"Our scanner survey was correct, captain." "There it is, pure tritanium." "Fantastic." "Twenty times as hard as diamond." " 21.4 times as hard, to be exact." " Thank you, Mr. Spock." "Scotty, you can mark this vein as confirmed." "Inform Starfleet I recommend that they dispatch a survey vessel immediately." "Acknowledged, captain." "They'll send a vessel fast enough for this rich a find." "We won't be able to break it, captain." "I'll phaser off a specimen." "Lesley." "Do you smell that?" "A sweet odour, like honey." "It was years ago on another planet." "A thing with an odour like that." "We're in the growing season in this hemisphere of this planet, captain." "There are doubtless many pollen aromas." " Rizzo." " Yes, sir." "Take your men." "Make a swing around our perimeter." "Scan for dikironium in the atmosphere." "Set your phasers on disruptor-B." "If you see any gaseous cloud, fire immediately." "You're on red alert." "Make a sweep." "Ready to beam back aboard, captain?" "Negative, Scotty." "We're checking something out." "The USS Yorktown is expecting to rendezvous with us in less than eight hours, captain." "That doesn't give us much time." "Acknowledged." "Continue standing by." "Kirk out." "Captain, dikironium exists only in laboratory experiments." "It's gone." "I could've been wrong." "The last time I caught an odour like that was 11 years ago." "It seemed to read dikironium for a minute, and then I lost it." "It's almost like something out there knows I'm scanning it." "And it kind of keeps changing itself into something different." "That isn't possible." "Nothing could do that." " Captain!" " Kirk here." "Captain, there's a strange cloud, sir." "A cloud..." "A cloud..." "Fire into it immediately!" "Help." "Spock." "Dead." "And you'll find every red corpuscle gone from their body." "Rizzo's alive." "Barely." "Kirk to Enterprise." "Scotty, lock in on us." "Medical emergency." "Do you think you know what it was, captain?" "Something that can't possibly exist." "But it does." "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." "Captain's log, stardate 3619.2." "With the mysterious death of two crewmen, all personnel on the planet have been evacuated back to the ship." " Autopsy report, doctor." " How's Ensign Rizzo?" " Still unconscious, sir." " Transfusions?" "Continuing as rapidly as possible." "His blood count is still 60 percent less than normal." " Kirk to Bridge." " Spock here." "Ready to leave orbit, captain." " Hold your position." " Cutting in, if I may, captain." "The USS Yorktown is expecting to rendezvous with us in less than seven hours." "Then you'll inform them that we might be a little late." "Jim, the Yorktown's ship surgeon will wanna know how late." "Those vaccines he's transferring to us are highly perishable." "Spock again, captain." "Those medical supplies are badly needed on planet Theta Vll." "They are expecting us to get them there on time." "Gentlemen, we are remaining in orbit until I find out more about those deaths." "On my responsibility." "I am perfectly aware that it might cost lives on Theta Vll." "Kirk out." " Autopsy report." " You saw their colour." "There wasn't a red corpuscle left in their bodies." " Marks, cuts, incisions of any kind?" " Not a one." "What happened is medically impossible." "I suggest you look at the record tapes of past similar occurrences." "You'll find the USS Farragut lists casualties 11 years ago from exactly the same impossible causes." "Thank you, captain." "I'll check those tapes immediately." "First, can you bring Ensign Rizzo to consciousness for a moment?" " Yes, but it..." " Will it hurt him if you do so?" "In his present condition, I don't think it would make much difference." "Then do so." "Transfusion completed, sir." "His pulse and respiration are still far below normal." "Give him 1 cc of cordrazine, nurse." "Yes, sir." "Rizzo." "This is the captain." "Can you hear me?" "Do you remember what happened to you?" "Remem..." "Remember?" "I'm cold." "I'm so cold." "You were attacked by something." "When that happened, did you notice an odour of any kind?" "Rizzo." "Rizzo!" "Do you remember a sickly sweet odour?" "Did you smell it?" "Yes." "Yes." "A