ST6: Chang & Valeris
- Thread starter BorgPhil
- Start date
Chang was absolutely on board the BOP during the entire attack, including during his "blow you out of the stars" rant. There is subtle, but ample on-screen evidence to support this.
Notice first that Chang is absent during the meeting between Gorkon and his staff. As noted before, Chang is chief of staff and should have been there.
Next, and most obvious, Chang is clearly still floating in a weightless environment during his conversation with Kirk. Yet, we are shown in the scene immediately preceding that gravity had just been restored to Kronos 1. Thus, Chang should not have been floating. So, why was he?
Because he was on the BOP during the attack. Thus, he was able to target Kronos 1's artificial gravity system and knock it offline to leave the way clear for Burke and Samno to beam aboard and kill Gorkon.
Because Chang knew that the gravity system was knocked out - according to his plan and his aim - he knew he would have to appear weightless during his rant to Kirk. So, he probably turned off the gravity on the BOP's bridge just long enough for him to rant and rave. He did not know that, just seconds earlier, gravity had been restored on Kronos 1. In fact, the scene implies that Kirk and Chang were already in the middle of their conversation with each other when the gravity was restored.
Meyer put these details in deliberately to hint to the audience that Chang was behind the attack.
tl;dr: Chang was totally on the BOP during the entire attack. All you have to do is watch closely and it's obvious.
I would think Chang calls while the assassination is going on. If Enterprise raises her shields, the assassins get trapped on Kronos One and will be killed or if not, they are the ones put on trail rather than Kirk. First rule of assassination is kill the assassins. It would makes sense to have the plan be for the two crewmen to be trapped on Kronos One, and be killed by the Klingons, or in the exchange of fire. That happens, then the only evidence of the attempt is that somehow the torpedo logs were changed, and two crewmen are missing from Enterprise.
Just by watching the scene. As you can see in the screencap below, Chang is at an odd angle, clutching the bulkhead. If you watch the scene, he twitches and moves around as one only might when weightless.
It's all in the scene.
http://movies.trekcore.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=499&pid=53333#top_display_media
Just by watching the scene. As you can see in the screencap below, Chang is at an odd angle, clutching the bulkhead. If you watch the scene, he twitches and moves around as one only might when weightless.
It's all in the scene.
http://movies.trekcore.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=499&pid=53333#top_display_media
Indeed, as depicted it appears Chang is either in an actual weightless environment, or at the least feigning weightlessness ... after gravity was shown to be restored.
However, my vote still goes for Chang being aboard K1, and here's why:
- for Chang to be on the BoP, he would have had to beam over there from K1 between his return from Enterprise and the attack, and then beam back after haranguing Kirk but before Kirk and McCoy arrive. All that would have had to have been without detection, maybe easy in the chaotic latter case but improbable in the first case. It's been established that a transporter beam is detectable by sensors so unless the Klingons have gotten around that, Chang moving about undetected is unlikely.
- I don't believe the small gathering where Gorkon was killed to be an official staff meeting that would have required Chang to be there. Really appeared to me to be a few fellow officers having a bloodwine nightcap with the Top Targ before turning in, undoubtedly laughing at the smell and horrible table manners of the earthers. Thus, Chang's absence didn't strike me as being an indication he was actually off the ship.
- Granted an early rendition still referencing Saavik instead of Valeris, but the script on TrekCore clearly shows the restoration of gravity to be after Chang and Kirk talk and that Chang is quickly on the crime scene, even being there the moment gravity is restored.
Therefore, by accident or design, I sense the scene with Chang on the viewscreen was placed later than originally intended.
On another subject, I feel the conspirators were not acting solely out of selfishness in an effort to retain their jobs and positions of power. Maybe some trepidation over the unknown future, but the three parties each felt, misguidedly, that the treaty was actually a threat to the culture and way of life they've dedicated themselves to protect. The Klingons felt the treaty would destroy their culture and warrior way of life and sentence them to being weakling second-class citizens ... the Federation faction felt the treaty would bring a still-hostile barbaric influence into their society while creating a socio-economical drain on them ... the Romulans probably feared a Federation no longer having to dedicate time and resources to dealing with the Klingons. All probably felt themselves to be patriots, not traitors.
Another thing I'd like to know is, why does the one Klingon general say (during the trial) that he found himself "weightless and unable to function". Hardly the words of a warrior, especially one who rose all the way to flag rank. What self-respecting Klingon admits in open court that he can't function in zero-G? 
Perhaps Zero-G and Klingons really don't get along.
