Errand of Mercy - Plot

Plot

On stardate 3198.4, relations between the United Federation of Planets and the Klingon Empire have reached the breaking point, and recent negotiations have collapsed. The starship USS Enterprise has been sent to the world of Organia, a non-aligned planet near the Klingon border, in fear that the Klingons will try to annex it.

As the Enterprise approaches Organia, Spock briefs Kirk on Organia, calling it a primitive society with a "D-minus on the Richter scale of culture." Without warning, the Enterprise is attacked by a Klingon vessel, which is easily destroyed when the Enterprise returns fire.

Upon arrival at the planet, Kirk leaves his helmsman, Lt. Sulu, in command of the ship with instructions to withdraw to friendlier space if the Klingon fleet should arrive. Kirk and Spock then beam down to the planet surface and find themselves in a primitive town where Spock notices a nonchalance by the inhabitants about their arrival.

Kirk is given the chance to address the Organian council where he tells them of the Klingons, who are a "military dictatorship," but the Organians are completely unconcerned. Instead, the Organian leader asserts calmly that the Enterprise and her crew are the only ones in danger. A Klingon fleet appears, firing on the Enterprise. Kirk orders Sulu to follow his previous orders and to withdraw, stranding Kirk and Spock on the surface.

The Organians disguise Kirk as one of them and have Spock pose as a Vulcan merchant of trillium. The Klingons seize control of the planet without resistance from the Organians and install the ranking Klingon officer, Kor, as the military governor of Organia. Kor, noticing that Kirk seems to be the only Organian who doesn't smile all the time, takes a liking to him and demands that he act as his Organian liaison. Spock is taken off for intense questioning to verify his background as a trader, but is able to resist the "mind sifter" techniques that the Klingons use to attempt to break him down.

The Organians refuse to do more to resist the occupation. Kirk and Spock start guerrilla operations of their own, blowing up a munitions dump outside of town. The Organians in the council strongly object to the action, while Kirk protests their lack of desire to resist. Meanwhile Kor is able to listen to Kirk's speech through a hidden camera, and discovers that he is the saboteur.

When the Klingons confront the Organian ruling council and threaten to torture Kirk and Spock as suspected insurgents, the Organians reveal Kirk and Spock's true identities and allow them to be arrested. Spock is imprisoned, while Kirk is taken to Kor's private chambers, where Kor expresses his admiration for Kirk, and his regret over what he must do in the interests of war. Kor informs Kirk that he has twelve hours in which to to cooperate with him and answer his questions about the Federation fleet. After that, if Kirk still refuses, he will undergo the intense mind scraping technique, leaving him a vegetable, whereas Spock will be dissected to ascertain how he was able to resist the mind probe.

With only six hours remaining before the deadline, the Organians effortlessly free the pair and hide them in the council chamber. While Kirk and Spock try to comprehend the natives' contradictory actions, Kor retaliates for the escape by ordering the execution of two hundred Organians by Klingon phaser. Still, the Organians continue to protect Kirk and Spock, but remain otherwise unperturbed by the Klingons' actions, leaving the Federation officers and the Klingons alike baffled and frustrated.

As Federation and Klingon fleets converge on the system, threatening to turn it into a war zone, Kirk and Spock execute a daring raid on the Klingon headquarters in hopes of rousing the population into resistance. They prove surprisingly successful, capturing Kor and preparing to make a last stand while the fleets are ready to clash.

At that point, the Organians reveal their true nature. They instantly incapacitate both sides, not only around the planet, but everywhere. They are not primitive humanoids; rather, they are highly advanced non-corporeal beings, so far beyond the Klingons and the Federation that they were never threatened by the physical nature of the conflict, but rather were like parents being baffled by immature children fighting about physical things that do not matter. The Organians force the humans and Klingons to make a truce, the Organian Peace Treaty. Both sides protest, but the Organians predict the two rivals will get along far better in the future than they presently imagine.

Back on the Enterprise, Kirk admits his embarrassment at his own initial disappointment with the forcible ending of the war and the outside imposition of a peace treaty.