- Spock: Captain, you almost make me believe in luck.
- Captain James T. Kirk: Why, Mr. Spock, you almost make me believe in miracles.
- Spock: Ladies and gentlemen, please move quickly away from the chamber or you may be injured.
- Ambassador Fox: What are you doing, Mr Spock?
- Spock: Practicing a peculiar variety of diplomacy, sir.
- Scott: Aye. The haggis is in the fire for sure, but I'll not lower my defenses on the word of that mealy-mouthed gentleman down below. Not until I know what happened to the captain.
- Spock: Yeoman Tamura, you stay here and prevent this young lady from immolating herself. Knock her down and sit on her if necessary.
- Scott: Open a channel, Lieutenant. This is the commander of the U.S.S. Enterprise. All cities and installations on Eminiar 7 have been located, identified, and fed into our fire control system. In one hour and forty-five minutes, the entire inhabited surface of your planet will be destroyed. You have that long to surrender your hostages.
- Anan 7: Are those five hundred people of yours more important than the hundreds of millions of innocent people on Eminiar and Vendikar? What kind of monster are you?
- Captain James T. Kirk: I'm a barbarian. You said it yourself.
- Ambassador Fox: Diplomacy, gentlemen, should be a job left to diplomats. You will, of course, immediately resume a peaceful status.
- Scott: No, sir, I will not.
- Ambassador Fox: What did you say?
- Scott: I'll not lower the screens, not until the Captain tells me to.
- Ambassador Fox: You are taking orders from me! You will lower the screens as a sign of good faith. My authority.
- Scott: [Looking Fox directly in the eye] I know about your authority, but the screens - stay - up.
- Ambassador Fox: I want you, and expect you, to obey my lawful orders.
- Scott: No, sir. I won't lower the screens.
- Ambassador Fox: Your refusal to comply with my orders has endangered the entire success of this mission. I can have you sent to a penal colony for this.
- Scott: That you can, sir, but I won't lower the screens.
- Anan 7: You realize what you have done?
- Captain James T. Kirk: Yes, I do. I've given you back the horrors of war. The Vendikans now assume that you've broken your agreement and that you're preparing to wage real war with real weapons. They'll want do the same. Only the next attack they launch will do a lot more than count up numbers in a computer. They'll destroy cities, devastate your planet. You of course will want to retaliate. If I were you, I'd start making bombs. Yes, Councilman, you have a real war on your hands. You can either wage it with real weapons, or you might consider an alternative. Put an end to it. Make peace.
- Anan 7: There can be no peace. Don't you see? We've admitted it to ourselves. We're a killer species. It's instinctive. It's the same with you. Your General Order Twenty Four.
- Captain James T. Kirk: All right. It's instinctive. But the instinct can be fought. We're human beings with the blood of a million savage years on our hands, but we can stop it. We can admit that we're killers, but we're not going to kill today. That's all it takes. Knowing that we won't kill today. Contact Vendikar. I think you'll find that they're just as terrified, appalled, horrified as you are, that they'll do anything to avoid the alternative I've given you. Peace or utter destruction. It's up to you.
- Anan 7: Planetary disrupter banks, calculate orbit of star cruiser now circling. Stand by to fire full power.
- Voice of fire control officer: Councilman, planetary disrupter banks locked onto target. Standing by.
- Anan 7: In ten seconds, open fire. Destroy the star cruiser. Those are the orders of the council.
- Mea 3: If I refuse to report, and other refuse, then Vendikar would have no choice but to launch real weapons. We would have to do the same to defend ourselves. More than people would die then. A whole civilization would be destroyed. Surely, you can see that ours is the better way.
- Captain James T. Kirk: No. I don't see that at all.
- Anan 7: Uh, Mr. Ambassador, I am truly sorry for what must happen.
- Ambassador Fox: I beg your pardon?
- Anan 7: You and your party have been declared war casualties. You'll be taken immediately to one of our casualty stations so that your deaths may be recorded.
- Ambassador Fox: You mean, we are to be killed?
- Anan 7: That's correct, Mr. Ambassador. I regret it very much, but there is nothing I can do about it.
- Anan 7: Once your ship was in orbit about our planet, it became a legitimate target. It has been classified destroyed by a tri-cobalt satellite explosion. All persons aboard your ship have twenty-four hours to report to our disintegration machines. In order to ensure their cooperation, I have ordered you, Captain, and your party held in custody until they surrender. If possible, we shall spare your ship, Captain, but its passengers and crew are already dead.
- Scott: Computer - last message received and recorded from Captain Kirk.
- Enterprise Computer: In place.
- Scott: Run it through analyzer. Question: is it or is it not the Captain's voice?
- Enterprise Computer: Negative. A close copy.
- Scott: A voice duplicator?
- Enterprise Computer: 98% probability.
- Scott: [to McCoy] Well, they've got them, Doctor, and now they're trying to get us.
- Anan 7: Enterprise, this is Anan 7, first councilman of the High Council of Eminiar. We hold your captain, his party, your ambassador and his party prisoners. Unless you immediately start transportation of all personnel aboard your ship to the surface, the hostages will be killed. You have thirty minutes. I mean it, Captain.
- Captain James T. Kirk: All that it means is that I won't be around for the destruction. You heard me give general order 24. That means in two hours the Enterprise will destroy Eminiar 7.
- Anan 7: Planetary defense system, open fire on the Enterprise!
- Planetary Disruptor Bank Officer: I'm sorry, councilman, the target has moved out of range.
- Captain James T. Kirk: Code 710 means that under no circumstances are we to approach that planet - no circumstances whatsoever.
- Ambassador Fox: You will disregard that signal, Captain.
- Ambassador Fox: Diplomacy, gentlemen, should be a job, uh, left to diplomats. You will, of course, immediately resume a peaceful status.
- Scott: No, sir, I will not.
- Captain James T. Kirk: Still, the Eminians keep a very orderly society, and actual war is a very messy business. A very, very messy business.