(LOUD EXPLOSlON)
SULU: Stardate 9521 .6.
Captain's Log, U.S.S. Excelsior.
Hikaru Sulu commanding.
After three years, l've concluded my first assignment as master of this vessel, cataloguing gaseous planetary anomalies in Beta Quadrant.
We're heading home under full impulse power.
L am pleased to report that ship and crew have functioned well.
According to this, we've completed our survey of the entire sector.
(RUMBLlNG)
(ALARM BLARlNG)
l have an energy wave at 240 degrees mark 6 port, sir.
SULU: Visual.
My God.
Shields. Shields!
(ALL EXCLAlMlNG)
(PEOPLE GROANlNG)
LOJUR: She's not answering her helm.
Starboard thruster. Turn her into the wave.
Aye.
SULU: Quarter impulse power.
SULU ON INTERCOM: Damage report.
Checking all systems, Captain.
Don't tell me that was any meteor shower.
Negative, sir.
The subspace shockwave originated at bearing 3-2-3 mark 75.
Location... lt's Praxis, sir. lt's a Klingon moon.
Praxis is their key energy production facility.
Send to Klingon High Command.
"This is Excelsior, a Federation starship.
"We have monitored a large expl*si*n in your sector.
"Do you require assistance?"
COMMUNlCATlONS OFFlCER: Aye, sir. Mr. Valtane, any more data?
VALTANE: Yes, sir. l've confirmed the location of Praxis, but...
What is it?
L cannot confirm the existence of Praxis.
Onscreen.
Magnify.
COMPUTER VOICE: Computer enhancement.
Praxis? What's left of it, sir.
Captain, l'm getting a message from Praxis.
Let's have it.
(DlSTORTED STATlC)
(SHOUTING)
This is Brigadier Kerla speaking for the High Command.
There has been an incident on Praxis.
However, everything is under control. We have no need for assistance.
Obey treaty stipulations and remain outside the neutral zone.
This transmission ends now.
"An incident"?
Do we report this, sir? Are you kidding?
What are we doing here?
Maybe they're throwing us a retirement party.
SCOTTY: That suits me. L just bought a boat.
This had better be good.
L'm supposed to be chairing a seminar at the Academy.
Captain, isn't this just for top brass?
Lf we're all here, where's Sulu?
Captain Sulu. On assignment. Where's Spock?
(ALL MURMURlNG)
(GAVEL BANGS)
This briefing is classified. Ladies and gentlemen, the CinC.
As you were.
To break this information down succinctly, the Klingon Empire has roughly 50 years of life left to it.
For full details, l'm turning this briefing over to the Federation's special envoy.
Good morning.
Two months ago, a Federation starship monitored an expl*si*n on the Klingon moon Praxis.
We believe it was caused by over-mining and insufficient safety precautions.
The moon's decimation means the deadly pollution of their ozone.
They will have depleted their supply of oxygen in approximately 50 Earth years.
Due to their enormous m*llitary budget, the Klingon economy does not have the resources with which to combat this catastrophe.
Last month, at the behest of the Vulcan ambassador, l opened a dialogue with Gorkon, Chancellor of the Klingon High Council.
He proposes to commence negotiations at once.
Negotiations for what?
The dismantling of our space stations and starbases along the neutral zone, an end to almost 70 years of unremitting hostility, which the Klingons can no longer afford.
Bill, are we talking about mothballing the Starfleet?
Well, l'm sure that our exploration and scientific programs would be unaffected, Captain, but... L must protest.
To offer Klingons safe haven within Federation space is su1c1de.
Klingons would become the alien trash of the galaxy, and if we dismantle the fleet, we'd be defenseless before an aggressive species with a foothold on our territory.
The opportunity here is to bring them to their knees.
Then we'll be in a far better position to dictate terms.
Sir?
Captain Kirk.
The Klingons have never been trustworthy.
L'm forced to agree with Admiral Cartwright.
This is a terrifying idea.
Lt is imperative that we act now to support the Gorkon initiative lest more conservative elements persuade his empire that it is better to attempt a m*llitary solution and die fighting.
You, Captain Kirk, are to be our first olive branch.
We have volunteered to rendezvous with the Klingon vessel which is bringing Chancellor Gorkon to Earth and to escort him safely through Federation space.
Me?
Well, there are Klingons who feel the same way about the peace treaty as yourself and Admiral Cartwright, but they'll think twice about attacking the Enterprise under your command.
L have personally vouched for you in this matter, Captain.
You have personally vouched?
You will extend Chancellor Gorkon full diplomatic courtesy, Captain Kirk.
But a full ambassador would be better equipped... lf there's no further business, l wish you and your crew Godspeed. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.
L remind you, this meeting is classified.
(ALL MURMURlNG)
l don't know whether to congratulate you or not, Jim.
L wouldn't.
We volunteered?
There is an old Vulcan proverb, "Only Nixon could go to China."
How could you vouch for me?
That's arrogant presumption.
My father requested that l open negotiations... l know your father's the Vulcan ambassador, for heaven's sake, but you know how l feel about this.
They're animals.
Jim, there is an historic opportunity here.
Don't believe them. Don't trust them.
They are dying. Let them die.
Has it occurred to you that this crew is due to stand down in three months?
We've done our bit for king and country.
You should have trusted me.
MAN ON RADIO: Control, this is SD-1 03, approach to spacedock. Over.
WOMAN ON RADIO: SD-1 03, you are clear to deliver Captain Kirk and party to NCC-1 701 Alpha. Over.
Captain on the Bridge.
As you were, Lieutenant... Valeris, sir.
We were told that you needed a helmsman, so l volunteered.
Lieutenant, it is agreeable to see you again.
Lieutenant was the first Vulcan to be graduated at the top of her class at the academy. You must be very proud.
L don't believe so, sir.
She's a Vulcan, all right.
KlRK: Let's get this over with. Departure stations.
Scotty. SCOTTY ON INTERCOM: Aye, sir?
KlRK: Did you find the engine room?
SCOTTY: Right where I left it, sir.
KlRK: Standby. Uhura, get me the dockmaster.
Control tower reading, sir.
Control, this is Enterprise requesting permission to depart.
WOMAN 1 ON INTERCOM: This is Control, Enterprise.
Permission to depart granted.
Thirty seconds for port gates.
Clear all moorings.
Awaiting port gates from this mark.