smell, a strange smell." "It was like..." "Like being smothered in honey." "Did you feel a presence, an intelligence?" "It was trying to draw strength from us." "I felt it." "It was..." "It was..." "It was there." "He's beginning to sleep again, Jim." "I can't risk another shot." "He's already told me what I wanted to know." "I wouldn't depend too much on what he says in that half-conscious state." "He could be dreaming, saying what he thought he wanted you to hear." "You check those record tapes." "I want your medical analysis as quickly as possible." "Well, what's with the captain?" "I've never seen him like that before." "I intend to find out." "I'll be in the medical-record library." "Oh, captain." "Subspace message from Starfleet." "They're enquiring..." "Not now, lieutenant." "Have the security duty officer report to me on the Bridge." " Aye, sir." " Spock?" "Continuing scanning, captain." "Still no readings of life forms on the planet surface." "Let's assume that it's something so completely different that our sensors would not identify it as a life form." "You mentioned dikironium, captain." "Suppose it was composed of that rare element." "A strange, gaseous creature." "I have scanned for that element, captain." "There is no trace of dikironium on the planet surface or in the atmosphere." "Suppose it camouflaged itself." "Let's assume that it's intelligent, that it knows that we're looking for it." "To hide from a sensor scan, it would have to be able to change its molecular structure." "Like gold changing itself to lead, or wood changing itself to ivory." "You've just suggested something that never occurred to me." "It may provide some answers to a tape record which I think you'll find Dr. McCoy is looking at this very moment." "Chekov, take over on scanner." "Ensign Garrovick reporting, sir." " Are you the new security officer?" " Yes, sir." " Was your father..?" " Yes, sir, he was." "But I don't expect any special treatment on that account." " You'll get none aboard this ship." " Yes, sir." "Captain, I have a report on Ensign Rizzo." "He's dead, sir." "You knew Rizzo?" "Yes, sir." "We were good friends." "Graduated the Academy together." "You'll get a crack at what killed him." "Interested?" " Yes, I am, sir." " I want four men armed with phaser-twos set for disruptor effect." "Join me in the Transporter Room in five minutes." "You'll accompany me to the planet's surface." "Yes, sir." "The reading is changing, sir." "Spock was right." "Notice the molecular shift." "Dikironium reading now, sir." "Bearing 94, mark 7." "Angle of elevation, 6 degrees." " Holding steady." " Over that rise." "Take two men, circle around to the left." "I'll take the other two and go the other way." "That creature is dangerous." "If you see it, fire full phasers." "Yes, sir." "Bensen, Bardoli, come with me." "A phaser!" "Come on!" "Garrovick, did you..?" "Captain's log, stardate 3619.6." "One of the men in critical condition, the other is dead." "And I..." "I am now even more convinced that this is not only an intelligent creature, but the same which decimated the crew of the USS Farragut" "11 years ago in another part of the galaxy." "Both Spock and McCoy are doubtful of this, and I sense they also doubt my decision to stay and fight the thing." "Why am I keeping the ship here?" "Ensign Garrovick, we've studied your report." "Mr. Spock, will you begin?" "What was the size of the thing you saw, ensign?" "I'd say it measured from 10 to 60 cubic metres, sir." "It varied in size, fluctuated as it moved." " Composition?" " It was like a..." "A gaseous cloud." "Parts of it, I could see through." "Other parts were more dense." "Ensign, did you sense any intelligence in this gaseous cloud?" " Did I what, sir?" " Did you get any subconscious impressions that this was a creature, a living, thinking thing, rather than just a strange cloud of chemical elements?" "No, sir." "But you didn't come into actual contact with it, did you?" "No, sir, I was furthest away from it." "It seemed to come out of nowhere, hovered for a moment, then moved toward my men." "It was fast, incredibly fast." " Did you say it hovered?" " Yes, sir." " You did fire