captain's log. our position-- orbiting psi 2000, an ancient world, now a frozen wasteland about to rip apart in itstseath throes. our mission-- pick up a scientific party below, observe the disintegration of the planet. [beeping] check out the life-support systems.

[beeping rapidly] all life systems were off, sir. someone strangled this woman. and the other four are back there. t, sir. engineer at his post? he's frozen there like he didn't care. the rest? well... better look for yourself, mr. spock.

[beeping] [beeping]

re. do you read, "enterprise"? kirk. affirmative. all station personnel are dead. what caused it? unknown, captain. it's like nothing we've dealt with before. 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,

captain's log, stardatete704.2. the science party we were to have picked up has been found dead. life-support systems had been turned off, station personnel frozen to death, conditions highly unusual. meanwhile, we remain in orbit to complete our mission--

you received my signal, mr. scott? yes, sir. dedentaminate. [ship's whistle] captain here. spock and tormolen aboard, sir. we're holding them in the chamber for decontamination. better have medicine look them over, too. you're fine, joe. up and out of there. mr. spock? your pulse is 242.

assuming y y call that green stuff in your veins blood. the readings are perfectly y rmal for me, doctor. thank you. and as for my anatomy being different from yours, i am delighted. captain. how are they? they're fine, jim. terrible, captain. it was terrible. they were just sitting like they didn't care. whatever was happening, they didn't care. i keep wondering-- you'll keep wondering, you'll keep signing on. any guesses, mr. spock? any idea of what happened down there? i wish i could say, captain. the circumstances were quite bizarre. however, our record tapes may show us something. six dead. six people dead. you'd better get some rest. yes, sir. set up those tapes, mr. spock.

the lab status report, doctor. stine. next tape, please. spectro-analysis tape, sir. thank you. kirk: almost as though they were irratitial, drugged-- e apparently oblivious to everything, a woman strangled, a crewman with a phaser pistol in his hand. spock: he'd used the computer room as if it were an amusement gallery. and a fully clothed man frozen to death in a shower. if the image wasn't so ugly, it would be laughable. not even a theory, gentlemen? definitelylyot drugs or intoxication. the bioanalysis on the tapes proved that conclusively. coululbe some form of space madness we've never heard of, but it would have to be caused by something.

no unusual elements present. well, at least none your tricorders could register. instruments register only those things they're designed to register. space still contains infinite unknowns. earth science needs the closest possible measurement of the breakup of this planet. to do this, it will need the "enterprise" in a critically tight orbit. question--could what happened down there to those people create any unusual danger to this vessel and crew? op efficiency, captain. when a planet begins to go, there may be drastic chanans in gravity, mass, magnetic field. the purpose of a briefing, gentlemen, is to get me answers based on your abilities and experience. in a critical orbit, there's no time for surprise. unless you people on the bridge start taking showers with your clothes on, my engines can pull us out ofofnything. we'll be warping out of orbit within a half-second of getting your command. uhura: bridge to captain. kirk here.

in planet magnetic field. a change in mass also, sir. it's beginning. unusually rapid shifts. on our way, lieutenant. i'll hold you to that half-second, scotty. foil. it's a rapier, a thin sword. all right. so what do y y do with it? what do you mean, what do you do with it? self-defense? mayhem? shish kebab?

hi, joey. last week, it was botany he was trying to get me interested in. i was supposed to be collecting leaves, plant specimens. your attitude is all wrong. fencing tones the muscle, sharpens the eye, improves the posture. you tell him, joey. explain to him. hey, joey. you feeling all right? get off me! you don't rank me, and you don't have pointed ears, so just get off my neck! nothing! [ship's whistle] attention. engine room on stand-by alert. all duty personnel to the bridge. acknowledge. oe? we've got to leave. we're all a bunch of hypocrites, stick our noses into something that we've got no business. what areree doing out here, anyway?

