All language subtitles for zahgyb vfre

Who's there?

It's your relief, Sam.

- All quiet?
- Didn't see a thing, chief.

Nobody ever does.

Whatever the thing is,
it's already killed 50 people.

Never realized before
how dark it is down here.

Stay on your toes, Schmitter.

Keep your phaser
in your hand at all times.

What good will that do?
You saw what happened to Ed Appel

when he took a shot at the thing.

How about all those other people,
before the monster got them?

I'm sorry, Schmitter.
I know how you feel,

but we've got to have guards.

Okay, chief.

I'll do what I can.

Keep alert.

If you hear anything
or see anything, call in.

Somebody can be here
in three minutes.

A lot can happen in three minutes.

Chief, is it true the Enterprise
is on its way?

It's coming.

Think it could get here
in the next four hours?

You'll be all right.

[EARTH CRUMBLING]

[GASPS]

[SCREAMING]
No.

Come on!

[SCHMITTER SCREAMING]

Schmitter.

Like the rest of them...

...burned to a crisp.

KIRK:
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 civilizations,

to boldly go where no man
has gone before.

KIRK:
Captain's log, stardate 3196.1.

A distress call from the pergium
production station on Janus VI

has brought the Enterprise
to that long-established colony.

[HUMMING SOUND]

Mr. Spock, Dr. McCoy and I

have beamed down to meet with
Chief Engineer Vanderberg,

administrative head of Janus VI.

All right, let's assume
there is a monster.

KIRK:
What has it done?

When did it start?

About three months ago,
we opened up a new level.

Sensors gave us an unusually
rich pergium reading.

Not only pergium,
whatever you want:

uranium, cerium, platinum.

The whole planet's like that.

It's a treasure house.

Yes, we're aware of that.

If mining conditions
weren't so difficult,

Janus VI could supply the mineral
needs of a thousand planets.

But what happened?

First, the automatic machinery,
piece by piece,

started to almost disintegrate.

Metal began dissolving away.

There's no reason for it,

and our chemists were unable
to analyze the corrosive agent.

I'm sure there is an answer.

It simply has not yet
been discovered.

Yes, it has.

I don't know what
this butchering monster is,

but I know what it's doing.

Our maintenance engineers,
sent down into the drifts

to repair the corroded machinery.

We found them, seared to a crisp.

Volcanic activity?

There is no current volcanic
activity on this planet, captain.

He's right. None.

At first, the deaths were down deep,

but they've been moving up
toward our levels.

The last man died two days ago,
three levels below this.

The same way, burned?

I'd like to examine the body.

We kept it for you.
There isn't much left.

Roberts will show you.

[CLICKS BUTTON]

It isn't pretty.

You post sentries, guards?

Of course. Five of them have died.

Who else has seen this?

I have.

This is Ed Appel,
chief processing engineer.

- Describe it.
- I can't.

I only got a glimpse of it,

but it's big and shaggy.

Ed shot it.

Oh.

You mean shot at it.

No, I mean shot it, with this.

- Fascinating.
- A good, clean shot.

Didn't even slow it down.

Well, I've made my report to you.

Production has stopped.

Nobody will go into the lower
levels, and I don't blame them.

If the Federation wants pergium,

then you're gonna have
to do something about it.

That's why we're here,
Mr. Vanderberg.

You're all pretty tough, aren't you?

Starship, phaser banks...

You can't get your
starship down in the tunnels.

I don't think there will be any need.

Mr. Vanderberg, I'll need
a complete subsurface chart

of all the drifts, galleries, tunnels.

You'll get it.

Mr. Vanderberg, what is this?

It's a silicon nodule.

They're a million of them down there.
No commercial value.

But a geological oddity,
to say the least.

Pure silicon?

A few trace elements.

Look, we didn't call you here
so you could collect rocks.

Thank you, Mr. Vanderberg.
We'll need your complete cooperation.

You'll have it.

Just find that creature,
whatever it is.