Witness Worf in First Contact.
Witness Worf in First Contact.
Another thing: Whichever ship Chang was on when he made that call, couldn't it be traced? If he was on any ship other than Kronos One, the Enterprise could have detected it. (If it was the BOP, it would have been cloaked, and you can't raise communications through a cloaking field.)
Yes you can.
^ Really? When did they do that? 
Oh well. Even if that is possible, Chang's transmission still could have been traced. Either he was on Kronos One, which is obviously not cloaked, or his own BOP, which was. And if it was the latter, obviously he's up to no good, as there weren't supposed to be any cloaked ships in the area.
So if Kirk had been able to determine (by process of elimination) that Chang was on a cloaked ship, then that would have blown the conspiracy wide open, wouldn't it?
Oh well. Even if that is possible, Chang's transmission still could have been traced. Either he was on Kronos One, which is obviously not cloaked, or his own BOP, which was. And if it was the latter, obviously he's up to no good, as there weren't supposed to be any cloaked ships in the area.
So if Kirk had been able to determine (by process of elimination) that Chang was on a cloaked ship, then that would have blown the conspiracy wide open, wouldn't it?
I would think Uhura would notice if the communications were from someplace other than Kronos One.
Also it makes sense for Chang and Kirk to be having this conversation while the assassins are still on Kronos One. As I mentioned, having the assassins be killed by the Klingons in a firefight after the gravity is back on would a perfect way to silence them, and have evidence of the Federation assassination attempt. If Kirk had raised his shields, the two could not beam back. And Valeris seemed in a hurry to get those shields up, while still following orders.
Also it makes sense for Chang and Kirk to be having this conversation while the assassins are still on Kronos One. As I mentioned, having the assassins be killed by the Klingons in a firefight after the gravity is back on would a perfect way to silence them, and have evidence of the Federation assassination attempt. If Kirk had raised his shields, the two could not beam back. And Valeris seemed in a hurry to get those shields up, while still following orders.
^ Really? When did they do that?
Oh well. Even if that is possible, Chang's transmission still could have been traced. Either he was on Kronos One, which is obviously not cloaked, or his own BOP, which was. And if it was the latter, obviously he's up to no good, as there weren't supposed to be any cloaked ships in the area.
So if Kirk had been able to determine (by process of elimination) that Chang was on a cloaked ship, then that would have blown the conspiracy wide open, wouldn't it?
Presumably the source could be traced, if anyone thought to trace it; in the heat of the moment, would anyone? Why go looking for the source of something that seems sensibly to be coming from Kronos One?
And in any case, Chang could have his signals relayed through Kronos One, or could just move the cloaked ship near enough Kronos One that the difference can't be convincingly detected.
My brother and I still quote "weightless and unable to function" in regular conversation for a laugh, what a fantastic lineAnother thing I'd like to know is, why does the one Klingon general say (during the trial) that he found himself "weightless and unable to function". Hardly the words of a warrior, especially one who rose all the way to flag rank. What self-respecting Klingon admits in open court that he can't function in zero-G?
That's right. The "Caller ID" can be spoofed, and we know that they can't detect the exact location of a transmission, otherwise they could have just used that to take out Chang during the climax of the film.^ Really? When did they do that?
Oh well. Even if that is possible, Chang's transmission still could have been traced. Either he was on Kronos One, which is obviously not cloaked, or his own BOP, which was. And if it was the latter, obviously he's up to no good, as there weren't supposed to be any cloaked ships in the area.
So if Kirk had been able to determine (by process of elimination) that Chang was on a cloaked ship, then that would have blown the conspiracy wide open, wouldn't it?
Presumably the source could be traced, if anyone thought to trace it; in the heat of the moment, would anyone? Why go looking for the source of something that seems sensibly to be coming from Kronos One?
And in any case, Chang could have his signals relayed through Kronos One, or could just move the cloaked ship near enough Kronos One that the difference can't be convincingly detected.
Plus, the use of a cloaked ship hinged on "close enough to tango" being enough to fool everybody, for whatever reason. The BoP fired from the immediate vicinity of the E-A - and this was enough to make everybody believe the shots came from the E-A, even though the difference must have been measurable by various means.
Timo Saloniemi
Timo Saloniemi
A lot of these things can be written off by the macguffin-esque thing the movie gives us - Radiation. There's so much of it in the area accurate readings are not likely. You could probably mask a transporter signal, the exact bearing of the torpedos, and all sorts of other stuff in that. Remember they didn't detect the transport of the two starfleet officers during this, either.
