" Captain." " What is it, Webb?" "A blip, sir." "Just came on the screen." "How do you read it?" "Aircraft of some sort." "By the size of it and the speed, it's not one of ours, sir." "It doesn't even read like anything I've ever seen." " What was the approach?" " None, sir." "It was just there, like it fell out of the sky or something." "Current position?" "Directly over the Omaha installation, sir." "Holding there." "Watch the scope, Webb." "Air Defence will wanna send somebody up to get a closer look." "I think we have a real UFO on our hands." "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 3113.2." "We were en route to Starbase 9 for resupply when a black star of high gravitational attraction began to drag us toward it." "It required all warp power in reverse to pull us away from the star." "But, like snapping a rubber band, the breakaway sent us plunging through space, out of control, to stop here, wherever we are." " Mr. Spock?" " Except for secondary systems, everything is out, sir." "We're on impulse power only." "Auxiliaries?" "If Mr. Scott is still with us, auxiliaries should be on momentarily." "Are you all right, lieutenant?" "Mr. Scott is still with us." "This is the captain." "Damage-control parties on all decks, check in." "All departments, tie in with the record computer." "Report casualties and operational readiness to the first officer." "Kirk out." "Lieutenant Uhura contact Starfleet Control." "I want them alerted to the position of that black star" " in the area of Starbase 9." " Yes, sir." "Captain, casualty reports indicate only minor injuries." "Engineering reports warp engines non-operational." "Mr. Scott overrode the automatic helm setting and is holding us in orbit on impulse power." " Orbit where, Mr. Spock?" " Earth, captain." "We were on a general course in this direction when we were pulled in by the star." "Apparently, the breakaway threw us on in the same direction." "Screen on." "We are too low in the atmosphere to retain this orbit, captain." "Engineering reports we have sufficient impulse power" " to achieve escape velocity." " Give us some altitude, Mr. Sulu." "Yes, sir." "Helm answering." " She's sluggish, sir." " Captain, normal Starfleet channel has nothing on it but static." "I'm getting something on another frequency, but it's not Starfleet." "Put it on audio." "This is the 5:30 news summary, Cape Kennedy." "The first manned moonshot is scheduled for Wednesday, 6 a.m. Eastern Standard Time." "All three astronauts who are to make this historic..." "Manned moonshot?" "That was in the late 1960s." "Apparently, captain, so are we." "What?" "Whiplash propelled us into a time warp, captain, backward." "Exact chronometer readings in a few moments." "Captain I'm getting ground-to-air transmission." "Verified." "Scanners report some type of craft approaching from below us under cloud cover and closing." "Blue Jay Four, this is Blackjack." "We're tracking both you and the UFO." "I have him on my screen." "Following." "Mr. Sulu, can you gain altitude faster?" "I want to outdistance them." "Picking up, sir, but she's just slow in responding." "Blackjack, this is Blue Jay Four." "UFO is picking up speed and climbing." "I'm going in closer." "Blue Jay Four, you should be close enough for visual contact." "I can see it now." "Whatever this thing is, it's big." "Two cylindrical projections on top, one below." "Purpose undetermined." "We have two flights scrambled and on the way." "They should rendezvous in your sector in two minutes." "Won't be here." "The UFO is climbing away fast." "Blue Jay Four, you are ordered to close on the UFO and attempt to force him to land." "We want it brought down or at least disabled until the other planes arrive." "Acknowledged." "Closing on target." "Positive identification, captain." "Aircraft is an interceptor equipped with missiles, possibly armed with nuclear warheads." "If he hits us with one, he might damage us severely." "Perhaps beyond our capacity to repair under current circumstances." "Scotty, activate tractor beam." "Lock onto that aircraft and hold it out there." "Captain, this type of aircraft might be too fragile" " to take our tractor beam." " Tractor beam on, sir." "We have the target." "Aircraft is breaking up, captain." "Transporter Room, can you lock onto the cockpit of that aircraft?" "Scanning