Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) - full transcript

After an explosion on their moon, the Klingons have an estimated 50 years before their ozone layer is completely depleted, and they all die. They have only one choice - to make peace with the Federation, which will mean an end to 70 years of conflict. Captain James T. Kirk and crew are called upon to help in the negotiations because of their experience with the Klingons. Peace talks don't quite proceed, and Kirk and McCoy are convicted of assassinating the Klingon High Chancellor, and imprisoned on Rura Penthe, a snowy hard-labor prison camp. Will they manage to escape? And will there ever be peace with the Klingons?

Stardate 9521.6.

Captain's log, u.S.S. Excelsior.

Hikaru sulu commanding.

After three years,

I've concluded my first assignment

as master of this vessel,

cataloguing gaseous planetary

anomalies in beta quadrant.

We're heading home under

full impulse power.

I am pleased to report that ship

and crew have functioned well.

According to this, we've completed

our survey of the entire sector.

I have an energy wave at 240

degrees Mark 6 port, sir.

Visual.

My god.

Shields. Shields!

She's not answering her helm.

Starboard thruster.

Turn her into the wave.

Aye.

Quarter impulse power.

Damage report.

Checking all systems, captain.

Don't tell me that was

any meteor shower.

Negative, sir.

The subspace shockwave originated

at bearing 3-2-3 Mark 75.

Location...

It's praxis, sir.

It's a klingon moon.

Praxis is their key energy

production facility.

Send to klingon high command.

"This is excelsior, a

federation starship."

"We have monitored a large

explosion in your sector."

"Do you require assistance?"

- Aye, sir.

- Mr. valtane, any more data?

Yes, sir. I've confirmed the

location of praxis, but...

What is it?

I cannot confirm the

existence of praxis.

Onscreen.

Magnify.

Computer enhancement.

- Praxis?

- What's left of it, sir.

Captain, I'm getting a

message from praxis.

Let's have it.

This is brigadier kerla

speaking for the high command.

There has been an

incident on praxis.

However, everything is under control.

We have no need for assistance.

Obey treaty stipulations and

remain outside the neutral zone.

This transmission ends now.

"An incident"?

- Do we report this, sir?

- Are you kidding?

What are we doing here?

Maybe they're throwing

us a retirement party.

- That suits me. I just bought a boat.

- This had better be good.

I'm supposed to be chairing

a seminar at the academy.

Captain, isn't this

just for top brass?

If we're all here, where's sulu?

Captain sulu. On assignment.

Where's Spock?

This briefing is classified.

Ladies and gentlemen, the cinc.

As you were.

To break this information

down succinctly,

the klingon empire has roughly

50 years of life left to it.

For full details, I'm

turning this briefing over

to the federation's

special envoy.

Good morning.

Two months ago, a federation

starship monitored an explosion

on the klingon moon praxis.

We believe it was

caused by over-mining

and insufficient

safety precautions.

The moon's decimation means the

deadly pollution of their ozone.

They Will have depleted

their supply of oxygen

in approximately 50 earth years.

Due to their enormous

military budget,

the klingon economy does

not have the resources

with which to combat

this catastrophe.

Last month, at the behest

of the vulcan ambassador,

I opened a dialogue with gorkon,

chancellor of the klingon high council.

He proposes to commence

negotiations at once.

Negotiations for what?

The dismantling of our space stations

and starbases along the neutral zone,

an end to almost 70 years

of unremitting hostility,

which the klingons can

no longer afford.

Bill, are we talking about

mothballing the starfleet?

Well, I'm sure that our exploration

and scientific programs

- would be unaffected, captain, but...

- I must protest.

To offer klingons safe haven within

federation space is suicide.

Klingons would become the

alien trash of the galaxy,

and if we dismantle the fleet,

we'd be defenseless before

an aggressive species

with a foothold

on our territory.

The opportunity here is to

bring them to their knees.

Then we'll be in a far better

position to dictate terms.

Sir?

Captain Kirk.

The klingons have never

been trustworthy.

I'm forced to agree with

admiral Cartwright.

This is a terrifying idea.

It is imperative that we act now

to support the gorkon initiative

lest more conservative

elements persuade his empire

that it is better to attempt a

military solution and die fighting.

You, captain Kirk, are to

be our first olive branch.

We have volunteered to rendezvous

with the klingon vessel

which is bringing

chancellor gorkon to earth

and to escort him safely

through federation space.

Me?

Well, there are klingons who feel

the same way about the peace treaty

as yourself and

admiral Cartwright,

but they'll think twice about attacking

the enterprise under your command.

I have personally vouched for

you in this matter, captain.

You have personally vouched?

You Will extend chancellor gorkon full

diplomatic courtesy, captain Kirk.

But a full ambassador would

be better equipped...

If there's no further business,

I wish you and your crew godspeed.

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.

I remind you, this

meeting is classified.

I don't know whether to

congratulate you or not, Jim.

I wouldn't.

We volunteered?

There is an old vulcan proverb,

"only Nixon could go to China."

How could you vouch for me?

That's arrogant presumption.

My father requested that

I open negotiations...

I know your father's the vulcan

ambassador, for heaven's sake,

but you know how I

feel about this.

They're animals.

Jim, there is an historic

opportunity here.

Don't believe them.

Don't trust them.

- They are dying.

- Let them die.

Has it occurred to you that this crew

is due to stand down in three months?

We've done our bit for

king and country.

You should have trusted me.

Control, this is sd-103,

approach to spacedock. Over.

