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Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
The Enterprise is patrolling along the Klingon Neutral Zone with young Lt.
Saavik (a Vulcan-Romulan woman) in command. They receive a distress call
from a freighter, the Kobayashi Maru, from inside the Neutral Zone. Saavik
decides to enter the Neutral Zone to rescue the freighter, only to discover
the distress call is a fake and the Enterprise is surrounded by decloaking
Klingon warships. Saavik desperately tries to get the ship out of danger
but ends up with the bridge crew dead and the ship hopelessly crippled.
With a sense of failure, Saavik gives the order to abandon ship. Suddenly
the command "Lights" comes out of nowhere and a large door opens in the
bridge, revealing Admiral James T. Kirk, clipboard in hand. The "dead"
bridge crew get up, and Captain Spock gives the order, "Trainees to the
briefing room." As the smoke clears, the trainees file out as do the
experienced crew members. Lt. Saavik confronts Kirk saying that this was
not a fair test of her command abilities, because "there was no way to
win." Kirk tells her that the Kobayashi Maru test is a "no-win scenario"
designed to test a commander's judgment in an impossible situation.
Later Kirk finds Spock "loitering" in the hall of the training
facility waiting for him. Spock gives Kirk a birthday present, an antique
book, A Tale of Two Cities. They discuss the training exercise that
afternoon and Spock recalls how Kirk took the test four times - his final
solution was "unique." Spock says that in his opinion it was a mistake for
Kirk to accept promotion, that commanding a starship is his "first, best
destiny." Spock heads back to the Enterprise in orbit and Kirk heads back
to his apartment in San Francisco.
That evening Dr. McCoy arrives at Kirk's apartment with birthday
presents, a bottle of Romulan ale (which is supposed to be illegal to
possess) and a pair of antique reading glasses, because Kirk is allergic to
Retinox 5, which would have corrected his vision otherwise. As they
somberly drink the Romulan ale, McCoy comments on how everyone is treating
Kirk's birthday like a "funeral." He advises Kirk to do whatever it takes
to command a starship again before he "really does get old."
Out in space the USS Reliant continues its search for a completely
uninhabited world within the "life zone" of a star. After searching for
months they come across a likely candidate, Ceti Alpha V. Science Officer
Pavel Chekov calls Dr. Carol Marcus and reports their latest find. In the
middle of his report one of his crew gets an energy reading from the
planet, possibly indicating life. Dr. Marcus reminds him that there "can't
be so much as a microbe" on the planet for her experiment to be successful.
Chekov and Captain Terrell beam down to the planet to investigate and find
an empty wasteland of sand, dust, and wind. They follow the energy reading
and discover a crashed space ship. They enter the ship and discover signs
of human habitation. Searching further Chekov discovers a shelf full of
classic Earth literature, then he finds a belt buckle with the name "Botany
Bay" on it. He recoils in astonishment and urges Terrell to leave the ship
and follow him back to the transport site but he is unwilling to tell his
Captain why. They leave the ship and encounter a large group of robed
humanoids who quickly capture them.
Inside the ship the robed leader removes his protective coverings to
reveal Khan Noonian Singh - a genetically engineered superhuman from the
1990s. Chekov recognizes him and Khan, in turn, remembers Chekov. Captain
Terrell insists on an explanation of what's going on. Khan tells him how
Captain Kirk of the USS Enterprise found his sleeper-ship adrift and woke
him and his followers from their long sleep. Kirk then exiled them onto
this "barren sand heap." Chekov tells Terrell that Khan attempted to take
over the Enterprise and murder its crew. Kirk then landed them on a
fertile planet, Ceti Alpha VI, 15 years ago. When Chekov asks why they left
that lush world, Khan yells "THIS is Ceti Alpha VI!" He tells them how Ceti
Alpha V exploded 6 months after they arrived and shifted his planet's
orbit, laying it waste. He claims that only his genetically enhanced
intellect allowed them to survive. Khan's wife died in the disaster and he
vowed vengeance on James T. Kirk.
Suddenly Khan has a revelation that Chekov wasn't looking for him - he
thought this was Ceti Alpha V. "Why are you here?" Khan asks icily. When
Chekov and Terrell refuse to answer Khan introduces them to Ceti Alpha's
only remaining life form, the Ceti Eel. The parasite enters into the brain
and wraps itself around the cerebral cortex making the victim very
susceptible to suggestion. A young eel is placed in each of their helmets,
which are refastened to their space suits until the eels have entered their
ears and attached.
