Set destination, Starfleet Headquarters!

[WraithDukat]

So Khan tells the computer to set a course to Starfleet Headquarters, the computer literally takes that to mean the front door. Surely it would've made more sense to Orbit the planet. This at-least explains why we never see another automated ship till the 24th century, even then it's just runabouts. So what's the explanation:

1) Bad programming (computer programmer on the dole?)
2) He gave a previous command off screen.
3) Just another example of bad writing.

Answers on a postcard.

 

[Timo]

(To nitpick, Khan doesn't set a "course". Khan sets a "destination".)

I'd say it has to be 2 at least, regardless of all other concerns. Khan has been falling helplessly for several minutes, and obviously he hasn't been idly tapping the console or anything. After having tried a dozen things and failed, he's now giving a final command.

In any case, it doesn't much matter whether the computer thinks it's his intention to ram or to park. There are only so many options left for the ship to do, deep down in the atmosphere, and it knows anyway that it cannot really guarantee anything. Why complain about the procedure potentially being unsafe for Starfleet cadets and cute puppies when everything for the past minutes has been unsafe?

The one thing we can rule out is the computer being worried about blue-on-blue damage. The computer has been happily destroying a fellow Starfleet vessel for the past half an hour, after all. There should be no reason to expect it to balk at leveling Starfleet Headquarters.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Tosk]

"What a successful mission we just had. Computer, take us home..." [Crashes at warp into Earth]

 

[SPCTRE]

Answers on a postcard.

I'll be sure to tell the postman not to try and put them in your mouth

 

[Nyotarules]

3) Just another example of bad writing.

Not one defense ship or Starbase orbits Earth, the HQ of the Federation not one ship challenges a large monstrous ship crashing to Earth!
They deserve to be assimilated by the Borg for being run by incompetents!

 

[Captain of the USS Averof]

3

 

[Timo]

Not one defense ship or Starbase orbits Earth

How could we tell? It's not as if objects in space should be visible.

Unless they are at point blank range, that is. But why would anybody come to point blank range of Kirk and Marcus when the latter is the Chief of All and can tell them not to approach? It's not as if Marcus in his big ship would need help destroying the terrorist vessel.

not one ship challenges a large monstrous ship crashing to Earth!

Crashing, or landing? Kirk's ship did just fine going down fast and then behaving. Why should anybody challenge Heavenly Leader Marcus if he wants to come in fast?

Timo Saloniemi

 

[F. King Daniel]

They might have ended up in orbit or hovering neatly above SFHQ had the Vengeance not suffered apocalyptic damage.

Not one defense ship or Starbase orbits Earth, the HQ of the Federation not one ship challenges a large monstrous ship crashing to Earth!
They deserve to be assimilated by the Borg for being run by incompetents!

The head of Starfleet was flying that ship, pretty sure he told everyone to keep the F away when he was planning to murder Kirk and crew.

 

[Timo]

Since Marcus is so very much in control overall, the one question we need to ask is who decided that the fight should take place next to the Moon.

Marcus? It's uncomfortably close to Earth, the place that must be kept in the dark about everything Kirk has learned. But if Marcus can't have "Klingons murdered Kirk - let's go to war and chant 'Remember the Enterprise' all the way!", then the next best thing might be "Kirk murdered Klingons - I finished him off, but it's All His Fault that we now have to go to war!". So letting Kirk all the way to the Moon serves as a publicity stunt, with fireworks.

Kirk/Sulu? They wanted to get to Earth, and it may have been very difficult for Marcus to stop them from doing so. Perhaps he almost failed, despite all the firepower?

God? Cosmic coincidences do happen, sometimes.

Once the two ships ended up where they did, though, it's all up to Marcus, who controls all communications. Since he mostly speaks with Kirk or issues commands to his crew, Earth must be mainly getting silence from him - so when Khan takes over, it's not a big change and not something that should cause a reaction.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[The Wormhole]

The head of Starfleet was flying that ship, pretty sure he told everyone to keep the F away when he was planning to murder Kirk and crew.

And in the event that anyone did issue a challenge to Vengeance to stand down and identify itself, Marcus is the guy who knows all the clearance codes to call off any orbital defense ships or whatever. Considering the codes Nero learned from Pike were enough to allow Narada to orbit Earth and begin drilling into San Francisco without resistance, it stands to reason Marcus knows codes that allow a freaking huge ship of Starfleet design lineage to hang out in lunar orbit undisturbed.

As for the issue in the OP about why the Vengeance computer took Khan's request to go to Starfleet command literally, remember Starfleet computers are always far too literal about their instructions for their own good. Geordi requesting a Sherlock Holmes enemy that could defeat Data resulted in a sentient hologram based on Moriarty that could take control of the Enterprise, for example.

 

[ISS Enterprise]

Not one defense ship or Starbase orbits Earth, the HQ of the Federation not one ship challenges a large monstrous ship crashing to Earth!
They deserve to be assimilated by the Borg for being run by incompetents!

LMAO - same craptastic def strategy for Qo'noS in same lazily written movie

Transit time from edge of neutral zone to moon near Earth a few seconds.....

No wonder W said 'the klingons, romulans, they're nothing to what awaits out there"

 

[F. King Daniel]

LMAO - same craptastic def strategy for Qo'noS in same lazily written movie

Why wouldn't the Klingons allow a K'normian trade ship entry to their planet? Is trade banned in the Klingon Empire?