Sd-103, you are clear to

deliver captain Kirk and party

to ncc-1701 Alpha. Over.

Captain on the bridge.

- As you were, lieutenant...

- Valeris, sir.

We were told that you needed a

helmsman, so I volunteered.

Lieutenant, it is agreeable

to see you again.

Lieutenant was the first

vulcan to be graduated

- at the top of her class at the academy.

- You must be very proud.

I don't believe so, sir.

She's a vulcan, all right.

Let's get this over with.

Departure stations.

- Scotty.

- Aye, sir?

Did you find the engine room?

Right where I left it, sir.

Standby. Uhura, get

me the dockmaster.

Control tower reading, sir.

Control, this is enterprise

requesting permission to depart.

This is control, enterprise.

Permission to depart granted.

Thirty seconds for port gates.

Clear all moorings.

Awaiting port gates

from this Mark.

All moorings clear.

Aft thrusters.

Thank you, lieutenant.

One-quarter impulse power.

Captain, may I remind you that

regulations specify thrusters

only while in spacedock?

Jim?

You heard the order, lieutenant.

Aye, sir.

Captain's log, stardate 9522.6.

I've never trusted klingons,

and I never Will.

I could never forgive them

for the death of my boy.

It seems to me our mission

to escort the chancellor

of the klingon high

council to a peace summit

is problematic at best.

Spock says this could be

an historic occasion,

and I'd like to believe him,

but how on earth can history

get past people like me?

Sorry.

You could have knocked.

We are almost at the rendezvous, sir. I

thought that you would like to know.

Right.

Permission to speak freely, sir.

It is an honor to serve with you.

You piloted well out of

spacedock, lieutenant.

I've always wanted

to try that, sir.

You've done well, valeris.

As your sponsor at the academy,

I have followed your

career with satisfaction,

and as a vulcan, you've

exceeded my expectations.

I do not understand

this representation.

It is a depiction from

ancient earth mythology,

the expulsion from paradise.

Why keep it in your quarters?

It is a reminder to me

that all things end.

It is of endings that

I wish to speak.

Sir, I address you as

a kindred intellect.

Do you not recognize

that a turning point has been reached

in the affairs of the federation?

History is replete with

turning points, lieutenant.

- You must have faith.

- Faith?

That the universe Will

unfold as it should.

- But is that logical? Surely we must...

- Logic, logic and logic.

Logic is the beginning

of wisdom, valeris,

not the end.

This Will be my final voyage on board

this vessel as a member of her crew.

Nature abhors a vacuum.

I intend you to replace me.

I could only succeed you, sir.

Now hear this. All

officers to the bridge.

Klingon battle cruiser

off the port bow.

All officers to the bridge.

Captain on the bridge.

Shall we raise our

shields, captain?

Never been this close.

The chancellor is undoubtedly

awaiting our signal.

- Uhura, hailing frequencies.

- Aye, sir.

Right standard rudder.

Bring us alongside.

Right standard rudder.

Z plus 5 degrees.

Channel is open, captain.

This is the starship enterprise,

captain James t.

Kirk commanding.

This is kronos one.

I am chancellor gorkon.

Chancellor, we've been

ordered to escort you

through federation space

to your meeting on earth.

Thank you, captain.

Would you and your party

care to dine this evening

aboard the enterprise

with my officers,

as guests of the united

federation of planets?

We would be delighted to accept

your gracious invitation.

We'll make arrangements to have

you beamed aboard at 1930 hours.

I shall look forward to that.

- Well, I hope you're happy.

- Captain,

there is a supply of

romulan ale aboard.

It might make the evening

pass more smoothly.

Officer thinking, lieutenant.

Guess who's coming to dinner.

Energize.

- Chancellor gorkon.

- Captain Kirk.

May I present captain Spock,

whom I believe you know.

Captain, face to face at last.

- You have my thanks.

- Chancellor.

Gentlemen,

this is my daughter azetbur,

my military adviser,

brigadier kerla,

and this is general

Chang, my chief of staff.

I have so wanted to

meet you, captain.

I'm not sure how to take that.

Sincere admiration, Kirk.

From one warrior to another.

Right.

This way. I think you

might enjoy a brief tour.

- They all look alike.

- What about that smell?

You know only top-of-the-line

models can even talk...

You men have work?

- Yes, ma'am.

- Yes, ma'am.

Then snap to it.

I offer a toast.

"The undiscover'd country,"

the future.

- "The undiscover'd country."

- "The undiscover'd country."

Hamlet, act III, scene 1.

You've not experienced

Shakespeare

until you have read him

in the original klingon.

Captain Kirk, I thought

romulan ale was illegal.

One of the advantages of

being 1,000 light-years

from federation headquarters.

To you, chancellor gorkon, one

of the architects of our future.

- Chancellor.

- Chancellor.

Perhaps we are looking at

something of that future here.

Tell me, captain Kirk,

would you be willing

to give up starfleet?

I believe the captain feels

that starfleet's mission

has always been one of peace.

Far be it for me to

dispute my first officer,

but starfleet has always

been at the fore...

Captain, there's no

need to mince words.

In space, all warriors

are cold warriors.

General, are you fond of

Shakespeare?

We do believe all planets

have a sovereign claim

to inalienable human rights.

Inalien? If you could

only hear yourselves.

"Human rights."

Why, the very name is racist.

The federation is no more than

a "homo sapiens only" club.

Present company

excepted, of course.

In any case, we know

where this is leading.

- The annihilation of our culture.

- That's not true.

- No?

- No.

"To be, or not to be."

