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6. Evidence always matters
Back aboard the Enterprise, the mystery deepens with a series of corpses, each found with all salt drained. Kirk grows increasingly suspicious, while Mr. Spock and McCoy conduct rigorous examinations to rule out the easy explanations. A key moment occurs when Darnell’s official cause of death (plant poisoning) is dismissed through evidence of salt deprivation.
For anyone faced with deception, alien or otherwise, survival means following the facts, not assumptions, and being willing to discard convenient answers. The investigators' step-by-step approach to evidence inspires the right suspicion and ultimately leads the crew toward the terrifying truth: something is stalking them, and it hides behind familiar faces.