I've got a quota to meet.

VANDERBERG:
Come on, Appel.

A vast number of tunnels is not
gonna make our hunting any easier.

Doc?

Schmitter didn't burn to death,
Jim, not in the usual sense, anyway.

Explain that.

Well, there were only fragments
of bone and teeth left,

but the plant's physician
agrees with me.

A chemical corrosion,

almost as if he'd been thrown
into a vat of extremely corrosive acid.

Strong enough to eat machinery?

Strong enough to eat anything
else away you can think of.

Mr. Spock?

I've charted the position of the deaths
and the acts of sabotage.

Here, here and here.

If the times of these incidents
are to be accepted as accurate,

the creature would have to have
moved at an incredible rate of speed.

Mm-hm. Mr. Vanderberg,
how recent are these charts?

They were made last year.

Before the appearance
of whatever it is?

- That's right.
- I see.

Mr. Spock, give us a report
on life beneath the surface.

Within range of our sensors,
there is no life,

other than the accountable
human residents of this colony

beneath the surface.

At least no life as we know it.

KIRK: We can't cover
tunnel by tunnel on foot.

We must get production going again.

We must have that pergium.

Captain, if we could force
another appearance of this creature...

When that creature appears,
men die.

[RUMBLING]

[SCREAMING]

[RAGGED BREATHING]

Too many tunnels.

We couldn't possibly--

Mr. Spock, our sensors can
pick up normal life functions

at a considerable distance,

but what about abnormal
life functions?

[ALARM BEEPING]

Something's happening
in the reactor room!

[CLICKS BUTTON]

Back to your stations.

Look at that.

I wouldn't touch it, captain.

An extremely active corrosive.

Traces may linger.

VANDERBERG:
Kirk, quickly!

The main circulating pump
for the entire reactor, it's gone.

The same indications shown
at the door, captain,

a very strong corrosive.

Is there a replacement for that?

No, none. It's outdated. But we've
never had any trouble with it.

Spock, on board?

Nothing for a device
this antiquated, captain.

Without the pump mechanism,
the reactor will go supercritical.

It could poison half the planet.
We can't shut it down.

It provides heat and air and
life support for the whole colony.

Mr. Spock, we seem
to have been given a choice.

Death by asphyxiation,

or death by radiation poisoning.

A PXK pergium reactor?
[SCOFFS]

No, sir, we don't have any spare
circulating pump for a thing like that.

I haven't seen a PXK in 20 years.

Can you rig one up? It's vital.

Well, sir, I can put together
some odds and ends,

but it won't hold for long.

How long?

Forty-eight hours, maybe,
with a bit of luck.

Forty-eight hours
is better than nothing.

Get together what you need.
Beam down here with it.

- Top priority.
- Aye, captain.

I'll be right down. Scott, out.

What happens
when it breaks down?

Hopefully, we'll have found
the missing part by then.

- Hopefully? Small chance.
- We'll have to, chief.

The alternative is to evacuate
all your people up to the Enterprise.

A dozen planets depend on you

for pergium for their reactor.
They're already screaming.

Reactors closing down,
life-support systems failing--

I'm concerned with my people
right here, Kirk.

They're being murdered.

You find that monster and kill it.

The missing pump
was not taken by accident.

It was the one piece of equipment
absolutely essential

for the operation of the reactor.

You think the creature is trying
to push the colonists off the planet?

It would seem so.

But why now, Mr. Spock?

These production facilities have been
in operation for over 50 years.

I don't know.

But there is a possibility.

What's that?

Life, as we know it,

is universally based on some
combination of carbon compounds.

But what if life exists
based on another element?

For instance, silicon.

You're creating fantasies, Mr. Spock.

Not necessarily, Bones.

I've heard of the theoretical
possibility of life based on silicon.

But silicon-based life would be
of an entirely different order.

It's possible that our phasers
might not affect it.

Certainly not phaser one, which is
far less powerful than phaser two.

All right.

How about this?