That is the question which preoccupies

our people, captain Kirk.

- We need breathing room.

- Earth, Hitler, 1938.

I beg your pardon?

Well...

I see we have a long way to go.

We must do this again sometime.

You don't trust me, do you?

I don't blame you.

If there is to be a

brave new world,

our generation is going to have

the hardest time living in it.

Captain Spock.

Chancellor.

- Madam.

- Captain.

Well, most kind.

"Parting is such sweet

sorrow," captain.

Have we not "heard the

chimes at midnight"?

Thank god.

Did you see the way they ate?

Terrible table manners.

I doubt that our own behavior.

Will distinguish us in

the annals of diplomacy.

I'm going to sleep this off.

Please let me know if there's some

other way we can screw up tonight.

I'm going to go find a

pot of black coffee.

The enterprise hosted

chancellor gorkon and company

to dinner last night.

Our manners weren't

exactly Emily post.

Note to the galley,

romulan ale no longer to be

served at diplomatic functions.

Captain Kirk, Will you please

join me on the bridge?

Captain Kirk?

- Captain.

- What is it?

I find this curious.

Spock, I'm really tired.

We are reading an enormous

amount of neutron radiation.

Where?

Strangely enough, it appears

to be emanating from us.

The enterprise?

Valeris, do you know anything

about a radiation surge?

Sir?

Chekov?

Only the size of my head.

I know what you mean.

- What's happened?

- We have fired on the chancellor's ship.

Torpedo room, please confirm.

Have we fired?

0-6...

- Uhura, monitor.

- Aye, sir.

Direct hit.

Confirmed, sir.

We've lost gravity!

We are betrayed!

This is the bridge. Do you read?

Do you read?

Torpedo BAY, did we

fire those torpedoes?

Negative, captain.

According to inventory,

we're still fully loaded.

Find Chang.

Unable to confirm or deny

firing of two photon torpedoes.

- Hailing frequencies.

- Aye, sir.

Kronos one, this is enterprise.

Do you read? Over.

Repeat. Kronos one...

It's very hard to

make out, captain.

There's been some weapons

firing and a lot of shouting.

She is still listing.

She's spinning out of control.

Restoring auxiliary gravity.

Have you not a shred of

decency in you, Kirk?

We come in peace, and you

blatantly defile that peace.

For that, I shall blow

you out of the stars.

- We haven't fired.

- Captain.

According to our

databanks, we have, twice.

Captain, they're coming about.

- They're preparing to fire.

- Shields up, captain?

- Captain, our shields.

- Shields up, captain?

- Signal our surrender.

- Captain?

We surrender!

- This is enterprise. We surrender.

- If they fire at us

- with our shields down...

- I repeat.

- We surrender.

- We Will not be able to respond.

Repeat. Enterprise surrenders.

- Are we firing torpedoes?

- I wish I knew.

Well, it sure looks like it.

I'm going aboard. Spock,

you have the conn.

I am responsible for involving

you in this. I Will go.

No, I'll go. You'll be responsible

for getting me out of this.

We'll not be the instigators

of full-scale war

on the Eve of universal peace.

I'm going, too. They

may need a doctor.

- Perhaps you're right.

- Uhura, tell them we're coming,

and tell them we're unarmed.

Aye, sir.

Have you lost your mind?

I give you my word, I don't

understand what has happened.

We're here to help.

Follow me.

- Chancellor gorkon.

- My god.

- What has happened here?

- You dare to feign ignorance?

- What happened?

- With a direct torpedo hit,

you crippled our entire

gravitational field,

and two of your starfleet crew

beamed aboard wearing magnetic boots

and did this.

Aren't you carrying a surgeon?

We were until this disgrace.

Well, then for god

sakes, man, let me help.

I've got a pulse.

We can move him.

I'm gonna need some light. Can

we get him up on this table?

Hold him. Hold him

while I stabilize him.

I said hold him.

Sweet Jesus.

- Can you...

- Jim, I don't even know his anatomy.

- His wounds are not closing.

- He's killing him!

He's gone into some

kind of damned arrest.

Come on, damn it! Come on!

He's not responding.

Don't let it end

this way, captain.

Under article number 184

of your interstellar law,

I'm placing you under arrest.

You are charged with assassinating

our chancellor of the high council.

He tried to save him.

They've been arrested.

Mr. Spock, we've got

to do something.

I assume command of this

ship as of 0230 hours.

Commander uhura, please notify

starfleet headquarters.

Tell them precisely

what has taken place

- and request instructions.

- Aye, sir.

We cannot allow them to be taken

back to kronos as prisoners.

What do you suggest, lieutenant?

Opening fire Will not retrieve them,

and an armed conflict is precisely

what the captain wished to avoid.

We Will be able to follow

the captain's movements.

- How did you achieve this, sir?

- Time is precious, lieutenant.

We must endeavor to piece together

what happened here tonight.

According to our databank, this

ship fired those torpedoes.

No way.

I sympathize, Mr. Scott,

but we need evidence.

Please accompany me.

And if we cannot piece

together what happened?

- What then, sir?

- In that case, Mr. Chekov,

it resides in the purview

of the diplomats.

The chancellor of the

high council is dead!

The result of an unprovoked attack

while he travelled to see you

under a flag of truce,

on a mission of peace.

Captain Kirk was legally

arrested for the crime.

May I remind you

that he and Dr McCoy

boarded kronos one of

their own free Will?

None of these facts are in dispute, Mr.

president.

I have ordered a

full-scale investigation.

- In the meantime...

