An Alternate Trek

[Lindseyman]

Episode 22 The Computer War Broadcast June 5th 1967

On mission date 842.1, the Endeavour enters the Lovell system to carry out a detailed survey. They find that there are two planets inhabited by the same species and that there is a great deal of communication between them but apparently no space flight. Decker orders that they should approach the two planets albeit carefully as some of the communications traffic refers to casualties from attacks. However even as they get nearer to the two planets there is still no evidence of space flight between the two planets even though McKenzie is now picking up signals talking about space born missile attacks.

As they near Lovell II, the Endeavour receives a signal not to approach the planet under any circumstances. Decker orders the Endeavour towards Lovell III and receives a very similar signal from them as well. Decker decides to investigate and Braun leads a landing party, which includes Spock, and a security detail led by Lynch, to meet with Lovell III representatives. They are met by a representative, Mian (guest star John Abineri), who escorts them to the planetary council. Both Mian and the council leader, Hana (special Guest Star Honor Blackman), sternly remind Braun and the landing party that they should not have come because the city has just been hit by a fusion bomb which has killed half a million people. Curiously, everything in the city seems intact and there is no visible evidence or sensor readings of such an attack ever occurring.

The landing party soon discovers that the war is entirely simulated by computers, which launch attacks and counterattacks, then calculate damage and select the dead. Citizens reported as "killed" must submit themselves for termination, stepping inside a disintegration chamber. Hana informs Braun that the simulated attacks and following executions is the agreed system of war decided by both sides in a treaty with Lovell II. A conventional war was deemed too destructive to the environments and societies of both planets.
Lovell II was settled by refugees from Lovell III when their alliance had lost a planetary war. Braun comments that it appears that it would have been like Mars being settled by the Alliance after losing WWV. According to Hana the planets are called Nara (Lovell II) and Venda (Lovell III). According to the Vendans, the computers calculated the Endeavour was destroyed by a destroyer satellite during the last attack, and the entire ship's crew must be terminated within 24 hours. Although the landing team is exempted from execution, they are arrested and held hostage until all Endeavour crewmembers report to the planet for execution. Mian has also been reported as a casualty.

In an attempt to lure the Endeavour crew down, Hana simulates Braun's voice and requests that the crew to come down to celebrate the newly established diplomatic relations with the Vendan people. Decker does not believe it and decides to have the voice analyzed. When the computer determines it is a fake, he realizes the landing party, and by extension the entire ship, must be in danger.

When Decker refuses the request, Hana orders the Endeavour to be destroyed, but the ship's shields easily repel the attack. Meanwhile Lynch and the security detail organize a breakout and capture Hana. They then find Braun and Spock and together with Hana beam back to the Endeavour. Hana is escorted to the briefing room where she breaks down, crying that the planet is doomed; with the treaty broken, the people of Nara will fire their conventional weapons in retaliation. Nara had already complained about Venda’s failure to comply with the treaty. Retaliation is now imminent.

Decker asks Hana if she really thinks that Nara is willing to start a REAL war, suggesting that Venda is also terrified of actual war. Decker encourages Hana to call a ceasefire instead so that the two planets, with the Commonwealth's assistance, can learn to coexist in peace. Hana desperately agrees, and Decker contacts the apparently equally panicked leadership of Nara. The Endeavour stays in the system between the two planets maintaining the ceasefire until the CSS Iowa arrives with a Commonwealth diplomatic mission.

 

[Lindseyman]

Episode 23 The Spores Broadcast June 12th 1967

On mission date 881.6, the Endeavour arrives at Mendel III, where a Commonwealth research station started several months earlier. Later it was discovered that the planet is showered by Berthold rays, a deadly form of radiation, which causes severe tissue damage within a few days of exposure. To make matters worse, there had been no communication with the station for quite a while. The Endeavour's sad mission is to retrieve the scientist's remains and their equipment.

Braun, along with Spock, Acting Chief Medical Officer Fynely, and other crewmen, beam down to the planet's surface and make the startling discovery that the scientists are still very much alive. The crew is greeted warmly by David Thompson (guest star Ian Bannen), the Research Team Leader who assures them that there have been no problems other than a faulty communications system. They encounter another scientist, Dr.Kurt Schmidtt (special guest star Horst Buchholz), with whom Braun fell in love twelve years earlier back on Mars. At a loss to explain why these people are still alive, Dr. Fynely arranges For M’Beke to perform medical exams on a number of the scientists while other crewmembers search the vicinity for answers.

The puzzle deepens as M’Beke finds the colonists in flawless health; in reviewing the scientists' medical records, he finds that, although the records indicate that Thompson had had his appendix removed, his own examination of Thompson indicated the researcher had an intact appendix. The other members of the landing party discover that there is no animal life present — no livestock, no birds and no insects. Evading Spock and M’Beke’s questions about the general absence of animal life on the planet, Thompson explains simply, "We're vegetarians."

