Original subtitles

Captain's log, stardate 4307.1. Approaching Starbase 6

for a much-needed period of rest and recreation.

The crew has performed excellently, but is exhausted.

And I too am looking forward to a nice period of rest

on some lovely planet.

Captain, that was a message from Starbase 6. Heavy interference.

All I get is "Intrepid" and what sounded like a sector coordinate.

Interesting. No indications of magnetic storms in this sector.

- Try another channel, lieutenant. - Aye, sir.

Intrepid is manned by Vulcans, isn't it?

- Yes, that's right, Bones. - Enterprise calling Starbase...

Enterprise calling Starbase 6. Come in. Come in, starbase.

Spock.

What is it, Spock? You're in pain?

Captain, the Intrepid,

it just... died.

And the 400 Vulcans aboard,

all dead.

Come on, Spock, let's go down to Sickbay.

- Doctor, I know what I know. - Get to the Sickbay.

- Captain... - No, no, no. That's an order.

Yes, sir.

Captain, I have Starbase 6 readable now.

Switching to audio, sir.

Kirk here. Go ahead.

You will divert immediately to Sector 3-9-J.

Sir, the Enterprise just completed an exhausting mission.

We're on our way in for R and R. Must be another starship in that sector.

Negative. This is a rescue priority.

We've lost all contact with solar system Gamma 7A,

which the Intrepid was investigating.

And we've just lost contact with the Intrepid. Report progress.

Order acknowledged. Kirk out.

Mr. Kyle, you heard the order. Set a course for Gamma 7A.

- Warp 5. - Aye, sir.

Captain, I have just completed a full long-range scan

of Gamma 7A system.

- It is dead. - Dead?

That was a fourth-magnitude sun.

There are billions of inhabitants there.

It is dead.

Space, the final frontier.

These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise.

Its five-year mission: To explore strange new worlds,

to seek out new life and new civilisations,

to boldly go where no man has gone before.

I assure you, doctor, I'm quite all right.

The pain was momentary. It passed quickly.

Well, all of my instruments seem to agree with you,

if I can trust these crazy Vulcan readings.

Spock, how can you be so sure the Intrepid was destroyed?

- I sensed it die. - But I thought you had to be

in physical contact with the subject before...

Doctor, even I, a half-Vulcan,

could hear the death scream of 400 Vulcan minds

crying out over the distance between us.

Not even a Vulcan could feel a starship die.

Call it a deep understanding of the way things happen to Vulcans,

but I know that not a person,

not even the computers onboard the Intrepid, knew what was killing them

or would have understood it had they known.

But 400 Vulcans.

I've noticed that about your people, doctor.

You find it easier to understand the death of one

than the death of a million.

You speak about the objective hardness of the Vulcan heart,

yet how little room there seems to be in yours.

Suffer the deaths of thy neighbour, eh, Spock?

You wouldn't wish that on us, would you?

It might have rendered your history a bit less bloody.

Spock, you may have been right. We've lost contact with the Intrepid

and are out of communication with an entire solar system.

Any update from Starfleet?

I cannot filter out the distortion, sir. It's getting worse.

Captain, deflector shields just snapped on.

- Slow to warp 3. - Warp 3, sir.

Indications of energy turbulence ahead.

Unable to analyse.

I've never encountered readings like this before.

Scanners on.

- Magnification 3 on the screen. - Magnification factor 3, sir.

Exactly what are we looking for, Mr. Spock?

I would assume, that.

What is that?

Perhaps an interstellar dust cloud?

Not very likely, ensign.

No. You'd be able to see stars through a dust cloud.

It looks like a hole in space.

- Readings, Mr. Spock? - Still not able to analyse, captain.

Sensors are feeding data to the computers now.

Whatever this dark zone is,

it lies directly in line with the course I calculate for the Intrepid

and the Gamma 7A system.

Hold present course. Slow to warp 1.

Warp factor 1, sir.

Mr. Chekov, prepare to launch telemetry probe into that zone.

