[electronic tone] captain. fresh readings within the hour in each of these tunnels. chart says both of these tunnels converge a few thousand yards further. you take a left. i'll take a right. should we separate? two tunnels. two of us.

mr. spock. yes, captain. i've found a whole layer of these silicon nodules of yours, hundreds of them. spock: indeed? i find that most illuminating, captain. be absolutely certain you do not damage any of them. explain. only a theory i have. [rumbling] captain?

jim? jim! yes, mr. spock. all right. we...seem to have had a cave-in. i could phaser you out. kirk: no. no, no, you better not. any disturbance might bring down the rest of the wall. besides, it isn't necessary. the chart said the tunnels meet further on. very well, that your roof chose that particular moment to collapse. please proceed with extreme caution. i shall quicken my pace. very well, mr. spock. i'll meet you at the other end--

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[beep beep] kirk here. captain, i just read some fresh signs. area. i'll take a lifeform reading. it's not necessary, mr. spock. i know exactly where the creature is. where, captain? 10 feet away from me. kill it, captain, quickly. it's not making any threatening moves, spock. you don't dare take the chance, captain. kill it. i thought you were the one that wanted it kept alive. captured if possible. jim, your life is in danger. you can't take the risk.

i remind you it is a proven killer. i'm on my way. spock out. well... what do we do, just...talk it over? well, you can be hurt, can't you? we just sit here?

shoot. come on over, mr. spock. fascinating. it's made no moves against you. no. it seems to be waiting. i tried talking to it, but it didn't do any good.

they're all through here, all over the place. thousands of them. yes, i see. it means something to you? possibly the answer, captain, but i'm not certain. captain, you are aware of the vulcan technique of the joining of two minds. u think you can get through to that thing? possible. mr. spock... i know it's a... terrible personal lowering of mental barriers... but if there's a chance...

aah! pain! pain! pain! that's all i got, captain... waves and waves of searing pain.

[fiery noise] "no kill i." what is that, a plea for us not to kill it, or a promise that it won't kill us? i don't know, captain. it gained an immediate knowledge of us from its empathy with me. in my brief contact with the creature's mind, i discovered it is a highly intelligent, extremely sophisticated animal... in great pain, of course, because of its wound, but not reacting at all like a wounded creature. it calls itself a horta. a horta. a horta! mr. spock, we need that retardation mechanism.

captain, it has no reason to give us the device, and apparently every reason for wishing us off this planet. yes, i'm aware of that. if we could only win its confidence. doctor mccoy, this is captain kirk. mccoy: yes, captain? grab your medical kit and come down here on the double. i've got a patient for you. is somebody injured? what happened? never mind. just come down to the 23rd level. you'll be led to us by tricorder readings.

that this is a silicon-based form of life. dr. mccoy's medical knowledge will be totally useless. he's a healer, let him heal. mr. spock, you must re-establish communications.

to obtain that kind of communication, captain, it will be necessary to touch it. we have seen how the creature destroys. lieutenant commander giotto. giotto here, captain.

we're at the end of the tunnel. a mr. vanderberg and his men are here, and they're pretty ugly. shall i let them through? under no circumstances allow them in here yet. the minute doc mccoy gets there, send him through. aye, aye, sir. pity! the thousands... devils! eternity ends... the chamber of the ages... the altar of tomorrow! spock: murderers! stop them! kill!

monsters! what in the name of... what is spock doing? it's wounded--badly. you've got to help it. help that? go take a look. spock: the end of life...

you can't be serious. that thing is virtually made out of stone! help it. treat it. i'm a doctor, not a bricklayer. you're a healer. there's a patient. that's an order. mr. spock... the mechanism. understood. is the end of life... eternity stops... go out...

to the chamber... of the ages. cry for the children. walk carefully in the vault of tomorrow.

go. go. sadness. sadness... for the end of things. go... into the tunnel. there is a passageway. quickly, quickly. you won't see these folks at the post office. they have businesses to run.

