Original subtitles

You'll enjoy Commodore Travers. He sets a good table.

l wonder if he brought his personal chef to Cestus lll.

- Probably. Rank hath its privileges. - How well we both know that!

Scotty? Kirk here.

- Travers, Jim. We're waiting. - We're on our way.

Bring your tactical people. l've got a problem for them.

We'll beam down immediately.

l wonder why he's so insistent that our tactical aides come down.

This colony is isolated, exposed, on the edge of nowhere.

- He probably wants additional advice. - Perhaps. But...

lsn't it enough the Commodore's famous for his hospitality?

l could use a good non-reconstituted meal.

Doctor, you are a sensualist.

You bet your pointed ears l am. Ready whenever you are, Captain.

Energise.

Kirk to Enterprise. Red Alert.

- What is it? - Cestus lll has been destroyed.

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.

Full alert. Tricorder readings, Mr Spock. Life detection.

Those messages we got directing us here...

Faked. All this happened several days ago.

Lang, over there. Look for survivors.

Kelowitz, that way. O'Herlihy, stick with me.

lmpulses that direction. Very weak, possibly a survivor.

Come on, Bones.

Captain's log, stardate 3045.6.

The Enterprise has responded to a call from the Earth outpost on Cestus lll.

We have discovered that the outpost has been destroyed.

Captain, over there!

Careful!

Shock, radiation burns, internal injuries. He's in a bad way.

Keep him alive. l want to know what happened.

Getting another life reading, Captain.

- Survivors? - Not survivors.

Not warm-blooded. Living creatures, but not human.

Where?

Azimuth 93 degrees, range 1 ,570 yards.

O'Herlihy.

Captain, l see something!

Cover!

Kirk to Enterprise. Beam us up.

We're coming under attack. Unidentified ship.

We can't beam you up.

Keep the screens up. Fire all phasers.

Firing phasers, Captain.

- The alien has screens up, too. - Protect the ship.

Are you under attack, Captain? We could drop screens.

Keep them up. Worry about us when the ship is safe.

Kirk out.

lf they lower those screens they'll be open to attack.

We're outnumbered. lt's those disruptors versus our hand phasers.

We're stuck with it, Mr Spock. We'll have to make do with what we've got.

Kelowitz, Lang, flank out.

Fire on the coordinates Mr Spock gave you.

Keep your heads down.

Helpless down here. And the Enterprise...

- Sulu is an experienced officer. - l should be there.

- We can't get at them. - Nor can they at us.

Not unless they moved their original position. That intervening high ground...

- You know the layout. The arsenal? - 1 00 yards in that direction.

- But after this attack... - l'll risk it.

- Kirk here. Report. - Are you all right?

- How's the ship? - We've returned fire.

- Negative against its deflector screen. - Arm your photon torpedoes.

Arm photon torpedoes.

- Any identification on the vessel? - No, sir. lt's not familiar to us.

We can't get visual contact.

- Photon torpedoes locked on. - Photon torpedoes locked on.

Fire all banks.

- All banks fired. - Sulu...

Our communications are being interfered with.

Do anything you think necessary to protect the ship. Anything. Clear?

- Clear, Captain, but you... - Protect my ship!

Yes, sir.

Photon torpedoes negative, Captain. l'm warping out of orbit.

Good. Contact me when you can. Kirk out.

- How is he, Doctor? - He'll die soon without care.

They're moving. l've got to get to the Captain.

The enemy is moving toward the high ground.

They've locked onto my tricorder!

lngenious. They fed back my own impulses.

We'll see how ingenious they are. Give me a hand.

- Lang! - Any word from the Enterprise?

Sulu's taken her out of orbit.

They got Lang, sir.

- Did you see them? - No, sir.

An evaluation. Where do you think they are?

l'd go to the high ground on the right. l make it 1 ,200 yards, azimuth 87.

lt's pretty close for one of these little jewels.

lt'll be closer to them. Stand clear.

- Kirk here. - The alien's withdrawing.

Our sensors indicate she just activated her transporters.

Lock onto the alien, Mr Sulu. l don't want to lose her.

We can beam you up now, sir.

l want 30 medical personnel beamed down to search for survivors.

Notify the transporter room. We're beaming up.

Aye, aye, sir.

Captain's log, supplemental.