area, sir." "Try and beam that pilot aboard." "Take over, Mr. Spock." "Welcome aboard the Enterprise." " You speak English." " That's right." " You can step off the transporter..." " Captain John Christopher," "United States Air Force, serial number 4857932." "Relax, captain." "You're among friends." "I'm Captain James T. Kirk." "What's going on here?" "Where am I?" "What happened?" "You people, who are you?" "All in good time, captain." "Meanwhile let me apologize for bringing you aboard the ship so abruptly, but it couldn't be helped." "I didn't know that your craft couldn't stand up to our tractor beam..." "Don't give me any double talk." "Just tell me who you are." "We'll tell you what we decide to tell you in a few moments." "In the meantime, relax." "You're our guest." "I have a feeling you'll find it interesting." " Bridge to Captain Kirk." " Kirk here." "What is it, Mr. Spock?" "The aircraft has completely broken up, captain." " Shall we turn off the tractor beam?" " Affirmative." "We have the pilot aboard." "I'll be right up." "Kirk out." "Follow me." " Good morning, captain." " Good morning." "Captain." " A woman?" " Crewman." "Bridge." "Must have taken quite a lot to build a ship like this." "There are only 12 like it in the fleet." "I see." " Did the Navy..?" " We're a combined service, captain." "Our authority is the United Earth Space Probe Agency." "United Earth?" "This is very difficult to explain." "We're from your future." "A time warp placed us here." " It was an accident." " You seem to have a lot of them." "However, I can't deny the fact that you are here, with this ship." "I never have believed in little green men." "Neither have I." "Captain Christopher, this is my first officer, Lieutenant Commander Spock." "Captain." "Feel free to look around, captain." "Don't touch anything, but I think you'll find it interesting." ""Interesting" is a word and a half for it, captain." "We've achieved a stable orbit out of Earth's atmosphere." "Our deflectors are operative, enough to prevent our being picked up again as a UFO." "And Mr. Scott wishes to speak to you about the engines." "Very well, Mr. Spock." "Anything else on your mind?" "Captain Christopher." "What about him?" "We cannot return him to Earth, captain." "He already knows too much about us and is learning more." "I do not specifically refer to Captain Christopher, but suppose an unscrupulous man were to gain certain knowledge of man's future." "Such a man could manipulate key industries, stocks and even nations, and in so doing, change what must be." "And if it is changed, captain, you and I and all that we know might not even exist." "Your logic can be most annoying." "That flight suit must be uncomfortable." "Why don't you have the quartermaster issue him something more suitable." "And then I'll want to meet you and him in my quarters." "Yes, sir." "Computer on." "Record." "Recording." "Come." "Captain's log, supplemental." "Engineering Officer Scott informs warp engines damaged, but can be made operational and re-energized." "Computed and recorded, dear." "Computer, you will not address me in that manner." "Compute." "Computed, dear." "Mr. Spock, I ordered this computer and its interlinking systems repaired." "I have investigated it, captain." "To correct the fault will require an overhaul of the entire computer system, a minimum of three weeks at a starbase." "I wouldn't mind so much if only it didn't get so affectionate." "It also has an unfortunate tendency to giggle." "I take it that a lady computer is not routine?" "We put it in at Cygnet XIV for general repair and maintenance." "Cygnet XIV is a planet dominated by women." "They seem to feel the ship's computer system lacked a personality." "They gave it one." "Female, of course." "Well, you people certainly have interesting problems." "I'd love to stay around to see how your girlfriend works out, but..." "I'm afraid you'll have to." "We can't send you back." "Can't?" "Spock here told me that your transporter can beam down an object even from an orbit this high." "It's not the transporter, it's you." "You know what the future looks like." "If anybody else finds out, they could change the course of it, destroy it." "Well, then my disappearance would change something too." "I have run a computer check on all historical tapes." "They show no record