- Peaceful, primitive peoples get caught up in the struggle between superpowers, with Kirk unhappily trying to restore the balance of power disrupted by the Klingons.
- Kirk returns to the planet where he spent time 13 years before. A friend from his previous visit is now leader of his people. While trying to uphold the Federation's prime directive, the Klingons are providing more advanced technology to their enemies.—laird-3
- Kirk gets to return to the planet where, 13 years earlier as a young lieutenant, he conducted his first planetary survey. The natives live a simple Eden-like existence with little or no technology to speak of. Bows and arrows are their main weaponry. When Kirk, Spock and McCoy beam down, they find a rival tribe now has flintlock rifles, centuries ahead of normal development. With Spock almost mortally wounded and taken back to the Enterprise, Kirk and McCoy see if Klingons have been upsetting the planet's natural development, but Kirk's soon waylaid by a mugatu (a wild, poisonous primate), and it's up to the wife (a healer of sorts) of his old friend Tyree to save him. She's an ambitious, opportunistic "witch" woman who heals Kirk while also ensnaring his soul. Her price: nothing less than Kirk's violation of the Prime Directive.—garykmcd
- Kirk returns to the planet where he spent time 13 years earlier, when he was in command of his first planetary survey. A friend Tyree (Michael Witney) from his previous visit is now leader of his hill people. The planet is a class-M in every respect, Earth like. But the natives have stayed technologically backward, still using bows and arrows for thousands of years. But now Kirk sees that in just 13 years villagers of the planet have flintlocks, while the hill people still have bows and arrows. Tyree is a hill person and Kirk observes that he is about to be ambushed by the villagers. Kirk saves Tyree, but Spock is shot in the back instead. Kirk, Spock and McCoy beam back up to the Enterprise.
Just then A Klingon cruiser enters orbit but hasn't spotted the Enterprise yet. Spock is in recuperation and Kirk decides to beam back down to the planet with McCoy, to figure out how the villagers made 12 centuries of progress in 13 years. When they beam down Kirk is attacked by a Mugato, a beast, who bites Kirk and poisons him. Kirk asks McCoy to seek out Tyree, since the Enterprise has moved out of orbit to remain out of detection from the Klingon vessel. Tyree has married a villager, a raven-haired witch named Nona (Nancy Kovack), who wears loose pants cinched low and beneath a short top made of black animal fur fastened at the cusp of her shoulders. Nona keeps Tyree under her control with an herb, whose juices hypnotize humanoids.
McCoy takes Kirk to Tyree's village. Nona is hungry for power and is intrigued when she sees McCoy using phasers to heat the rocks to keep Kirk warm. Nona heals Kirk privately using an ancient healing technique (passing their bloods together through the roots of the Mako tree) After this "transfusion" Kirk is bewitched and cannot refuse any wish of Nona. She wants power, nothing less. She wants Kirk to arm Tyree and his men, so they can defeat the villagers. Kirk and McCoy sneak into the village and find evidence of Klingons supplying gradual technology advancements to the villagers. Kirk decides to arm the hill people with the same technology to attain balance of power. McCoy thinks this will condemn the planet to years of war and in-destruction. He thinks Kirk is doing this under Nona's witch-like influence.
Kirk is seduced by Nona's herbs and responds to her advances which is seen by Tyree. Tyree runs away and a Mugato attacks Kirk and Nona. Kirk kills the Mugato with his phaser, but he is weak, and Nona runs away with Kirk's phaser. Tyree feels anger at Kirk's actions and does not wish to cooperate in any way. Nona offers the phaser to her people, some men from the village, but they attempt to force themselves upon her. When they hear the approach of Kirk and the Hill Dwellers, they stab her in the chest. Tyree, despondent, immediately agrees to take all the guns that Kirk can manufacture. He will avenge the death of his wife. Kirk tells the truth about what these guns are. Enterprise delivers the guns to Tyree and moves out of orbit.
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