That's a very good point. It's very similar to many fans' feelings about the Enterprise, as well.
Guy
Was Spock wrong to abandon the Rigel colonies?
- Thread starter BillJ
- Start date
That's a very good point. It's very similar to many fans' feelings about the Enterprise, as well.
Guy
On September 11th, the passagers of United Airlines Flight 93 fought the terrorists, While the aircraft did crash, the terrorists were unable to employ the aircraft to kill people on the ground,
The Jewish prisoner uprising in the Treblinka extermination camp on August 18th and 19th 1943 did so much damage, that the Nazi's ordered the camp evacuated of prisoners, closed and destroyed. The idea of the uprising, its organization and implementation were at the prisoner's initiative.
The Sobibor extermination camp was also close following the uprising on October 1943, which began with the killing of many of the SS officers and camp guards, half the population of the camp (300) then escaped.
During one revolt at Auschwitz in October 1944, the Jewish prisoners blew up the camp's gas crematoria.
YARN
Fleet Captain
On September 11th, the passagers of United Airlines Flight 93 fought the terrorists, While the aircraft did crash, the terrorists were unable to employ the aircraft to kill people on the ground,
The Jewish prisoner uprising in the Treblinka extermination camp on August 18th and 19th 1943 did so much damage, that the Nazi's ordered the camp evacuated of prisoners, closed and destroyed. The idea of the uprising, its organization and implementation were at the prisoner's initiative.
The Sobibor extermination camp was also close following the uprising on October 1943, which began with the killing of many of the SS officers and camp guards, half the population of the camp (300) then escaped.
During one revolt at Auschwitz in October 1944, the Jewish prisoners blew up the camp's gas crematoria.
These are the exceptions that prove the rule.
How many flights fought back?
How many Jewish uprisings were there? How many camp victims cooperated (however reluctantly) in their own extermination in exchange for a short term gain of "more life"? Millions made this devil's bargain.
Keep in mind, we aren't making moral judgments about the crew of the Constellation here or of Holocaust victims or 9-11 victims. I am simply pointing out that this is not a bizarre sort of behavior to expect to happen. It is, in fact, common.
Also, there is a rationality to it. More life is better than less life, and one can always hope for the cavalry to come in the interim.
"Spock is always right, even when he's wrong."
But Philip K. Dick aside, Spock is the kind of guy who will make the tough choices. He recognized that Gary Mitchell and Edith Keeler needed to die for the greater good. If he has the choice between the death of Rigel's inhabitants... or the death of Rigel's inhabitants and the starship Enterprise, leading the Starfleet to not being warned about the approaching Doomsday Machine, well, Spock's often deridedly cold mind knows how the cookie is gonna crumble.
But Philip K. Dick aside, Spock is the kind of guy who will make the tough choices. He recognized that Gary Mitchell and Edith Keeler needed to die for the greater good. If he has the choice between the death of Rigel's inhabitants... or the death of Rigel's inhabitants and the starship Enterprise, leading the Starfleet to not being warned about the approaching Doomsday Machine, well, Spock's often deridedly cold mind knows how the cookie is gonna crumble.
I think it's ironic that if Commodore Decker hadn't stolen the shuttlecraft for a kamikaze run, nobody on the L-374 scene would've had a clue how to stop the alien machine. No dead Matt Decker, no lights-out for the dreaded planet-eater.
Had Mr. Montgomery managed to escort the commodore all the way to Sickbay, it's possible that Spock would have rescued Kirk, abandoned the Constellation, and escaped with the alien machine still on the loose. And Decker probably would've filed a complaint against Kirk and Spock, leaving all three of them the objects of a board of inquiry after someone had figured out how to stop the machine.
Had Mr. Montgomery managed to escort the commodore all the way to Sickbay, it's possible that Spock would have rescued Kirk, abandoned the Constellation, and escaped with the alien machine still on the loose. And Decker probably would've filed a complaint against Kirk and Spock, leaving all three of them the objects of a board of inquiry after someone had figured out how to stop the machine.
