"Errand of Mercy"....phasers or photon torpedoes?
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Yeah, I tend to call non-torpedo Klingon weapons "disruptors" as well. As does most of the TREK universe based on TNG, DS9 and VOYAGER dialogue over the past twenty years.
I think the only difference between a phaser and a disruptor is the name. Phasers certainly seem to disrupt things (up through the molecular bonds in an object (but not affecting the object on which it rests -- cool!). If you translate phaser from English to Klingon to English, you probably get disruptor.
In several episodes, the term disruptor was used only for the hand weapons klingon troops carried.
The battle scene in Elaan of Troyus was great but what really carried it was the music score that accompanied it. It was an original piece unlike any other battle sequence music. In my opinion, that episode had the best music AND best single-ship vs single-ship combat.
Now, here's a fun little piece of math.
In that episode, a single photon torpedo hit severely damages the klingon ship.
In "The changeling", Enterprise gets hit with a shot from nomad that is equivelent to "90 of our photon torpedoes", and spock continues, "We can take three more such attacks, the fourth with shatter our shields completely"
Now, if Enterprise can take 360 (or 450 depending on how that's interpreted) photon hits and Klingons can barely take one photon hit, how are they a threat?
The battle scene in Elaan of Troyus was great but what really carried it was the music score that accompanied it. It was an original piece unlike any other battle sequence music. In my opinion, that episode had the best music AND best single-ship vs single-ship combat.
Now, here's a fun little piece of math.
In that episode, a single photon torpedo hit severely damages the klingon ship.
In "The changeling", Enterprise gets hit with a shot from nomad that is equivelent to "90 of our photon torpedoes", and spock continues, "We can take three more such attacks, the fourth with shatter our shields completely"
Now, if Enterprise can take 360 (or 450 depending on how that's interpreted) photon hits and Klingons can barely take one photon hit, how are they a threat?
Ikabar said:
In several episodes, the term disruptor was used only for the hand weapons klingon troops carried.
The battle scene in Elaan of Troyus was great but what really carried it was the music score that accompanied it. It was an original piece unlike any other battle sequence music. In my opinion, that episode had the best music AND best single-ship vs single-ship combat.
Now, here's a fun little piece of math.
In that episode, a single photon torpedo hit severely damages the klingon ship.
In "The changeling", Enterprise gets hit with a shot from nomad that is equivelent to "90 of our photon torpedoes", and spock continues, "We can take three more such attacks, the fourth with shatter our shields completely"
Now, if Enterprise can take 360 (or 450 depending on how that's interpreted) photon hits and Klingons can barely take one photon hit, how are they a threat?
Well, to be fair - Scotty must have been doing something to the 1701 photon tordedoes because AFTER Kirk is told they took a hit equivelent to 90 photon torpedoes - he fires ONE back, hits; and when Spock says "No effect"; Kirk replies, "There must be damage to your instruments Spock...What could absord that much energy, and Survive?"
Even as a kid, when I first saw that in The Changeling I was like: "WTF! You guys just took 90 photons, survived, and can take 3 more such hits. What's Kirk on? (This WAS in early 1970)
I think there's some doubletalk at work here. The comment Spock makes is that the power contained in Nomad's shot is equivalent to 90 photon torpedoes. The underlying interpretation is that the power is there, but apparently not the destructive force. Sort of like the Enterprise shields protecting it from the "destructive power" of the sun but not from the sun itself.
Or it's just bad writing; take your pick.
They must have some of Q's personality traits: We're godlike and far more evolved than you, so up yours. We'll let you roughhouse and screw yourselves over until WE decide to poke our noses in where they don't belong.
Agreed. We don't go tell our neighbours to stop fighting until their antics keep us awake at night.
Funny how the Organians basically threaten to render totally limp and ineffective the combined military machines of BOTH the Federation and the Klingon Empire...then disappear and never show up again to enforce their treaty. What a load.
The Organians never said they'd stop UFP-KE conflicts in the future. There's nothing that says they can't fight and plenty of evidence to the contrary. In "The Trouble with Tribbles", whinch introduces the Organian Peace Treaty, Koloth reacts to Kirk's terms for shore leave by stating he's not aware "of any formal declaration of hostilities", implying that war is possible. Kang's comments in "Day of the Dove" about the Klingons honoring the treaty and wondering when the UFP would break it support that. And in "Elaan of Troyius" there's a battle.
The Organians didn't really care whether or not the Federation and Klingons fought. All they wanted was those damned kids out of their yard.