at it, didn't you?" " Yes, sir, I did." "What distance were you from the creature?" "About 20 yards, sir." "You fired at a large hovering target at that distance, and missed?" "Yes." "Well, I didn't fire while it was hovering, sir." "You mean you froze?" "No." "Sir," " I didn't exactly freeze." " Well, what exactly were you doing?" "Well, I was startled for a second, and then by the time I fired, the thing was already moving." "Do you have any further information?" " No, sir." " You have any further questions?" "I only hesitated for a moment, sir." "I'm sorry." "Ensign, you're relieved of all duties and confined to quarters" " until further notice." " Yes, sir." " You were a little hard on the boy." " He froze." "One man was killed, another may die." "Captain, scientifically..." "You'll both be filing reports." "Make your comments and recommendations then." "Captain, while we wait, I've taken the liberty of cleaning the radioactive disposal vent on Number 2 impulse Engine, but we'll be ready to leave orbit in half an hour." "We're not leaving orbit, Mr. Scott, not that quickly." " Captain." " Yes?" "Yorktown requesting information on how soon" " we expect to rendezvous with them." " Thank you." "The medicine for Theta Vll colony is not only needed desperately," " it has a limited stability..." " I'm aware of the situation, engineer." "And I'm getting a little tired of my senior officers conspiring against me." "Forgive me." "Perhaps I shouldn't have used the word "conspired."" "Agreed, sir." " Scanner readings." " Nothing, sir." "Continuing to scan." "Are you aware that it can change its molecular structure?" " Yes, sir." " Are you scanning for any unusual movement?" " Yes, sir." " Any type of gaseous cloud?" "We've run a full scanner probe twice." "Well, then run it 20 times, if that's what it takes." "I hope I'm not disturbing you, doctor." "Interrupting another autopsy report is no disturbance, Mr. Spock." "It's a relief." "I need your advice." "Then I need a drink." "I do not understand your reasoning." "You need advice from me?" "You must be kidding." "I do not joke, doctor." "Perhaps I should rephrase my statement." "I require an opinion." "There are many aspects of human irrationality I do not yet comprehend." "Obsession, for one." "The persistent, single-minded fixation on one idea." " Jim and his creature." " Precisely." "Have you studied the incident involving the USS Farragut?" "No, with all these deaths and injuries," "I've only had a chance to scan the tapes." "There are eight or ten hours of record tapes there." "Fortunately, I read somewhat faster." "In brief, doctor, nearly half the crew and the captain were annihilated." "The captain's name was Garrovick." " The same as our ensign." " His father." "Among the survivors was a young officer on his first deep-space assignment:" "James T. Kirk." "And there is still more." "I suggest you study this." "Personal log, stardate 3620.7." "Have I the right to jeopardise my crew, my ship, for a feeling I can't even put into words?" "No man achieves Starfleet Command without relying on intuition, but have I made a rational decision?" "Am I letting the horrors of the past distort my judgement of the present?" "Mind if I come in?" "Kirk to Bridge." "Scanner report." "Continuing scanning, sir." "No unusual readings." "Maintain search." "Kirk out." "It can't have just vanished." "Sometimes they do, if we're lucky." "Monsters come in many forms." "And you know the greatest monster of them all, Jim?" " Guilt." " Get to the point." "Jim, when a young officer is exposed to unknown dangers for the first time, he's under tremendous emotional stress." "Now, we all know that..." "Ensign Garrovick is a ship-command decision." "You're straying out of your field, doctor." "Am I?" "I was speaking of Lieutenant James T. Kirk of the starship Farragut." "Eleven years ago, you were the young officer at the phaser station when something attacked." "According to the tapes, this young Lieutenant Kirk insisted upon blaming himself." "Because I delayed in firing at it." "You had a normal emotion." "You were startled." "You delayed firing for a grand total of perhaps two seconds." "If I hadn't