- In the meantime,

we expect the federation to abide by

the articles of interstellar law,

which you claim to Cherish.

Kirk and Dr McCoy

Will stand trial

for the assassination

of chancellor gorkon.

Out of the question.

Ambassador sarek, there

must be some way

to extradite these men.

Mr. president, I share a measure of

personal responsibility in this matter,

but I am obliged to confirm

my esteemed colleague's

legal interpretation.

What is the position of

the romulan government,

ambassador nanclus?

I must concur with

my colleagues.

But you can't possibly believe

that James Kirk assassinated

the chancellor of

the high council.

Mr. president, I don't

know what to believe.

I'm waiting for

your answer, sir.

This president is

not above the law.

Report back at once. Do you copy?

At once.

Enterprise to report

back on the double.

Do you read? At once.

We're to report back at once.

We cannot abandon captain

Kirk and Dr McCoy.

Of course not.

Four hundred years ago

on the planet earth,

workers who felt their livelihood

threatened by automation

flung their wooden shoes called "sabot"

into the machines to stop them.

Hence the word "sabotage."

We are experiencing

technical malfunction.

All backup systems inoperative.

Excellent. I mean, too bad.

Mr. president,

I've been named chancellor

by the high council

in my father's place.

Madam chancellor,

you have my sincerest condolences

on your recent loss.

I want to assure you that this

shameful deed Will not...

Mr. president, let us

come to the point.

You want this conference to go

forward, and so did my father.

I Will attend in one

week on one condition.

We Will not extradite

the prisoners,

and you Will make no attempt to

rescue them in a military operation.

We would consider any such

attempt an act of war.

We hope you'll be our

guest here on earth.

After recent events, you Will understand

if I say I prefer a neutral site,

and in the interests of security, let

us keep the location secret for now.

As you wish, madam chancellor.

Attack them now,

while we still can!

Attack or be slaves

in their world.

We can take whole by force,

what they propose to divide.

War is obsolete, general, as

we are in danger of becoming.

Better to die on our feet

than live on our knees.

That wasn't what

my father wanted.

Your father was killed

for what he wanted.

The peace process

Will go forward.

Kirk...

Kirk Will pay for

my father's death.

- Kirk! Kirk!

- Kirk! Kirk!

- Kirk! Kirk! Kirk! Kirk!

- Kirk! Kirk! Kirk! Kirk!

- Kirk! Kirk! Kirk! Kirk!

- Kirk! Kirk! Kirk! Kirk!

- Kirk! Kirk! Kirk! Kirk!

- Kirk! Kirk! Kirk! Kirk!

- Kirk! Kirk! Kirk! Kirk!

- Kirk! Kirk! Kirk! Kirk!

It's a damn show trial.

- Kirk! Kirk!

- Kirk! Kirk!

The enterprise fired on kronos

one without provocation.

The chancellor and

his advisers...

having been lulled into a

false sense of security

by an invitation to a state dinner

aboard captain Kirk's vessel

at precisely 1930 hours

that same evening.

Call your first witness.

After the first shot, we lost

our gravitational field.

I found myself weightless

and unable to function.

Then two starfleet crewmen

came walking towards me.

But perhaps they merely

wore starfleet uniforms.

That remark is purely speculative.

I move that it be stricken.

Colonel worf, we are interested

in facts, not theories.

If the gravitational unit

was not functioning,

how could these men be walking?

They appeared to be

wearing magnetic boots.

Gravity boots.

Dr McCoy, would you be

so good as to tell me,

what is your current

medical status?

Aside from a touch of

arthritis, I'd say pretty good.

You have a singular wit, doctor.

For 27 years, I've been ship surgeon

aboard the u.S.S. Enterprise.

In three months, I stand down.

You know, I believe

that you consumed

a rather generous amount of

romulan ale in the officers' mess

on the night in question.

Am I right, doctor?

- Objection!

- Sustained.

We all did. All of us.

- That doesn't mean...

- Was chancellor gorkon alive

when you first examined him?

- Barely.

- Now be careful, doctor.

Have you ever, in your past, saved

patients as barely alive as he?

I didn't have the medical knowledge

I needed for klingon anatomy.

- I see.

- You were there.

You say you are due

for retirement.

May I ask, do your hands shake?

- Objection!

- I was nervous.

No.

You were incompetent.

You were incompetent!

Whether deliberately or as a

result of age combined with drink,

- the court Will have to determine.

- My god, man! I tried to save him!

I tried to save him.

I was desperate to save him.

He was the last best hope

in the universe for peace.

The witness is excused.

There we have it, citizens.

We have finally established

the particulars of the crime,

and now we come to the architect

of this tragic affair,

James tiberius Kirk.

What would your favorite

author say, captain?

"Let us sit upon the ground"

"and tell sad stories

of the death of kings."

Tell us your sad story, Kirk.

Tell us that you planned to take

revenge for the death of your son.

- That's not true.

- Objection!

Captain Kirk has not been

identified as the assassin.

Sustained.

I offer into the record

this excerpt from the

captain's personal log.

I've never trusted klingons,

and I never Will.

I have never been able to forgive

them for the death of my boy.

Again. Again!

I've never trusted klingons,

and I never Will.

I have never been able to forgive

them for the death of my boy.

Are those your words?

Those words were spoken by me.

Objection!

My client's political views

are not on trial here.

On the contrary! Captain

Kirk's views and motives

are indeed at the very

heart of the matter.

This officer's record shows

him to be an insubordinate,

unprincipled, career-minded

opportunist,

with a history of violating

the chain of command

whenever it suited him!

