Post by magicmuggle01 on Feb 5, 2019 11:17:25 GMT
An encounter at the limits of our galaxy begins to change Lieutenant Commander Gary Mitchell and threatens the future of the Enterprise and the Human race itself. (Second pilot)
Summary
"I'll have you checkmated
your next move…"
"Captain's log, stardate 1312.4. The impossible has happened. From directly ahead, we're picking up a recorded distress signal, the call letters of a vessel which has been missing for over two centuries. Did another Earth ship probe out of the galaxy as we intend to do? What happened to it out there? Is this some warning they've left behind?"
In the briefing lounge, Captain James T. Kirk and Vulcan science officer Lieutenant Commander Spock are playing three-dimensional chess. Spock warns the captain that he's about to checkmate him on his next move, but the captain is preoccupied with awaiting the bridge's update on the unexplained Earth-vessel distress signal. The captain notes that Spock plays a very "irritating game of chess", to which Spock responds with "Irritating? Ah yes, one of your Earth emotions." Captain Kirk makes a move that surprises Spock, and smiles, to which Spock simply turns to look at him. "Certain you don't know what irritation is?" Kirk says wryly. As Spock begins to state that despite the fact that one of his ancestors married a Human female, Kirk interrupts him and jokingly chides him, saying it must be terrible to have bad blood like that. Just afterward then, a call comes over the comm. Navigator Lieutenant Lee Kelso informs the captain that the object is now within tractor beam range, and that it is only about a meter in diameter, too small to be a vessel or an escape pod. Kirk tells him to lock on to it, and the two of them head out.
SS Valiant disaster recorder
In the transporter room, Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott is fine-tuning the transporter, preparing to beam the object aboard. Kirk gives the order, and Scott transports the device into the transporter chamber. The captain immediately recognizes it as an old-style ship recorder, one that would be ejected in the event of an emergency. Spock agrees, but states that, based on the level of damage the object seems to have sustained, something must have destroyed the ship. Scott tries to feed the tapes into the computer, when the marker begins transmitting a signal. Captain Kirk orders red alert, and the crew go to their stations.
Act One
Throughout the ship, the crew is reporting to their emergency stations. Kirk and Spock enter a turbolift to go to the bridge, and Lieutenant Commander Gary Mitchell enters just as the doors are closing. Kirk and Mitchell joke about Kelso sounding nervous, and Spock's chess skills, showing that they're comfortable being around each other even in times of red alert.
The Enterprise approaches the
barrier
The three officers enter the bridge, Mitchell taking his station as Spock scans for the message. As they approach the edge of the galaxy, Kirk orders all stop. Captain Kirk announces ship-wide that what they picked up was a disaster recorder launched from the SS Valiant two hundred years prior. Department heads report to the bridge as ordered, and Captain Kirk is given introductions. Smith, whom he mistakenly addresses as Jones, is his new yeoman. Astro-sciences physicist Sulu reports ready, engineering officer Scott reports ready as always, and Chief Medical Officer Doctor Mark Piper introduces the Enterprise's new psychiatrist, Dr. Elizabeth Dehner, who came aboard the vessel back at the Aldebaron colony to study the long-term effects of space travel on the crew. Spock points out he's been able to get a signal from the recorder, as Mitchell tries to flirt with Dr. Dehner, who rebuffs him only to overhear him call her a "walking freezer unit".
Spock interprets the Valiant's message: that they had encountered a magnetic storm and were pulled out of the galaxy, and that the crew accessed computer records on "ESP" in Humans, frantic to find information about it. The captain asks Dr. Dehner her opinion, and she mistakes the question as asking whether she has ESP. She reports that there are some Humans who can see the future, but it is never very powerful. Spock goes on to explain that several crewmen had died aboard the Valiant, which had suffered severe damage. The Valiant crew continued researching ESP, until it seems the captain ordered a self-destruct. As future vessels will someday be coming out this far into space, Captain Kirk decides to go ahead anyway and engages warp factor 1.
Mitchell is struck
The crew reacts with mixed emotions as the Enterprise heads out of the galaxy. The ship encounters a strange field and Spock orders a full array of scans – deflectors indicating something in front of them while sensors say there's nothing. Smith and Mitchell hold hands to comfort each other as the ship enters the field. Flashes of light fill the bridge and electric discharges penetrate the hull, causing several consoles to explode. Kirk orders Mitchell to reverse course, but, before he can carry out the order, Dr. Dehner and he are struck by a mysterious electric charge which drops them to the deck. With no one in control of the Enterprise, Spock dashes over to the helm console and steers the starship clear of the energy field.
Taking damage reports, Spock informs Kirk that main power is out, the Enterprise is on emergency power cells, and nine crewmen are dead. Captain Kirk tends to Dehner and Mitchell, only to find that while Mitchell feels a little weak, his eyes are glowing an eerie silver…
Act Two
Alden and Kelso repair the helm
console as Kirk looks on
"Captain's log, stardate 1312.9. Ship's condition – heading back on impulse power only. Main engines burned out. The ship's space-warp ability – gone. Earth bases, which were only days away are now years in the distance. Our overriding question now is – what destroyed the Valiant? They lived through the barrier, just as we have. What happened to them after that?"