WOMAN 2 ON INTERCOM: All moorings clear.
Aft thrusters.
Thank you, Lieutenant. One-quarter impulse power.
Captain, may l remind you that regulations specify thrusters only while in spacedock?
(TUT-TUTTlNG)
(CLEARS THROAT)
McCOY: Jim?
You heard the order, Lieutenant.
Aye, sir.
KIRK: Captain's Log, Stardate 9522.6.
L've never trusted Klingons, and l never will.
L could never forgive them for the death of my boy.
Lt seems to me our mission to escort the Chancellor of the Klingon High Council to a peace summit is problematic at best.
Spock says this could be an historic occasion, and l'd like to believe him, but how on earth can history get past people like me?
(VALERlS CLEARS THROAT)
Sorry.
You could have knocked.
We are almost at the rendezvous, sir. L thought that you would like to know.
Right.
Permission to speak freely, sir. Lt is an honor to serve with you.
You piloted well out of spacedock, Lieutenant.
L've always wanted to try that, sir.
SPOCK: You've done well, Valeris.
As your sponsor at the academy, l have followed your career with satisfaction, and as a Vulcan, you've exceeded my expectations.
L do not understand this representation.
Lt is a depiction from ancient Earth mythology, the expulsion from Paradise.
(SNlFFlNG)
Why keep it in your quarters?
Lt is a reminder to me that all things end.
Lt is of endings that l wish to speak.
Sir, l address you as a kindred intellect.
Do you not recognize that a turning point has been reached in the affairs of the Federation?
History is replete with turning points, Lieutenant.
You must have faith. Faith?
That the universe will unfold as it should.
But is that logical? Surely we must... Logic, logic and logic.
Logic is the beginning of wisdom, Valeris, not the end.
This will be my final voyage onboard this vessel as a member of her crew.
Nature abhors a vacuum.
L intend you to replace me.
L could only succeed you, sir.
UHURA ON PA: Now hear this. All officers to the Bridge.
Klingon battle cruiser off the port bow.
All officers to the Bridge.
MAN: Captain on the Bridge.
Shall we raise our shields, Captain?
Never been this close.
The Chancellor is undoubtedly awaiting our signal.
KlRK: Uhura, hailing frequencies. UHURA: Aye, sir.
Right standard rudder. Bring us alongside.
Right standard rudder. Z plus 5 degrees.
Channel is open, Captain.
This is the Starship Enterprise, Captain James T. Kirk commanding.
This is Kronos One.
I am Chancellor Gorkon.
Chancellor, we've been ordered to escort you through Federation space to your meeting on Earth.
Thank you, Captain.
Would you and your party care to dine this evening aboard the Enterprise with my officers, as guests of the United Federation of Planets?
We would be delighted to accept your gracious invitation.
We'll make arrangements to have you beamed aboard at 1 930 hours.
I shall look forward to that.
(MONlTOR BEEPS)
KlRK: Well, l hope you're happy. VALERlS: Captain, there is a supply of Romulan ale aboard.
Lt might make the evening pass more smoothly.
Officer thinking, Lieutenant.
Guess who's coming to dinner.
SCOTTY: Energize.
(WHlSTLlNG)
Chancellor Gorkon. GORKON: Captain Kirk.
May l present Captain Spock, whom l believe you know.
Captain, face to face at last.
You have my thanks. Chancellor.
Gentlemen, this is my daughter Azetbur,
my m*llitary adviser, Brigadier Kerla,
and this is General Chang, my chief of staff.
L have so wanted to meet you, Captain.
L'm not sure how to take that.
Sincere admiration, Kirk.
From one warrior to another.
Right.
This way. L think you might enjoy a brief tour.
(DOOR OPENlNG)
They all look alike. What about that smell?
You know only top-of-the-line models can even talk...
You men have work?
Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am.
Then snap to it.
(SPOCK CLEARS THROAT)
l offer a toast.
"The undiscover'd country,"
the future.
"The undiscover'd country." ALL: "The undiscover'd country."
Hamlet, Act lll, Scene 1.
You've not experienced Shakespeare until you have read him in the original Klingon.
(KERLA LAUGHlNG)
(CHANG SPEAKlNG KLlNGONESE)
(KLlNGONS LAUGHlNG)
Captain Kirk, l thought Romulan ale was illegal.
One of the advantages of being 1,000 light-years from Federation Headquarters.
To you, Chancellor Gorkon, one of the architects of our future.
Chancellor. ALL: Chancellor.
(AZETBUR TOASTlNG lN KLlNGONESE)
Perhaps we are looking at something of that future here.
Tell me, Captain Kirk, would you be willing to give up Starfleet?
(SPOCK COUGHlNG) l believe the Captain feels that Starfleet's mission has always been one of peace.
Far be it for me to dispute my first officer, but Starfleet has always been at the fore...
CHANG: Captain, there's no need to mince words.
Ln space, all warriors are cold warriors.
General, are you fond of Shakespeare?
We do believe all planets have a sovereign claim to inalienable human rights.
Lnalien? Lf you could only hear yourselves.
"Human rights."
Why, the very name is r*cist.
The Federation is no more than a "h*m* Sapiens Only" club.
CHANG: Present company excepted, of course.
Ln any case, we know where this is leading.
The annihilation of our culture. That's not true.
No? No.
"To be, or not to be."
That is the question which preoccupies our people, Captain Kirk.
We need breathing room. Earth, h*tler, 1 938.
L beg your pardon?
Well...
l see we have a long way to go.
We must do this again sometime.
You don't trust me, do you?
L don't blame you.
Lf there is to be a brave new world, our generation is going to have the hardest time living in it.
Captain Spock.
Chancellor.
Madam. Captain.
Well, most kind.
(CHUCKLlNG) "Parting is such sweet sorrow," Captain.
Have we not "heard the chimes at midnight"?
(CHANG SPEAKlNG KLlNGONESE)
(CHEKOV SlGHS)
SCOTTY: Thank God.
UHURA: Did you see the way they ate?
Terrible table manners.
L doubt that our own behavior will distinguish us in the annals of diplomacy.
L'm going to sleep this off.
Please let me know if there's some other way we can screw up tonight.
L'm going to go find a pot of black coffee.
The Enterprise hosted Chancellor Gorkon and company to dinner last night.
Our manners weren't exactly Emily Post.
Note to the galley, Romulan ale no longer to be served at diplomatic functions.
