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Script created with Final Draft by Final Draft, Inc.


[ bottom ]


               S T A R    T R E K

                                   "REMOTE CONTROL"
                                     Written by
                                 Jacqueline Lichtenberg


               FIRST DRAFT

                                   STAR TREK
                                "Remote Control"

               CAST

               CAPTAIN JAMES T. KIRK
               MISTER SPOCK
               DOCTOR MCCOY
               LIEUTENANT BARTHOLOMEW MATHEWS
               NURSE CHRISTINE CHAPEL
               UHURA
               ENSIGN CHEKOV
               SULU
               ROMULAN SUB-COMMANDER
               FIRST ROMULAN
               SECOND ROMULAN
               ENTERPRISE CREWMAN MUTATKAR
               ENSIGN KIPEK
               ROMULANS
               ENTERPRISE CREW

               SETS
                                                             INTERIORS:
               SPOCK'S QUARTERS
               ENTERPRISE BRIDGE
               ELEVATOR
               ENTERPRISE CORRIDORS
               KIRKS'S QUARTERS
               RECREATION ROOM
               KLINGON BRIDGE
               ENTERPRISE ENGINEERING DECK
               ENTERPRISE MESS HALL
               SICKBAY
               MCCOY'S OFFICE
               KLINGON TRANSPORTER ROOM
               ENTERPRISE TRANSPORTER ROOM
                                                                 STOCK:
               ENTERPRISE IN SPACE (SEVERAL ANGLES)
               ENTERPRISE DERELICT IN SPACE
               KLINGON VESSEL IN SPACE (SEVERAL ANGLES)
               ENTERPRISE ORBITING STARBASE

                                   
                                   STAR TREK
                                "Remote Control"


               TEASER
                                                               FADE IN:
               FLYBY EXTERIOR SPACE   ENTERPRISE:  IN FAR DISTANCE A KLINGON
               VESSEL

               INT. SPOCK'S QUARTERS   WIDE ANGLE
               
               SPOCK is lying on the bed.  The room is orderly; LIGHTING is
               low key.  Spock's eyes are closed.  He appears to be asleep. 
               We hear the SOUND of the shrill fluting of his desk intercom
               and then see the intercom screen lighted.

               After a LONG BEAT, Spock's eyes open and, laboriously, as if
               "hung over," he rolls to a sitting position, very surprised
               at his own weakness; Vulcans never experience such symptoms.

               We see the room from Spock's viewpoint, wavering, darkening,
               then steadying back to normal with focus on the intercom.

               Moving to the intercom, he activates it and the lights,
               composing himself.  LIGHT increases to normal.

               The screen FADES FROM BLANK to a view of SCOTTY'S face with
               the Engineering Deck in back-ground.

                                   SCOTTY'S VOICE
                             (filtered)
                         Mister Spock, you were right.  It
                         appears to have been sabotage.
                         Could you come down to Engineering
                         and look at this?

                                   SPOCK
                         I'm busy right now.  I'll send
                         Lieutenant Mathews...

                                   SCOTTY'S VOICE
                             (filtered)
                         Oh, no, Mr. Spock!  Not Mathews!

                                   SPOCK
                             (as if he didn't know)
                         Why not?

                                   SCOTTY'S VOICE
                             (filtered)
                         Your new assistant is the most
                         obnoxious pestilence that ever
                         signed aboard a starship!  He gets
                         on the nerves, though you wouldn't
                         notice.  In five minutes, he'll
                         have my whole crew at each other's
                         throats.  Not to mention his own.

                                   SPOCK
                             (understands, but is
                             formal)
                         Mathews is the officer able and
                         free to do the job.  You aren't
                         required to socialize with him,
                         only to work with him.  Spock out.
                             (cuts connection)
                         Spock stands for a moment swaying
                         unsteadily, blinking away foggy
                         vision.  He activates the intercom
                         again, leaning heavily on his desk
                         as he speaks and waits, trying to
                         pull himself together.

                                   SPOCK (CONT'D)
                         Sickbay.  Dr. McCoy.

               Intercom FADES FROM BLANK to a view of McCOY at his desk. 
               INTERCUT between Spock and McCoy throughout conversation.

                                   MCCOY
                             (shuffling tapes)
                         McCoy here.

                                   SPOCK
                             (straightens, speaks
                             without urgency)
                         Doctor, if you have a minute, I'd
                         like to see you in your office.

                                   MCCOY
                             (looks at Spock, puzzled)
                         Certainly, Mr. Spock, any time.

                                   SPOCK
                         Thank you.

               Spock cuts the connection and the glow DIMS for ONE BEAT, ten
               strengthens as he reactivates the intercom, almost as an afterthought.

                                   SPOCK
                         Bridge.  Lieutenant Mathews.

               Screen FADES FROM BLANK to a view of MATHEW'S face.  He is a
               human-Vulcan half-breed, but as human as Spock is Vulcan. 
               His ears have a slight hint of Vulcan elongation, as if
               bobbed by an artistic plastic surgeon who didn't want to
               spoil the harmony of ears and sensitive face. His brows are
               human, but his complexion is a bit too jaundiced for human,
               and too brown for Vulcan.  INTERCUT between Spock and Mathews
               throughout conversation.

                                   MATHEWS
                         Lieutenant Mathews here.
                             (recognition)
                         Yes, Mr. Spock?

                                   SPOCK
                             (brusquely)
                         Lieutenant, go down to the
                         Engineering Deck.  Mr. Scott is
                         waiting to show you the site of a
                         malfunction.  I'll want your
                         opinion of the cause.

               NOTE: Mathews is always just barely within the bounds of
               discipline in his tone.  The problem is the effect of his
               words on others.  Call this the "Mathews Effect."

                                   MATHEWS
                             (smugly, a test he
                             can handle)
                         Aye, Mr. Spock, right away.

               Spock nods, cuts the connection and starts toward the door,
               blinking hard again.  He stumbles to the bulkhead and leans
               against it.  Frowning, he closes his eyes for a LONG BEAT in
               concentration, then he turns and goes steadily toward the
               door. 
               The door flies open to reveal SULU in the act of turning
               toward the door as if he's just arrived and will touch the
               signal. Sulu steps back in surprise.

                                   SULU
                             (laughs apologetically,
                             then becomes enthusiastic)
                         Mr. Spock, I came to pick up your
                         instrument and anything else you
                         might need for the program.  I want
                         to get everything arranged because
                         I go on duty in a couple of hours.

               Spock nods and steps back gesturing Sulu in.  Sulu looks
               around, fascinated.  He's never been here before.

                                   SULU
                             (following Spock to
                             the corner)
                         Have you decided what you're going
                         to sing yet?  Are you going to
                         do anything in English?

               Spock picks up the Vulcan harp, checks its condition,
               SOUNDING a chord.

                                   SPOCK
                             (preoccupied)
                         We'll see.
                             (handing harp to
                             Sulu, herding
                             him toward door)
                         If you'll excuse me now, I'm busy.

               They exit into the corridor, Spock hurrying off in one
               direction, Sulu standing staring after him, about to head in
               the other directions as the door closes.
                                                                CUT TO:
               INT. ENTERPRISE CORRIDOR.

               Sulu is standing in front of the closing door staring dazedly
               after Spock.  He shrugs, looks at the door and then discovers
               he's holding the Vulcan harp.  He plucks the strings
               experimentally, producing a DISCORDANT SOUND, grimaces,
               shrugs again and hurries away in the other direction.

                                                              FADE OUT:

               END TEASER

               ACT ONE
                                                               FADE IN:
               EXT. SPACE  THE ENTERPRISE flies by followed in far distance
               by a KLINGON VESSEL.

                                   KIRK'S VOICE (OVER)
                         Captain's log, stardate 4929.7. 
                         Mr. Spock and Lieutenant Mathews
                         have concluded that the readings 
                         at the maximum range of the
                         Broglie sensors are ghosts, some 
                         internal feedback, and not
                         either the U.S.S. T'kiltare'
                         (pronounces  tek'il tahry)
                         and its Vulcan crew or a Klingon 
                         ship with a Romulan crew. 
                         Sincethe ghost is barely discernable, 
                         shadows our every move precisely,
                         and does not answer on any frequency,
                         I'm accepting that evaluation.

               INT. ENTERPRISE BRIDGE

               ESTABLISH all regulars, including Kirk, at their stations.
               They are busy with their routine duties.  There have been
               some temporary alterations to the Navigator's board and to
               Spock's station.  MATHEWS is seated at the library computer,
               SPOCK leaning over him as if instructing.

               MATHEWS looks like an acutely sensitive person.  He
               emphasizes his humanity with a frantic, defiant desperation. 
               He is uncomfortable with Spock's nearness.  As we get a long
               look at Mathews in comparison to Spock, we hear KIRK'S VOICE.

                                   KIRK'S VOICE
                             (continues)
                         Mr. Spock is satisfied that this
                         lone difficulty can be overcome,
                         and that the new sensors can be 
                         meshed with the conventional
                         systems to add fifteen percent 
                         to transporter accuracy and
                         twenty percent to sensor range. 
                         This completes scheduled tests 
                         and the Enterprise is on
                         course for Star Base Fifteen 
                         according to plan.
                         (an afterthought)
                         Security reports that there is 
                         no evidence of a saboteur
                         aboard, and I conclude that the 
                         apparent sabotage to starboard 
                         engine circuitry was an honest 
                         mistake by one of our crewmen 
                         who's afraid to admit it.

               The elevator doors open and MCCOY enters, strides over to
               Spock and takes him a little aside, speaks softly so that
               Mathews doesn't hear.

                                   MCCOY
                         All your test results were normal. 
                         There's nothing wrong with you.
                         Probably just a case of stage
                         fright.  You'll be able to perform
                         at Sulu's...
                             (looks toward Kirk
                             who is approaching)

                                   KIRK'S VOICE
                             (interrupts)
                         Is something wrong, Mr. Spock?

                                   SPOCK
                         Captain, I have warning signs of
                         imminent failure of critical body
                         functions, but Dr. McCoy is,
                         predictably enough, unable to
                         locate any cause.

                                   KIRK
                         You don't feel well, Mr. Spock...?

                                   SPOCK
                         Sir, I don't feel unwell, and the
                         Chief Medical Officer certifies
                         me fit.  I have no recourse 
                         but to assume myself fit and to
                         continue to function.

                                   KIRK
                             (dubiously)
                         Very well, Mr. Spock
                             (beat)
                         I want to see you in my quarters
                         for a moment before you go down
                         to the program.

               Kirk goes over to Mathews.

                                   KIRK
                         Lieutenant, you're sure you can
                         handle everything up there for an
                         hour or so?

                                   MATHEWS
                         Yes, sir.  Mr. Spock will verify.

               Kirk restrains a sudden irrational anger, with difficulty. 
               It's the "Mathews Effect."

                                   SPOCK
                             (no visible
                             Mathews Effect)
                         Lieutenant Mathews is entirely
                         capable, sir.

