only one of my crew
left on board the Enterprise.
Four hundred and thirty,
and l, apparently,
am the only one left.
I'm sorry. I wish I could help.
Maybe you can.
Tell me the rest.
You were fighting for oxygen,
screaming to get out of there.
And then l-- Suddenly I was here
on this, on your ship.
And there was
all this space.
And the freedom !
I just wanted to float !
And then, there you were.
How long have you been
aboard the Enterprise ?
I don't know. Not long.
- Is it important ?
- It might be. Come with me.
Lieutenant Uhura, has Starfleet
honored our request with a reply ?
There has been no response
as yet, sir.
Did you advise them
the captain's life is at stake ?
Yes, sir. They insist the matter
must be referred to the Federation.
- What department ?
- The Bureau of Planetary Treaties.
- Contact them directly.
- I did, Mr. Spock.
They insist that we must
go through Starfleet channels.
With the captain lost, that's
the best they could come up with ?
Diplomats and bureaucrats
may function differently,
but they achieve
exactly the same results.
Nine minutes of my life
has been lost.
I don't understand.
Between the time I tried
to beam down to Gideon...
and the time I found myself here,
nine minutes have disappeared.
-What happened during those minutes?
-What is Gideon?
That's your home,
the planet that you come from.
- Is it ?
- Well, it must be.
G-Gideon ?
I don't know any Gideon.
It's impossible.
We were in synchronous orbit
over the capital city of Gideon.
I tried to beam down,
something happened,
and you were beamed aboard
from Gideon !
I do not think so.
We're no longer
over Gideon.
- Where are we ?
- I don't know.
I'm not familiar
with that quadrant.
Odona,
you must realize that
we're not here by accident.
Some force,
some intelligence...
has arranged this
for a purpose.
Captain, before I said
I wasn't afraid.
Now I am.
The ambassador will speak. They're
requesting visual communication.
Good news ! Very good news
indeed, Mr. Spock.
Your captain is definitely not
on Gideon. As you requested,
we made a most thorough search,
and you will be relieved to know...
that you may now investigate
all the other possibilities...
and forget about Gideon.
But, uh, that is not
what we requested.
You requested a most thorough
search. It is in the record.
And we have used every means at
our disposal to accommodate you.
Your record
on the subject...
is not precise,
Your Excellency.
[ No Audible Dialogue ]
Surely, Mr. Spock, uh,
you do not intend, I hope,
to create a dispute between
the Federation and Gideon ?
Your Excellency, a dispute is
the farthest thing from our minds,
and there's no need
to check your records.
I merely suggest that
the language of our statement...
may not have been
understood...
exactly as intended.
Mr. Spock, you're an officer
of a spaceship.
In your profession,
you use many instruments,
tools and weapons
to achieve your objectives.
True, Your Excellency.
However, the only tool
diplomacy has is language.
It is of the utmost importance
that the meaning be crystal clear.
Your Excellency, I am
basically a scientist.
Clarity of formulation is
essential in my profession also.
I'm glad to hear it. Perhaps you
could then make greater effort...
to choose your words
more precisely.
Are you gonna let him
get away with that ?
He'll twist your meaning.
Yes, he's infuriating, sir.
How can you stand it ?
We cannot leave without being sure
that everything has been done.
Now certainly you understand
our feelings about that.
- Mr. Spock ! Mr. Spock !
- Yes, Your Excellency.
- Are you still there ?
- Yes, Your Excellency.
There was considerable
interference with your transmission.
A lot of noise drowned out
what was said.
- Would you repeat, please?
- I apologize for the noise.
To summarize, I request permission
to transport down to Gideon.
Forgive me, Mr. Spock. No criticism
of