SPOCK ON INTERCOM: Captain Kirk, will you please join me on the Bridge?
Captain Kirk?
Captain. What is it?
L find this curious.
Spock, l'm really tired.
We are reading an enormous amount of neutron radiation.
Where?
Strangely enough, it appears to be emanating from us.
The Enterprise?
Valeris, do you know anything about a radiation surge?
Sir?
Chekov?
Only the size of my head.
L know what you mean.
(KLlNGONS CLAMORlNG)
(ALARM BLARlNG)
(SPEAKlNG lN KLlNGONESE)
(ALARM BEEPlNG)
KlRK: What's happened? We have fired on the Chancellor's ship.
(ALARM BLARlNG)
Torpedo Room, please confirm.
Have we fired?
MAN: 0-6...
Uhura, monitor. UHURA: Aye, sir.
Direct hit.
Confirmed, sir.
(TORPEDO FlRlNG)
(KLlNGONS CHATTERlNG)
(SPEAKlNG KLlNGONESE)
We've lost gravity!
We are betrayed!
CHEKOV ON INTERCOM: This is the Bridge. Do you read? Do you read?
Torpedo bay, did we fire those torpedoes?
Negative, Captain. According to inventory, we're still fully loaded.
(SCREAMS)
(GORKON SPEAKlNG KLlNGONESE)
Find Chang.
(EXHALES)
CHEKOV: Unable to confirm or deny f*ring of two photon torpedoes.
KlRK: Hailing frequencies. Aye, sir.
UHURA ON RADlO: Kronos One, this is Enterprise. Do you read? Over.
Repeat. Kronos One...
(BOTH SCREAMlNG)
(SPEAKlNG KLlNGONESE)
(SCREAMS)
(SPEAKlNG lN KLlNGONESE)
(SCREAMlNG)
(GROANS)
UHURA: lt's very hard to make out, Captain.
There's been some weapons f*ring and a lot of shouting.
CHEKOV: She is still listing.
KlRK: She's spinning out of control.
(SPEAKlNG KLlNGONESE)
Restoring auxiliary gravity.
(SHOUTS)
Have you not a shred of decency in you, Kirk?
We come in peace, and you blatantly defile that peace.
For that, l shall blow you out of the stars.
We haven't fired. SPOCK: Captain.
According to our databanks, we have, twice.
Captain, they're coming about.
SPOCK: They're preparing to fire. CHEKOV: Shields up, Captain?
Captain, our shields. Shields up, Captain?
Signal our surrender. Captain?
We surrender!
This is Enterprise. We surrender. CHEKOV: lf they fire at us with our shields down... UHURA: l repeat.
We surrender. ...we will not be able to respond.
UHURA: Repeat. Enterprise surrenders.
Are we f*ring torpedoes? L wish l knew.
McCOY: Well, it sure looks like it.
L'm going aboard. Spock, you have the conn.
L am responsible for involving you in this. l will go.
No, l'll go. You'll be responsible for getting me out of this.
We'll not be the instigators of full-scale w*r on the eve of universal peace.
L'm going, too. They may need a doctor.
Perhaps you're right. Uhura, tell them we're coming, and tell them we're unarmed.
UHURA: Aye, sir.
Have you lost your mind?
L give you my word, l don't understand what has happened.
McCOY: We're here to help.
Follow me.
(KLlNGONS CHATTERlNG)
McCOY: Chancellor Gorkon. My God.
What has happened here? You dare to feign ignorance?
What happened? CHANG: With a direct torpedo hit, you crippled our entire gravitational field, and two of your Starfleet crew beamed aboard wearing magnetic boots and did this.
Aren't you carrying a surgeon?
We were until this disgrace.
Well, then for God sakes, man, let me help.
L've got a pulse. We can move him.
L'm gonna need some light. Can we get him up on this table?
McCOY: Hold him. Hold him while l stabilize him.
(GORKON GROANlNG)
l said hold him.
(lNSTRUMENT BEEPlNG)
KlRK: Sweet Jesus.
Can you... Jim, l don't even know his anatomy.
(lNSTRUMENT BEEPlNG)
His wounds are not closing. He's k*lling him!
(GORKON GROANlNG)
(EXHALES)
He's gone into some kind of damned arrest.
(McCOY PANTlNG)
Come on, damn it! Come on!
(McCOY EXHALlNG)
He's not responding.
(McCOY GRUNTlNG)
(GORKON GASPlNG)
(WEAKLY) Don't let it end this way, Captain.
Under article number 1 84 of your interstellar law, l'm placing you under arrest.
You are charged with assassinating our Chancellor of the High Council.
He tried to save him.
They've been arrested.
Mr. Spock, we've got to do something.
L assume command of this ship as of 0230 hours.
Commander Uhura, please notify Starfleet Headquarters.
Tell them precisely what has taken place and request instructions. Aye, sir.
We cannot allow them to be taken back to Kronos as prisoners.
What do you suggest, Lieutenant? Opening fire will not retrieve them, and an armed conflict is precisely what the Captain wished to avoid.
We will be able to follow the Captain's movements.
How did you achieve this, sir? Time is precious, Lieutenant.
We must endeavor to piece together what happened here tonight.
According to our databank, this ship fired those torpedoes.
No way.
L sympathize, Mr. Scott, but we need evidence.
Please accompany me.
And if we cannot piece together what happened?
What then, sir? SPOCK: ln that case, Mr. Chekov, it resides in the purview of the diplomats.
The Chancellor of the High Council is dead!
The result of an unprovoked att*ck while he traveled to see you under a flag of truce, on a mission of peace.
Captain Kirk was legally arrested for the crime.
May l remind you that he and Dr. McCoy boarded Kronos One of their own free will?
None of these facts are in dispute, Mr. President.
L have ordered a full-scale investigation. ln the meantime... Ln the meantime, we expect the Federation to abide by the articles of interstellar law, which you claim to cherish.
Kirk and Dr. McCoy will stand trial for the assassination of Chancellor Gorkon.
Out of the question.
Ambassador Sarek, there must be some way to extradite these men.
Mr. President, l share a measure of personal responsibility in this matter, but l am obliged to confirm my esteemed colleague's legal interpretation.
What is the position of the Romulan government, Ambassador Nanclus?
L must concur with my colleagues.
But you can't possibly believe that James Kirk assassinated the Chancellor of the High Council.
Mr. President, l don't know what to believe.
