Even if you want to argue that Starfleet doesn't consider themselves military by the TNG era, Discovery takes place before TOS, Thus Kirk's statement has not been contradicted or retconned. Archer's statements are about Earth's Starfleet. We have no evidence that those "not military" ideas would be transferred to the Early Federation Starfleet. And since the MACO's were explicitly military, and absorbed into the Federation Starfleet we have reason to believe that the Early Federation Starfleet was explicitly a military organization.
even if I accepted this (I don’t), so much for moral superiority and peaceful resolutions. they mention it very quickly at the end. Very easy to miss. no it wasn’t: they could jump away any moment.
except that in Beyond we find out that some MACOs were unhappy exactly because starfleet was not a military organization - and this happened before the timeline split, so it happens to both universes. And discovery season 3 doesn’t happen before TOS.
The Viridian was actively firing anti-proton beams at them before they jumped though. A military vessel firing at you is a legitimate target, no matter how you put it. If a peaceful resolution takes precedence over everything else, then by the same reasoning, the Federation had no right fighting a war against the Klingons or the Dominion. They should've avoided the unnecessary deaths and just surrendered.
Not without Stammets. They had a theory that they could jump with Book, but they didn't know it would work. Which is even more reason giving themselves a ticking clock was stupid.
Exactly. Far too many people seem to overlook the fact that if Book failed, then the Viridian would've shorn off their shields in a few minutes and recaptured the ship with ease, considering they only had the bridge crew on board.
they fought defensive wars, they didn’t attack running ships for no reason. precisely. they came up with blowing up the warp core when they thought they had no escape (valid self-sacrificing last resort action) and then...just left it in with no reason?!
Not just a danger to Discovery but also to the Federation HQ which they now had access too. The Chain had not had access to that before. So, even if Discovery jumps away, they basically leave the rest of HQ in a hostage situation for a leader of the Chain to step up and say "Hey, give us Discovery or we blow this HQ all to hell." That if they couldn't jump away then their destruction was preferable to capture.
michael: “book, jump!” Book: “ops, sorry, I made a mistake...but I think I can try again in a moment and get it right” BOOOM Great idea to give yourself a clock for no reason when your life depends on an untried navigator.
The HQ's survival depended on it being hidden. It's revelation wasn't just location but also how it was secured.
I'm saying that if Starfleet had a proper intelligence file on the Chain (which I assume they did), they should have at least had an idea that once Ossyra was dead the Chain might not be a threat anymore and that destorying that ship was unnecessary. A military vessel firing at you is not always a legitimate target, particularly if it doesn't pose an actual threat. In this case, with the Discovery able to jump away, the NiVar fleet between the enemy ship and Federation HQ, there being no evidence that the ship was going to turn around and try to attack Federation HQ, and the leader of the other side dead, it's pretty safe to say that it posed no threat at that moment in time.
But the ship wasn't retreating under a metaphorical white flag, it was escorting a captured Federation asset to their own territory, which is why Starfleet and the Ni'Varians were actively engaging it in combat.
'Kay, but if Disco jumped out of the Viridian without destroying it, there's nothing stopping the Viridian from turning around and attacking HQ before they have a chance to relocate. Not really. Even with Osyrra dead, someone else could take command of the ship, probably whoever was next in line after her and continue to pose a threat. With both her and the ship gone, there is no more threat.
Even if that were so, that was not the impression Ossyra had given Vance in their meeting. So, they operate with the best information they had at the time. Which was an enemy force had captured a valuable Federation asset and posed an immediate threat to the surrounding ships and information that puts Starfleet HQ at risk as well. Even with a proper intelligence file the data points have completely shifted.
right: it was defended with a totally ineffective energy shield that’s easily pierced by a single ship and by a fleet of ships that couldn’t make a dent in the shields of a 900 year old vessel. The main defense was it being hidden, I’d say! when the core blow up they weren’t escorting anything.
The episode make it pretty clear that they were unsure that they could jump away without Stamets. It was either a successful jump with Book, or a de facto self-destruction while taking the enemy flagship with themselves. To deny the Chain the use of a crucial Federation military asset and to destroy an enemy vessel already engaged in active combat with both Discovery and their pursuers. What should've they done if Book failed? Say "oops, we failed" and let the Chain retake their prize?