                                   MATHEWS
                             (acidly)
                         Thank you, Mr. Spock.

                                   SPOCK
                             (seriously)
                         My pleasure.

               Kirk nods curtly, turns and steers Spock and McCoy into the
               elevator; they group and turn as the doors close.
                                                                CUT TO:
               INT. ELEVATOR

                                   KIRK
                         Deck five.

               With a HUM and CLICK the elevator WHINE builds and LIGHTS
               flash vertically.

                                   KIRK
                             (socially to Spock)
                         I saw the look on your face when I
                         said T'kiltare'.  I didn't think
                         my pronunciation was that bad.

               NOTE: Vulcan apostrophes are unvoiced aspiration, final "e"
               is not pronounced, accent on second to last syllable.

                                   SPOCK
                             (interrupts)
                         Sir, T'kiltare' was also the name
                         of the most revered Vulcan logician
                         of all time.  It is a nominative 
                         form crudely translated "the
                         implement of   justice."  I 
                         distinctly heard you use 
                         the word 
                             (avoids Kirk's eyes)
                         which isn't used in polite company.

                                   KIRK
                             (shocked)
                         I didn't mean to insult...

                                   SPOCK
                         I understand that, sir.  Every
                         human mispronounces it differently.
                         You just happened on a meaningful
                         mispronunciation.  It's as if
                         I accidentally mispronounced
                         "Enterprise," and you heard me say
                         "hog wallow."  No need to apologize.

               Kirk looks embarrassed; McCoy is smothering a chuckle as the
               elevator WHINE DIES and the doors fly open.

                                   KIRK
                         Would you accompany us, Bones? 
                         This concerns you, too.

                                   MCCOY
                         Certainly, Jim.  What's on your
                         mind?

               The three exit into the corridor, Kirk in the lead, McCoy
               next to him, Spock following.
                                                                CUT TO:
               INT. ENTERPRISE CORRIDOR.

               Kirk turns to McCoy as Spock catches up.  They're moving
               briskly.

                                   KIRK
                         We'll be back at Star Base in three
                         weeks, but we've only finished
                         half our job.

                                   MCCOY
                         Half!?  I though we finished
                         testing the Broglie systems?

               They approach a door, Kirk opens it and steps through.

                                                                CUT TO:
               INT. KIRK'S QUARTERS  ANGLE ON THE DOOR

               Kirk paces to his desk; turns to face McCoy as Spock enters,
               and the door closes.

                                   KIRK
                             (to McCoy)
                         The other half of the job was to
                         civilize the most promising science
                         officer trainee in Starfleet, the
                         best Broglie technician we have
                         to date, Lieutenant Mathews. 
                         Admiral Komack thought exposing
                         Mathews to Spock might succeed 
                         where all Starfleet's psychiatrists 
                         failed.

                                   MCCOY
                         And I wasn't told!?  I thought we
                         were supposed to endure him, not
                         cure him?

                                   SPOCK
                         Admiral Komack judged you would use
                         your formal training in human
                         psychiatry, which has already
                         failed.  You'd never get Mathews
                         near a Vulcan psychiatrist, but in the
                         line of duty, he'd have to work
                         with me.

                                   MCCOY
                         But you're not a psychiatrist.

                                   SPOCK
                             (approaching McCoy)
                         True.  But Mathews is not a Vulcan. 
                         Nor is he human.  Admiral Komack's
                         theory was that neither human nor
                         Vulcan psychiatry would help; that
                         Mathews doesn't need a psychiatrist; 
                         he needs an example. Supposedly, I 
                         am an example of a well-adjusted 
                         human-Vulcan. The Admiral wanted 
                         me to try a less orthodox approach 
                         to help Mathews adjust to his 
                         dual heritage.

                                   KIRK
                             (interrupts)
                         Which hasn't worked perceptively,
                         either.

                                   MCCOY
                         Agreed!

                                   KIRK
                             (continuing)
                         So, I'm proposing a combined
                         approach.  The Admiral indicated
                         Mathews is worth considerable 
                         effort, but this is his last chance.  
                         He'll be discharged for incompatibility, 
                         if we can't induce some improvement
                         before we get back to base.

                                   SPOCK
                         I agree with the Admiral's
                         evaluation and I have made some
                         progress, sir.

                                   KIRK
                             (surprised)
                         Tell us about it.

               Spock turns and paces away, organizing his thoughts.  Kirk
               waves McCoy to a seat and seats himself on the corner of the
               desk as Spock turns to face them and begins.

                                   SPOCK
                         As you know, I customarily employ
                         the T'shailoh method of problem
                         solving in which the form of the
                         solution is implicit in the form
                         of the question...

               McCoy casts a beseeching glance at the ceiling and sits down
               heavily.

                                   SPOCK
                             (not noticing,
                             he continues)
                         ...hence, the greatest effort is
                         invested in the statement of the
                         problem...

                                   MCCOY
                             (interrupts
                             impatiently)
                         Never mind the theory, Mr. Spock,
                         just give us your solution.

                                   SPOCK
                             (injured)
                         But, Captain, I haven't got a
                         solution.  I haven't even a proper
                         statement of the problem, but I
                         have made some progress toward a
                         statement...

                                   KIRK
                         So let's have that.

                                   SPOCK
                             (concedes reluctantly)
                         It's obvious that Lt. Mathews
                         rejects his Vulcan half with an
                         astonishing mixture of purely human
                         emotions...

                                   MCCOY
                             (groans)
                         Tell us something we don't know!

                                   SPOCK
                             (approaches McCoy)
                         Very well, Doctor.
                             (beat)
                         Mathews is a broadcast empath.

                                   MCCOY
                             (nods sarcastically)
                         Now tell us something we can
                         understand.

                                   KIRK
                             (chokes on a
                             short laugh)
                         Come on, Bones, we've got to work
                         this out.  Spock, what's a
                         broadcast empath?

                                   SPOCK
                             (looks blandly from
                             Kirk to McCoy)
                         Mathews is the only one I've ever
                         heard of.  He combines part of the
                         Vulcan telepathic faculty with
                         human emotional sensitivity and
                         some unique factor witch broadcasts 
                         his own internal strife to everyone
                         within yards of him.  The result 
                         is acute disturbances in all
                         susceptible nervous systems.

                                   MCCOY
                         Of course, it doesn't bother you at
                         all...

                                   SPOCK
                             (gravely)
                         He is also telepathically powerful,
                         Doctor.  I find his crude,
                         undisciplined intrusions on my
                         mental privacy quite disturbing.

                                   MCCOY
                             (keenly analytic)
                         Could that be the source of your
                         other difficulties?

                                   SPOCK
                         Barely possible, Doctor...not
                         probable.

               Kirk gets up, circles the room thoughtfully, you can perceive
               the increasing energy.  He wants a solution.

                                   KIRK
                         That leaves us two choices: relieve
                         his "internal strife" or train
                         him not to broadcast it.
                             (turns to Spock)
                         The first has failed, what about
                         training him?

                                   SPOCK
                             (perching on
                             Kirk's desk)
                         Note likely, Captain.  He doesn't
                         know he's broadcasting and
                         certainly
                         won't accept the idea until he
                         accepts his Vulcan heritage.
                             (considers)
                         I wore the IDIC to greet him when
                         he first came aboard as a gesture
                         of respect for his decision to
                         emphasize his humanity.  I had
                         hoped
                         there would be a
                             (wistfully)
                         basic communication between us. 
                         We ought to have much in common.
                             (meets Kirk's eyes)
                         But, Captain, I have never met such
                         emphatic...total...rejection
                         ever before.
                             (beat)
                         However, such a unique talent, a
                         broadcast empathy, should be put to
                         good use, not wasted creating
                         discord.

               Kirk looks to McCoy, inviting comment.

                                   MCCOY
                         Jim, I'd say, basically, he's
                         ashamed of his Vulcan mother.  I
                         understand he was raised in
                         orphanages all over Earth.  With
                         both parents dead, he never had a
                         proper home.  He's never had any
                         use for being half Vulcan.  It's
                         always been cited as reason for
                         being left odd-man-out.  Spock's
                         learned to live with that because
                         he's not emotion oriented, but it's
                         a tough row to hoe...

                                   KIRK
                             (interrupts)
                         So, we find him a use for being
                         half Vulcan.  Any suggestions?

                                   MCCOY
                             (shakes his head)
                         No.  But think, Jim.  Komack is
                         about to toss him out of Starfleet
                         because he's half Vulcan.  The
                         story of his life.  I think it
                         would be the end of him.  He 
                         obviously loves Starfleet.  He's 
                         a model officer in every way 
                         except his attitude and this...
                             (gropes for a term)
                         Mathews Effect.

               Kirk nods sympathetically and looks at Spock hopefully.

                                   SPOCK
                         Captain, I have very little use for
                         being half human.

                                   KIRK
                             (resigned)
                         Well, think about it.  We'll
                         discuss it again tomorrow.  It's
                         time for Sulu's little presentation. 
                         Maybe the diversion will sharpen
                         our wits.

               Kirk starts toward the door followed by Spock, as McCoy
               rises.
                                                                CUT TO:
               INT. ENTERPRISE CORRIDOR.

               McCoy catches up to Spock as they follow Kirk through the
               door into the corridor.  McCoy places an arm sympathetically 
               around Spock's shoulders.

                                   MCCOY
                         Now you'll have to put your
                         mechanical logic aside and show us
                         your artistic nature.

                                   SPOCK
                             (allows the hand
                             to remain)
                         Doctor, to understand logic is a
                         science resting purely on reason;
                         but to use logic is an art
                         requiring keen imagination and a
                         well developed esthetic sense.  
                         Music is a mathematical discipline, 
                         logical on the highest abstract 
                         plane, and it is often the most 
                         intensely beautiful experience 
                         conceivable.

                                   KIRK
                             (slows to
                             let them catch up)
                         Touché

                                   MCCOY
                             (removes hand,
                             groans)
                         I don't believe it!  Logical music!

                                   KIRK
                         He's right, Bones.  But Spock,
                         humans don't enjoy music in that
                         way.

                                   SPOCK
                             (nods, frowning)
                         I know, Captain.  And that is
                         regrettable.  But I must admit that
                         I don't understand in what way
                         humans do enjoy music, if not for
                         its own sake.

                                   KIRK
                             (laughs as he
                             calls elevator)
                         It's an "infinitely diverse"
                         universe, isn't it, Spock?

                                   SPOCK
                             (eyes Kirk curiously,
                             then becomes grave)
                         It certainly appears to be.

                                   KIRK
                         Perhaps if you could teach Mathews
                         to understand music the way you
                         do, he could teach you to see it
                         the way we do?

                                   SPOCK
                         That's a thought, Captain.  But his
                         refusal to attend Mr. Sulu's
                         program would seem to preclude that
                         approach.

               Spock puts a hand to his temple and frowns, swaying slightly. 
               McCoy moves closer, reaching for his medical scanner.  Kirk
               looks worried.

