SPECTRE OF THE GUN


[Alarm Blaring]
On mark 8 and closing.
Steady as she goes.
Phaser crew, stand by.
Range, 45,000 kilometers, Captain.
Fascinating.
Range, 43,000 kilometers and closing.
Sensor readings?
A mechanical device of unknown properties.
I read no life forms aboard.
Analysis, Science Officer?
Obviously, it intends to intercept us.
It has made several course changes
corresponding with our own.
38,000 and closing.
35,000 and closing.
Unclear whether it intends to attack
or merely communicate with us.
Thank you, Science Officer.
Come to 181, mark 7.
Aye, aye, sir.
Staying with us.
Indeed.
Full stop, Mr. Chekov. Hold your position.
Aye, sir.
[Buttons Beep]
Aliens ...
you have encroached on the space of the Melkot.
You will turn back immediately.
This is the only warning you will receive.
Vulcan, Captain.
English.
It was Russian, sir. Every word.
No, Captain. It was Swahili.
Interesting.
Telepathy.
Unquestionably. Most impressive.
Our orders are very clear.
We're to establish contact
with the Melkotians at all costs.
True telepaths can be most formidable,
and we have been warned.
What previous contacts have been made with the Melkotians?
No recorded contacts.
If they ever ventured into space,
they evidently withdrew immediately.
Lieutenant ...
hailing frequencies.
Tied in, sir.
This is Captain James T. Kirk
of the starship Enterprise,
representing the United Federation of Planets.
We've contacted your buoy and understand its message.
We hope that you'll understand that our intent
is to establish peaceful relations with you.
Lieutenant, answer?
Nothing, sir.
Clear on all frequencies.
Try again.
[Uhura] Still no response, sir.
Opinion, Mr. Spock?
I prefer being a welcomed guest,
but there seems to be little choice.
None whatsoever.
Mr. Chekov, deflectors at full intensity.
Increase speed to achieve planet fall as scheduled.
Aye, sir.
Standard orbit in five minutes.
Lieutenant Uhura, advise Dr. McCoy, Engineer Scott
to meet me in the transporter room.
Mr. Spock, Mr. Chekov, let's go find out
what it is they're afraid of.
Captain 's Log, stardate 4385.3.
We have transported down to the Melkotian planet
and have encountered conditions which are completely contrary
to what we were prepared for.
Spock, what is this?
Unknown, Captain.
Sensor readings give no indication
of fog like conditions in this area.
I knew it had to happen.
It's a fine time for that transporter mechanism
to break down.
Impossible, Dr. McCoy.
My transporter was working perfectly.
Then what are we doing here?
Tricorder readings, Mr. Spock?
Unknown, Captain.
Unlike Mr. Scott's transporter,
this unit is not functioning.
Then let's get out of here.
Kirk to Enterprise.
Kirk to Enterprise. Come in.
No use, Captain.
Obviously none of our devices will function.
Apparently that Melkotian buoy --
Aliens.
Space -- the final frontier.
These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise.
Its five-year mission --
To explore strange new worlds ...
to seek out new life and new civilizations ...
to boldly go where no man has gone before.
Our warning was plain.
You have disregarded it.
You shall be punished.
You ...
Captain Kirk,
the disobedience was on your orders.
Yours is the responsibility.
Yours shall be the pattern of your death.
We come in peace.
But we'll defend ourselves if necessary.
You are outside.
You are disease.
The disease must be destroyed.
Your plea has been heard,
and sentence has been pronounced.
It is done.
Fascinating.
Where are we now, Captain?
Spock, evaluation?
Obviously this represents
the Melkotian's concept of an American frontier town,
circa ... 1880.
It's just bits and pieces.
It's incomplete.
Perhaps the Melkotians
have insufficient data about this era.
Or perhaps this is all they require
to complete the pattern ofour death.
And these, Captain?
Beautiful specimen.
Crude ...
but dangerous.
Whatever the Melkotians have planned for us, it won't be pleasant.
These could be useful. Just remember one thing.
To individuals at close range,
these could be as deadly as phasers.
In the midst of what seems so unreal --
The harsh reality.
This is not a dream.