Captain Kirk, while supervising repairs being made to the bridge, proceeds to the science station where he finds Spock reviewing medical records of the dead crew members, and the crew members who survived but seem to have been affected in some way. Specifically, Spock is looking at ESP ratings of Dr. Dehner and Gary Mitchell. Both of the officers had high scores on ESP tests given by Starfleet Medical, Mitchell's having ultimately read as the highest in the crew.
Dr. Dehner approaches Captain Kirk and provides an autopsy report of the nine dead crew members. She mentions that in all cases, there was damage to a specific region of the brain. Kirk shares the fact that all of the dead crew members, as well as Dehner and Mitchell, had high ESP ratings. Spock also mentions that the captain of the Valiant was frantically searching through their records for information on ESP. Spock then reports that the Valiant's captain seems to have given a self-destruct order. Dehner defends those with ESP, stating that the ability is not harmful. Spock, however, reminds the doctor that there are the more extreme (and dangerous) abilities of ESP, such as the ability to see through solid objects or cause spontaneous combustion.
In sickbay, Mitchell is reading text on a viewer, trying to pass the time. Kirk enters the room, and Mitchell greets him by name without actually looking to see who it is. Kirk and Mitchell talk about some past experiences; it is obvious they have known each other well for many years. Mitchell mentions that he feels better now than he's ever felt in his life, and he's catching up on his reading, including Spinoza, which surprises Kirk. Mitchell finds Spinoza simple, almost childish, to him. The two continue to reminisce about their days at Starfleet Academy and Gary says that he "aimed that little blonde lab technician" at Jim. Kirk replies, "You planned that?!? I almost married her."
"Is that Gary Mitchell? The one
you used to know?"
Kirk informs Mitchell that he's assigned Dr. Dehner to work with him. Mitchell doesn't seem happy, since Mitchell and Dehner have already gotten off to a tense start. As Kirk moves to leave, Mitchell, in an echoing voice, says, "Didn't I say you'd better be good to me?", prompting Kirk to pause and eye him with uncertainty.
Once Kirk leaves the room, Mitchell continues reading books on the viewer, at a steadily-increasing rate that soon far exceeds normal pace. Kirk enters the bridge to find Spock monitoring Mitchell's viewer. Kirk assigns 24-hour security to keep an eye on Mitchell. Kirk approaches the science station viewer to look closely at Mitchell, and Mitchell looks directly at the security camera, seemingly aware that Kirk is watching him.
Dr. Dehner enters sickbay and acknowledges the fact that she realizes that Mitchell doesn't like her very well. He apologizes to her for calling her a "walking freezer unit." She asks him how he feels. Mitchell jokingly says that everyone thinks that he should have a fever or something and proceeds to change the vital signs monitor in sickbay with his mind. Then, he makes the readings show that he is dead. All indicators fall to zero, to Dr. Dehner's surprise and horror. Moments later, Mitchell awakens, and starts telling Dr. Dehner of some of his other abilities, like being able to read quickly, going through half of the Enterprise's database in less than a day.
Dr. Dehner decides to test his memory, and shows Mitchell the title of a record tape, asking him to recite what's on page 387. Mitchell recites, "My love has wings, slender feathered things with grace and upswept curve and tapered tip" from the poem "Nightingale Woman", written by Tarbolde on the Canopus planet back in 1996. Mitchell wonders out loud why she happened to choose that particular poem, which is considered to be one of the most passionate poems written in recent centuries. He then pulls Dehner close to him, and asks her how she feels. Her reply, that she only fell and that nothing else happened, is seemingly disbelieved by Mitchell, but the conversation is cut short by the arrival of Lieutenant Kelso, awkwardly entering at a time which might have seemed like an intimate moment. Mitchell smiles and invites him in, joking that his eyes are merely lit up "due to the lovely doctor."
Kelso reports that the main engines are in bad shape. Mitchell warns Kelso to check the starboard impulse engine packs, which Kelso jokingly dismisses. Mitchell snaps (once again in his "booming" voice) that he isn't joking, and that if they activate those engines that the entire impulse deck will explode. Kelso leaves sickbay and Mitchell tells Dehner that he could see the image of the impulse packs in Kelso's mind and that he is a fool not to have seen it.
"Our subject is NOT Gary Mitchell."
In the briefing room, Kelso shows Kirk the burned out impulse circuit, which he had checked on Mitchell's recommendation, noting with puzzlement that their condition was exactly as Mitchell described. Dr. Dehner enters late, says she got held up observing Mitchell, and attempts to defend him in the face of Spock's and Kirk's seemingly cold assessment of him. She reports her observations of Mitchell's ability to control certain autonomic reflexes and increased memory. Scott reports that bridge controls had started changing on their own about an hour prior, and Spock adds that each time it happened, Mitchell could be seen smiling on the surveillance monitors set up in sickbay. Kirk is annoyed that Dehner hadn't reported Mitchell's new powers earlier, but she argues that no one has been hurt, furthermore saying that someone like Mitchell, with such powers, could give rise to "a new and better kind of Human being." Following an awkward silence, Sulu adds that the growth of Mitchell's abilities is a geometric progression, meaning they would increase at an exponential rate. Spock concludes that Mitchell would become uncontrollably powerful within a month. Kirk tells those present to not discuss their findings openly before dismissing them. After the others have left the briefing room, Spock advises taking the Enterprise to the planet Delta Vega, only a few light days away, where they can adapt the lithium cracking station's power packs to try to repair its damaged systems, and also strand Mitchell there. Kirk strongly disagrees with the plan, stating Delta Vega is uninhabited and automated, and ore ships only visit every 20 years. Spock informs Kirk the only other choice he has is to kill Mitchell before he overpowers the entire crew. Kirk tries appealing to Spock's conscience, saying Mitchell is his long time friend, but Spock merely reminds him that the captain of the Valiant probably had a similar dilemma about his afflicted crew members but made his decision to self-destruct too late. Kirk reluctantly orders the Enterprise course set for Delta Vega.
