Director: Robert Gist
Show Stars: Leonard Nimoy (Mr. Spock), William Shatner (Captain James Tiberius Kirk)
Recurring Role: DeForest Kelley (Dr. Leonard Horatio "Bones" McCoy), George Takei (Lt. Hikaru Sulu), Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Nyota Uhura), David L. Ross (Transporter Chief), James Doohan (Lt. Cmdr. Montgomery "Scotty" Scott), Majel Barrett (voice of Computer (uncredited)), Frank da Vinci (Spock's Stunt Double (uncredited)), Gary Coombs (Latimer's Stunt Double (uncredited))
Guest Stars: Don Marshall (Lt. Boma) , John Crawford (High Commissioner Ferris) , Peter Marko (Crewman Gaetano) , Phyllis Douglas (Yeoman Mears) , Rees Vaughn (Crewman Latimer) , Grant Woods (Lt. Cmdr. Kelowitz) , Robert Maffei (Creature)
Production Code: 6149-14
Stardate 2821.5: The Enterprise is scheduled to rendezvous with a ship which will deliver medical supplies to a plague-ridden Hansen's Planet but passes the quasar Murasake 312 and, under Starfleet orders, stops to investigate. Spock, McCoy, Scott, and four specialists board the shuttlecraft Galileo and head into Murasake 312 for observation. Unexpectedly, the Galileo is pulled off course and crashes on the planet Taurus II in the center of the Murasake phenomenon. While Scott attempts repairs, Latimer and Gaetano scout the area and eventually encounter the inhabitants of Taurus II, very large and hostile anthropoids armed with equally large Folsom Point spears. Latimer is killed by one of the anthropoids which brings Spock and the others running. When Spock shows more interest in the weapon than the dead crewman, Boma begins to criticize Spock's methods of command. The crew retreat to the shuttlecraft only to discover that the anthropoids seem to be preparing for an attack. Despite objections from the others, Spock insists that it will only be necessary to frighten the anthropoids, not to kill them, and uses their phasers to accomplish the task. Meanwhile, the Enterprise is searching Taurus II for the shuttlecraft and its crew but is hampered by instrument ionization and a belligerent Commissioner Ferris who urges Kirk to call off the search and proceed to the rendezvous point. On Taurus II, Scott manages to repair the shuttle and uses as a fuel source the power that has been drained from the hand phasers. As the anthropoids close in, the Galileo lifts off and manages to achieve a shaky orbit, but by this time the Enterprise has been forced to abandon the search. Without the power to pull away from the planets gravity field and with communications still disrupted by continued ionization, Spock dumps and ignites the remaining fuel in order to give the Enterprise a visual signal. Seeing the flare against the image of Taurus II, Kirk responds quickly and manages to beam the shuttle crew aboard just as the Galileo disintegrates from its decaying orbit.