I'm amazed this thread has gone on as long as it has... and that there's still some interesting debate going on, instead of "but I still think Spock was out of character and wrong" without backing it up. 
Clearly, there were some holes in the story. Not to say flaws, but gaps of information that leave ambiguity about the situation.
Blssdwlf outlined the main choices rather well:
Questionable rationale
The Commodore felt it necessary to continue the attack on the DDM. Why, when there was clear evidence about the fact that an external attack was pointless due to the "pure neutronium" composition of the DDM? The commodore doesn't explain his rationale, only that Sulu keep firing phasers. Spock looked at the facts--attacking the DDM resulted in a wrecked ship and a dead crew. Phasers and photon torpedoes were ineffective. So, logically it is suicide to continue a direct assault on it. The commodore is emotionally caught up in this affair, unable to explain his rationale, and thus Spock has every right to relieve him of duty.
The commodore didn't say anything like "Yes, the hull seems impenetrable, but there may be a weakness somewhere that we've not yet found. We've got to keep trying. Running off to warn Starfleet will result in the Rigel colonies being destroyed because the planet killer will get there before any help can arrive. This is a battle situation--we must stand our ground, despite the odds against us."
Choices not explored
Then there could have been some discussion about other choices. What about launching a probe or shuttlecraft to get sufficient distance away to do the warning while the Enterprise continues the engagement? We don't have enough information... we don't know how far away they'd need to be, nor how close the planet killer was to Rigel. Would there be enough time to warn Starfleet and then catch up to the DDM before destroying Rigel?
Unfortunately, there just wasn't enough time in the episode to allow for more dialog... which is a shame, because it would've made for a more compelling episode. After all, Decker came to the conclusion that hey, if we can't penetrate the hull, I'm going to take a shuttlecraft into that thing. Of course he knew it was suicide. Well, why not load up the shuttle with explosives and remote control it into the planet killer? He could have at least proposed this. He was unbalanced, so he took matters into his own hands, further supporting Spock's proper action to relieve him of command.
Kirk's decision
Mind you, it wasn't up to Spock to take the ship away and warn Starfleet. He was planning to pick up Captain Kirk who would then make the decision as to what to do next! And when Kirk sees what Decker has done, he realizes that this was a more plausible form of attack, and decides the Constellation will be "the bomb" to do the trick.
Who to commemorate
Decker may have had the right idea, but it was Kirk's quick thinking to use the right tool for the job. He's the one who should have a commemorative statue in the Rigel capital city, as having saved the day. With Commodore Decker beside him... because Decker helped in this matter. If anything, he kept the DDM busy enough until the Enterprise arrived, delaying its approach to Rigel.
Summary
1. Decker was unable to explain his seemingly illogical dogged pursuit of the DDM--direct assault resulted in a wrecked ship and dead crew--so, Spock had to relieve him of command. As further evidence of his unbalance, he made a suicide run in a shuttle. What more proof is needed? He could've brought up the idea of "bombing it from inside", but he didn't. Unfortunate.
2. There was no matter of Spock being poor or out of character in the episode--he was following his captain's orders. Spock may have iterated the need to get away and warn Starfleet, but it ultimately wasn't his right to choose. Kirk was still in command and he would make the final choice.
Clearly, there were some holes in the story. Not to say flaws, but gaps of information that leave ambiguity about the situation.
Blssdwlf outlined the main choices rather well:
blssdwlf said:
Questionable rationale
The Commodore felt it necessary to continue the attack on the DDM. Why, when there was clear evidence about the fact that an external attack was pointless due to the "pure neutronium" composition of the DDM? The commodore doesn't explain his rationale, only that Sulu keep firing phasers. Spock looked at the facts--attacking the DDM resulted in a wrecked ship and a dead crew. Phasers and photon torpedoes were ineffective. So, logically it is suicide to continue a direct assault on it. The commodore is emotionally caught up in this affair, unable to explain his rationale, and thus Spock has every right to relieve him of duty.
The commodore didn't say anything like "Yes, the hull seems impenetrable, but there may be a weakness somewhere that we've not yet found. We've got to keep trying. Running off to warn Starfleet will result in the Rigel colonies being destroyed because the planet killer will get there before any help can arrive. This is a battle situation--we must stand our ground, despite the odds against us."
