[confronting Lt. Stiles] Well, here's one thing you can be sure of, mister. Leave any bigotry in your quarters, there's no room for it on the bridge. Do I make myself clear?
LSLt. Stiles
You do, sir.
All S1
S1 E15Unfinished Business
If Romulans are an offshoot of my Vulcan blood, then attack becomes even more imperative.
War is never imperative.
It is for them, Doctor. Vulcan, like Earth, had its aggressive colonizing period, savage even by Earth standards. If Romulans retain this martial philosophy, then weakness is something we dare not show.
[Kirk hails the now-damaged Romulan Bird of Prey]
Captain. Standing by to beam your survivors aboard our ship. Prepare to abandon your vessel.
No. No, that is not our way. I regret that we meet in this way. You and I are of a kind. In a different reality, I could have called you "friend".
What purpose will it serve to die?
We are creatures of duty, Captain. I have lived my life by it. Just one more duty to perform. [activates self-destruct system]
After what this ship has been through in the last three months, there is not a crewman aboard who is not in need of rest. Myself excepted, of course.
I picked this up from Dr. McCoy's log. We have a crew member on board who is showing signs of stress and fatigue. Reaction time down 9 to 12 percent. Associational reading Norm minus 3.
That's much too low a rating.
He's becoming irritable and quarrelsome, yet he refuses to take rest and rehabilitation. Now he has that right, but...we found -
A crewman's rights end where the safety of the ship begins. Now that man will go ashore on my orders. What's his name?
James Kirk.
[Realizing he's been tricked, Kirk stares somewhat balefully at Spock.]
[continuing] Enjoy yourself, Captain. It's an interesting planet. I believe you'll find it quite pleasant, very much like your Earth. Scouts have detected no animals, artifacts, or forcefields of any kind. Only peace, sunshine, and good air. You'll have no problems.
On my planet, to rest is to rest — to cease using energy. To me, it is quite illogical to run up and down on green grass, using energy, instead of saving it.
The more complex the mind, the greater the need for the simplicity of play.
I do [believe you]! I've met some interesting characters myself!
Mr. Spock, remind me to tell you that I'm sick and tired of your logic.
That is a most illogical attitude.
It is more rational to sacrifice one life than six.
I'm not talking about rationality.
You might be wise to start.
SScott
Tapping our boosters ended our last chance for a soft landing.
BBoma
You mean a burn-up?
It is the usual end of a decaying orbit.
MMears
I don't want to die up here.
Infinitely preferable to the kind of death we'd be granted on the planet's surface, I should think.
BBoma
I admire your ability to make so measured a choice.
Respect is a rational process. Didn't it ever occur to you that they might react emotionally...with anger?
Doctor, I am not responsible for their unpredictability.
They were perfectly predictable, to anyone with feeling.
I realize that command does have its fascination, even under circumstances such as these, but I neither enjoy the idea of command nor am I frightened of it. It simply exists, and I will do whatever logically needs to be done.
Mr. Spock, you said a while ago that there were always alternatives.
Did I? I may have been mistaken.
Well, at least I lived long enough to hear that.
Uh, Mr. Spock, there's really something I don't understand about all of this. And maybe you can explain it to me. Logically, of course. When you jettisoned the fuel and ignited it, you knew there was virtually no chance of it being seen, yet you did it anyhow. That would seem to be an act of desperation.
Quite correct.
We all know, and I'm sure the doctor agrees, that desperation is a highly emotional state of mind. How does your well-known logic explain that?
Quite simply, Captain. I examined the problem from all angles, and it was plainly hopeless. Logic informed me that, under the circumstances, the only possible action would have to be one of desperation. Logical decision, logically arrived at.
Aha, ha ha. I see. You mean you reasoned that it was time for an emotional outburst.
Well, I... wouldn't put it in exactly those terms, Captain, but... those are essentially the facts.
You're not going to admit that for the first time in your life, you committed a purely human, emotional act?
No, sir.
Mr. Spock, you're a stubborn man.
Yes, sir.
These quotes come from Wikiquote's Star Trek: The Original Series pages and are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.