Captain 's log, Stardate 3211.7.
We are entering standard orbit
about Gamma ll,
an uninhabited planetoid
with an automatic communications
and astrogation station.
Ensign Chekov,
Lieutenant Uhura, and I
will beam down
and make a routine check of its facilities.
Standard orbit, Captain.
Good.
Mind the store, Mr. Spock.
Acknowledged, Captain.
Lieutenant Uhura, let's go.
Yes, sir.
Energize, Scotty.
Aye, Captain.
Captain ...
what happened?
Must be a ...
transporter malfunction.
It ...
was a rough trip.
This isn't Gamma II.
Look at the color of that sky.
This is the craziest landing pad I've ever seen.
That's a trinary sun.
Scott to Bridge.
Spock here.
Mr. Spock, the captain,
Lieutenant Uhura, and Chekov ...
they vanished.
They got onto the transporter platform,
and they just vanished.
I presume you mean they vanished in a manner
not consistent with the usual workings
of the transporter, Mr. Scott.
Of course I mean that.
You think I'd call if they just beamed down?
Have you reversed controls?
I've made all the proper checks.
There was nothing --
No flash of light. Nothing.
They were gone.
Power surge?
Not down here.
All the dials were right.
The transporter was functioning perfectly.
Recheck your equipment, Mr. Scott.
I'll scan for them on the planet's surface.
Spock out.
But, Captain,
if we're not on Gamma II, where are we?
That's what I'd like to know.
Kirk to Enterprise.
Kirk to Enterprise.
Dead.
Mine, too.
Captain ...
look.
Phasers ... on stun.
Fire.
Hand-to-hand.
Space -- the final frontier.
These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise.
Its five-year mission --
to explore strange new worlds ...
to seek out new life and new civilizations ...
to boldly go where no man has gone before.
Captain 's log,
Stardate 3211.8.
While beaming down from the Enterprise
to inspect facilities on Gamma II,
the normal transporter sequence
has been interrupted,
and we find ourselves on a strange
and hostile planet,
surrounded by creatures belonging to races
scattered all through the galaxy.
Excellent, Captain Kirk.
Although we expected strength
and competitive spirit,
we are greatly pleased.
Either of you hurt?
I don't think so, Captain.
Nobody's hurt, Captain ...
yet.
Admirable, Chekov.
Admirable.
You also, Uhura.
Your spirit is as great as the captain's.
I can see you all will prove invaluable here.
I am Galt,
Master Thrall of the planet Triskelion.
I have been sent to welcome you.
There, Captain.
Now you are prepared for your training.
How do you know our names?
The Providers were expecting you, Captain.
They arranged your transportation.
These Providers of yours, are they --
Correction, Captain.
The Providers are not ours.
We are theirs.
What do they want from us?
You are to be trained, of course.
What other use is there for thralls?
Thralls?
You must be mistaken.
We're officers ...
ofa United spaceship ...
on Federation business.
There has been no mistake.
Your old titles mean nothing here, Captain.
You are thralls now.
You are to be taken
to the training enclosure.
[Buzz]
Come.
Places have been prepared for you.
We're not going anywhere ...
until we have some information.
Who are you?
What is this place?
What do you think you're going to do with us?
I am Galt, the Master Thrall.
This place is the planet Triskelion.
You are to be trained
and spend the rest of your lives here.
Mr. Spock ...
I've checked that transporter
from one end to the other.
Every circuit works perfectly.
Whatever that power surge was,
it had nothing to do with the transporter
or any other system aboard this ship.
I'm beginning to believe that.
I've conducted two sweeps of the planet's surface.
There is no sign of life.
Then what the devil is happening?
Does that mean their atoms
are just floating around out there?
No. Even that would show up on our sensors.
Where are they then?
The only answers are negative.
No magnetic storms,
no ionic interference,
no breakdown in your equipment.
A negative attitude is no good to us.
We can't just leave them out there ...
wherever they are.
We shall continue sensor scans, Doctor.
At the moment, that is all we can do,
except hope for a rational explanation.
Hope?
I always thought that was a human failing,
Mr. Spock.
True, Doctor.
Constant exposure
does result in a certain degree
of contamination.
These are your quarters.
Open, thralls.
Aah!
[Gagging]
Aah!
Aah!
Uhh!
That was foolish, Captain.
Escape is quite impossible --
as demonstrated by your collars of obedience.
Return to your quarters.
They are not within the confines of this solar system.
It's been nearly an hour.
