The Terratin Incident

While studying the remains of a supernova, the Enterprise picks up a centuries-old Earth code containing the word “Terratin”. Approaching its source, the ship is struck by a beam of radiation that shatters the dilithium crystals and makes the crew shrink, until they are far too small to work the controls. Kirk finds that the transporter can restore his normal size and beams down to the volcanic planet below, where he discovers a miniature city. Back aboard, he threatens to open fire unless his missing bridge crew are returned. The Terratins explain that they are descended from a lost Earth colony whose people were made smaller, generation by generation, by radiation from the dying star. The beam was a plea for help, not an attack, because their planet is tearing itself apart. They supply fresh dilithium, the crew are restored, and the Enterprise carries the entire city to a new home on the planet Verdanus.