d trouble with us, leave men and women stuck out on freezing planets until they die. what are we doing out here in spacecegood? what good? we're polluting it, destroying it! we've got no business being out here! no business! take it easy, now, would you? now, calm down. if a man was supposed to fly, he'd have wings. if he was supposed to be out in space, he wouldn't need air to breathe, wouldn't need life support systems to keep him from freezing to death. hey, joey, put the knife down, huh? we don't belong here. it's not ours. not ours. destroying and watching. we don't belong. i don't belong. six people died down there. why do i deserve to live? what are you doing, joe? hey, joey, put the knife down. in a sweat about nothing. let go of me.

joey, don't be a fool. let-- joey! joey, give me the knife. ahh! emergency! rec room, area 39! we need medics! you tell your insurance company

to replace your totaled new car. the guy says they didn't make the mistake. you made the mistake. i beg your pardon? he says, you should have chosen full-car replacement. excuse me? let me be frank, he says: you picked the wrong insurance plan. 'no. i picked the wrong insurance company.' with liberty mutual new car replacement?, we'll replace the full value of your car plus depreciation. call and if you have more than one liberty mutual policy you qualify for a multi-policy didiount, saving you money on your car and home coverage. call liberty mutual for a free quote today at that's liberty stands with you?. liberty mutual insurance.

our need for efficiency critical. but unknown to us, a totally new and unusual disease has been brought aboard. relative gravity increasing, sir. kirk: compensate, mr. riley. yes, sir. magnetic field continuing to shift, sir. planet continuing to shrink in mass. mr. spock? all scanning stations manned, all recorders functioning, captain. orbit steady now, sir. obviously, this planet is condensing a valuable study. we may be seeing earth's distant future. before its sun went dark, this planet was remarkably similar to yours. sulu: helm answering nicely, captain. good.

kirk: tormolen's record? psychiatric file and personality quotients. was he trying to kill himself? it's doubtful he meant to. he was confused, self-tortured. doesn't sound like the man i know. his capacity for self-doubt has always beeee rather high. what puzzles me is what brought it to the surface with so much force. [beeping] rate is dropping, doctor.

stand by to close. [humming] closing. what is it? relative gravity increase, sir, like the planet reached out and yanked at us. compensatete compensate! riley: orbit steady now, sir. made me a little nervous, i guess.

this man should be getting stronger. you sure the respirator's functioning properly? yes, doctor. then why is this man dying? hypo. [needle hisses] he's dead, doctor. the wounds were not that severe. [ship's whistle] this is mccoy. captain kirk to sick bay. uhura, monitor communications. tell mccoy i'll be there when i can. yes, sir.

at an increasing rate. as the planet continues to shrink in size, its surface moves away from us. forcing us to spiral down to maintain the same distance from it. exactly. we must be prepared to respond instantly to any sudden change. engine room from bridge. scott here, captain. tie into the helm, scotty. if we should call for power, we'll want it fast. no problem, sir. you'll have it. rate of compaction seems constant. then i'll go see what the good doctor wants. keep me informed of any change, mr. spock. acknowledged. don't know if it's this planet or what happened with joe... i'm sweating like a bridegroom. yeah. me, too. hey, why don't you come down to the gym with me, kevin, my lad? now? why not? a light workout will take the edge off. sulu, what about--

the intestinal damage wasn't that severe. i got to him in plenty of time. that man should still be alive. only reason he died, jim, is he didn't want to live. he gave up. that's a supposition, doctor, not a fact. well, that may be. it may be. i've lost patients before, but not like that, not joe's kind. ve up. coincidence? maybe. the planet surface, and you're going to ask me if it's connected. that's exactly what i was going to ask. jim, he was decontaminated. he's been medically checked. we've run every test we know for everything we know-- that's not good enough. we're doing everything that's possible.