L'm waiting for your answer, sir.
This president is not above the law.
MAN ON RADIO: Report back at once. Do you copy? At once.
Enterprise to report back on the double.
Do you read? At once.
We're to report back at once.
We cannot abandon Captain Kirk and Dr. McCoy.
Of course not.
VALERlS: Four hundred years ago on the planet Earth, workers who felt their livelihood threatened by automation flung their wooden shoes called "sabot" into the machines to stop them.
Hence the word "sabotage."
We are experiencing technical malfunction.
All backup systems inoperative.
Excellent. l mean, too bad.
AZETBUR: Mr. President, I've been named Chancellor by the High Council in my father's place.
Madam Chancellor, you have my sincerest condolences on your recent loss.
L want to assure you that this shameful deed will not...
Mr. President, let us come to the point.
You want this conference to go forward, and so did my father.
I will attend in one week on one condition.
We will not extradite the prisoners, and you will make no attempt to rescue them in a m*llitary operation.
We would consider any such attempt an act of w*r.
We hope you'll be our guest here on Earth.
After recent events, you will understand if l say l prefer a neutral site, and in the interests of security, let us keep the location secret for now.
As you wish, Madam Chancellor.
(SPEAKlNG KLlNGONESE)
att*ck them now, while we still can!
att*ck or be slaves in their world.
We can take whole by force, what they propose to divide.
w*r is obsolete, General, as we are in danger of becoming.
(KERLA SPEAKlNG KLlNGONESE)
Better to die on our feet than live on our knees.
That wasn't what my father wanted.
(CHANG SHUSHlNG)
Your father was k*lled for what he wanted.
AZETBUR: The peace process will go forward.
Kirk...
Kirk will pay for my father's death.
KLINGONS: (CHANTING) Kirk! Kirk! Kirk! Kirk!
Kirk! Kirk! Kirk! Kirk! Kirk! Kirk! Kirk! Kirk!
Kirk! Kirk! Kirk! Kirk! Kirk! Kirk! Kirk! Kirk!
Kirk! Kirk! Kirk! Kirk! Kirk! Kirk! Kirk! Kirk!
Kirk! Kirk! Kirk! Kirk! Kirk! Kirk! Kirk! Kirk!
(KLINGONS CLAPPING IN UNISON) lt's a damn show trial.
KLlNGONS: Kirk! Kirk! Kirk! Kirk!
(CHANG SPEAKlNG KLlNGONESE)
(TRANSLATlNG lN ENGLlSH)
The Enterprise fired on Kronos One without provocation.
The Chancellor and his advisers...
(CHANG SPEAKlNG) having been lulled into a false sense of security by an invitation to a state dinner aboard Captain Kirk's vessel at precisely 1 930 hours that same evening.
Call your first witness.
After the first sh*t, we lost our gravitational field.
L found myself weightless and unable to function.
Then two Starfleet crewmen came walking towards me.
But perhaps they merely wore Starfleet uniforms.
That remark is purely speculative. I move that it be stricken.
JUDGE: Colonel Worf, we are interested in facts, not theories.
WORF: lf the gravitational unit was not functioning, how could these men be walking?
They appeared to be wearing magnetic boots.
(KLINGONS BANGING)
Gravity boots.
Dr. McCoy, would you be so good as to tell me, what is your current medical status?
Aside from a touch of arthritis, l'd say pretty good.
(KLlNGON LAUGHlNG)
You have a singular wit, Doctor.
McCOY: For 27 years, l've been ship surgeon aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise.
Ln three months, l stand down.
(EXCLAlMS)
You know, l believe that you consumed a rather generous amount of Romulan ale in the officers' mess on the night in question. Am l right, Doctor?
Objection! JUDGE: Sustained.
We all did. All of us.
That doesn't mean... Was Chancellor Gorkon alive when you first examined him?
Barely. Now be careful, Doctor.
Have you ever, in your past, saved patients as barely alive as he?
L didn't have the medical knowledge l needed for Klingon anatomy. l see. McCOY: You were there.
You say you are due for retirement.
May l ask, do your hands shake?
WORF: Objection! L was nervous.
No.
You were incompetent.
(KLlNGONS BANGlNG)
CHANG: You were incompetent!
Whether deliberately or as a result of age combined with drink, the court will have to determine. My God, man! l tried to save him!
L tried to save him.
L was desperate to save him.
He was the last best hope in the universe for peace.
JUDGE: The witness is excused.
(GAVEL BANGS)
CHANG: There we have it, citizens.
We have finally established the particulars of the crime, and now we come to the architect of this tragic affair, James Tiberius Kirk.
What would your favorite author say, Captain?
"Let us sit upon the ground
"and tell sad stories of the death of kings."
Tell us your sad story, Kirk.
Tell us that you planned to take revenge for the death of your son.
That's not true. WORF: Objection!
Captain Kirk has not been identified as the assassin.
JUDGE: Sustained.
L offer into the record this excerpt from the Captain's personal log.
KlRK: l've never trusted Klingons, and I never will.
L have never been able to forgive them for the death of my boy.
(KLlNGONS PROTESTlNG)
(SPEAKlNG KLlNGONESE)
Again. Again!
KlRK: l've never trusted Klingons, and I never will.
L have never been able to forgive them for the death of my boy.
Are those your words?
Those words were spoken by me.
(KLlNGONS PROTESTlNG)
Objection!
My client's political views are not on trial here.
On the contrary! Captain Kirk's views and motives are indeed at the very heart of the matter.
This officer's record shows him to be an insubordinate, unprincipled, career-minded opportunist, with a history of violating the chain of command whenever it suited him!
JUDGE: Continue.
Lndeed, the record shows that Captain Kirk once held the rank ofAdmiral, and that Admiral Kirk was broken for taking matters into his own hands in defiance of regulations of the law.
(SHOUTlNG) Do you deny being demoted for these charges?
Don't wait for the translation! Answer me now!
L cannot deny it.
You were demoted? Yes.
For insubordination? On occasion, l have disobeyed orders.
And were you obeying or disobeying orders when you arranged the assassination of Chancellor Gorkon?
L didn't know about the assassination until we boarded the ship.
You still deny the Enterprise fired on Kronos One?
Well... Your Honors, please!
And you still deny your men beamed aboard and sh*t the Chancellor?
WORF: Objection!
L cannot confirm or deny actions l did not witness.
