Executive producer: Gene Roddenberry
Associate producers: Edward K. Milkis and Gregg Peters
Producer Fred Freiberger
Co-producer: Robert H. Justman
Story consultant: Arthur H. Singer

Writers: George F. Slavin and Stanley Adams
Dir.: Jud Taylor

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
Odona: Sharon Acker
Hodin: David Hurst

Stardate 5423.4

Gideon is a planet applying for membership in the United Federation of Planets. Claiming to be like a paradise they made contact and now the Enterprise is there to meet Gideonians for the first time. But the Gideon council only allows captain Kirk to come down. Already here it becomes clear that the Federation does not want to take any risk, they obey to any of the Gideonians requests not to offend the people. The council gives to the crew the coordinates where the council wants to meet captain Kirk and gets beamed down. 

After the beaming Kirk finds himself in the transporter room of the Enterprise. All ship is deserted. He rushes from room to room, hears the familiar sounds of the ship but does not find any person on board. In command of the ship Spock is contacted by the council:  Why did the captain not arrive? Spock is certain he has arrived at the given coordinates, since he himself beamed him down and offers to be beamed down to the same place, but the Gideonians do not allow anybody further to be beamed down. From Starfleet Spock does not get any support, they go along with the Gideonian's wishes. Nerve-wrecking bureaucracy like conversations tear on Mr. Spock's nerves, who controls himself even when Hodin, one of the council, describes Scotty as a very excitable repairman. 

The planet is protected against any search devices and Spock has no chance to search for him, but with sensors, which might take years, as Chekov says. Spock agrees and states that it will last less time the sooner they start. All attempts of Mr. Spock to get beamed down are denied. He tries to talk to the Federation, because of the disappearance of his captain, but is told to keep the official way via Starfleet command, who tell him to obey to the Gideonians. Meanwhile Kirk is certain to be alone on the Enterprise as suddenly a woman appears. Looking outside, Kirk still sees the stars and he wonders where she came from. She enjoys the space on board but cannot or does not provide any help to Kirk. 

After some time Kirk accidentally sees crowds of people outside, where stars should be. He realizes that he has been beamed down to the right place, but not to the council. They did not want him to see the reality: An overcrowded planet because there is no disease, nobody dies. All they want is to find anything they are not resistant against it, so that finally people die. In the meanwhile, Spock has decided to go against Starfleet orders and beamed to the same coordinates, where Kirk was beamed to. When Spock finds his captain and beams him and Odona on board, Odona is found to be carrier of a disease which might be fatal to the Gideonians. Hoping that this might help the planet to decrease its population numbers she beams down to the planet and the Federation will now have to decide how to handle the application at all.