General order 24, were Kir kand Scotty bluffing?

[ixfd64]

It's debatable whether the order would have been carried out had Kirk's demands not been met. However, would a single Constitution-class ship really have the means to carry out such an order?

I haven't seen anything that suggests the Enterprise has that kind of firepower. There is a similar concept in the Star Wars universe called Base Delta Zero, but completely melting a planet's surface wouldn't be necessary to wipe out all life.

 

[BillJ]

It's debatable whether the order would have been carried out had Kirk's demands not been met. However, would a single Constitution-class ship really have the means to carry out such an order?

I haven't seen anything that suggests the Enterprise has that kind of firepower. There is a similar concept in the Star Wars universe called Base Delta Zero, but completely melting a planet's surface wouldn't be necessary to wipe out all life.

They don't say anything melting the planet surface only that they had programmed all cities and military installations into their fire control computer.

The capability is also mentioned in Bread and Circuses:

CLAUDIUS: But on the other hand, why even bother to send your men down? From what I understand, your vessel could lay waste to the entire surface of the world

 

[T'Girl]

Depend on what it takes to be considered as "destroyed." Destroying all power production, water pipelines, transportation inferstructure (especially bridges), waste treatment, means of communication, etc., you would have basically destroyed Eminor Seven.

You wouldn't have to actually glass the entire surface.

 

[The Old Mixer]

Captain, I believe the appropriate colloquialism is "bomb it into the stone age".

 

[GSchnitzer]

It's debatable whether the order would have been carried out had Kirk's demands not been met. However, would a single Constitution-class ship really have the means to carry out such an order?

Well, they could use a string of 210 satellites around the planet with burning tri-magnesite and trevium. The satellites could generate infrared light or microwaves of such intensity that they could cook everyone on the planet.

 

[Melakon]

Depend on what it takes to be considered as "destroyed." Destroying all power production, water pipelines, transportation inferstructure (especially bridges), waste treatment, means of communication, etc., you would have basically destroyed Eminor Seven.

You wouldn't have to actually glass the entire surface.

Doesn't Scott say "all habitable areas"? That could possibly mean not just infrastructure, but vegetation as well.

 

[Push The Button]

Depend on what it takes to be considered as "destroyed." Destroying all power production, water pipelines, transportation inferstructure (especially bridges), waste treatment, means of communication, etc., you would have basically destroyed Eminor Seven.

You wouldn't have to actually glass the entire surface.

Doesn't Scott say "all habitable areas"? That could possibly mean not just infrastructure, but vegetation as well.

Scotty mentioned that all cities and installations on Eminiar Seven had been targeted, and that the entire inhabited surface of the planet would be destroyed.

As previously mentioned, destroying utilities and infrastructure, as well as cities where government leadership and economic power was centered would probably be sufficient to set an advanced civilization back decades, or even hundreds of years, without having to destroy everything, everywhere.

 

[Rulius]

I would imagine a bunch of photon torpedos would devaste the planet; one ounce of antimatter blew out half the atmosphere on the planet the cloud critter was from in Obsession.

 

[Captain Rob]

Break out the bowling ball bomb. It's the only way to be sure.

 

[jpv2000]

I would imagine a bunch of photon torpedos would devaste the planet; one ounce of antimatter blew out half the atmosphere on the planet the cloud critter was from in Obsession.

It did indeed. Powerful stuff that antimatter.

 

[Garrovick]

I would imagine a bunch of photon torpedos would devaste the planet; one ounce of antimatter blew out half the atmosphere on the planet the cloud critter was from in Obsession.

It did indeed. Powerful stuff that antimatter.

Yep. More powerful than 10,000 cobalt bombs. One ounce on one side of the planet, another ounce on the opposite side - badda-bing, badda-boom. Done and done.

Too bad the landing party just didn't all have subcutaneous transponders on them. If that had been the case, Scotty could have just beamed everyone up and left. After all, the Eminians didn't have the means to force anyone to beam to the surface and Scotty wasn't going to beam anyone down, especially after the faked message from Kirk was shown to be such. And the Enterprise was able to avoid damage from the planetary disruptor banks so all Anan-7 would have been able to do was protest. After that, Fox could have negotiated some kind of a cease-fire from the ship or the Enterprise could have just left the system with critical information on the system.