While
exploring an uncharted
region of space,
the U.S.S. Enterprise comes upon an alien space buoy which is
cube-shaped
and spins, warning ships away and blocking the starship's path. Kirk's
orders
the phasers to destroy the buoy but immediately an alien's ship, the
I.S.S. Fesarius, shaped like a
large, glowing crystal traps the starship.
A
ghostly, almost skeletal
face appears on the viewscreen, identifying itself as Balok. He tells
Kirk
that the U.S.S. Enterprise has trespassed and committed hostile
actions,
and therefore, must be destroyed. Employing a trick from the Earth game
of
poker, Kirk tries a desperate bluff by convincing Balok that if the
Enterprise
is fired upon, the corbomite in the starship's hull will self-destruct
and destroy both ships.
Believing
Kirk, the Fesarius instead takes the starship in tow, but Kirk wrenches
his ship away so suddenly
and with such force that Balok's ship is apparently disabled. When the
Fesarius
transmits a distress call, Kirk, McCoy and Lieutenant David Bailey,
still
nervous about the bluff played against the powerful alien, beam aboard
the
Fesarius.
They
find that the
Fesarius is manned by only one entity, a friendly, child-like being who
projects the 'Balok' image to potential enemies, knowing his own
stature would be
far less daunting. They also find that Balok's ship has not been
damaged,
but that the alien was merely testing the U.S.S. Enterprise crew to see
if
they were as peaceful as they claimed to be. A kind of diplomatic
relationship
is formed over drinks of tranya, and Lt. Bailey offers to remain with
Balok
as a sort of exchange student to learn the alien's ways and teach him
about
the Federation. |