Can people live that long as disassembled atoms
in a transporter beam?
I have never heard of a study being done,
but it would be a fascinating project.
Fascinating?
Those people are friends of ours out there,
if they're still alive.
Precisely.
The odds are not good.
No. I would say approximately 400 --
Don't quote odds
and don't give me anymore dispassionate logic, Mr. Spock.
Just keep looking for them.
I would welcome a suggestion, Doctor,
even an emotional one,
as to where to look.
First time you've ever asked me for anything,
and it has to be an occasion like this.
Captain, the Enterprise ...
they will be trying to find us, won't they?
They'll try,
but where do they look?
We're here, and we don't know where it is.
This system's star is a trinary.
Limits it a bit,
but we're a long way from the Enterprise ...
if we're in the same dimension.
I am your drill thrall.
I am called Lars.
What do you want from her?
That is not your concern.
Your drill thralls will attend you presently.
[Beep]
There is little time.
[Uhura] What are you doing?
Aah! Aah!
Get out!
[Lars] I have been selected for you.
Lieutenant, are you all right?
Ohh!
Uhura!
Lieutenant!
Lieutenant, are you all right?
[Struggling]
Lieutenant, answer me!
Aah!
Lieutenant!
What's happening to Lieutenant Uhura?
Lieutenant, are you all right?
It is not allowed to refuse selection.
[Beep]
Step away from the door.
[Beep]
Come.
It is the nourishment interval.
Captain's log,
Stardate 3259.2.
First Officer Spock in command.
The Captain, Lieutenant Uhura,
and Ensign Chekov
have been missing for nearly two hours.
Computer probability projections
are useless
due to insufficient data.
Mr. Spock, I'm getting a fluctuating energy reading
on this hydrogen cloud.
It's faint, sir,
but it consistently reads an excess
of predictable energy level.
Interesting.
There seems to be an ionization trail.
What would account for that, Spock?
Exactly the question I have just fed to the computers, Doctor.
And the answer is ...
nothing known to us would account for it.
Well, the transporter has neither the power
nor the range to account for that.
Plot a follow course, Ensign Haines.
Aye, sir.
You're going to leave here without them
and run off on some wild goose chase
halfway across the galaxy Just because
you found a discrepancy in a hydrogen cloud?
Doctor, I am chasing the captain,
Lieutenant Uhura, and Ensign Chekov,
not some wild aquatic fowl.
This is the only lead we've had.
Course plotted and laid in.
310 mark 241.
Initiate. Warp factor 2.
You -- You have been selected for me?
No. I am only your drill thrall.
I have brought you nourishment.
It is a nice name -- Chee-koof.
Heh, heh.
Chekov.
Chee ... koof!
It is a very nice name.
I am called Tamoon.
Oh, uh, pleased --
Pleased to know you, uh ... miss.
You are a fine specimen.
I like you better than the others.
I will instruct you well
so my Provider will take you.
That's w-w-w-wery kind of you, miss, but --
If my Provider is pleased,
we may even be selected for each other.
I didn't realize I was so hungry.
Whatever you call this, it was very good.
It is nourishment. We call it that.
Nourishment. That's very practical.
What do you call this collar?
It is a sign of our Provider.
By the color of the lights
it can be known who holds us.
When you are vended, you will also have a color.
"Vended"? You mean bought, sold.
When you are developed.
The Provider who offers the most quatloos
puts his color on us.
Our race has another name for it.
Slavery.
This ... collar of obedience ...
is Galt the only one who can operate it?
- It is only to warn and punish. - How does he work it?
It is not permitted to talk of that.
Will you provide all my nourishment?
Of course.
I am your drill thrall.
I will train you well.
Yes, I'm sure you will.
I must say,
I've never seen a top sergeant who looked like you.
What does that mean?
It means you're a very beautiful woman.
What is ... beautiful?
You mean nobody's ever told you that before?
Well, uh, beautiful is, um ...
Beautiful ...
That's beautiful.
Shahna, where were you born?
Born?
I have been here always.
Your parents -- where are they?
Your mother and father.
She who bore me was killed in a freestyle match.
Freestyle?
You will learn all these things.
Lars and Chekov's drill thrall -- they weren't born here.
Where do they come from?
It is not permitted --
[Alarm Sounds]
The exercise interval.
This is your training harness.
Put it on.
This is ridiculous.
Nothing out there. Nothing at all.
We certainly seem to be heading into an empty sector.
Projecting back along the path of ionization,
the nearest system is M24 Alpha.