Act Three
"Captain's log, stardate 1313.1. We're now approaching Delta Vega. Course set for a standard orbit. This planet, completely uninhabited, is slightly smaller than Earth, desolate, but rich in crystal and minerals. Kelso's task – transport down with a repair party, try to regenerate the main engines, save the ship. Our task – transport down a man I've known for 15 years, and if we're successful, maroon him there."
Delta Vega's lithium cracking
station
In sickbay, Mitchell's telekinetic power continues to grow. Feeling thirsty, he moves a plastic cup below a faucet and dispenses water from it with his mind. Kirk, Spock, and Dr. Dehner enter to see Mitchell's levitate the filled cup towards his outstretched hand. Mitchell senses worry in Kirk and Spock's continued urging for the captain to kill him while he still can. Mitchell quickly subdues both Kirk and Spock with an electric shock and informs them he knows the Enterprise is orbiting Delta Vega but won't allow them to force him down there. As he postures about what kind of a world he can use, Kirk and Spock jump him and hold him down long enough for Dr. Dehner to tranquilize him.
In the transporter room, preparing to beam down, Mitchell regains consciousness and proclaims "You fools! Soon I'll squash you like insects!" before being sedated again. After transporting down, Mitchell is confined to a holding cell as Lieutenant Kelso and the engineering team begin to salvage the needed components from the outpost to restore the Enterprise engines to full capacity.
Mitchell attempts to escape
As Mitchell regains consciousness, he reminds Kirk of how he saved his life on the planet Dimorus, taking poisonous darts meant for the captain and nearly dying from it. He wonders why Kirk should fear him now. Kirk retorts that Mitchell has been testing his ability to take over the Enterprise and reminds him of the threat he made in the transporter room to squash the crew like insects. Mitchell defends himself by pointing out that he was drugged at the time, then snaps back that mankind cannot survive if a true race of Espers like himself is born, and attempts to escape the force field of the cell. Kirk pleads with him to stop, but, Mitchell refuses and is jolted back, draining the light in the eyes. Gary pleads out to "Jim…", but, it doesn't last and the maniacal power that has now totally consumed Mitchell returns and he sneers that he'll "just keep getting stronger."
Back on board the Enterprise, the repairs are nearly complete as Scott beams a phaser rifle down to Spock. Kirk resents Spock's callousness towards Gary, but, Spock retorts that he's just being logical and he believes that the crew will be lucky just to repair the Enterprise and get away from Mitchell in time. Kirk, finally seeing Spock's viewpoint, instructs Kelso to wire a destruct switch to the power bins of the outpost, an explosion that will destroy the entire valley and hopefully kill Mitchell, and orders him to hit the button if Mitchell escapes.
Act Four
"You should have killed me while
you could, James."
"Captain's log, stardate 1313.3. Note commendations on Lieutenant Kelso and the engineering staff. In orbit above us, the engines of the Enterprise are almost fully regenerated. Balance of the landing party is being transported back up. Mitchell, whatever he's become, keeps changing, growing stronger by the minute."
As the landing party prepares to return to the Enterprise, Dehner, completely transfixed on Mitchell, announces she's remaining on Delta Vega with him. At the same time, Mitchell uses his powers to (remotely) strangle Lieutenant Kelso with a cable. As Kirk orders Dehner to return to the ship, Mitchell turns to the captain and taunts him that Kirk should have killed him while he still had the chance. With that, he shocks both Kirk and Spock and easily eliminates the force field holding him. Dehner takes no action to stop him, and he slowly walks her over to a mirror, where she can now see the light in her own eyes.
Kirk opens fire on Mitchell
A short time later, Dr. Piper revives Captain Kirk and informs him that Kelso is dead and that Mitchell and Dr. Dehner have left the facility. Kirk advises Piper not to revive Spock until after he's left as Kirk now blames himself for not listening to the Vulcan's warning. Taking Spock's phaser rifle, Kirk orders that Piper and Spock return to the Enterprise and to give him twelve hours to signal the ship. Failing that, Kirk recommends that the Enterprise proceed at maximum warp to the nearest starbase with his recommendation that the entire planet be subjected to a lethal concentration of neutron radiation. When Piper begins to protest, Kirk firmly tells the doctor it is an order and leaves.
"Time to pray, captain. Pray to
me! Pray that you die easy!"
In an open valley, Mitchell (now sporting greying sideburns due to premature aging as a consequence of the stress from his advanced powers) magically conjures up Kaferian apples and water for himself and Dehner. He begins to sense Kirk approaching them, as does Dehner. Mitchell invites Dehner to talk to the captain and begin to realize just how unimportant Humans are compared to what they (Mitchell and Dehner) have become. Dehner appears before Kirk and advises the captain to retreat while he still can. Kirk appeals to what's left of Dehner's Humanity and her profession as a psychiatrist and asks her what she believes will become of Mitchell if his power is allowed to continue to grow. Dehner begins to see the wisdom of Kirk's words, but, before she can decide anything, Mitchell appears before both of them. Kirk opens fire with his phaser rifle, but, it has no effect on Mitchell who easily casts the weapon aside.
