White Walls - Star Trek TOS fanfic screenplay - Chapter 3

“These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise”. These words shaped much of my growing up, when I watched Captain James Kirk take on adversary after adversary and win over challenging situations. As a tribute to the magnificent series which has had so many spin-offs and movies, I wrote a fan fiction screenplay of what might be one episode of the Star Trek show. I’ll publish the entire screenplay chapter by chapter. Enjoy!

Disclaimer - Star Trek and all related marks, logos and characters are solely owned by CBS Studios Inc. This fan fiction screenplay is not endorsed by, sponsored by, nor affiliated with CBS, Paramount Pictures, or any other Star Trek franchise, and is a non-commercial fan-made screenplay intended for recreational use. Feel free to use this screenplay as you see fit. No alleged independent rights will be asserted against CBS or Paramount Pictures. (This disclaimer is a modified clause from https://www.startrekcontinues.com)

The entire series is here - https://balaramadurai.net/series/white-walls

Here’s the screenplay:

Title: White Walls
version: 2.0
credit: Screenplay by
author: Bala Ramadurai
format: screenplay
source: Story by Bala Ramadurai
Edited by: Anita Nagarajan
contact: bala@balaramadurai.net

# Chapter 3

INT. USS ENTERPRISE SICK BAY

McCoy and Nurse Chapel examine Joanna’s life sensor readings. The K3 indicator, indicating the level of pain, seems to decrease. At the same time, they find the indicator lamp on the device on Joanna’s shoulder turning green.

JOANNA
Where am I? Father, is that really you?

MCCOY
Yes, it's me, Joanna. Are you in a position to speak?

JOANNA
Yes, Dad. May I call you Dad?

MCCOY
(smiling)
Yes.

JOANNA
(looking all around)
Where am I?

MCCOY
You are onboard the USS Enterprise. We are orbiting Caperna IV.

JOANNA
You must get out of here as soon as possible. They will get you, get each one of you. She knows you are here.

MCCOY
Try to relax. Nurse...

Nurse Chapel comes toward Joanna with a hypo injection.

JOANNA
(signaling Nurse Chapel to stop)
No, Dad. I want to tell you about Caperna IV, the slave planet. I don't think I have much time left.

JOANNA
The Radiant. I was aboard the Radiant as a weapons specialist. We were charting this area, when the Captain received a distress call. When we attained orbit, nuclear missiles knocked out our weapons system and our shields were strained. Our Captain, Manjula Naomi Radha, beamed down never to return. All of us were forced to join...

JOANNA
The pain... Aaaaaaa...

Joanna passes out again. The device on her shoulder turns red. The K3 indicator increased to 90% of the maximum level.

MCCOY
The pain level seems to be going up every time she comes around. We'll keep her under sedation. We can't risk waking her up again as the next wave of pain may be fatal.

INT. CAPERNA IV HIGH COMMAND CENTER

Slotta, Captain Kirk, Spock and a few white robed women sit at a dinner table, decked up with white flowers, wine, and a grand feast.

SLOTTA
I apologize, Captain, for my earlier hostility. We, at Caperna IV, are hospitable by nature. But due to experiences of the past, we were forced to be circumspect about how we deal with strangers.

KIRK
I am glad to hear that. I haven’t seen an ounce of your hospitality yet. I hold my position that we are here because of the distress call.

SLOTTA
Yes, Captain, you are quite correct, there was a scrambled message from our side. The source of that message seems to have disappeared. We will track down that source using our device, Tekron. You, no doubt, have noticed the harmless looking Tekron on our shoulders.

KIRK
Is that how you have made all your citizens slaves?

SLOTTA
Captain, you misunderstand the grand design here. This is a device which is meant to increase their efficiency of thinking and working. These people are primarily artists, peasants, desk clerks, operators... Very simple minds.

KIRK
You torture them if you they don't listen to you?

SLOTTA
Efficiency does come at a cost. We can, of course, switch channels and pain takes the place of efficiency and dreams. The mind can tolerate only a certain level of pain. That is not true for Vulcans though, right, Mister Spock?

SPOCK
Fascinating!

KIRK
Why have you imprisoned these people?