That must be two dozen light years away.
- 11.630. - Are you suggesting ...
that they could have transported
over a distance of ...
You're out of your Vulcan mind, Spock.
I'm suggesting nothing, Doctor.
I am merely pursuing
the only logical course available to us.
Hold.
This thrall was slow in obeying a command.
For his punishment, he will be practice target.
As you charge, you will strike
the practice target when you pass.
You begin, Uhura.
No!
It is not allowed to refuse a training exercise.
I don't care whether it's allowed or not.
I will not do it.
None of us will do it, Galt.
It is part of your training.
The Providers wish it.
The devil with the Providers.
Cossacks.
- [Collars Whining] - [Gagging]
We have been tolerant because you are new comers,
but I see you must be given a lesson.
Lars.
Kloog.
Kloog will administer correction.
Uhura, take your place on the triad.
Tie her.
No.
No!
I am responsible for the actions of my people.
I demand to see the Providers.
It is not permitted.
But, Captain, since you assume responsibility
for your people,
you will take the punishment.
It is less painful than the collar.
Turn around.
Captain, you will be practice target.
It is a shame to lose you, Captain,
but it is worth it as an example to the others.
Captain 's log, supplemental.
Stardate, unknown.
Our strange captivity continues.
This planet is called Triskelion.
We do not know its location.
We do not know who controls it.
Its dangers ...
are abundantly clear.
Hold.
Rest interval.
15 trisecs.
He's pretty fast with that whip.
This will strengthen you.
Drink it.
Kloog's left eye is weak.
Approach him from that side.
Resume places.
Hold.
We hold, Provider 1.
Provider 1 bids 300 quatloos for the new comers.
Provider 2, 350 quatloos.
Provider 3, 400.
1,000 quatloos.
1,050 quatloos.
2,000.
2,000 quatloos are bid.
Is there a challenge?
The newcomers have been vended to Provider 1.
We're free people.
We belong to no one.
Such spirit.
I wager 15 quatloos that he is untrainable.
20 quatloos that allthree are untrainable.
5,000 quatloos that the newcomers
will have to be destroyed.
Accepted. Mark them, Galt.
You now bear the mark of a fine herd.
But I must warn you -- any further disobedience
now that you are full-fledged thralls
will be punishable by death.
It doesn't make sense they could have come this far.
The only chance is to continue to search
in the area they were lost.
We searched the area.
It's always possible to miss something.
Such as a failure in the transporter mechanism.
No, sir. There was no sign of failure.
There was no sign of them in the area of Gamma II.
If they weren't there it's ridiculous to think
they could still be alive -- not after all this time.
In that case, we have nothing to lose
by pursuing our present course.
Slow down. Slow down.
Wait a minute.
We've covered over 2 miles.
Can we take a breather?
A rest?
Oh. Very well, if you are tired.
Oh.
Well, it's good to get away from
that development area, even for a while.
Shahna, why do the, uh, Providers ...
why do they like
to watch others being hurt ...
killed?
That is the way.
Their voices sound ... mechanical.
Are they computers?
Computers?
You've seen them.
Do they have bodies?
Not such as ours.
What is this place?
It is not used.
It's very old.
Does it have a name?
Shahna,
could it have been
a city for the Providers?
I do not think it is well to ask such things.
They do have bodies, or did have?
One does not talk of such things.
Uh ...
It's very pretty country.
Very much like my home planet, Earth.
Planet?
Where I was born.
Shahna,
don't you ever look at the night sky?
The lights up there?
I have looked at them.
Well, those are stars.
And around them ...
are planets.
And there are people that live on them,
Just like us.
How can one live on a flicker of light?
From Earth, Triskelion's three suns
are just a flicker of light.
Actually, this is the darkest planet
I've ever seen.
Dark?
But all is lighted.
Here, the chambers.
The thralls have no freedom, Shahna.
You don't think or do anything
but what the Providers tell you.
What else would one do?
Love,
for one thing.
What is ... love?
Love ...
is the most important thing on Earth ...
especially to a man and a woman.
We, too, have mates.
When it is time to increase the herd,
my Provider will select one for me.
On Earth ...
we select our own mate.
Someone we care for.
On Earth ...
men and women live together,
help each other ...
make each other happy.
I do not think your words are allowed.
All right.
All right.
Tell me about the Providers.
What do they look like? Where do they live?
I have never seen them,
but ... they are said not to be like us.
They stay in --
[Electronic Buzzing]
Oh!