CHANG: Captain Kirk, are you aware that as the captain of a starship, you are required to be responsible for the actions of your men?
L am.
And if it should be proved that members of your crew did, in fact, carry out such an assassination...
Jim, they're setting us up. Your Honors...
Do not answer!
Captain Kirk, you will answer the question.
(KLlNGONS SHOUTlNG)
(GAVEL POUNDlNG)
As captain,
l am responsible for the conduct of the crew under my command.
CHANG: Your Honors, the State rests.
Send to Commander Enterprise.
"We stand ready to assist you. Captain Sulu, U.S.S. Excelsior." lt is the determination of this court that the prisoners are guilty as charged.
(KLlNGONS CHEERlNG)
(GAVEL BANGS) l wish to note for the record that the evidence against my clients is entirely circumstantial.
L beg the court to consider this when pronouncing its sentence.
JUDGE: So noted.
Captain James T. Kirk, Dr. Leonard McCoy, in the interest of fostering amity for the forthcoming peace talks, the sentence of death is commuted.
(KLlNGONS CLAMORlNG)
(GAVEL POUNDlNG)
lt is the judgment of this court that, without possibility of reprieve or parole, you be taken from this place to the dilithium mines on the penal asteroid of Rura Penthe, there to spend the rest of your natural lives.
(CONTlNUES POUNDlNG)
Rura Penthe?
Known throughout the galaxy as the aliens' graveyard.
Better to k*ll them now and get it over with.
Lieutenant, the torpedo hit once again, please.
(TORPEDO f*ring)
SPOCK: Hold.
Lt is Enterprise.
We fired. That is not possible.
All weapons visually accounted for, sir.
An ancestor of mine maintained that if you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.
UHURA: What exactly does that mean?
Lt means that if we cannot have fired those torpedoes, someone else did.
Well, they did not fire on themselves, and there were no other ships present.
There was an enormous neutron energy surge.
Not from us!
A neutron surge that big could only be produced by another ship.
Kronos One?
Too far away.
Very near us. Possibly beneath us.
Lf there were a ship beneath us, the Klingons would have seen her.
Would they?
A bird-of-prey. A bird-of-prey.
Cloaked?
A bird-of-prey cannot fire when she's cloaked.
All things being equal, Mr. Scott, l would agree.
However, things are not equal.
This one can.
VALERlS: We must inform Starfleet Command.
Lnform them of what, a new w*apon that is invisible?
Raving lunatics, that's what they'll call us.
They'll say that we're so desperate to exonerate the Captain that we'll say anything.
And they would be correct. We have no evidence, only a theory which happens to fit the facts.
Assuming you're right, Mr. Spock, why would they fire on their own president?
Lndeed.
This ship will be searched from bow to stern.
Lieutenant Valeris, you'll be in charge.
VALERlS: Aye, sir. CHEKOV: l do not understand.
Lf there was a ship underneath us, surely the assassins beamed aboard from that vessel, not Enterprise.
You're forgetting something, Mr. Chekov.
According to our databanks, this ship fired those torpedoes.
Lf we did, the K*llers are here.
Lf we did not, whoever altered the databanks is here.
Ln either case, what we are looking for is here.
What are we looking for, sir?
Lieutenant?
Two pairs of gravity boots.
(THUNDERCLAPS)
(KLlNGONS SHOUTlNG)
(ROARlNG)
(BEEPS)
KLlNGON: This is the gulag Rura Penthe.
There is no stockade, no guard tower, no electronic frontier.
Only a magnetic shield prevents beaming.
Punishment means exile from prison to the surface.
On the surface, nothing can survive.
(GROWLlNG)
(GROANlNG)
Work well and you will be treated well.
Work badly and you will die.
(KLlNGON ORDERlNG)
(GROWLlNG)
(KLlNGONS CHATTERlNG)
(SHOUTS)
(WHlP LASHlNG)
(ALlENS SPEAKlNG lN ALlEN LANGUAGE)
Oh, my God.
(SPEAKlNG lN ALlEN LANGUAGE)
The universal translator's been confiscated.
(CONTlNUES SPEAKlNG lN ALlEN LANGUAGE) l'm sorry?
He's definitely on about something, Jim.
(SHOUTlNG lN ALlEN LANGUAGE) lf this is your spot, we'll move on.
He wants your obedience to the brotherhood of aliens.
He's got it. And your coat.
L'm afraid not. Besides, it wouldn't fit.
(SPEAKlNG lN ALlEN LANGUAGE)
(MARTlA SPEAKlNG lN ALlEN LANGUAGE)
KlRK: Thanks.
This will help keep you warm.
L'm Martia. You're Kirk and McCoy, l presume.
How'd you know that?
We don't get many presidential assassins.
We didn't k*ll Gorkon. Of course not, but there is a reward for your death. Lt figures.
We've been set up all along.
Somebody up there wants you out of the way.
MAN: Nothing in here. WOMAN: Nothing here.
Any progress? None.
We have a crew of 300 turning their own quarters inside out, but the K*llers may still be among them.
Surely they have disposed of these boots by now.
Would it not have been logical to have left them on Gorkon's ship?
Even logic must give way to physics.
Gravity had not been restored by the time they escaped.
Without the boots, they would have floated off the Klingon transporter pads.
Why not simply vaporize them?
Like this?
(MAN EXCLAlMlNG)
(ALARM BLARlNG)
(ALARM STOPS)
At ease.
As you know, Commander Chekov, no one can fire an unauthorized phaser aboard a starship.
Suppose when they returned, they threw the boots into the refuse.
L'm having the refuse searched. Lf my surmise is correct, those boots will cling to the K*llers' necks like a pair of Tiberian bats.
They could not make their escape without them, nor can they simply throw them out the window for all to see.
Those boots are here somewhere. Did someone fire off a phaser?
Lt's all right. lt's nothing. lt's nothing.
Mr. Spock, Starfleet is screaming for us to return to port.
Who fired that... Mr. Scott.
L understand you're having difficulty with the warp drive.
How much time do you require for repair?
There's nothing wrong with the bloody thing.
Mr. Scott, if we return to spacedock, the assassins will surely find a way to dispose of their incriminating footwear, and we will never see the Captain or Dr. McCoy alive again. lt could take weeks, sir. SPOCK: Thank you, Mr. Scott.
Valeris, please inform Starfleet Command our warp drive is inoperative. A lie?