A creature that lives deep
in the planet below us,

at home in solid rock.

It seems to me
that in order to survive,

it would have to have some form
of natural armor plating.

It could explain much,

especially since the colonists
are armed only with phaser one.

But our people have phaser two.

Which I could adjust to be
more effective against silicon.

Silicon-based life is
physiologically impossible,

especially in an oxygen atmosphere.

It may be, doctor,

that the creature can exist for
brief periods in such an atmosphere

before returning
to its own environment.

I still think you're imagining things.

You may be right, doctor,
but at least there's something to go on.

Mr. Spock,
have Lieutenant Commander Giotto

assemble the security troops and
arm them with phaser number two.

You make the proper adjustments.

You seem fascinated by this rock.

Yes, captain.

You recall
that Vanderberg commented

there were thousands of these
at a lower level.

The level which
the machinery opened

just prior to the first appearance
of the creature.

Do they tie in?

- I don't know.
- Speculate.

I have already given Dr. McCoy
sufficient cause for amusement.

I would prefer to cogitate
the possibilities for a time.

A short time, Mr. Spock.

We have very little.

[BUZZING]

How's it going, Scotty?

Well, sir, it's a plumber's nightmare,
but it'll hold for a bit.

It has to hold
longer than a bit.

[BEEP]

I'm sorry, sir, that's the best I can do,
and it's not good enough.

- Kirk here.
- SPOCK: Captain,

the security officers have gathered
in Chief Vanderberg's office.

I'll be right there. Kirk, out.

Scotty, ride herd on it.

Kind words, tender-loving care.

Kiss it, baby it, flatter it if
you have to, but keep it going.

I'll do what I can, sir.

You'll proceed from level to level,
checking out every foot of opening.

You are searching
for some sort of creature

which is highly resistant
to phaser fire.

Your phasers will be set
on maximum.

And remember this, 50 people
have died. I want no more deaths.

Except the bloody thing.

The creature may or may not
attack on sight.

However, you must.

It is vitally important that we get
this installation back into production.

Mr. Vanderberg,
may I ask at which level

you discovered
the nodules of silicon?

The 23rd. Why?

Commander Giotto,
take your detail,

go directly to the 23rd level,
start your search there.

Aye, aye, sir.

May I ask if you have reason
to suspect

this creature may be on that level?

It's one of the possibilities
we've discussed.

I want your people to stay on the
top level, together and at a safe place.

I don't know any
safe place, captain.

The way that thing
comes and goes...

Well, gentlemen, you have
your instructions. Let's get at it.

[TRICORDER BEEPING]

Mr. Spock, find something?

Adjusting my tricorder
to register for silicon, captain.

Hmm.

- Interesting.
- Traces?

A life form, captain.

Bearing, 111 degrees.
Elevation, four degrees.

- One of our people?
- No, sir, silicon.

[EARTH CRUMBLING]

[SCREAMING]

He never even had a chance
to fire, captain.

It's only been seconds
since we heard him scream.

The creature must still be around.

Captain.

This tunnel.

My readings indicate
it was made within the hour.

- Moments ago, in fact.
- Are you certain?

Positive.

This tunnel goes back
as far as the eye can see.

Our best machinery couldn't cut a
tunnel like this, not even with phasers.

Indeed, captain.
I'm quite at a loss.

Gone.

Disappeared.

Astonishing that anything
of that bulk could move so rapidly.

- These walls are hot.
- Indeed.

This tunnel was cut
within the last two minutes.

You all right, captain?

Yes, perfectly.

- Did you see it?
- Yes, we saw it.

Where does this tunnel go?

Readings indicate a maze of tunnels of
this general category in that direction.

- Did you get a shot at it?
- Yes, we took a bite out of it.

Not animal tissue.

What is it?

The closest approximation I could
come to would be fibrous asbestos.

- A mineral, captain.
- Then your guess was right.

It would seem so.

Silicon based.

Summation.