of any relevant contribution by John Christopher." "Look, captain, I don't buy all of your "time accident" story." "Now, the experts can figure out who you are, what you are." "It's my duty to report what I've seen." "Well, what would you do?" "I'd report if I could." "We can't take the risk." "I don't want to know about risks." "I have a wife, two children." "What about them?" "I'm sorry." "Engine Room to Captain Kirk." "Kirk here." "What is it, Scotty?" "Progress report, sir." "Everything's jury-rigged, but we're coming along with the repairs." "We should be able to re-energize in about four hours, but..." " But what, Scotty?" " Well, sir, as I say the engines are being repaired but we've no place to go in this time." "If you..." "If you see what I mean." "Sir?" "Yes, Scotty." "Carry on." "Too bad, captain." "Maybe I can't go home, but neither can you." "You're as much a prisoner in time as I am." "Captain's log, stardate 3113.7." "Our engines are being repaired, but we are still locked in time, and we have aboard a passenger whom we do not want and we cannot return." "Recommendation for his disposition, dear." "Maintenance note." "My recording computer has a serious malfunction." "Recommend it either be corrected or scrapped." "Compute." "Computed." "Bridge to Captain Kirk." " Kirk here." " Have some new information regarding Captain Christopher." "Important I see you both immediately." "Yes, Mr. Spock." "Report to my quarters." " I'll contact Captain Christopher." " Yes, sir." "Bridge out." "Captain Christopher." "Captain Christopher." " Security, this is the captain." " Security chief here, sir." "All decks alert." "Captain Christopher is not in his assigned quarters." "He may be trying to escape." "I want a man outside the Transporter Room immediately." "I'm heading there myself." "All right, nice and easy." "Now, I'm gonna step into that thing, and you're gonna transport me back to Earth." "Well, Jim, with the exception of a slight bruise or two, our captain is as healthy as a proverbial horse." " He'll be coming out of it in a minute." " He tried to escape." "I know how he feels, but I can't send him back with what he knows." "Jim, what if we can't go back?" "What do we do, sit up here and wait for our supplies to run out, our power to die?" "It has to eventually, you know, and we certainly can't go back to Earth." "That would be worse than the captain being returned." "There are 430 of us." "Now, that means 430 chances of altering the future." "Yes." " We're not in that position yet." " I'm glad to hear it." "And if we do get back to where we belong, then he won't belong." "We're roughly about the same age, but in our society, he'd be useless, archaic." "But maybe he could be retrained, re-educated." "Now you're sounding like Spock." "If you're gonna get nasty, I'm gonna leave." "Could he be retrained to forget his family, his children?" "The answer to that is no." " You all right?" " Yeah." "I see physical training is required in your service too." "Crude methods, but effective." " What does he mean by that?" " It's just a joke, captain." "You said you had some additional information, Mr. Spock?" "I made an error in my computations." "This could be an historic occasion." "I find that we must return Captain Christopher to Earth after all." "Why?" "You said I made no relative contribution." "A poor choice of words on my part." "I neglected, in my initial run-through, to correlate the possible contributions by offspring." "I find, after running a crosscheck on that factor, that your son, Colonel Shaun Geoffrey Christopher, headed, or will head, the first successful Earth-Saturn probe," " which is a rather significant..." " Wait a minute." "I don't have a son." "You mean, yet." "The doctor is correct." "Unless we return Captain Christopher to Earth, there will be no Colonel Shaun Geoffrey Christopher to go to Saturn." "Well, that's it, isn't it." "We'll have to find some way of..." "A boy." "I'm going to have a son." "Acknowledging that we must return Captain Christopher, there are several problems prime of which is the explanation of his return." "We tracked his plane wreckage down after our tractor beam crushed it." "It crashed in an open section of southern Nebraska." "That means those search parties will be crawling all over that wreckage." "And Captain Christopher