As Braun is searching the surrounding area for clues, the Kurt meets with her and agrees to show her how the scientists have survived. He takes her to a place where there are strange flowers, which spray her with spores.
Being a committed follower of the Hanovarian Way, Braun doesn't normally express her emotions, but moments after exposure to these spores; she is able to say to Kurt, "I love you." Now free to find bliss with Kurt, Katharina laughs and with her head in Kurt's lap she lolls under a tree with him as they contemplate the clouds. When Spock attempts to contact her, it is not Katharina but Kurt who opens the communicator. Unwilling for a moment to stop embracing, nuzzling, and kissing Kurt, Katharina answers Spock's questions with amused curtness.

Katharina shows the strange flowers to Spock and other crewmen, but at this point Spock escapes being hit by their spores as he is just out of their range. When Spock returns to the ship, it is full of the flowers and their spores. The entire crews, in an open but peaceful mutiny, begin to beam down to the planet. Before she leaves, Ensign Colt sabotages the ship's communications system to prevent contact with the Fleet or the Navy.

Soon, Spock is the only person remaining aboard the ship. Since the ship is filled with the plants Spock finds himself within range of one of them on the bridge, and it shoots its spores at him. Spock begins to feel at peace and makes plans to beam down to the colony, but as he is about to leave the Endeavour, he has problems in operating the transporter, causing him to feel a wave of violent emotions, which overwhelms and destroys the effect of the spores.

Spock now realizes the spores cannot survive the presence of strong feelings. He asks Decker to come up to the ship ostensibly to help him with some things that they won't be able to retrieve once the last of them leaves. Spock actually wants to revert Decker's change of personality.

Spock is uncertain that his plan will work. Vulcanians were once ferocious warriors, with violent emotions (much more intense than Humans), before they embraced “The Circle” and ended the wars that were destroying their world. He is not certain that even intense human emotions will be enough to overcome the influence of the spores.

Nonetheless, when Decker arrives, Spock insults him with a stream of racist abuse and taunts him as not being worthy to command the Endeavour. He only got the command by being at the right place at the right time and he knew that. Decker is angered and a brawl ensues but fortunately, his rationality returns to him. They collaborate and create a device to send a subsonic frequency through the communicators that will irritate everyone in the colony.

Soon after the subsonic frequency is sent, fights break out quickly ending the spores' influence.

As the Endeavour, with the scientists safely on board, prepares to exit the planetary system, Braun comments about her experiences saying: "For the first time since I was a child, I was emotionally happy."

 

[Lindseyman]

Episode 24 I shot an Arrow Broadcast June 19th 1967

On Mission date 916.2 the Endeavour is surveying the Lowell system. They have found that Lowell IV is inhabited by a pre-industrial civilization at about the same level as that of late Roman Earth. As is standard procedure in these cases a message is sent to fleet headquarters for the system to be quarantined until the indigenous civilization reaches the systems outer planets. As the Endeavour heads back to the jump point Holmes picks up a faint signal that is approaching the system from outer space.

A space probe swings into the system and starts monitoring the planets. Spock comes on duty and relieves Holmes at the Science station. On analyzing the data received by Holmes’s initial analysis of the probe he visibly turns pale! Decker asks him what has caused this reaction. Spock replies that this is one of the S’Karr probes launched from Vulcanis nearly 600 year previously, during Vulcanis’ last nation state phase. They were fitted with a propulsion system based on the emission of fast ions, which are extremely dangerous to anything too close. This is made clear when a shuttlecraft sent to investigate the incoming probe encounters violent vibrations from the drive. It manages to withdraw but its propulsion and life support systems are badly damaged.

The probe then starts to head towards Lowell IV. Spock argues that it cannot be allowed to reach that planet for two reasons; firstly it would launch a small survey probe at the planet and discovery of this by the natives would affect their development and secondly if the drive interacts with the planet’s atmosphere in any way, it could lay waste to the entire surface!

It is decided that the probe must be shut down and brought on board or be destroyed, Stein and Holmes argue that there must be a way to save the huge amount of data that the ship has gathered in its travels. Spock, Holmes and Stein frantically research the probe to try and find the signal that would shut down the drive.

Just as Decker is preparing himself to fire on the probe although that would produce a flash in the night sky that could not fail to be noticed by the natives of the planet Spock finally finds the right codes and signals. The probe’s drive is successfully shut down and it is beamed on board.

However preliminary analysis of the data stored on the probe shows that it had passed through another star system and found intelligent life on its third planet (which had reached roughly the same level of development as pre WWV Earth) about 400 years previously. However on comparing the records the last survey of that system by the Fleet, which had occurred only 10 years previously, had found a pre-industrial civilization and evidence of a major catastrophe about 400 year before!

