Galileo VII

On a stellar date 2821.5, an Enterprise Federation starship , under the command of Captain James Kirk, is sent to the planet Macus III with cargo on board. In the near future, the ship should deliver the vaccine to the New Paris colony in order to suppress the epidemic raging there. Right along the Murasaki 312 course is an amorphous quasaroid shapeless structure that Enterprise is about to explore. On board is also Commissioner Ferris, who is against research, and his duty is to ensure that the drugs are delivered on time. Kirk reassures him, saying that there are two days left, and the study of such phenomena is nothing but one of the main responsibilities of the Enterprise. A scientific group is being organized, which includes Spock , senior physician Leonard McCoy , chief engineer Montgomery Scott, and four other crew members. The group on the space shuttle Galileo, numbered NCC-1701/7, is sent inside a quasaroid formation.

Shortly after entering the quasar, the sensors and communications begin to intermittently and then completely fail. The shuttle case is exposed to ionization and strong radiation, the pulse cannot be turned off, and the device draws it into the Murasaki center. At Enterprise, they receive only fragments of the message from the shuttle, the starship devices also underwent strong ionization and show incredible rates. Soon the ship loses the shuttle on its radar. Galileo makes a hard landing on the planet Taurus II, located exactly in the center of the quasar. Members of the Latimer and Gaetano group set off on a reconnaissance mission and soon encounter huge humanoids armed with primitive weapons comparable to the Stone Age . One of the huge spears pierces Latimer and he falls dead. A partner hits the creature with a phaser . Lieutenant Bohma is amazed that the death of Latimer cares Spock less than the killed crew member. Spock answers that it’s illogical to lament over the dead, since it will not be possible to return him. After returning to the shuttle, the team realizes that the humanoids are preparing for a massive attack on people. Contrary to protests, Spock orders not to kill aliens, but only to scare them.

At this time, Kirk seems most likely that the Galileo landed on Taurus II and he sends a starship there. Ferris is dissatisfied with this and demands to move further faster, but Kirk is not able to leave his comrades and convinces the commissioner to wait. Three landing groups are sent from the Enterprise to search for the missing. The Columbus shuttle enters a low orbit to search directly from there. One of the landing groups returns with a message about a collision with aggressive giant creatures.

After examining the damage, Scotty concludes that the only remaining energy source is phasers. To lift the shuttle into orbit, the weapons of all members of the group will be required. Meanwhile, the crew is concerned about the prospect of being left without a single way of protection. The engineer also reports that the shuttle can withstand only the weight of five people. Spock says he will choose who to stay on the planet. The time given to Kirk for the search expires and he, under pressure from Farres, returns all the search groups on board. The Enterprise is removed from shaving and begins to move at normal speed, although the rear cameras are aimed at the planet with maximum magnification. The Galileo hardly manages to take off, but before that another person dies, so Spock does not have to make a choice. Having risen and entering orbit, the shuttle still fails to contact the ship due to strong ionization. The group remains hopeful that they will be spotted on the Enterprise before the shuttle runs out of fuel and it burns out in the atmosphere of the planet.

Spock decides to take a desperate step, he throws the remaining fuel overboard and sets it on fire. Members of his team cannot understand why he did this, but the Vulcan convinces them that there was logic in his actions. At the last moment on the Enterprise, they notice a fire trail and the starship immediately turns back to the planet. The Galileo crew succeeds in teleporting on board in time before the shuttle caught fire in the atmosphere.

After it was all over, on the captain’s bridge, Kirk asks Spock to admit that he set fire to the fuel as a result of an emotional outburst. Spock stoically notes that, in his opinion, this desperate measure was the most logical. Kirk and the rest of the crew burst out laughing. ^[2]

In 2006, for the fortieth anniversary of the series, all episodes were remastered. Sound and video were improved, and Enterprise became a fully computer model. An updated version of this episode was released on September 15, 2007. Specifically, the following changes were also made to this episode:

• Murasaki was re-drawn, computer animation made it look more like a black hole .
• The Galileo and Columbus were completely replaced by computer models.
• Planet Taurus II has been replaced by a more realistic one with a rocky surface and great cloud cover.
• Computer animation made it possible to show realistic shuttle combustion in the atmosphere.
• The color of the trace left by the burned fuel changed from red to green.

Zach Handlen of The AV Club rated the episode "B", noting that the series raises a number of interesting questions that you can think about. On the whole, he described this episode as focused on battles ^[3] .

A full-sized model of the shuttle changed several owners, and in 2012 it was sold at auction in disrepair. The new owners restored the shuttle for nine months and it acquired its original form. In 2013, the model was donated by NASA . July 31, 2013 at the Space Center Museum in Houston, the shuttle is put on public display ^[4] .

• Galileo VII on StarTrek.com
• Galileo VII in the Memory Alpha Encyclopedia
• " Galileo VII "" on the Internet Movie Database
• Galileo VII on TV.com
• Galileo VII Comparison of the frames of the original and updated versions on TrekMovie.com