- The computer of the Enterprise gains partial sentience and a taste for playing practical jokes on the crew.
- In the midst of a stand-off with the Rimulans, The Enterprise's computer systems, gain partial sentience, and with it, starts playing practical jokes upon the crew, which leads to a dangerous life-and-death battle with Romulans.—Tony-B4
- In the midst of a stand-off with the Romulans (3 Romulan ships ambush the Enterprise by hiding behind an asteroid as Enterprise came in to study it. Romulans charge Kirk of invading Romulan space, while Kirk denies all charges). Kirk turns the ship away from the Romulans, but they are pursued. The Enterprise, during its escape, passes through an energy field which drifted into its path. It was not on any of navigational charts. The field is made of highly charged subatomic particles. The Enterprise's computer systems, gain partial sentience (after they pass through an unidentified energy field (to hide from the Romulans)). The Romulans don't go through the energy field and turn back instead. Thus, the Enterprise is safe.
It starts playing practical jokes upon the crew. Its starts harmlessly as the lead crew members spill drinks on each other due to oddly shaped glasses, rubber cutlery that wont cut food, food machines that deliver the wrong orders and so on.. Equipment that leaves black marks around the eyes, "Kirk is a Jerk" printed behind Kirk's uniform, the whole deck of the Enterprise covered with ice.. Initially the crew thinks that they have a prankster amongst their midst. But the practical jokes continue for far too long, and crew finds them less and less amusing.
The entire crew is slowly on edge as friends are accusing friends of sabotage. Kirk and the crew start hearing laughing noises of a lady every time a prank is played. Spock identifies this as the voice of the ship's computer
McCoy, Uhura and Sulu are taking a walk in the woods in the Rec Room. The Computer creates a trap for them (a hole dug into the ground camouflaged with leaves and tree branches) and they all fall into it. The computer wont allow Kirk to contact his missing officers and when McCoy is displeased with the prankster, the computer puts them into an ice age. Due to the whiteout conditions inside the rec room, they are unable to find the exit. Kirk orders Scott to shut down all logic functions on the ship, but the computer reverses gravity on the ship as a defense mechanism.
Spock theorizes that the energy field impacted the computer as bacteria would impact a human and the computer is having the equivalent of a nervous breakdown. Then the computer pumps the ship with laughing gas. Scott pumps emergency air to save the crew and then uses crowbars to pry open the rec room and save the 3 missing officers from freezing over.
The computer takes full control of the ship and heads towards the Romulan neutral zone. As the ship nears the Romulan space, it floats and inflates a balloon replica of the Enterprise, which is 20 times its own size. The Romulans attacks the balloon and realize that they have been made fools of. The Romulans take pride in their honor and are livid that the Enterprise made fools of them. They pursue the Enterprise.
Now Kirk pretends to be petrified from the energy field, and when the computer realizes this, it drives straight towards that field. Turns out this was gambit by Kirk to cure the computer of its bacteria. The Romulans follow the Enterprise into the Energy field, adamant on seeking their revenge. But now the bacteria are on the Romulan ship's computers.
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