How can you say that? We don't have enough information. There wasn't time for the dialog... if Kirk, Decker and Spock discussed the matter further upon his Kirk's return, they might have come up with something. Decker had the idea in the back of his mind... if he wasn't dead, he'd be able to offer up the idea.
Well that's just madness. Spock had all the right to relieve Decker. He was irrational and unbalanced, unfit for command. Maybe after cooling down a bit, he could've at least been on hand to discuss the options upon Kirk's return.
Choices not explored
Then there could have been some discussion about other choices. What about launching a probe or shuttlecraft to get sufficient distance away to do the warning while the Enterprise continues the engagement? We don't have enough information... we don't know how far away they'd need to be, nor how close the planet killer was to Rigel. Would there be enough time to warn Starfleet and then catch up to the DDM before destroying Rigel?
Unfortunately, there just wasn't enough time in the episode to allow for more dialog... which is a shame, because it would've made for a more compelling episode. After all, Decker came to the conclusion that hey, if we can't penetrate the hull, I'm going to take a shuttlecraft into that thing. Of course he knew it was suicide. Well, why not load up the shuttle with explosives and remote control it into the planet killer? He could have at least proposed this. He was unbalanced, so he took matters into his own hands, further supporting Spock's proper action to relieve him of command.
Kirk's decision
Mind you, it wasn't up to Spock to take the ship away and warn Starfleet. He was planning to pick up Captain Kirk who would then make the decision as to what to do next! And when Kirk sees what Decker has done, he realizes that this was a more plausible form of attack, and decides the Constellation will be "the bomb" to do the trick.
Who to commemorate
Decker may have had the right idea, but it was Kirk's quick thinking to use the right tool for the job. He's the one who should have a commemorative statue in the Rigel capital city, as having saved the day. With Commodore Decker beside him... because Decker helped in this matter. If anything, he kept the DDM busy enough until the Enterprise arrived, delaying its approach to Rigel.
Summary
1. Decker was unable to explain his seemingly illogical dogged pursuit of the DDM--direct assault resulted in a wrecked ship and dead crew--so, Spock had to relieve him of command. As further evidence of his unbalance, he made a suicide run in a shuttle. What more proof is needed? He could've brought up the idea of "bombing it from inside", but he didn't. Unfortunate.
2. There was no matter of Spock being poor or out of character in the episode--he was following his captain's orders. Spock may have iterated the need to get away and warn Starfleet, but it ultimately wasn't his right to choose. Kirk was still in command and he would make the final choice.
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Superior officers are, of course, under no requirement to explain themselves to subordinate officers.
And don't forget, Decker did attempt communication with Stafleet command while tracking the destroyed planets, later there was a disaster call. That's how the Constellation was found.
It's unclear if the Enterprise picked up these communications directly and responded, or if the communications were received by Starfleet and they then sent the Enterprise the investigate.
By the point in the story that Spock advocated abandoning the assault upon the DM (and possible abandoning the colony) Decker might have lost faith in communicating with Starfleet as a solution to the problem.
There is also the difficulty of reacquiring the DM after they leave it's immediate vicinity. Originally the Constellation located the DM by detecting the breaking up of a planet and not apparently by detecting the DM directly. The DM surrounds itself with a field of heavy subspace interference. Even when the Enterprise was only a few miles from the Constellation and the DM was some distance away, Spock was having trouble scanning the Constellation. If the Enterprise were to have disengaged the DM and traveled far enough away from it to get a clear signal to Starfleet, there is no guarantee that they (or Starfleet) would have been able to find the DM again prior to the DM destroying worlds in the Rigel colony system.
Given that planets rarely line up in a perfect line, the first planet destroyed might be one of the inner ones, even the colony itself.
Lastly, with the DM traveling toward the Rigel colony at presumably warp speed, the fastest way to get clear of it zone of interference would have been for the Enterprise to travel at warp speed in the opposite direction.
Away from the colony.