                                   MCCOY
                             (pointing the scanner)
                         Something wrong, Spock?

                                   SPOCK
                             (shakes head with
                             resigned sigh)
                         Nothing new, Doctor.

               McCoy looks at the scanner blankly, shrugs and puts it away
               as UHURA comes up briskly, heading for the elevator.  
               She is dressed casually.
                                                           DISSOLVE TO:
               INT. RECREATION ROOM.  ANGLE ON ENTRANCE.

               A small dais has been placed in front of an array of chairs. 
               On the dais, a group of Israeli costumed folk dancers are
               measuring distances by trying turns and leaps.  They attract
               some attention.  People come in, moving slowly.  The dais is
               flanked by screens in lieu of a formal curtain, and provided
               with a seat draped with colorful fabric.  A few of the people
               entering go behind the screens, but most fill the chairs.

               There is the SOUND of casual conversation as KIRK, SPOCK,
               MCCOY, and UHURA enter.  CHEKOV, SCOTTY, and NURSE CHAPEL 
               are already seated.  Spock and Uhura go behind the 
               screens while Kirk and McCoy take seats near the front. 
               There is the SOUND of a musical chime and the 
               remaining people fill the seats as the dancers leave the dais.

               SULU comes out, looks around a little cowed, then hastily
               covers all shyness with bravado.

                                   SULU
                         Captain, officers, fellow crewmen. 
                         We are gathered here to encourage
                         our very own amateur folk-artists
                         in the pursuit of their crafts.

               So without further ado, I present Lieutenant Uhura, who will
               introduce her own number.

                                   MCCOY
                             (sotto to Kirk)
                         That's the shortest speech Sulu's
                         ever made on one of his hobbies!

                                   KIRK
                             (nods)
                         I was expecting a half hour of
                         enthusiasm.

               Uhura walks on stage and seats herself.  She is warm, relaxed
               and sparkling.

                                   UHURA
                         This song really needs no
                         introduction, but for those of you
                         not familiar with historical American
                         folk music, this song grew out
                         of the twentieth century cry
                         against racial injustice.  It
                         was...
                                                           DISSOLVE TO:
               EXT. SPACE  THE ENTERPRISE FOLLOWED BY KLINGON VESSEL.

                                                                CUT TO:
               INT. KLINGON CONTROL ROOM – ROMULAN STYLE.

                                   FIRST ROMULAN
                             (to Sub-Commander)
                         Program running, sir.
                             (looks toward viewscreen)
                         INSERT the Klingon viewscreen
                         showing the Enterprise in space
                         from the Klingon position.

                                   SUB-COMMANDER
                         Good, it won't be long.  Humans are
                         so weak ... but ...you're sure that 
                         semi-Vulcan is taken care of by now?

                                   SECOND ROMULAN
                         Definitely, sir.  Our calculations
                         indicate...
                                                                CUT TO:
               EXT. SPACE  THE ENTERPRISE CLOSE SHOT OF THE DISK.
                                                           DISSOLVE TO:

               INT. ENTERPRISE RECREATION ROOM.

               Uhura has just finished her historical explanation and sings
               a song of her own choosing.

               After she finishes, the audience applauds enthusiastically. 
               Sulu comes out as Uhura bows and retires.  With difficulty, 
               Sulu quiets the audience.

                                   SULU
                         Lieutenant Uhura will be back at
                         the end of our program with a
                         medley of interplanetary
                         selections.  But now, what you've
                         all been waiting for, our First
                         Officer, Mr. Spock, who has
                         graciously consented, after much
                         logical arm-twisting, to favor us
                         with a medley of traditional Vulcan
                         folk-airs...

               Mr. Spock.

               (gestures to his right)

                                                              FADE OUT:

               END ACT I

               ACT II
                                                               FADE IN:
               INT. ENTERPRISE  RECREATION ROOM.

               Sulu is just completing his gesture of introduction.

               Spock paces onto the dais, dressed casually, carrying his
               instrument.  He moves unselfconsciously.  Sulu retires. 
               Spock looks at the audience, seating himself comfortably. 
               Through out, he speaks slowly, with a penetrating will to
               communicate, to share something he values.

                                   SPOCK
                         We, too, have songs, which point
                         out the inequities that creep into
                         any vital culture.  I'm reserving
                         my example of that genre for the
                         third of my four selections.

                                                       LAP DISSOLVE TO:
               INT. ENTERPRISE ENGINEERING DECK.

               We HEAR SPOCK'S VOICE as we get a close look at the duty
               officer at the main engineering control panel.

                                   SPOCK'S VOICE (OVER)
                         My first choice has been compared
                         to Calypso because the melody is
                         traditional, but he verses are
                         extemporaneous.

               We see another crewman enter through the door, moving
               furtively, carrying a heavy looking tool.  He approaches 
               the duty officer without attracting attention.

                                   SPOCK'S VOICE (OVER)
                         It is different in that the music
                         is structured in a perfect analog
                         of a logical system and there are
                         rules for selection of lyrics.
                         The result is an exercise in
                         general...

               The duty officer stirs as if to turn and the crewman freezes.

                                   SPOCK'S VOICE (OVER)
                         ...problem solving by the T'shailoh
                         Abstract.
                             (informatively)
                         That's the T'shailoh who taught at
                         the school of T'kiltare'.  I will
                         render a problem we've dealt with.

               The crewman resumes sneaking up on the duty officer.

                                                       LAP DISSOLVE TO:
               INT. ENTERPRISE RECREATION ROOM.

                                   MCCOY
                             (sotto to Kirk)
                         He meant it!  Logical music!  I
                         still can't believe it.

                                   KIRK
                             (sotto to McCoy)
                         Shhhh.  I want to hear this.

                                   SPOCK
                             (continues)
                         My second selection is a children's
                         riddle in which the progression
                         of vowels...
                                                       LAP DISSOLVE TO:
               INT. ENTERPRISE ENGINEERING DECK.

               The approaching crewman has almost reached the duty officer.

                                   SPOCK'S VOICE (OVER)
                             (continues)
                         ...can be rendered in a
                         mathematical group which yields the
                         answer to the riddle.

               The approaching crewman knocks out the duty officer with a
               Judo chop to the back of the neck. He ignores the fallen
               officer as he surveys the engineering panel.

                                                       LAP DISSOLVE TO:
               INT. ENTERPRISE RECREATION ROOM.

                                   MCCOY
                             (mouths silently)
                         Children's!?

                                   SPOCK
                             (continues)
                         My third selection, as I mentioned,
                         suggests a method of eternal 
                         vigilance against cultural inequity,
                         and asserts that personal freedom 
                         must be evolved anew by each 
                         individual privately, within himself, 
                         in order that freedom exist as a
                         cultural value.  The relation between 
                         lyrics and melody is subtle, and too 
                         intricate to go into here.
                                                       LAP DISSOLVE TO:
               INT. ENTERPRISE BRIDGE.

               MATHEWS is busily working over the library computer.  He
               looks as if he's got bad troubles but is determined to handle
               it himself.  A crewman is sitting in for Sulu.  As Mathews
               goes over to the Engineering control section we hear SPOCK'S
               VOICE.

                                   SPOCK'S VOICE (OVER)
                         Suffice it to say that this
                         particular composition is one of my
                         favorites because it employs
                         "logical-implication" and "class-
                         disjunction" to derive a quantified
                         theory of "logical-intuition."
                                                       LAP DISSOLVE TO:
               INT. ENTERPRISE RECREATION ROOM.
                                   SPOCK
                         My final selection is from an epic
                         poem, which predates musical
                         notation, so the original melody is
                         lost.  However, portions are sung
                         to modern melodies, which attempt
                         to recapture the traditional
                         flavor.

               We see the audience listening attentively.  There is
               curiosity, amazement, disbelief, but always respect.  Even
               McCoy is absorbed.  Nurse Chapel is enthralled.

                                   SPOCK
                             (continues)
                         The language is archaic, but there
                         is a symmetry of phrasing which
                         makes this the most quoted
                         authority in modern conversation.
                                                       LAP DISSOLVE TO:
               INT. ENTERPRISE DINING ROOM.

               A number of the crew are just sitting down to a meal.  People
               are arriving constantly.  We observe a small group that
               already have started eating as we HEAR SPOCK'S VOICE OVER. 
               They taste their food, look as if it isn't quite right,
               consult each other, and shrug it off to go on eating.

                                   SPOCK'S VOICE (OVER)
                             (continues)
                         The portion I have chosen here
                         deals with the validity of value
                         judgments, which is one of the
                         foundations of the Vulcan attitude
                         toward violence.  It touches on 
                         the universal sanctity of life and
                         culminates in the oldest, and 
                         most poetic, formulation of the
                         IDIC concept: the dissimilar.  
                         Here, the use of 
                         "logical-implication:" and
                         "logical-disjunction" is most elegant.
                                                       LAP DISSOLVE TO:
               INT. ENTERPRISE RECREATION ROOM.
                                   SPOCK
                         These four compositions, in
                         uninterrupted sequence, form a
                         whole which has a profound 
                         significance in the evolution 
                         of Vulcan philosophy. I suggest you 
                         listen to it directly as even the 
                         universal translator can't handle 
                         some of the concepts, and it has 
                         a surface appeal which would be lost.

               Spock's sincerity and reverence for his material have woven a
               spell over the audience.  They are "with him."  In this
               moment they have grown a little closer to what is a Vulcan. 
               They wait raptly, as an audience between movements of a
               superbly performed symphony.  Spock rises, give a quiet,
               testing chord and bends to his instrument.  A troubled
               expression crosses his face.  He looks back at the audience
               and we see them through his eyes, wavering, darkening.

                                                           GO TO BLACK:
               INT. ENTERPRISE RECREATION ROOM.

               SPOCK is lying on the floor, unconscious.  MCCOY is moving
               toward him swiftly, pulling out his small medical scanner. 
               KIRK is also moving toward Spock, and arrives a split second
               after McCoy.  The audience is on its' feet, talking, craning
               necks, disconcerted.  But they are emergency trained and
               don't all gang up on the fallen.

               Just as McCoy starts to take readings, the LIGHTS flicker and
               go out.

                                   SCOTTY
                             (cursing)
                         By all the Angel Worms of
                         Archenar!!!  Is there no justice!

               A crewman has brought an emergency had torch and is flashing
               it around.  By this light

               Scotty makes his way to the door and exits at a fast run.

                                   MCCOY
                         Bring that light over here!

               The crewman brings the light, and McCoy checks several
               readings quickly.

                                   MCCOY
                             (snaps over his shoulder
                             to Kirk)
                         To low to read!  I've got to get
                         him to sickbay.

               By this time NURSE CHAPEL has made her way through the crowd
               and is at McCoy's elbow.  Kirk motions to a crewman who goes
               out to the corridors and brings back an anti-grav stretcher.
               Kirk tries a wall intercom and finds it's out, motions to
               CHEKOV and SULU and the three exiton the double.
                                                                CUT TO:
               INT. ENTERPRISE ENGINEERING DECK   DIM LIGHTING.

