Executive Producer: Gene Roddenberry
Producers: Gene L. Coon + John Meredyth Lucas
Associate Producer: Robert H. Justman
Script Consultant: D. C. Fontana

Writer: Gene L. Coon
Dir.: Ralph Senensky

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

Zefram Cochrane: Glenn Corbett
Commissioner Nancy Hedford: Elinor Donahue

Stardate 3219.4

Coming from a mission the sick Commissioner Nancy Hedford is brought to the ship by the shuttle Galileo. On her way to the Enterprise, the Galileo experiences a force drawing her off her course. A creature in the shape of a cloud diverts the shuttle onto Gamma Canaris N and then leaves. Kirk, Spock, McCoy and the commissioner meet Zefram Cochran on the planet. Spock recognizes him as the man who has developed the warp drive more than 100 years ago. 

He shares with them that he had left Alpha Centauri at the age of 87 to die in space. The same creature who has brought them onto the planet brought him here. Zefram calls the cloud his companion. Kirk uses the translator and gets in contact with the cloud. He understands that they provide each other companionship, especially the "companion" supported Cochrane's chances to survive and – loves him. By now, Cochrane has fallen in love with Nancy Hedford, who is terminally ill. And she dies. Before she is dead the companion unites with Nancy, though this means for the cloud to give up it's immortality. Cochrane and the relived Nancy stay on the planet together and the crew leaves for the Enterprise.