[Banging]
"October 26, 188 ...
1881 .
Tombstone, Arizona."
Tombstone.
Hell for leather,
right out of history.
But why here?
And why now?
Captain, the Melkot said you were the pattern.
He looked into your mind
and selected what he considered
the proper time and place for our punishment.
Because my ancestors pioneered the American frontier.
Yes.
The violence of your own heritage
is to be the pattern for our execution.
We're talking like we really are
in Tombstone, Arizona, in 1881 .
Precisely, in terms of what the Melkots intend for us.
There's something about that date --
October 26, 1881 --
But what was it?
Ike!
Ike!
Frank! Billy! Tom!
Ike, I was afraid you weren't going to make it.
Looks like we did.
I knew you wouldn't let them scare you away.
They're a bunch of hot air.
Are they really?
Now they're going to have to fight
after the way they shot off their mouths.
You know us?
Funny.
That's what I like about you, lke.
You always see the funny side.
I'm a barrel of laughs.
Nobody can say Johnny Behan
doesn't have a sense of humor.
Johnny.
He called me lke, you Frank,
Bones Tom ...
and Billy.
Ike Clanton, Tom and Frank McLowery,
Billy Claiborne, Billy Clanton.
Captain, I pride myself on my knowledge of Earth history.
The names were known in the annals of the opening
of the western sector of America ...
the United States of America, that is.
In the late 19th century in Arizona,
two factions fought for control
of the town of Tombstone --
The Earps -- Morgan, Virgil, and Wyatt,
who were the town marshals,
along with Doc Holliday.
And the Clanton gang.
On October 26th, they ...
had it out.
Who won?
The Clantons lost, Mr. Chekov.
And we are the Clantons?
We are the Clantons,
and if this is a replay of history --
History cannot be changed.
[Glass Breaks]
It's impossible!
Things like this can't happen.
Is this a dead man, Doctor?
Very dead, Mr. Spock.
That's one thing we can be sure of.
Death is real.
[Piano Plays]
Ike, Frank, hiya, boys.
I didn't think I'd see you again.
Billy!
Oh, Billy!
Billy, baby, I knew they couldn't keep you out of town.
Oh, you knew that?
Come on.
Maybe you shouldn't have.
And pass up an opportunity to see you?
Don't be silly.
It's taking crazy chances
with Morgan Earp right in the same room.
Yes, of course.
The man who kills on sight ...
Morgan Earp.
Captain, since we have seen that death
is the one reality in this situation,
I seriously suggest you reseat yourself immediately ...
without moving a muscle of either hand.
If I remember correctly,
that would involve you in what was called,
"the fast draw".
It initiated unfortunate events.
You boys want your usual?
Absolutely. Half a gallon of scotch.
You know we only got bourbon,
unless you want corn whisky.
I wish it was all over.
I saw Virgil out patrolling this morning.
Good old Virgil. We can always count on him.
They been blowing off all over town
how they chased the Clantons out.
You'll show 'em now, won't you?
I don't think we're going to have any choice.
You'll dirty yourself with this scum. Come on.
Get your hands off her.
Now, all right, all right.
We don't want any trouble.
If you don't want trouble, what are you doing in my town?
Just leave us alone, Mr. Earp.
That's all we ask.
Five of you. You'd like me to draw, wouldn't you?
All right, I will ...
soon enough.
Soon enough.
I believe he was actually trying
to provoke a dispute with Mr. Chekov.
Close, Ike. Lucky there wasn't two of them.
I guess so.
Sylvia's right.
They've been bad-mouthing something fierce
all over town.
You boys watch it.
I assure you, sir, we shall watch it ...
and everything extremely closely.
Billy, you were wonderful.
Um, Mr. Chekov ...
what can I do, Captain?
You know we're always supposed to maintain
good relations with the natives.
Young lady ...
Young lady ...
Yes, Ike?
I'd like to talk to Mr. -- to Billy alone,
if you don't mind.
All right.
I understand.
Billy Claiborne, you be careful.
Mr. Chekov, you be careful.
Mr. Spock ...
except for our hand guns,
we haven't changed, not even our clothing,
yet these people see and hear us as the Clantons.
