Day of the Dove ( episode ) An extremely powerful non - corporeal being brings the " Enterprise " and a Klingon ship in direct conflict with one another . Summary . Teaser . Responding to a distress call from Beta XII - A , a landing party from the beam s down to the planet . The team consists of Captain Kirk , Doctor McCoy , Ensign Chekov , and Lieutenant Johnson , a security officer . They find no evidence of a colony nor any indication that one was attacked . Dr . McCoy reminds Kirk that whoever sent the distress call claimed they were under attack by an unidentified starship . From the bridge of the orbit ing " Enterprise " , Spock hail s the captain and reports that a Klingon battle cruiser is approaching . Although Kirk authorizes the Vulcan to defend the Starfleet ship , Lieutenant Sulu determines that the Klingon vessel is totally disabled , but the " Enterprise " never fired upon it . A team of Klingons beams to the planet and approaches the Starfleet officer s . Commander Kang , the leader of the team , believes that Kirk is responsible for the damage to his ship and for killing four hundred members of his crew . He smacks Kirk in the face with his disruptor , knocking Kirk to the ground . As a result , the Klingon claims the " Enterprise " as his own and takes the " Enterprise " crew as prisoners of the Klingons . Both men are unaware of a strange anomaly nearby . Act One . Kang tells Kirk that the Klingons have honored a peace treaty " " to the letter " " with the Federation for the past three years , and that Kirk appears to have tested a new weapon against his ship , killing his crew . Kirk rebuts that the Federation colony on the planet was destroyed . But Kang scoffs at this , saying there is no evidence of bodies or ruins . Kirk says this is because it was a new Klingon weapon that leaves no traces , and that the Federation does not conduct sneak attacks . Kang threatens to torture one of the Starfleet prisoners , but has difficulty deciding which officer will suffer – until Chekov angrily cries out that the Klingons killed his brother , Piotr Chekov , on a Federation research outpost on Archanis IV . One of the Klingons uses an agonizer to inflict pain on the Russian . After much debating with Kang , Kirk authorizes Spock to beam the Klingon and Starfleet officers aboard the " Enterprise " ; however , while giving the order Kirk also presses a distress key on his communicator , causing an amber light to blink on the command chair . Seeing the signal , Spock orders that the landing party be beamed into the ship ' s transporter room , but he also has the Klingons suspended in the pattern buffer and they are arrested by " Enterprise " security when they are rematerialized . As the Klingon battle cruiser is emitting an excessive amount of harmful radiation , Kirk intends to destroy the alien craft . Klingon survivors are beamed aboard , including Mara – Kang ' s wife and science officer . Mara fears that she will be tortured for their scientific and military information , but Kirk assures her and her husband that the Klingons will not be harmed . The captain orders Lieutenant Johnson to secure the Klingon prisoners in the crew lounge and to program the food synthesizer for Klingon cuisine . Spock explains that when the " Enterprise " received the distress call , the Klingons were too far away to have been the attackers . McCoy argues that they know the Klingons did attack , and that the log tapes will prove the innocence of the " Enterprise " . The " Enterprise " is unable to contact Starfleet Command , as all subspace frequencies are being blocked . The " Enterprise " destroys the Klingon craft with its forward phaser s in orbit of the planet , but communication with Starfleet is still unobtainable . In the crew lounge , Kang plans Kirk ' s death , vowing to hang Kirk ' s head on a wall in his quarters . Mara fears that the Starfleet crew will overpower the Klingons , while another Klingon officer eagerly advises Kang that they should strike quickly . Kang tells the officer to be patient and opines that the Starfleet crew will make a mistake soon and they will seize upon it . Meanwhile , the crew loses control of the " Enterprise " and several malfunctions result in the ship pursuing a new course out of the the galaxy . Scott explains that controls have gone crazy , and engines have gone to warp 9 by " themselves " . Nearly four hundred crewmen are trapped by emergency bulkhead s on the vessel ' s lower decks . Assuming that the Klingons are responsible , Kirk questions Kang in the crew lounge . Kang denies any responsibility . Kirk tells Kang that before he puts him in the brig , there is something he " owes him " and punches Kang for having struck him earlier