[beeping] why isn't mr. sulu at this station? magnetic pull compensated for, sir. orbit steady. take over here, rand. yes, sir. you haven't answered my question. where is mr. sulu? have no fear. riley's here, and one irirhman is worth 10,000 of you-- you're relieved, mr. riley. lieutenant uhura, take over this station. yes, sir! universal suffrage! report to sick bay, mr. riley. sick bay? exactly where i was heading... sir. security, mr. riley is headed for sick bay. see to it he arrives.

[blows] uh! where's joe? he died, didn't he? yes. you know something? you have such lovely y es, pretty lady. i know he was a friend of yours. thisisust be a terrible shock. you know what joe'e'mistake was?

richelieu, beware! stand! no farther.

no escape for you. you either leave this war bloodied or with my blood on your swords. ah! ah! ah! ah! ha ha ha ha! ha ha ha ha! cowards! lieutenant brent, relieve miss uhura. brent: yes, sir. kirk: what were their symptoms? spock: nonviolent at this stage, slightly disoriented. riley seemed rather pleased with himself, as if he were-- irrational... or drugged. precisely. security, lieutenant uhura. yes, sir. both sulu and riley. locate and confine. i want every crewman who comes in contact with them medically checked. sir, level two, corridor three reports a disturbance! mr. sulu chasing crewmen..... put security on it. fascinating. a pattern is developing.

e. then riley, who fancies himself a descendant of irish kings. and now sulu, who is at heart a swashbuckler out of your 18th century. kirk: present condition of psi 2000? spock: gravity pull increasing. we've shifted 2% and should stabilize our position. kirk: helmsman, stabilize position. helm is not answering to control. warp us out of here. no response from e eines, sir. impulse power, then. blast us out of this orbit. impulse engines also dead, sir. wer! mr. scott! acknowledge! our cocorols are dead. take her. richelieu. at last. sulu, puputhat-- put that thing away! for honor... queen... and france! heh heh heh heh! hyah!

sulu! ahh... sulu... give me that. i'll protect you, fair maiden. sorry. neither. oh, richelieu! i'd like you to teach me that sometime. take d'artagnan here to sick bay. scotty, we need power! engine room, acknowledge! sir? who's this? this is captainnkevy of the starship "enterprise." and who is t ts? this is captain kirk. get out of the engine room, navigator. where's mr. scott? i've relieved mr. scott of his duties. riley: now, attention, cooks. this is your captain speaking. i would like double portions of ice cream for the entire crew. clear that tube, will you? yes, sir.

an ancient irish favorite. ? i'll take you home... captain! at oururresent rate of descent, we have less than 20 minutes before we enter planet atmosphere.

cacaain's log. stardate 1704.4. ship out of control, spiraling down towards planet psi 2000. we have 19 minutes of life left how did riley get in there? he ran in, said you wanted us on the bridge. he's cututff both helm and power. then he shut the door behind us and locked off the mechanism. can't you get to the auxiliary?

to my office and pull the plans for this bulkhead. the only way to get that door open is to cut through these wall circuits here. ? the roses a a have left your cheeks ? ? i watched them fade away and die ? status reports, all sections. mr. spock, a fight in the aft wardroom. security reports incidents among the crewmen are increasing. seal off main sections. all decks, alert system b-2. repeat, go t talert condition baker-2. seal off all main sections. stand by. we're going to seal off, captain, if we can minimize the spread of whatever this is. continue the alert, lieutenant. i can't, sir. he's cut off the alert channels. lieutenant uhura... you've interrupted my song.

i can't, sir. there's no way to do it! attention, crew. this is captain riley. there will be a formal dance in the bowling alley at 1900 hours tonight. no way, captain. he controls the main power panels. he can override any channel from down there. 17 minutes left, sir. sick bay to bridge. can you tie me into the sick bay? i'm getting you, jim. look, can you keep this beast level? i've got sulu tranquilized, and we're running tests on him. so far, there's nothing unusual in his bloodstream. body functions seem normal. riley's the immediate problem, doctor. is there any way-- anything you can do to snap him out of it? negative until i can get a little farther on these tests. this is captain riley.