I don't think that's such a bad thing.
The day is still young.
What have we got?
We're here in Tombstone, Arizona,
October 26, 1881 --
The day of the gunfight at O.K. Corral --
And we're the Clantons,
and Morgan Earp has just gone to tell his brothers we're here.
And if this is indeed some sort of replay of history,
the Earps will kill the Clantons
at the O.K. Corral at 5:00 this afternoon.
Well, we're not going to be at the O.K. Corral
at 5:00 this afternoon.
You, bartender ... Ed.
You, uh, you claim you know us.
I ain't making no big claims to nobody. Just so happens.
- Take a close look at me. - Yeah?
Who do you think I am?
Ike Clanton. Who do you think you are?
I know this is hard to understand,
but I'm Captain James T. Kirk
of the spaceship Enterprise.
These men are part of my crew.
We're not really here. We're from the future.
We haven't been born yet.
Feel the material in my shirt.
Now feel the material in your own shirt.
Do you notice any difference?
No.
Do these clothes look like yours?
Not exactly.
- Have you seen clothes like this? - Sure.
- Where? - On the clantons.
You Clantons are always great with your jokes.
- That's why we like you. - I'm not joking.
The only difference between you and the Earps is they never joke.
I'm not joking!
I'm not Ike Clanton!
It's O.K. With me, Ike. Anything you say.
Don't make no difference who I think you are.
Your problem is, who does Wyatt Earp think you are?
[Laughing]
Good morning, gentlemen. My name's James Kirk.
I'm afraid there's been some misunderstanding.
Clanton, I don't know what you're trying to pull,
but we warned you
not to show your ugly face in town again.
Of course you did, and I wanted to talk to you about that.
We're done talking, Clanton.
There's been some sort of mistake, a misunderstanding.
All right, Clanton. One more chance -- your last.
You've got until 5:00 tonight
to get your horse-stealing scurvy crew out oftown.
All the way.
We'd be glad to. We don't want to fight.
I always said you was yellow, Clanton.
I'll make one more attempt to get through to you, Mr. Earp.
My name is not Clanton, it's Kirk.
Oh, yeah. We heard the talk about your jokes.
I'm not joking.
Sure. Well, I'm glad to meet you ...
Mr. Kirk.
Draw, Clanton.
Not me, Mr. Earp.
You draw, or I will.
No, Wyatt.
Let me.
When the time comes,
I'll pay him for this.
We don't want any trouble.
We'll be glad to cooperate.
5:00, Clanton. Is that clear?
If you're in town at 5:01 ,
we'll kill every one of you
whether you draw or not.
Is that clear?
Ouch.
What's the matter?
What do you call that stuff -- fire?
"Taos Lightning --" straight bourbon.
Try some. In small amounts,
it was considered medicinal.
Label it "For External Use Only".
It just takes a bit of getting used to, Captain.
Actually, a man could grow quite fond of this stuff.
Take it easy. I hate to think
what that stuff's doing to your stomach lining.
And your reflexes. We're gonna need fast reflexes.
There's no negotiating with the Earps.
If we only had a phaser ...
or a communicator.
It'd be a pleasure to watch those Earps
as we beamed back to the ship
at exactly 4:59:30.
Could we make a communicator?
Impossible, Captain. In this century,
there are no metal alloys or power sources
to make devices such as ours.
The problem is clear.
We're gonna have to seek contemporary solutions.
Where's Chekov?
Mr. Chekov is involved, Captain.
You shouldn't have come back to town, Billy.
Morgan will kill you because he wants me.
With his outdated weapon?
If he shoots at me, I will just...
step out of the way.
You can joke about it.
I've seen 'em in action.
Especially Morgan.
A lot of people and things have tried to kill me.
You'd be surprised.
Mr. Chekov -- I mean Billy ...
come along.
Yes, sir.
Billy?
Please, don't even go near him.
Gentlemen.
Where are we going, Captain?
To exercise the better part of valor.
Well, that settles that.
A force field.
[Clock Chiming]
It is obvious the Melkotians
are not going to permit us to leave this town.
If we could only contact the Enterprise.