An error.
You understand we have lost all contact with the Captain and Dr. McCoy.
Yes. At the moment, they're surrounded by a magnetic shield.
However, if l know the Captain, by this time, he is deep into planning his escape.
(PUNCHlNG)
(GROANlNG)
(GROWLlNG)
(LAUGHlNG)
You got him, Jim! You got him where you want him!
(KlRK SCREAMlNG)
(PRlSONERS CHEERlNG)
(WARDEN LAUGHlNG)
(FlGHTER GROANlNG)
(GRUNTlNG)
(PRlSONERS CHEERlNG)
(CHEERlNG STOPS)
(GROANlNG lN PAlN)
(CHUCKLlNG)
You all right, Jim? L think so.
MARTlA: They'll respect you now.
That's a comfort. l was lucky that thing had knees. That was not his knee.
Not everybody keeps their genitals in the same place, Captain.
Anything you want to tell me?
Bones, why don't you see what you can do for him?
Let him know we're not holding a grudge.
Suppose he's holding a grudge?
When whoever it is makes their move, you won't be here to ask if he's the one.
Do you want to get out of here? There's gotta be a way.
(PRlSONERS SNORlNG)
(SlGHlNG) Three months before retirement. What a way to finish.
We're not finished. No? Speak for yourself.
One day, one night, Kobayashi Maru.
Bones, are you afraid of the future?
L believe that was the general idea that l was trying to convey.
L don't mean this future.
What is this, multiple choice? Some people are afraid
of what might happen.
L was terrified.
What terrified you, specifically?
No more neutral zone.
L was used to hating Klingons.
(SCOFFS) lt never even occurred to me to take Gorkon at his word.
Spock was right.
Try not to be too hard on yourself. We all felt exactly the same.
No.
Somebody felt a lot worse.
L'm beginning to understand why.
Well, if you've got any bright ideas, now's the time.
Time's the problem. You and l are nothing.
But you heard the judge. The peace conference is on again.
Whoever k*lled Gorkon is bound to attempt another assassination.
Unless we can get out of here.
(PRlSONER GRUNTlNG)
(CHAlNS JlNGLlNG)
(KlRK GASPS)
Kirk, it's me, Martia.
Listen, no one has ever escaped from Rura Penthe.
Except us. (WHlSPERlNG) lt is possible. l know how to get outside the shield. How do we fit in?
Getting outside the shield is easy, but after that, it's up to you to get us off the surface before we freeze.
Can you? lt's possible. L can't make it alone, and you're likeliest candidate to come in this hellhole for months.
Candidate for what?
Go to lift seven in the morning for mining duty.
L'll see you there. Don't disappoint me.
What is it with you, anyway? Still think we're finished?
More than ever.
l'm sorry to wake you, sir. What is it?
Starfleet urgently requests any data we have on the whereabouts of Enterprise.
What?
Well, apparently, they're refusing to acknowledge signal to return to spacedock, sir.
Signal Starfleet that we have no idea location Enterprise.
Sir?
You have hearing problems, mister? No, sir.
(BEEPlNG)
Klingon blood.
CHEKOV: They must have walked through it when it was floating and tracked it back here.
This is the first evidence which corroborates our theory.
Now we go to Starfleet.
Now we expand our search to include uniforms.
All uniforms?
WOMAN: Take those out.
(BEEPlNG)
MAN 1: Continue scanning. MAN 2: Nothing, sir.
MAN 3: Clear, sir.
MAN 4: Coming through. Coming through.
MAN 5: Computer well seven clear.
MAN 6: Nothing. Nothing.
MAN 7: Okay, let's see what we got. Nothing. Nothing so far.
Sir! Sir!
(HORN BLOWlNG)
(KLlNGON SHOUTlNG)
(HORN CONTlNUES BLOWlNG)
l think we've been had.
(lN MARTlA'S VOlCE) No, you weren't, Doctor.
Get off at the first level. Follow the g*ng into the mine.
They don't take girls.
(MARTlA CHUCKLES)
You are Crewman Dax?
Yes, Commander. What is the problem?
Perhaps you know Russian epic of Cinderella?
Lf shoe fits, wear it.
SPOCK: Mr. Chekov.
MARTlA: Watch me.
What kind of creature is this? Last night, you two were...
KlRK: Don't remind me.
MARTlA: Get in.
(KLlNGONS CHATTERlNG)
(MARTlA GREETlNG lN ALlEN LANGUAGE)
(SHUSHlNG)
(lN MARTlA'S VOlCE) Come on. We don't have a lot of time.
(WHlSPERlNG) Hurry.
Up there.
Come on, climb.
Here. You'll need these. Quickly!
Stay close.
UHURA: There they are.
SPOCK: They're emerging from the beaming shield.
Mr. Scott, start your engines. Aye, aye, sir.
Mr. Chekov, set course for Rura Penthe.
Mr. Spock, Rura Penthe is deep inside the Klingon frontier. lf we are discovered... Quite correct, Mr. Chekov.
What is required now is a feat of linguistic legerdemain and a degree of intrepidity before the Captain and Dr. McCoy freeze to death.
(GRUNTlNG)
Leave me. l'm finished. KlRK: No!
Bones, l'm wearing a viridium patch on my back.
Spock slapped it there just before we went on Gorkon's ship.
Why, that cunning little Vulcan. Come on. We're in the clear.
KlRK: Now that we're outside the shield, they'll be able to locate us two sectors away.
McCOY: lf they're even looking for us.
(BEEPlNG)
(SPEAKlNG KLlNGONESE)
This is listening post Morska.
What ship is that? Over.
CHEKOV: We must respond personally.
A universal translator would be recognized.
(REPEATlNG QUESTlON)
(SPEAKlNG KLlNGONESE)
We am thy freighter Ursva.
Six weeks out of Kronos.
(QUESTlONlNG lN KLlNGONESE)
(CONTINUES QUESTIONING)
What is your destination? Over.
We is condemning food,
things and supplies.
Don't catch any bugs!
(ALL LAUGHlNG FORCEFULLY)
Would you mind explaining that little trick you do? l'm a chameloid. L've heard about you.
Shapeshifters. l thought you were mythical. Give a girl a chance, Captain.
lt takes a lot of effort. L don't doubt it.
Stop me if l'm wrong, but do we have any way of knowing whether this is the real you?
L thought l would assume a pleasing shape.