Decker decides that he must go and investigate.

 

[Lindseyman]

Episode 25 Where it Landed Broadcast June 26th 1967

On mission date 925.8 the Endeavour is specifically ordered by Admiral Bourne (Nigel Green) to investigate Lysenko III. It is a system surveyed by an automated probe a decade previously which reported a pre-industrial society but also evidence of a major catastrophe 400 years earlier. The Endeavor’s recovery of a Vulcanian S’Karr probe, which has passed through that system 400 years before but had found evidence of an industrial society, had set alarm bells ringing at Fleet headquarters. Regardless of general Order 1 if the probe had caused the collapse of that planet’s society, then the Commonwealth was morally bound to help correct the situation.

The Endeavour enters the system and approaches the third planet. They find some satellites in orbit. However they are communications satellites and hold no useful information. Surveying the planets surface Holmes and Spock find evidence of primitive agricultural communities but no evidence of any industrialization apart from the ruins of destroyed cities. These are apparently given a wide berth by the agricultural communities.

Decker is about to order a security team down to one of these cities to try and recover records when they discover a military spy satellite, which still appears to be working. Stein manages to hack past the sophisticated computer encryption and defence protocols. There was far more information available than one would expect of a military spy satellite. It appears that the military concerned had uploaded the planets history and a record of the fall of their civilization. This information that they recover gives them all cause for reflection.

The natives had been aware of the S’Karr probe but it had been a cause for celebration. They were not alone! There was other life out there. They had observed the probe as it had made its way through the system and departed. Political differences had been put aside and an effort was made to develop a faster than light drive. Then the cloud had come.

It was a dense cloud of matter and had drifted into their system. It had been caught by the gravitational attraction of the star and had formed a dense barrier to the star’s radiation blocking it off from the planet. Frantic efforts were made to disperse the cloud but it remained stubbornly impenetrable. Crops failed, food supplies ran out and the planet had collapsed into wars for the few remaining resources. The military base that had programmed the satellite had been the last remaining. They had shut themselves off from the world but only had supplies for ten years. They had to hope that this was enough.

There was one last message recorded. The cloud had finally thinned and light was again reaching the planet in sufficient quantities that agriculture was again possible. However despite rationing, food shortages and disease had reduced the numbers of survivors to about 50. There was not enough food left to wait to plant and harvest the crops. So a decision was made to plant the crops and then most of the survivors would seek others and bring them back for the crops and seeds.

The satellites imagery had then shown the slow spread of agriculture from this central node but civilization had not rebuilt itself. Decker sends the information to the fleet and the Commonwealth. It will be for the politicians to decide what to do.

 

[Lindseyman]

Episode 26 Janus Broadcast July 3rd 1967

On mission date 1182.5, the Endeavour, completes a mapping assignment of an uninhabited planet in the Draconis system. Decker notes in his personal log that they have had 3 quiet months, which has enabled them to get every system fully functioning. As the crew prepares to depart, the Endeavour is rocked by an unknown energy pulse. Spock informs Decker that the gravity of the planet fluctuated to zero and describes that the surrounding space seemed to momentarily "wink" out of existence.

Sensors then locate a human presence down on the planet that wasn't there before. Spock and Decker, along with a four-man security detail, beam down to the planet to investigate and find a small, one-man spacecraft. A disheveled, bearded man appears, the apparent victim of some violent struggle. He babbles about having to stop someone before it's too late, then staggers around as if sickened and accidentally slips off a cliff. The man survives the fall, but is injured, and Decker has him beamed to the Endeavour for examination.

Back on the ship, Scott informs Decker, that the mysterious disturbance drained the energy systems of the warp drive, and the Endeavour has about 10 hours of main power left before the ship drops out of orbit. A message is received from Admiral Pike, now of the DTI which reports every quadrant of the Milky Way, and even beyond, has been subjected to the same winking effect and following electronic disruption as the Endeavour. Fleet Headquarters has been receiving strange signals from ships that appear to have the wrong captains, in the wrong places and in some cases the wrong names! Pike wryly comments that so far they have had signals from himself in charge of the Endeavour, Decker, Braun, Spock and someone called Kirk! As the disturbance seems to be centered on the Endeavour’s current position Decker is ordered to investigate.

Fynely notifies Decker that the fallen man is now awake and Decker goes to question him. Decker learns that the man, who calls himself Magister (special guest star Christopher Lee), is on a fanatical crusade, chasing down the "monster" that destroyed his entire civilization. He describes his nemesis as a murdering beast, the anti-life, existing only to destroy. Periodically, Magister fades in and out of existence, encountering his adversary in a kind of dimensional corridor. Each time he does so, another energy wink occurs that ripples through the universe.