We have beamed back to the Enterprise

and set out in pursuit of the alien vessel.

lt's headed towards an unexplored section of the galaxy.

- Can you tell me what happened? - Scanners reported a ship approaching.

We get them now and then. They all use our facilities.

They came in at space-normal speed using our regular approach route but...

...they knocked out our phasers. From then on we were helpless.

We weren't expecting anything. We didn't have anything anyone wanted.

Easy.

They poured it on, like phasers, only worse, whatever they were using.

l tried to signal them. We called up. Tried to surrender.

We had women and children. l begged them.

They wouldn't listen. They didn't let up.

Lieutenant, the Enterprise received two messages, ostensibly from Cestus lll -

for the Enterprise to go there and for myself and my crew to beam down.

They hit us a full day before you got there, Captain.

No messages came from us, Captain. Why did they do it?

Why?

Why did they do it?

There has to be a reason!

lt was a trap. Getting us to come to Cestus lll and to come ashore.

- Very clever. The reason? - lt's crystal clear.

The Enterprise is the only protection here.

Destroy it, and everything is wide open.

You allude to invasion. Yet positive proof...

l have all the proof l need on Cestus lll.

- Several possible explanations... - How can you explain that massacre?

No, Mr Spock. The threat is clear and immediate.

lnvasion.

Very well, then.

You must make certain that the alien vessel never reaches its home base.

l intend to. lf we can keep them in the dark as to our strength,

they'll never dare move against us.

Captain to helmsman. ls the alien still making warp 5?

- Affirmative, sir. - lnitiate warp 6.

Phaser banks, lock onto the enemy vessel.

Stand by for firing orders.

This is the Captain. We are going into battle.

All hands, battle stations. Red Alert. l repeat, Red Alert.

This is no drill. This is no drill.

Captain's log, stardate 3046.2.

We are pursuing the alien vessel that destroyed the outpost on Cestus lll.

Mr DePaul, position.

22.3 parsecs beyond latest chart limit, sir.

All scanners lock into computer banks.

l want a complete record of this.

- What do we have on this area? - Virtually nothing.

No records of explorations.

There are rumours of strange signals on subspace channels.

However, none has ever been recorded.

- Anything on intelligent life-forms? - Nothing specific, Captain.

Unscientific rumours only. More like space legends.

- Mr Sulu, status, alien vessel. - They must know we're after them.

They've gone to warp 6 also.

Warp factor 7.

Aye, aye, sir.

- Something wrong, Mr Spock? - Warp 7 will be dangerous.

Thank you, Mr Spock.

- l mean to catch them. - We'll catch them or blow up.

They may be faster than we are.

They'll have to prove it.

Yes, Mr Spock.

- You mean to destroy the alien ship. - Of course.

The hot pursuit alone might be sufficient.

- Destruction might be unnecessary. - Cestus lll has been obliterated.

Destroying the alien vessel will not change that.

lf the aliens go unpunished, they'll attack other Federation installations.

- But a regard for sentient life... - There's no time for that.

lt's a matter of policy. We're the only policemen around.

And a crime has been committed. ls that clear?

- Very clear, Captain. - l'm delighted, Mr Spock.

- Report, Mr Sulu. - Alien ship maintaining level.

Now at warp 7.

Warp factor 8.

Aye, aye, sir.

Captain to phaser banks. All components at battle ready.

All banks primed.

Aft phasers to bridge. Alert status. All weapons ready.

- Captain? - Yes, Mr Sulu.

- Closing on target, sir. - Good. Mr DePaul, our position.

2279 pl, sir.

Uncharted solar system at 2466 pm.

- ls it on the alien's course? - No, sir.

- He's headed away from it. - Captain, we're being scanned.

- By the alien ship? - No, from that solar system.

- Any interference? Resistance? - No, sir. Just scanning beams.

lt's on an unusual wavelength.

- Mr Spock? - Someone is curious about us.

Mr Sulu, is the alien still heading away from that solar system?

- Yes, sir. We're closing. - Anything on the scanning beams?

There's no hostility. They're not tractors or weapons of any sort.

Just increasing in intensity.

Steady. Regular. lt's growing stronger, sir.

Captain! The alien is slowing down.

Warp 5... 4... 2.

lt's going sublight, sir.

