"Wolf in the Fold" is a second season episode of Star Trek: The Original Series. It is episode # 36 and was first broadcast December 22, 1967. It is written by Robert Bloch, and directed by Joseph Pevney .

Quick Overview: A series of bizarre murders points to Mr. Scott as the primary suspect.

On stardate 3614.9, the starship USS Enterprise arrives at Argellius II, a planet with a middle-eastern cultural influence, where ship's Captain James T. Kirk, chief medical officer Dr. Leonard McCoy, and chief engineer Montgomery Scott, beam down for some therapeutic shore leave.

Once there, Scotty becomes enthralled by an attractive belly dancer named Kara. When her performance is over, Scotty invites her out for a walk down a fog shrouded alley. Shortly thereafter Kara is found murdered, stabbed to death, with Scotty in a state of shock and holding the murder weapon. When the knife is analyzed, only Scotty's finger prints are found on it, but Scotty claims he has no memory of the event and is sickened by the experience.

Dr. McCoy indicates that Scotty is suffering from a mild concussion, an injury caused be a previous accident aboard the Enterprise, which involved a female crew member. McCoy suggests Scotty may have developed a subconscious distrust of women, and that distrust has manifested in murder.

Mr. Hengist, from Rigel IV and the chief administrator of Argellius II, takes charge of the investigation. He immediately wants Scotty locked up suggesting he may murder again if left unsupervised, but Captain Kirk interjects. Prefect Jaris suggests that Kirk seek the advice of his wife Sybo, who is an Argellian empath. Kirk agrees but he wants Scotty monitored by a psycho probe tricorder, and orders Lt. Karen Tracy to beam down and administer the tricorder test. Meanwhile Kirk and the others question Kara's father, who reveals a suspect; Kara's former fiance, Morla, who the father says was abusive to her. Morla is brought in for questioning, but claims he has nothing to do with the killing.

Lt. Tracy begins the test on Scotty in another room, while the others set up for Sybo's meditation. Suddenly screams are heard and the other come running, finding Lt. Tracy stabbed to death and Scotty once again in a state of shock gripping the bloody murder weapon. Hengist is certain that Scotty is the cold-blooded killer, since the only other way in the room is a door that had been locked for years, but Kirk isn't convinced.

Regardless of what has happened, Jarris and his wife Sybo insist to continue with the meditation. The séance begins and Sybo falls into a deep trance focusing her mind on a monstrous evil that is present. She gives the evil several names; "Beradis", "Kesla", "Redjak", all names for a ancient entity that has intense hatred for the life of women. As Sybo's séance gets more turbulent, candles begin to blow out and the lighting starts to flicker, until the whole room goes pitch black. When the lights come back on, Sybo is dead, having been stabbed like all the others. Scotty is at her side holding her up, except this time he says he didn't black out.

Kirk has everyone beamed back to the Enterprise so that the computers can analyze Mr. Scott's testimony of innocence. Once aboard, a hearing convenes. Scotty is monitored by the computer, along with testimony by Morla to see if they are telling the truth. The computer confirms that both Scotty and Morla know nothing about the murders. Scotty insists however, that he felt the presence of a cold, evil creature during Sybo's meditation.

Mr. Spock has the computer verify if such a creature could exist. The machine confirms, and indicates the creature would most likely be incorporeal, existing as formless electromagnetic impulses, a "ghost". The computer cites some examples, the creatures of Alpha Carina V, who subsist on the emotion of love. It also suggests that the creature may take a solid form at will, as the miletus cloud creature of Alpha Madoris, that can change from gaseous to solid forms. Spock believes this "Redjac" to be an entity that gains nourishment from the fear of its victims.

Kirk decides to run the names spoken by Sybo through the computer. The machine returns information that Beratis (of Rigel IV), Kesla (of Deben II), are names given to the unresolved identities of serial killers on those worlds. It also identifies Redjac as "Red Jack", the name of the elusive 19th Century Earth serial killer, Jack the Ripper.

The computer goes on to say that Redjac may have been responsible for other killings; the murder of seven women in Shanghai, China, Earth, in 1932; five similar murders in Kiev, U.S.S.R., Earth, in 1974; eight murders of women in the Martian Colonies in 2105; and ten murders of women in Heliopolis, Alpha Eridani II in 2156. Spock notes that all these locations lie sequentially between Argellius and Earth.

The computer mentions that the Beratis killings took place on Rigel IV less than one solar year ago. This immediately implicates Mr. Hengist who had informed everyone that he recently came from Rigel IV. The computer also analyses the knife used in the killings. It's material composition matches knives crafted by the indigenous Hill People of Rigel IV.

Mr. Hengist becomes nervous, denying the evidence points to him. He then gets up and tries to dash from the room, but Captain Kirk subdues him, knocking him to the floor. Dr. McCoy checks Hengist out and discovers the man is dead.

Suddenly, the ship's computer system goes haywire, and Hengist's distorted laughter is heard throughout the ship. He makes threats that they can never catch him, and that they will all die. Spock believes the Redjac entity has somehow taken over the ship, and that the entity will become stronger, being fed off the crew's growing fear.

Dr. McCoy decides to administer a tranquilizer to everyone on the ship (which they appear "stoned" as a result). Meanwhile, Spock neutralizes Redjac's control of the ship's computer by ordering it to compute to the last digit the value of Pi, which keeps it to busy for the creature to interfere. Without further concern for their safety, everyone's fear fades, weakening Redjac's energy. The evil force renters Hengist's body, the only place it can go now, and Kirk has him rushed to the transporter room. Setting the machine to disperse Hengist's atoms, he beams him into space along with the Redjac entity, scattering it to the void of space.

External Links