Mudd ' s Women ( episode ) The " Enterprise " rescues a con man named Harry Mudd who is trafficking in mail - order brides . Summary . Teaser . The chases an unregistered starship , a small class J cargo vessel . Fleeing , the ship approaches an asteroid belt with a Shiller rating of three - five . The small ship ' s peril increases further when its desperate speed causes its engines to overheat . Act One . As the cargo ship drifts into the asteroid belt , the " Enterprise " is forced to extend its shields around the ship , and this extreme power expenditure destroys three of the ship ' s crucial lithium crystal circuit s . Montgomery Scott manages to beam the ship ' s master and three lovely women off just before an asteroid destroys the vessel with a dead - center hit . The ship ' s master , speaking with a broad Irish brogue , identifies himself as Leo Francis Walsh . He claims he avoided the " Enterprise " out of fear that it was a hostile vessel . In the transporter room , Scott and McCoy are immediately transfixed by the three women , as are all the male crew members , as the women saunter through the ship ' s corridor s . Walsh , a charismatic figure but clearly a con man , plays up the women ' s effect in a manner suggestive of a pimp , but notes that Spock , being half - Vulcan , is immune to their charms . Walsh and his women are led by Spock to Captain Kirk ' s quarters after the captain demands that Walsh be there whether he can walk or not . Kirk is enraged by the irresponsible actions of Walsh , who explains that the women , Eve McHuron , Magda Kovacs , and Ruth Bonaventure , are not so much crew as cargo . Act Two . Still insisting his name is Walsh , the cargo ship captain tries to blame Kirk for the accident . Kirk has him confined to quarters pending a hearing . Meanwhile , all ship ' s power is being channeled through a single lithium crystal circuit and the crystal has a hairline fracture at its base . The bypass circuits were also burned out in the rescue attempt . Repairs are needed , and that means a visit to the nearest source of crystals , the mining colony on Rigel XII . Before the ship ' s hearing , Walsh meets with the women and coaches them on their testimony , advising them not to lie , but mysteriously ordering them not to submit to a medical exam . At the inquiry , Kirk learns that the women are to be wives for settlers on Ophiucus III ; each voluntarily left a situation in which her marriage prospects were slim or non - existent . Leo Walsh ' s real identity , Harcourt Fenton Mudd , also comes out , and his Irish brogue promptly disappears . He has a long history of convictions for smuggling , transport of stolen goods , and purchasing of a space vessel with counterfeit currency , and has been sentenced to psychiatric treatment , the effectiveness of which is in dispute . His ship ' s master ' s license has also been revoked . Kirk decides to hand Harry Mudd over to legal authorities as soon as possible . Toward the end of the hearing , the final lithium crystal fails and when Mudd overhears Kirk ' s orders to contact the miner s on Rigel XII , he begins to plan how the situation can work to his advantage : the women can work their charms on the " lonely , isolated , overworked , " rich " lithium miners , " and get a much better deal for themselves . Mudd himself dreams of taking over the " Enterprise " with all his new fortune and loudly announces that the next orders Kirk will be taking will be from Mudd himself . Strangely , he delivers this whole speech in front of Vinci and another security guard . Act Three . Using their allure , the women learn about the miners ; there are three of them , one for each woman . The mystery of the women deepens when Ruth sets off an alert on McCoy ' s medical scanner in sickbay . McCoy wonders whether they ' re actually as beautiful as they seem , or whether there ' s something else responsible for their allure . Eve visits Kirk ' s quarters , whom Kirk views lying on his bed . Eve claims she ' s feeling harassed by the men on board , but is unable to go through with her flirtation , blurting out that Mudd put her up to it . She flees to Mudd ' s quarters and tells him she ' s feeling ill , saying " " It ' s time . " " Magda manages to obtain a communicator from Lieutenant Farrell ; Mudd uses it to contact the miners before Kirk , and hammers out a deal . But back in Mudd ' s quarters , the women begin physically breaking down , turning terribly old and haggard . Just in time , Mudd finds a pillbox he had hidden in his mattress , and gives one pill to each of them , immediately restoring their good looks . As Eve is turning the crystalline " Venus pill " over in her hand , Spock is examining a burned out lithium crystal . The miners come on board the " Enterprise " , but when Kirk offers them an equitable price he learns they really want to barter . They want to look at Mudd ' s women , and maybe trade for them . On top of which , they want Mudd released and the charges dropped . Shocked and annoyed , Kirk refuses the offer , but Mudd figures Kirk will have no choice soon enough , as the ship ' s functions are starting to shut down without the crystals and the " Enterprise " will begin to