Where is the Enterprise?
If you were in charge of the Enterprise,
what would you be doing?
I'd be using the ship's sensors trying to locate us.
Very good. If we could find the place we beamed down,
the ship might beam us up.
Let's get there.
There's no way we can know where it is.
It could be anywhere within a 1,000-mile radius.
Join us common humanoids
in trying to find a way out of here,
and quit explaining why we can't get out.
We have until 5:00.
Consider this. What materials were on hand in 1881
that could help us fight the Earps on their own terms?
We have these, Captain.
No. The Melkots gave us those to execute us.
We have to find a way
to put the Earps out of action.
Is there anything that exists here that could help us?
All those western cossacks had
were poisonous snakes and cactus plants.
Bones ... the venom. The plants.
Can you make use of them?
A tranquilizer! Of course, Jim. I can make a tranquilizer!
I could make a device to deliver it on-target.
Bones, the ingredients you require.
I know the place to get the proper drugs.
I'll need a mortar and a pestle.
Chekov, mortar and pestle.
How do you intend to deliver
the tranquilizer on-target?
I shall need some fusing and cotton wadding.
Wadding--try the apothecary.
Aye.
I shall manufacture the equivalent
of an ancient generating canister,
more familiarly known as a gas grenade.
I'll be about five minutes yet.
You could come back.
Well, thank you.
Mind if I look around a bit?
Crude, but very useable.
I wouldn't touch that stuff if I was you.
Don't worry.
I know how to handle this.
I have an urgent need
for a small supply of this drug, too.
That stuff ain't mine. It belongs to him.
You'd better ask him.
Oh, so you're the dentist.
Well, I'm a physician, and I have a serious emergency.
I wonder if you mind if I borrow
a small quantity of this.
You want it now?
My name is McCoy.
I'm a doctor.
That joke is all around town already ... McLowery.
Well, my name is still Holliday.
Doc Holliday.
The emergency is real.
I need these things.
Your emergency sure is real.
Go on, take the stuff.
Have some more fun.
Ha ha. Take my bag.
Only, best you be finished before 5:00.
That is my intention, Doctor.
Because at one minute past 5:00,
you'll find a hole in your head ...
right from this gun.
Ahem.
Sylvia!
Hello.
Billy Claiborne,
do you know how crazy I am about you?
That's ... very nice.
Well, aren't you going to ask me
what I've got in my shopping bag?
That's ... just what I was preparing to inquire.
Have you been shopping?
Of course, silly!
What else would I be doing on a beautiful afternoon
with the dance only one week away?
Or have you forgotten that already?
No ... no, I haven't forgotten.
I am looking forward to it ...
most eagerly.
You will be absolutely wild
when you see me in the new gown
I'm going to make.
I found this most scrumptious material,
yards and yards of it.
You know what I was thinking, Billy?
I was thinking
what a beautiful wedding gown it would make.
Why don't we just turn that dance into a wedding ball?
It would be so heavenly.
Married?
I'm ... afraid ...
that wouldn't be possible.
But I'm positive the gown will be ready.
What else is there to stop a wedding?
But it is absolutely impossible.
I am not someone you can marry.
If ... only I could make ... clear to you ...
what I really am.
Do you think I don't know?
Billy Claiborne ...
you are a cattle rustler and a horse thief
and I don't care what else.
I warned you, Claiborne. Stay away.
Aah!
You don't have to take anything from that scum,
not while I'm here.
Mr. Earp.
Get your hands off her.
Aah!
Billy!
There's nothing I can do, Jim.
Come on, Clanton. Let's do it now.
- Captain, let me -- - No!
Yeah, come on, Captain.
Let him.
- We can't just stand here! - Yes, we can.
But they murdered Chekov!
Scotty ... they're trying to push us
into something we're not ready for.
And it is not yet our time.
Let it go, Jim. He's dead.
Maybe he wouldn't be if I hadn't ignored the Melkot warning.
We all knew the risk when we joined the service.
Now let it go.
Gentlemen, there is one thing
which requires the immediate attention of all of us --
Specifically, our future.
But not this minute, Spock.
It takes us ... a little longer.
I understand the feeling, Captain.