Continue.

Indeed, the record shows

that captain Kirk

once held the rank of admiral,

and that admiral Kirk was broken for

taking matters into his own hands

in defiance of

regulations of the law.

Do you deny being demoted

for these charges?

Don't wait for the translation!

Answer me now!

I cannot deny it.

- You were demoted?

- Yes.

- For insubordination?

- On occasion, I have disobeyed orders.

And were you obeying

or disobeying orders

when you arranged the assassination

of chancellor gorkon?

I didn't know about the assassination

until we boarded the ship.

You still deny the enterprise

fired on kronos one?

- Well...

- Your honors, please!

And you still deny your men beamed

aboard and shot the chancellor?

Objection!

I cannot confirm or deny

actions I did not witness.

Captain Kirk,

are you aware that as the

captain of a starship,

you are required to be responsible

for the actions of your men?

I am.

And if it should be proved

that members of your crew

did, in fact, carry out

such an assassination...

Jim, they're setting us up.

Your honors...

Do not answer!

Captain Kirk, you Will

answer the question.

As captain,

I am responsible for the conduct

of the crew under my command.

Your honors, the state rests.

Send to commander enterprise.

"We stand ready to assist you.

Captain sulu, u.S.S. Excelsior."

It is the determination of this court

that the prisoners are guilty as charged.

I wish to note for the record

that the evidence against my clients

is entirely circumstantial.

I beg the court to consider this

when pronouncing its sentence.

So noted.

Captain James t. Kirk,

Dr Leonard McCoy,

in the interest of fostering amity

for the forthcoming peace talks,

the sentence of

death is commuted.

It is the judgment of this court

that, without possibility

of reprieve or parole,

you be taken from this place

to the dilithium mines on the

penal asteroid of rura penthe,

there to spend the rest

of your natural lives.

Rura penthe?

Known throughout the galaxy

as the aliens' graveyard.

Better to kill them now

and get it over with.

Lieutenant, the torpedo

hit once again, please.

Hold.

It is enterprise.

- We fired.

- That is not possible.

All weapons visually

accounted for, sir.

An ancestor of mine maintained that

if you eliminate the impossible,

whatever remains, however

improbable, must be the truth.

What exactly does that mean?

It means that if we cannot

have fired those torpedoes,

someone else did.

Well, they did not fire on themselves,

and there were no other ships present.

There was an enormous

neutron energy surge.

Not from us!

A neutron surge that big could

only be produced by another ship.

Kronos one?

Too far away.

Very near us.

Possibly beneath us.

If there were a ship beneath us,

the klingons would have seen her.

Would they?

- A bird-of-prey.

- A bird-of-prey.

Cloaked?

A bird-of-prey cannot

fire when she's cloaked.

All things being equal, Mr.

Scott, I would agree.

However, things are not equal.

This one can.

We must inform

starfleet command.

Inform them of what, a new

weapon that is invisible?

Raving lunatics, that's

what they'll call us.

They'll say that we're so desperate

to exonerate the captain

that we'll say anything.

And they would be correct.

We have no evidence,

only a theory which

happens to fit the facts.

Assuming you're right, Mr.

Spock,

why would they fire on

their own president?

Indeed.

This ship Will be searched

from bow to stern.

Lieutenant valeris,

you'll be in charge.

- Aye, sir.

- I do not understand.

If there was a ship

underneath us,

surely the assassins beamed

aboard from that vessel,

not enterprise.

You're forgetting something, Mr.

Chekov.

According to our databanks, this

ship fired those torpedoes.

If we did, the killers are here.

If we did not, whoever altered

the databanks is here.

In either case, what we

are looking for is here.

What are we looking for, sir?

Lieutenant?

Two pairs of gravity boots.

This is the gulag rura penthe.

There is no stockade,

no guard tower,

no electronic frontier.

Only a magnetic shield

prevents beaming.

Punishment means exile from

prison to the surface.

On the surface,

nothing can survive.

Work well and you

Will be treated well.

Work badly and you Will die.

Oh, my god.

The universal translator's

been confiscated.

I'm sorry?

He's definitely on

about something, Jim.

If this is your spot,

we'll move on.

He wants your obedience to

the brotherhood of aliens.

- He's got it.

- And your coat.

I'm afraid not. Besides,

it wouldn't fit.

Thanks.

This Will help keep you warm.

I'm martia. You're Kirk

and McCoy, I presume.

How'd you know that?

We don't get many

presidential assassins.

- We didn't kill gorkon.

- Of course not,

- but there is a reward for your death.

- It figures.

We've been set up all along.

Somebody up there wants

you out of the way.

- Nothing in here.

- Nothing here.

- Any progress?

- None.

We have a crew of 300 turning

their own quarters inside out,

but the killers may

still be among them.

Surely they have disposed

of these boots by now.

Would it not have been logical to

have left them on gorkon's ship?

Even logic must give

way to physics.

Gravity had not been restored

by the time they escaped.

Without the boots,

they would have floated off

the klingon transporter pads.

Why not simply vaporize them?

Like this?

At ease.

As you know, commander Chekov, no

one can fire an unauthorized phaser

aboard a starship.

Suppose when they returned, they

threw the boots into the refuse.

I'm having the refuse searched.

If my surmise is correct,

those boots Will cling

to the killers' necks

like a pair of tiberian bats.

They could not make their

escape without them,

nor can they simply throw them

out the window for all to see.

- Those boots are here somewhere.

- Did someone fire off a phaser?

It's all right. It's nothing.

It's nothing.

