"Space, the final frontier." "These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise." "Its five-year mission:" "to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilisations, to boldly go where no man has gone before." "Captain's Log, Stardate 5275.6." "Preparing to beam aboard the Enterprise, following the successful completion of delivery of medical supplies to the planet Dramia, in the remote Dramian Star System." "We, of Dramia, wish to thank you and the others of your Federation, for your invaluable assistance, Captain Kirk." "We hope, through our medical assistance programs, to develop and strengthen relations with star systems such as yours, Supreme Prefect." "Well, shall we?" "Kirk to Enterprise." "Beam us aboard, Scotty." "lf you would be so kind, Captain..." "Belay that, Mr Scott." "Yes, sir?" "Commander Demos?" "I have here a warrant for the arrest and trial of one of your party, Captain." "Warrant?" "Who?" "Read it, Captain." ""You are hereby directed to surrender for trial by the people of Dramia," ""Dr Leonard McCoy, Medical Officer, U.S.S. Enterprise."" "is this some kind of joke?" "The wanton slaughter of hundreds of people is not a joke, Captain." "Slaughter?" "Hundreds of people?" "According to this, Dr McCoy was responsible for a plague which ravaged the planet Dramia ll some 19 years ago, Captain." "Let me see that." "As you will note, Captain, the warrant is perfectly in order, approved by your own Federation." "Dr McCoy arrested?" "For murder, Captain?" "Sir, if you want me and some of the men to beam down," "just in case..." "No, Mr Scott." "The warrant's legal." "Mr Spock and I are at the Hall of Justice." "We'll keep you informed." "Your Dr McCoy headed a mass inoculation program on Dramia ll, 19 years ago." "When his force left, a massive plague struck the planet, killing most of its people." "That doesn't mean he was responsible for it." "His trial will tell, Captain." "Trial?" "You mean kangaroo court!" "I've heard about Dramian justice." "Captain, you're becoming emotional." "Of course I am!" "Bones harming other beings." "You know better, Spock." "I know better." "Not Bones." "I wish I could be as sure, Jim." "I..." "I just don't know." "ls it possible that I really did?" "Nonsense!" "The termination of your inoculation program and the subsequent outbreak of plague could have been coincidence, Doctor." "Or a tragic mistake on my part." "l don't buy that, Bones." "Guard!" "What now, Captain?" "Some pre-trial investigation, Mr Spock." "On Dramia ll." "Do not be assured by your friends' plans." "Dramian justice is swift, too swift for them to save you, perhaps." "Anything yet, Mr Spock?" "No, Captain." "The historical records of this solar system are spotty, at best, going back 19 years." "Mostly, they're technical data, meteor showers, auroras, radiation reports." "There it is." ""Plague, Dramia ll." ""Of unknown origin, characterised by pigmentation changes" ""in skin of victim, debilitation, death." ""Certain species known to have natural immunity, notably, Vulcan."" "Interesting." "Go on, Mr Spock." "You are sure?" "Yes, Commander." "The Earth captain is planning to visit Dramia ll," "to investigate the case." "Ready a patrol ship!" "Captain's Log, Stardate 5275.8." "Underway for planet Dramia ll, for investigation of McCoy case." "We are beyond subspace communications with Starfleet." "Am proceeding under my own authority." "Estimated time of arrival, Mr Sulu?" "Approximately four hours, Captain." "lncrease to warp 6, Mr Scott." "We may be racing against time," "if I know Dramian justice methods." "Aye, aye, Captain!" "Ship in pursuit, Captain." "Origin?" "I'd say Dramia, sir." "It appears to be a one-man craft." "Shall I make contact, sir?" "Yes." "Belay that, Lieutenant." "You're planning something, Captain?" "Unless I miss my guess, that's friend Demos." "What if he attacks, sir?" "Why should he?" "We haven't contacted him, so we must not have detected him." "He'd have to explain an attack." "Besides, he'll probably prefer to sneak aboard, seeing that we carelessly left the hangar doors open." "But the hangar doors aren't open, Captain." "Ah, yes." "Take