You talk about another man's feelings.
What do you feel, Spock?
My feelings are not subject for discussion, Doctor.
Because there are no feelings to discuss!
Chekov is dead!
I say it now, and I can hardly believe it,
but you worked closely with him.
That deserves some memorial.
Spock will have no truck with grief, Scotty.
It's human.
Bones ... Scotty --
Captain ...
it's quite all right.
They forget I am half human.
[Clock Chimes]
We don't have much time.
Captain ... I vaguely remember the historical account
of the famous battle in which we are about to engage,
but I am confused.
About what?
Since each of us represents members
of the Clanton gang --
You, Ike Clanton, I, Frank McLowery --
Then Mr. Chekov would be the other Billy, would he not?
William Claiborne, that's right.
But did not William Claiborne
survive the battle at the O.K. Corral?
Get to the point, Spock.
Mr. Chekov is dead.
But in the actual gunfight, William Claiborne survived.
Yes.
Yes, that's right.
That means it doesn't have to happen
the way it happened.
We can change it.
Bones, how's the tranquilizer coming?
I'll have it ready before Spock.
Another hour.
And we'll have a tranquilizer grenade?
Not precisely.
Forget precision. Will it work?
It should.
Make sure. If we don't tranquilize them, we'll have to fight them.
If we fight them, we all die. We know that.
Negotiating with them could buy us more time.
But not with the Earps. I've tried that. That's out.
There must be a way.
History has been changed in the fact that Billy Claiborne didn't die,
but Chekov is lying there dead.
That means there must be a way to change this history.
It would be worth a try,
at least until we're certain of the device.
Then perhaps we could quiet things down.
But not with the Earps.
There is ...
one other place I can try.
You looking for somebody?
Yes, Sheriff.
I want you to stop the fight.
Stop it? Who wants to stop it?
I sure don't. You don't.
You didn't yesterday.
I do now.
Since when does a Clanton run crawling to the law for help?
- How else is he gonna get justice? - From this.
You boys set up this thing to take care of the Earps.
It's late to decide you don't have the belly for it.
It's not too late.
Sheriff! Sheriff ...
there must be decent people in town
who don't like the Earps. Let's organize them.
Don't talk nonsense. People in this town are counting on you
- to get rid of the Earps. - Let the law work for them.
You can talk that way after what the Earps did to Billy today?
Nobody in this town will deny you your right to your revenge.
Yes, I want revenge.
I want to ... crush the life out of the Earps.
But I can't just kill them.
Listen to me. Get down to the O.K. Corral. Keep out of sight.
When the Earps come looking ...
you bush whack 'em.
Can't I get it through your stupid head?
I can't just kill 'em!
I can't kill 'em!
Kill 'em any way you can!
There'll be no questions asked. Honest.
I guarantee that!
These crude supplies we were forced to use
worked quite well.
I doubt that this combination of things was ever used
for any purpose quite like this.
Perhaps they would've been
if they'd had your ingenuity, Doctor.
Captain.
How soon will that be ready?
Right now.
Good. How long will it take
the tranquilizer to have effect?
Three or four seconds.
How did you manage to test it?
It has not been tested.
It's not necessary, Captain.
It's simple. Nothing can go wrong.
Up to now, everything's gone wrong.
I want it tested ... and now.
Would a volunteer solve the problem?
It would.
All right. On one condition.
That I'm wide awake and with you at 5:00.
Guaranteed.
Aye.
It's to kill the pain.
But this is painless.
Well, you should've warned me sooner, Mr. Spock.
Fire away.
It should've worked.
Did you inhale the gas, Scotty?
Aye. Deeply.
You still feel all right?
I never felt better.
No dizziness? No sweating? No palpitations?
It doesn't work.
Indeed. Fascinating.
It was our last chance.
Captain, you don't seem to understand.
It did not function, but it must function.
Nothing could go wrong, Captain. It should work.
A scientific fact ...
But if the tranquilizer does not function,
which is clearly impossible,
then a radical alteration of our thought patterns must be in order.
We need a weapon
an answer.
You don't have to worry about that now, Jim.
Look at the clock.
