"Balance of Terror" Line-by-Line!

[Brian]

KIRK: Go ahead, Mister Styles. I called this session for opinions.

 

[Alienesse]

STILES: We have to attack immediately.

 

[Admiral Shran]

KIRK: Explain.

 

[Alienesse]

STILES: They're still on our side of the Neutral Zone. There would be no doubt they broke the treaty.

 

[Admiral Shran]

SULU: Attack, without a visible target? How do we aim our phasers?

 

[Alienesse]

STILES: Aim with sensors. Not accurate, but if we blanket them

 

[Admiral Shran]

SULU: And hope for a lucky shot before they zero in on us?

 

[Alienesse]

STILES: And if we don't? Once back, they'll report that we saw their weapons and ran.

 

[Admiral Shran]

SULU: And if they could report they destroyed us?

 

[Alienesse]

STILES: These are Romulans! You run away from them and you guarantee war. They'll be back. Not just one ship but with everything they've got. You know that, Mister Science Officer. You've the expert on these people, always left out that one point. Why? I'm very interested in why.

 

[Admiral Shran]

KIRK: Sit down, Mister.

 

[Alienesse]

SPOCK: I agree. Attack.

 

[Admiral Shran]

KIRK: Are you suggesting we fight to prevent a fight?

 

[Alienesse]

MCCOY: Based on what? Memories of a war over a century ago? On theories about a people we've never even met face to face?

 

[Admiral Shran]

STILES: We know what they look like.

 

[Alienesse]

SPOCK: Yes, indeed we do, Mister Stiles. And if Romulans are an offshoot of my Vulcan blood, and I think this likely, then attack becomes even more imperative.

 

[Admiral Shran]

MCCOY: War is never imperative, Mister Spock.

 

[Brian]

SPOCK: It is for them, Doctor. Vulcan, like Earth, had its aggressive colonizing period. Savage, even by Earth standards. And if Romulans retain this martial philosophy, then weakness is something we dare not show.

 

[Alienesse]

MCCOY: Do you want a galactic war on your conscience?

 

[Admiral Shran]

KIRK: Captain to Bridge.