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 In
2285 at Starfleet Academy, Admiral Kirk is busy
training new cadets. Among the cadets is Saavik, a
young protege of Spock's, who feels that she has
failed the Kobayashi Maru - a no-win scenario test
used to evaluate potential commanders. Kirk advises
the young Vulcan that all commanders at some point
must face a "no-win" situation. Saavik, displaying
her willingness to become a reliable commander,
pilots the Enterprise out of spacedock on a routine
cadet training exercise.
Meanwhile, Dr.
Carol Marcus, an old love of Kirk's, and her son,
David, complete the final computer simulation of
the Genesis project -- a program designed to grant
life where there is none -- on the space laboratory
Regula I. However, Dr. Marcus is concerned that
Genesis could also be used as a weapon. At the same
time, the U.S.S. Reliant arrives at Ceti Alpha VI
with a mission to check for signs of life on the
planet, a possible test site for Genesis. Curious,
Captain Terrell and Chekov beam to the surface
where they are confronted by Khan Noonien Singh,
the former tyrant of Earth's Eugenic Wars, exiled
to the planet in 2267 by Captain Kirk. With the aid
of mind-controlling Ceti eels implanted in Terrell
and Chekov, Khan gains control of the Reliant.
At the Regula I
space laboratory, Dr. Marcus is contacted by the
Reliant and told that Ceti Alpha VI has met the
conditions required for testing of the Genesis
Device; the Reliant will therefore now take the
Genesis Device, months before the scheduled test.
Furious at this encroachment by Starfleet, Dr.
Marcus contacts Kirk on the Enterprise, expressing
her outrage at the Admiral and Starfleet for their
militaristic intentions. Although Kirk, McCoy,
Uhura and Sulu are leading a training mission for
the Starfleet cadets, the crew decides to head to
Regulus I to investigate Dr. Marcus' complaint.
When they arrive, the Enterprise is inexplicably
fired on by the Reliant. Khan finally reveals
himself from the bridge of the Reliant, demanding
that Kirk give him the Genesis information. Kirk
pulls a brilliant bluff, allowing the Enterprise
precious computer time to secretly lower the
shields of the other starship. The Enterprise then
damages the Reliant, forcing the captured starship
to withdraw for the moment.
When Kirk and
company board Regula I, the crew is shocked to find
that the scientists have been tortured and killed.
They follow transporter traces to the interior of
the planetoid below, finding Chekov and Captain
Terrell alive and seemingly well in an underground
dwelling. Just then, David Marcus pulls a surprise
attack on Kirk, believing the Admiral to be the
cause of all of the station's trouble. Carol is
then forced to reveal that Kirk is David's father.
Surprised and bewildered by the sudden turn of
events, Kirk and David form an uneasy truce. Carol
then shows Kirk and crew the Genesis torpedo.
Unbeknownst to
Kirk and the rest of the group, Terrell, still
under the influence of the Ceti eels, secretly
gives Khan the coordinates of the torpedo. Khan
quickly beams the valuable device aboard the
Reliant, then orders Terrell to assassinate Kirk.
Terrell, however, cannot bring himself to kill the
Admiral. Instead, Terrell turns his phaser on
himself. When Chekov also resists Khan's orders,
the Ceti eel exits his ear and is subsequently
destroyed. Khan, thinking he is stranding Kirk and
his crew on the planet, departs Regula I. Carol
Marcus then shows Kirk the Genesis cave, where an
entire biosystem has been created. She explains
that this amazing breakthrough means that barren
planets can now be made safely habitable for
colonists. Kirk, impressed but concerned for his
crippled starship, regains contact with the
Enterprise and has the landing party and scientists
beamed aboard.
Meanwhile, a
repaired Reliant under Khan's control obsessively
searches for the U.S.S. Enterprise. Left without
warp drive in the previous skirmish, the U.S.S.
Enterprise hides in the Mutara Nebula. Kirk then
deliberately goads Khan, hoping to throw the former
tyrant off balance, while the rest of the crew
searches for the Reliant in the static of the
nebula cloud. Eventually, the U.S.S. Enterprise is
successful in fatally disabling the other starship.
But Khan, in his desperate hunger for revenge, arms
the Genesis torpedo, knowing full well that both
ships will be destroyed upon its detonation. With
the Enterprise doomed without warp power, Spock
suddenly enters the starship's radiation chamber to
repair the warp drive. McCoy tries to stop the
determined Vulcan, but Spock takes the upper hand
and touches the doctor's forehead cryptically,
murmuring "Remember." Just as the Genesis torpedo
explodes, destroying Khan and the Reliant with it,
the Enterprise zips into warp. The crew and ship
have been spared, yet Spock, dying of severe
radiation, has willingly given his own life.
With the
Enterprise safely away, McCoy tells Kirk to come to
the ship's engine room. There, a stunned Kirk must
bid an emotional farewell to his dearest friend.
Kirk need not mourn, says Spock, for his sacrifice
was logical. "The needs of the many outweigh the
needs of the few, or the one" he tells his captain.
Spock dies, but in contrast to a new birth -- the
new living star and planet formed from the nebula
and Genesis. A sullen and mournful funeral is held
for Spock, and, accompanied by Scotty playing
"Amazing Grace" on his bagpipes, Spock's coffin is
sent to rest upon the new planet.
With Khan
defeated, David Marcus finally makes peace with his
father. Kirk and the U.S.S. Enterprise then go to
Ceti Alpha V to pick up the abandoned Reliant crew,
and the ship heads for Earth. Kirk, though saddened
at the loss of his friend, is hopeful for the
future, because as Spock once said, "there are
always possibilities."
Cast:
William Shatner
as James Tiberius Kirk™
Leonard Nimoy as Spock™
DeForest Kelley as Leonard H. McCoy™
James Doohan as Montgomery Scott™
Nichelle Nichols as Uhura™
George Takei as Hikaru Sulu™
Walter Koenig as Pavel Andreievich Chekov™
Majel Barrett as Christine Chapel™
Guest Cast:
Kirstie Alley as
Saavik
Ricardo Montalban as Khan Noonian Singh
Bibi Besch as Dr. Carol Marcus
Merritt Butrick as Dr. David Marcus
Paul Winfield as Captain Terrell
Creative Staff:
Story By: Jack B.
Sowards, Harve Bennett
Written By: Jack B. Sowards
Director: Nicholas Meyer
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