               The duty officer is unconscious, on the floor where he fell. 
               The crewman who hit him finishes doing something at the
               control console and heads for the door, going through it just
               as Scotty is coming in.  They collide, the crewman knocking
               Scotty over, hiding his face in the dimness.  Scotty picks
               himself up and gives chase.
                                                                CUT TO:
               INT. ENTERPRISE CORRIDOR   OUTSIDE ENGINEERING.

               The crewman runs past, rounds the corner and is gone.  Scotty
               comes pounding after, stops at the intersection and looks in
               each possible direction.  He stares after the crewman and we
               see a LONG SHOT of the dim, empty corridor.  Disgusted,
               Scotty runs back toward Engineering as the emer gency lights
               come on.
                                                                CUT TO:
               INT. ENTERPRISE ENGINEERING DECK.

               The duty officer has picked himself up and turned the lights
               on.  He leans against the panel rubbing the back of his neck. 
               Scotty comes up, surveys the control panel very sadly, then
               turns his attention to the duty officer.

                                   SCOTTY
                         So, what happened?

               The crewman shakes his head, badly dazed.

                                   SCOTTY
                             (resigned)
                         Report to Sickbay.  I'll clean this
                         up.

                                                                CUT TO:
               EXT. SPACE - ENTERPRISE FLYBY - KLINGON VESSEL IN FAR
               DISTANCE.
                                                                CUT TO:
               INT. ENTERPRISE SICKBAY.

               SPOCK on the bed, life signs near bottom of scale.  MCCOY and
               KIRK are near the corridor door, speaking softly.

                                   MCCOY
                         Jim, it's weird, things like this
                         just don't happen to Vulcans!  He's
                         clinging to life by sheer
                         determination, but I can't find
                         anything wrong.

               The crewman brings the light, and McCoy checks several
               readings quickly.

                                   KIRK
                             (pacing)
                         It's all weird.  Two cases of minor
                         sabotage.  The method shows the
                         party is familiar with starships. 
                         So, why minor mischief!?  He could
                         put us out of commission, or blow
                         us to star dust.  But why?  The
                         Broglie systems aren't that
                         important.  It would be more
                         logical
                             (looks at Spock)
                         to steal the design and test
                         results.

                                   MCCOY
                         Could Mathews have anything to do
                         with it?

                                   KIRK
                         No.  He was on the bridge the whole
                         time.  I admit he should have

               called me the moment he noticed trouble, but that's just his
               personality, nothing sinister.

               (turns on McCoy, flaring)

               And then, my Science Officer keels over just when we think
               everything is quiet and routine, and peaceful and in order. 
               Has he been sabotaged, too?  By whom?  How?  Why?

                                   MCCOY
                         Well, if you don't keep out of the
                         way, we won't find out in time!

               With a burst of exasperation, Kirk exits into the corridor. 
               AS that door closes, NURSE

               CHAPEL enters form McCoy's office, carrying a clear bottle or
               a clear solution (may be any color that shows well).  
               The bottle is labeled in red with "V-10" and some 
               small lettering. CLOSE SHOT OF LABEL.



               NURSE CHAPEL'S VOICE

               Doctor, this could be the answer... it's just water!

                                                             TRANSITION
                                                                 FOCUS:
               INT. ENTERPRISE CORRIDOR.

               THE SAME RED LABEL.  PULL BACK to reveal it's on a cubical
               box carried by a crewman. MATHEWS, almost blank faced,
               definitely not himself, waits around a corner as the man
               approaches.  The man passes the corner, Mathews stuns him
               with a phaser, catches the box, plants a conical gadget on
               the box.  The TRANSPORTER EFFECT builds and the box and cone
               disappear.

                                                                CUT TO:
               INT. KLINGON TRANSPORTER ROOM – ROMULAN STYLE.

               The V-10 box and cone appears on transporter plate, and
               TRANSPORTER EFFECT FADES.  Two ROMULANS walk over to inspect
               it, smugly satisfied...

                                                                CUT TO:
               EXT. SPACE - ENTERPRISE FLYBY – VIEW FROM KLINGON VESSEL.
                                                                CUT TO:
               INT. ENTERPRISE BRIDGE.

               KIRK seated in his chair.  All regulars except Spock. 
               MATHEWS enters from elevator, walks briskly to Spock's chair. 
               Kirk is frowning thoughtfully, but takes no notice.

                                   UHURA
                             (turns to Kirk)
                         Captain, Doctor McCoy...

                                   KIRK
                         Pip it over here, Lieutenant.
                             (beat)
                         Bones?

               INTERCUT between McCoy in his office and Kirk throughout
               conversation.

                                   MCCOY
                         Jim.  A third of the crew is down
                         with food poisoning!  Everyone who
                         ate at the last shift.  I've
                         ordered the galley shut down.  I
                         want someone to check out that
                         foolproof, failsafe, computerized
                         pseudo-chef..

                                   KIRK
                             (burdened, inured to
                              shocks)
                         I'll send someone, Bones.  How is
                         Spock.

                                   MCCOY
                         I thing we've got it.  Spock's
                         tissues are too low in a substance
                         called "vee-ten" . . .it's a raw
                         material vital in the bio-synthesis
                         of what Vulcans use instead of
                         Adenosine Triphosphate, the muscle
                         contraction chemical.  Someone
                         replaced the working supply with
                         water!  I've ordered fresh from
                         stores, should be here any minute.

                                   KIRK
                             (shocked)
                         What took you so long!?

                                   MCCOY
                             (aggressively)
                         Spock evidently requires a higher
                         concentration than the Vulcan
                         norm to maintain muscular activity. 
                         The substitution must have
                         occurred weeks ago for the
                         deficiency to have advanced so
                         far... but it figures.  He's 
                         mentioned an increasing appetite 
                         for certain fruits...

                                   KIRK
                             (interrupting)
                         How soon can you have him on his
                         feet?

                                   MCCOY
                         Within a couple of hours...but...

                                   KIRK
                             (interrupting)
                         Good.  I need him.  Carry on.
                             (switches off and
                             turns to Mathews)
                         Lieutenant Mathews, check out the
                         galley computer. Take Ensign
                         Zrailyn with you... that's his
                         specialty.

                                   MATHEWS
                             (amused)
                         I won't need help, Captain.

                                   KIRK
                             (overreacts to
                             "Mathews Effect")
                         Are you questioning orders,
                         Lieutenant?

                                   MATHEWS
                         I meant that I can handle the
                         situation alone.  No need to tie up
                         more hands than necessary,
                         especially with a third of the crew
                         on the sick list.

                                   KIRK
                         Enough, Lieutenant.  Take Zrailyn
                         and straighten out the galley.

                                   MATHEWS
                             (stiffly)
                         Yes, sir.  Aye, sir.

               Mathews heads for the elevator.  Relaxing, Kirk goes to
               Spock's station, examines the new attachments, then
               thoughtfully taps the controls of the library computer.

                                   KIRK
                             (to computer)
                         Probability that acts of sabotage,
                         food poisoning, Spock's V-10
                         deficiency, and the ghost image on
                         the Broglies are connected.

                                   COMPUTER VOICE
                         Probability five one point two
                         three.

                                   UHURA
                             (indicates her board)
                         Captain.  Doctor McCoy.

               Kirk moves to Uhura's station.

                                   KIRK
                         Yes, Bones.

                                   MCCOY'S VOICE (FILTERED)
                             (worriedly)
                         Jim, can you come down to sickbay
                         right now?

                                   KIRK
                             (energized, crisply)
                         On my way!
                             (over his shoulder)
                         Mr. Sulu, you have the con.
                             (exits)

                                   SULU
                             (to Chekov)
                         Poor Zrailyn!  I wouldn't wish
                         Mathews on my worst enemy.  'Course
                         Zrailyn isn't human or Vulcan so
                         maybe Mathews doesn't get to him
                         so bad...

                                   CHEKOV
                         No.  Zrailyn's been complaining,
                         too.  It's even beginning to get
                         the Captain, now, did you see?

                                   SULU
                             (nods)
                         Mathews makes Mr. Spock seem warm
                         and friendly... I'll be glad
                         when we get back to base and get
                         rid of...how did Mr. Scott call
                         him? ..."That Pestilence?"

                                   CHEKOV
                         If we get back.  What do you
                         suppose is going to with this
                         sabotage?

               On Sulu's shrug we
                                                                CUT TO:
               INT. ENTERPRISE SICKBAY.

               SPOCK is on the bed, life-signs even lower.  Another bed is
               occupied by the unconscious crewman that Mathews stunned,
               MCCOY is pacing nervously as KIRK enters from corridor. 
               McCoy pounces on Kirk.

                                   MCCOY
                         Jim!  It's gone!  The whole bulk
                         supply of V-10 concentrate is gone.
                         Stolen!  Somebody stunned Ensign
                         Kipek and took the box.

                                   KIRK
                             (casting an anxious
                             glace at Spock)
                         Well, can't you synthesize it?

                                   MCCOY
                         Not in time to do any good!  I've
                         got the lab trying to extract a
                         useful amount from Vulcan fruits we
                         carry, but it won't be enough.
                             (pacing)
                         We carry several years' supply...
                             (wheels on Kirk)
                         Jim, if we don't get the
                         concentrate back, he'll die.
                                                              FADE OUT:
               END ACT II

               ACT III
                                                               FADE IN:
               INT. ENTERPRISE  SICKBAY.

               KIRK and MCCOY are as we left them, staring at each other. 
               SPCOK is unconscious on the bed. ENSIGN KIPEK is unconscious
               on the other bed.  Kirk slowly goes from shock to
               determination, strides to wall intercom and activates it.

                                   KIRK
                         Security.
                             (beat)
                         I want a compartment by compartment
                         search for the V-10 supply stolen
                         from Ensign Kipek.  Top priority.

                                   VOICE
                             (filtered)
                         Aye, sir.  Under way.

               Kirk flips off the intercom.  NURSE CHAPEL enters from
               McCoy's office carrying a hypo-gun with great care.

                                   NURSE CHAPEL
                         Doctor, this is three hundred
                         milligrams of nearly pure V-10...
                         un-stabilized.  Lab says use within
                         fifteen minutes.

               McCoy takes the hypo carefully and shoots the whole dose into
               Spock's arm.  Kirk, Chapel and McCoy gather around watching
               the life-signs display, which remains low and nearly
               inactive.

                                   NURSE CHAPEL
                         They said they could get about five
                         hundred milligrams more, but
                         that would be all.

                                   SPOCK
                             (weakly, without moving)
                         That won't be sufficient.

               The life-signs have barely changed.  McCoy and Kirk look down
               at Spock, surprised.  McCoy

               scrutinizes life-signs again.

