Planet Terry's parents

"It all began on the day of my actual birth. Both of my parents failed to show up."

Planet Terry doesn't know who they are or where they are, but still he'll keep searching for his parents.

Fiction

Terry's parents were in the Confederation Astro Patrol. Both served on the Confederation Cosmos Cruiser Space Warp; Terry's father was the captain, and his mother was the supply officer. They were married, and Terry was their first child. Some Answers

As Terry's birth approached, his father's nerves led him to drink too much coffee, served by chief engineer/mess boy Enoch Diggs. Diggs had been tasked with finding a sterile environment to keep the baby, and came up with the solution of using the life ship. After Terry was born, the captain was called to the life ship to see his baby boy. In the caffeine-fuelled overstimulation, the captain accidentally struck the life ship's emergency glass, causing it to automatically evacuate the ship, taking Terry with it. Terry was thought to be lost forever. The captain's only response was "oops!" Some Answers

Something happened to the Space Warp for which the captain blamed the radioman, Squink. Squink maintained that it wasn't his fault, and vowed that nobody must learn the secret of the Space Warp. The Saga of Princess Ugly It is unknown if Squink's secret is related to the final fate of the Space Warp: under attack by alien forces, the crew abandoned ship to head for Planetoid 17-Z in life crafts, but not before the captain made a final video log explaining the situation. The Space Warp eventually crash landed on Gorkel without a soul on board, and the Gorkels avoided investigating it due to their superstitions around advanced technology. The Secret of the Space Warp

Terry grew up in the life ship, which he thought was his birthplace. He couldn't remember even meeting his parents, and his only memento of them was an empty picture frame that he'd signed himself: "To Terry – love Mom & Dad." He'd taken the name "Terry" from a wrist bracelet he'd had since infancy. A Clue

The search for his parents began in earnest after he got a ship after doing a favour of the Wazir of Uranus, which allowed him to begin searching every galaxy. A Clue

Terry visited Bznko so frequently on his search that the inhabitants knew he would always ask the question: "Has anyone seen my mother and my father?" A two-headed resident of the planet felt sorry for Terry, saying it must be tough to be without parents, but on the other head, he considered Terry the worst pest in the galaxy. The Search

After Terry drove off the Yungmun, the people of Bznko bestowed upon him their highest honour, which Terry initially hoped was help looking for his folks. The actual reward was the literal pick of the litter, where he met Robota. The Search She joined him on his quest, saying it beat being queen of the junk heap. A Clue

Engine trouble forced Terry to make an emergency landing on a small planetoid, where they met Enoch Diggs. Diggs recognised Terry's life ship and name tag, and realised he knew who Terry's parents were. A Clue He told Terry the story of how his life ship had been accidentally jettisoned from the Space Warp. As time had played tricks on his memory, Diggs couldn't remember the names of Terry's parents, and he encouraged the boy to seek out the Space Warp's former radioman, Squink, at the Milk Toast Malt Shop. Some Answers

As Terry approached Asteroid 43KX, he was hopeful that he may finally get some resolution on what happened to his parents. He and Robota braved a Crocogater-infested moat, searched the Milk Toast Malt Shop, and fled its angry proprietors with their new ally Omnus, all in service of retrieving Squink, who had been rendered unconscious during the furore. As they left the asteroid, Terry mused that he may not yet have found his parents, but with Robota and Omnus, he sure had found a family. Malt Shop Menace

Admiring his picture frame, Terry was certain that his quest would soon be over as soon as Squink regained consciousness. Unfortunately, Squink was determined that no-one must learn the secret of the Space Warp, and pulled a blaster on Terry and his crew. Squink explained that Terry's father blamed him for what happened to the Space Warp, but maintained his innocence. Refusing to answer any of Terry's questions, Squink grabbed a jet pack and made to abandon ship, right into the path of an astro tornado, despite Robota's warnings. If he was caught in the astro tornado, the chances of his survival were slim.

Terry's ship was thrown around by the astro tornado and it crashed on the world of the Gorkels. According to the Wise One, the Book of the Gorkels told that they would be visited by an alien creature looking for his long lost puppy. When Terry introduced himself by asking if they'd seen his mum and dad, the Wise One declared the prophecy to be "close enough!".

Another prediction in the book was that alien creatures would arrive to rescue the Gorkels' beloved Princess _(shudder) Ugly, which Terry realised referred to him and his friends. If they agreed to free the princess, the Wise One offered to repair Terry's ship. Terry agreed to these terms, as without the ship, he would be unable to continue the search for his parents. The Saga of Princess Ugly After Terry and friends returned with Princess Ugly, he announced his plan to resume the search for his parents and their ship, the Space Warp. The Gorkels gasped in astonishment at the familiar name – the wreck of the Space Warp was at the foot of a nearby mountain! The Doom of the Domed City

Princess Ugly escorted Terry and friends to the wreck of the Space Warp, where she explained how they had been frightened to approach it since its crash landing years ago. Terry, Robota, and Omnus investigated inside and discovered the Space Warp's video log; though the video portion had been damaged by age, the audio track allowed Terry to hear his father's voice for the first time. The log detailed the Space Warp's attack by alien forces and the crew's subsequent escape to 17-Z. Terry and friends departed Gorkel in the hopes that his parents may still be there, though Terry (and privately, Omnus) had doubts.

Landing on 17-Z, Terry was determined to find signs of life. They first found the local species, and next found a threatening Devourer. The Secret of the Space Warp After Omnus defeated the Devourer, Terry tried to communicate with the squirrelly aliens, saying they were looking for people like him, and even showing them the signed frame of his parents... before realising the frame had no picture in. Nonetheless, one of the aliens excitedly led Terry over a ridge, where there stood a man and a woman in Confederation Astro Patrol uniforms. Overcome with emotion, Terry ran to join them, finally reuniting with his parents. The Saga of Princess Ugly part 6

Notes

• TFUK's telling of Planet Terry was abridged to try and find a satisfying conclusion. In its original form, the reunion on 17-Z was the cliffhanger to Planet Terry issue 3,  with Terry's parents stock-still poses being a clue that there is more going on than there appears... and the very next thing that happens at the start of issue 4  is them crumbling into sand at Terry's touch, revealing them to be incredibly lifelike statues created by the Chippas out of reverence. There's another fakeout in issue 5,  where Terry finds an underground society of which his parents are apparently monarchs, only for the conclusion of the issue to reveal that they were aliens disguised as his parents, again out of reverence. After a near miss in issue 8  and a Vermin the Vile paternity scare perpetrated through issue 11,  Planet Terry came to a close at twelve issues, the boy having never actually found his parents!