Taunting Kirk, Mitchell creates a grave for his "old friend", saying he deserves a decent burial, at the very least. Completely convinced of his power and his superiority, with absolute power corrupting absolutely, Mitchell uses his powers to force Kirk to pray to him as a god and for an easy death.
Kirk fights Mitchell
Dehner, now realizing that Mitchell is inhuman and becoming more and more dangerous, helps Kirk by blasting Mitchell with some of her power, stunning him. Mitchell turns away from Kirk and counters Dehner's attack, however, the battle drains both of them and they both collapse, Dehner's attack being sufficiently powerful enough to weaken Mitchell who temporarily loses his powers. Imploring Kirk to hurry, the captain begins to attack his former friend, pummeling him to the ground. With a heavy rock raised high and preparing for the death blow, Kirk begs Gary to forgive him for what he must do. However, the captain's hesitation is enough for Mitchell to regain his powers and easily tosses Kirk away. With Kirk no longer able to cope with Mitchell's physical strength, he dives at him, sending both into the open grave. Kirk, scrambling to the discarded phaser rifle, is able to blast the rock face above Mitchell, sending him into the grave and entombing him, thus ending Mitchell's threat forever.
Kirk, with his uniform torn and beaten and battered, walks over to Dehner and kneels beside her. She apologizes to the captain for her actions, but offers that the captain had no idea what it was like to be almost a god, before finally dying herself. Silently mourning Dehner's sacrifice, Kirk opens his communicator and hails the Enterprise.
"I believe there's some hope for
you after all, Mr. Spock."
"Captain's log, stardate 1313.8. Add to official losses, Dr. Elizabeth Dehner. Be it noted she gave her life in performance of her duty. Lieutenant Commander Gary Mitchell. Same notation."
Back on the Enterprise, Kirk, sitting in his chair with a bandaged hand, laments to Spock that he wants Mitchell's service record to end with dignity as he didn't ask for what happened to him. Spock admits he felt for Mitchell as well. With a smirk, Kirk remarks that maybe there's hope for Spock after all, as the Enterprise continues to journey where no man has gone before.
Memorable quotes
"Have I ever mentioned you play a very irritating game of chess, Mister Spock?"
"Irritating? Ah, yes. One of your Earth emotions."
- Kirk and Spock, in the recreation room
"Terrible, having bad blood like that."
- Kirk to Spock, on his Human ancestry
"The first thing I ever heard from upperclassmen was: Watch out for Lieutenant Kirk. In his class, you either think or sink."
- Mitchell to Kirk, reflecting on their time at the Academy
"My love has wings. Slender, feathered things with grace in upswept curve and tapered tip."
- Mitchell, reciting "The Nightingale Woman" by Phineas Tarbolde
"Don't you understand? A mutated superior man could also be a wonderful thing!"
- Dehner to Kirk, on Mitchell
"Will you try for one moment to feel? At least act like you've got a heart."
- Kirk to Spock, before deciding to maroon Mitchell on Delta Vega
"The captain of the Valiant probably thought the same thing. And he waited too long to make his decision."
- Spock, deliberating with Kirk on what to do with Mitchell
"If you were in my position, what would you do?"
"Probably what Mr. Spock is thinking now: kill me, while you can."
- Kirk and Mitchell, discussing Mitchell's ultimate fate
"You fools! Soon I'll squash you like insects!"
- Mitchell, in the transporter room
"There's not a soul on this planet but us?"
"Nobody but us chickens, Doctor."
- Dehner and Kirk, on Delta Vega
"My friend, James Kirk."
- Mitchell, mockingly addressing Kirk upon awakening in the cell on Delta Vega
"In the sickbay, you said if you were in my place you'd kill a mutant like yourself."
"Why don't you kill me then? Mr. Spock is right and you're a fool if you can't see it."
- Kirk and Mitchell
"Man cannot survive if a race of true espers is born."
- Mitchell
"Doctor Dehner feels he isn't that dangerous! What makes you right and a trained psychiatrist wrong?"
"Because she feels. I don't. All I know is logic."
- Kirk and Spock, as Spock brings a phaser rifle
"If Mitchell gets out, at your discretion, Lee, if sitting here makes you think you're the chance, I want you to hit that button."
- Kirk ordering Kelso to destroy the station
"You should've killed me while you could, James. Command and compassion are a fool's mixture."
- Mitchell to Kirk, before escaping the brig
"Above all else, a god needs compassion! MITCHELL!!"
- Kirk, calling out to Mitchell
"What do you know about gods?"
"Then let's talk about Humans! About our frailties!"
- Dehner and Kirk
"What's your prognosis, doctor?!"
- Kirk, to Dehner on Mitchell
"Morals are for men, not gods."
- Mitchell, to Kirk
"Time to pray, captain. Pray to me."
"To you? Not to both of you?"
"Pray that you die easily!"
"There'll only be one of you in the end. One jealous god. If all this makes a god, or is it making you something else?"
- Mitchell and Kirk
"Do you like what you see? Absolute power corrupting absolutely?"
- Kirk, persuading Dehner to turn on Mitchell
"For a moment, James… but your moment is fading."
- Mitchell's last words
"I'm sorry. You can't know what it's like to be almost a god."
- Dehner's dying words to Kirk
"He didn't ask for what happened to him."