10 minutes ...
and it's all going to end at the O.K. Corral.
Well, we're going to wait right here
until well after 5:00.
We're not going to move from this spot.
Let's get out of here.
Scotty, Bones.
We're trapped.
They got their way.
We better stand and fight.
Good. If they want a fight,
let's give them a fight.
They're experts at gunfighting.
We don't have a chance.
Then we'd better become experts.
It may not be necessary.
Spock, you've got something?
The facts, Captain.
Physical laws simply cannot be ignored.
Existence cannot be without them.
What do you mean?
I mean, Doctor,
that we are faced with a staggering contradiction.
The tranquilizer you created
should have been effective.
It would've been effective anywhere else.
Exactly.
Doctor,
in your opinion,
what killed Mr. Chekov?
A piece of lead in his body.
Wrong.
His mind killed him.
If you've got the answer, tell us.
Physical reality is consistent
with universal laws.
Where the laws do not operate,
there is no reality.
All of this ...
is unreal.
What do you mean unreal?
I examined Chekov. He's dead.
But you made your examination
under conditions which we cannot trust.
We judge reality by the response of our senses.
Once we are convinced of the reality
of a given situation,
we abide by its rules.
We judged the bullets to be solid,
the guns to be real,
therefore they can kill.
Chekov is dead because he believed
the bullets would kill him.
He may indeed be dead.
We do not know.
But we do know
that the Melkotians created the situation.
If we do not allow ourselves
to believe that the bullets are real,
they cannot kill us!
Exactly.
I know the bullets are unreal,
therefore they cannot harm me.
We must all be as certain as you
if we're to save our lives.
Precisely.
But that's not possible.
There'd always be some doubt.
The smallest doubt would be enough to kill you.
We're just human beings, Spock.
We don't have that clockwork ticker in our head
like you do.
We can't turn it on and off.
We must.
Spock, a Vulcan mind meld.
Very well, sir.
Engineer ...
[Clock Chimes]
Your mind to my mind ...
your thoughts to my thoughts.
The bullets are unreal ...
without body.
They are illusions only.
Shadows ...
without substance.
They will not pass through your body
for they do not exist.
They ...
do not ...
exist.
Unreal.
Appearances only.
They are shadows.
Illusions.
Nothing but ghosts of reality.
They are lies ...
false hoods ...
spectres without body.
They are to be ignored.
Captain.
Draw.
Captain, I ...
don't understand.
Neither do I. He's in perfect health.
What happened?
Where have I been?
Right here, it seems.
But that girl ...
she was so beautiful.
So real.
Do you remember anything else?
No.
Perhaps that explains why he's here.
Nothing was real to him
except the girl.
Captain.
The Melkotian object.
Sensor readings.
The object is beginning to emit M-rays
of a highly unstable nature, Captain.
Lieutenant, sound red alert.
Mr. Chekov, deflector shields on full.
Phaser gun crews, lock on target.
Energy output increasing beyond measurable levels, Captain.
Phaser guns, stand by to fire.
It's ...
It's ...
gone, sir.
Damage report, Lieutenant.
No damage, sir.
All decks report fully operational.
Captain Kirk ...
you did not kill.
Is this the way of your kind?
It is.
We fight only when there's no choice.
We prefer the ways of peaceful contact.
I speak for an alliance of fellow creatures
who believe in the same thing.
We have sought you out to join us.
Our mission is still one of peace.
Approach our planet and be welcome.
A delegation will come out to meet you.
Our warning threats are over.
Excellent.
Lieutenant,
cancel red alert.
Mr. Chekov, resume original course,
warp factor 2.
Warp factor 2, sir.
Captain.
May I ask a question?
You needn't answer if it seems too personal.
I'm sure I'll be able to give you an answer.
This afternoon,
you wanted to kill,
didn't you?
But he didn't kill, Mr. Spock.
But he wanted to, Doctor.
Is that the way it seemed to you?
Yes, Captain.
Mr. Spock ...
you're absolutely right.
That's exactly the way it was.
Mankind ...
ready to kill.
That's the way it was in 1881 .
I wonder ...
how humanity ...
managed to survive.
We overcame our instinct for violence.
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