Sir...

- lt's stopped dead in space. - lt may be turning to fight.

No, sir. They're just dead out there.

- Are you sure? - Yes, sir. Unmoving.

Then we've got them. Go to Red Alert. Prepare to fire phaser banks.

Sensors, lock on. Continue closing.

Mr Spock, lock phasers into computer. Computers will control attack.

- All systems standing by. - Range is 1 81 0.

1 760.

Range is 1 700... 1 640.

Range is 1 590.

1 550 and closing, sir.

Warp 6... Warp 5...

4... Warp 3... Warp 1 ...

Sublight, Captain.

We're stuck, Captain. lt's impossible, but...

- lt's impossible. - From warp 8?

Same as the alien, Captain.

- Mr Scott, report. - We're dead. Locked up.

All propulsion systems read zero.

- Life systems? - They're all normal, sir.

Atmosphere, heat, light. No variance.

- Phaser banks. Report. - We're all inoperative here.

No power at all. No faulty circuits l can find. Just no power.

- Damage control, report. - All systems report normal.

- Then what is it? - l don't know but we can't move.

We're being held in place, apparently from that solar system.

This far out? That's impossible.

- We are being held. - Tractor beam?

No, sir. An unidentifiable power.

We are the Metrons.

You are one of two crafts in our space on a mission of violence.

This is not permissible.

Yet we have learned that your violent tendencies are inherent.

So be it. We will control them.

We will resolve your conflict in the way most suited to your limited mentalities.

- Captain James Kirk. - This is Kirk.

We have prepared a planet with a suitable atmosphere.

You will be taken there with the captain of the Gorn ship you have pursued.

- There you will settle your dispute. - l don't understand.

You will have a recording translating device

so this contest may serve to dissuade others from entering our system,

but you may not communicate with your ship. You will each be totally alone.

- How can you interfere... - lt is you who are interfering.

We are simply putting a stop to it.

The place we have prepared contains sufficient elements

for either of you to construct weapons to destroy the other,

which seems to be your intention.

The winner will be permitted to go his way unharmed.

The loser, along with his ship, shall be destroyed in the interests of peace.

The contest will be one of ingenuity and brute strength.

- The results will be final. - Just a...

There will be no discussion. lt is done.

He's gone.

The Enterprise is dead in space, stopped cold by mysterious forces.

And l have been whisked off the bridge and placed on an asteroid,

facing the captain of the alien ship.

Weaponless, l face the creature the Metrons called a ''Gorn''.

Large. Reptilian.

Like most humans, l seem to have an instinctive revulsion to reptiles.

l must fight to remember that this is an intelligent, highly advanced individual,

the captain of a starship, like myself.

Undoubtedly a dangerously clever opponent.

- Have you tried overload? - Aye, sir. lt does no good.

How about bypassing the transformer banks? Feed the engines directly.

l tried that, sir. Nothing.

Have we learned anything about the nature of the force holding us?

No. They definitely emanate from that solar system ahead.

No indication of its composition? Gravimetric? Magnetic? Electronic?

Nothing, sir.

This is Captain James Kirk of the starship Enterprise.

Whoever finds this, please get it to Starfleet Command.

l'm engaged in combat with a creature called a Gorn.

He's immensely strong. He's withstood attacks that would have killed a human.

Fortunately he is not agile.

The agility and, l hope, the cleverness, is mine.

The Metrons, the creatures that sent us both here...

said that the surface of the planet provides the raw material...

to construct weapons.

There's very little here - scrub brush, rocks, mineral deposits,

but no weapons in the conventional sense.

Still, l need to find one.

Bare-handed against the Gorn, l have no chance.

- Leave channel one open, just in case. - Aye, aye, sir.

What are you going to do, Mr Spock?

l'm going to wait, Doctor. There's little else l can do.

- What about the Captain? - lf l could help him, l would.

- l cannot. - You always talk about logic.

What about some logic now? Where's the Captain, Mr Spock?

Here's out there somewhere in 1 ,000 cubic parsecs of space.

And there's absolutely nothing we can do to help him.

A large deposit of diamonds on the surface.

Perhaps the hardest substance known in the universe.

Beautifully crystallised and pointed, but too small to be useful as a weapon.

An incredible fortune in stones.