"I felt for him, too."
"I believe there's some hope for you after all, Mister Spock."
- Kirk and Spock
Summary
"I'll have you checkmated
your next move…"
"Captain's log, stardate 1312.4. The impossible has happened. From directly ahead, we're picking up a recorded distress signal, the call letters of a vessel which has been missing for over two centuries. Did another Earth ship probe out of the galaxy as we intend to do? What happened to it out there? Is this some warning they've left behind?"
In the briefing lounge, Captain James T. Kirk and Vulcan science officer Lieutenant Commander Spock are playing three-dimensional chess. Spock warns the captain that he's about to checkmate him on his next move, but the captain is preoccupied with awaiting the bridge's update on the unexplained Earth-vessel distress signal. The captain notes that Spock plays a very "irritating game of chess", to which Spock responds with "Irritating? Ah yes, one of your Earth emotions." Captain Kirk makes a move that surprises Spock, and smiles, to which Spock simply turns to look at him. "Certain you don't know what irritation is?" Kirk says wryly. As Spock begins to state that despite the fact that one of his ancestors married a Human female, Kirk interrupts him and jokingly chides him, saying it must be terrible to have bad blood like that. Just afterward then, a call comes over the comm. Navigator Lieutenant Lee Kelso informs the captain that the object is now within tractor beam range, and that it is only about a meter in diameter, too small to be a vessel or an escape pod. Kirk tells him to lock on to it, and the two of them head out.
SS Valiant disaster recorder
In the transporter room, Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott is fine-tuning the transporter, preparing to beam the object aboard. Kirk gives the order, and Scott transports the device into the transporter chamber. The captain immediately recognizes it as an old-style ship recorder, one that would be ejected in the event of an emergency. Spock agrees, but states that, based on the level of damage the object seems to have sustained, something must have destroyed the ship. Scott tries to feed the tapes into the computer, when the marker begins transmitting a signal. Captain Kirk orders red alert, and the crew go to their stations.
Act One
Throughout the ship, the crew is reporting to their emergency stations. Kirk and Spock enter a turbolift to go to the bridge, and Lieutenant Commander Gary Mitchell enters just as the doors are closing. Kirk and Mitchell joke about Kelso sounding nervous, and Spock's chess skills, showing that they're comfortable being around each other even in times of red alert.
The Enterprise approaches the
barrier
The three officers enter the bridge, Mitchell taking his station as Spock scans for the message. As they approach the edge of the galaxy, Kirk orders all stop. Captain Kirk announces ship-wide that what they picked up was a disaster recorder launched from the SS Valiant two hundred years prior. Department heads report to the bridge as ordered, and Captain Kirk is given introductions. Smith, whom he mistakenly addresses as Jones, is his new yeoman. Astro-sciences physicist Sulu reports ready, engineering officer Scott reports ready as always, and Chief Medical Officer Doctor Mark Piper introduces the Enterprise's new psychiatrist, Dr. Elizabeth Dehner, who came aboard the vessel back at the Aldebaron colony to study the long-term effects of space travel on the crew. Spock points out he's been able to get a signal from the recorder, as Mitchell tries to flirt with Dr. Dehner, who rebuffs him only to overhear him call her a "walking freezer unit".
Spock interprets the Valiant's message: that they had encountered a magnetic storm and were pulled out of the galaxy, and that the crew accessed computer records on "ESP" in Humans, frantic to find information about it. The captain asks Dr. Dehner her opinion, and she mistakes the question as asking whether she has ESP. She reports that there are some Humans who can see the future, but it is never very powerful. Spock goes on to explain that several crewmen had died aboard the Valiant, which had suffered severe damage. The Valiant crew continued researching ESP, until it seems the captain ordered a self-destruct. As future vessels will someday be coming out this far into space, Captain Kirk decides to go ahead anyway and engages warp factor 1.
Mitchell is struck
The crew reacts with mixed emotions as the Enterprise heads out of the galaxy. The ship encounters a strange field and Spock orders a full array of scans – deflectors indicating something in front of them while sensors say there's nothing. Smith and Mitchell hold hands to comfort each other as the ship enters the field. Flashes of light fill the bridge and electric discharges penetrate the hull, causing several consoles to explode. Kirk orders Mitchell to reverse course, but, before he can carry out the order, Dr. Dehner and he are struck by a mysterious electric charge which drops them to the deck. With no one in control of the Enterprise, Spock dashes over to the helm console and steers the starship clear of the energy field.
Taking damage reports, Spock informs Kirk that main power is out, the Enterprise is on emergency power cells, and nine crewmen are dead. Captain Kirk tends to Dehner and Mitchell, only to find that while Mitchell feels a little weak, his eyes are glowing an eerie silver…
Act Two
Alden and Kelso repair the helm
console as Kirk looks on
"Captain's log, stardate 1312.9. Ship's condition – heading back on impulse power only. Main engines burned out. The ship's space-warp ability – gone. Earth bases, which were only days away are now years in the distance. Our overriding question now is – what destroyed the Valiant? They lived through the barrier, just as we have. What happened to them after that?"
Captain Kirk, while supervising repairs being made to the bridge, proceeds to the science station where he finds Spock reviewing medical records of the dead crew members, and the crew members who survived but seem to have been affected in some way. Specifically, Spock is looking at ESP ratings of Dr. Dehner and Gary Mitchell. Both of the officers had high scores on ESP tests given by Starfleet Medical, Mitchell's having ultimately read as the highest in the crew.