delayed, it would have been killed." "The ship's exec didn't seem to think so." "His log entry was quite clear on the subject:" ""Lieutenant Kirk is a fine young officer who performed with uncommon bravery."" "Don't you understand?" "It killed 200 crewmen." "Captain Garrovick was very important to you, wasn't he, Jim?" "Yes." "He was my commanding officer from the day I left the Academy." "One of the finest men I ever knew." "I could've killed that thing if I had fired soon enough the first time." "You don't know that, Jim." "You don't know that any more than you know that Garrovick could've destroyed it." "I can't help how I feel." "There's an intelligence about it, Bones." "A malevolence." "It's evil." "It must be destroyed." "Don't be so obsessed." "Obsessed?" "That you could destroy yourself, your career." "A young boy who reminds you of yourself 11 years ago." "Don't push our friendship past the point where I have to take..." "I'm not, Jim!" "This is professional, captain." "I am preparing a medical-log entry on my estimation of the physical and emotional condition of a starship captain." "Which requires a witness of command grade." "Do I take it, doctor, commander, that both of you, or either of you, consider me unfit or incapacitated?" "Correctly phrased, captain, as recommended in the manual." "Our reply, also as recommended, is:" "Sir, we have noted in your recent behaviour certain items which on the surface seem unusual." "We respectfully ask permission to enquire further and..." "Blast it, forget the manual!" "Ask your questions." "Sir, the USS Yorktown is waiting now at the rendezvous point." " It carries perishable drugs..." " Forget the recitation." "I know the facts." "They need those vaccines on Theta Vll, captain." "Now, why are we delaying here?" "Because I'm convinced that this is the same creature that attacked the Farragut 11 years ago." " "Creature," captain?" " My report is on the tapes." "As it attacked us 11 years ago, as I lost consciousness," "I could feel the intelligence of the thing." "I could sense it thinking, planning." "You say you could sense its intelligence, captain." "How?" "Did it communicate with you?" "You state that it happened just as you lost consciousness." "Now, the semiconscious mind is a very tricky thing." "A man never knows just how much is real or how much is imagination." "Whatever it is, doctor, whatever it is," " wouldn't you call it deadly?" " Yes, there's no doubt about that." "And what if it is the same creature that attacked 11 years ago from a planet over 1000 light years from here?" "Obviously, captain, if it is an intelligent creature, if it is the same one, if it therefore is capable of space travel, it could pose a grave threat to inhabited planets." "A lot of "ifs," I agree." "But in my command judgement, they outweigh other factors." "Intuition, however illogical, Mr. Spock, is recognised as a command prerogative." " We're not trying to gang up on you." " And you haven't, doctor." "You've expressed the proper concern, you've asked the proper questions." "You've both done your duty." "Now, may I ask what medical-log entry you intend to make?" "At this point, my medical log remains open." "In that case, gentlemen..." " Bridge to captain." "Come in." " Kirk here." "I have a reading on the whatever it is, captain." "Leaving the planet surface, heading into space." "All decks, red alert." "Red alert." "Prepare to leave orbit." "Captain, we can't maintain warp 8 speed much longer." "Pressures are approaching the critical point." "Range, Mr. Chekov?" "0.04 light years ahead." "Our phasers won't reach it, sir." "We are barely closing on it, captain." "We could be pursuing it for days." "If necessary." "Do what you can to increase our speed, Scott." "Aye, sir." "Extreme magnification, Mr. Chekov." "Magnification 12." "There, sir." "There, got it." "Spock, how do you read that?" "Conflicting data, captain." "It seems to be in a borderline state between matter and energy, elements of both." "It could possibly use gravitational fields for propulsion." "And you don't find that sophisticated, Mr. Spock?" "Extremely efficient, captain." "Whether that indicates intelligence is