Spock was being a stereotypically stubborn and pig-headed Vulcan. Given the way he bungled the situation with the King Kong wannabes on Taurus II ("The Galileo Seven"), his decision to disengage the alien machine should be of no surprise. I can see Decker's point-of-view that the Enterprise ought to do something to save Rigel, and I can see why a flag officer would want to relieve Spock after being so double-Vulcan insolent, (Spock was asking for it) but in the end Decker's Moby Dick adventure almost got the Enterprise destroyed, and Rigel with it.
Events unfolded very quickly once the Enterprise found the Constellation. Spock assessed the situation as best he could with what was known at hand: taking on the DM with a single ship seemed impossible to do successfully. He also quoted the regs: until McCoy could certify Decker unfit then Spock had to relinquish command to him in absence of Kirk. Otherwise it's mutiny and then you'd better be able to prove your case afterwards...assuming you survive.
It really came down to one thing: no matter what Spock's opinion of what to do it wouldn't matter if they were able to retrieve Kirk from the wrecked Constellation because then Kirk could decide what to do. Knowing Kirk it's likely he would have accepted part of Spock's recommendation: to get out of jamming range to warn Starfleet. Then I think it likely Kirk would have returned to engage the DM to try buying time for reinforcements. During all of that it's possible somebody would have thought of the idea of dumping an explosive down the DM's throat.
But none of that plays out because Kirk gets stranded aboard the (then) immobile Constellation and Spock and Decker reach an impasse.
It really came down to one thing: no matter what Spock's opinion of what to do it wouldn't matter if they were able to retrieve Kirk from the wrecked Constellation because then Kirk could decide what to do. Knowing Kirk it's likely he would have accepted part of Spock's recommendation: to get out of jamming range to warn Starfleet. Then I think it likely Kirk would have returned to engage the DM to try buying time for reinforcements. During all of that it's possible somebody would have thought of the idea of dumping an explosive down the DM's throat.
But none of that plays out because Kirk gets stranded aboard the (then) immobile Constellation and Spock and Decker reach an impasse.
YARN
Fleet Captain
Spock says nothing about the "absence of Kirk" in the regulations he cites. Spock and McCoy were only discussing psychological grounds for removing Decker from command.
When Kirk and Decker get back in communication, Decker is the one citing rules and regs - despite Kirk's protests, Decker reminds Kirk that he is in command by "every rule in the book." Spock breaks those rules in the rule book to relieve Decker which is why Spock notes that Decker can call for a court marshal if they survive.
YARN
Fleet Captain
Here I'll quote T'Girl
T'Girl said:
The information we DO have suggests an either/or dilemma.
Decker protests that if they don't stop the Doomsday Machine millions of Rigelians will die.
Spock agrees with Decker's assessment of the situation, but maintains that action by the (now damaged) Enterprise would be a moot point. And Spock is a stickler for details. He cannot resist adding decimal points, laying out alternatives, and pointing out faulty suppositions.
We can speculate all we want about what they might have done, but our expert characters who live in this fictional universe have a better claim to stating what is possible than us, and it is telling that Spock stakes no claim to alternate possibilities and grants Decker's analysis.
The Enterprise may have been doomed in a fight with the machine, but with Decker at the helm at least she fought to save the lives of civilians. Spock's cost-benefit-analysis, on the other hand, would compel him to bug out of any hopeless fight. Spock would flee the Alamo, Helms Deep, the siege of Moscow, he would have abandonded the 300 Spartans at the Hot Gates - and all because he cannot see the nobility of duty in a doomed fight.
Sometimes you don't fight to win. Sometimes you fight because it is your duty to protect others with your last full measure of devotion and fidelity.
I am glad that you would honor Decker's efforts, but I hardly think Kirk deserves the cookie in this case. Kirk had no intention of trading his lives to save the Rigelians. Decker rammed a shuttle craft down its throat on the mere chance that it would be effective.
Moreover, Kirk spends the majority of the episode whining about how he can't get his big screen TV to work so he can see what's happening. He is effectively on the sidelines. Decker's last desperate act is what reveals how to defeat the Machine. Decker drives the team down the field in overtime and give up his body to make the big play. Kirk stumbles onto the field to make a chip-shot field goal: Decker is still MVP.