himself complicated the matter." "When I made visual contact, I turned on my wing cameras, and I got close enough to take some pretty clear pictures of you." "Air Defense Command will be processing that film fast." "And ADC Control was probably recording my radio transmissions." "If I remember my history, these things were being dismissed as weather balloons, sundogs, explainable things, at least publicly." "Captain, our tractor beam caught and crushed an Air Force plane." "It'll be impossible to explain us as anything other than a genuine UFO, possibly alien, definitely destructive." "What about our problem, Mr. Spock?" "Any ideas on how to get us back to our own time?" "A theory." "A reverse application of what happened to us." "Logically, it could work." "Also, logically, there are a hundred variables, any one of which could put us in a worse position than we're in now." "We're gonna have to go back and get those reports and photos." "If the captain feels duty-bound to report what he saw, there won't be any evidence to back him up." "That makes me out to be either a liar or a fool." " Perhaps." " Not at all." "You'll simply be one of the thousands who thought he saw a UFO." "Captain, I know that base." "I was stationed there a year ago." " I'd like to..." " No, captain." "Thank you, but if anything should go wrong, you might get hurt." "We couldn't risk that." "Neither can you or your son." "Well, I'd like to help." "I can sketch a layout of the place for you." "Show you where the records section and the photo lab are." "Primitive computer." "I've seen them demonstrated in museums." "Me too." "And if this one's like those, it'll make the devil's own noise" " if you start it." " I don't intend to start it." "How long have they been down there now?" "Fifteen minutes, 28 seconds." "Well, shouldn't they be coming up?" "It is a fact, doctor, that prowling by stealth is more time-consuming than a direct approach." "In our case..." "Shouldn't you be working on your time-warp calculations, Mr. Spock?" "I am." "Hold it." "Get your hands up." "Now, one at a time, hand me those belts." "And the bag." "It's been too long." "Jim should've at least signalled by now." "You may be correct, doctor." "Open communicator channel." "What was that?" " What was what?" " That noise." "I didn't hear anything." "That noise." "It's coming from one of these things." "The emergency signal." " Stay right where you are." " One emergency signal, sir." "Beam up, immediately." " Only one signal." "What happened?" " We'll know in a moment, doctor." "Kirk to Enterprise." "Spock here." "Are you all right, captain?" "Yes, I'm all right." "But as you can see, we have another problem." "Captain's log, stardate 3113.9." "First Officer Spock recording." "Due to an unfortunate accident, we have taken aboard another unwanted passenger." "Your surprise package is an air police sergeant from the base." "Keep him in the Transporter Room." "No sense in letting him see more of the ship than necessary." "I don't believe there'll be any trouble in that respect, captain." "Our guest seems quite satisfied to remain where he is." "All right, Kirk out." "What was the chronometer reading when we first sighted Christopher's jet?" "Five-thirty in that time zone, maybe a little after." "That would put it at the end of these tapes." "We've got them all." "We'll try the darkroom." "Photo lab." "That's it." "That's all of them." "Signal Mr. Spock that we're almost ready to beam up." "I'll make a check of the files just in case." "Yes, sir." " All right, where's the other one?" " What other one?" "Your partner." "I saw you looking that way," " and I saw somebody move in there." " Oh, no, no." "Just me." "Besides, could anyone get out of here without your seeing them?" "No." "Nobody should've been able to." "Your decision to beam up was quite correct, Mr. Sulu." "Engine Room to Mr. Spock." "Spock here." "We've completed re-energizing the warp engines, sir." " We can refire them any time." " Do so now, engineer." "We'll need all the power to test our theory." "Aye, sir." "Engine Room out." "Poor photography." "Blast your theories and observations, Mr. Spock." "What about Jim?" "He's down there alone, probably under arrest." "He doesn't have a communicator, and we can't locate him or beam him back aboard without one." "I am aware of