- Direct computer feed to Mr. Spock. - Aye, sir.

Probe ready. Switching data feed to library computer.

- Launch probe. - Probe launched, sir.

- What was that? - The telemetry probe, sir.

There's no signal from it now.

- Speculation, Spock? - I have none, captain.

Insufficient data.

Lieutenant.

Just dizzy. I'll be all right. I'm fine, sir.

Sickbay to Captain Kirk. McCoy here.

- Kirk here. What is it? - I'm getting reports from every deck.

Half the people on this ship just fainted.

Uhura almost did. She says she's all right. Do you wanna see her?

Not unless she's feeling ill. I've got an emergency down here.

- What's wrong? - Well, it's nothing organic.

They all seem to be nervous, weak and irritable.

They say it happened suddenly, like a balloon popping.

Can you handle it, Bones?

I'm giving them stimulants to keep them on their feet.

- Yeah, we can handle it, Jim. - Good. Kirk out.

- Hold our position, Mr. Kyle. - Aye, aye, sir.

Spock, give me an update on the dark area ahead.

No analysis due to insufficient information.

No speculation, no information, nothing.

I've asked three times for information and you've been unable to supply it.

"Insufficient data" is not sufficient, Mr. Spock. You're the science officer.

You're to have sufficient data all the time.

I am well aware of that, captain,

but the computers contain nothing on this phenomenon.

It is beyond our experience,

and the new information is not yet significant.

I don't know about you, but I'm tired.

If you can't tell me what it is, let's use reverse logic.

Perhaps it'll help if you tell me what it isn't.

It is not liquid, gaseous or solid,

despite the fact we cannot see through it.

So far, that's not much help.

It is not a galactic nebula, such as the Coalsack.

And since our deflectors were activated by it,

it would seem to be some form of energy,

but nothing our sensors can identify.

Is it possible...

...that this is what killed that solar system

- and the Intrepid? - Very possible.

- Lieutenant. - Yes, sir.

Notify the Starfleet...

...that we're going to attempt to probe the area of darkness

- to gain further information. - Aye, aye, sir.

- Captain... - No, Mr. Spock.

Distance from zone of darkness, Mr. Kyle?

One hundred thousand kilometres, sir.

All right. Ahead slow. Impulse power only.

Aye, aye, sir.

Transmission to Starfleet complete, sir.

Very good.

Time, Mr. Chekov?

Penetration of the zone in one minute, seven seconds, sir.

Red alert.

Deflectors, full power. Phaser banks ready?

Phasers standing by, deflectors are at full power, sir.

It's not coming from communications, sir.

- Spock? - Analysing now, captain.

Captain, the stars are gone.

- Malfunction, Mr. Spock? - Negative, captain.

All systems functioning properly.

Then kindly tell me what happened to the stars.

Unknown, captain.

- Kirk to McCoy. - McCoy here.

- Things any better down there? - Worse.

They're backed up into the corridor.

Well, have you got anything that'll help up here?

I don't want anybody folding on the Bridge at a critical moment.

On my way. McCoy out.

Kirk to Engineering. Scotty, there was a power loss. How come?

We lost 5 percent of our energy reserves, sir.

Our deflector shields are weakened.

- Can you compensate for the loss? - Aye, if we don't lose any more.

Don't ask me how it happened.

I am asking how, mister. I want answers. Kirk out.

- What's that? - A stimulant.

Bones, how bad is it?

Two-thirds of the personnel are affected.

Why? How? Do you have any answers?

You'll get everything I can tell you,

but when there is nothing, what do you want me to say?

Bones.

Nurse.

This ship is in trouble.

We better start solving problems faster than we pick up new ones.

We seem to be in the middle of a creeping paralysis.

Mr. Spock, analysis of that last burst of noise, before we started losing power.

That sound was the turbulence caused by the penetration of a boundary layer.

- What boundary layer? - Unknown.

A boundary layer between what and what?

Between where we were and where we are.

Are you trying to be funny, Mr. Spock?

It would never occur to me, captain.

Do you have any ideas, Spock?

