Did Commander Kruge have Permission?
- Thread starter Rayleo02
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It's somewhat implied in the movie that he at least implicitly doesn't have authorization. I can't remember whether the novels have anything to say on the matter, though I want to say Kruge is painted as a bit of a rogue.
Of course, in TVH the ambassador defends Kruge's actions, which would seem to be at least a belated level of authorization for what he did, though I'm not a politics expert.
Of course, in TVH the ambassador defends Kruge's actions, which would seem to be at least a belated level of authorization for what he did, though I'm not a politics expert.
The ambassador defending Kruge's actions was pure politics, and the ambassador knew it. That's why he was so vociferous about defending them. Kruge was in Federation space, had destroyed Federation ships, including a Starfleet vessel, and killed Federation citizens, while in Federation space. Those are acts of war, and Kruge not only did them willingly, but deliberately. The ambassador painting Kirk as the villain was just about the only way he could get away with admitting Kruge had done those things, and not become the Federation's first POW.
Did the Federation demand any reparations for the death of David Marcus and the kidnapping Of LT Saavik (Not to mention the distruction of the Grissom.)
So, in other words, they acted like Klingons.
"Share this with no one. We are going to this planet. Even as our emissaries negotiate for peace with the Federation, we will act for the preservation of our race! We will seize the secret of this weapon. The secret of ultimate power!" -Commander Kruge
Sounds like he didn't give two shits about getting authorization from his government
Sounds like he didn't give two shits about getting authorization from his government
As, I expect, most Klingons wouldn't. Especially in that time period.
In general, Klingon commanders have two settings: just following orders and glory hound and they tend to prefer the 2nd whenever they can get away with it (which is most of the time, as long as they're succesful enough to warrant having songs sung of their deeds).
The Prey novels by J.J. Miller explore Kruge's past..... I'm still busy with book 1. If someone is interested in learning more about Kruge these novels are recommendable.
Captain Klaa seemed to be in the second group. He was bored with shooting space garbage and needed a real challenge. Later he says that "the attack on your vessel was not authorized by my government" or something like that.
Not necessarily. It's very likely he was acting on top secret orders from certain higher-ups who disagreed with the "emissaries" negotiating for peace. His comment "Share this with no one" could imply that he's letting them in on the plan.
No doubt a remnant of the splintered, competing, incohesive Klingon council as depicted in STDsc.
Kor
My take has always been that Kruge and his crew are acting unilaterally, as perhaps many Klingon ship commanders do, and also that perhaps his motives are actually quite benign: he wants the secret of genesis because he truly believes it's a weapon that the Federation has developed. Chancing upon information that the other 'bloc' has a bigger and better nuke, he essentially wants the glory of being able to be the saviour of the empire, as well as stopping his people's sworn enemy into the bargain....
One of the early scripts for TSFS had a group of Klingon ships searching for Kruge. He decloaked amongst them in his stolen Romulan BoP and wiped them out before warping away. Per the Making of STIII video that was on YouTube.
So he does seem to have been a renegade.
It would have been interesting to reinsert the back-story later in the film, in orbit of Genesis; perhaps Kirk quipping that both captains had stolen ships to get there and that both were fugitives from their governments.
So he does seem to have been a renegade.
It would have been interesting to reinsert the back-story later in the film, in orbit of Genesis; perhaps Kirk quipping that both captains had stolen ships to get there and that both were fugitives from their governments.
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I think Kruge was like the Mission Impossible team, they sent him but there was total deniability on the part of the government. The part with his girlfriend on the freighter really seems to reinforce that. They may not have even wanted to let any of the general Klingon population in on this, it's a very secret thing. Imagine the outrage in Klingon space if they knew the Federation had this torpedo that could wipe out a whole planet and they didn't, it could cause a coup and collapse the Klingon Empire.
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