that, doctor." "This is the first officer." "Captain Christopher to the Briefing Room." "Now, look, mister." "You and I had better start communicating." "I want to know how you got in here." "Now, that's a simple question." "Give me a simple answer." "Nobody saw you." "You got all the way inside here without tripping any alarm." " How did you do it?" " Believe me, colonel you wouldn't believe me." " Now, don't try to be funny." "How did you get in?" "I popped in out of thin air." "You seem to think this is some kind of a game." "No, colonel, I know it's no game." "All right, what did you say your name was?" "For the fourth time, my name is James T. Kirk." "And how did you get inside a top-security installation, James T. Kirk?" "I've told you, you wouldn't believe me." "Colonel, would you mind being careful with that?" "That worries you a little bit, huh?" "What is it, a radio?" " Transmitter of some kind?" " Of some kind." "You can be more specific than that, Kirk." "I don't like mysteries." "You don't stop being careless with that, and you'll have one." "A big one." "I'll have it disassembled and examined." "We are not dummies, mister." "We know how to find out things we want to know." "What is that?" "Is that a uniform of some kind?" "This little thing?" "Something I slipped on." "Kirk, maybe you don't realize how serious this is." "Sabotage of a government installation..." " Did I sabotage something?" " No." "We stopped you in time." "But what would you have done if we hadn't found you?" "Believe me, colonel, nothing at all." "Is that what you're here for?" "Nothing at all?" "That's what would've happened if you hadn't interfered." "All right, Kirk, maybe this will make you laugh." "Sabotage, espionage, unauthorized entry, burglary." "How are those for starters?" "And I can think up lots more" " if you don't start talking." " All right, colonel." "The truth is, I'm a little green man from Alpha Centauri, a beautiful place." "You ought to see it." "I am going to lock you up for 200 years." "That ought to be just about right." "He's probably being held in Security Section." "Even if they've notified the authorities, it'll take a little time for someone to get there." "Quite logical, captain." "Can you give us the coordinates to beam down a landing party near those interrogation rooms?" "Yes." "But you're not going to get them unless you take me with you." " I can't do that, captain." " If something went wrong..." "Something's already gone wrong." "Of course, you could beam down anywhere inside that base, but it would take time to find him." "Mr. Sulu, you and Captain Christopher will beam down with me." "The captain will provide the coordinates for the transporter chief." " Shall I issue phasers?" " One for you, one for me." " Set them on heavy stun force." " Yes, sir." "You don't trust me, Spock." "In fact, I do." "But only to a certain point." "Energize." "Do they do that all the time?" "Are you hungry?" "What would you like?" "Maybe some chicken soup." "It is." "Just a minute, sir." "Hold it." "See what that is, airman." "Don't you find that painful, captain?" "Yes, I do." "What's he doing here?" "He knew the beam-down coordinates for this section of the base." " It was necessary to bring him along." " I see." "Well, no harm done." "Mr. Sulu." "Did you have a chance to check out those tapes?" "Mr. Spock ran them through our computers." "They were the right ones." "We got them all." " They know you've been here." " All they have is a mystery and no answers." "Mr. Sulu, signal the transporter chief." " Four to beam up." " Aye, sir." "Not me." "Don't be a fool." " You know what's at stake." " You bet I do." "My family, a son that isn't born yet." "You don't have to return me now, captain." " Spock, come out of there." " You can't explain your presence" " on the base." " I told you, it's my duty to report everything I've seen." "That's explanation enough." " Spock!" " You'll go home, Christopher but you'll do it our way." "Over my dead body." "I suspected he might not wish to return with us." " Four to beam up, Mr. Sulu." " Yes, sir." "Captain's log, stardate 3114.1." "We must make an attempt to break free of this time or we and our reluctant passengers will remain its prisoners." "All we have is a theory and a few facts." "Mr. Scott and I both agree that the only possible solution is