We still have no specifics, but we seem to have entered a zone of energy

which is incompatible with our living and mechanical processes.

As we draw closer to the source, it grows stronger and we grow weaker.

- Recommendations? - I have one.

I recommend survival.

Let's get out of here.

This is the captain.

We're on a difficult mission, but it's not the first time.

Our orders do not say stay alive or retreat.

Our mission is to investigate.

We're sick and we're getting sicker.

We have no guarantees, but we have a good ship

and the best crew in Starfleet. So do your jobs. Carry on.

Kirk out.

- Sickbay to Captain Kirk. - Kirk here. Go ahead, Bones.

Jim, according to the life indicators, the energy levels...

Yeah, say it, Bones.

According to the life monitors, we're dying.

We're all dying.

Captain's log, stardate 4308.8.

It is now ten minutes since we entered the zone of darkness.

We have stopped engines while we seek a defence

against the energy drain which seems to pervade the zone.

- You all right? What was that? - I'm sorry, sir. I'm not sure.

I was trying to recalibrate and we went into reverse.

Reverse? But that was a forward lurch.

How could that happen in reverse thrust?

I don't know, sir. All I know is that...

...the power levels are down 12 percent and steadily decreasing.

I've never experienced anything like it.

Bridge to Captain Kirk.

- Kirk here. - Sir, we are accelerating.

We are being pulled toward the centre of the zone of darkness.

- By what, Spock? - Unknown, captain.

I suggest you order Mr. Scott to give us reverse power.

He just gave us reverse power. We lurched forward.

In that case, captain, I would suggest we apply forward thrust.

Doctor, life-function indicators, they've started a sharp drop again.

Stimulants.

I don't know how long we can keep this up.

What do you think, Scotty? Forward thrust?

I don't know, sir. It goes against the rules of logic.

Yes, it does, doesn't it? Well, if it doesn't work,

I'll never let Spock live it down. Nudge it into forward.

- But, s... - Go ahead.

That's doing it, sir. We're slowing down.

But we're not stopping. We're still being dragged forward.

Have one of your engineers monitor the instruments.

Keep applying thrust against the pull.

Doctor, they seem to be stabilising.

But at a dangerously low level.

Well, we're still alive.

I suppose that's something.

All I can contribute is the further we travel into this zone of darkness,

the weaker our life functions become and I have no idea why.

I'm all right. It's those stimulants. They catch up with you.

Engineering?

As far as power levels are concerned, everything is acting backwards.

But the drain is continuing.

On the static tests, I could only get 60 percent power.

- We're still being dragged forward. - Spock?

It is logical to assume that something within this zone

absorbs all forms of energy, whether mechanically or biologically produced.

Whatever it is, it would seem to be the same thing

which drew all the energy out of an entire solar system and the Intrepid.

- The same thing, not the zone itself? - I would say not, captain.

The analysis of the zone indicates it is a negative energy field,

however illogical that may sound.

But it is not the source of the power drain.

Maybe it's a shield of some kind,

some form of protection for something else.

- But what? - We'll find out what it is,

but we better get out of here ourselves.

Scotty, channel all the impulse and warp power

into one massive thrust forward. That might snap us out of the zone.

Aye, captain. But I'll reserve some for the shields in case we don't get out.

I submit, Mr. Scott, that if we do not get out,

the shields would be extraneous.

It would only prolong our wait for death by a short period of time.

Use whatever power is necessary to get us out of here, Scotty.

Report to your stations, continue your research. Dismissed.

Captain, the Intrepid would have done all these things too,

and yet they were destroyed.

Well, they may not have done all these things.

You've just pointed out how illogical this situation is.

True. It is also true they never knew what was killing them.

Their logic would not have permitted them to believe they were being killed.

Explain.

Vulcan has not been conquered within its collective memory.

The memory goes back so far that no Vulcan can conceive of a conqueror.

I knew the ship was lost because I sensed it.

- What was it you sensed? - A touch of death.

And what do you think they felt?

Astonishment.

