- Spock, Kirk, Bones, and Sybok are in a shuttle approaching the planet, which shines blue with swirling energy.
- When the shuttle enters the planet's atmosphere, Spock announces that he's lost control of the craft, though it lands perfectly. This is getting trippy, folks.
- Our heroes emerge onto the surface, a beautiful desert landscape bathed in purple light. They head for a large formation of rocks in the distance.
- As the crew aboard Enterprise watches this momentous scene, complete with swelling music, we see an alert announcing the approach of the Klingons. No one else notices this, however.
- Sybok looks around, expecting something to happen, but nothing does. He takes to shouting wildly, which is never a good look.
- Spock approaches his confused half-brother. Before he can say anything, though, the land starts violently quaking. The sky turns dark, except for a bright light being emitted from one of the rocks.
- Suddenly, the rocks expand and grow, forcing the group to move back. When the dust settles, they find themselves in a large rocky structure that's got a bit of a Stonehenge thing going on.
- A small mass of smoke and electricity forms ahead. Suddenly, it explodes into a massive beam of bright blue energy that also happens to speak English. Handy.
- The thing welcomes the crew members and calls them "brave souls." McCoy wonders aloud if this is the voice of God, and the blue energy beam responds by saying, "One soul, many faces."
- Fair enough.
- We see images of various deities swooping through the energy field before the thing finally settles on the traditional Western image of God: an old dude with long, white hair and a bushy beard.
- Sybok walks toward the energy form. God—that's his name, right?—asks Sybok if Enterprise can "carry [his] wisdom beyond the barrier."
- Will do, says Sybok. Kirk interrupts: why does God need a starship? He's God, right?
- Kirk demands "proof" of God's divinity. God responds with a shot of electricity from his eyeballs. Spock speaks up and gets blasted just the same. Ditto with McCoy.
- Finally, God reveals the truth—he's not a deity but a prisoner on this planet. He wants to use Enterprise to escape.
- Sybok is shocked. He demands that God reveal himself. God responds by taking Sybok's own form.
- Now defiant, Sybok leaps into the swell of energy. There's a massive explosion.
- Kirk orders Enterprise to launch torpedoes directly at their location. Kirk and company leap away at the last second.
- Luckily, the blue guy seems down for the count. He lets loose a death shriek as our surviving heroes run toward their shuttle.
- The shuttle isn't working. Kirk tells Scotty to beam up McCoy and Spock ASAP.
- McCoy and Spock beam aboard just as the Klingons' onslaught begins. Things are getting real.
- Back on the surface, the shuttle is blasted by blue energy, which sends Kirk running once again. Seems like the blue guy isn't so dead, after all.
- Klaa contacts Enterprise. He says he'll destroy the ship if they arm weapons or raise their shields. He'll only let them live if they give him Kirk.
- Spock enlists General Korrd's assistance in this little parlay.
- Meanwhile, Kirk scales a mountain while the blue baddie follows. Looks like Kirk is stuck between a rock and a hard place, eh?
- We're the best at jokes.
- Suddenly, the Klingon warship appears and readies its weapons. But it doesn't blast Kirk—it blasts the baddie. Huh?
- The Klingons transport Kirk aboard. Two warriors drag him to the bridge.
- General Korrd is there. He makes Klaa apologize for his unsanctioned attack on Enterprise. Even more surprisingly, Spock is revealed to have been manning the ship's weapons the whole time.