another matter." "Open hatch on impulse Engine Number 2." "Mr. Scott was doing an AID cleanup on it." "We won't be using the impulse engines." "Turn the alarm off." "Aye, sir." "Captain, we can't do it." "If we keep this speed, we'll blow up any minute now." "Go to warp 6." "Hi." "Everyone else is at alert stations, so I brought you some dinner." " I'm not hungry." " Doctor's orders." "What's happening?" "Are we still chasing that thing halfway across the galaxy?" "Yes." "Has the captain lost his sense of balance?" "Maybe." "Is the entire crew about ready to explode?" "Positively." " You're lucky you're out of it." " What do you mean, out of it?" "I caused it." "You know that too, don't you?" "If I'd fired my phaser quickly enough on Argus X, this wouldn't have happened." "Your self-pity is a terrible first course." "Why don't you try the soup instead?" "I told you, Christine, I'm not hungry." "Dr. McCoy thought you might say something like that." "This is his officially logged prescription for you." "It has one word on it: "Eat."" "Now, if you don't follow his orders," "Dr. McCoy could, and possibly would, have you hauled down to Sickbay and fed intravenously." " What's that?" " This?" ""A Survey on Cygnian Respiratory Diseases"?" "I thought you took Garrovick some food." "What were you doing with this?" "Applying psychology." "The creature is slowing." "It's down to warp 2." "Reduce speed." "Approach slowly." "I don't understand." "It was outrunning us." "Maybe it's decided to fight." " Phasers ready?" " Phasers show ready, sir." "Battle stations." "All decks to battle stations." "This is not a drill." "All decks to battle stations." "Scanner to Bridge." "It's coming to a full halt, sir." "Magnification 1." "Move in closely, Mr. Chekov." "Sublight one-quarter speed." "Captain, request permission to return to my post." "Within phaser range, sir." "Lock all phasers on target." " Locked on target." " Fire phasers, Mr. Chekov." "Phasers ineffectual, sir." "Photon torpedoes." "Minimum spread pattern." "Minimum pattern ready, sir." "Fire photon torpedoes." "There." "It's coming, sir." " Deflectors up." " Deflectors up, sir." " The deflectors will not stop it, captain." " That's impossible!" "I should have surmised this." "For the creature to be able to use gravity as a propulsive force, it would have to have this capacity." "Five seconds to contact." "All hatches and vents secure." "All lights on the board show green." "Sir!" "The Number 2 impulse Vent, we have a red light on it." "Captain, something's entered through the Number 2 impulse Vent." "Negative pressure in all ship's vents." "Alert all decks." "Report." "When it entered lmpulse Engine Number 2's vent, it attacked two crewmen, then got into the ventilating system, and now we have air for only two hours." " Bones." " One man has a chance for survival, the other is dead." "You can add that little price tag to your monster hunt." " That's enough, Bones." " It's not enough!" "You didn't care, as long as you could hang your trophy on the wall." "Well, it's not on it, captain." "It's in it." "Gentlemen, may I suggest we no longer belabour the question of whether or not we should have gone after the creature." "The matter has been rendered academic." "The creature is now after us." " "Creature," Mr. Spock?" " It turned and attacked, doctor." "Its method was well-considered and intelligent." "Yes, well, it could have been many light years away from us." "Instead it chose to turn and attack here." "Why?" "Impossible to tell, captain, until I can make a closer survey of the creature." "Scotty, try flushing the radioactive waste into the ventilation system." " See what effect that has." " Aye." "I'm sorry, Jim." "I was wrong." "Captain." "The creature's ability to throw itself out of time sync makes it possible for it to be elsewhere in the instant the phaser hits." "There is, therefore, no basis for your self-recrimination." "If you had fired on time and on target 11 years ago, it would have made no more difference than it did an hour ago." "Captain Garrovick would still be dead." "The fault was not yours, Jim." "In fact, there was no fault." "If you wanna play analyst, Spock, use