Cassandra (Phase II)

"Cassandra" was the second of 13 regular episode scripts prepared for the abortive development of the television series Star Trek: Phase II. Although the episode went unproduced, a detailed synopsis was published in the reference work Phase II: The Lost Series.

In this story, in the Phase II continuity, a cute little animal sparked the threat of planetary civil war.

Publisher's description

 * Story Introduction
 * Both "The Trouble With Tribbles" and "A Piece of the Action" are longtime family favorites, and this story about a clumsy yeoman and a tiny, trouble-causing creature might easily have joined their ranks.

Summary
A peace conference resolved centuries-long feuding between humanoid species Breet and Manlikt of the planet. The USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) ferried Manlikt foreign minister Hibchiba back from the conference, then brought him to the surface via a shuttlecraft. Once back on the hangar deck, the shuttle was being cleaned by Yeoman Myra Kart when she found a large egg. She picked it up, clumsily dropped it, then put the cracked egg in a bag and left it in sickbay with Leonard McCoy and Christine Chapel.

Shortly afterward, the doctors witnessed the egg hatch. They were stunned to see a little creature named emerge and state in a deep voice, "Oh, my, if you aren't just the cutest little old bug..." When Kart returned a few minutes later, she spotted the animal, cuddled it, and said, "Oh, my, if you aren't just the cutest little old bug..." The animal replied, "How come you never smile?" Kart brought Cassandra to the recreation room, where she overheard a crewman comment to Xon, "How come you never smile?"

Meanwhile, the Manlikt government became distraught — their most sacred object, an oracle, had disappeared. It was located near the landing site of the shuttle, and a Breet agent was discovered nearby. Manlikt threatened to destroy the planet with a doomsday bomb if the object was not returned within six hours. As Xon returned to the bridge, Kirk ordered the ship to yellow alert and Willard Decker widened the ship's orbit. The Breet government proclaimed its innocence, but nonetheless prepared its military, perhaps to strike first. Nyota Uhura hailed Hibchiba, who described the missing object as a large egg. Xon deduced that it must have been hidden in the shuttle by the Breet agent. When Kirk broadcast a ship-wide alert about the egg, Kart reported to the bridge and told him everything that had happened.

McCoy and Chapel brought the animal to the bridge. Hibchiba was elated to see Cassandra on his viewscreen. He said he would personally retrieve it after settling the diplomatic situation with the Breet. Kirk asked Kart to take Cassandra below, which she interpreted to mean to Montgomery Scott in engineering. When three representatives from the foreign minister's office signaled to say they would bring back Cassandra, Pavel Chekov thought it was a prudent security measure and Kirk approved it. Kart and Cassandra were in the transporter room when Scott beamed up the three Manlikts. Scott asked her to turn up the corridor lights, but she hit the intruder control circuits by mistake, trapping the representatives and spraying them with water jets. The water blasted away disguises, exposing then as Breet agents. Cassandra exclaimed, "People of Manlikt, this is a historical, nay, an epochal moment." Xon explained to Kirk, based on earlier observations, that they would hear this statement in four minutes and forty seconds.

Hibchiba awarded Kart with a gold medal for exposing the Breet spies. Kirk promoted Kart for the good she'd done, then demoted her for the chaos she'd caused. Xon expressed compassion for Kart, stating that, despite her failings, she neither broke regulations nor repeated a mistake. McCoy appreciated Xon's efforts on her behalf. Xon replied, "Compassion is a lot easier than smiling".

Characters

 * • Christine Chapel • Pavel Chekov • Willard Decker • Hibchiba • Ilia • James T. Kirk • Leonard McCoy • Myra Kart • Montgomery Scott • Nyota Uhura • Xon

Starships and vehicles

 * USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) (refit heavy cruiser) • Shuttle

Locations


Earth

Races and cultures

 * Breet • Deltan • Human • Manlikt • Vulcan

States and organizations

 * Starfleet (command division • operations division • sciences division)

Science and technology

 * bomb • communications • communicator • intercom • transporter • viewscreen

Ranks and titles

 * chief engineer • captain • crew member • doctor • Federation Starfleet ranks (2270s) • first officer • foreign minister • guard • rank • security officer • spy • Starfleet ranks • yeoman

Other references

 * animal • atmosphere • beam • bird • bridge • brig • bug • century • condition yellow • compassion • conference • demerit • egg • engineering • glass • gold • hour • kilometer • lifeform • logic • meter • minute • orbit • peace • poker • recreation room • Starfleet General Orders and Regulations • Sacred Monitor • second • sickbay • sports and games • Starfleet regulations • steel • time • treaty • water

Background

 * Other clumsy characters like Myra Kart included Karla (Tizarin), Ivar Sorensen (Human), and T'Vau (Vulcan), though none were Starfleet officers serving aboard a Federation starship.
 * The summary did not explain how got its name. The animal was physically described as small, cute, bird-like (because it hatched from an egg), and a bug.

Related stories

 * – In 2264, Yeoman Pandora Trask inadvertently released disembodied Vulcan furies from a storage room.
 * – In 2267, cute, little, furry tribbles became a nuisance aboard the Enterprise.
 * – Cute, little, furry beavos drained life energy.
 * – In 2268, a teddy-bear-like, empathic Bandi-bear radiated intense emotions.
 * – In 2268, a pet waul projected emotions of panic.