                                   MCCOY
                         Very good, Spock, keep it low like
                         that.  The less muscular activity,
                         the longer we'll have to find the
                         bulk supply.

                                   SPOCK
                         Doctor, try extracting Slidaht.  It
                         should be somewhat richer in V-10.

                                   MCCOY
                         Slie...what?

                                   SPOCK
                             (thin patience)
                         The skin of the blue tubers.

                                   MCCOY
                         It's not listed as a source...

                                   SPOCK
                         It's not normally...
                             (no strength to argue)
                         ...try it.

               McCoy sends Chapel out with the hypo and the message and goes
               to examine Kipek, who remains unconscious.  Without turning
               his head, Spock addresses Kirk.

                                   SPOCK (CONT'D)
                         Captain.

               Kirk steps into Spock's field of view, attentive.  Spock
               speaks softly

                                   SPOCK (CONT'D)
                         I have the question.  Why would a
                         Klingon vessel manned by Romulans
                         be shadowing us at the extreme
                         range of our new sensors?  You see?
                         it now becomes obvious by
                         T'shailoh's Lemma.  That ship
                         actually exists.  They have 
                         the equivalent of the Broglie 
                         systems...and something else.  
                         An outgrowth of the Broglie 
                         refinement in transporter technique.  
                         A method of reprogramming computers
                         from a distance!

                                   KIRK
                         I don't follow you.

                                   SPOCK
                         Our environmental computer runs a
                         constant subliminal program of
                         Earth sounds to help dispel
                         terrestrial claustrophobia.  It
                         would be possible to reprogram the
                         computer to hypnotize picked
                         individuals in their quarters, 
                         leaving post hypnotic suggestions 
                         for sabotage.

                                   KIRK
                         If they can program our computers,
                         why work through individuals?
                         Why not just program shutdown?

                                   SPOCK
                         Experimenting to see if they could. 
                         Also misdirection.  They can't
                         read our data, but they know we
                         suspect their presence because we
                         were trying to hail them...I've got
                         to get to the environmental
                         computer... soon...

                                   MCCOY
                             (approaching)
                         You're not going anywhere until we
                         find that bulk supply.

                                   SPOCK
                         I'll wager you won't find it in the
                         Enterprise.

                                   KIRK
                         Where, then?

                                   SPOCK
                         The Klingon vessel, sir.  And if I
                         don't get a our computers soon,
                         we very likely wont ever get it
                         back.

                                   KIRK
                         You're not the only computer expert
                         on this ship.  I'll get Mathews
                         on it right away.
                             (starts away)

                                   MCCOY
                         Are you kidding, Jim?  Some expert! 
                         He's still working on the
                         galley...

                                   SPOCK
                             (interrupting)
                         Mathews will be a good science
                         officer, Captain, but he isn't,
                         yet. I doubt if I could explain 
                         to him what must be done.

                                   KIRK
                             (paces away)
                         You're right.  He'd never listen to
                         you.

                                   SPOCK
                         Not just that.  It's an unorthodox
                         problem.  I'm not sure just how
                         they're doing it.
                             (beat)
                         I must see myself.

                                   MCCOY
                         Why?  Haven't you got enough
                         gadgetry on this ship to monitor
                         all circuits from here?

                                   SPOCK
                             (patiently)
                         Doctor, what would show on the
                         screens would be exactly what
                         should show if there were not 
                         interference.  I have to get 
                         inside the computer banks 
                         themselves...

                                   KIRK
                             (flares)
                         How can you be so sure, without a
                         shred of concrete evidence, that
                         that ghost image is real?

                                   SPOCK
                         T'shailoh's Lemma, Captain, and a
                         bit of logical intuition.

                                   MCCOY
                         I thought you were allergic to
                         intuition.

                                   SPOCK
                         Not human intuition, Doctor,
                         logical intuition, as well defined,
                         formalized process of seeking
                         meaningful associations. 
                         In this case it suggests a fifty
                         one point two five...

                                   KIRK
                             (nods, interrupting)
                         The library computer estimated
                         fifty one point two three percent
                         probability of a connection between
                         that ghost, the V-10 business,
                         the food poisoning and the
                         sabotage, but then we didn't know
                         that the V-10 bulk supply had been
                         stolen.

                                   SPOCK
                         IT DID?  Interesting!  The library
                         computer in error?  Fascinating.

                                   KIRK
                         More likely you made a slight error
                         in a hasty estimate.

                                   SPOCK
                             (offended)
                         Captain, I am never hasty, and I
                         don't make that type of error.
                             (beat)
                         But computers do.  And when they
                         do, its enlightening... Sir,
                         I believe I do know how they're
                         doing it...Get Lt. Mathews, perhaps
                         I can explain it to him.  Leave
                         Zrailyn with the galley problem,
                         he'll do better by himself.

               Kirk nods and begins to move away.
                                                                CUT TO:

               EXT. SPACE  ENTERPRISE FLYBY, KLINGON VESSEL IN FAR
               DISTANCE.
                                                                CUT TO:
               INT. KLINGON CONTROL ROOM.

               Three ROMULANS bending over the temporary equipment, on e
               stands back and addressed the SUB-COMMANDER.

                                   SECOND ROMULAN
                         That's it, sir.  Final program
                         running.  Soon, the Enterprise will
                         be ours.

                                   SUB-COMMANDER
                             (stands back, gestures
                             to First Romulan)
                         Tend to the transporters.
                                                                CUT TO:
               EXT. SPACE  THE ENTERPRISE FROM KLINGON VESSEL'S POSITION.

                                                                CUT TO:
               INT. ENTERPRISE ENGINEERING DECK.

               SCOTTY stands back as TWO CREWMEN look over his shoulder at
               the console he's been examining.

                                   SCOTTY
                             (motions them forward)
                         Well, get to it.  I'll report to
                         the Captain, but he'll not be happy
                         when I tell him he can't use full
                         phaser power for at least six
                         hours!
                             (starts away)
                         Where'll I get the manpower to
                         mount armed guards over everything!

               The men start removing a cover plate.
                                                                CUT TO:
               INT. ENTERPRISE SICKBAY.

               A viewer screen has been positioned over the bed so SPOCK can
               see without moving.  His life signs oscillate low.  The other
               bed is now empty.  KIRK has been talking at the wall
               intercom. HE cuts the connection disgustedly and approaches
               Spock and MATHEWS and Mathews is saying:

                                   MATHEWS
                             (angrily tapping the
                              screen)
                         Well, why not, Mr. Spock?  It's
                         possible you're not thinking too
                         clearly just now.  Can't you admit
                         I might be right?

                                   SPOCK
                         Captain, it's no use, I simply
                         cannot communicate with Lt.
                         Mathews. He misunderstands 
                         half of what I say.

                                   KIRK
                         I've scarcely understood a word for
                         the last half hour, myself.
                         Thought I thought I was getting the
                         general idea.

                                   SPOCK
                         He understands the words, sir, but
                         not the general idea.  I've
                         explained what to do to block them
                         out, read their programs, and
                         reestablish our own...it's
                         delicate.  Our only advantage is
                         that they don't know we know what
                         they are doing.  We must be careful
                         to retain that advantage...but
                         Lieutenant Mathews and I simply can
                         not communicate.

                                   KIRK
                             (faces Mathews)
                         You two should be able to
                         communicate better than any other
                         two science officers in Starfleet! 
                         Especially about computers!

               Mathews is about to explode with indignation, but Spock
               interrupts.

                                   SPOCK
                         Captain...

               MCCOY enters from his office carrying a hypo-gun.

                                   MCCOY
                             (interrupting)
                         Sounds to me like a little basic
                         communication is in order.  Spock,
                         if the block is semantic, couldn't
                         you get around it with mind meld?

               Kirk stands aside to let McCoy administer the shot while
               Mathews retreats as far as he dares, shocked and terrified at
               McCoy's suggestion.

                                   SPOCK
                             (impassively)
                         The block is not semantic, but mind
                         meld would clear it, Doctor...
                         except that it's out of the
                         question.

                                   MCCOY
                         It isn't as out of the question as
                         you getting up for a personal tour
                         of inspection.  Mathews is half
                         Vulcan, it should be easy with him.

                                   MATHEWS
                             (defiantly, glaring
                             fearfully at Spock)
                         I don't have any Vulcan
                         characteristics!

               Mathews is throwing the full power of his emotional
               projection at Spock with a strong telepathic component.  At
               the impact of this emotional barrage, Spock's head whips
               around, and he rivets Mathews with a stare.

                                   SPOCK
                             (snaps)
                         Untrue.  You have some of the
                         telepathic faculty, and I find your
                         intrusions upon my mental
                         privacy...most vulgar.
                             (life signs rise as he
                             speaks with deadly intent)
                         You will stop it this instant, or I
                         shall retaliate!

                                   KIRK
                             (steps between them)
                         That's enough, you two!  Spock.
                             (puts restraining hand
                             to Spock's arm)
                         He doesn't know he's doing it!  He
                         doesn't even know how to stop!
                             (tension rises, Spock's
                             and Mathew's eyes remain
                              locked)
                         Spock!  You mustn't fight!
                             (Spock doesn't hear;
                             Kirk goes to Mathews,
                             shakes him by the
                              shoulders)
                         Lieutenant, calm down.
                             (turns him away)
                         Nobody's going to force you to do
                         anything.
                             (continues inaudibly)
                         McCoy has gone to Spock, all
                         soothing bedside manner.

                                   MCCOY
                         Spock, control yourself.  You must
                         keep those readings low or
                         you'll kill yourself.  You fight
                         with Mathews, and we'll never
                         save him, either.

               Slowly, Spock relaxes and life signs return to low level.

                                   SPOCK
                             (gravely)
                         Some things are worse than death. 
                         I cannot... will not... tolerate...

               Kirk has Mathews under control, now, and they part, Kirk
               approaching Spock, interrupting.

                                   KIRK
                         I'm surprised at you, Mr. Spock. 
                         What made you react like that?

               Spock is badly shaken.  He's never had such an experience.

                                   SPOCK
                             (eyes Kirk)
                         You didn't perceive what he was
                         doing?
                             (reluctantly)
                         Mind invasion is not something I
                         must tolerate, Captain, especially

               from an irrational half-Vulcan who insists on using his
               native talents from the vilest perversions.  The same
               Starfleet General Order protects me, as protects him.

                                   KIRK
                             (sympathetic)
                         All right, Spock, I understand how
                         highly Vulcans regard personal
                         privacy, especially mental privacy.  
                         We'll put it down to justifiable 
                         self-defense.  But no more fighting,
                         (turns to include Mathews)
                         either of you, or I'll have you 
                         both on report.
                            (paces away)
                         We have a problem to solve, 
                         and we can't solve it with you
                         two sniping at each other.
                            (rounds on Mathews
                             ...warmly)
                         Bartholomew, why can't you 
                         put personal feeling aside 
                         and try to understand Mr. Spock?
                            (smiles)
                         "Cold hands -- warm heart"?  
                         And his ideas are usually
                         brilliant.

