrunner to make peace with himself. He is ambushed by Krulos, mounted on the brain-boxed T. rex. Serena arrives on a pterodactyl and rescues Questar, pulling him to safety. The two discuss the situation: the Rulons are after the S.T.E.P. — the time machine — and as long as Krulos is trapped on prehistoric Earth, the rest of the galaxy is safe. The Valorians must stay and contain him.

Questar opens his mind to Serena, who uses her own rare psionic ability — the Mind Dagger, a lethal latent power that manifests as a throwback in Valorian evolution — to look inside him. The raw emotional force overwhelms her; she panics and uses the Mind Dagger to wrench free, hurling Questar away. He is knocked unconscious but recovers. He reassures her that she must learn to control it. Serena, moved, confesses she now believes Tark's death was an accident.

The Rulon attack on the camp begins: Krulos leads his brain-boxed T. rex and support forces against the Valorian stockade. Questar coordinates a defense — Yungstar's fire team to the north rise, Gunnur to the stockade wall for suppression fire, Aries to ride the Trosaur. Aries refuses to follow orders. Questar, instead of punishing him, promises to make Aries leader — after the battle — if they survive. The Valorians repel the initial assault. Questar himself lassoes the T. rex's feet and brings it crashing down, dislodging its brain-box. The freed T. rex turns on Krulos, who fires a smoke-screen and escapes. Questar takes a blast meant for Aries, then extends a hand to him. A shaken Aries admits he judged Questar wrongly. Questar, bleeding, shrugs it off: "We're on the same team — aren't we?"

In the final panel, Magnus watches with a cold smile. Not all Dino-Riders want Questar as leader. Magnus has other plans. Next issue: Lord of the Jungle — a terrible twist in the tale of Tark.