That ought to do it.

Engineering to Captain Kirk.

- Kirk here. What is it, Scotty? - Ready to try it when you are, sir.

Do we have the power to pull it off, Scotty?

- I hope so, captain. - Stand by.

All hands, this is the captain.

We are slowly being pulled

deeper into the zone of darkness by an unknown force.

We're going to apply

all available power into one giant forward thrust,

in the hope that it will yank us out of the zone.

Prepare yourselves.

All right, Scotty. Let's get on with it.

- Scotty! - It's no good, sir. The best we can do

is to maintain thrust against the pull and hold our position.

- Are we still losing power? - Aye, sir.

How long will the power hold out?

At this rate, plus the drain on all systems, two hours, sir.

Maintain thrust, Scotty.

While we're maintaining our distance, Mr. Spock,

have you ascertained yet what we're maintaining our distance from?

I cannot say what it is, captain.

But I would say it has found us.

- Prepare to launch a probe, Chekov. - Aye, sir.

Probe ready for launch, sir.

Getting very confused readings, captain,

but this is definitely the source of the energy drain.

- Launch probe. - Probe launched, sir.

Probe will impact in 7.3 seconds.

Six, five,

four, three,

two, one...

- Are we still in contact with the probe? - Yes, sir.

- Data being relayed to Mr. Spock. - Readings coming in now, captain.

Length: Approximately 11,000 miles.

Width: Varying from 2,000 to 3,000 miles.

Outer layer studded with space debris

and waste.

Interior consists of protoplasm.

Varying from a firmer gelatinous layer

to a semi-fluid central mass.

Condition:

Living.

- Magnification 4. - Magnification 4, sir.

That is what is drawing us toward it, captain.

The same way it drew the Intrepid to her death.

That is an amoeba.

Yes, I remember my basic biology, doctor.

Do you mean to tell me that thing out there

is a giant, single-celled animal?

Yes, for lack of a better term. It's a very simple form of life.

In fact, it's a much simpler form of life than what you're looking at now.

But that thing out there apparently can perform all the functions

that qualify it as a living organism.

It can reproduce, it can breathe, it can eat,

although I don't know what.

Energy itself, perhaps, drained from us.

I would speculate that this unknown life form

is invading our galaxy like a virus.

The Intrepid died of that particular virus.

How is it we survive?

The Intrepid must have come across the organism

while it was still low in energy, still hungry.

We are not safe, captain.

We merely have a little more time than the Intrepid did.

What about this zone of darkness?

Does the organism generate it itself as a form of protection?

That's one of the things we've got to find out.

We've got to take a closer look at it.

The closer we get, the faster our energy drains out.

We're barely surviving at this distance.

Perhaps we could risk the shuttlecraft.

- Perhaps with a protective shield... - I'm not sending anyone anywhere.

Unmanned probes can give us the information we need

to destroy this thing, if it can be destroyed.

I must differ with you, captain.

We have sent unmanned probes into it.

They have given us some information,

but they have not told us what we need to know.

And we cannot afford the power to take blind shots at it, hoping to kill it.

We could send one man in, pinpoint its vulnerable spots.

Do you know what the odds are in coming back?

I can't order a man to do that.

Who said anything about an order, Jim? You've got a volunteer.

I've already done the preliminary work.

- It's a suicide mission, Bones. - The thing evidently has reflexes.

The unmanned probe we sent into it must have stung it when it entered.

The lurch we felt was the turbulence of its reaction.

All right, so I'd know enough to go slow

when we penetrated its vulnerable spots.

You have a martyr complex, doctor.

I submit that it disqualifies you.

Do you think

that I intend to pass up the greatest living laboratory since..?

The Vulcans saw it first, and died.

- Just because the Vulcans failed... - I am more capable.

Gentlemen, I am not taking volunteers.

You don't think you're going?

I'm better qualified as a command pilot than you are.

Which makes you indispensable, captain.

Further, you are not a science specialist.

Jim, that organism contains chemical processes we've never seen before

and may never see again.

