Stunts Biography

The officers go to the bridge where Spock scans the message. The recorder was jettisoned by the SS Valiant some 200 years ago. Kirk informs the crew about the discovery and meets Dr. Dehner, a psychologist who is aboard to study the effects the stresses of shipboard life have on Starfleet personnel. Gary Mitchell tries to flirt with Dehner, and is strongly rebuffed - prompting him to refer to her as a "walking freezer unit".

Spock interprets the rest of the Valiant's message, reporting that the ship was thrown clear of the Galaxy by a magnetic storm. Although the record is damage he finds repeated references to ESP capability in Humans, including searches of the computer for information of the subject which he classifies as being almost frantic. Dehner claims that there are some Humans who can see the future or manipulate objects with their minds, though this is never very powerful in Humans. Spock continues with his report - he finds records of deaths aboard the Valiant, more ESP research, and then a self-destruct order by the captain.

Although concerned, Kirk decides to proceed with his mission to probe beyond the edge of the Galaxy and takes the ship ahead. They discover a massive energy barrier and are able to penetrate it, but the ship is badly damaged and both Mitchell and Dehner seem to suffer some physical distress as a result. When Mitchell opens his eyes, they have become silver in colour.

Kirk takes the ship back on impulse power, with the warp drive damaged beyond repair. Spock does some research and finds that both Mitchell and Dehner have been recorded to have a high ESP rating, with Mitchell the highest. Others killed during the encounter with the barrier suffered damage to a specific region of the brain.

Meanwhile Mitchell is reading in sickbay. He claims to feel fine - better than he ever has, in fact. But his manner seems odd, arrogant and almost threatening. After Kirk leaves he begins to read at an extraordinary rate, digesting whole pages in an instant. Spock is monitoring this, and he and Kirk assign security to keep an eye on Mitchell. In sickbay Dehner talks with Mitchell and he begins to demonstrate unusual abilities - causing his life signs to blank out at will, showing his as dead on the monitor. He also reveals that he has not only read by perfectly memorised countless books. Lieutenant Kelso arrives for a visit, reporting on the sad state of the engines. Mitchell warns him to check the starboard impulse engine packs, explaining that there is a problem which they have missed and which will cause the entire deck to explode if they don't correct it.

Kelso checks and reports to Kirk that Mitchell was indeed correct. The officers discuss the situation, with Scotty reporting that the controls in engineering started working on their own a short time ago - and each time it happened, Mitchell could be seen smiling on the monitor. Spock suggests that Mitchell's power is growing exponentially, and that he will inevitably come to see Humans as insignificant compared to himself. They decide to hear for a nearby automated outpost on the planet Delta Vega, hoping to cannibalise it to repair the warp drive and strand Mitchell there where he can do no harm.

They successfully repair the engines, but Mitchell kills Kelso by using his powers to strangle him, and escapes his confinement. He knocks out the others and finds that Dehner has also developed silver eyes - she is undergoing the same transformation, just more slowly since she had a lower ESP rating in the first place. The two escape the station together. When Kirk recovers he takes a phaser rifle and goes after them.

Mitchell and Dehner begin converting part of the desolate surface of Delta Vega into a garden-like environment. Mitchell is declares himself a God, with Humans suitable only to be his worshippers. He tries to kill Kirk when he finds the pair, but Dehner rebels against his arrogant attitude and attacks him with her powers. He survives the attack and strikes back, killing her, but his abilities are temporarily drained. Kirk fights with him, and finally uses the phaser to blast a large rock off a cliff side, killing Mitchell when it falls onto him.

Back on the Enterprise, Kirk grieves over the loss of his friend as the ship heads back on warp drive.

They proceed towards a nearby village, but along the way the planet offers up a few surprises. A rock explodes when tossed to the ground; a plant fires poison darts; a freak storm suddenly blows up and Spock is struck by lightning. It appears that Gamma Trianguli VI is not so pleasant a place after all!

Meanwhile on the Enterprise, the problem becomes worse - the antimatter pods have become completely inert, as if some external force had extinguished them. Without main power the ship is all but helpless and unable to beam the landing party up.

They reach the village, although two of the landing party are killed on the way by the planets strange dangers. Kirk manages to capture the native who is watching them, and they demand to know what is going on. The man claims to be the "leader of the feeders of Vaal." They continue on to the village with the man, who is named Akuta. He agrees to take them to Vaal - which proves to be a giant stone head reminiscent of a reptile. The head is surrounded by a powerful forcefield, making any approach impossible. They go back to the village to rest. Kirk notes that there are no children there - prompting confusion from the natives, who apparently have no idea what children are. Vaal, they say, has forbidden men and women to touch one another, and there is no reproduction allowed - much to McCoy's disgust. The Doctor scans the people and finds every one of them to be in perfect health, without any sign of ageing amongst them.

Vaal calls the villagers, and they bring supplies of food to place inside the head - the forcefield apparently allowing them in to feed their god. Kirk ponders whether Vaal might become weaker if it is denied the regular influx of food. Kirk and McCoy seem determined to destroy Vaal, claiming that it is stifling the right of the natives to a "free and unchained environment" and any chance to grow and develop as a culture. Spock warns that they are simply applying human standards to a culture which they may not apply to - the villagers surely have the right to choose a system that clearly works to provide them with long term stability.

Scotty reports that they are detecting a steady decrease in Vaal's power readings, possibly a result of the food being used up. He is working to boost the output of the ship's impulse engines, though this will take a good eight hours to accomplish. In not much longer than that the ship will fall into the atmosphere and burn up.

In the village, two of the natives observe Chekov kissing one of his female comrades and become curious as to what it is like. This apparently angers Vaal, who communicates with Akuta to tell him to kill the landing party. Vaal provides instructions on how to use violence, and the natives mount an attack. However, although one of the Enterprise crew is killed the natives are quickly defeated.

Scotty manages to complete his modifications and boost the ship into a slightly higher orbit, but he only gains an extra hour or so. Kirk decides to starve Vaal in an attempt to weaken it, and then orders the ship to direct a phaser barrage at the force field around it. Vaal is forced to expend its remaining energy to defend against the attack, and becomes inert. Without the field affecting the ship, full power is quickly restored.

Kirk tells the natives that the Federation will provide them with assistance until they can cope with life on their own. Although Spock expresses some concern with their actions the Captain is happy at the outcome, and the ship proceeds on course.