How could he? He had been relieved of command and was being escorted by armed guard to be psychologically examined by McCoy. After the first officer and Kirk break with the chain of command and kick you off the bridge, you are no longer part of the conversation. Being sent to the booby-hatch after your senior officers (Kirk and Spock) muntiny (at that moment the Enterprise was rightly Decker's to command) is hardly the moment when you are going to spit-ball ideas.
Moreover, he did not simply suicide himself.
DECKER: You said it yourself, Spock. There is no way to blast through the hull of that machine, so I'm going to take this thing right down its throat.
He was making a sincere effort to damage the thing as much as he could with the understanding that the attempt would cost him his life. He had no problem with this as he felt his life was forfiet anyhow and because the machine had to be stopped.
How many Medal of Honor winners got themselves killed making the ultimate sacrifice in a desperate cause? I suppose we would write them off as mentally unbalanced too?
No, what you point out here is not proof, in and of itself, that he is unbalanced. What you point out is why he is a tragic hero.
Is there other evidence that he is distraught, that he not his proper self, that he is emotionally unfit for comand? Yes, I think so. But I think it is unfair to say that he is simply "crazy" or "wacko" or "nuts."
Granted, you merely say that he is "unbalanced" here which is generous to his side of the case and that is laudable, but your point is that Spock was justified in relieving Decker of command, right? Spock's justification, however, (i.e., the evidence he had to use to make his assessment) could only consist of evidence he observed BEFORE he relieved Decker of Command.
EXAMPLE: If play a round of Russian Roulette and win $500, most people would NOT say that this is a justified decision, because there is no way I could have known that chance would be in my favor on my turn.
Similarly, Spock's justification only consisted of what he knew up to the moment he relieved Decker of command. Therefore, that Decker gets himself killed in a shuttle craft has no bearing whatsoever on whether Spock's decision (several miunutes earlier) was justified. Justification is not retroactive or every lucky fool could claim to be justified.
Decker said "I've been prepared for death ever since I killed my crew," and later added: "A commander is responsible for the lives of his crew, and for their deaths. Well, I should've died with mine."
If that isn't crazy suicidal talk, nothing is.
As for Decker's actions on the bridge prior to stepping down, Spock had to threaten Decker with relieving him of command on the charge of "attempted suicide" if the commodore didn't agree to veer off.
If that isn't crazy suicidal talk, nothing is.
As for Decker's actions on the bridge prior to stepping down, Spock had to threaten Decker with relieving him of command on the charge of "attempted suicide" if the commodore didn't agree to veer off.
@YARN - Actually I thought Decker did explain why he was firing phasers - because he was hoping a point blank strike would be enough to damage the DDM, ignoring Spock's tactical analysis.
Spock isn't fleeing anything. The whole point of letting the DDM go was to go back to retrieve Kirk. And as far as Spock's analysis goes that would most likely mean the loss of Rigel. But we don't know if Kirk would've done something Spock and Decker had not considered that would have saved Rigel (thus the wildcard.)
Whoa -without Kirk and the Constellation saving the Enterprise there would be no Decker or Spock or Enterprise. I'm not so sure I'd reward a bad player (Decker) for nearly getting his whole team killed. I'd understand if Decker had faulty tactical analysis (like Spock saying if we shot it exactly at point-blank range here, here and here...) but he didn't.
That's not to say Decker was insane. He just wasn't in a frame of mind to explore all his options and was fixated on the one that had the most cost to himself and others, IMHO.
YARN said:
Spock isn't fleeing anything. The whole point of letting the DDM go was to go back to retrieve Kirk. And as far as Spock's analysis goes that would most likely mean the loss of Rigel. But we don't know if Kirk would've done something Spock and Decker had not considered that would have saved Rigel (thus the wildcard.)
