"Daöse Kida," said Spock as McCoy led him down the corridor, "may I ask you a few questions?"

"Certainly," she responded.

"So, I will eventually lose my senses," said Spock, "and Dr. McCoy, Sulu and Captain Kirk are also at risk of catching this disease. Is that correct?"

"Yes."

"Fascinating," Spock mused. "Does it always hit so fast?"

"No," said Kida. 'This is quite remarkable. Usually it takes around a week for the first sense to be lost."

"And after the first sense is lost, how long does it take for the next sense to begin to fade away?"

"Again, around a week."

"Have many of your people caught this disease?"

"Nearly half have shown symptoms. It has devastated us. We have found no common factor among those affected."

"Tell me, Daöse Kida," said Spock, "has Princess Zila been able to tell you anything about what happened to her on the Phobotian ship?"

"Not yet," said Kida, "although it's wonderful how well she's doing. She is calmer and less afraid, and she is thinking more clearly than she has in years. I think she may be ready to tell us."

"Indeed?" said Spock, raising an eyebrow. "How interesting that she should recover in such conditions. Captain Kirk, I believe you should speak with her."

"I will," said Kirk, as they stepped towards the door. After Spock, Sulu, and McCoy had entered, Kirk pulled Kida aside. "Kida—is there anything we can do for Spock? Is there any hope for him?"

"You are our hope, Captain Kirk," said Kida. "We will do everything we can to help you, but you must teach us what to do and help us if we are to find the cure and recover those who are lost."

"We'll do what we can," said Kirk.

Kirk walked into the room. He wasn't quite sure what he was going to say to Princess Zila, but he had handled mind-controllers before, so shouldn't he be able to handle someone who couldn't even control her own mind?

Princess Zila was standing, looking out a window at the stars. She wore loose red pants and a loose red sleeveless shirt, with a red cord around each wrist and ankle. She turned as Kirk and Kida entered. "Greetings, Princess Zila. I am Captain Kirk," Kirk began.

"Captain…Captain…Captain Easton," Zila murmured. "He is very kind. Kida wore green for him—he did not understand, but she was so happy. He, too, would have worn green, but he was not fles Meinuit. Now she wears red, and he wears white." She fell abruptly silent and turned back to the window.

"Princess Zila," said Kirk, "could you tell me what happened when the Phobotians took you onto their ships?"

"They came onto the ships," said Zila. "They found on a computer the list of all the Federation men and women. They had my father the king and my mother the queen. They made my parents stand against the wall, and pointed pieces of metal at them."

"Phasers," Kirk realized.

"They did this to me also," continued Zila. "I was very afraid. I screamed and tried to fight them, but they tied me down. I did not know then what they were going to do, or I would not have acted that way."

"What?" burst out Kirk. Zila continued as if she had not heard.

"They sent their voice throughout each ship, calling the names from the list of Federation crew members and saying that if each one did not come, I and my parents would be killed. Everyone came. Then they made us all go to their ships. We were all afraid. They shut us in a room. And then—" Zila smiled. "I understood."

"What do you mean, Princess Zila?" Kirk asked.

"I was still very afraid," she said, "but the voices that taunt me were gone. I was afraid for the others—what I saw happening to them—but not for myself, since they had helped me. I did not understand why they had done this, but I saw what was real. But—" her voice dropped to a whisper—"they took it away from me again, and—" her voice had slowly risen, and now she was screaming—"they took my father the king, and my mother the queen, and—"

"Captain Kirk, I'm sorry, but I think you should leave," said Kida, hurrying to the princess.

Kirk left, but all the way down the corridor, Zila's cries rang in his ears—"Stop it! Wake up! Can't you hear me, father? Can't you see? Can't anyone? Wake up!"

Back in the room Kida had shown them to, McCoy was checking Spock over. "I have no idea what this disease could be," he said. "Except for this blindness, you're perfectly fine."

"Dr. McCoy, may I suggest that you check my other senses as well? The disease seems to be progressing quite rapidly in me, and it is logical to assume that—"

"Oh, quiet, Spock, can't you see I'm—" McCoy stopped. All at once his anger began to ebb, and he calmed down. "I'm sorry, Spock. I guess I'm just under stress."

"That's quite all right, Doctor," Spock replied.

"We'll begin with your sense of smell," said McCoy, pulling a tube out of his bag. He opened it and gave it to Spock, who held it under his nose. "Do you smell anything?"

"I detect a faint odor, but that is all," said Spock.

"What is that awful stuff, Doctor?" said Sulu, who was sitting across the room from them. "I can smell it from here!"

Just then, Kirk entered. "Bones, something stinks in here," he said.

"I've just been checking everyone's sense of smell," said McCoy. "You, Sulu, and I passed with flying colors. Spock, however, is failing. He can barely smell it."

"Is there anything you can do?" said Kirk.

"I'm going to attempt to isolate the agent causing the disease so I can study it," said McCoy. "It's all I can do at this point."

"That's all right, Bones," said Kirk distractedly. "Do you have my transmitter?" McCoy handed it to him, and he flipped it open. "Kirk to Enterprise, do you read me?"

"Scotty here, Captain. I read you."

"Scotty, have Chekhov locate the nearest Phobotian fleet."

"Why don't you just send Spock back and have him do it?" said Scotty. "He's the one who does all the detecting. Chekhov doesn't know how to do half of it."

"Scotty." Kirk paused. "There's a disease on this ship. Spock's already caught it. We can't beam back or we'll spread it to you. Now, if you'll tell Chekhov to find that fleet."

"Aye, Captain."

"And tell Starfleet Command that an unknown number of Federation officers and crew members under Captain Harry Easton have been taken captive by the Phobotians. We're going to rescue them, so when you locate the fleet, head toward them. Give us a power boost, and we'll follow you with this fleet."

"Aye, Captain." There was a silence. "How bad is Spock, Captain?"

"He's in great danger, Scotty. We just need to find those Phobotians. They may have the cure."

"Aye, Captain."

"Kirk out." Kirk flipped the transmitter shut and turned. "Sulu, why don't we go have a look at the controls of this ship?" Sulu did not respond. "Sulu!" Kirk barked.

"Yes, Captain," said Sulu, springing to his feet.

"Didn't you hear me?" said Kirk.

"No, Captain," said a bewildered Sulu as they left the room.