Dr. Dehner approaches Captain Kirk and provides an autopsy report of the nine dead crew members. She mentions that in all cases, there was damage to a specific region of the brain. Kirk shares the fact that all of the dead crew members, as well as Dehner and Mitchell, had high ESP ratings. Spock also mentions that the captain of the Valiant was frantically searching through their records for information on ESP. Spock then reports that the Valiant's captain seems to have given a self-destruct order. Dehner defends those with ESP, stating that the ability is not harmful. Spock, however, reminds the doctor that there are the more extreme (and dangerous) abilities of ESP, such as the ability to see through solid objects or cause spontaneous combustion.
In sickbay, Mitchell is reading text on a viewer, trying to pass the time. Kirk enters the room, and Mitchell greets him by name without actually looking to see who it is. Kirk and Mitchell talk about some past experiences; it is obvious they have known each other well for many years. Mitchell mentions that he feels better now than he's ever felt in his life, and he's catching up on his reading, including Spinoza, which surprises Kirk. Mitchell finds Spinoza simple, almost childish, to him. The two continue to reminisce about their days at Starfleet Academy and Gary says that he "aimed that little blonde lab technician" at Jim. Kirk replies, "You planned that?!? I almost married her."
"Is that Gary Mitchell? The one
you used to know?"
Kirk informs Mitchell that he's assigned Dr. Dehner to work with him. Mitchell doesn't seem happy, since Mitchell and Dehner have already gotten off to a tense start. As Kirk moves to leave, Mitchell, in an echoing voice, says, "Didn't I say you'd better be good to me?", prompting Kirk to pause and eye him with uncertainty.
Once Kirk leaves the room, Mitchell continues reading books on the viewer, at a steadily-increasing rate that soon far exceeds normal pace. Kirk enters the bridge to find Spock monitoring Mitchell's viewer. Kirk assigns 24-hour security to keep an eye on Mitchell. Kirk approaches the science station viewer to look closely at Mitchell, and Mitchell looks directly at the security camera, seemingly aware that Kirk is watching him.
Dr. Dehner enters sickbay and acknowledges the fact that she realizes that Mitchell doesn't like her very well. He apologizes to her for calling her a "walking freezer unit." She asks him how he feels. Mitchell jokingly says that everyone thinks that he should have a fever or something and proceeds to change the vital signs monitor in sickbay with his mind. Then, he makes the readings show that he is dead. All indicators fall to zero, to Dr. Dehner's surprise and horror. Moments later, Mitchell awakens, and starts telling Dr. Dehner of some of his other abilities, like being able to read quickly, going through half of the Enterprise's database in less than a day.
Dr. Dehner decides to test his memory, and shows Mitchell the title of a record tape, asking him to recite what's on page 387. Mitchell recites, "My love has wings, slender feathered things with grace and upswept curve and tapered tip" from the poem "Nightingale Woman", written by Tarbolde on the Canopus planet back in 1996. Mitchell wonders out loud why she happened to choose that particular poem, which is considered to be one of the most passionate poems written in recent centuries. He then pulls Dehner close to him, and asks her how she feels. Her reply, that she only fell and that nothing else happened, is seemingly disbelieved by Mitchell, but the conversation is cut short by the arrival of Lieutenant Kelso, awkwardly entering at a time which might have seemed like an intimate moment. Mitchell smiles and invites him in, joking that his eyes are merely lit up "due to the lovely doctor."
Kelso reports that the main engines are in bad shape. Mitchell warns Kelso to check the starboard impulse engine packs, which Kelso jokingly dismisses. Mitchell snaps (once again in his "booming" voice) that he isn't joking, and that if they activate those engines that the entire impulse deck will explode. Kelso leaves sickbay and Mitchell tells Dehner that he could see the image of the impulse packs in Kelso's mind and that he is a fool not to have seen it.
"Our subject is NOT Gary Mitchell."
In the briefing room, Kelso shows Kirk the burned out impulse circuit, which he had checked on Mitchell's recommendation, noting with puzzlement that their condition was exactly as Mitchell described. Dr. Dehner enters late, says she got held up observing Mitchell, and attempts to defend him in the face of Spock's and Kirk's seemingly cold assessment of him. She reports her observations of Mitchell's ability to control certain autonomic reflexes and increased memory. Scott reports that bridge controls had started changing on their own about an hour prior, and Spock adds that each time it happened, Mitchell could be seen smiling on the surveillance monitors set up in sickbay. Kirk is annoyed that Dehner hadn't reported Mitchell's new powers earlier, but she argues that no one has been hurt, furthermore saying that someone like Mitchell, with such powers, could give rise to "a new and better kind of Human being." Following an awkward silence, Sulu adds that the growth of Mitchell's abilities is a geometric progression, meaning they would increase at an exponential rate. Spock concludes that Mitchell would become uncontrollably powerful within a month. Kirk tells those present to not discuss their findings openly before dismissing them. After the others have left the briefing room, Spock advises taking the Enterprise to the planet Delta Vega, only a few light days away, where they can adapt the lithium cracking station's power packs to try to repair its damaged systems, and also strand Mitchell there. Kirk strongly disagrees with the plan, stating Delta Vega is uninhabited and automated, and ore ships only visit every 20 years. Spock informs Kirk the only other choice he has is to kill Mitchell before he overpowers the entire crew. Kirk tries appealing to Spock's conscience, saying Mitchell is his long time friend, but Spock merely reminds him that the captain of the Valiant probably had a similar dilemma about his afflicted crew members but made his decision to self-destruct too late. Kirk reluctantly orders the Enterprise course set for Delta Vega.