On the Enterprise, Admiral Kirk arrives for an inspection and to
supervise a training exercise. Captain Spock allows Lt. Saavik to take
command of the ship and pilot it out of Spacedock. Kirk watches in distress
as a trainee maneuvers "his ship". "Do you want a sedative?" Dr. McCoy
whispers to him, but Kirk shakes his head. Once clear, they head off on a
standard training cruise.
On the Regula space station, Dr. Marcus receives a message from Lt.
Cmdr. Chekov that Ceti Alpha V checks out and the Reliant is arriving to
take control of Project Genesis. When she balks, he tells her that Admiral
Kirk ordered it, and signs off. Dr. David Marcus, her son, angrily says
that the military is taking over, just as he predicted it would.
Onboard the Reliant, Khan compliments the now compliant Chekov on
handling the situation smoothly. Chekov blandly tells Khan that Dr. Marcus
will undoubtedly contact Admiral Kirk, and Khan says that he is counting on
it.
On the Enterprise, Admiral Kirk gets a message from Dr. Carol Marcus
(which is garbled because it is being blocked at the source) asking him why
he is taking Genesis away from her. Before he can respond, the signal is
cut off. Spock turns over control of the Enterprise to Kirk and they head
off to the Regula Research Station. Kirk shows Spock and McCoy a recorded
proposal for Project Genesis, a device that can create life-sustaining
planets from dead worlds. After the recording plays, McCoy asks what would
happen if the device was used on a populated world. Spock's response is
that it would clear the existing life in favor of its new matrix. McCoy
warns of "universal armageddon", but Spock says he is being overemotional.
The discussion is interrupted by the arrival of the Reliant. Khan
pretends that his communications are down, trying to lure the Enterprise
close. Kirk, ignoring the regulation quoted by Lt. Saavik, continues to do
nothing as the ship draws near. Finally he decides to call for Yellow Alert
(and raise the shields), but Khan orders his phasers fired at just that
time. The blasts of energy slam into the Engineering section, cutting
through the hull and seriously damaging main power. The Enterprise begins
to drift in space.
Khan calls the Enterprise and reveals himself to Kirk. The Admiral is
shocked to see him in command of the Reliant, and also realizes that Khan
now hates him - blaming him for everything that happened to him in the last
15 years. Kirk frantically bargains with Khan, trying to gain time. Khan
agrees to spare the Enterprise if Kirk beams himself over with all files
from Project Genesis. Kirk agrees, but claims that the damaged computer is
slow in recalling the data. Actually, Spock is preparing to use the "Prefix
Code" for the Reliant. Kirk announces success and sends the Prefix Code to
the Reliant and the order to lower it's shields, rather than the Genesis
data. The shields of the Reliant come down and the Enterprise fires
photon torpedoes, damaging the smaller ship. Khan, raving, calls for his
people to finish Kirk off, but they have no weapons. Khan is told that the
Enterprise "isn't going anywhere", so the Reliant moves off to make
repairs.
With only impulse power left, the Enterprise limps to the Regula
Research Station. A landing party discovers an empty station and the
mutilated bodies of some of the Genesis research team. In a storage
container, they find Chekov and Captain Terrell, left as useless. Terrell
says that Khan was there and learned nothing, killing the researchers in
the process. Chekov tells about the Ceti Eels, but how Terrell was strong
and fooled Khan. They find the transporter room, with the controls set for
deep inside the planetoid that Regula orbits. Kirk tells the others that
Phase 2 of Genesis was to be underground. He calls Spock who says that if
they go "by the book, hours could seem like days." Then he tells Kirk that
the Enterprise will not have main power for 6 days nor auxiliary power for
2 days. They do not even have the power to beam the landing party back
onboard. Kirk acknowledges the report, and the five officers beam down into
the center of the planetoid.
They materialize inside a cave filled with boxed scientific gear and
the Genesis device. Suddenly, Kirk is attacked by someone. Dr. Marcus
appears and breaks up the fight, introducing Kirk to her son, David. Just
then, Captain Terrell and Chekov both draw their phasers and point them at
the others. Terrell talks with Khan on a wrist communicator, calling him
"My Lord". Khan transports up the Genesis device, then orders Terrell to
kill Kirk. Terrell tells Khan that he cannot do it, and when Khan orders
him, he tears off the communicator. The Ceti Eels in his and Chekov's head
start to scream. Chekov collapses but Terrell turns the phaser on himself
and commits suicide. The Eel comes sliding out of Chekov's head, and McCoy
destroys it with his phaser.