Fynely and M’Beke both claim to notice that a wound on Magister's head had disappeared the last time they checked him out. Confronting him later, Decker and Fynely find the wound has reappeared. Decker however, thinks that the doctors are imagining things.

Decker takes Magister to the bridge when Spock reports an amazing discovery down on the planet: a "rip" in space and time has formed near where Magister was found. The rip appears as a bright twinkling of light on the planet's surface. Magister insists that his enemy is trying to destroy the universe and he is causing the phenomenon. He tries to enlist Decker's help.
Decker beams back to the planet with a security team to search out this "hidden" enemy. Once again, Magister has another dimensional episode, and is returned to sickbay where Decker follows to demand the truth. Tired of Magister's double-talk, Decker orders security to escort Magister at all times.

Reluctantly, Magister explains he is a time traveler, and the planet below was once his home although not his people's planet of origin. His "spacecraft" is in fact a dimensional time ship. He claims his enemy counterpart destroyed his civilization in the past, for which Magister chased him for centuries. He demands Decker's help, but Decker still refuses to get involved.

There is then another episode and Magister again escapes in the ensuing confusion as Decker, Braun and Spock all think that they are in command. He beams down to the planet to repair his ship. Decker follows, but Magister activates his time machine just as Decker tries to stop him. Stepping into the portal, Decker is accidentally teleported to another dimension where he encounters the anti-Magister.

This Magister however, seems sane, not the murdering monster the other Magister described. The anti-Magister explains what is going on. He informs Decker that his people believed that many universes existed, and they tried to prove it, but failed, causing their own destruction. The Magister to whom Decker is currently speaking found a way, but he confirms that breaking the barriers between the universes may trigger doomsday.

The anti-Magister tells Decker the "dimensional corridor" — Magister's ship — connecting the universes must be severed. If too much matter is transferred between universes then the Universes will destroy themselves trying to get rid of the "infection". Decker must close off the portal for good. Decker returns to his universe and confronts the insane Magister; overpowering him they beam back to the Endeavour. Decker orders that both phasers and torpedoes target the dimension ship. They are fired and the ship is destroyed. M’Beke signals Decker and says that Magister is now sane and lucid and is asking to be taken to the Guardian's planet . Decker signals Pike and Pike confirms that this should be done as the Guardian of Time has been in contact and requested that very thing.

 

[Lindseyman]

The viewing figures for Star Trek had held up all through the 26 week run although there had been a slight decline through May to July as the British had their version of a summer. Both ITC and the ITV companies, who for once had all shown a programme at the same time, agreed that 26 weeks was too long for a run of 1 hour programmes on British television but a series that long would make it easier to sell in syndication in the US. So they came up with a classic British compromise. Series 2 of Star Trek would run for 13 weeks before Christmas, have a break over Christmas and the New Year and then run for 13 weeks basically up to early April. It then wouldn't clash with the Olympics, Wimbledon, the Ashes or anything else which might be considered more important.
CTV had started showing Star Trek in June 1967 and it had got both good reviews AND good viewing figures (especially over the border!) but still the US Networks showed not the slightest interest in purchasing Star Trek. Lew Grade was not amused and only slightly mollified that it was being picked up everywhere else.

 

[Lindseyman]

Despite Stiles being a popular character Edward Woodward was torn as he was the lead in Callan. He decided to concentrate on Callan. Also James Ellis wanted to concentrate on Z Cars. Lew Grade leapt at the chance to increase the American component of the crew as he suspected that this was one of the reasons that Star Trek was not being picked up in the US- a lack of characters with whom Americans could identify.
Several actors were approached but in the end Glenn Corbett became Lieutenant Commander Zephram Reynolds in charge of security, and Gary Clarke became Lieutenant Virgil Summers the second in charge of security.
Then Sian Phillips dropped a bombshell, she was undergoing problems with her private life and wanted out especially as she suspected that much of her role would be subsumed by Corbett's Reynolds as he was much better known in the States. So Zephram Reynolds became the new second in command of the Endeavour and Gary Clarke's Virgil Summers became Chief of Security.

 

[Lindseyman]

Episodes with corrected broadcast dates

Here is the episode list together with correct broadcast dates.