on Beta XII - A . Suddenly , several inanimate objects in the room , including a three - dimensional chess set , transform into swords . Kirk orders his men to draw phasers , which also mysteriously transform into swords . Act Two . The Starfleet officers and the Klingons fight , using these primitive weapons of their ancestors . Two more security officers join the battle against the Klingons and Johnson is injured in the fight . The crew members luckily escape in a turbolift that takes Johnson and the other security personnel to sickbay . With the Klingons free to roam the ship , Kirk stays in the turbolift and heads to the bridge . There , he informs the senior staff of the situation . The captain contacts Scott in engineering and tells him that he must free the trapped crewmen at all costs so they may help to fight the Klingons . The engineer reports that he has been unable to regain control of the ship ' s velocity and is amazed that the vessel has not yet self - destructed . Spock deduces that the Klingons could not have caused the swords to appear , as the instantaneous transmutation of matter that caused their creation is beyond the capabilities of Klingon technology . If the Klingons had this power they would have created more effective weapons than just swords , reasons Spock . When Kirk orders Sulu to take control of engineering and the Auxiliary Control Center , Chekov insists that he join the helmsman . Despite Kirk giving him a direct order to return to his post , Chekov explains that he must avenge the murder of his brother and dives into the turbolift aft of the bridge . With a puzzled expression , Sulu tells Kirk that Chekov is an only child and never had any such brother . In sickbay , McCoy grows furious with the Klingons , calling them " " filthy butchers " " as he treats an injured crew member with a numanol capsule . A group of Klingons enters the Auxiliary Control Center and accesses the " Enterprise " s specifications . When Mara notifies Kang that there are as many Starfleet officers as there are Klingons aboard the ship , Kang decides to make an attempt at commandeering the vessel and plans to take control of engineering first . In the armory , Scott uses a communicator to contact the bridge and reports to Kirk that the phaser torch es have proven useless against the metal bulkhead s that have trapped the crewmen , as something has happened to the metal . The armory itself now contains only antique weaponry . Scott marvels at the beauty of a claymore sword , and refuses Kirk ' s orders to return to engineering . Scott and the Starfleet personnel in engineering are attacked by Klingon soldiers , who drive them out , and seize control of the engine room . On the bridge , Spock detects a single alien life force – the strange anomaly from Beta XII - A . Spock consults the ship ' s computer , which reveals that the entity is composed of pure energy , has intelligence and is acting toward an unknown purpose . Kirk believes that the alien force is responsible for Chekov ' s imaginary brother , the missing colony , the distress call that the " Enterprise " had supposedly received and the creation of the antique weapons aboard the ship . He proposes to form a truce with Kang , but Spock reminds the captain that the Klingons are infamous for refusing to agree to a truce once blood is drawn . When McCoy enters the bridge , he is overly outraged by the fact that the senior officers are considering a truce with the fiendish Klingons , who would force them into " slave labor , death planets , experiments " Spock informs the doctor of the alien ' s presence and Kirk adds that the alien is their real enemy , but McCoy believes that they must obliterate the Klingons in what he calls a " fight to the death . " After the doctor angrily exits the room , Kang hails the bridge . The Klingon notifies Kirk that his soldiers have captured the engineering section of the ship . Kang is now in control of the " Enterprise " s power and life support systems . The Klingon warns Kirk that he will " die of suffocation in the icy cold of space . " The bridge lights darken . Act Three . As the " Enterprise " rushes through space at warp factor nine , Kirk uses a tricorder to record a log entry . With Kirk ' s authorization , Sulu leaves to protect the life support circuits and auxiliary power in emergency manual control . Scott enters , irrationally desperate to fight the Klingons . Influenced by the alien entity , the engineer trades insults with Spock . Kirk stops Spock moments before the Vulcan can assault Scott with his fist , but begins to insult the science officer himself . The captain gradually realizes that he and his two officers are being manipulated by the entity . He wonders