spiral down toward Rigel XII . As Mudd notes to Kirk , he has no choice ; he must acquiesce to the miners ' demands . Act Four . Kirk , Spock , and Mudd beam down to the forbidding surface of Rigel XII , where the women are now living it up with Ben Childress and the other miners , Herm Gossett and Benton . Childress keeps Kirk waiting for the crystals , and the miners start fighting over Ruth and Magda . Eve , already conscience - stricken about the deception , runs out into a storm . Childress goes out to find her , and the two go missing as the " Enterprise " , still without the crystals , begins to run out of energy . Back aboard ship , Kirk snaps at Scotty , but apologizes , and Scotty tells him the ship has approximately five hours of power left . Childress finds Eve and brings her back to his quarters , and the " Enterprise " locates them through the heat of a cook stove in his hut ; Eve is cooking for Childress . Kirk and Mudd prepare to beam down . Childress and Eve , both prickly characters , begin to warm up to each other as Eve proves more resourceful than Childress expected . But soon Eve ' s looks begin to fade again and Childress comments on this . As they start fighting , Kirk and Mudd arrive , and explain about the Venus drug , which Childress had heard of but thought was only a legend . He and the other miners are dismayed to learn that Mudd has sold them a bill of goods : the women ' s natural beauty and allure has been enhanced by the Venus drug . Two of the miners have already married Mudd ' s women , the ceremonies having been performed through subspace radio . The chief miner is angry , and Eve berates him for being more interested in the pill than in a real woman . She takes the pill and turns beautiful again . Childress isn ' t happy because her beauty is a fake , but Kirk reveals that he switched the pill with a placebo , colored gelatin . Eve ' s beauty is the result of her own self - confidence . Childress is happy about this , and asks her to stay and talk . Kirk and Mudd beam back up , and Kirk turns down Mudd ' s request to let him go . Memorable quotes . " " Aye . " " " " Amen to that , Scotty . " " " " But men will always be men no matter where they are . " " " " Is this your crew , captain ? " " " " Well , no , captain . This is me cargo . " " " " Captain James Kirk , the next orders you ' re taking will be given by Harcourt Fenton Mudd ! " " " " Blast that tin - plated pot ! " " " " I wonder what makes it do that ! " " " " I read once that a commander has to act like a paragon of virtue . I never met a paragon . " " " " Neither have I . " " " " You ' ll find out that ship ' s captains are already married , girl , to their vessels . " " " " Take it . It ' s not a cheat . It ' s a miracle for some man who can appreciate it and who needs it . " " " " Oh ! The sound of male ego . You travel halfway across the galaxy , and it ' s still the same song . " " " " Is this the kind of wife you want , Ben ? Not someone to help you , not a wife to cook and sew and cry and need , but this kind . Selfish , vain , useless . Is this what you really want ? " " " " There ' s only one kind of woman . " " " " Or man , for that matter . " " " " You either believe in yourself , or you don ' t . " " " " Don ' t you think you could possibly by accident arrange to leave me behind here , on this planet ? That would be punishment enough . . . " " " " I can ' t do that , Harry . But I will appear as a character witness at your trial . . . if you think that ' ll help . " " " " They ' ll throw away the key . . . " " " " Ever try considering the patent medicine business ? " " " " Why should I work your side of the street ? " " " " The fact that my internal arrangement differs from yours , doctor , pleases me no end . " " Links and references . References . 2263 ; amen ; asteroid ; asteroid belt ; battery ; bearing ; Bootes III ; bucket ; bypass circuit ; captain ' s log , USS " Enterprise " ( NCC - 1701 ) , 2266 ; character witness ; converter assembly ; cook ; cook stove ; countess ; dance ; deflector shield ; desktop monitor ; diamond ; distress signal ; double - jack ; drug ; duchess ; dust ; earpiece ; Earth ; ego ; Engine Room ; USS " Enterprise " ( NCC - 1701 ) library computer ; flight plan ; fraud ; gelatin ; gold ; gross ton ; Halium experimental station ; Human philosophy ; hypnotism ; identification beam ; infrared scanner ; J class starship ; key ; lithium crystal ; lithium crystal circuit ; magnetism ; magnetic storm ; master ; Master ' s License ; mattress ; McHuron brothers ; measurement ; medical scanner ; mile ; Milky Way Galaxy ; miner ; mineral ; mining ; Mudd ' s women ; Ophiucus III ; orbit ; pan ; patent medicine ; pelagic planet ; perspiration rate ; pill ; police record ; pound ; queen ; raffle ; registration beam ; Rigel system ; Rigel XII ; Rigel XII asteroid belt ; sand ; Saturnius harem girl ; sea rancher ; Shiller rating ; sensing system ; sensor probe ; sew ; signature ; solitaire ; starship ; " Stella " ; subspace communication ; subspace radio marriage ; superheat ; tin ; transporter ; trial ; Venus drug ; viewer ; Vulcanian ; ; water ; well ; wife ; wind Unreferenced material . 2219 ; 2226 ; 2238 ; Antares Pi IV ; ; Starbase 4