Christopher Plummer Episodes (Captain Christopher Pike)

1. The Cage (7th Jan)
2. Inhibitions (14th Jan)
3. Yesterday is Tomorrow (21st Jan)
4. The Herschel (28th Jan)
5. The Mind Sifter (4th Feb)
6. The Federation (11th Feb)
7. Shiva (18th Feb)
8. The Guardian of Time (25th Feb)
9. The Court Martial (4th March)

Richard Bradford Episodes (Captain Matthew Decker)

10. Where No One has Gone Before (11th Mar)
11. Yin and Yang (18th Mar)
12. The Aphrodite Syndrome (25th Mar)
13. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear (1st Apr)
14. The Lost (8th Apr)
15. Brothers (15th Apr)
16. The Forgotten (22nd Apr)
17. Charlie’s Law (29th Apr)
18. Mutual Destruction (6th May)
19. Old Wounds (13th May)
20. Organia (20th May)
21. To Thine Ownself (27th May)
22. The Computer War (3rd Jun)
23. The Spores (10th Jun)
24. I Shot An Arrow (17th Jun)
25. Where It Landed (24th Jun)
26. Janus (1st Jul)

 

[Lindseyman]

The Omega Story

When Gene Roddenberry came over to the UK he had brought the ideas for "The Cage" which was made, "Mudd's Women" which was made as "The Aphrodite Syndrome" and "The Omega Story". This last story which originally was about a USS Yorktown finding a planet which had fought a war between the USA and Communists and the Yangs(Americans) finally recapturing their land from the Koums(Communists).

Roddenberry wanted to make this story as part of series 2. Lew Grade wanted a story that would hook the American market so was in favour. However the Andersons and the writers who had written for series 1 just couldn't take the story seriously. They kept driving buses through the plot holes(which was unfair as most of the episodes in series 1 had them) and asking how even a planet of "the lost" would follow Earth history so closely when Earth in Star Trek hadn't followed Klingon history at all. Roddenberry took this personally and battle lines were drawn.

 

[Lindseyman]

Production of the other episodes of series 2 went on. However relationships between the Roddenberrys and the Andersons were hitting rock-bottom. Eventually Lew Grade called them together to sort the matter out. Roddenberry was upset at the way that "The Omega Story" had been treated with disdain, Anderson couldn't believe that someone could produce such blatant "America is always right whatever" material.

Gerry Anderson said that a side losing a war but eventually reclaiming its homeland from the conquerers was fine. Having a captain go rogue because he had lost his crew was actually a good idea and worth exploring. However calling one side the Yangs, the other the Koums and making the parallels so obvious including the use of the Stars and Stripes was too much.

He finally got where he was coming from across to Roddenberry by recasting the Yangs as the Pryds and the Koums as the Krowttes and replacing the flag with a Union Jack and then asking Roddenberry how it looked.

Roddenberry got it! Relationships were never as good as they had been but the intense feeling of ill will and having to take sides went. "The Omega Story" was rewritten again but this time it was accepted and produced.

 

[Lindseyman]

Uniform Changes for Series 2

The uniforms were slightly altered for series 2. The charcoal grey tunics were given a slightly higher collar so that the officer's rank insignia could be more clearly seen. The coloured tunics were also tweaked slightly. The Fleet insignia were moved to where a breast pocket would be and the pocket was removed.

In another change ALL personnel would wear combat fatigues when beamed down to unexplored planets and/or known dangerous situations.

Similarly the engineering crew would be seen wearing coveralls when undertaking repairs (exceptions made in battle conditions).

 

[Lindseyman]

The Main Crew for Series 2

Captain: Matthew Decker (Richard Bradford)
First Officer: Commander Zephram Reynolds (Glenn Corbett)
Chief Science Officer(and Second Officer): Lieutenant Commander Spock (Stuart Damon)
Navigator:Lieutenant Caroline D'Alembert (Alexandra Bastedo)
Helm:Lieutenant Gary Mitchell (Ed Bishop)
Chief of Security:Lieutenant Commander Virgil Summers (Gary Clarke)
Chief Communications Officer:Lieutenant Esther McKenzie (Carmen Monroe)
Chief Yeoman: Jennifer Rand (Jacqueline Pearce)
Chief Engineer:Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott (Michael Sheard)
Chief Medical Officer: Lieutenant Commander Richard Fynely (William Gaunt)

 

[Lindseyman]

Rest of Cast

Assistant Medical Officerr M'Beke (Johnny Sekka)
Relief Helm: Ensign Danny Dare(Martin Shaw)
Relief Navigator:Various actors as necessary for plot
Relief Communications:Lieutenant Linda Colt(Caroline John) note promotion
Yeoman:Amy Johnson(Gabrielle Drake)
CPO Engineering: Aedh O'Gorman(Milo O'Shea) very infrequent but a popular character none the less
Chief Nurse:Christine Chapel(Majel Barrett) plus various British female actors as required.
Security:CPO Charles Blamire (Michael Bates) a new character

 

[Lindseyman]

The new first officer

Commander Zephram Reynolds is in his mid to late 30s. In normal circumstances considering the fact that he is an efficient, well liked and respected officer he should have his own ship. He did, in the Navy, and there is history to be explained here and it will come out over the series.