Mr. Spock, starfleet is screaming

for us to return to port.

- Who fired that...

- Mr. Scott.

I understand you're having

difficulty with the Warp drive.

How much time do you

require for repair?

There's nothing wrong

with the bloody thing.

Mr. Scott, if we

return to spacedock,

the assassins Will

surely find a way

to dispose of their

incriminating footwear,

and we Will never see the captain

or Dr McCoy alive again.

- It could take weeks, sir.

- Thank you, Mr. Scott.

Valeris, please inform

starfleet command

- our Warp drive is inoperative.

- A lie?

An error.

You understand we have lost all contact

with the captain and Dr McCoy.

Yes. At the moment, they're

surrounded by a magnetic shield.

However, if I know the

captain, by this time,

he is deep into

planning his escape.

You got him, Jim! You got

him where you want him!

- You all right, Jim?

- I think so.

- They'll respect you now.

- That's a comfort.

- I was lucky that thing had knees.

- That was not his knee.

Not everybody keeps their genitals

in the same place, captain.

Anything you want to tell me?

Bones, why don't you see

what you can do for him?

Let him know we're not

holding a grudge.

Suppose he's holding a grudge?

When whoever it is makes their move, you

won't be here to ask if he's the one.

- Do you want to get out of here?

- There's gotta be a way.

Three months before retirement.

What a way to finish.

- We're not finished.

- No? Speak for yourself.

One day, one night,

kobayashi mar...

Bones, are you afraid

of the future?

I believe that was the general

idea that I was trying to convey.

I don't mean this future.

- What is this, multiple choice?

- Some people are afraid

of what might happen.

I was terrified.

What terrified

you, specifically?

No more neutral zone.

I was used to hating klingons.

It never even occurred to me

to take gorkon at his word.

Spock was right.

Try not to be too hard on yourself.

We all felt exactly the same.

No.

Somebody felt a lot worse.

I'm beginning to understand why.

Well, if you've got any

bright ideas, now's the time.

Time's the problem. You

and I are nothing.

But you heard the judge. The

peace conference is on again.

Whoever killed gorkon is bound to

attempt another assassination.

Unless we can get out of here.

Kirk, it's me, martia.

Listen, no one has ever

escaped from rura penthe.

- Except us.

- It is possible.

- I know how to get outside the shield.

- How do we fit in?

Getting outside the

shield is easy,

but after that, it's up to you to get

us off the surface before we freeze.

Can you?

- It's possible.

- I can't make it alone,

and you're likeliest candidate to

come in this hellhole for months.

Candidate for what?

Go to lift seven in the

morning for mining duty.

I'll see you there.

Don't disappoint me.

- What is it with you, anyway?

- Still think we're finished?

More than ever.

- I'm sorry to wake you, sir.

- What is it?

Starfleet urgently

requests any data we have

on the whereabouts

of enterprise.

What?

Well, apparently, they're

refusing to acknowledge signal

to return to spacedock, sir.

Signal starfleet that we have

no idea location enterprise.

Sir?

- You have hearing problems, mister?

- No, sir.

Klingon blood.

They must have walked through

it when it was floating

and tracked it back here.

This is the first evidence

which corroborates our theory.

Now we go to starfleet.

Now we expand our search

to include uniforms.

All uniforms?

Take those out.

- Continue scanning.

- Nothing, sir.

Clear, sir.

Coming through. Coming through.

Computer well seven clear.

Nothing. Nothing.

Okay, let's see what we got.

Nothing. Nothing so far.

Sir! Sir!

- I think we've been had.

- No, you weren't, doctor.

Get off at the first level.

Follow the gang into the mine.

They don't take girls.

You are crewman Dax?

Yes, commander. What

is the problem?

Perhaps you know Russian

epic of cinderella?

If shoe fits, wear it.

Mr. Chekov.

Watch me.

What kind of creature is this?

Last night, you two were...

Don't remind me.

Get in.

Come on. We don't

have a lot of time.

Hurry.

Up there.

Come on, climb.

Here. You'll need these.

Quickly!

Stay close.

There they are.

They're emerging from

the beaming shield.

- Mr. Scott, start your engines.

- Aye, aye, sir.

Mr. Chekov, set course

for rura penthe.

Mr. Spock, rura penthe is deep

inside the klingon frontier.

- If we are discovered...

- Quite correct, Mr. Chekov.

What is required now is a feat

of linguistic legerdemain

and a degree of intrepidity

before the captain and Dr

McCoy freeze to death.

- Leave me. I'm finished.

- No!

Bones, I'm wearing a

viridium patch on my back.

Spock slapped it there just

before we went on gorkon's ship.

- Why, that cunning little vulcan.

- Come on. We're in the clear.

Now that we're

outside the shield,

they'll be able to locate

us two sectors away.

If they're even looking for us.

This is listening post morska.

What ship is that? Over.

We must respond personally.

A universal translator

would be recognized.

We am thy freighter ursva.

Six weeks out of.

Kronos.

What is your destination? Over.

We is condemning food,

things and supplies.

Don't catch any bugs!

Would you mind explaining

that little trick you do?

- I'm a chameloid.

- I've heard about you.

Shapeshifters.

- I thought you were mythical.

- Give a girl a chance, captain.

- It takes a lot of effort.

- I don't doubt it.

Stop me if I'm wrong,

but do we have any way of knowing

whether this is the real you?

I thought I would assume

a pleasing shape.

We're outside the shield. Now

it's your turn, captain.

If you say so.

Are you crazy?

She didn't need our

help getting anywhere.