Stop it.
Stop it!
I'm responsible!
I made her talk!
Stop it!
You're killing her!
She did nothing wrong!
It was my fault.
If you want to punish someone,
punish me!
Please ...
Aah!
[Provider] ls that what you humans call compassion?
It is interesting, but it has no value here.
You present many interesting aspects, Captain,
but you must learn obedience.
Then you will be an excellent thrall.
It's all right.
You can stop crying now, Shahna.
It's all right.
You-You risked bringing their anger on yourself.
Why did you do it?
It's the custom of my people ...
to help one another
when we're in trouble.
And ...
And this ...
is this ...
also helping?
You could call it that.
Please ...
help me once again.
I ...
I did not know it could be like this
between people.
Is it always so in the place you come from?
Captain,
you do indeed present many surprises.
Because you have amused the Providers,
there will be no punishment.
Return to your quarters.
Mr. Scott,
can we manage anything faster than warp 6?
It's my opinion
that we've gone too far as it is, sir.
He's right, Spock.
We've lost Jim and the others on Gamma II.
You've dragged us a dozen light years on some hunch --
Doctor, I do not respond to hunches.
No transporter malfunction
was responsible for the disappearance.
They were not within the Gamma system.
A focused beam of extremely high-intensity light
was directed into the Gamma system
from the trinary system we are now approaching.
No known natural phenomena
could have caused that beam.
Does that clarify the situation?
No, it doesn't.
It's still a fancy way of saying
that you're playing a hunch.
Well, my hunch is that they're back on Gamma II --
dead or alive --
and I still want another search.
Dr. McCoy speaks for me, too, sir.
I see.
Gentlemen,
I am in command of this vessel,
and we shall continue on our present course,
unless it is your intention to declare a mutiny.
Mr. Spock!
Who said anything about a mutiny,
you stubborn, pointed-eared ...
All right.
If we don't find them here,
do we still have another search on Gamma II?
Agreed.
Mr. Scott, could you manage warp 7?
I would be more than content to do so, sir,
and maybe a wee bit more.
Ensign ...
warp 7.
You're disturbed about what happened today?
Yes.
You have made me feel ...
strangely.
If it were allowed,
I would ask that you have another drill thrall.
I wouldn't like that, Shahna.
I wouldn't like that at all.
I'm sorry, Shahna.
[Beeps]
This is going to kill our romance.
What about Lars?
He's gone to report me.
I said I didn't like the food.
Galt controls these collars.
If we can find the phaser
that I threw at Lars,
we can use the circuits
to short out these collars.
Captain.
[Provider] Only a reminder.
You Earth people are most unusual,
most stimulating.
Standard orbit.
Sensors indicate only one concentration
of life forms on the planet --
on the lower hemisphere.
Humanoid readings.
That gives our landing force a starting point.
There will be no landing force, Doctor.
Assuming the captain and the others
are still alive, it would be unwise to endanger them
by beaming down a large contingent.
We're not going to leave them there
while we just sit and wait.
Interesting.
No power source. It may be shielded.
And it may be just a wild goose chase
like we've been telling you.
I shall beam down, Doctor.
If I am unable to communicate,
a landing party may be necessary.
If you're going into the lion's den,
you'll need a medical officer.
Daniel, as I recall,
had only his faith.
But I welcome your company, Doctor.
Mr. Scott, you'll be in command.
Aye, sir.
[Provider] No, Mr. Spock,
you will not leave the ship.
None of your control systems will operate.
[McCoy] What the devil'sgoing on?
Spock? Spock!
Spock!
Welcome to Triskelion, gentlemen.
By now it must be obvious to you
that you have been expected.
What the voice said was true.
Nothing is functioning.
[Provider] Commendations, gentlemen.
Your ingenuity in discovering
the where abouts of your companions is note worthy.
[Kirk] What you're hearing, gentlemen,
is a Provider.
We are known to the thralls as Providers
because we provide for all their needs.
The term is easier
for their limited mental abilities to comprehend.
"Providing for all their needs" means using thralls --
people stolen from other parts of the galaxy --
to fight each other,
and the Providers gamble on the winner.
Fascinating.
But these ... Providers
haven't the courage to show themselves.
Your species has great curiosity.
We knew that.
You are interesting in many ways.
But you are afraid.
You present no danger while you wearthe collar,
and you wearit as long as you live.
Then show yourself.
There is no objection.
The power source ...
shielded by solid rock.
[Provider 1 ] We are one thousand of your meters
beneath the surface.