 

[Lindseyman]

Series 2 of Star Trek would start on Saturday September 2nd 1967 and run for 13 weeks finishing on Saturday November 25th 1967. Series 3 of Star Trek would start on Saturday 6th January 1968, also run for 13 weeks and finish on Saturday 30th March 1968.(They together would form season 2 in the States(eventually!!)).

Again TV Times started having articles on the new series as soon as the school holidays started and 3 Decker episodes were repeated on Sunday teatimes during the summer holidays on the last 3 Sundays of August.

 

[Lindseyman]

Stein (Brian Blessed) and Holmes (Ian Richardson) will keep appearing in Star Trek, just not quite so often as the two actors are beginning to get more job offers.

Lieutenant Virgil Summers (Gary Clarke) is from Beverly Hills in California. He is a happy go lucky character and unfortunately like a lot of people has been promoted above his level of competence. The security men keep comparing him to Stiles and Lynch and he comes out lacking. His one saving grace (apart from his individual bravery) is that he knows he is lacking as a leader of security and uses CPO Blamire to suggest the best way forward.

 

[Lindseyman]

The TV Times for Saturday 2nd September to Friday 8th September had Star Trek on the front cover, a big pull out poster of the cast at the centre and interviews and biographies of and with the new cast members. Interestingly Gary Clarke was better recognised in the UK than Glenn Corbett because of the Virginian.
(oh for the days when the High Chapparal was on a Monday Evening on BBC2 and the Virginian on a Friday Evening on BBC1- life was MUCH simpler then!(I may well be misremembering by the way))

 

[Lindseyman]

The Return of the Forgotten Broadcast September 2nd 1967

Mission date 1541.2 the Endeavour is surveying the Dyson system when it discovers an artificial satellite of the largest gas giant of the system. Closer investigation actually shows that it is a huge space ship. Spock at the science station speculates that it is a generational spaceship as there is no evidence of a jump drive. Then McKenzie picks up a weak signal emanating from the ship. “Emergency...emergency...this is the commander of the spaceship Deecha . A major catastrophe has occurred...’”Having detected an alien distress signal, the bridge crew listen to the sombre appeal. The voice of the alien commander tells how large areas of his ship are devastated, with thousands dead and hundreds sick and dying. The signal ends with a plea for immediate aid—then is revealed to be an automated transmission when it loops back to the beginning. While Scotty marvels that each deck measures one hundred square miles, and at the engineering skills required, the instruments register life signs.

Decker opts to mount a humanitarian mission, selecting personnel to assess the medical, scientific and material needs of the aliens. A team comprising of Reynolds, Summers, Spock,M’Beke, Stein and Blamire is beamed on board. Communications are inhibited by weak levels of atomic radiation saturating the ship's structure. The life signs are confirmed however, no one is there to greet them. They enter a dilapidated reception area accessed by two opposing corridors. Hoping to encounter the ship's inhabitants, Reynolds sets off with Stein down one corridor, sending Spock and Blamire into the other.

M’Beke and Summers remain behind. An examination of the area reveals a hatch blocked by rubble; when opened, it reveals a another corridor. Their investigation is interrupted when two tattered people emerge from the hidden passage. Male and female, they panicked. The man hides behind the rubble while the female attempts to communicate using frantic gestures. The nature of their fear becomes apparent when a brutish man springs from around the corner and viciously clubs Summers unconscious.

Reynolds and Stein have hiked miles down their corridor without seeing a soul. They are suddenly blinded by lights, held by two people fully encased in silver radiation suits. As they lower their weapons, the others raise their own and stun them. During this, Spock and Blamire encounter increasing damage as they proceed. Eventually, the corridor is completely obstructed, forcing them to turn back. Returning to the airlock, they find the area deserted...until discovering the terrified man hiding behind the rubble.

Finding the open hatch of the third corridor, Spock convinces the man to show them where the others went. Up ahead, a tribe of savages drag M’Beke, Summers and the woman to their camp, a settlement on the edge of a vast, overgrown arboretum. These inhabitants resemble futuristic cave-people—filthy, with unkempt hair and rotten teeth, wearing garments of homespun mixed with synthetic fabrics and adorned with accessories fashioned from technological items. There are no elderly or infirm members in the group.

In another area of the ship, Reynolds awakens in a tastefully appointed rest chamber to find himself under the scrutiny of a woman ( guest star Kate O’Mara). She apologises for the assault, but they were intruding. Introducing herself as Kharrean, the vessel's Director of Reconstruction, she tells him the plight of her people. The distress signal was triggered 1000 years ago, when all but one of their nuclear reactors exploded. Most of the vessel was heavily damaged. Thousands survived the explosions, but fell victim to the radiation. Out of 50,000 crew, only the fourteen in the command area were shielded from the catastrophe. As Reynolds boggles over the magnitude of the disaster, Kharrean states this chance encounter could be vital to their survival.