- We could learn more in one day... - We don't have one day, doctor.

We have precisely

one hour and 35 minutes of power left.

- Jim. - Captain, l...

Gentlemen, I'll decide.

Captain's personal log, stardate 4309.2.

We have established that the thing which destroyed

the USS Intrepid and the Gamma 7A system

is an incredibly huge but simple cellular being

whose energies are totally destructive to all known life.

Both Mr. Spock and Dr. McCoy

have volunteered to go in a specially equipped shuttlecraft,

penetrate the cell, find a way to destroy it and free the ship.

Dr. McCoy has the medical-biological knowledge.

Mr. Spock...

...is better suited physically and emotionally to stand the stress.

Both are right, both are capable.

And which of my friends

do I condemn to death?

This is the captain.

Mr. Spock, Dr. McCoy, report to my quarters immediately. Kirk out.

- Engineering to Captain Kirk. - Kirk here.

You asked me to keep you informed on the power drain, sir.

All levels are down 50 percent now

and still draining.

We can maintain thrust for another hour and 15 minutes.

Very well.

- Prepare the shuttlecraft for launching. - Sir?

Dr. McCoy will tell you what special equipment to put in it. Kirk out.

I'm sorry, Mr. Spock.

- Right. I'll get a few things I need, Jim. - Not you, Bones.

I'm sorry, Mr. Spock.

You're best qualified to go.

Do not suffer so, doctor.

This is not the first time superior capability

has proven more valuable than professional credentials.

Nothing has been proven yet, Spock.

The DNA code analyser will give you the fundamental structure of the thing.

You'll need readings on three light wavelengths

from the enzyme recorder.

I am familiar with the equipment, doctor.

We're wasting time. The shuttlecraft is ready.

You're determined not to let me share in this, aren't you?

This is not a competition, doctor.

Whether you understand it or not, grant me my own kind of dignity.

Vulcan dignity?

How can I grant you what I don't understand?

Then employ one of your own superstitions.

Wish me luck.

Good luck, Spock.

All systems clear for shuttlecraft launch, sir.

- Launch shuttlecraft. - Shuttlecraft away, sir.

Lieutenant Uhura, channel automatic telemetry directly to the computers.

Aye, aye, sir.

Shuttlecraft to Enterprise.

Come in, Spock.

Power drain is enormous and growing worse.

Chekov.

Diverting all secondary power to the shields.

- Continue communications as long as there is power to transmit.

Captain, he won't have enough power to get back out

if he diverts it to his shields.

- Spock. - I heard, captain.

We discussed that possibility earlier. But you will need this information.

When do you estimate penetration?

Slowing now. Contact in 18.3 seconds.

Brace yourselves.

The area of penetration will no doubt be sensitive.

Contact

in six seconds.

Report, Mr. Spock.

- Spock, report. - I am undamaged, captain.

Relay to Mr. Scott,

I had 3 percent power reserve before the shields stabilised.

There was nothing to spare. I shall continue my tests.

Oh, and Dr. McCoy...

...you would not have survived it. - You wanna bet?

I am moving slowly now.

Establishing course toward what appears to be the nucleus.

Sir, Mr. Spock has reduced life-support systems

to bare minimum.

Spock, save your power for the shields.

Calculations indicate the shields will last only 47 minutes.

However, I am able to identify the chromosome structure.

Changes indicate the organism has stored sufficient energy

for reproductive process to commence.

Will there be two of those things?

I am having difficulty maintaining the ship control.

Spock, do you read me? Spock, do you read me?

I am losing voice contact.

I will transmit internal coordinates of chromosome bodies.

Spock, come in. Come in!

Contact lost, sir.

He's alive!

He's kicked it in the side to let us know.

Captain, I'm getting telemetry.

Mr. Chekov, telemetry analysis as it comes in.

According to Spock's telemetry information,

there are over 40 chromosomes in the nucleus

that are ready to come together, ready to reproduce.

If the energy of that organism only doubles, we're dead,

and everything within a light year will be defenceless.