why the alien seems to be staging a war between his crew and the Klingons . Spock notes the importance of finding the entity , determining its motives , and stopping it from causing any further hostilities . From a Jefferies tube , Sulu reports that systems should be functioning but are not responding . Suddenly , power and life support are restored but the helmsman claims he was not responsible for the restoration . Aware of the sudden change , Mara notifies Kang that sensors are holding steady . She reports that she is neither able to cause them to falter nor deviate from the ship ' s course for a new heading to the Klingon Empire . Kang angrily ponders the nature of the power that supports his men in battle but stops them from achieving victory . Under Kang ' s orders , Mara leaves engineering with another Klingon officer and heads to the ship ' s main life support couplings on deck 6 . As the alien continues to creep through the " Enterprise " , Spock detects the entity using the ship ' s newly reactivated sensors . He and Kirk exit the bridge and take a turbolift toward the engineering section , where the anomaly is hiding . Meanwhile , Chekov unknowingly follows the alien through a corridor . When he hears a door open and close behind him , Chekov hides in an alcove . He attacks Mara and the Klingon officer accompanying her as they pass by . After the officer falls to the deck unconscious , Chekov attempts to rape Mara but is stopped by Kirk when he arrives with Spock . Kirk slaps the Russian several times , but Spock reminds him that Chekov was not in control of himself . Nevertheless , the Russian ' s body slumps to the ground . Although Kirk tries to explain the situation to Mara and pleads for a temporary truce , she does not respond . Spock takes her away securely while Kirk follows close behind , carrying Chekov in his arms . In sickbay , McCoy scans Chekov ' s brainwaves and determines that the Russian was suffering from paranoid mania . The doctor also tells Kirk that several officers , including Johnson , have suffered serious injuries that are healing at a miraculously accelerated rate . Spock deduces that the alien wants the officers to stay alive . As he and the doctor discuss the entity , Johnson regains consciousness unobserved . The lieutenant watches as Kirk , Spock and Mara leave in search of the alien . Soon , Kirk and his two companions discover the anomaly . Lieutenant Johnson suddenly appears behind Kirk and reports that he is ready for duty . The captain instructs Johnson to return to sickbay , but the lieutenant insanely shouts that he has orders to kill the Klingons . He attacks Kirk with a sword , though he loses consciousness again when Spock employs the Vulcan nerve pinch from behind him . Kirk and Spock observe that the alien ' s life energy momentarily increased during Johnson ' s emotional outburst . This leads the officers to suspect that the entity thrives on the hateful emotions of others . To combat the alien , Kirk and Spock agree that they must join forces with the Klingons and eliminate all hateful emotions from the ship . The captain uses an intercom to contact Kang , but Mara rushes forward and warns the Klingon commander that Kirk has set a trap . As Kang ' s mind is being affected by the entity , he refuses to answer any further hails . Scott contacts Kirk from the bridge , informing the captain that the ship ' s dilithium crystal s are deteriorating and will be completely depleted in twelve minutes . With the crew ' s losing their minds to the alien seemingly inevitable , and with the ship drifting powerless in space , Kirk asks Mara if she now believes that the entity exists . Act Four . Holding Mara ' s arm , Kirk accompanies Spock out of a turbolift and onto the bridge . The ship ' s dilithium crystals are still being drained and , according to Spock , will be totally depleted in less than ten minutes . Scott and the science officer recommend using Mara to force Kang into agreeing to a truce . Kirk contacts Kang and carries out the suggestion , threatening the Klingon commander that Mara will be killed in five seconds if he does not reply . But Kang simply accepts that his wife is a victim of war . After closing the communications channel to Kang , Kirk assures Mara that the Federation does not kill its prisoners – she has been listening to propaganda and fables . Mara realizes that the alien entity actually exists . Scott tells her that the Klingons are also under alien power and that a truce would save both the Klingons and Humans aboard the " Enterprise " . However , Mara insists that her people must continue to hunt and fight in order to survive . When Kirk tells her that mutual trust and assistance can also help a civilization