care of that oversight, will you, Mr Sulu?" "Now, now, Demos." "You're hardly in a position to take on an entire crew." "And you are not in authority to conduct an investigation in our star system." "You will remind me to report my conduct to the Federation," "won't you, Mr Spock?" "Of course, Captain." "I demand that you report to the Federation now!" "I would, but unfortunately we're out of communications range." "Then I will proceed to your starbase and report your act." "Sorry, Commander." "Your ship is impounded." "You are a stowaway, Commander." "l have been tricked!" "Captain's Log, Stardate 5275.9." "We are approaching Dramia ll, where we hope to find the answers concerning the question of Dr McCoy's guilt or innocence." "Situation normal." "Aurora reported in the sector, however." "Radiation level, Mr Sulu?" "lntense, Captain." "Decidedly non-lethal, however." "Good." "Then it's safe for us to beam down to Dramia ll." "Shall we, gentlemen?" "You're sure it's safe, Captain?" "Absolutely." "Decidedly." "There's a difference, Captain." "Now, now, Mr Spock, you're not trying to scare our Dramian friend, are you?" "Of course, you can back out if you'd like, Commander." "l go." "You heard the man, Mr Scott." "Not the most enchanting place I've ever been to." "Plagues seldom leave behind fields of flowers, Captain." "Trouble?" "They do not like outsiders." "Surely you're not an outsider, Commander." "You're Dramian." "The distinction here is between the world of the living and the world of the walking dead." "inhospitable or not, he mustn't get away!" "Wait!" "He disappeared!" "It's almost as if he dematerialised." "Not likely, Captain." "I would advise against that, Captain." "I'm sure you won't mind if I ignore your advice." "Caution would seem to be advisable, Captain." "Bones' life is on the line, Mr Spock." "Cave dwellers?" "In the midst of your civilisation?" "A result of your Dr McCoy and his inhumane methods." "You say it, Demos, but that doesn't..." "He attacked you because you are an Earthling, Captain, even as was McCoy." "But how did he survive the plague?" "He, like the others who remain here, was away at the time." "They returned to their planet to find that their families had succumbed to the plague." "He and a few others, senseless in their grief, chose to live here, in desolation." "You see, Captain, there were no actual survivors." "You are wrong, there was a survivor." "I, Kol-Tai, survived." "By what miracle, I do not know." "Then you can tell us." "Do you remember?" "I remember people all about me, becoming blue in colour, then green and finally red." "The pigmentation changes associated with the disease in our computer records, Captain." "Kol-Tai." "Dr McCoy, do you remember him?" "The Earth doctor." "He saved my life." "He treated me for Saurian virus." "A man who saves does not also kill, Commander." "Beam us aboard, Mr Scott." "Quickly." "Aye, aye, sir." "Let's get underway for Dramia." "Sir, who is that?" "Meet Kol-Tai, Mr Scott." "A friend of Dr McCoy's." "Warp 6, Scotty." "I'll pour on the coal, Captain." "Mr Spock?" "Yes, Captain?" "How's our number one passenger doing?" "Clean, fed, in good health, and resting." "Good." "We want him to be a sterling witness." "Approaching Dramia, Captain." "Let's hope the trial hasn't started." "Captain." "Yes, Mr Spock, what is it?" "The trial may be academic." "Academic?" "Yes, Captain." "Kol-Tai is turning blue." "The plague!" "Set up an immediate quarantine, Lieutenant." "He's hardly fit to testify at the trial, Captain." "We've got to save him!" "For McCoy's sake." "Yes, for McCoy's sake." "And for Kol-Tai's sake, too." "You see, Commander, we do place a value on life, all life!" "Does that shock you, Commander?" "lt is not that. lt is..." "Captain, you're blue." "Mr Spock, take command." "Captain's Log, Stardate 5276.4." "We are in orbit around the planet Dramia, under the conditions of general quarantine." "As Commanding Officer, I have ordered the activation of General Order 6." "General Order 6 has been activated?" "Yes, sir." "If everyone on board has perished at the end of 24 hours, the ship will