The stranded landing party enters the Genesis Cave, with Kirk and
Carol Marcus talking - David is actually Kirk's son, but he stayed away by
her wishes so David would remain in her world not follow his father into
Starfleet. The cave is a marvel of life, with a huge waterfall and edible
plants growing everywhere. Carol tells how the Genesis device created the
basic matrix for life here in just 1 day - the plants took a bit longer. As
they eat some food, Kirk keeps looking at his watch. Then Saavik asks him
how he handled the Kobayashi Maru test. McCoy tells her that she is
looking at the only man to ever beat the no-win scenario. Kirk says he
reprogrammed the simulator so he could rescue the ship - earned him a
commendation for original thinking. "You cheated," she accuses. "I changed
the rules of the test," Kirk counters. "I don't believe in the no-win
scenario. Besides... I don't like to lose." Kirk looks at his watch again
and nods (2 hours have past). He flips up his communicator and calls Spock,
who answers promptly. Contrary to the earlier repair estimates, the
Enterprise is ready to beam them all onboard.
In the Transporter Room, Saavik is puzzled - "You lied," she says to
Spock. "I exaggerated," Spock says, correcting her. Kirk explains that
their conversation was in code - "hours instead of days". The ship is still
in serious trouble, but Khan thinks that they are in much worse shape.
Kirk orders the Enterprise into the nearby Mutara Nebula, where
deflector screens and sensors will not work, making the two ships evenly
matched. Khan follows quickly, forcing his crew to take the ship in, even
though he will be losing the tactical advantage. "Well, at least he's
predictable," Kirk quips. They exchange blind phaser shots, then Spock
notices that all of Khan's tactics are "two-dimensional". Kirk drops the
Enterprise 1000 meters straight down and lets the Reliant pass them. Then
he raises the ship, and as the screens clear a bit, they fire on the
Reliant, crippling the other ship. They offer to beam the survivors
onboard, but a gravely wounded Khan is not to be denied his vengeance.
Quoting from Moby Dick, he says "From Hell's heart, I stab at thee. For
Hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee..." as he arms the Genesis
device and begins the countdown.
On the Enterprise, David recognizes the Genesis Wave building up on
the Reliant. Kirk orders the ship out of the Nebula, but they cannot escape
in time on impulse power. "I need warp speed in 3 minutes or we're all
dead," he calls to Scotty in Engineering.
Spock, hearing this, heads for Engineering. As Scotty watches,
overcome by radiation, Spock enters the highly radioactive
matter-antimatter reactor chamber and restores warp power using his bare
hands. On the bridge, Sulu suddenly says they have warp power, and the
Enterprise streaks from the Mutara Nebula just as the Reliant explodes.
All of the matter of the Nebula begins to coalesce and change, according to
the Genesis Matrix. Kirk calls down to Engineering with his
congratulations, but a shaken McCoy tells him to get down there, fast.
Kirk arrives in Engineering to find Spock slumped over in the reactor
chamber. "We've got to get him out. He'll die in there," Kirk yells as
McCoy and Scotty hold him back from opening the chamber and flooding the
room with radioactivity.. "He's dead already," Scotty says. Kirk calls to
Spock on a comm panel. The Vulcan, visibly weak and burned by the
radiation, slowly stands, straightens his uniform, and walks over to Kirk
on the other side of the clear wall. "I never took the Kobayashi Maru
test... what do you think of my solution," Spock says. Then he asks about
the ship, and Kirk tells him that he saved the ship, he saved them all.
When Kirk asks why, Spock says "It is logical. The needs of the many
outweigh..." "The needs of the few..." Kirk says when Spock falters. "Or
the one," Spock finishes in growing pain. "I have been, and ever shall
be... your friend. Live long... and prosper..." Spock says slowly, and dies.
Spock's body is put into a photon torpedo casing, and after a formal
ceremony (Scotty even plays the bagpipes), his body is shot from the ship
toward the newly formed Genesis Planet. Kirk, McCoy, and Carol Marcus stand
on the bridge of the Enterprise and watch the new sun rise behind the new
world before them. McCoy asks Kirk how he feels. "I feel... young," he says
with a half-smile.
Plot Synopsis : Copyright 1994 David R. Landis. All rights reserved.
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