Fairest of Them All

The episode opens in the closing moments of “Mirror, Mirror”, as our Kirk urges the Terran Empire's Spock to seize power and seek peace before the landing parties swap back. Restored to his own ship, the mirror Kirk demands the Halkans' dilithium and, when they refuse, wipes them out with a torpedo barrage that destroys the crystals too. Three Andorian ships witness the massacre and reject Terran rule, sparking open revolt. When Spock refuses to fire on them, Kirk triggers the Tantalus field to eliminate him, only to discover that Marlena has quietly disabled it. Spock recruits Scotty, seizes auxiliary control and gathers a growing band of mutineers, but he rejects Marlena's suggestion to turn the Tantalus device on Kirk, arguing that a revolution built on the old regime's methods is doomed. Isolated, Kirk invites Spock to the officers' lounge to talk terms, then tries to shoot him, but Spock has already dampened every weapon. In the brawl that follows, Kirk sneers that his crew are expendable pawns, unaware that Spock is broadcasting every word throughout the ship. Arrested, Kirk and a few loyalists are cast off in a shuttlecraft. Spock takes command, knowing the Empire will hunt them, and orders the helm forward.