STAR TREK: # 26 The Devil in the Dark, 1967

Writer: Gene L. Coon
Director: Joseph Pevney

Captain Kirk: William Shatner
Science Officer, First Officer, Cmdr. Spock: Leonard Nimoy
Dr. Leonard "Bones" Mc Coy: DeForest Kelly
Lt. Sulu: George Takei
Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott: James Doohan
Lieutenant Uhura: Nichelle Nichols

Horta: Janos Prohaska
Chief Engineer Vanderberg: Ken Lynch
Lt. Comm. Giotto: Barry Russo
Ed Appel: Brad Weston
Schmitter: Biff Eliot

Stardate 3196.1

Janus VI is a mining planet expecially rich of pergium, a rare mineral. The Enterprise is also in need of the minerals the planet offers, but on arrival they learn that mining has become dangerous for the miners. A "monster" appears unforeseen at any place and kills the people with acid. In the office of Chief Engineer Vanderberg Kirk and Spock are shown the map of the tunnels underneath the surface and where the killings have occurred. No one has so far seen "the monster". 

Spock is attracted by round shaped minerals as big as a soccer ball. All evenly shaped and with different colors, Spock asks about the origin of them. Chief Vanderberg does not care. He rushes the two officers to stop the killing going on in the tunnels and says that they have opened them and did not find anything inside. As Spock wonders whether the killings might have started after the first of these ball was destroyed, Kirk wonders about Spock’s thoughts, but Spock says that he rather keeps them for himself untill he will find proof. They are called to a scene where the latest killing has occurred – an acid puddle shows no remains of what had once been a miner. Spock's tricorder indicates that the tunnel leading from the place has been made just seconds ago, the walls still warm from an impact. Suddenly they get another call: The PXK reactor has been stolen. And the walls where it had been places show the same round acid hole as the newly made tunnels do. 

Spock believes that the creature they are after is an intelligent one. He tries to convince the captain to prevent it from being killed, but Kirk insists on having it killed. When Spock instructs the leaders of the search party, he adds that they should try to get it alive. Kirk corrects the order and wants it killed. In private he asks Spock why he had added an alteration to his original command and Spock tries again to convince him of saving the creatures life - if possible. The two go on searching on their own besides of the search parties. As they come to a splitting tunnel, Kirk decides to split up as well. Spock would have preferred to stay with his captain, but gives in to the logic that two tunnels are covered better by two splitting up. On his way, Spock suddenly gets a distress call from his captain. 

He is standing directly opposite the life form they are looking for. "Kill it, Captain, kill it quickly," Spock shouts into his communicator, knowing that the creature kills very quickly itself. Now it is Kirk who hesitates. He has already wounded the creature and discovered that it reacts to his movement. When Spock arrives, they order the other men to stay away and both get closer to their pendant, who looks bulky, 80cm tall, with lots of mineral bubbles all over, no signs of feet or arms, more like a short, compact worm. Kirk asks Spock to make a mindmeld–contact in order to communicate with it. 

Spock experiences a lot of pain during the mindmeld. Later he shares with Kirk that it calls itself a "Horta" and that she is the mother, the last remaining survivor of the species, who had laid all the thousands of round eggs in the tunnels. Many of those have been destroyed by the miners. She experienced great pain having seen so many of her children being murdered and began to kill the miners in defense of her eggs. After the mindmeld, Horta moves backwards, showing letters burnt into the ground: "Don't kill I". Kirk wonders whether she means not to kill herself or whether she asks not to be killed. 

Dr. McCoy is called in to heal the wound. "I'm a doctor not a bricklayer" does not have the desired effect. "Here's your patient," the captain tells him. McCoy heals the wound by plastering it with Silicon. Meanwhile, the crowd of mineworkers, triggered by xenophobia, cannot be stopped any longer by the crew of the Enterprise - they break through to take revenge for the killings of their colleagues. Spock and Kirk defend the creature and accuse them of having started to kill. They are finally convinced that the Horta is peaceful. Independent of the unfamiliar looks of the Horta the men understand the situation and accept a peaceful co-existence, in which the Hortas are going to make the tunnels for them and they can mine much quicker than before. 

Spock is asked to do another mindmeld in order to explain to the Horta that no harm has been meant by the miners, who had acted in ignorance and that they now agree to a peaceful co-existence. He later states that it had been refreshing to have the chance to communicate with a logical person again, after quite a long time amongst humans.

She is very intelligent- she liked my ears