               Mathews is wary, dubious.  He retreats feeling chased.

                                   SPOCK
                         Because the rejects the fact of his
                         Vulcan heritage...

               McCoy, watching Mathews closely, but keeping a sharp eye on
               Kirk and Spock, perceives that it's time to take the pressure
               off Mathews and redirects the conversation.

                                   MCCOY
                         But you don't reject the fact of
                         your human heritage?

                                   SPOCK
                             (sees McCoy's purpose,
                             meets his eyes)
                         No, Doctor.  Regrettable though it
                         may be on occasions such as this,
                         it is a fact.
                             (grudgingly)
                         On other occasions, it may be
                         useful.

               Kirk has been poised, interrupted in the middle of a thought
               train.  Now, he understands what they are doing and turns
               from Mathews pacing thoughtfully toward Spock, fishing for an
               idea.

                                   KIRK
                         Spock.  Mightn't it be useful on
                         this occasion?

                                   SPOCK
                         Sir?

                                   KIRK
                         This...
                             (hesitates to mispronounce
                             T'shailoh)
                         Lemma you've been talking about. 
                         It was formulated after the
                         Romulans left Vulcan, right?

                                   SPOCK
                         Yes, sir.  About seven thousand
                         years after.

               Mathews relaxes now that the attention has shifted.  He's
               listening carefully.

                                   KIRK
                         The Romulans don't have the Vulcan
                         techniques, the Vulcan's purely
                         logical approach.  They think more
                         like humans, but not quite like
                         humans.  You use
                             (louder, partly to
                              Mathews)
                         purely Vulcan patterns by choice. 
                         But you have a dash of humanity
                         if you care to use it.

               Kirk bends over Spock earnestly excided, suddenly sure he's
               on to a solution.  Mathews is genuinely interested.  McCoy is
               watching Spock intently, but surreptitiously keeping an eye
               on Mathews.

                                   KIRK
                             (continues)
                         Spock, try this.  Look into
                         yourself, find your human half, see
                         if you can blend that screwy, 
                         inside-out human viewpoint you so
                         vigorously suppress with the 
                         straight-forward, logical Vulcan
                         thought pattern.
                             (beat)
                         Try to think like a Romulan.  
                         Try to figure out exactly what
                         they are doing to us, how, 
                         and why.
                             (softly)
                         What can we do to counter them?

               Spock's eyes close.  The stony look of complete concentration
               freezes his features.  The life signs sink to near
               motionlessness, only one needle betraying life.  All
               attention is riveted on Spock.  Mathews, unobserved in the
               background, stands composed in deep, almost Vulcan
               concentration, watching Spock.  Kirk eyes the life signs,
               afraid to breathe, to do anything to distract Spock.

               McCoy inspects life signs, reaches up and adjusts the scale
               range to maximum sensitivity.

               The needles jiggle and sink down.  He opens his mouth to
               speak, looks from Spock to Kirk and thinks better of it.  He
               returns the range to middle scale.

               Then slowly, the needles return to previous low levels and
               Spock says, without opening his eyes:

                                   SPOCK
                         It should be simpler than I had
                         thought.
                             (opens eyes)
                         Captain, at times you display
                         logical insight worthy of a Vulcan.

                                   KIRK
                             (surprised, intensely
                              honored)
                         Thank you, Mr. Spock.

               Mathews has returned to his usual self.  Watches this
               exchange with distaste.

                                   MATHEWS
                         So, what's this miraculous new
                         discovery?

                                   SPOCK
                             (evenly)
                         In should only be necessary to ask
                         the library computer to readout
                         temporary memory storage unit 
                         T-12-J specifying simultaneous
                         transfer to unit K-3-F.

               McCoy and Kirk, puzzled, consult the large viewer screen on
               which is still the complex diagram they were discussing. 
               They look at each other, then at Mathews, who becomes
               increasingly surprised as the implications sink in; he
               doesn't need to look at the viewer, but he mouths T-12-J and
               K-3-F thoughtfully.

                                   SPOCK
                             (continues)
                         T-12-J will tell us what they plan
                         next, storing it in K-3-F will
                         prevent it's being acted on, and
                         simultaneously prevent them from
                         learning that we know their plan. 
                         They won't be safeguards as
                         complicated as I thought, because 
                         they don't consider humans
                         intelligent enough to see 
                         what happened.

                                   KIRK
                             (turns to Mathews)
                         Lieutenant, try it.

                                                           DISSOLVE TO:
               EXT. SPACE  THE ENTERPRISE FLIES BY WITH KLINGON SHIP IN FAR
               DISTANCE.
                                                           DISSOLVE TO:
               EXT. SPACE  THE ENTERPRISE, A DIFFERENT VIEW AS TIE SEQUE.
                                                                CUT TO:
               INT. ENTERPRISE BRIDGE  WIDE ANGLE.

               ESTABLISH all regulars at their stations EXCEPT Spock, who is
               replaced by MATHEWS.  SCOTTY is busy at his station.

                                   KIRK
                         Captain's log, Stardate 4939.7.  We
                         plan to lure the Romulan Sub-
                         Commander aboard the Enterprise by
                         simulating total power failure as
                         if their plan had succeeded. 
                         Security detail to meet them in the
                         transporter room where they 
                         expect only their operative.  All
                         target areas for their anesthetic 
                         gas cylinders are sealed
                         off and guarded by security 
                         details in breathing masks.
                              (switches off, 
                              turns to Scotty)
                         Let's go, Mr. Scott.

                                   SCOTTY
                             (turns)
                         Aye, sir.

               Kirk and Scotty head for elevator.  Mathews comes up behind.

                                   MATHEWS
                         Captain, request permission to join
                         you.

                                   KIRK
                             (looks at him, no
                             "Mathews Effect,"
                             decides on intuition)
                         All right, Lieutenant.  Mr. Sulu,
                         you have the con.

               They exit together, the elevator doors close, Scotty
               examining Mathews unbelievingly.
                                                                CUT TO:
               INT. ENTERPRISE SICKBAY.

               NURSE CHAPEL seated with a reader screen, is attending SPOCK,
               who is apparently unconscious. MCCOY enters from his office,
               comes up behind her and looks over her shoulder, eyebrows
               raising.

                                   MCCOY
                         Vulcan psychophysiology?!

                                   NURSE CHAPEL
                             (turns with guilty start,
                             snaps off reader)
                         In the line of duty, Doctor!

                                   MCCOY
                         Of course...
                             (Chapel flushes)
                         Rig for emergency, Nurse, we're
                         going to lose ship's power in a
                         few minutes.
                                                           DISSOLVE TO:
               INT. ENTERPRISE TRANSPORTER ROOM.

               The lights are still on as KIRK, SCOTTY, and MATHEWS, armed
               with pistol grip phasers, enter to meet four crewmen, also
               armed.

               NOTE:  The crewman in charge is MUTATKAR, who may look Hindu
               and/or speak with a Hindi accent.

               As they approach the transporter console, the LIGHTS GO OUT
               and all background NOISE dies.

               The only LIGHT is from they lantern-type instrument set on
               the transporter console.

                                   SCOTTY
                             (as lights dim)
                         Here we go!

               As Kirk's motion, they takes places around the transporter
               but not too close, Mutatkar remains behind console.

                                   KIRK
                         Be sure your phasers are on stun. 
                         Mutatkar!  Put the lights out and
                         stand ready.

                                   MUTATKAR
                             (does so)
                         Aye, sir.

               They wait tensely in the nearly total blackness.
                                                       LAP DISSOLVE TO:

                                                        INT. ENTERPRISE
                                                               CORRIDOR
                                                          INTERSECTION:
               Temporary pressure doors close off the intersection.  Two men
               in breathing masks carrying

               hand LIGHTS (LIT) crouch in the dark.  A smoking canister
               materializes.  Until the SPARKLE CEASES, the smoke trail is
               stationary, then it starts to roil properly, and a faint HISS
               is heard.  The two men pounce on it, hunting the cut-off;
               find it, and it stops smoking.  They look at each other.

                                                                CUT TO:
               INT. ENTERPRISE TRANSPORTER ROOM.

               The men are waiting as we left hem in the DARK.  The
               TRANSPORTER EFFECT builds on all transporter plates.  
               The sparkle in the darkness is beautiful
                                                              FADE OUT:

               END ACT III

               ACT IV
                                                               FADE IN:

               INT. ENTERPRISE TRANSPORTER ROOM.

               The TRANSPORTER EFFECT is just fading leaving the ROMULAN SUB
               COMMANDER, weapon in his left hand, on the forward plate, his
               men behind him, armed, peering into the blackness, puzzled.

               Suddenly, MUTATKAR flashes the powerful cone of LIGHT from
               the lantern directly into the

               Romulan's eyes, blinding them, and lighting the scene.

                                   KIRK
                             (steps forward)
                         Drop your weapons, you're
                         outnumbered.

               The Romulan Sub-Commander squints into the light, slowly
               lowers his weapon, but doesn't drop it, and descends to
               Kirk's level.  His men follow slowly, keeping their weapons.

               The Sub-Commander eyes Kirk, squinting less as he moves out
               of the direct line of light; he circles left.  Kirk turns,
               following him.

                                   SUB-COMMANDER
                         Captain Kirk, yes?
                             (nods appreciatively)
                         Nicely done.

                                   KIRK
                         Drop your weapons, all of you!

               The Sub-Commander nods, holding out his weapon to the side,
               and drops it with a CLATTER.  His men follow suit; the sound
               RINGS hollowly.  The Sub-Commander continues circling left,
               very cautiously.

                                   SUB-COMMANDER
                             (sincerely)
                         You're wrong about us.  We're not
                         your enemies, Captain.  We noticed
                         your sudden loss of power and came
                         to see if we could help.

                                   KIRK
                         That's far enough!  Hold it right
                         there!

               The Sub-Commander stops, satisfied with his position.  The
               other Romulans slowly circle the other Enterprise men until
               the group is well integrated, and paired off.

                                   KIRK
                         Mutatkar!  Collect their weapons!

               Mutatkar starts out from behind the console toward the
               nearest Romulan weapon.  Just as h

               reaches it the Romulan Sub-Commander protests:

                                   SUB-COMMANDER
                             (with a gesture of
                              innocence)
                         Oh, look, Captain, you're making a
                         big mistake...
                             (attacks Kirk)
                         The other Romulans grapple with
                         Enterprise men, struggling for
                         their phasers.  Mutatkar retreats
                         behind the console, rescuing the
                         light from accidental loss to
                         careening bodies, aswe get a CLOSE
                         SHOT of SCOTTY and his ROMULAN.

                                   SCOTTY
                             (with relish)
                         Oh, you want to fight!

               Scotty has lost the Enterprise phaser in the scuffle.  The
               Romulan dives for a Romulan weapon. Scotty's eyes widen.

                                   SCOTTY
                         No you don't!