In the settlement, the prisoners are brought before a shrine, dominated by a wall-painting of a male god. The tribe, who call themselves ‘The Survivors’, gathers in a circle and the woman is pushed into the centre. There, the high priest benevolently examines her—then proclaims, “stranger” The pitiful wretch is dragged to a cubicle recessed in the wall and sealed in by a transparent door. A switch is ritualistically thrown and the chamber floods with blinding light; to M’Beke’s horror, the woman's body evaporates. Summers is selected next and, during the examination, is declared “stranger”. He, too, is sent towards his death. Guided to the Survivors' settlement by the man, Spock and Blamire arrive in time to witness this . They attack the settlement stunning the tribesmen and drag M’Beke and Summers back down the corridor.


In the command area, Kharrean presents Reynolds and Stein to Theaput (special guest star Patrick Wymark), the ship's AI. (Unknown to them, the image is the spitting image of the painting depicting the Survivors' god.). On seeing this image Stein looks very thoughtful. Reynolds notices this and asks why. Stein replies that he is not sure and would need to confirm something with the Endeavour. Stein soon makes an unsettling discovery. The crew are human but a study of their food production system shows no inventory of raw materials on the ship—yet the recycling plants are stocked with a steady supply of all the essential elements. Stein concludes the only possible source of these elements could be living human bodies. Appalled, Reynolds confronts Kharrean with these findings.

Indignant, Kharrean justifies their actions in the name of survival. When their own resources were exhausted, they discovered that descendants of the original survivors existed in the radioactive 'wilderness'—savage, degenerate creatures wiped clean of all civilised behaviour. They managed to teach them the basics of survival, giving them a god who taught them to preserve only the fit. The weak and the sick were to be sacrificed—as fodder for the food recycling system. Kharrean informs him their motivation was not self-preservation, but a greater survival...Kharrean reveals her sacred cause: a gene bank containing genetic material preserved and protected before radiation damaged their people. When they reach a new world, it will be used to produce colonists. They confess the survivor tribes are dying out and, without them, all life on the ship will perish .

Then Spock and the others arrive and Kharrean and the rest of her command crew are swiftly overwhelmed. Spock takes one look at the image of Theaput and exclaims “The Abbott”. Stein then exclaims “Of course!” Reynolds looks bemused until Spock tells him of the adventure on Adams III. This ship must have been launched just before “The Abbott” had taken over Adams III, the Theaput was the same software system.
Reynolds manages to contact the Endeavour and Decker contacts the fleet to send rescue vessels to ferry the survivors to their intended destination the third planet of this system which is stil luninhabited.

 

[Lindseyman]

The Ultimate Weapon Broadcast September 9th 1967

On mission date 1612.6 4202.9, the CSS Endeavour responds to a distress call, finding a navy ship, the CSS Iowa(DI006), adrift and heavily damaged in the Laxodont system. Captain Decker beams over to the Iowa with Spock, Dr.M’Beke, Chief Engineer Scott and a damage control team to investigate. Mr. Scott reports that the ship's warp engines are damaged beyond repair and the weapons exhausted. There they find the ship's commanding officer, Commodore Robert April ( special guest star Patrick McGoohan) – the sole survivor, half-conscious in the auxiliary control room. Meanwhile, an incoherent April can only mutter about something attacking his ship as M’Beke treats him.

The logs reveal that the ship investigated the breakup of a planet and was soon attacked by an enormous machine with a conical shell miles in length and a giant opening at one end filled with sparkling energy. After the attack, April ordered his surviving crew to the surface of a nearby planet, but to his horror, the machine destroyed that world next. Spock theorizes the machine destroys life as it ignored the nearer planets and destroyed the planet onto which April had beamed his crew, and adds that given its past trajectory, it is likely to have come from outside the galaxy and will continue towards the "most densely populated region of our galaxy."

Scott theorizes that they have encountered a doomsday machine, "like a berserker". He then has to explain what he means. That they were devices built to destroy opponents in a war in a set of 20th century Science Fiction stories . They had carried out their original programming and had then continued to destroy their creators as well.
Decker has April beamed back to the Endeavour, with M’Beke, for medical treatment while he and Scott remain on the derelict Iowa.

On the Endeavour bridge, Reynolds, having been left in command, is alerted to the approach of the alien machine which generates interference that makes communication with Fleet impossible. As the machine attacks, April comes to the bridge, and quoting Commonwealth regulations he pulls rank on Reynolds and assumes command. He then orders a full-on attack against the machine ignoring Holmes' warning that the ship's weaponry is ineffective against the doomsday machine's hull. As a result, the engines are disabled and the Endeavour becomes drawn by a tractor beam towards the machine's glowing maw.

