Star Trek S2E08: The Doomsday Machine
While answering a distress signal, the Enterprise comes across a solar system with a bunch of smashed-up planets and the U.S.S. Constellation, which looks like it's seen some better days:
The only person still aboard is Commodore Matt Decker, the ship's captain. He's obviously traumatized, so Kirk decides the best thing to do is shake him around and yell at him. (McCoy sensibly tells him to knock it off.)
Anyways, they get the rest of the story from him (and the captain's logs): while also investigating the smashed-up planets, the Constellation came across a "devil" which trashed the ship pretty badly. Decker decided to evacuate the crew, staying behind till the last. Of course, in true Trek fashion, the transporter malfunctioned and stranded him on the ship.
And then, in what is a
very obtuse moment from Captain Kirk
KIRK: Matt, where's your crew?
DECKER: On the third planet.
KIRK: There
is no third planet!
DECKER:
Don't you think I don't know that?
Anyways, McCoy and Decker go back to the Enterprise, while Kirk, Scotty, and a couple of techs stay behind on the Constellation.
But for some utterly
baffling reason, McCoy decides to bring him to the bridge rather than to Sickbay.
Just in time for our new friend to show up:
(This was one of the first Trek episodes I ever watched. This scene where the titular Doomsday Machine first appears left a
very profound impact upon me.)
During the attack, the Enterprise and the Constellation get separated and are unable to communicate with each other due to the weapon giving off huge amounts of subspace interference.
Decker is rather pissed that Spock doesn't want to just throw the Enterprise against the planet-killer that trashed his own ship. In true Trek fashion he pulls rank and takes command of the Enterprise.
He kicks McCoy off the bridge. (McCoy must regret not dragging him to Sickbay.) The other crew observe the power struggle.
Meanwhile, back on the Constellation, Kirk and Scotty are trying to fix things up. Kirk finally gets one of the viewscreens up and running... and sees the Enterprise just uselessly blasting away at the giant planet-killer with phasers. "What the devil's going on?"
This one screencap does
not adequately express the "have you gone out of your Vuican mind, Spock???" expression on his face.
Meanwhile, Scotty the Miracle Worker has managed to not only get some maneuvering power out of the Constellation, but
one of the phasers recharged — just in time to distract the planet-killer from dragging the Enterprise inside.
Oh, and once they get back into communication, Kirk is
not happy to find out Decker's taken command:
KIRK: You mean
you're the lunatic who's responsible for almost destroying my ship?!
He commands Spock to take command. Decker won't budge. Spock threatens to have him arrested. Decker accuses him of bluffing.
"Vulcans never bluff."
He has one of the guards escort Decker down to Sickbay. Decker instead attacks the guard and steals a shuttle, intending to "take this thing right down its throat." Kirk and Spock try to talk him out of it. They fail.
Godspeed, Matt Decker.
Anyways, this
does do some damage to the planet-killer. It gives Kirk an idea:
KIRK: Am I correct in assuming that a fusion explosion of 97 megatons will result if a starship impulse engine is overloaded?
SPOCK: No, sir. 97.835 megatons.
KIRK: ... 97.835.
Yes, you can probably see where Kirk is going with this. He plans to have Scotty rig up a detonation device so that Kirk can ram the Constellation right down that thing's throat. Unlike Decker, he plans to beam out before getting blown up.
And... yup, in true Trek fashion:
There's something kind of funny about Kirk piloting a self-destructing spaceship into an ancient planet-eating superweapon and very calmly going "Gentlemen, I suggest you beam me aboard."
Fortunately, Scotty the Miracle Worker gets the transporter fixed in time to pull Kirk back to the Enterprise.
Godspeed, Constellation.
The planet-killer is dead. The galaxy is safe... well, until next episode. Spock wonders if there's more of them floating around. Kirk hopes not, because he found the one quite sufficient.
Also: The music on this one is
awesome.