Trelane Trelane was a puckish , childlike alien introduced to several crewmembers in 2267 . That year , the " Enterprise " was " en route " to the Beta VI colony to deliver supplies , when it encountered a previously unknown planet . This planet , Gothos , was the home ( playplace , really ) of the powerful alien Trelane . History . Abduction . Trelane first transported Sulu , and then Kirk , from the bridge of the starship to the fortified manor he had constructed on Gothos . The " Enterprise " assumed orbit and sent a landing party of DeSalle , Jaeger , and McCoy into what they expected would be hostile conditions . Instead , they encountered an Earth - like oasis . There , the landing party discovered Trelane ' s home , and within it , the two missing officers – and Trelane himself . Description . Trelane , referring to himself as a retired general and being willing to accept the title " Squire , " wore a blue tailcoat over a white frilled shirt and green riding pants with black boots . These clothes , along with his foppish mannerisms , were intended to suggest what he believed conditions on Earth to be at the time . In fact , he was viewing an image of Earth approximately four and a half centuries out of date , perhaps a consequence of the fact he was over nine hundred light year s away . First encounter . The officers were found in a paralyzed state , but were quickly freed by Trelane , who did it with simply a wave of his hand . This was the first evidence of his super - humanoid abilities ; there would be others . Trelane was initially quite friendly , but made it clear that his were the rules to be followed , and that the landing party would stay until he chose to let them leave . He made several attempts to ingratiate himself with the landing party , but as his customs were centuries out of date , his attempts served only to amuse the " Enterprise " crew . Trelane explained himself and his surroundings by stating that he , as well as some others , had perfected a means by which matter could be converted into energy , and back into matter , at will . When Kirk compared this to the transporter , Trelane dismissed that as a crude example of an infinitely more sophisticated process , elaborating by saying that he was able to re - structure matter , essentially the way a replicator does , albeit far more rapidly . In addition , he was able to maintain a field around his planet ( or at least in the oasis ) that blocked scanning and communications , and was able to confer skills onto others – he taught Uhura to play the harpsichord with a wave of his hand . Unable to obtain a specific lock through Trelane ' s blocking field , Spock beamed up all lifeform s in a general radius , returning all " Enterprise " crew to the ship . Trelane did not beam up , suggesting that he was not alive , or at least , not the kind of life the " Enterprise " s instruments were designed to detect . Kirk returned to the bridge , ordering the ship to depart – only to find that Trelane had likewise boarded the ship . Within the minute , he had returned the entire bridge crew to his drawing room for a meal . Second encounter . During the meal , McCoy noticed that the food and drink had no flavor , while Jaeger commented that the fire burned brightly , but emitted no heat . These details , and Trelane ' s error in time , suggested that he was not infallible and that he knew of the Earth forms but none of the substance . Kirk and Spock further theorized that some external agency was actually responsible for most of his tricks . When Kirk noticed Trelane rarely strayed far from his large wall mirror , he formed a plan . Choosing to play Trelane ' s " field - of - honor " game , he tricked Trelane into an old - fashioned duel . Instead of shooting Trelane in the duel , Kirk shot the mirror – which exploded spectacularly . Deprived of his support mechanisms , Trelane was unable to prevent the " Enterprise " crew from departing , but swore they were all dead men , Captain Kirk especially . The ship departed quickly , but Trelane quickly proved to have other mediums of instrumentality at his command – these proved to be powerful enough to move his planet and intercept the " Enterprise " no matter what course it took to attempt to evade Gothos , convincing Kirk himself to return to Gothos for what might be a final confrontation . Third encounter . Back on Gothos , Kirk saw that Trelane had altered the setting , so that he was now a judge determined to sentence Kirk for the crimes of treason against a superior authority , conspiracy , and the attempt to foment insurrection . But it was all too easy for him . Kirk seized on this , suggesting that what Trelane needed was a challenge . He talked Trelane into a sword fight . If Kirk won , Trelane would let the ship go ; if Kirk lost , he would die . Trelane hunted Kirk for a time , using his powers to evade Kirk ' s attacks and finally to trap Kirk in a cage . But even then , Kirk refused to cooperate , seizing Trelane ' s sword and broke it over his knee , an act which drove Trelane