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id for you to wait here, and here is where you're gonna wait. that murdering monster's in there

that's right, lieutenant. just beam it down to me immediately, and never mind what i want it for. i just want it! now move! it is time... to sleep. it is over. failure. the murderers... have won. death is welcome. let it end... here. mr. spock...

spock... spock... come out of it. i found the unit in there. it's in pretty good shape. i also found about a million of these... silicon nodules. they're eggs, aren't they? yes, captain, eggs... and about to hatch. miners must have broken into the hatchery. their operations destroyed thousands. no wonder. there. they're coming. all right! all right, let's go! come on. how are you doing, doc? i'll let you know.

no, don't fire. kill it! first man that fires is dead. that thing has killed 50 of my men. you've killed thousands of her children. what? those round silicon nodules you've been collecting and destroying? they're her eggs. tell them, mr. spock. there have been many generations of horta on this planet. every 50,000 years, the entire race dies, all but one, like this one, but the eggs live. she cares for them... protects them. and when they hatch, she is the mother to them, thousands of them. this creature here is the mother of her race. the horta is intelligent... peaceful... mild. she had no objection to sharing this planet with you, till you broke into her nursery and started destroying her eggs. then she fought back the only way she knew how,

we didn't know. how could we? you mean, if these eggs hatch, there'll be thousands of those things crawling around down here? this is where they live. they digest rock. they tunnel for nourishment. and they are the most inoffensive of creatures. they harbor ill will toward no one.. look, we have pergium to deliver. yes, i know. here's your circulating pump. you've complained this planet is a mineralogical treasure house if you had the equipment to get at it. gentlemen, the horta moves through rock the way we move through air, and it leaves tunnels. the greatest natural miners in the universe. it seems to me we could make an agreement, reach a modus vivendi. they tunnel. you collect and process, and your process operation

it sounds all right if it will work. except for one thing. the horta is badly wounded. it may die. it won't die! by golly, jim, i'm beginning to think i can cure a rainy day. can you help it? help it? i cured it. how? i had the ship beam down 100 pounds of that thermal concrete. you know, the kind we use to build emergency shelters out of. it's mostly silicone. so i just troweled it into the wound and it'll act like a bandage until it heals. take a look. it's as good as new. well, spock, i'm gonna have to ask you to get in touch with the horta again. tell her our proposition. she and her children can do all the tunneling they want. our people will remove the minerals, and each side will leave the other alone. think she'll go for it? it seems logical, captain. the horta has a very logical mind.

find that curiously refreshing. ship ready to leave orbit, captain. course laid in. very good, mr. spock. chief engineer vanderberg standing by on channel 1. fine. yes, chief. kirk here. just wanted to tell you the eggs have started to hatch, captain. first thing the little devils do is start to tunnel. um deposits. i'm afraid to tell you how much gold and platinum and rare earths we've uncovered. i'm delighted to hear that, chief. once mother horta tells her kids what to look for, you people are gonna be embarrassingly rich. you know, the horta aren't so bad once you get used to their appearance. that's about it, kirk. thanks for everything. our pleasure, chief. kirk out. curious. what chief vanderberg said about the horta is exactly what the mother horta said to me.

but she thought she could get used to it. oh, she did, did she? tell me, did she happen to make any comment about those ears? not specifically. but i did get the distinct impression she found them the most attractive human characteristic of all. i didn't have the heart to tell her that only i have-- she really liked those ears? captain, the horta is a remarkably intelligent and sensitive creature with impeccable taste. really, captain, my modesty... does not bear close examination, mr. spock. i suspect you're becoming more and more human all the time. you... captain, i see no reason to stand here and be insulted.

the mccrory and cooper campaigns. wral news at 6:00 starts right now. a proud law enforcement organization built on honor and professionalism. one of its own faces accusations of staying home the taxpayers' dime. a supervisor now faces an internal investigation following a wral investigation. thank you for joining us. i'm deborah morgan. >> i'm david crabtree. we repeatedly found the trooper at home when he was supposed to be working between during a state of emergency. wral investigates cullen browder is here with more details on the story. >> reporter: wral investigates received a tip about a highway patrol sacialgent's work habits that is concerned the