We're outside the shield. Now it's your turn, Captain.
Lf you say so.
Are you crazy?
She didn't need our help getting anywhere.
Where'd you get these convenient clothes?
Don't tell me that flare is standard prison issue.
Lt's to let them know where we are. Ask her what she's getting in return.
A full pardon, which doesn't cover this.
An accident wasn't good enough. Come on, Spock.
Good enough for one. Two would have looked suspicious.
k*lled while attempting escape. Now that's convincing for both.
Surprise!
Your friends are late. They'll be along.
l can't believe l kissed you. Must have been your lifelong ambition.
Lsn't it about time you became something else?
L like it here.
(GROWLlNG)
KLlNGON: Well, well, well.
What took you so long?
k*ll him. He's the one. Not me, you idiot. Him!
No witnesses. k*lled while trying to escape.
McCOY: Damn clever, if you ask me. KlRK: lt's a classic.
That's what he wanted. Who? Who wanted us k*lled?
Since you're all going to die anyway, why not tell you?
His name is...
Damn it to hell! Of all the... Son of a...
Couldn't you have waited two seconds? SPOCK: Captain?
KlRK: He was just about to explain the whole thing.
You want to go back?
Absolutely not! Lt's cold.
UHURA ON PA: This is the Bridge. We are still in Klingon space.
Deck 9, remain at battle stations. Deck 9, remain at battle stations.
(RATTLlNG)
(SPEAKING KLINGONESE)
They were beamed aboard a Federation starship.
L could trace...
Escaped.
Kirk cannot know the location of the peace conference.
Are you sure?
Will you take that chance?
Helmsman, make course to intercept Enterprise.
The Klingons have a new w*apon, a bird-of-prey that can fire when cloaked.
She torpedoed Gorkon's ship. So that's it.
Not entirely. l have reason to believe that Gorkon's murderers are aboard this vessel. L have a thought about that.
Has the peace conference begun?
Who knows? They're keeping the location secret.
There's always something. SCOTTY: Captain!
Mr. Spock! l found the missing uniforms with the Klingon blood on them.
But the uniforms belong to these two men, Burke and Samno.
Not anymore. Phaser on stun at close range.
First rule of assassination, k*ll the assassins.
Now we're back to square one. Can l talk to you?
L wonder why they weren't vaporized.
Lt would set off the alarm.
(BOTH WHlSPERlNG)
lt's possible.
UHURA ON PA: Now hear this. Now hear this. Court reporter to sickbay.
Code Blue. Urgent. Statements to be taken at once from yeomen Burke and Samno. Repeat. Court reporter to sickbay.
Code Blue. Urgent. Statements to be taken.
Repeat. Statements to be taken from yeomen Burke and Samno.
You have to sh**t.
Lf you are logical, you have to sh**t.
L do not want to.
What you want is irrelevant. What you've chosen is at hand.
L'd just as soon you didn't.
The operation is over.
L did not fire. You cannot prove anything.
Yes, l can. At my trial, my personal log was used against me.
How long did you wait outside my quarters before l noticed you?
You knew?
L tried to tell you, but you would not listen.
Neither of us was hearing very well that night, Lieutenant.
There were things l tried to tell you about having faith.
You have betrayed the Federation.
All of you.
And what do you think you've been doing?
Saving Starfleet. Klingons cannot be trusted.
Sir.
You said so yourself. They k*lled your son.
Did you not wish Gorkon dead? "Let them die," you said.
Did l misinterpret you?
And you were right.
They conspired with us to assassinate their own chancellor.
How trustworthy can they be?
Klingons and Federation members conspiring together?
Who is "us"?
Everyone who stands to lose from peace.
Names, Lieutenant. My comrades will make certain all your ship-to-shore transmissions are jammed.
Names, Lieutenant.
L do not remember.
A lie?
A choice.
Spock?
(HEART BEATlNG)
Admiral Cartwright.
CHEKOV: From Starfleet?
Who else?
General... General...
...Chang. ...Chang.
KlRK: Who else?
Romulan... Romulan...
...Ambassador... ...Ambassador...
...Nanclus. ...Nanclus.
KlRK: Where is the peace conference?
Where is the peace conference?
(GROANlNG)
(HEARTBEAT FADES)
She does not know.
Then we're dead.
L've been dead before. Contact Excelsior.
She'll have the coordinates. UHURA: l've already got him, sir.
(MONlTOR BEEPS)
Standing by, Captain Kirk.
KlRK: Sulu!
You realize that by even talking to us, you're violating regulations.
I'm sorry, Captain. Your message is breaking up.
Bless you, Sulu. Where is the peace conference?
They're going to attempt another assassination.
The conference is at Camp Khitomer, near the Romulan border.
L'm sending the exact coordinates on a coded frequency.
L'm afraid we're gonna need more than that.
There's a bird-of-prey on the lookout for us, and she can fire while cloaked.
Surely not.
Hold on. How many of those things are there?
Come on, Lieutenant.
Just the prototype. You hear that?
L'm getting underway now, but we're now in Alpha Quadrant.
The chances of our reaching the conference in time are slim.
When does this conference start?
According to my information, today.
Thank you, Captain Sulu.
Don't mention it, Captain Kirk.
Spock?
SPOCK: l prefer it dark.
Dining on ashes?
You were right.
Lt was arrogant presumption on my part that got us into this situation.
You and the doctor might have been k*lled.
The night is young.
You said it yourself. lt was logical. Peace is worth a few personal risks.
You're a great one for logic.
L'm a great one for rushing in where angels fear to tread.
We're both extremists.
Reality is probably somewhere in between.
L couldn't get past the death of my son.
L was prejudiced by her accomplishments as a Vulcan.
Gorkon had to die before l understood how prejudiced l was.
Ls it possible that we two, you and l, have grown so old and so inflexible that we have outlived our usefulness?
Would that constitute a joke?
Don't crucify yourself. Lt wasn't your fault.
L was responsible.
For no actions but your own. That is not what you said at your trial.
That was as captain of the ship. Human beings...
But, Captain, we both know that l am not human.
Spock, you want to know something? Everybody's human.
L find that remark insulting.
Come on. l need you.
FEDERATION PRESIDENT: Madam Chancellor, members of the Diplomatic Corps, honored guests, the United Federation of Planets welcomes you to Camp Khitomer.
KlRK: She's out here somewhere.
CHEKOV: But if she is cloaked...