YARN said:
Whoa -without Kirk and the Constellation saving the Enterprise there would be no Decker or Spock or Enterprise. I'm not so sure I'd reward a bad player (Decker) for nearly getting his whole team killed. I'd understand if Decker had faulty tactical analysis (like Spock saying if we shot it exactly at point-blank range here, here and here...) but he didn't.
That's not to say Decker was insane. He just wasn't in a frame of mind to explore all his options and was fixated on the one that had the most cost to himself and others, IMHO.
YARN
Fleet Captain
Not all crazy talk is suicidal. Not all suicidal talk is crazy.
Nathan Hale - "I regret that I only have one life to lose to my country."
Gunnery Sgt. Dan Daly (1918) "Men come on! Do you want to live forever!"
David Farragut - "Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!"
Winston Churchill - "We shall defend our island whatever the cost shall be."
Decker isn't simply killing himself here. He is trying to damage, even disable the Doomsday Machine. He is trying to save lives by paying with his own. The price he paying is his attempt to set things right for the ironic reversal of fortune he suffered when he beamed his crew down to the planet.
He could have killed himself on the Constellation long before the Enterprise arrived. He could have turned a phaser on himself without leaving the Enterprise (after his escape).
It is repugnant to characterize his final moments, where he owns his mistakes in his final attempt, however desperate, to save more lives, to simply write this off as crazy suicidal talk.
No, it is distressed talk of a person consciously facing the greatest sacrifice any one of us can be asked to make. Is there guilt talking there? Yes. Is there emotion? Yes. Is he distraught? Yes. Is he simply "crazy"? No.
And he did veer off, thus denying Spock those grounds.
If Spock really felt he had grounds to relieve Decker at that moment, he could have and should have done so. Instead, the basis of his decision comes from Kirk. Kirk tells Spock to do it (Spock's butt now covered) does it.
Looks, the principle of being relieved of command is what really matters here.
Remember, this isn't a conventional battle going on. There's this rogue vessel attacking planets with no formal declaration of war. There's no Starfleet assigned battle mission here. Starfleet doesn't even know what's going on. If the Enterprise gets destroyed, Starfleet will remain in the dark. More planets will be destroyed. It is ESSENTIAL that Starfleet be warned, because it won't be just Rigel destroyed by the time they act--more systems will be lost.
The commodore's strategy failed with the Constellation. He's now in the company of two experienced officers: Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock. They need to COORDINATE THEIR EFFORTS to destroy the DDM with some other strategy, or abandon the effort and warn Starfleet right away. Decker makes no such effort to discuss anything. He behaves like the lone general, taking his squadron into an attack without proper coordination with his peers. I consider this reckless and unbalanced command behavior. Kirk and Spock saw it this way as well. The episode DOES NOT give us any time information on how far the DDM is from Rigel. We don't know how long they'd have to work on the problem. Heck... it could even come down to the Constellation and Enterprise playing cat-and-mouse with the DDM, distracting it from proceeding to Rigel... meanwhile, a probe or shuttle is sent out of range of the interference to warn Starfleet. That's a plausible idea... but not discussed, because there was no chance to.
Context, people. If you focus on tiny little details independent of the big picture, your argument is flawed. We can debate about whether Spock was in his rights to relieve Decker... "endangerment without good cause" is subjective. But if you ignore the dire need of needing to warn Starfleet, and that Decker was not taking any cooperative stance with Spock or Kirk to deal with the situation, then it is impossible to have a constructive discussion about it. Working together they'd have a better chance. But Decker didn't allow for that. He continued his attack without any discussion, endangering the lives of the Enterprise crew, and Spock had to stop this madness before he got them all killed. Because he would have... the ramming of anything down the mouth of the DDM hadn't been brought up. Continuing the conventional attack would have meant a wrecked Enterprise, no warning to Starfleet, and certainly the destruction of Rigel.
The key here is "endangering his or her command without good reason.". A good XO must be able to question his CO when it appears in his expert judgement that the CO is endangering his crew without good reason. Yes, a CO should not have to explain his orders as a general rule. BUT... when there is a very significant risk to the ship and crew, the XO must be on board with the rationale behind that. Decker tried to attack the DDM head on and lost the Constellation. He was now trying the same thing with the Enterprise. The information from his ships logs and from the first go-round with the Enterprise against the DDM made it clear to Spock that a conventional head-on attack was suicide. Yet, Decker made no effort to explain the logic behind taking such a grave risk with the Enterprise.