Yet l would trade them all for a hand phaser or a good, solid club.

Yet the Metrons said there would be weapons...if l could find them.

Where? What kind?

This is the U.S.S. Enterprise calling the Metrons. Come in, please.

We urgently desire a conference. Please answer.

This may be my last entry. l am almost exhausted.

Unless l find the weapon the Metron mentioned, l have very little time left.

Native sulphur, diamonds... This place is a mineralogist's dream!

Yet...there is something about sulphur...

Something very old. Something...

lf only l could remember.

The ship, our engines, our weapons.

lt's just inconceivable that we are immobilised.

But it has happened, Doctor.

We are the Metrons. Your Captain is losing his battle.

We suggest you make whatever memorial arrangements are customary.

We believe you have very little time left.

We appeal to you in the name of civilisation! Put a stop to this!

Your violent intent and actions demonstrate that you are not civilised.

However, we are not without compassion.

lt is possible you may have feelings toward your Captain.

So that you will be able to prepare yourself,

we will allow you to see and hear what is now transpiring.

lf there were only a way to contact him.

lndeed. lf only there were. Notice the substance encrusting that rock?

Yes. Unless l'm mistaken, it's potassium nitrate.

- So? - Perhaps nothing.

Perhaps everything.

Earthling!

Captain!

- Who is this? The Metron? - This is your opponent, Earthling.

l have heard every word you have said.

- What do you want? - l'm weary of the chase.

Wait for me. l shall be merciful and quick.

- Like you were at Cestus lll? - You were intruding!

You established an outpost in our space.

You butchered helpless humans.

We destroyed invaders as l shall destroy you.

Can that be true? Was Cestus lll an intrusion on their space?

lt may be possible. We know very little about that section of the galaxy.

- Then we could be in the wrong. - Perhaps.

That is something best decided by diplomats.

The Gorns might have been trying to protect themselves.

Fascinating.

Good. Good.

He knows, Doctor. He has reasoned it out.

- Yes! - What is it, Spock?

An invention, Doctor. First potassium nitrate...

and now if he can find some sulphur and a charcoal deposit or coal...

- What's he doing? - Diamonds. The hardest substance.

lmpelled by sufficient force they would make formidable projectiles.

- What force? - Recall your basic chemistry.

- Gun powder. - Captain. Let us be reasonable.

You have lost. Admit it to yourself! Stop running!

Coal.

Can he do it?

lf he has the time, Doctor.

lf he has the time.

No.

No, l won't kill you.

Maybe you thought you were protecting yourself

when you attacked the outpost.

No, l won't kill him! Do you hear?

You'll have to get your entertainment some place else.

- You're a Metron? - Does my appearance surprise you?

- You seem more like a boy. - l am 1 ,500 of your Earth years old.

- You surprise me, Captain. - How?

By sparing your helpless enemy, who surely would have destroyed you,

you demonstrated the advanced trait of mercy, something we hardly expected.

There may be hope for your kind. Therefore, you will not be destroyed.

lt would not be...civilised.

- What happened to the Gorn? - l sent him back to his ship.

lf you like, l shall destroy him for you.

No. That won't be necessary.

We can talk. Maybe reach an agreement.

Very good, Captain. There is hope for you.

Perhaps in several thousand years

your people and mine shall meet to reach an agreement.

You are still half savage, but there is hope.

We will contact you when we are ready.

- Captain! Are you all right? - l don't know.

l don't know. All right, everybody. Back to your posts.

Let's get out of here.

- Captain. - Mr Sulu?

lt's impossible, but Sirius is over there when it should be here.

And Canopus. And Archanis.

We're... All of a sudden we're clear across the galaxy,

500 parsecs from where we are... l mean, were. l mean...

Don't try and figure it out. Just plot a course back to Cestus lll.

After you touched off your primitive cannon, we lost the picture.

- You saw what happened? - Most of it.

l'd like to know what finally happened.

We're a promising species, as predators go. Did you know that?

- l've frequently had my doubts. - l don't. Not anymore.

And maybe in 1 ,000 years or so, we'll be able to prove it.

Never mind, Mr Spock. Doesn't make much sense to me either.

Take us back to where we should be. Warp factor 1 .

- Warp factor 1 . - 1 ,000 years, Captain?

Well, that gives us a little time.