endure , Mara agrees to help the captain and take him to Kang . With less than nine minutes before the ship loses power , Kirk decides to use intra - ship beaming to transport through the Klingon defenses and reach Kang . The process is extremely dangerous but the captain chooses to take the risk . Kirk and Mara dematerialize from the ship ' s transporter room into engineering . Against Mara ' s objections , Kirk and Kang fight each other . Outside engineering , a team of Starfleet security officers led by Spock and McCoy battle several Klingons . The senior officers leave the confrontation and enter engineering . They watch as Kirk surrenders and finally manages to persuade Kang that they are all being controlled by an alien . Eventually , the Klingon commander purposefully drops his sword . He and Kirk use the ship - wide intercom to direct their respective troops to cease hostilities . When the officers comply , the entity is weakened by the abrupt termination of violence . Calling the alien a " dead duck " , Kirk urges the anomaly to leave the ship . Kang tells the entity that Klingons need no urging to hate Humans and also yells at it to leave the " Enterprise " . At Spock ' s suggestion that " good spirits " may help to combat the entity , Kirk shares a hearty laugh with McCoy and Kang , and the alien eventually departs the " Enterprise " into open space . Memorable quotes . " " Go to the devil . " " " " We have no devil , Kirk . But we understand the habits of yours . " " " " You killed my brother ! " " " " And you volunteer to join him . That is loyalty . " " " " Four thousand throats may be cut in one night by a running man . " " " " Most interesting . The bulk of your crew trapped ? Your ship racing from this galaxy at wild speeds ? Delightful . " " " " There are rules , even in war . You don ' t keep hacking at a man after he ' s down ! " " " " Keep your Vulcan hands off me ! Just keep away ! Your feelings might be hurt , you green - blooded half - breed ! " " " " May I say that I have not thoroughly enjoyed serving with Humans . I find their illogic and foolish emotions a constant irritant . " " " " Then transfer out , freak ! " " " " Has a war been staged for us ? Complete with weapons and ideology and patriotic drum beating ? " " " " You ' re not Human , but you ' re very beautiful . Very beautiful . " " " " I , too , felt a brief surge of racial bigotry . Most distasteful . " " " " The Federation doesn ' t kill or mistreat its prisoners . You ' ve been listening to propaganda . . . fables . " " " " We have always fought . We must . We are hunters , captain , tracking and taking what we need . " " " " Those who hate and fight must stop themselves , doctor . Otherwise , it is not stopped . " " " " Klingons kill for their own purposes . " " " " Out ! We need no urging to hate Humans . But for the present , only a fool fights in a burning house . " " Links and references . References . 2266 ; act of war ; ambush ( aka sneak attack ) ; animal ; antique ; Archanis IV Research Outpost ( Archanis IV ) ; Armory ; atmosphere ; Auxiliary Control Center ; auxiliary navigation ; auxiliary power ; beings that feed on emotion ; battle cruiser , Klingon ; Beta XII - A ; Beta XII - A entity ; Beta Leonis Minoris ; bigotry ; blood ; bluff ; brain wave s ; brig ; bury the hatchet ; butcher ; cabin ; carrier ; channel ; ; claymore ; coliseum ; colony ; Commander ; condition red ; Cossack ; crew lounge ; cutlass ; ( dead ) duck ; death camp ; death planet ; deflector s ; devil ; dilithium ; diplomacy ; distress call ; drifting ; drum ; dueling tradition ; emergency bulkhead ; emergency manual control ; energy ; Engineering ( Engineering Section ) ; fable ; Federation ; freak ; food - synthesizer ; general quarters ; gladius ; goon ; grave ; heart ; hostage ; hunter ; ice ; intraship beaming ; ; katana ; Klingon s ; Klingon Empire ; library computer ; life - energy unit ; life force ; life support circuit s ; life support coupling s ; life support system s ; logic ; long sword ; massacre ; matter ; metal ; military men ; Milky Way Galaxy ; monster ; Numanol capsule ; orderly ; Ordnance ; organ ; Organian Peace Treaty ; paranoid mania ; patriotism ; pattern buffer ; pawn ; phaser torch ; power system ; propaganda ; psychology ; radiation ; raid ; Reactor # 3 ; red alert ; remotes ; sabotage ; scan ; science officer ; sector ; section ; Security ; shipwide intercom ; shock ; slave labor ; Starfleet Command ; stress ; stuffed ; subspace frequency ; suffocation ; surrender ; suspended in transit ; sword ; terrain ; throat ; tiger ( by the tail ) ; tracking ; transmutation ; transfer ; trauma ; transporter ; truce ; torture ; vital organ s ; Vulcan ; Vulcan neck pinch ; warp 9 ; warrior