Well, all I know is that soon there will be two, four, eight more.

The entire anti-life matter that that thing puts out

could someday encompass the entire galaxy.

Spock understood when he transmitted the coordinates of the chromosomes.

- We must destroy that organism. - Captain,

the pull from that organism is increasing.

And the power drain from our shields is getting critical.

- How much time do we have? - No more than an hour now, sir.

Put all secondary systems on standby.

Shield power has unconditional priority.

Aye, sir.

Captain, I'm receiving a message from Mr. Spock

on a low-energy channel. It's faint but it is readable.

Put it on, lieutenant.

- On audio, sir. - This is Spock.

I am slowly losing life support

and minimal shield energies.

According to my calculations,

the nervous energy of the organism

is maximal

just within

its outer protective membrane.

Relatively insensitive

to interior irritation.

Believe a sufficient charge of...

- could destroy the organism.

Tell Dr. McCoy

he should have wished me luck.

Captain's log, stardate 4309.4.

We have determined we can destroy the creature,

provided we can do it from inside the organism.

Spock clearly knew how to destroy it,

but was unable to transmit that information.

How do you feel?

- What's on your mind? - Spock.

Is it me, Jim,

or am I so sentimental that I just have to keep believing

that he's still alive out there in that mass of protoplasm?

He knew the odds when he went there just as you did when you volunteered.

What is that thing out there, Bones?

It's not intelligent. Not yet.

It's a disease.

Like a virus, invading the body of our galaxy.

Yes, it is, isn't it?

How many cells does a human body have?

- Millions. - This thing, this cell, this virus,

it's 11,000 miles long. And it's one cell.

When it grows into millions,

we'll be the virus invading its body.

Now, isn't that a thought?

Here we are, antibodies of our own galaxy,

attacking an invading germ.

It'd be ironic, indeed, if that were our sole destiny, wouldn't it?

Antibodies.

Antibodies.

- Bridge. - Scott here, sir.

- How much power do we have left? - We're down to 43 percent, sir.

We're slipping a bit against the pull that beastie's putting on us.

We can't last more than 45 minutes at this rate of decline.

Less, if I have to apply more thrust.

What would happen if you diverted all remaining power to the shields?

Except for impulse power. Keep that in reserve.

Cut the engine thrust?

We'd be sucked into that thing like being caught in a wind tunnel, sir.

Exactly. Prepare to divert power on my signal.

Kirk out.

Have you got something to say?

Technically, no. Medically, yes.

Between the stimulants and the pressure,

I would suggest you try to stay off your feet for a few minutes.

I don't have a few minutes, Bones.

Maybe none of us do. Let's go.

All hands, this is the captain.

We are going to enter the body of the organism

rather abruptly, I would think.

Damage-control parties, stand by. All decks, secure for collision. Kirk out.

Ready, Scotty.

Switching power to shields, impulse in reserve,

cutting thrust to zero... now.

Impact, five seconds.

We're through, sir.

I believe everybody is aware of that, Mr. Chekov.

Damage-control parties report minimal damage, sir.

- Repairs are being initiated. - Very good, lieutenant.

Captain, we've only 26 percent power reserves after entry.

- Do we have impulse power, Scotty? - I saved all I could, sir,

but I don't know if we have enough to get back out, or time either.

- We are committed. - Aye, we are.

But we're committed to what? We have no power for the phasers.

We couldn't use it if we had it.

We'd cook ourselves along with that massive protoplasm out there.

That thing would probably like phasers. It eats power.

Well, then what the devil...

Begging your pardon, sir. - Are we doing?

I think Mr. Spock was trying to tell us what to do when we lost voice contact.

- But we can't use power to destroy it. - Anti-power.

- What? - It has a negative energy charge.

Everything seems to work in reverse.

- We'll use antimatter. - Aye.

It couldn't swallow that.

Mr. Chekov, prepare a probe.

Scotty, we need a magnetic bottle for the charge.

- How soon? - It's on its way, sir.

Mr. Chekov, we'll use a timing detonator for the probe.