Where'd you get these

convenient clothes?

Don't tell me that flare

is standard prison issue.

It's to let them know where we are.

Ask her what she's getting in return.

A full pardon,

which doesn't cover this.

An accident wasn't good enough.

Come on, Spock.

Good enough for one. Two would

have looked suspicious.

Killed while attempting escape.

Now that's convincing for both.

Surprise!

- Your friends are late.

- They'll be along.

- I can't believe I kissed you.

- Must have been your lifelong ambition.

Isn't it about time you

became something else?

I like it here.

Well, well, well.

What took you so long?

- Kill him. He's the one.

- Not me, you idiot. Him!

- No witnesses.

- Killed while trying to escape.

- Damn clever, if you ask me.

- It's a classic.

- That's what he wanted.

- Who? Who wanted us killed?

Since you're all going to die

anyway, why not tell you?

His name is...

Damn it to hell! Of all the...

son of a...

- Couldn't you have waited two seconds?

- Captain?

He was just about to

explain the whole thing.

You want to go back?

- Absolutely not!

- It's cold.

This is the bridge. We are

still in klingon space.

Deck 9, remain at battle stations.

Deck 9, remain at battle stations.

They were beamed aboard

a federation starship.

I could trace...

Escaped.

Kirk cannot know the location

of the peace conference.

Are you sure?

Will you take that chance?

Helmsman, make course to

intercept enterprise.

The klingons have a new weapon,

a bird-of-prey that can

fire when cloaked.

- She torpedoed gorkon's ship.

- So that's it.

Not entirely. I have reason to

believe that gorkon's murderers

- are aboard this vessel.

- I have a thought about that.

Has the peace conference begun?

Who knows? They're keeping

the location secret.

- There's always something.

- Captain!

Mr. Spock! I found the missing uniforms

with the klingon blood on them.

But the uniforms belong

to these two men,

Burke and samno.

Not anymore. Phaser on

stun at close range.

First rule of assassination,

kill the assassins.

- Now we're back to square one.

- Can I talk to you?

I wonder why they

weren't vaporized.

It would set off the alarm.

It's possible.

Now hear this. Now hear this.

Court reporter to sickbay.

Code blue. Urgent. Statements

to be taken at once

from yeomen Burke and samno. Repeat.

Court reporter to sickbay.

Code blue. Urgent.

Statements to be taken.

Repeat. Statements to be taken

from yeomen Burke and samno.

You have to shoot.

If you are logical,

you have to shoot.

I do not want to.

What you want is irrelevant.

What you've chosen is at hand.

I'd just as soon you didn't.

The operation is over.

I did not fire. You

cannot prove anything.

Yes, I can. At my trial, my

personal log was used against me.

How long did you wait outside my

quarters before I noticed you?

You knew?

I tried to tell you, but

you would not listen.

Neither of us was hearing very

well that night, lieutenant.

There were things I tried to

tell you about having faith.

You have betrayed

the federation.

All of you.

And what do you think

you've been doing?

Saving starfleet. Klingons

cannot be trusted.

Sir.

You said so yourself.

They killed your son.

Did you not wish gorkon dead?

"Let them die," you said.

Did I misinterpret you?

And you were right.

They conspired with us to

assassinate their own chancellor.

How trustworthy can they be?

Klingons and federation

members conspiring together?

Who is "us"?

Everyone who stands

to lose from peace.

- Names, lieutenant.

- My comrades Will make certain

all your ship-to-shore

transmissions are jammed.

Names, lieutenant.

I do not remember.

A lie?

A choice.

Spock?

Admiral Cartwright.

From starfleet?

Who else?

- General...

- General...

- Chang.

- Chang.

Who else?

- Romulan...

- Romulan...

- ambassador...

- Ambassador...

- nanclus.

- Nanclus.

Where is the peace conference?

Where is the peace conference?

She does not know.

Then we're dead.

I've been dead before.

Contact excelsior.

- She'll have the coordinates.

- I've already got him, sir.

Standing by, captain Kirk.

Sulu!

You realize that by even talking to

us, you're violating regulations.

I'm sorry, captain. Your

message is breaking up.

Bless you, sulu. Where

is the peace conference?

They're going to attempt

another assassination.

The conference is at camp khitomer,

near the romulan border.

I'm sending the exact coordinates

on a coded frequency.

I'm afraid we're gonna

need more than that.

There's a bird-of-prey

on the lookout for us,

and she can fire while cloaked.

Surely not.

Hold on. How many of

those things are there?

Come on, lieutenant.

- Just the prototype.

- You hear that?

I'm getting underway now, but

we're now in Alpha quadrant.

The chances of our reaching the

conference in time are slim.

When does this conference start?

According to my

information, today.

Thank you, captain sulu.

Don't mention it, captain Kirk.

Spock?

I prefer it dark.

Dining on ashes?

You were right.

It was arrogant presumption on my

part that got us into this situation.

You and the doctor might

have been killed.

The night is young.

You said it yourself. It was logical.

Peace is worth a few personal risks.

You're a great one for logic.

I'm a great one for rushing in

where angels fear to tread.

We're both extremists.

Reality is probably

somewhere in between.

I couldn't get past

the death of my son.

I was prejudiced by her

accomplishments as a vulcan.

Gorkon had to die before I

understood how prejudiced I was.

Is it possible that

we two, you and I,

have grown so old

and so inflexible

that we have outlived

our usefulness?

Would that constitute a joke?

Don't crucify yourself.

It wasn't your fault.

I was responsible.

- For no actions but your own.

