The Slaver Weapon

TAS Season 1 Episode 14
Air Date: December 15th, 1973

Plot

Spock, Uhura and Sulu are transporting an artifact in a shuttle craft that the Enterprise discovered to Star Base 25. The artifact is known as Slaver's Box. The Slavers were a race that ruled the galaxy a billion years ago but had an extinction event that reset the galaxies development. They left these boxes scattered around the galaxy that are time locked boxes that could contain anything. Spock mentions that one box contained a belt that eventually led to learning about artificial gravity, yet another had a grenade with the pin already pulled that was more destructive then anything the Federation ever encountered.

The Slaver's Box has a side effect of glowing when close to another Slaver's Box which is what happens. Spock's curiosity got the better of him and he fell into a trap by a cat like race known as the Kzinti who were not supposed to have weapons due to losing wars against the Federation in the past. They used an empty Slaver's Box to lure Spock with his unopened box to them. They open it and find a handheld device that transforms into a bunch of different tools.

The Kzinti can't figure out how to use it but Spock does and realize that it has a computer built into it. He convicnes the Kzinti that the computer can teach them how to use the weapon knowing that the computer would recognize that the Kzinti were not it's creator and it self destructed killing all the Kzinti.

Commentary

The Kzinti are actually from a different Science Fiction works known as "Known Space" by Larry Niven. They were used in this episode and were going to be used in a Star Trek property that never got released.

Quotes

"Mr. Spock, if it takes a stasis box to find another stasis box, how did anyone ever find the first one?" - Sulu

"As with a number of discoveries, purely by accident, lieutenant." - Spock

"Lieutenant Uhura, this may be crucial. In the presence of the Kzinti, do not say anything. Do not do anything startling. Try to look harmless." - Spock

"Any special reason?" - Uhura

"Are you forgetting Kzinti females are dumb animals? In an emergency, the Kzinti may forget a human female is an intelligent creature." - Spock

"Thanks. Thanks a lot!" - Uhura

"Lieutenant, I value your intelligence, but we may be able to seize an opportunity to escape if the Kzinti believe you have none." - Spock