someone else, not me." "My concern is with the ship and the crew." "Come in." "Ensign, am I correct in my assumption that you've been disturbed by what you consider to be a failure on your part?" "I would like you to consider that the hesitation for which you are blaming yourself is a hereditary trait of your species." "When suddenly faced by the unknown or imminent danger, a human will invariably experience a split second of indecision." "He hesitates." "Do I have your attention, ensign?" "Yes, sir." "I know you would prefer to wallow in a pool of emotion rather than..." "Mr. Spock, it's very kind of you to come here..." "Kindness, Mr. Garrovick, is another human emotion." "And I believe we have enough of that." "I simply would like you to accept the fact that your reaction has its basis in a physio..." "Do you smell something?" " Sir, it's coming through the vent." " Get out!" "I'll attempt to seal it off." "Sir, the creature's in my cabin." "It's got Mr. Spock." "On my way, Garrovick." "Security to 341." "Medical alert." "Scotty, reverse cabin pressure, 341." "Security, hold it." " Tricorder." " Jim, Spock may be dying." "If we let that thing into the ship, he'll have a lot of company." "I must have jammed the vent control when I hit it." "See if the reverse pressure has pulled it back into the ventilation system." "He saved my life, captain." "I should be lying dead in there, not him." "Fortunately, neither of us is dead, ensign." "The reverse pressure worked." "The vent is closed." "Don't misunderstand my next question." "Mr. Spock, why aren't you dead?" "It's that green blood of his." "My haemoglobin is based on copper, not iron." "I'll bet he left a bad taste in the creature's mouth too." "Colloquially expressed, but essentially correct." "Yes." "The scent is different." "I think I understand something now." "Do you believe you're in communication with the creature?" "I don't know what it is, Mr. Spock." "But you remember I said the thing was alive." "It may not be communication as we understand it, but I did know it was alive and intelligent." "And I think I know something else now." "Engineering to Captain Kirk." "Engineering to Captain Kirk." " Kirk here." " Scott, captain." "The creature's moving back toward the Number 2 impulse Vent." "The radioactive flushing may be affecting it." "Open the vent." "On my way to the Bridge." "Kirk out." " Ensign Garrovick." " Yes, sir." "You were on the Bridge when we were attacked." "Yes, I'm sorry, sir." "I know I was confined to quarters..." "Very commendable, ensign." "What was your impression of the battle?" " I don't understand, sir." " I'm asking for your military appraisal." "The techniques used against the creature." "Ineffective, captain." "I realise, captain, you did everything you could do." "I know that." "It's just nothing works against a monster that can do the things that thing does." "And, ensign, what is your appraisal of your conduct on the planet?" " I delayed firing." " And if you hadn't delayed firing?" "No difference, ensign." "No weapon known would have made any difference." "Then or 11 years ago." "Report for duty, ensign." "Yes, captain." "Thank you, sir." " Report, Mr. Chekov." " Results positive, captain." "The creature has left the ship at high warp speed and is already nearly out of scanner range." "The way that thing can move, captain." " I wouldn't believe it." " Direction, Mr. Spock?" "It was bearing 1-2-7, mark 9, but I have lost it now." "Mr. Scott, I'll need all the speed you can deliver." "Keep at it until we begin to shake apart." "Kirk out." "I believe I know where it's going." "It has changed course before to mislead us, captain." " Logic would dictate..." " No, I'm playing intuition." "Mr. Chekov, compute a course for the Tycho star system." " Computed and on the board, sir." " Ahead full." "Ahead full, sir." "Lieutenant Uhura, contact Starfleet and the USS Yorktown." "Frequency open and clear, sir." "Inform them that we are pursuing the creature to Planet IV of that system." "That's the location of its attack on the USS Farragut 11 years ago." "I do not understand, captain." "In Garrovick's quarters, I said the scent of the creature