 

[ISS Enterprise]

Why wouldn't the Klingons allow a K'normian trade ship entry to their planet? Is trade banned in the Klingon Empire?

A trade ship would have a trade route, communications with Qo'noS central command etc. Mudd's ship had zero and what appeared to be free rein of the planet. Makes sense to me

Not very warrior like lol

Movie was enjoyable, BUT had large plot holes honestly

 

[Kemaiku]

A trade ship would have a trade route, communications with Qo'noS central command etc. Mudd's ship had zero and what appeared to be free rein of the planet. Makes sense to me

Not very warrior like lol

Movie was enjoyable, BUT had large plot holes honestly

They appoached on a lower power mode (Kirk even says later they're running on as few power cells as possible) through the broken remnants of Praxis, which probably caused a massive sensor blackout zone.

Kahn's transwarp beam should have been a massive fucking red flag given how much power a 110 lightyear long beam should have needed that a materialisation would have shown up on every early warning system they had.

So Klingons are either stupid (50+ years of that being the fucking truth) or Praxis' devastation is still being dealt with.

 

[F. King Daniel]

A trade ship would have a trade route, communications with Qo'noS central command etc. Mudd's ship had zero and what appeared to be free rein of the planet. Makes sense to me

Until they entered a forbidden zone and were chased down by a half dozen birds of prey

Only time I think we've seen someone try sneaking into Klingon space before was in STVI, and the border guards we met there were totally A1.

 

[Tosk]

I'd still like to know where the Enterprise was going when Marcus shot them out of warp. They were so close to Earth that gravity took hold of the ship...so does that mean that if they had stayed at warp for another 0.00000003 seconds, they'd have just slammed straight into the planet?

 

[Crazy Eddie]

So Khan tells the computer to set a course to Starfleet Headquarters, the computer literally takes that to mean the front door. Surely it would've made more sense to Orbit the planet....

Which is what the computer WOULD have done if the ship had any propulsive power left. Instead, though, the computer tells him "Engines are compromised. Cannot gaurantee destination." Which makes sense, because Vengeance never REACHED its destination, it actually crashed into Alcatraz Island, skipped across the bay and then careened into Fisherman's Wharf. It never actually REACHED Starfleet headquarters, nor do we have any idea what it would have done under "non-crashy" conditions.

E.G. this same command on a perfectly functional USS Vengeance probably would have resulted in the ship flying right over San Francisco and coming to a complete stop two thousand meters above Starfleet Headquarters and the computer saying "We have arrived at designated starship holding pattern above Starfleet Headquarters. Would you like to transport to the surface?"

 

[Crazy Eddie]

"What a successful mission we just had. Computer, take us home..." [Crashes at warp into Earth]

That voice interface is a bit dodgy...

 

[Timo]

I'd still like to know where the Enterprise was going when Marcus shot them out of warp. They were so close to Earth that gravity took hold of the ship...so does that mean that if they had stayed at warp for another 0.00000003 seconds, they'd have just slammed straight into the planet?

More probably every approach (even and especially emergency ones) involves a trajectory specifically cleared for a bit of overshooting. Which is why Nero knew exactly where Starfleet would pop out of warp above Vulcan in STXI, and could ambush them even with one hand tied behind his back (that is, with his drill lowered down to Vulcan's atmosphere and his ship thus immobile).

Perhaps Marcus never managed to force Kirk's ship out of warp, but merely managed to cripple her so that she could not fight after voluntarily dropping out of warp exactly where she always intended to?

E.G. this same command on a perfectly functional USS Vengeance probably would have resulted in the ship flying right over San Francisco and coming to a complete stop two thousand meters above Starfleet Headquarters and the computer saying "We have arrived at designated starship holding pattern above Starfleet Headquarters. Would you like to transport to the surface?"

On the other hand, this is the same computer that recently expertly managed the slaughtering of a fellow Starfleet vessel. Perhaps it would rather go "We have arrived at indicated target. Would you like to a) ram it, b) fire full weapons at it, c) beam down for a murderous rampage, or d) issue an ultimatum first? Please specify while this ship still retains sufficient power to complete the mission of destruction of these subversive assets."?

For all we know, Marcus dug his own grave by programming his ship to be capable of the mission of killing the Enterprise. Khan sits down: "Ah, welcome, insert-name-here. This is the Bridge Security Monitor. I trust your experience with removing a subversive element of Starfleet from existence in the name of UFP security was a satisfactory one. Would you wish to eliminate further Starfleet assets before proceeding? Kill all Starfleet personnel aboard, Y/N?"

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Tosk]

More probably every approach (even and especially emergency ones) involves a trajectory specifically cleared for a bit of overshooting. Which is why Nero knew exactly where Starfleet would pop out of warp above Vulcan in STXI, and could ambush them even with one hand tied behind his back (that is, with his drill lowered down to Vulcan's atmosphere and his ship thus immobile).

Perhaps Marcus never managed to force Kirk's ship out of warp, but merely managed to cripple her so that she could not fight after voluntarily dropping out of warp exactly where she always intended to?

I would argue that the action as shown in STID does not bear that excuse out.