               Scotty closes with his opponent, and throws him.  The Romulan
               shakes his head and comes around again.  They circle.  Scotty
               is enjoying the fight, not trying to win immediately.

               MATHEWS is paired with a much larger Romulan.  Mathews is
               technically proficient, but fights impetuously, without the
               coordination that produces power.  The Romulan gets his arm
               around Mathews' neck.  Awkwardly, Mathews throws him onto the
               steps of the transporter platform. The Romulan bounces back,
               burying his fist in Mathews' midriff. Mathews doubles over
               and charges head first into the Romulan.

               Kirk and the Sub-Commander are evenly matched and have
               settled down to a long contest. 
               
               They circle warily, trading feints and bluffs.  The Romulan
               dives for a phaser, rolls over it and comes to rest against
               the transporter platform.  But Kirk is on him too quickly and
               they struggle for the weapon.

               Scotty, looking a little battered, has a hammerlock on his
               Romulan's arm.  The Romulan has an Enterprise phaser.

                                   SCOTTY
                         All right, my friend, that's
                         enough.

               Scotty removes the phaser from the Romulan's grasp, checks
               the setting, and stuns him with it.

               Mathews' Romulan is kneeling on Mathews' back, holding one of
               Mathews' arms, trying to reach a phaser without losing his
               advantage.  Mathews' expression is a grimace of pain, and a
               kind of wild, uncontrolled, almost "little boy" fury.  Then,
               his features assume a deep calm.

                                   SCOTTY
                             (whispers)
                         Think like a Romulan!

               With coordinated movements, Mathews overpowers the Romulan
               and knocks him out.  He stands

               and looks at his Romulan, the controlled expression fading
               rapidly to surprise and then to awe.

               Kirk finally knocks out the Sub-Commander.  They are both
               more battered than any of the others. The Romulan is oozing
               green blood from a cut near the eye.  Kirk is bleeding from
               the corner of his mouth; Kirk stand swaying, chest heaving,
               and looks around.

               The whole scene grinds to a halt, the Enterprise crew
               standing over fallen Romulans.  It took two of the Security
               men to subdue one of the Romulans, and one of the Enterprise
               crew is un conscious.

                                   KIRK
                             (starts toward door)
                         Mutatkar, see that the Romulans are
                         locked up, and deliver this one
                             (points to the Sub
                              Commander)
                         to sickbay.
                             (over his shoulder)
                         Mathews, Scotty, come with me.

                                                           DISSOLVE TO:

               EXT. SPACE  KLINGON VESSEL FLYBY ENTERPRISE DERELICT IN
               FAR DISTANCE.
                                                           DISSOLVE TO:

               INT. KLINGON CONTROL ROOM  ROMULAN STYLE.

               The two ROMULAN OFFICERS, on watch at regular stations. 
               Temporary apparatus still behind them.

                                   FIRST ROMULAN
                         Shouldn't we have heard from the
                         Sub-Commander by now?

                                   SECOND ROMULAN
                         Patience.  What could go wrong?  At
                         worst they're lost in the dark.
                         Power will be on over there any
                         minute now.

               They continue to monitor their instruments.

                                   SECOND ROMULAN
                         See?  There it is.  It's our ship
                         now.  Disappeared on patrol with-
                         out a trace.  Nothing to link us
                         with an act of war...

                                                                CUT TO:

               EXT SPACE  ENTERPRISE FROM KLINGON VESSEL'S VIEWPOINT, LIGHT
               SHINING.

                                                                CUT TO:
               INT. ENTERPRISE SICKBAY.

               SPOCK on one bed, life signs low.  The SUB-COMMANDER on the
               bed across the room, under restraints.  The life signs over
               him read Vulcan-norm.  KIRK, looking slightly repaired after
               his fight, stands w2ith MCCOY, surveying the Romulan.  McCoy
               is treating the gash at Kirk's mouth.  He wipes away the last
               bit of blood, and goes to the Romulan.

                                   MCCOY
                         Oh, you can talk now.  Your
                         Romulan's awake, anyway.

                                   KIRK
                             (peering at indicators)
                         He is?

               McCoy starts treating the Romulan's eye, prods him in the
               shoulder.

                                   MCCOY
                         You can stop pretending, now, but
                         be still while I fix up this cut.
                         At least I don't have to chase you
                         all over...
                             (notices Kirk studying
                             life signs)
                         You can't tell from that, you have
                         to have a Doctor's intuition...
                         more flexible than machinery...
                             (gives harder prod to
                             Romulan)
                         Come on, say something.

                                   SUB-COMMANDER
                         May I get up now?

                                   KIRK
                             (appreciative glance
                             at McCoy)
                         No, you may not.  Not until you
                         order your ship to transport our
                         supply of

               V-10 back over here.

                                   SUB-COMMANDER
                         I don't know what you're talking
                         about, Captain.  Am I a prisoner of
                         war?  If so, what war?  I came to
                         the aid of a ship in distress in
                         free space and I've been beaten and
                         restrained like a common criminal.
                         As far as I know, your federation
                         is not at war with the Empire, but
                         if my men and I are not released
                         immediately, there will be war!

               McCoy finishes with the eye, and the Romulan looks at Kirk
               steadily.

                                   KIRK
                         Stow it!  I have a man over here
                         dying for lack of something you
                         stole.  I'm not going to mince
                         words or argue or beat around
                         diplomatic bushes. You have two 
                         minutes to call your ship and 
                         get that V-10 supply over
                         here.  Otherwise, I'll have it
                         extracted from your flesh.

               Kirk is in a dangerous mood.  At this moment, for him, it's
               no bluff.  The sincerity communicates.  The Romulan 
               considers warily.  Either way, he loses.

                                   KIRK
                         Thirty seconds.

                                   SUB-COMMANDER
                         All right, free my hand.

               McCoy move to oblige.  Kirk puts out a staying hand.

                                   KIRK
                         That won't be necessary.

               Kirk taps the intercom, swinging it into position over the
               Romulan.  Throughout the conversation, his finger never 
               strays from the cut-off.

                                   KIRK
                         Lieutenant Uhura, put this through
                         to the Romulan ship, no visual.
                             (to the Romulan)
                         Go ahead.

                                   SUB-COMMANDER
                         Sub-Commander Chorn calling
                         D'linto.

               The Romulan eyes Kirk steadily, he's conceded a battle, but
               hasn't surrendered.

                                   VOICE
                             (filtered)
                         D'linto here, sir. 
                         Congratulations.

                                   SUB-COMMANDER
                         Transport that box of V-10
                         concentrate to the same place where
                         I arrived.

                                   VOICE
                             (filtered)
                         Box of V-10 concentrate?

               The Sub-Commander looks at Kirk, to protest innocently.  Kirk
               jerks a thumb at the communicator fairly sparking with 
               lethal determination.  The Romulan concedes without grace.

                                   SUB-COMMANDER
                         Are you questioning a direct order?

                                   VOICE
                             (filtered)
                         No sir!  Right away, sir!

               Kirk cuts the connection.
                                                                CUT TO:
               INT ENTERPRISE CORRIDOR (DECK FIVE)

               MATHEWS is walking briskly along, a crewmember passes, then
               he is alone.  HE walks beneath an arch, glances casually at
               doors as if orienting himself.  He stops suddenly as an idea
               occurs to him.  He considers it, looks around to see he's
               alone, and walks back to a door.

               Mathews stands in front of the door, struggling with a
               decision; he want to go in, knows he shouldn't, is
               irresistibly drawn.  He looks up and down once more, and
               slips quickly through the door.  It closes behind him.

               CLOSE SHOT: MATHEWS standing against the door on the inside. 
               PULL BACK to REVEAL SPOCK'S

               QUARTERS.  Mathews looks around, fascinated.  He turns to his
               left to the dresser near the door, goes to it, stands looking
               for a moment, the, hesitantly, puts out a finger to touch
               some of the objects laid out there for common use.

               The, distracted, he follows along the wall toward the bed,
               examining, touching.  He steeples his fingers in the
               Spockian manner, two fingers raised, elbows on the chair
               arms, and composes his features in deep thought.


               CLOSE SHOT: THE FINELY MANICURED FINGERS.

                                                             TRANSITION
                                                                 FOCUS:

               INT MCCOY'S OFFICE:  CLOSE SHOT OF SPOCK'S FINGERS STEEPLED
               THE SAME WAY. 
               
               PULL BACK TO REVEAL SPOCK, sitting in McCoy's chair at
               McCoy's desk, elbows on chair arms.  MCCOY is just finishing
               taking scanner readings on Spock.  KIRK is pacing
               thoughtfully.

                                   SPOCK
                             (as if continuing)
                         I'm quite all right, though I may
                         tend to tire easily for a few
                         hours.  The problem is, what 
                         are we going to do now?  We
                         can't simply release them, they'd 
                         try to destroy us to keep
                         us from reporting. We're too 
                         evenly matched to chance a
                         running battle... especially 
                         without full phaser power... and
                         we're too far out for Federation help...

               Kirk confronts Spock across the desk.

                                   KIRK
                             (with suppressed humor)
                         It's very simple, really.
                             (taps the desk)
                         You, Mr. Spock, are going to
                         perform a miracle.

                                   SPOCK
                         I am?

                                   KIRK
                         That is, if you feel up to it.

                                   SPOCK
                             (considers)
                         What kind of miracle?

                                   KIRK
                             (heading for corridor)
                         Come with me.

               Spock rises and starts around the desk toward McCoy, who is
               quite bewildered.  Spock moves with the barest race of
               unsteadiness.
                                                                CUT TO:
               INT ENTERPRISE BRIDGE

               UHURA, SCOTTY, CHEKOV and SULU in their places, busy.  The
               elevator doors fly open to reveal KIRK, SPOCK, and MATHEWS. 
               They enter as Kirk is saying:

                                   KIRK
                         Think you can do it, Mr. Spock?

                                   SPOCK
                             (nods)
                         With Lieutenant Mathews' help.

               They form a group between library computer and Kirk's chair.

                                   MATHEWS
                             (nervously)
                         It's risky.  We could blow that
                         ship out of existence with the
                         tiniest error.

                                   SPOCK
                         A calculated risk.

                                   KIRK
                         Acceptable risk.  Set it up, Mr.
                         Spock.

                                   SPOCK
                         Aye, sir.

               Spock and Mathews go to the library computer, Kirk to his
               station.  Kirk seats himself.

                                   KIRK
                             (activates intercom)
                         Kirk to security.
                             (beat)
                         Have you got all those gas
                         cylinders, yet?

                                   VOICE
                             (filtered)
                         Aye, sir.

                                   KIRK
                         Have two of them brought to each of
                         the four main transporter rooms
                         on the double.  Have each
                         technician relinquish control to
                         the main computer, seal off the room, and
                         prepare to crack the values on my
                         order...
                                                                CUT TO:

               EXT. SPACE - ENTERPRISE FLYBY  KLINGON VESSEL IN FAR
               DISTANCE.
                                                                CUT TO:
               INT KLINGON CONTROL ROOM.

