- Edward Larkin: I made one of the most important scientific discoveries of our time, I'm not the dumb one.
- Edward Larkin: So even if they were intelligent, I feel like they would be very easy to capture and then eat.
- Captain Lynne Lucero: No, I was more concerned with the moral implications.
- Edward Larkin: For the tribble? Well, sure. I could, uh, genetically manipulate the DNA to make them all brain-damaged. And that way, that would, um, uh, solve that.
- Tribbles cereal mascot: We're pregnant... with flavor!
- Captain Christopher Pike: You got this job because you are a brilliant scientist. But you're gonna find that not everybody's on your level, if you know what I mean.
- Captain Lynne Lucero: You're right. Some are gonna be even better than me.
- Captain Christopher Pike: There's that optimism again.
- Captain Lynne Lucero: This conversation is over You're dismissed.
- Edward Larkin: Right, but...
- Captain Lynne Lucero: This is the end of the conversation.
- Edward Larkin: Captain, if I could...
- Captain Lynne Lucero: You can't.
- Edward Larkin: Right, but...
- Captain Lynne Lucero: The conversation's over. That's the end.
- Edward Larkin: Well, technically, the conversation is not over, because I can keep talking and then the conversation is - is - is continuing.
- Edward Larkin: Well, when you mix human DNA with tribble DNA, crazy stuff happens.
- Captain Lynne Lucero: Sorry, you used human DNA?
- Edward Larkin: Yeah.
- Sarah: Whose DNA?
- Edward Larkin: Look, I think we're getting off track, all right? I mean, if we all eat our fair share of these, the population will even itself out.
- Captain Lynne Lucero: Edward! Whose DNA?
- Edward Larkin: It was mine. But, like Noel's DNA would be any better?
- Edward Larkin: I've been working with sample specimens from a species native to Iota Geminorium IV, tribleustes ventricosus. People call them "Tribbles" for short.
- Captain Lynne Lucero: Aw. Pretty darn cute.
- Edward Larkin: Yeah, and if you, uh, take all the fur off, underneath, it's all meat, like a scallop. Blood red.
- Captain Lynne Lucero: You want to eat them?
- Edward Larkin: I - I don't want to eat them. I was thinking of introducing them as a food source for the Calations. Although, I have eaten one or two, um, for research purposes. I fed one to Noel the other day and he enjoyed it.
- Admiral Quinn: With less than two weeks under your command, the Cabot science vessel saw an onboard experiment go beyond your control. One crew member was tragically lost, and the ship itself suffered a total and complete structural failure. And then of course, a genetically modified species managed to find its way to the surface of Pragine 64, forcing the evacuation of an entire civilization. And we've just gotten word these creatures have made their way into Klingon space, so let's add a diplomatic crisis to all of this. But according to your report, this entire calamity was all caused by one crew member. How do you explain that?
- Captain Lynne Lucero: He was an idiot.