CAMERA HOLDS on the door through which McCoy has vanished as it sighs shut. Then CAMERA TILTS UP SLIGHTLY to read the plate near the door: TRANSPORTER CHAMBER. CAMERA HOLDS a beat on the plate and then very smoothly PANS LEFT to SHOOT DOWN CORRIDOR as we see, at the other end, Kirk and Spock and SEVERAL OTHER CREWMEMBERS of the Security Force as they plunge toward us. CAMERA PULLS BACK as they come abreast of the Transporter Chamber. One of the SECURITY MEN points to the door with anxious words ad lib that he has seen McCoy enter. The door slides open for them and they rush in as CAMERA FOLLOWS.

15 FULL SHOT—INT. TRANSPORTER CHAMBER

as we see the TRANSPORTER CHIEF lying unconscious by his machinery. And on the beaming stage, the last tell-tale flickers and sparkles of the TRANSPORTER EFFECT that tells us McCoy has gone. CAMERA IN CLOSE on Spock and Kirk in 2-SHOT.

KIRK

He’s beamed down…

(scared)

…there.

SPOCK

He’ll be dead in two hours.

CAMERA HOLDS CLOSE on their faces locked in horror as we

FADE OUT.

END OF PROLOGUE

Act One

ACT ONE

FADE IN:

16 EXT. PLANET—ESTABLISHING—DAY

CLOSE on booted tracks as CAMERA ANGLE WIDENS to show us a rocky defile, obviously on an alien world. The tracks lead out of the rocky defile. A burnt-out sun hangs dolorously in the cadaverous sky. A dead world, even from what little we see here…as if some cosmic god had flicked an ash and it had grown into a planet. We HOLD on the SCENE for a BEAT as we HEAR the VOICE of KIRK OVER:

KIRK’S VOICE (OVER)

Ship’s log: star-date 3134.6. The deadly radiation that drew us to this desolate Rim of the Galaxy, has thrown the Enterprise into chaos.

As these line are SPOKEN OVER we see the tell-tale shimmering of the TRANSPORTER EFFECT as Kirk, Spock, Yeoman Janice Rand and two enlisted crewmen appear. VOICE OVER CONTINUES:

KIRK’S VOICE (OVER)

Somewhere on this nameless ash of a world, Dr. McCoy is wandering, the poison in his blood giving him less than two hours to live. We are transporting down with an antidote.

(beat)

Can we track him down in time?

As the preceding lines are SPOKEN OVER we see Spock indicating tracks to Kirk, pointing in the direction they vanish. They move forward as VOICE OVER CONTINUES and we:

LAP-DISSOLVE THRU:

17 thru 19 FULL SHOTS—THE SCENES

the Patrol moving through random sets of alien terrain (whatever is most economical to convey feeling of covering distance on this planet, without exorbitant set-ups) as VOICE OVER CONTINUES as indicated above.

CONTINUE LAP-DISSOLVES 
THRU TO:

20 EXT. PLANET—ANOTHER ANGLE—MED. CLOSE SHOT

PAST Yeoman Janice Rand in f.g. as she turns her head sharply to look just PAST CAMERA. A tricorder, a simple black case, hangs over her shoulder. A HUM grows stronger from tricorder.

RAND

Captain: there’s the source of the radiation.