Primary ...
mental evolution.
Incredible.
[Provider 2] That isnot true.
Once we had humanoid form,
but we evolved beyond it.
[Provider 3] Through eons of devoting our selves
exclusively to intellectual pursuits,
we became the physically simple,
mentally superior creature you see before you.
A species that enslaves other beings
is ...
hardly superior,
mentally or otherwise.
The thrall sare necessary to the games.
We have found athletic competitions
our only challenge --
the only thing which furnishes us with purpose.
It's an unproductive purpose -- unworthy of your intellect.
We use only inferior beings.
We have found ...
that all life forms in the galaxy
are capable of superior development.
Perhaps you're not as evolved as you believe.
An interesting speculation, Captain.
You and your people are most challenging.
Yes, most challenging.
It was hoped that such new blood
would stimulate our stock of thralls.
How unfortunate that you must be destroyed.
Our destruction will result only in your own.
You may control the Enterprise,
but you cannot match the force
of the entire Federation.
Your ship will be destroyed
by a magnetic storm.
No communications with your base
will be possible.
Your fate will remain a mystery to your people.
And you call your selves superior!
You're murderers --
without the spirit to really wager
for the lives you take.
Wager? Explain yourself, Captain.
My people pride themselves
on being the greatest, most successful
gamblers in the universe.
We compete for everything -- power, fame, women --
everything we desire,
and it is our nature ... to win.
And for proof,
I offer you our exploration of this galaxy.
We are aware of your competitive abilities, Captain.
Well, then ...
I wager ...
that with weapons of your own choice,
right here and now,
my people can overcome an equal number of thralls
set against us.
100 quatloos on the new comers.
400 quatloosagainst the new comers.
200 quatloos against!
500 for the new comers.
Contest by multiple elimination.
Wait! Wait! Hear me!
We can't wager for trifles like quatloos.
The stakes must be higher.
Name your stakes, Captain.
If we win,
the Enterprise and its crew
leaves here in safety.
Further more, all the thralls on the planet must be freed.
Anarchy. They would starve.
You will educate and train them
to establish a normal self-governing culture.
Thralls govern themselves? Ridiculous!
We have done the same
with cultures throughout the galaxy.
Are you willing to admit
that we can do something you can't?
There is nothing we cannot do!
And if you lose, Captain?
If we lose ...
we will remain here --
the entire crew of the Enterprise --
the most stubborn, determined competitors in the universe.
We'll become thralls, enter your games,
obey your orders without rebellion.
You'll be assured of generations
of the most exciting wagering you've ever had.
Your stakes are indeed high, Captain.
Not for true gamesters.
We will accept your stakes on one condition.
Name it.
As leader of your people,
your spirit seems most in domitable.
We suggest you alone,
pitted against three contestants of our choosing.
Three against one ...
Those are pretty high odds.
Not for true gamesters, Captain.
Your ... Your terms are unfair.
On the contrary, they're extremely fair,
since your alternative is death.
Well, in that case, I'll accept your terms.
Galt will prepare you.
Because you wager your skill for all your people,
they will be permitted
to watch the outcome of the game
on the ship's view screen.
Mr. Spock, look!
Captain, you will defend.
Thrall smust stay in the blue area.
You will take the yellow.
Touching an opposing color
deprives a contestant of one weapon.
An opponent must be killed
to be removed from the game.
If only wounded, he is replaced by a fresh thrall.
Is that clear, Captain?
Yes, that's clear.
What in the name of heaven is this?
Heaven's got very little to do with this.
Shahna.
You lied.
Everything you said.
The thralls ... surrender!
You have won, Captain Kirk,
Unfortunately.
However, the terms of the wager will be honored.
You are free.
Remove your collars.
The thralls will be trained?
They will be trained.
We have said it.
I think you'll find it a much more exciting game
than the one you've been playing.
I'm sorry, Shahna.
I didn't lie.
I did what was necessary.
Someday, I hope you'll understand.
I understand ... a little.
You will leave us now?
Yes.
To go back to the lights in the sky?
Yes.
I would like to go to those lights with you.
Take me?
I can't.
Then teach me how, and I will follow you.
There's so much you must learn here first.
The Providers will teach you.
Learn it, Shahna.
All your people must learn
before you can reach for the stars.
Shahna ...
Scotty!
Aye, sir.
Beam us up.
Goodbye, Jim Kirk.
I will learn ...
and watch the lights in the sky ...
and remember.
 |
|
|