We are dealing with a silicon
creature of the deep rocks,

capable of moving through solid rock
as easily as we move through the air.

- That would account for the tunnels.
- Correct.

This creature's body secretes
an extremely powerful corrosive.

Powerful enough to dissolve the door
of the reactor chamber.

And it explains the murdered men.

It's definitely phaser resistant.

We had our weapons set for silicon
and on full power,

yet we only damaged it. It still lives.

You mean, it's impossible to kill.

No. No, it might require
massed phasers.

Or a single phaser
with much longer contact.

Commander...

...pass this on to your men.

We knew it was a killer,
now it's wounded.

Probably in pain
somewhere back there.

There's nothing more dangerous
than a wounded animal.

Commander Giotto,

instruct your men to concentrate
the search in this sector.

Remind them that the creature
is wounded.

Aye, aye, sir.

What is it, Mr. Spock?

I've run a complete spherical check
on all life forms, captain,

radius 100 miles.

I've located our men, all of them.

And I've located one creature

moving rapidly through
native rock. Bearing, 201,

and that is all.

- One creature in 100 miles?
- Exactly.

Captain, there are literally
thousands of these tunnels

in this general area alone.

Far too many to be cut by the one
creature in an ordinary lifetime.

Then we're dealing
with more than one creature

despite your tricorder readings.

Or we have a creature
with an extremely long life span.

Or it is the last of a race of creatures

which made these tunnels.

If so, if it is the only survivor
of a dead race,

to kill it would be a crime
against science.

Mr. Spock...

...our mission is
to protect this colony,

to get the pergium moving again.
This is not a zoological expedition.

Maintain a constant reading
on the creature.

If we have to, we'll use phasers
to cut our own tunnels.

We'll try to surround it.

I'm sorry, Mr. Spock,

but I'm afraid the creature must die.

I see no alternative myself, captain.

It merely seems a pity.

The search team is gathering
in the main tunnel.

Good.

So it is wounded,

and therefore twice as dangerous.

Stay in pairs.

If you see it,
concentrate your phaser fire

at what appears to be its head.

Concentrate it, maintain it.

It is definitely resistant,
but it can be hurt.

If it can be hurt, it can be killed.

Mr. Spock?

Gentlemen, if you'll examine
your charts, please.

I last located the creature
in the area marked adit 26,

moving at bearing 201.

This particular group will move out
beyond that area in all directions,

in an effort to surround it,
possibly capture it.

Your orders are shoot to kill.

Protect yourself at all times.

Commander Giotto,
disperse your search parties.

Aye, aye, sir.

Lewis, Vinci, take your men out.

Mr. Spock.

Capture it? I don't recall
giving any such order.

You did not, sir.

I thought
that if the opportunity arose--

I will lose no more men.

The creature will be killed on sight,
and that's the end of it.

- Very well, sir.
- Mr. Spock,

I want you to assist Scotty

in maintaining that makeshift
circulating pump.

- I beg your pardon, sir?
- You heard me.

It's vital that we keep
that reactor in operation.

- Your scientific knowledge--
- Is not needed there, sir.

Mr. Scott has far more knowledge
of nuclear reactors than I do.

You're aware of that.

Mr. Spock,
you are second-in-command.

This will be a dangerous hunt.

Either one of us, by himself,
is expendable.

Both of us are not.

Captain, there are approximately
100 of us engaged in this search

against one creature.

The odds against you and I
both being killed

are 2228.7 to one.

2228.7 to one?

Those are pretty good odds,
Mr. Spock.

And they are, of course, accurate,
captain.

Of course.

Well, I hate to use the word,

but, logically,
with those kind of odds,

you might as well stay.

But please stay out of trouble,
Mr. Spock.

That is always my intention, captain.

[BEEPING]

- Kirk here.
- Scotty here, captain.

My brilliant improvisation just gave up
the ghost. It couldn't stand the strain.

Can you fix it again?

Negative, captain.
It's gone for good.

Start immediate evacuation
of all colonists to the Enterprise.

