The battle sequence in GENS

[Jeyl]

I don't think there was a serious disconnect given that my major gripe about the scene is done both in dialogue and in visual effects.

Riker: Deanna, take the helm. Get us out of orbit!
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Get us out of orbit... Why? Is the planet's gravity affecting the battle in any way? We've all seen Starships fight each other in a planet's orbit, so why was this an issue? As a result of this action, a majority of the Enterprise D's weapons wind up facing 'away' from the Bird of Prey and exposing the most vital areas.

 

[Timo]

I don't think there's any "facing" issue involved: the ship has full spherical coverage with her guns, even if straight ahead and aft are emphasized for torpedoes. If anything, there are more individual phaser strips facing aft, meaning if the Klingons take down a single whole strip, it means less when they are at Riker's six.

Why leave orbit? Well, if Riker can't block incoming fire, he needs to fire back, or flee. And he has already fired back, expecting to vaporize his puny opponent - but the beam did not stop the Klingons, leaving Riker with the options of further testing this surprising resilience, or fleeing. And leaving orbit is the one way to flee.

Timo Saloniemi