was different." "Something in my mind said "home."" "And do you know where home is, captain?" "Yes, I think I do." "I don't know how I know, but home is where it fought a starship once before." "Give them our tactical situation." "Inform them I'm committing this vessel to the destruction of the creature." "We will rendezvous..." "Roundtrip time, Mr. Chekov?" "1.7 days, sir." "We will rendezvous with the USS Yorktown in 48 hours." "I assume you now believe we should pursue the creature and destroy it." " Precisely." " You don't agree with Mr. Spock?" "It's the time factor that bothers me." "Those drugs are perishable." "Doctor, evidence indicates the creature is here to spawn." "If so, it will reproduce by fission, not just into two parts," " but thousands." " Antimatter seems our only possibility." "An ounce should be sufficient." "We can drain it from the ship's engines, transport it to the planet's surface in a magnetic vacuum field." "Contact medical stores." "I want as much hemoplasm as they can spare in the Transporter Room in 15 minutes." "Yes, sir." "I presume you intend to use the hemoplasm to attract the creature." "We must get it to the antimatter." "It seems attracted to red blood cells." "What better bait could we have?" "There is still one problem, captain." " The blast, yes." " Exactly." "A matter-antimatter blast will rip away half the planet's atmosphere." "If our vessel is in orbit and encounters those shock waves..." "A chance we'll have to take, Mr. Spock." "We cannot be certain the transporter will operate under those conditions." "If a man is beaming up when that hits, we may lose him." "That's exactly why I've decided to set the trap myself." "Captain, there is so little haemoglobin in my green blood, the creature could not harm me extensively." "It therefore seems logical for me to be the one..." "Negative, Mr. Spock." "In case this plan fails, I'll need you aboard the ship." "In that event, we'll need another plan." "It will require two men to transport the antimatter unit." "I'd like permission to go with you, sir." "I had you in mind, Mr. Garrovick." " Kirk to Enterprise." " Spock here, captain." "Proceed immediately to maximum orbit." "Acknowledged." "Just think, captain, less than one ounce of antimatter here is more powerful than 10,000 cobalt bombs." "Let's hope it's as powerful as man will ever get." " Detonator." " Aye, sir." "Kirk to Enterprise." "Spock here, captain." "Holding at 30,000 kilometres." "Antimatter container positioned and armed." "I'll call you back when it's baited." "Kirk out." "Captain, look!" "The hemoplasm." "The bait's already taken." "We'll have to use something else for bait." "Sir, that thing only feeds on blood." "Garrovick, get back to the ship." "Tell them to prepare to detonate." "Captain, you're not gonna be the bait." "I said, get back to the ship." " Ensign, I gave you an order." " Yes, sir." "Consider yourself on report." "This is no time for heroics." "I have no intention of sacrificing myself." "At least, not yet." "Spock?" "Spock?" "Spock here." "Scan us and lock onto us." "It's going to be close." "Very, very close." "Stand by." "Stand by, Enterprise." "I can smell it, captain." "It's sickly." "Honey-sweet." "Stand by, Enterprise." "Now!" "Energize and detonate!" "Reset." "Energize." "All decks, stand by." "Shock waves!" " Do something." " We are, doctor." "Cross-circuiting to A." "Got them." "A piece of them, anyway." "Cross-circuiting to B." "Crazy way to travel." "Spreading a man's molecules all over the universe." "Captain." "Thank heaven." "Mr. Scott, there was no deity involved." "It was my cross-circuiting to B that recovered them." "Well, then, thank pitchforks and pointed ears." "As long as it worked, Jim." "That's a fair statement, Bones." "Now that the creature is dead, let's save some lives." "We'll deliver your medicine." " Bridge, this is Kirk." " Uhura here." "Have Mr. Chekov lay a course for rendezvous with the Yorktown." " Maximum warp." " Aye, sir." "Oh, ensign." "Meet me in my quarters when you've cleaned up." "I'd like to talk to you about your father." "Several tall stories I think you'd like to hear." " Thank you, sir." "I would."