KlRK: Then all we have is a neutron radiation surge, and by the time we're close enough to record it, we're ashes.
SPOCK: 209.
206.
203.
Close enough to beam down?
SPOCK: Not yet, Captain. ln two minutes. 1 58.
KlRK: Go to impulse power for Khitomer orbit.
MAN: Aye, sir.
Let us redefine progress to mean thatjust because we can do a thing, it does not necessarily follow that we must do that thing.
KlRK: Uhura? Nothing, Captain.
Lf she's here, she's rigged for silent running.
SPOCK ON PA: Coming up on transporter range in 57 seconds.
Transporter Room, stand by to beam down.
53...
48 seconds.
44...
(MONlTOR BEEPS)
CHANG: I can see you, Kirk.
Chang.
Can you see me?
Now, be honest, Captain. Warrior to warrior, you do prefer it this way, don't you? As it was meant to be.
No peace in our time.
"Once more unto the breach, dear friends."
(CHANG SPEAKlNG KLlNGONESE)
(CREW SHOUTlNG)
This is fun. Reverse engines. All astern.
One and a half impulse power. Back off! Back off!
(SPEAKlNG KLlNGONESE)
What's she doing?
What's she waiting for?
Probably attempting to ascertain why we are reversing, wondering whether we detect her.
Lncoming!
ln range? Not yet, sir.
Come on. Come on.
She'll fly apart. Fly her apart, then!
AZETBUR ON MICROPHONE: Many speculated about my father's motives.
There were those who said he was an idealist.
Others said he had no choice.
Lf Praxis had not exploded, then quite possibly his idealism would not have found expression. We are a proud race, and we are here because we intend to go on being proud.
(ALL CLAPPlNG)
KlRK: Go to auxiliary power!
SPOCK: Auxiliary circuits destroyed, Captain.
CHANG: "Tickle us, do we not laugh? Prick us, do we not bleed?
"Wrong us, "shall we not revenge?"
Gas.
Gas, Captain. Under impulse power, she expends fuel like any other vessel.
We call it plasma, but whatever the Klingon designation, it is merely ionized gas.
Well, what about all of that equipment we're carrying to catalogue gaseous anomalies?
Well, the thing's gotta have a tailpipe. Doctor, would you care to assist me in performing surgery on a torpedo? Fascinating.
(TORPEDO WHOOSHlNG)
Hard to starboard!
FEDERATION PRESIDENT: The proposed agenda is as follows.
The total evacuation of Kronos has been calculated within the 50 Earth-year-time span.
Phase one, preparation for evacuation.
(CREW GRUNTlNG)
MAN: Come on, reach up!
(ALARM BEEPlNG)
Captain! She's packing quite a wallop! Shields weakening!
Shields up. All right.
Now we've given them something else to sh**t at.
MAN: Aye, sir.
(CHANG EXCLAlMS DELlGHTEDLY)
The game's afoot, huh?
Excelsior's been hit.
CHANG: "Our revels now are ended," Kirk.
"Cry 'Havoc!' and let slip the dogs of w*r."
Bones, where's my torpedo?
Bet you wish you'd stood in bed.
MAN: Emergency power! Gravity control down!
SCOTTY: Shields collapsing!
SPOCK: The key, please, Doctor. Time is short.
The hull has been compromised.
McCOY: l wonder how bad? SPOCK: Connect echobars.
FEDERATION PRESIDENT: ...to discuss the report on phase two.
SPOCK: Alter circuit "A." McCOY: Sensor.
FEDERATION PRESIDENT: l propose that we commence with the minutes of the preparation.
CHANG: "I am constant as the northern star." l'd give real money if he'd shut up.
SPOCK: Plate, please. McCOY: Plate.
FEDERATION PRESIDENT: ...and assimilation will consume...
McCOY: We've got a heartbeat.
(TORPEDO BEEPlNG)
FEDERATION PRESIDENT: The Klingon empire, the ecological...
Key, please. Key.
KIRK ON RADIO: Where's that damn torpedo?
She's ready, Jim. Lock and load.
Fire.
(ALARM BEEPlNG)
(BEEPlNG RAPlDLY)
CHANG: To be, or not to be.
Target that expl*si*n and fire.
Fire.
FEDERATION PRESIDENT: As l imagine this work will occupy us throughout most of the week, it would be my hope that the delegation could return to their capitals to implement the provisions of phase one, no later than the first of next month.
(WHlSPERlNG) Scotty.
As you know, time is of the essence.
McCOY: Out of the way! UHURA: Out of the way!
(PEOPLE EXCLAlMlNG)
McCOY: Mr. President!
KlRK: Mr. President! Mr. President!
Mr. President!
Kirk, Enterprise.
(AZETBUR SPEAKlNG KLlNGONESE)
Protect the Chancellor!
Arrest those men! SPOCK: Arrest yourself.
SPOCK: We've got a full confession.
(SCREAMlNG)
(WOMEN SCREAMlNG)
Cartwright, just a minute.
What's happened? What's the meaning of all of this?
KlRK: lt's about the future, Madam Chancellor.
Some people think the future means the end of history.
Well, we haven't run out of history quite yet.
Your father called the future the undiscovered country.
People can be very frightened of change.
You've restored my father's faith.
And you've restored my son's.
Once again, we've saved civilization as we know it.
And the good news is, they're not going to prosecute.
They might as well have prosecuted me. L felt like Lieutenant Valeris.
Well, they don't arrest people for having feelings.
And it's a good thing, too. lf they did, we'd all have to turn ourselves in.
Captain Kirk.
KlRK: Captain Sulu.
As much to the crew of the Enterprise, l owe you my thanks.
Nice to see you in action one more time, Captain Kirk.
Take care.
By God, that's a big ship.
Not so big as her captain, l think. So, this is goodbye.
L think it's about time we got underway ourselves.
Captain, l have orders from Starfleet Command.
We're to put back to spacedock immediately to be decommissioned.
Lf l were human, l believe my response would be, "Go to hell."
lf l were human.
Course heading, Captain?
Second star to the right, and straight on till morning.
KIRK: Captain's Log, Stardate 9529.1.
This is the final cruise of the Starship Enterprise under my command.
This ship and her history will shortly become the care of another crew.
To them and their posterity will we commit our future.
They will continue the voyages we have begun, and journey to all the undiscovered countries, boldly going where no man...
Where no one
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
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