Act Three
"Captain's log, stardate 1313.1. We're now approaching Delta Vega. Course set for a standard orbit. This planet, completely uninhabited, is slightly smaller than Earth, desolate, but rich in crystal and minerals. Kelso's task – transport down with a repair party, try to regenerate the main engines, save the ship. Our task – transport down a man I've known for 15 years, and if we're successful, maroon him there."
Delta Vega's lithium cracking
station
In sickbay, Mitchell's telekinetic power continues to grow. Feeling thirsty, he moves a plastic cup below a faucet and dispenses water from it with his mind. Kirk, Spock, and Dr. Dehner enter to see Mitchell's levitate the filled cup towards his outstretched hand. Mitchell senses worry in Kirk and Spock's continued urging for the captain to kill him while he still can. Mitchell quickly subdues both Kirk and Spock with an electric shock and informs them he knows the Enterprise is orbiting Delta Vega but won't allow them to force him down there. As he postures about what kind of a world he can use, Kirk and Spock jump him and hold him down long enough for Dr. Dehner to tranquilize him.
In the transporter room, preparing to beam down, Mitchell regains consciousness and proclaims "You fools! Soon I'll squash you like insects!" before being sedated again. After transporting down, Mitchell is confined to a holding cell as Lieutenant Kelso and the engineering team begin to salvage the needed components from the outpost to restore the Enterprise engines to full capacity.
Mitchell attempts to escape
As Mitchell regains consciousness, he reminds Kirk of how he saved his life on the planet Dimorus, taking poisonous darts meant for the captain and nearly dying from it. He wonders why Kirk should fear him now. Kirk retorts that Mitchell has been testing his ability to take over the Enterprise and reminds him of the threat he made in the transporter room to squash the crew like insects. Mitchell defends himself by pointing out that he was drugged at the time, then snaps back that mankind cannot survive if a true race of Espers like himself is born, and attempts to escape the force field of the cell. Kirk pleads with him to stop, but, Mitchell refuses and is jolted back, draining the light in the eyes. Gary pleads out to "Jim…", but, it doesn't last and the maniacal power that has now totally consumed Mitchell returns and he sneers that he'll "just keep getting stronger."
Back on board the Enterprise, the repairs are nearly complete as Scott beams a phaser rifle down to Spock. Kirk resents Spock's callousness towards Gary, but, Spock retorts that he's just being logical and he believes that the crew will be lucky just to repair the Enterprise and get away from Mitchell in time. Kirk, finally seeing Spock's viewpoint, instructs Kelso to wire a destruct switch to the power bins of the outpost, an explosion that will destroy the entire valley and hopefully kill Mitchell, and orders him to hit the button if Mitchell escapes.
Act Four
"You should have killed me while
you could, James."
"Captain's log, stardate 1313.3. Note commendations on Lieutenant Kelso and the engineering staff. In orbit above us, the engines of the Enterprise are almost fully regenerated. Balance of the landing party is being transported back up. Mitchell, whatever he's become, keeps changing, growing stronger by the minute."
As the landing party prepares to return to the Enterprise, Dehner, completely transfixed on Mitchell, announces she's remaining on Delta Vega with him. At the same time, Mitchell uses his powers to (remotely) strangle Lieutenant Kelso with a cable. As Kirk orders Dehner to return to the ship, Mitchell turns to the captain and taunts him that Kirk should have killed him while he still had the chance. With that, he shocks both Kirk and Spock and easily eliminates the force field holding him. Dehner takes no action to stop him, and he slowly walks her over to a mirror, where she can now see the light in her own eyes.
Kirk opens fire on Mitchell
A short time later, Dr. Piper revives Captain Kirk and informs him that Kelso is dead and that Mitchell and Dr. Dehner have left the facility. Kirk advises Piper not to revive Spock until after he's left as Kirk now blames himself for not listening to the Vulcan's warning. Taking Spock's phaser rifle, Kirk orders that Piper and Spock return to the Enterprise and to give him twelve hours to signal the ship. Failing that, Kirk recommends that the Enterprise proceed at maximum warp to the nearest starbase with his recommendation that the entire planet be subjected to a lethal concentration of neutron radiation. When Piper begins to protest, Kirk firmly tells the doctor it is an order and leaves.
"Time to pray, captain. Pray to
me! Pray that you die easy!"
In an open valley, Mitchell (now sporting greying sideburns due to premature aging as a consequence of the stress from his advanced powers) magically conjures up Kaferian apples and water for himself and Dehner. He begins to sense Kirk approaching them, as does Dehner. Mitchell invites Dehner to talk to the captain and begin to realize just how unimportant Humans are compared to what they (Mitchell and Dehner) have become. Dehner appears before Kirk and advises the captain to retreat while he still can. Kirk appeals to what's left of Dehner's Humanity and her profession as a psychiatrist and asks her what she believes will become of Mitchell if his power is allowed to continue to grow. Dehner begins to see the wisdom of Kirk's words, but, before she can decide anything, Mitchell appears before both of them. Kirk opens fire with his phaser rifle, but, it has no effect on Mitchell who easily casts the weapon aside.