               The same two Romulans are at the controls.

                                   FIRST ROMULAN
                         It's been too long.  Something's
                         wrong over there.

                                   SECOND ROMULAN
                         I admit I don't understand the Sub
                         Commander's request, but it was
                         his voice.  What could be wrong?

                                   FIRST ROMULAN
                         I don't know, but I keep wondering
                         about them trying to hail us
                         and them trying to shake us off
                         when we are supposed to be beyond
                         the range of their best sensors...

                                   SECOND ROMULAN
                         So they've got some minor
                         improvement.  They'd clearly
                         decided we were just a ghost 
                         image...

                                   FIRST ROMULAN
                         Nevertheless, I keep worrying.

                                   SECOND ROMULAN
                         Worrying is the Commander's
                         profession, not yours.

                                   FIRST ROMULAN
                         Still, I think we ought to do
                         something...

                                   SECOND ROMULAN
                         Like?

                                   FIRST ROMULAN
                             (smothering yawn, eyelids
                             heavy)
                         That's up to you...you're in charge
                             (falling asleep)
                         in...
                             (slumps)

                                   SECOND ROMULAN
                             (turning to the FIRST)
                         Wha...?
                             (eyes closing)
                         Did...?
                             (slumps)
                             
    The TRANSPORTER EFFECT builds six images in center of room.  SPOCK,
    MATHEWS, SUB-COMMANDER, and THREE OTHER ROMULANS from the boarding 
    party. Spock and Mathews are wearing breathing masks (filter type.) 
    The Romulans are not, and promptly go to sleep. Spock and Mathews 
    examine the jury-rugged equipment and begin removing it. They work 
    together smoothly and efficiently.
                                                                CUT TO:

               EXT. SPACE - ENTERPRISE MOVING VERY SWIFTLY, ALONE.

                                                                CUT TO:
               INT ENTERPRISE BRIDGE

               All REGULARS at their stations.  SPOCK is working busily at
               the library computer.  MATHEWS is watching Spock, slightly
               more willing to be near him.  He seems more curious than
               belligerent.

                                   SPOCK
                         It's all here, Captain, the
                         complete record of their
                         experiments on the Enterprise
                             (turns to Kirk)
                         We've got their equipment, their
                         records, and our freedom.  By the
                         time they've reconstructed their
                         work, we'll have new safeguards.

                                   KIRK
                             (nods)
                         Seems futile, doesn't it.  Struggle
                         for a slight advantage only to
                         find it's all even anyway.
                             (shakes head)
                         Slow to Warp six, Mr. Sulu, no more
                         need to rush.  Mr. Chekov, plot
                         a course for Starbase Fifteen.

                                   SULU
                         Aye, sir.
                             (works switches)

                                   CHEKOV
                         Plotted, sir.  Shall I lay it in?

               Kirk rises and starts for Spock's station.

                                   KIRK
                         Lay it in, Mr. Chekov.
                             (lays hand on Spock's
                             shoulder)
                         Come on, Spock, let's go get
                         something to eat!

                                                                CUT TO:
               EXT. SPACE  THE ENTERPRISE FLIES BY.

                                                                CUT TO:

               EXT. SPACE  THE ENTERPRISE ENTERING ORBIT ABOUT STARBASE
               FIFTEEN.

                                                                CUT TO:
               INT. ENTERPRISE BRIDGE.

               The elevator doors are just closing on KIRK as he exits. 
               UHURA is busily receiving and recording tapes.  A stack grows
               at her elbow.  Scotty is absent.  CHEKOV, SULU, and MATHEWS
               are securing their stations.

                                   MATHEWS
                         What have you got there?

                                   UHURA
                             (smiling)
                         Some more journals for Mr. Spock. 
                         He must subscribe to everything
                         in the universe!

                                   MATHEWS
                         Well, it's his job, as well as his
                         hobby.  But you don't have to go
                         all the way down there.  It's on my
                         way.  I'll take them for you.

                                   UHURA
                         Thank you, Lieutenant!

                                   MATHEWS
                             (shyly)
                         Call me Bart.

                                   UHURA
                             (warmly)
                         All right, Bart.

               They pause a moment, looking into each other's eyes, then
               they both laugh as they part.

               Uhura sits down as Mathews' exits.  She becomes very busy
               with her board.

               Sulu catches Chekov's eye and indicates Uhura and Mathews
               with his eyes.  Chekov nods with a knowing smirk.  He has
               finished his work, and leans back relaxed.  Sulu keeps a
               watchful eye on his board and makes adjustments form time to
               time.

                                   SULU
                         It's amazing how much a person can
                         change in just a few weeks.  What
                         do you suppose happened?

                                   CHEKOV
                         I don't know.  Maybe your program
                         had an effect on him?  I caught
                         him listening to some Vulcan folk
                         music the other day.

                                   SULU
                         Noooo... it started long before the
                         program, just after we shook
                         off those Romulans.  Besides, there
                         was only that one little segment
                         of Vulcan music.
                                (thoughtfully)
                         But, you know?  Spock's a real 
                         artist.  He edited that tape
                         of Vulcan scenery to go with 
                         his songs himself.  Just like a
                         professional travelogue.

                                   CHEKOV
                         I could smell the dust, and hear
                         the famed Vulcan peacefulness.

                                   SULU
                         Me, too.  But I don't think Spock
                         did it to impress Mathews.  I
                         think he was trying to add a
                         dimension that we could all
                         appreciate.

                                   CHEKOV
                         He succeeded.

                                   SULU
                         You may be right...but... logical
                         music?!

                                   CHEKOV
                         It didn't sound like it.

                                   SULU
                         If that's Vulcan folk music, I
                         wonder what the serious music is
                         like?
                             (dreamily)
                         Now, that might be interesting...

               Chekov laughs at Sulu as one looks at a ticking bomb, then
               looks away.

                                   CHEKOV
                             (mouths silently)
                         What have I done?

                                                                CUT TO:
               INT. SPOCK'S QUARTERS.

               SPOCK is seated at his desk, elbows propped on the chair
               arms, hands folded with first two fingers raised.  The IDIC
               chain is draped over his hands, the IDIC itself held against
               the first two fingers by the thumbs.  ESTABLISH THIS WELL. 
               In his field of view are the IDIC and large reader screen,
               showing what might be some particle physics problems: a
               mixtureof math symbols, English letters, and some strange
               Vulcan markings.  We hear the SOUND of a buzzer.

                                   SPOCK
                             (absently)
                         Come!

               KIRK enters as the door flies open and shuts behind him.  He
               approaches Spock briskly.

                                   KIRK
                         So there you are, Mr. Spock!  Why
                         didn't you answer your intercom?

               Spock seems to come to, eyes focusing on Kirk in belayed
               recognition.  He begins to rise in respect.  Kirk waves him
               back.

                                   SPOCK
                         I didn't hear it, sir.

                                   KIRK
                             (puzzled)
                         What's gripped your attention so
                         strongly you can't hear?

                                   SPOCK
                             (puts IDIC down carefully,
                             one finger tracing outline
                             as he speaks)
                         Sir, I've been attempting to
                         construct a corollary for
                         T'shailoh's General Theorum, 
                         but with little success.
                             (points to square array
                             of Vulcan symbols on
                              screen)
                         Here is what you said...

                                   KIRK
                             (looks at screen)
                         I said that!?

                                   SPOCK
                         Precisely.  Now, could you explain
                         to me exactly how you arrived at
                         the idea to ask me
                              (points to the 
                              symbol)
                         to think as a Romulan?  Like all 
                         elegant solutions, it seems
                         obvious in retrospect, but the 
                         method of generating it eludes me.

                                   KIRK
                             (laughs, clapping Spock
                             on back)
                         No, I couldn't, not any more than
                         you could explain that
                             (point at viewer)
                         to me, or exactly how you second
                         guessed them.  Let's just say it
                         takes teamwork, or if you prefer,
                             (pointing to IDIC)
                         "combinations of divers elements."

               They look up at the SOUND of the buzzer.

                                   SPOCK
                         Come!

               The door opens to reveal MATHEWS.  Absently mindedly carrying
               the tape stack, he enters, and half way across the floor,
               notices Kirk and nods to him.

                                   MATHEWS
                         Captain.

               Mathews turns to Spock after Kirk acknowledges the greeting
               with a nod.  Mathews, with a very Vulcan calm, renders an
               accurate if awkward version of the Vulcan salute.  Spock
               returns it gravely, politely.  This is the first time Mathews
               has offered such recognition.

                                   MATHEWS
                         Mr. Spock, what's the T'shailoh
                         method?

               Spock is really surprised now.  Slowly, thoughtfully, he
               picks up the IDIC and dons it for safekeeping.  He's watching
               Mathews for reaction, and so is Kirk.  Mathews eyes the IDIC
               respectfully.  We can see from Kirk's relaxed attitude that
               Mathews is not projecting any disturbance.

                                   SPOCK
                         You can pronounce it; perhaps you
                         can learn it.  Come here, I'll show
                         you.  Maybe, later, we can discuss
                         music.

               Mathews grins impulsively, then apologetically irons his face
               to Vulcan-polite.

                                   MATHEWS
                         I'd be honored.

                                   SPOCK
                             (to Kirk)
                         A truly elegant, multiple solution.

               Spock turns to Mathews, who absently puts the tape stack on a
               far corner of Spock's desk and looks over Spock's shoulder as
               Spock's works the reader controls. 
               
               Kirk backs quietly out of the room, smiling like a
               grandfather who's just reunited two feuding sons.

                                                                CUT TO:
               INT. ENTERPRISE CORRIDOR.

               Spock's door is closing behind KIRK as SCOTTY and MCCOY come
               up together, McCoy carrying a tape cassette.

                                   MCCOY
                         Jim!  If you have a minute, there's
                         something we'd like to talk to
                         you about.

                                   KIRK
                         Yes?

                                   SCOTTY
                         Sir, it's about Lieutenant Mathews'
                         the crew has sort of got together
                         this petition...

                                   MCCOY
                             (interrupts)
                         What he's trying to say is that we
                         want you to put in a request to
                         have Mathews assigned to the
                         Enterprise...permanently.
                             (hands Kirk the tape)

                                   SCOTTY
                         Seventy percent of the crew have
                         signed the request.

                                   KIRK
                             (very surprised)
                         This is most unusual.

                                   MCCOY
                         Will you do it, Jim?
                             (suggestively)
                         It'd be good for Spock, too...

                                   KIRK
                         It won't do any good; the Admiralty
                         assigns men where they're needed
                         most...
                             (helplessly)
                         All right!  I'll try.  But don't
                         blame me for failing.

               Kirk turns and starts down the corridor shaking his head at
               the cassette in his hand.

                                   KIRK
                             (mutters)
                         Inverse Mathews Effect!


               THE END

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Script created with Final Draft by Final Draft, Inc.


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