self-destruct" "in order to protect other beings from the disease on board." "Good." "Report to Sickbay, Mr Sulu." "But, sir, who will monitor?" "I assure you I am capable, Mr Sulu." "Mr Spock..." "Captain, your condition." "We have to get McCoy." "Must find an antidote." "This is the Enterprise." "I must speak with the Supreme Prefect." "Why do you speak, and not your Captain?" "The Captain and all of the crew members are incapacitated." "The plague is aboard the Enterprise." "Demos?" "The same." "You must release Dr McCoy temporarily." "He is needed to find an antidote." "No." "We have a witness in McCoy's behalf." "You must trust me." "Let the witness speak." "lmpossible." "He, too, is stricken." "Demos cannot speak, the witness cannot speak." "Yet you wish us to release the prisoner, McCoy." "Your treachery is transparent, Vulcan." "Got to get McCoy." "lf you'll permit me, Captain," "l might be able to get McCoy." "Spock, you're sure... I can't infect the planet, Captain." "And I can get McCoy." "Spock!" "What in the world..." "Later, Doctor." "Spock, have you and Jim gone out of your minds?" "Why, this is a jailbreak!" "Doctor, just come with me, please." "No, Spock!" "It's illegal, that's what it is!" "Besides, I must stand trial." "I have to find out." "Doctor, you will stand trial, you will find out, after you've found an antidote for the plague which is about to kill everyone aboard the Enterprise." "Plague?" "Why didn't you tell me?" "You wouldn't give me a chance." "You realise, Doctor, if you go, and fail to find an antidote, you, too, will die." "I'm a doctor, Spock, a doctor!" "Get us beamed aboard!" "Beam us aboard, Captain." "Jim!" "Anything, Spock?" "Negative, Doctor." "The file on all known diseases doesn't recognise these symptoms of pigmentation changes." "Blast it, Spock, work harder!" "They're in the terminal stage." "My readings keep shifting." "It must be the activity of that blasted aurora!" "Bones, that's it." "Aurora, changing colour." "Jim?" "Aurora?" "What..." "Spock, feed in the data" "That's it, Doctor." "The colour change symptoms were misleading the computer." "Because they were caused by the aurora!" "Spock, there was an aurora 19 years ago. I remember..." "Which brought on the particular plague, just as this aurora has brought it on." "I didn't do it!" "Spock, the disease, what is it?" "What's the antidote?" "That's the problem, Doctor." "There is no known antidote." "However, Doctor, do you remember a certain Kol-Tai?" "A man you treated for Saurian virus?" "Yes, I think I do." "But what has that got to do with anything?" "Possibly nothing." "However, Kol-Tai did survive the first plague." "Spock, I see what you mean!" "Saurian virus antibodies in his blood, that's what made him immune." "I presume, Doctor, that you have a supply of live Saurian virus antibodies in your laboratory?" "Bones, you did it!" "Again." "Thank you, Doctor." "Captain's Log, Stardate 5276.8." "Preparing to beam aboard the Enterprise, following the Dramian ceremonies honouring Dr Leonard McCoy for his significant achievements in the field of interstellar medicine." "We of Dramia wish to thank you, Doctor, for your discovery of the antidote which frees us from future attacks of the auroral plague." "Thank Mr Spock, too." "And Captain Kirk." "We will even forget about the unorthodox manner of your release, Doctor." "And we'll forget about a certain stowaway." "We must apologise." "I think it's time we got aboard ship, isn't it, Jim?" "Beam us aboard, Mr Scott." "Aye, aye Captain." "Gentlemen, I don't know about you, but I'm ready to get back to Starbase." "Yes, sir!" "And I'm ready to get back to some of that monotonous, old, routine Sickbay work!" "including, I would hope, some of that monotonous, old dispensing of the regular vitamin rations to the crew." "What is that supposed to mean?" "Well, you have been derelict in your duties of late, Doctor." "Spock, you know as well as I do what we've all just been through." "Hippocrates would not have approved of lame excuses, Doctor." "Why, that..." "That..." "Jim, if I'm ever in jail again, don't send that Vulcan to release me." "Just let me rot!"