Aboard the Iowa, Scott has managed to restore partial phaser and thrust control. At the same time, Spock has reactivated the viewing screen, and manages to create a diversion to distract the planet-killer away from the Endeavour . As the machine veers off, Decker orders Reynolds to relieve Decker of command, based on Decker's personal authority as officially designated Captain of the Fleet vessel Endeavour. Eventually, April, recognizing that the Endeavour crew would support Reynolds, yields and is escorted off the bridge by Summers. En route to the medical centre, however, he knocks out Summers and quickly heads to the hangar bay and steals a shuttlecraft. He then pilots it on a kamikaze course into the planet killer's maw despite the pleas of Decker and Reynolds to turn back.

Lt. Mitchell reports that the shuttlecraft's subsequent explosion appears to have slightly decreased the planet killer's output power. Decker realizes April may have had the right idea but not enough energy to succeed. Decker has Spock determine if the detonation of the Iowa’s jump engines inside the planet-killer would destroy it. Spock is unsure, and he and Scott both object to Decker's intention to remain on the Iowa to carry out the plan. Decker has Scott rig a manual 30-second detonation timer, planning to start it and beam back to the Endeavour before detonation. Scott explains that once the timer is started, it cannot be stopped.

With everything prepared, Decker orders the others back to the Endeavour and steers the Iowa toward the planet killer's maw. At the right moment he starts the 30-second timer and asks to be beamed out. Decker is beamed off the Iowa at the very last second. The Iowa enters the maw of the planet killer and explodes, destroying the planet killer's mechanism and leaving its indestructible shell adrift, dead in space.
Decker signals the Fleet and Navy where to find the machine and the crew has a minute’s silence to remember the Commodore and his crew.

(Fred Saberhagen is credited with the original idea of berserkers in this episode)

 

[Lindseyman]

Triskelion Broadcast September 16th 1967

On Mission Date 1764.5 the Endeavour is investigating the mysterious loss of data coming from satellites left in the Triskelion VII system. On arriving in the system they immediately detect a large ship, which is identified as being Rhihannaun. Decker tries to send a signal to the Fleet but it is blocked. A game of cat and moue then ensues with the Rhihannaun ship with the Endeavour being the mouse as it is outgunned and out powered by the other ship.

Eventually the Endeavour’s maneuvers bring both the ships close to the second planet. A voice booms through the ship saying “ENOUGH”. Decker blacks out. When he awakens, he finds himself in an enclosed, circular area about half a mile across. Other than vegetation and blue sand, he sees in the distance only a dwarf with heavy brow ridge and intricately braided hair. “This is a Rhihannuan”, Decker assumes, ”it is a lot smaller than we thought!”

Then he hears the voice in his mind. It identifies itself as the end product of the evolution of an entire race. While traveling through various spaces and dimensions, it had come upon the battle. The evolved intelligence decided to intervene because both crews contain races that have the potential to one day evolve into beings like itself, but the upcoming war would utterly destroy one side and hurt the other so badly that it would not be able to fulfill its destiny. It therefore chose one individual from each species to fight in this small arena. The loser will doom its kind to eventual extinction.

Decker and his opponent discover, through trial and error, that there is an invisible barrier between them, and that living things cannot cross it, though inanimate objects can. Decker tries to communicate with the Rhihannaun, to see if a compromise is possible, but receives a message of unremitting invective and hatred.
He then observes his foe catch a small blue lizard, casually pull off its legs, and then throw the body unimpeded to his side. Thinking that the barrier is down, Decker charges and nearly knocks himself out when he is proved wrong. While he is on the ground recovering from the collision, Decker is seriously wounded in the leg by a rock thrown by the Rhihannaun.

Aware that his wound will eventually kill him, Decker searches desperately for a way to get to his enemy. When he finds that the blue lizard is still alive, he puts it out of its misery. Then realization hits him - the lizard passed through the barrier while it was alive but unconscious. Taking a risk born of ultimate desperation, he knocks himself out on a slope and rolls through to the other side. He regains consciousness but lies motionless in order to lure the faster, healthier Rhihannaun into range, then stuns it.
Tearing his tunic into strips Decker ties the Rhihannaun up and then shouts that he is NOT going to kill a being for anybody else’s entertainment whatever the cost.
The next instant, he finds himself back on the Endeavour. The Rhihannaun ship is pulling away. The voice then booms out again “YOU SHOWED MERCY TO ONE WHO WOULD NOT HAVE SHOWN ANY TO YOU. YOU ARE FREE TO GO”. Decker enquires if the Rhihannaun are doomed to extinction. “ALL SPECIES ARE DOOMED TO EXTINCTION. HOWEVER YOU HAVE NOT BROUGHT FORWARD THEIR EXTINCTION”. Decker wonders about this vague statement but orders the Endeavour to their next assignment.

Adapted from a story by Frederic Brown