Could Spock Have Beaten the Orions?

[RookieBatman]

[MINOR SPOILERS FOR JOURNEY TO BABEL]




As I've grandiloquently stated on another thread, I've just seen Journey to Babel for the first time in its entirety, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. But as I was thinking about the whole thing with Spock and how he wouldn't give the transfusion because he had to stay in command during the crisis situation, I thought, "You know, it was absolutely the logical decision, and it was the only one that he could make, but if Spock had actually been in the chair when the Orion ship had attacked, would he have been able to beat them?" I mean, the reason that the Enterprise won the fight was because Kirk played possum. (Have they named that the "Kirk maneuver" yet? Not that he's the only one who's ever done it.) It's not really a completely illogical tactic, but I'm not sure that Spock would've thought of it. And before that, the Enterprise was in a pretty bad situation. Could Spock have handled it?

 

[sbk1234]

Sure. Why not?

 

[KeepOnTrekking]

Interesting question. In "The Corbomite Maneuver," Spock uses a chess approach to "checkmate" Balok. Kirk however decides to use a poker approach and "bluff" Balok instead.

In "The Doomsday Machine," Spock tells Decker that "Vulcans never bluff."

In "The Deadly Years," Kirk uses the corbomite bluff again on the Romulans and we see Spock nodding in recognition (or agreement) of Kirk's tactic.

In "The Enterprise Incident," we see Spock telling the Romulna Commander that Vulcans don't lie but still deceives the Commander of Starfleet's real intentions.

In "The Wrath of Khan," Saavik called this lying whereas Spock called it exaggerating.

Spock "reasoned" his way to an emotional solution in "TYhe Galileo Seven." I suppose he could have also "reasoned" his way to another one by "bluffing" his way out in a way similar to what Kirk did in "Journey to Babel."

 

[Nightcreature]

In that episode, Spock was obviously distracted by his father's condition even though he tried to stick to his duty to the ship. Remember right before Spock was about to undergo the blood transfusion to help save Sarek's life, he remembers a discovery he made about the ship following the Enterprise and is about to tell Kirk when McCoy puts him under. Spock didn't mention this before because he was distracted but the discovery is that the ship was on a suicide mission and is using their full power against the Enterprise.

I think Spock would have used this information to defeat the Orions if he had the chance.

 

[KeepOnTrekking]

^ Good observation, Nightcreature!
It would be a logical approach that Spock would try before "reasoning" his way to bluffing or some other emotional solution. :thumbsup:

 

[M'Sharak]

Nightcreature said:

I think Spock would have used this information to defeat the Orions if he had the chance.

 

[Basill]

KeepOnTrekking said:
In "The Doomsday Machine," Spock tells Decker that "Vulcans never bluff."

That was a GREAT bluff wasn't it?

 

[Sulu_Love_child]

I think he could have handled the situation.