Not all of them, captain.

I and some of my key personnel
are staying.

VANDERBERG:
We'll be down to join you.

We don't have
enough phasers for you.

Then we'll use clubs. We're not being
chased away from here. We're staying.

Good.

Get everybody else aboard
the Enterprise.

The fewer people breathing
the air down here,

the longer the rest of us will hold out.

How much longer, Scotty?

The reactor will go supercritical
in about 10 hours.

You have that long
to find the mechanism.

We'll do our best.

Start feeding us
constant status reports, Scotty.

Vanderberg, you and your crew
assemble at level 23,

Checkpoint Tiger. Kirk, out.

Team up with the Enterprise
security personnel.

They're better armed than you.
Keep someone in sight at all times.

Vanderberg, take two men,
go through that tunnel there,

rendezvous with Commander Giotto.

Appel, the rest of the men,
go through there,

tie up with
Lt. Osborne's detail.

Mr. Spock and I will control
the operation

from a central point.
That's all, gentlemen.

Mr. Spock?

Captain, we are being watched.

Are you sure?

Intuition?

No, sir. We're being watched.

[DEVICE BEEPING]

- Captain.
- Mm.

Fresh readings within the hour,
in each of these tunnels.

The chart says both
these tunnels converge

a few thousand yards further.

You take the left,
I'll take the right.

Should we separate?

Two tunnels, two of us.

We separate.

Mr. Spock.

Yes, captain.

I found a whole lair of these
silicon nodules of yours.

Hundreds of them.

Indeed.

I find that most illuminating, captain.

Be absolutely certain
you do not damage any of them.

- Explain.
- Only a theory I have.

[EARTH CRUMBLING]

Captain.

SPOCK:
Are you all right?

Jim.

Jim!

Yes, Mr. Spock, all right.

We seem to have had a cave-in.

[COUGHS]

- I could phaser you out.
- No. No, no, you better not.

Any disturbance might bring down
the rest of the wall.

Besides, it isn't necessary.

The chart said that
the tunnels meet further on.

Very well.

But I find it extremely disquieting

that your roof chose
that particular moment to collapse.

Please proceed
with extreme caution.

I shall quicken my pace.

Very well, Mr. Spock.
I'll meet you at the other end--

[EARTH CRUMBLING]

[GROWLING]

[BEEPING]

Kirk here.

Captain, I've just read
some fresh signs.

The creature is in this area.

I'll take a life-form reading.

It's not necessary, Mr. Spock.
I know exactly where the creature is.

Where, captain?

Ten feet away from me.

Kill it, captain, quickly.

It's not making
any threatening moves, Spock.

You don't dare take the chance,
captain.

Kill it.

I thought you were the one
that wanted it kept alive,

captured, if possible.

Jim, your life is in danger.

You can't take the risk.

It seems to be waiting.

I remind you, it is a proven killer.

I'm on my way.

Spock, out.

[GROWLING]

[SIGHS]

Well, what do we do,
just talk it over?

Well, you can be hurt, can't you?

We just sit here?

It's your move.

No, no, don't shoot.

Come on over, Mr. Spock.

Fascinating.

It's made no moves against you?

No.

It seems to be waiting.

I tried talking to it,
but it didn't do any good.

KIRK:
Yes.

They're all through here,
all over the place.

KIRK:
Thousands of them.

Yes, I see.

It means something to you?

Possibly the answer, captain.

But I'm not certain.

Captain,

you're aware of the Vulcan technique
of the joining of two minds.

You think you can get
through to that thing?

Possible.

Mr. Spock,

I know it's a terrible personal
lowering of the mental barriers,

but if there's a chance...

I'll try.

[HUMMING SOUND]

[SCREAMS]

Pain!

[AGONIZED]
Pain!

Pain!

[PANTING]

That's all I got, captain.

Waves and waves of searing pain.

It's in agony.

[HISSING]

"No kill I."

What is that,
a plea for us not to kill it?