The Organians didn't really care whether or not the Federation and Klingons fought. All they wanted was those damned kids out of their yard.
And no primitive thoughts within their nominal range.
DontFeedPhil
Fleet Captain
Actually according to 1 "Enterprise" ep. I dont remember the name. The one where Archer rescues the Klingon ship from falling into a sun. Dont they go onto the ship and Reed starts reading some stuff off the screens and says something about Photon Torpedos...
And in the Movie "Star Trek" (The Underdeveloped story) the one where Spocks brother hijacks the enterprise to go look for GOD. Doesnt the Klingon D7 battlecruiser fire a single red photon out of its center cannon on the nose of the ship to kill GOD?
Correct me if Im wrong on any of those...
And in the Movie "Star Trek" (The Underdeveloped story) the one where Spocks brother hijacks the enterprise to go look for GOD. Doesnt the Klingon D7 battlecruiser fire a single red photon out of its center cannon on the nose of the ship to kill GOD?
Correct me if Im wrong on any of those...
And in TAS (yes I know, non-canon); everytime a Klingon ship was shown, it also fired photon torpedoes from the front/'nose'.
Which is partially my point. They go through the trouble of forcing and brokering a treaty between the Federation and Qo'noS that is supposed to be honored and enforced, but its basically little more than a paper tiger. The Organians go off to their own evolved realm somewhere and let the Federation and Klingons continue to duke it out on their own terms. It was basically just a ruse to get the two powers off of and away from Organia.
...Indeed, the treaty may be wholly of the mortals' own doing, something they both found advantageous in their new situation. Say, perhaps the Klingons during their abortive attack found out that they weren't going to succeed in a conventional conquest - that they had overestimated their military strength, and only avoided disaster because the Organians intervened. They'd then go for a treaty that allowed them to escalate further, and perhaps to snag a planet here, another there by the terms of the treaty as indicated in "Tribbles". And the Feds would by default welcome a treaty as an alternative to fighting, especially if they could work in some clauses against further Klingon escalation.
Both sides would then play pretend on the issue of Organian "enforcement". Any real battle would no doubt reveal that the Organians didn't care, but it would be in the interests of the two sides to avoid "real battle" and only do sneaky things and perhaps the sort of ambushes where the victim can't sound an alarm ("Elaan of Troyius" style). And even if one or two ambushes actually failed, the intended victim would stay mum for political gain.
In short, a typical way to wage a cold war is to work within the context of a peace treaty...
Timo Saloniemi
Both sides would then play pretend on the issue of Organian "enforcement". Any real battle would no doubt reveal that the Organians didn't care, but it would be in the interests of the two sides to avoid "real battle" and only do sneaky things and perhaps the sort of ambushes where the victim can't sound an alarm ("Elaan of Troyius" style). And even if one or two ambushes actually failed, the intended victim would stay mum for political gain.
In short, a typical way to wage a cold war is to work within the context of a peace treaty...
Timo Saloniemi
I've never been convinced the Organians brokered the treaty. That notion comes from TMoST and was reinforced by the treaty text in FJ's Tech Manual. Aside from those points, there's nothing in the show to support the idea of the Organinans dictating the terms any more than the citizens of Ghent dictated terms to the UK and US.
Peace talks between the Klingons and Federation broke down before the war started. My assumption is after the Organians stopped the fighting, the two parties went back to the table, hammered out the treaty,and named it after the incident. The Organians involvement ended when the Klingon and Federation fleets left their space.
^
Maybe the thought of immensely powerful, glowing energy beings showing up out of nowhere and turning all Klingon and Starfleet ships impotent and searing-hot to the touch intimidated both sides into going back to the peace table. "Hey, let's face facts, Chancellor so-and-so...we don't like or trust you. And YOU don't like or trust us. But there are glowing balls of light out there who can turn your bat'leths and my toilet paper the temperature of a blast furnace, and I sure as hell don't want my ass to look like a summer barbecue back on Earth! Let's hammer out something so we don't have those glowing freaks show up again!"
Maybe the thought of immensely powerful, glowing energy beings showing up out of nowhere and turning all Klingon and Starfleet ships impotent and searing-hot to the touch intimidated both sides into going back to the peace table. "Hey, let's face facts, Chancellor so-and-so...we don't like or trust you. And YOU don't like or trust us. But there are glowing balls of light out there who can turn your bat'leths and my toilet paper the temperature of a blast furnace, and I sure as hell don't want my ass to look like a summer barbecue back on Earth! Let's hammer out something so we don't have those glowing freaks show up again!"
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