a slingshot effect like the one that put us here." "My computations indicate that if we fly toward the sun, seek out its magnetic attraction, then pull away at full power, the whiplash will propel us into another time warp." "Slingshot effects are fine for you people." "How do you propose to return the sergeant and me?" "Logically, as we move faster and faster toward the sun, we'll begin to move backward in time." "We'll actually go back beyond yesterday." "Beyond the point when we first appeared in the sky." "Then breaking free will shoot us forward in time, and we'll transport you back at a point before any of this happened." "You won't have anything to remember because it never will have happened." " What if you can't pull free of the sun?" " Oh, we'll do that all right, captain." "We'll not be getting so close that my engines couldn't pull us out." "What I am worried about, sir, is that we may not have much control" " when we're thrown forward again." " Helm control?" "Braking control, sir." "If I can't stop us soon enough, we may overshoot our time." "And if I stop the engines suddenly, the strain may tear us apart." "Any way we do it, it means a mighty rough ride." "Well, gentlemen, we all have to take a chance especially if one is all you have." "Assume your stations." " Ahead warp factor 3, Mr. Sulu." " Warp factor 3, sir." "I never thought I'd make it into space." "I was in line to be chosen for the space program but I didn't qualify." " Take a good look around, captain." "You made it here ahead of all of them." "Sir, our speed is increasing." "We're travelling at more than warp 8." " Mr. Spock?" " Since we've passed Mercury, the sun's pull on us has increased greatly." "From here, we'll move even faster." "And, captain, notice the chronometers." "They've started backward." "Minute by minute, the speed of time passage will now increase." "Get your gear and report to the Transporter Room." "And Captain Christopher, you only have about 15 years, so you better hurry." "Approaching breakaway point." "On the countdown." "Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two," " one." " Now, Mr. Sulu." "More power, Mr. Sulu." "It's maximum now, sir." "She's fighting it." "We confirm, gravity is down to 0. 8." " We've broken free and heading back." " Gaining speed now, captain." "We're now at warp 4." "Warp 7." "Eight." " Off the dial, sir." " Chronometers moving" " forward again, captain." " You have the chronometer reading and the coordinates to return Captain Christopher and the guard?" "Computed." "Bridge to Transporter Room." "Captain Christopher?" "This is Christopher." "We're coming up on Earth fast, captain." "Are you ready?" "Everything A-okay." "Captain, thanks for the look ahead." "Our pleasure, captain." "Bridge out." "Twenty minutes, sir." "It'll be close." "Bridge to Transporter Room." "Prepare to energize." "Ten minutes." "Nine, eight, seven, six, five," " four, three, two, one." " Energize." "You should be close enough for visual contact." "Blue Jay Four, can you see it?" "What is it?" "Blue Jay Four, come in." "We've lost the image." "Blackjack, this is Blue Jay Four." "I could've sworn there was some kind of ship, but nothing could've moved that fast." "We don't track mirages." "Mark it down as another UFO." "Blue Jay Four returning to base." "Out." "Approaching second beaming, captain." "Bridge to Transporter Room, prepare to energize." " Now." " Energize." "Passed Pluto, sir." " What's our reading, Mr. Spock?" " Approaching our century, captain." "Braking should begin... now." "Bridge to Engineering, begin full braking power." "Pulling away from the sun weakened them, sir." " They may blow apart if I reverse." " No choice, Mr. Scott." "Aye, sir." " Fifty years to go." " Engines cutting back, sir." " No decrease in speed." " Forty." " Thirty." " Never mind, Mr. Spock." "The engines." "Engineer to bridge." "Engines are on full reverse." "They're buckling." "Bridge!" "Mr. Scott is still with us." " Captain." " Starfleet Control calling Enterprise." " Come in, Enterprise." " Open a channel, Uhura." "Frequency open, sir." "Starfleet Control, this is the Enterprise," " Captain Kirk speaking." " Record ship arrival, dear." "Enterprise, this is Starfleet Control." " Come in, please." " Starfleet Control, repeating message." "The Enterprise is home." "Kirk out."