TWOK Nebula Battle Question

[Vger23]

So, there's always been something I've wondered about the battle in the Mutara Nebula during TWOK.

In the very first exchange of fire after the two ships have entered the nebula, the Enterprise has maneuvered to the Reliant's flank, both ships fire at each other unsuccessfully. The Enterprise fires first, with a phaser spread that goes wide to the Reliant's port side. Khan replies with an aft torpedo shot that completely misses the Enterprise, which has already veered away in anticipation of the shot.

During this phase, Kirk tells Sulu "best guess...fire when ready" because we have just learned that the phaser lock is inoperative. Sulu puts his hand on what looks like the left side portion of the helm console and, just then, the ship shudders and the phasers go wide of target.

Are we supposed to infer that Sulu hit the "fire" key before he planned on it because of the turbulence...that the turbulence jolted him just enough to press the key before he had the ship lined up correctly? I have always wondered that. We don't really get any turbulence any other times while they are in the nebula...so it's not totally obvious to me.

Thoughts / insights?

 

[Vger23]

I guess I found my own answer to this one :

SULU

Phaser lock inoperative, sir.

KIRK

Best guess, Mister Sulu. Fire

when ready.

Sulu strains, then fires - just as an electrical

disturbance bounces off the bridge -

183 EXT. SPACE NEBULA 183

The bounce causes Sulu's phaser shot to go wide of

Reliant, amid CRACKLING discharges -

184 INT. RELIANT BRIDGE 184

rolls from the near-miss concussion -

 

[BlueStuff]

I'm not surprised nobody answered - after all, who'd want to talk about a forgotten, little-known entry like Wrath of Khan?

 

[Vger23]

I'm not surprised nobody answered - after all, who'd want to talk about a forgotten, little-known entry like Wrath of Khan?

In fairness, my question was probably waaaaaay in the minutiae pit.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

I'm in the insufficient data for computation camp. That said, maybe Sulu decided to fire in that split second of the shudder, because he recognized that the turbulence was ruining all his progress towards obtaining a firing solution anyway, and he had been ordered to take his best shot in that situation.

 

[drt]

For what it's worth, I always thought the turbulence was responsible for the shot going wide.

However, I'm now wondering if that was something I thought in initial viewing, or if I Mandela'd myself with something from the novelization.

 

[Jeyl]

I always presumed it was that shiny tornado-looking thing in the Nebula that caused the turbulence.

 

[publiusr]

Same here.

What puzzled me was how Reliant had that nebula’s pulsar behind him…flying out of the sun as it were.

That alone could have cooked both ships…just a white dwarf maybe?

That would churn things up.

 

[Smellmet]

For what it's worth, I always thought the turbulence was responsible for the shot going wide.

That's my take. The bridge shakes just at the right moment. Surely a deliberate choice by the filmmakers.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

I'm just not buying that Sulu was so clumsy with the controls as to fire accidentally. That's why I think he chose to shoot, in order to take the best shot available.

 

[Smellmet]

I don't think he fired accidentally I just think that the turbulence threw him off at the moment he was going to fire