SLOTTA
(smiling)
These people are free to go whenever they want. They can go wherever they want. The device is the last resort. I am a visitor from another star system. When I arrived, these people were peaceful and content with their surroundings. All they knew was agriculture and fishing. They were like sheep. And the sheep needed a goatherd. The only way I saw that development could happen here was through higher ambitions and technological progress. High intellectual growth.

SPOCK
Fascinating!

SLOTTA
Quite the contrary, Mister Spock. It was hard work and they wouldn't listen. They kept going back to their tree-hugging satisfied ways of life. They were proud of their agrarian ways. Then, I found a way. Women! I ingrained in the Capernian women, the fear of a progress-less society, the fear of stagnation and the fear of having very little for their future. At first they resisted, however, some of them joined the ranks and started convincing other women. Soon, the revolution kicked in and the women recruited men and supervised them. I gave them the Tekron device and the dream weaver.

SPOCK
Dream weaver? That is what registered as the energy source on my tricorder. How did you build the dream weaver?

SLOTTA
Captain Radha from the Radiant was mighty helpful. You remember, Captain Radha, don't you? Charming woman. She commanded the people here and built the dream weaver and improved the rudimentary Tekron to what it is today. Captain Kirk, it's a shame you didn't promote her up the ranks when she was serving aboard the Enterprise.

KIRK
We go by regulations, not by whims and fancies.

SPOCK
Captain, if I may? How do these people get these dreams and what are they calculating?

Kirk waved his hand and gestured Spock to continue.

SLOTTA
The machine interacts with the Tekron to generate intense dreams and problems to solve. Very compelling visions of the future and extremely tough problems to solve. These dreams made the men appear very powerful and their brains performed intense calculations. All these men are connected through the dream weaver. Since they were simple folks to begin with, their original ambitions were limited to large farms and more agrarian produce.

KIRK
Is that why you send fake distress calls to lure spaceships? So that you can get better dreams and ambitions from the crews?

SLOTTA
Quite correct, Captain. It was your Captain Radha who gave us this idea. Under a lot of pain from the Tekron, of course. From the starships, we got better equipment, highly ambitious and trained men and women. These trained men provided us ambitions far greater than any Capernian men thought was even possible, even to dream. But the local men were able to learn from the men from the Star Fleet Academy.

KIRK
Did they refuse to bow down to your ways?

SLOTTA
Oh yes, they did. There were men who refused or were willing to wait on the peripheries while the other men leapt ahead. There were times when the men wanted to return home. The women would motivate them even further for higher ambitions.

SLOTTA
(signalling to two of her Lieutenants)
I would like you to take a tour of our facility. Ladies, please give the captain and his deputy white robes.

SPOCK
Why white robes? Why the white walls?

SLOTTA
White has always been considered a sign of purity, innocence and yet, has all the colors. They represent the intelligence and the creavitity of individuals. The amalgamation of individuals forming the whole. We also found that white doesn't distract.

KIRK
(gets up and dons the white robe)
Do you plan to get rid of us, Slotta?

SLOTTA
(laughing)
Oh no. Why would I get rid of the finest and the most ambitious federation starship captain and his highly trained crew?

KIRK
(holding the table)
Crew? What about my crew? Leave the crew out of this, Slotta.

SLOTTA
I loved that lady's voice the first time, I heard it. Even her name is like music to my ears. What's her name?

KIRK
Uhura?

SLOTTA
Oh yes, Uhura. Uhura...

Uhura walks in dressed in a white robe with a Tekron on her shoulder and a gun in her right hand.

KIRK
Uhura, listen to me. Your place is on the enterprise. You are part of the finest crew in the fleet. Remember our mission on the enterprise.

UHURA
My ambitions drive me and I am a part of the fleet. My crew is on its way. Many more are joining me.

SLOTTA
Captain, it's no use. The best way is for you to join our fleet here. You can give this planet a chance and you will realize that this is the best for you and your crew.

Slotta deftly pinned the Tekron on the captain Kirk's right shoulder.

SLOTTA
Now, do you see the truth, Captain?

Kirk looked blank for a few seconds and then turned to look at Slotta, with a smile.

SLOTTA
LEAVE US.

Spock, Uhura and all the lady guards left the room. Slotta held the captain's hand and Kirk advanced toward Slotta.

KIRK
Now, I see your truth, Slotta, my love.