Taunting Kirk, Mitchell creates a grave for his "old friend", saying he deserves a decent burial, at the very least. Completely convinced of his power and his superiority, with absolute power corrupting absolutely, Mitchell uses his powers to force Kirk to pray to him as a god and for an easy death.
Kirk fights Mitchell
Dehner, now realizing that Mitchell is inhuman and becoming more and more dangerous, helps Kirk by blasting Mitchell with some of her power, stunning him. Mitchell turns away from Kirk and counters Dehner's attack, however, the battle drains both of them and they both collapse, Dehner's attack being sufficiently powerful enough to weaken Mitchell who temporarily loses his powers. Imploring Kirk to hurry, the captain begins to attack his former friend, pummeling him to the ground. With a heavy rock raised high and preparing for the death blow, Kirk begs Gary to forgive him for what he must do. However, the captain's hesitation is enough for Mitchell to regain his powers and easily tosses Kirk away. With Kirk no longer able to cope with Mitchell's physical strength, he dives at him, sending both into the open grave. Kirk, scrambling to the discarded phaser rifle, is able to blast the rock face above Mitchell, sending him into the grave and entombing him, thus ending Mitchell's threat forever.
Kirk, with his uniform torn and beaten and battered, walks over to Dehner and kneels beside her. She apologizes to the captain for her actions, but offers that the captain had no idea what it was like to be almost a god, before finally dying herself. Silently mourning Dehner's sacrifice, Kirk opens his communicator and hails the Enterprise.
"I believe there's some hope for
you after all, Mr. Spock."
"Captain's log, stardate 1313.8. Add to official losses, Dr. Elizabeth Dehner. Be it noted she gave her life in performance of her duty. Lieutenant Commander Gary Mitchell. Same notation."
Back on the Enterprise, Kirk, sitting in his chair with a bandaged hand, laments to Spock that he wants Mitchell's service record to end with dignity as he didn't ask for what happened to him. Spock admits he felt for Mitchell as well. With a smirk, Kirk remarks that maybe there's hope for Spock after all, as the Enterprise continues to journey where no man has gone before.
Memorable quotes
"Have I ever mentioned you play a very irritating game of chess, Mister Spock?"
"Irritating? Ah, yes. One of your Earth emotions."
- Kirk and Spock, in the recreation room
"Terrible, having bad blood like that."
- Kirk to Spock, on his Human ancestry
"The first thing I ever heard from upperclassmen was: Watch out for Lieutenant Kirk. In his class, you either think or sink."
- Mitchell to Kirk, reflecting on their time at the Academy
"My love has wings. Slender, feathered things with grace in upswept curve and tapered tip."
- Mitchell, reciting "The Nightingale Woman" by Phineas Tarbolde
"Don't you understand? A mutated superior man could also be a wonderful thing!"
- Dehner to Kirk, on Mitchell
"Will you try for one moment to feel? At least act like you've got a heart."
- Kirk to Spock, before deciding to maroon Mitchell on Delta Vega
"The captain of the Valiant probably thought the same thing. And he waited too long to make his decision."
- Spock, deliberating with Kirk on what to do with Mitchell
"If you were in my position, what would you do?"
"Probably what Mr. Spock is thinking now: kill me, while you can."
- Kirk and Mitchell, discussing Mitchell's ultimate fate
"You fools! Soon I'll squash you like insects!"
- Mitchell, in the transporter room
"There's not a soul on this planet but us?"
"Nobody but us chickens, Doctor."
- Dehner and Kirk, on Delta Vega
"My friend, James Kirk."
- Mitchell, mockingly addressing Kirk upon awakening in the cell on Delta Vega
"In the sickbay, you said if you were in my place you'd kill a mutant like yourself."
"Why don't you kill me then? Mr. Spock is right and you're a fool if you can't see it."
- Kirk and Mitchell
"Man cannot survive if a race of true espers is born."
- Mitchell
"Doctor Dehner feels he isn't that dangerous! What makes you right and a trained psychiatrist wrong?"
"Because she feels. I don't. All I know is logic."
- Kirk and Spock, as Spock brings a phaser rifle
"If Mitchell gets out, at your discretion, Lee, if sitting here makes you think you're the chance, I want you to hit that button."
- Kirk ordering Kelso to destroy the station
"You should've killed me while you could, James. Command and compassion are a fool's mixture."
- Mitchell to Kirk, before escaping the brig
"Above all else, a god needs compassion! MITCHELL!!"
- Kirk, calling out to Mitchell
"What do you know about gods?"
"Then let's talk about Humans! About our frailties!"
- Dehner and Kirk
"What's your prognosis, doctor?!"
- Kirk, to Dehner on Mitchell
"Morals are for men, not gods."
- Mitchell, to Kirk
"Time to pray, captain. Pray to me."
"To you? Not to both of you?"
"Pray that you die easily!"
"There'll only be one of you in the end. One jealous god. If all this makes a god, or is it making you something else?"
- Mitchell and Kirk
"Do you like what you see? Absolute power corrupting absolutely?"
- Kirk, persuading Dehner to turn on Mitchell
"For a moment, James… but your moment is fading."
- Mitchell's last words
"I'm sorry. You can't know what it's like to be almost a god."
- Dehner's dying words to Kirk
"He didn't ask for what happened to him."
"I felt for him, too."
"I believe there's some hope for you after all, Mister Spock."
- Kirk and Spock
