Stardate 3192.1: Ambassador Fox is on the Enterprise to establish diplomatic relations with Eminiar VII. The planet, however, has been at war with the neighbor planet Vendikar for centuries. It is a war with simulated weapons but real casualties among the citizens that, after an "attack", have to report to disintegration chambers to be killed. The Enterprise is declared "destroyed" too, and Anan 7 of Eminiar demands from Kirk that all ship personnel beam down for disintegration. The landing party with Kirk and Spock escape from their prison and destroy a disintegration chamber. When an attempt to deceive the Enterprise with a faked message fails, Anan orders to fire on the ship with planetary disruptors, but the deflector screens hold. Fox still believes in a purely diplomatic solution and orders Scott to lower the shields, but he refuses. When Fox beams down with his assistant, they are captured and promptly brought to a disintegration chamber, but Spock saves them and disables the chamber. In the meantime Kirk has brought the war room under his control, and he destroys the computer that controls the war, forcing the Eminians to begin peace talks with their enemies.

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