Redshirts Of "AND THE CHILDREN SHALL LEAD"...

This should probably be a FAQ.

Dukhat nailed half of the equation. At the point of discovering that the ship has left orbit, Kirk has more pressing issues, one of this turns out to be that he no longer is in control and cannot go back to Triacus.

Kirk at the end of the adventure had to deal with the same two issues he had back when he still thought he was orbiting Triacus: delivering the kids to a Federation asset, possibly a starbase, and picking up those two crewmen from Triacus. Now, which was closer to Kirk at the time, the UFP asset or the planet? It's very clear-cut: the UFP asset was.

Note how Kirk originally wants to take the kids to a nearby Federation location, but the Gorgon intervenes. The beast wants the ship to sail to what he explicitly calls a more distant target, Marcos XII. The beast almost gets what it wants. Then Kirk triumphs, and tells Sulu to "reverse course" for Starbase 4. Ergo, the Starbase stands between them and Triacus.

If Kirk wanted to be really nice to the two saps on the surface, he'd never go to Triacus himself, but would ask for SB 4 to send a ride for them!

Timo Saloniemi

 

Yeah, I figured that, but it would have been nice if it was mentioned in dialogue at the end.

Something like...

Kirk: "Mr. Sulu, set course for Starbase 4. We'll drop off the children and then head for Truacus to pick up our stranded men."
Sulu: "Aye, sir."

Hell, it might have been better for Kirk to head for Triacus first, because those men didn't have any food or water on them when they were sent down to begin with. Just as a precaution, he should have gotten them first, since the children were no longer a threat and might even benefit from the extra bit of time of counseling wuth McCoy and company before going to the starbase.

 

In-universe, that's right. But the audience in 1968 was seeing this episode for the 1st time, not the 30th. The viewers have so completely forgotten those two guards on the planet that a quick reminder won't cut it. If Kirk suddenly mentions them at the end, the effect would be confusion. It would have played as a loose end being added ("What two guards?") rather than a loose end being tied up.

 

I'm surprised the abandoned Redshirts didn't sue..after all they did have a top ranked attorney available.

 

I think the OP meant the guards on the planet's surface who were to be replaced, not the guards beamed into space.

The men on the surface would have had the researchers supplies and housing to sustain them (unless Kirk ordered the encampment dismantled) and likely would have been fine for a protracted time period, until Kirk remembered them.

It's easy to assume that the researchers had communications gear.

 

Or, more horrifyingly, they too were beamed into nothing.

 

We have no reason to think they were forgotten. Kirk etc. were responsible people, they could have gone back (or sent someone else for them), therefore they did.

 

I guess the one danger to the duo would have come from the planet itself. Remember how that cave was a chamber of horrors to anybody who entered? Was that merely because the Gorgon was living there at the time, or because his whole clan was? Or was that just the Gorgon's telepathic smell lingering? Or a lesser native lifeform capable of coexisting with the Gorgon and herefore a nasty customer itself?

In other words, did the place become safe once the big beast embarked on yet another crusade to other stars, or did it remain a danger to anybody lingering?

Timo Saloniemi

 

I think the original guards were from Kirk's landing party and were not beamed up with the rest of landing party and the children.

 

The logistics of the expedition recovery may have been more complex and extensive than what we saw on screen, with numerous beamdowns and beamups. But that shouldn't change anything much. Unless the Gorgon was blinding the heroes to what was going on from the very start, the guard down on the planet should not have felt the touch of the transporter after their safe and confirmed arrival down there but before Kirk's factual departure from orbit.

Timo Saloniemi

 

Those redshirts were lucky to get wacked....they didn't have to suffer through the rest of this bummer episode like I did.

 

I'm so glad Remastered didn't choose to show us what materialization of a living person in a vacuum would look like, but just imagine...

 

Contrary to belief (though the message is getting through lately), they wouldn't swell up and explode. They might puff up some initially, but they'd actually die of asphyxiation rather than explosive decompression. And then they'd just float there.

 

And bursting blood vessels.

 

Yeah. I'm sure the real thing would be sad and unspectacular.

 

The real mystery, vis á vis, isn't with this episode's portrayal of such an event - it is with the general Trek failure to beam back people blown out of a starship and then resurrect them. Out of the many reversible ways to die in Trek, this is one of the least involved. Just heal that whole-body bruise with the trusty dermal regenerator, deal with oxygen deprivation effects by applying tri-ox, and restart all the organs with the usual stimulants. Brain damage isn't really an issue after just a minute or two.

Granted that the most spectacular blow-outs are in the middle of combat where transporter use is limited. But there could have been a few more Harry Kims aboard the Voyager had the available tech been put to a more effective use...

Timo Saloniemi

 

Did Kirk ever go back and pick them two guys up again is the question we should be asking?
JB

 

Interestingly the original two guards on the planet, Leslie and Lemli, are very much back onboard the ship in the latter parts of the episode, so there must already have been a rotation of guards before the accident!

 

Leslie also got wacked by the Vampire Cloud in Obsession. He's a tough redshirt to kill.