- That is not what you said at your trial.

That was as captain of the ship.

Human beings...

But, captain, we both

know that I am not human.

Spock, you want to know something?

Everybody's human.

I find that remark insulting.

Come on. I need you.

Madam chancellor,

members of the diplomatic

corps, honored guests,

the united federation of planets

welcomes you to camp khitomer.

She's out here somewhere.

But if she is cloaked...

Then all we have is a

neutron radiation surge,

and by the time we're close

enough to record it, we're ashes.

209.

206.

203.

- Close enough to beam down?

- Not yet, captain. In two minutes. 158.

- Go to impulse power for khitomer orbit.

- Aye, sir.

Let us redefine progress to mean

that just because we can do a thing,

it does not necessarily follow

that we must do that thing.

- Uhura?

- Nothing, captain.

If she's here, she's

rigged for silent running.

Coming up on transporter

range in 57 seconds.

Transporter room, stand

by to beam down.

53...

48 seconds.

44...

I can see you, Kirk.

Chang.

Can you see me?

Now, be honest, captain.

Warrior to warrior,

you do prefer it this way, don't you?

As it was meant to be.

No peace in our time.

"Once more unto the

breach, dear friends."

- This is fun.

- Reverse engines. All astern.

One and a half impulse power.

Back off! Back off!

What's she doing?

What's she waiting for?

Probably attempting to ascertain

why we are reversing,

wondering whether we detect her.

Incoming!

- In range?

- Not yet, sir.

Come on. Come on.

- She'll fly apart.

- Fly her apart, then!

Many speculated about

my father's motives.

There were those who

said he was an idealist.

Others said he had no choice.

If praxis had not exploded, then

quite possibly his idealism

would not have found expression.

We are a proud race,

and we are here because we

intend to go on being proud.

- Go to auxiliary power!

- Auxiliary circuits destroyed, captain.

"Tickle us, do we not laugh?

Prick us, do we not bleed?"

"Wrong us,"

"shall we not revenge?"

Gas.

Gas, captain. Under impulse power, she

expends fuel like any other vessel.

We call it plasma, but whatever

the klingon designation,

it is merely ionized gas.

Well, what about all of that

equipment we're carrying

to catalogue gaseous anomalies?

- Well, the thing's gotta have a tailpipe.

- Doctor, would you care to assist me

- in performing surgery on a torpedo?

- Fascinating.

Hard to starboard!

The proposed agenda is as follows.

The total evacuation of kronos

has been calculated within

the 50-earth-year time span.

Phase one, preparation

for evacuation.

Come on, reach up!

Captain! She's packing quite a wallop!

Shields weakening!

Shields up. All right.

Now we've given them

something else to shoot at.

Aye, sir.

The game's afoot, huh?

- Excelsior's been hit.

- "Our revels now are ended," Kirk.

"Cry 'havoc!' And let

slip the dogs of war."

Bones, where's my torpedo?

Bet you wish you'd stood in bed.

Emergency power!

Gravity control down!

Shields collapsing!

The key, please, doctor.

Time is short.

The hull has been compromised.

- I wonder how bad?

- Connect echobars.

To discuss the

report on phase two.

- Alter circuit "a."

- Sensor.

I propose that we commence with

the minutes of the preparation.

"I am constant as

the northern star."

I'd give real money

if he'd shut up.

- Plate, please.

- Plate.

And assimilation Will consume...

We've got a heartbeat.

The klingon empire,

the ecological...

- Key, please.

- Key.

Where's that damn torpedo?

She's ready, Jim. Lock and load.

Fire.

To be,

or not

to be.

Target that explosion and fire.

Fire.

As I imagine this

work Will occupy us

throughout most of the

week, it would be my hope

that the delegation could

return to their capitals

to implement the

provisions of phase one,

no later than the

first of next month.

Scotty.

As you know, time

is of the essence.

- Out of the way!

- Out of the way!

Mr. president!

Mr. president! Mr. president!

Mr. president!

Kirk, enterprise.

Protect the chancellor!

- Arrest those men!

- Arrest yourself.

We've got a full confession.

Cartwright, just a minute.

What's happened? What's the

meaning of all of this?

It's about the future,

madam chancellor.

Some people think the future

means the end of history.

Well, we haven't run out

of history quite yet.

Your father called the future

the undiscovered country.

People can be very

frightened of change.

You've restored my

father's faith.

And you've restored my son's.

Once again, we've saved

civilization as we know it.

And the good news is, they're

not going to prosecute.

They might as well have prosecuted me.

I felt like lieutenant valeris.

Well, they don't arrest

people for having feelings.

And it's a good thing, too. If they did,

we'd all have to turn ourselves in.

Captain Kirk.

Captain sulu.

As much to the crew of the

enterprise, I owe you my thanks.

Nice to see you in action one

more time, captain Kirk.

Take care.

By god, that's a big ship.

- Not so big as her captain, I think.

- So, this is goodbye.

I think it's about time we

got underway ourselves.

Captain, I have orders

from starfleet command.

We're to put back to

spacedock immediately

to be decommissioned.

If I were human,

I believe my response would be,

"go to hell."

If I were human.

Course heading, captain?

Second star to the right,

and straight on till morning.

Captain's log, stardate 9529.1.

This is the final cruise

of the starship enterprise

under my command.

This ship and her history Will shortly

become the care of another crew.

To them and their posterity

Will we commit our future.

They Will continue the

voyages we have begun,

and journey to all the

undiscovered countries,

boldly going where no man...

Where no one

has gone before.

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