KIRK:
Or a promise that it won't kill us?

I don't know, captain.

Evidently, it gained an
immediate knowledge of us

from its empathy with me.

In my brief contact
with the creature's mind,

I discovered it is a highly intelligent,

extremely sophisticated animal,

in great pain, of course,
because of its wound,

but not reacting at all
like a wounded creature.

It calls itself a "Horta."

A Horta.

A Horta.

Mr. Spock, we need
that retardation mechanism.

You must re-establish
communications with it.

Captain, it has no reason
to give us the device,

and apparently every reason
for wishing us off this planet.

Yes, I'm aware of that.

If we could only win its...

...confidence.

[BEEPS]

- Dr. McCoy, this is Captain Kirk.
- Yes, captain.

Grab your medical kit,
and come down here on the double.

I've got a patient for you.

Is somebody injured?
What happened?

Never mind. Just come down
to the 23rd level.

You'll be led to us
by tricorder readings. Kirk, out.

Jim, I remind you that this
is a silicon-based form of life.

Dr. McCoy's medical knowledge
will be totally useless.

He's a healer, let him heal.

Mr. Spock, you must
re-establish communications.

I want to know why
it suddenly took to murder.

To obtain that kind of
communication, captain,

it will be necessary to touch it.

We've seen how
the creature destroys.

[HUMMING SOUND]

- Lieutenant Commander Giotto.
- Giotto here, captain.

- Are you all right?
- Perfectly all right.

- Where are you?
- We're at the end of the tunnel.

Now, Mr. Vanderberg and his men
are here, and they're pretty ugly.

Should I let them through?

Under no circumstances
allow them in here yet.

The minute Doc McCoy gets there,
send him through.

Aye, aye, sir.

Murder!

The thousands.

[ANGRILY]
Devils.

[WAILS]
Eternity ends.

[SOFTLY]
The chamber of the ages.

[WAILS]
The altar of tomorrow.

Murderers.

Stop them.

Kill!

Strike back!

Monsters!

[FOOTSTEPS]

What in the name of...?

- What is Spock doing?
- It's wounded, badly.

You've got to help it.

Help that?

Go take a look.

SPOCK:
The end of life.

Murderers.

[BEEPING]

You can't be serious.

That thing is virtually
made out of stone.

Help it. Treat it.

I'm a doctor, not a bricklayer.

You're a healer, there's a patient.

That's an order.

Mr. Spock.

Tell it we're trying to help.

[BREATHING HEAVILY]

The mechanism.

[IN HIGH-PITCHED VOICE]
Understood.

It is the end of life.

Eternity stops.

[GASPS]

Go out...

...into the tunnel.

[HIGH-PITCHED HUMMING]

To the chamber of the ages.

Cry...

...for the children.

Walk carefully...

...in the vault of tomorrow.

Sorrow...

...for the murdered children.

[SOBBING]

The thing you search for is there.

SPOCK:
Go.

Go.

Sadness.

Sadness...

...for the end of things.

Go into the tunnel.

There is a passageway.

Quickly. Quickly.

The captain said for you to wait here,

and here is where you're gonna wait.

That murdering monster's in there,

and we're gonna go in and kill it.

You're going to stay here.

That's right, lieutenant,
just beam it down to me immediately

and never mind what I want it for.

I just want it.

Now, move.

It is time...

...to sleep.

It is over.

Failure.

The murderers...

...have won.

Death is welcome.

Let it end here.

[FOOTSTEPS APPROACH]

KIRK:
Mr. Spock.

Mr. Spock. Spock.

KIRK:
Spock.

Come out of it.

I found the unit in there.
It's in pretty good shape.

And I also found about a million
of these silicon nodules.

They're eggs, aren't they?

Yes, captain, eggs,
and about to hatch.

The miners must have broken
into the hatchery.

Their operations
destroyed thousands.

No wonder...

There, they're coming.

[MURMURING]

All right.

All right, let's go!

Come on.

KIRK:
How you doing, doc?