Remember, this isn't a conventional battle going on. There's this rogue vessel attacking planets with no formal declaration of war. There's no Starfleet assigned battle mission here. Starfleet doesn't even know what's going on. If the Enterprise gets destroyed, Starfleet will remain in the dark. More planets will be destroyed. It is ESSENTIAL that Starfleet be warned, because it won't be just Rigel destroyed by the time they act--more systems will be lost.
The commodore's strategy failed with the Constellation. He's now in the company of two experienced officers: Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock. They need to COORDINATE THEIR EFFORTS to destroy the DDM with some other strategy, or abandon the effort and warn Starfleet right away. Decker makes no such effort to discuss anything. He behaves like the lone general, taking his squadron into an attack without proper coordination with his peers. I consider this reckless and unbalanced command behavior. Kirk and Spock saw it this way as well. The episode DOES NOT give us any time information on how far the DDM is from Rigel. We don't know how long they'd have to work on the problem. Heck... it could even come down to the Constellation and Enterprise playing cat-and-mouse with the DDM, distracting it from proceeding to Rigel... meanwhile, a probe or shuttle is sent out of range of the interference to warn Starfleet. That's a plausible idea... but not discussed, because there was no chance to.
Context, people. If you focus on tiny little details independent of the big picture, your argument is flawed. We can debate about whether Spock was in his rights to relieve Decker... "endangerment without good cause" is subjective. But if you ignore the dire need of needing to warn Starfleet, and that Decker was not taking any cooperative stance with Spock or Kirk to deal with the situation, then it is impossible to have a constructive discussion about it. Working together they'd have a better chance. But Decker didn't allow for that. He continued his attack without any discussion, endangering the lives of the Enterprise crew, and Spock had to stop this madness before he got them all killed. Because he would have... the ramming of anything down the mouth of the DDM hadn't been brought up. Continuing the conventional attack would have meant a wrecked Enterprise, no warning to Starfleet, and certainly the destruction of Rigel.
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Also,
So you see, Spock was in command. Decker relieved him under his rights according to regulation. That right was independent of the fact that Decker wanted Spock to attack the DDM, and Spock refused. Kirk then ordered Spock to relieve Decker after the Enterprise was seriously damaged. According to both Kirk and Spock, Decker was behaving irrationally and seriously jeopardizing the Enterprise. Yes, it was his right to assume command without violating any regulations. Yet, he made no effort to get in close enough range with the Constellation to communicate with Kirk. He took it upon himself to continue his conventional attack. When Kirk finally gets in touch, Decker explains what he is doing. Kirk emphatically disagrees with his actions. Does Decker leave it open for discussion? No. He insists he is going to continue attacking. At that point, Kirk felt he had to relieve him of command. He gave Spock the order, and Spock complied.
memory-beta.wikia said:
So you see, Spock was in command. Decker relieved him under his rights according to regulation. That right was independent of the fact that Decker wanted Spock to attack the DDM, and Spock refused. Kirk then ordered Spock to relieve Decker after the Enterprise was seriously damaged. According to both Kirk and Spock, Decker was behaving irrationally and seriously jeopardizing the Enterprise. Yes, it was his right to assume command without violating any regulations. Yet, he made no effort to get in close enough range with the Constellation to communicate with Kirk. He took it upon himself to continue his conventional attack. When Kirk finally gets in touch, Decker explains what he is doing. Kirk emphatically disagrees with his actions. Does Decker leave it open for discussion? No. He insists he is going to continue attacking. At that point, Kirk felt he had to relieve him of command. He gave Spock the order, and Spock complied.
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The more I talk about this episode the more it reminds me how much Star Trek 2009 lifted from it.
Hollywood has been out of fresh ideas as long as I can remember.
But, I don't think NuSpock acting like OldSpock in a similar moral quandary should be construed as "lifting".