into a rage . Kirk realized something about Trelane then : that he had a lot to learn about winning and , in fact , as he said to Trelane ' s face , " a lot to learn about everything , haven ' t you ? " before slapping him twice on his face . Just then , Trelane ' s mother and Trelane ' s father , who were shown as two glowing indistinct green forms , appeared . Their discussion with Trelane confirmed Kirk ' s realization – that , for all his power , Trelane was little more than a spoiled child of his species who needed to be punished for effectively bullying lesser races ; the reference to " a naughty child with a fully - loaded handgun in unsafe conditions " proved to be especially relevant . Trelane ' s parents took him away , noting that they would not have allowed him to intercept the " Enterprise " had they realized how vulnerable humans were , and apologized to Kirk , promising to maintain his life - support conditions while he returned to his ship . But they would not answer his questions about Trelane , or themselves , beyond apologizing for Trelane ' s misbehavior and confessing that it had been their fault for having overindulged him . ( ) Appendices . Memorable quotes . " " General Trelane , retired . At your service , sir . " " " " Oh , how marvelous ! Devastating ! Why this could kill " millions ! " " " Honor will be served , eh ? " " " " Oh , such primitive fury ! Why he ' s the very soul of sublime savagery ! " " " " Oh , the remarkable " treachery " of the Human species . " " " " Und . . . Offizier Jaeger ! Ein Deutsch Soldat , nein ? Ein , zwei , drei , vier ! Gehen wir mit dem Schießgewehr ! " " ( Translation : " And . . . Officer Jaeger ! A German Soldier , no ? One , two , three , four ! Let ' s go on the shot gun ! " ) Jaeger , a geophysicist specializing in meteorology , was underwhelmed . " " You will hang by the neck , Captain , until you are dead , dead , dead ! " " " " I ' ll fix you for that ! You cheated ! You haven ' t played the game right , I ' ll show you ! " " " " It ' s my game and my rules ! But , if you need to be persuaded . . . " " " But I don ' t wanna come in and I won ' t . I ' m a general ! And I won ' t listen to ya ! " " Background information . Trelane was played by William Campbell , who later appeared as Koloth . Apocrypha . Trelane makes an appearance in the CD - ROM game " " , having pushed his interest forward to the time of World War I and calling himself the " Baron of Gothos . " While the " Enterprise " is in search of several missing starships , he attacks in a Fokker DR1 triplane fighter , and when defeated , sends Kirk , Spock , and McCoy to a replica of a World War I - era German town named Gothos . Kirk and his party must move through the artificial town , populated by brainwashed crew men from captured Federation vessels , in search of the " power objects " that give Trelane his abilities , including a soldier ' s locket , a clock in a small shop , a school chalkboard , and the triplane fighter . When they were destroyed , Kirk and his party faced Trelane himself . Trelane is revealed to have collected the starships and mounted them in bottles above a fireplace . Depending on the course of action the player takes , either Kirk convinces Trelane that war is nothing that should be emulated romantically , or Trelane ' s babysitter will arrive and spirit him away . In the Peter David novel " Q - Squared " , Trelane is revealed to be a member of the Q Continuum , with Q being assigned as his mentor . In the book , Trelane is able to tap into " The Heart of The Storm , " the theoretical and literal center of the universe , where chaos exists ; doing so gives Trelane more power than the entire Continuum , allowing him to close it off and play with the universe as he pleases . Trelane then manipulates three different tracks of the timeline - including the canon timeline , a variation of the war timeline depicted in " Yesterday ' s Enterprise , " and a timeline where Jack Crusher is alive and Captain of the " Enterprise " , among other differences - with the ultimate goal of the experiment being the merging of all parallel timelines and the destruction of the multiverse order . Captain Picard , with the help of Q - implied in the text to be Trelane ' s father , although Picard respects Q ' s desire not to discuss the matter in depth - manages to stop Trelane by engaging him in a duel with a sword imbued with Q ' s essence , Trelane ' s lack of practical sword - fighting experience allowing Picard to stab Trelane so that Q can penetrate his defenses and disrupt his powers , though the experience reduces Trelane to a speck of his former existence . In an interview on the TNG Season 7 DVD , John de Lancie said he believed that Gene Roddenberry , whether consciously or subconsciously , was channeling Trelane when he created Q . Trelane also appears in the DC comic book " A Little Man - to - Man Talk " , and the Marvel Comics " Star Trek Unlimited " issue , " An Infinite Jest " , in which he and Q are playing a game with the two main " Enterprise " crews .