I'll let you know.

[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]

- No, don't fire!
- Kill it!

The first man that fires is dead.

That thing has killed 50 of my men.

And you've killed thousands
of her children.

What?

Those round silicon nodules that
you've been collecting and destroying,

they're her eggs.

Tell them, Mr. Spock.

There have been many
generations of Horta on this planet.

Every 50,000 years,
the entire race dies,

all but one.

Like this one.

But the eggs live,
she cares for them,

protects them.

And when they hatch,

she is the mother to them,
thousands of them.

This creature here
is the mother of her race.

The Horta is intelligent,

peaceful, mild.

She had no objection
to sharing this planet with you

till you broke into her nursery
and started destroying her eggs.

Then she fought back
in the only way she knew how,

as any mother would fight

when her children are endangered.

We didn't know. How could we?

But you mean
if these eggs hatch,

there will be thousands of those
things crawling around down here?

This is where they live.

They digest rock.
They tunnel for nourishment.

And they are the most
inoffensive of creatures.

They harbor ill will toward no one.

Now, look,
we have pergium to deliver.

Yes, I know.

Here's your circulating pump.

Now, you've complained
that this planet

is a mineralogical treasure house

if you had the equipment to get at it.

Well, gentlemen,
the Horta moves through rock

the way we move through air,
and it leaves tunnels.

The greatest natural miners
in the universe.

Seems to me that we could make
an agreement,

reach a modus vivendi.

They tunnel,
you collect and process,

and your process operation would be
a thousand times more profitable.

[CHATTERING INDISTINCTLY]

Sounds all right, if it'll work.

Except for one thing.

The Horta is badly wounded.

- It may die.
- It won't die.

By golly, Jim, I'm beginning to think
I can cure a rainy day.

- Can you help it?
- Helped it? I cured it.

KIRK:
How?

I had the ship beam down a hundred
pounds of that thermo-concrete.

You know, the kind we use
to build emergency shelters out of.

It's mostly silicon.

So I just troweled it into the wound,

and it'll act like a bandage
until it heals.

Take a look. It's good as new.

Mr. Spock, I'm gonna have to ask you
to get in touch with the Horta again.

Tell her our proposition.

She and her children can do
all the tunneling they want,

our people will remove the minerals,

and each side will
leave the other alone.

- Do you think she'll go for it?
- It seems logical, captain.

The Horta has a very logical mind.

And after close association
with humans,

I find that curiously refreshing.

Ship ready to leave orbit, captain.

- Course laid in.
- Very good, Mr. Spock.

Chief Engineer Vanderberg
standing by on channel one.

Fine. Yes, chief? Kirk here.

Just wanted to tell you the eggs
have started to hatch, captain.

The first thing the little devils do
is start to tunnel.

We've already hit huge
new pergium deposits.

I'm afraid to tell you
how much gold and platinum

and rare earths we've uncovered.

I'm delighted to hear that, chief.

Once Mother Horta tells her kids
what to look for,

you people are going
to be embarrassingly rich.

The Horta aren't so bad once
you get used to their appearance.

Well, that's about it, Kirk.
Thanks for everything.

Our pleasure, chief. Kirk, out.

SPOCK:
Curious.

What Chief Vanderberg
said about the Horta

is exactly what
the mother Horta said to me.

She found humanoid
appearance revolting,

but she thought
she could get used to it.

Oh, she did, did she?

Now, tell me, did she happen to make
any comment about those ears?

Not specifically.

But I did get the distinct
impression she found them

the most attractive human
characteristic of all.

I didn't have the heart
to tell her that only I have--

She really liked those ears?

Captain, the Horta
is a remarkably intelligent

and sensitive creature
with impeccable taste.

Because she approved of you.

Really, captain, my modesty--

Does not bear close examination,
Mr. Spock.

I suspect you're becoming
more and more human all the time.

You...

Captain, I see no reason
to stand here and be insulted.

Ahead, warp factor 2.