Khan Noonien Soong, driven by his revenge on Kirk, who once dropped him and his genetically enhanced crew on a lonely planet, kidnaps Capt. Terrell and Chekov, who are on a planetary survey mission for the Genesis project. Khan seizes command of their ship, the USS Reliant, and steals the powerful Genesis device that is capable of creating Class-M planets from any form of matter. The scientists who developed the device, among them Carol Marcus, who once dated Kirk, and their common son David, are trapped on the planetoid Regula, from where the Enterprise rescues them before taking on Khan. After losing the fierce battle in the Mutara Nebula, Khan activates the device. Spock sacrifices his life to repair the Enterprise's warp drive and to save the ship from the imminent explosion of the Genesis device. His body remains on the newly created planet Genesis.