- We'll work out a setting. - Aye.

Helmsman, when do you estimate arrival on nucleus?

Seven minutes, sir.

- How close are you going to it? - Point-blank range.

- We'll implant it, then back away. - Why? The probe has a range of...

With the eddies and currents in that protoplasm,

the probe could drift thousands of kilometres.

We must be exactly on target

because we won't have a second chance.

Bones.

Time for another stimulant.

How long do you think you can keep taking that stuff?

It'll blow you apart.

Keep me together for another seven minutes. That's all I need.

Personal log,

Commander Spock, USS Enterprise.

I have noted the passage of the Enterprise

on its way to whatever awaits it.

If this record should survive me,

I wish it known

that I bequeath my highest commendation and testimonial

to the captain, officers

and crew of the Enterprise,

the finest starship in the fleet.

We have arrived at the chromosome body

in the nucleus of the organism.

If we should fail in our attempt to destroy it

or be unable to free ourselves,

I wish to record my recommendations

for the following personnel

that they receive special citation:

Lieutenant Commander Leonard McCoy,

Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott,

Officers Chekov, Kyle, Uhura.

And my highest commendation for Commander Spock,

science officer,

who gave his life in the performance of his duty.

Target coordinates programmed, sir.

Probe ready for launch.

Mr. Scott, how much time do we have left at 100 percent impulse power?

Six, maybe seven minutes, sir.

Mr. Kyle,

programme fuse for seven-minute delay.

All nonessential systems on standby.

Communications, scanning. Conserve every bit of power.

We must make it through the membrane before that thing explodes.

- Make it work, Scotty. - Aye, sir.

Programming complete.

- Ready for launch. - Launch probe at zero acceleration.

Forward thrust off, one tenth of a second.

Forward thrust off, sir.

Probe launched, sir.

Despite what Spock said, it's still plenty sensitive.

Probe confirmed.

It is lodged in the nucleus, near the chromosome bodies.

Mr. Kyle, back us out the way we came in.

Mr. Chekov, a nice straight line.

- Don't waste any time. - Backing out, sir.

I estimate

we will be out in 6.37 minutes.

Very good.

Captain, metallic substance outside the ship.

Spock?

Lieutenant, get me Spock's voice channel. Highest possible gain.

- Go ahead, sir. - Spock, do you read me?

Do you read me, Spock? Do you read me? Come in, Spock.

Spock!

Scotty, get a tractor beam.

We don't have enough time. We only have a 53-second escape margin.

I'm well aware of that, Scott. Get two tractor beams on that shuttlecraft.

Aye, sir. Tractor beams on.

Captain, I recommend you abandon the attempt.

Do not risk the ship further on my behalf.

Shut up, Spock! We're rescuing you.

Why, thank you, Captain McCoy.

Almost out.

- We're approaching the membrane. - Time until explosion?

Fifty-seven seconds, sir.

Maintaining tractor beams on the shuttlecraft, Mr. Scott?

Aye, sir. But I can't guarantee it'll hold

when the warhead explodes. The power levels are...

Power levels are dead, sir.

You may have just written our epitaph, Mr. Scott.

Activate main viewing screen.

Mr. Chekov, report.

The organism is destroyed, sir.

The explosion must have ruptured the membrane

and thrown us clear.

Power is coming back, sir.

The shuttlecraft?

I don't know how, sir, but it's still with us.

Shuttlecraft to Enterprise.

Shuttlecraft to Enterprise, request permission to come aboard.

Spock, you're alive!

Obviously, captain. And I have some fascinating data on the organism.

Don't be so smart, Spock. You botched the acetylcholine test.

Later, later, later.

- Bring the shuttlecraft aboard, Scott. - Aye, sir.

Prepare to receive shuttlecraft.

Received shuttlecraft.

Hangar doors closed.

Hangar deck pressurising.

Mr. Chekov, lay in a course for Starbase 6,

ahead warp factor 5.

I'm still looking forward to a nice period of rest and relaxation

on some lovely planet.