Last night while I was not falling asleep I wondered how the Star Trek story might have turned out had Captain Kirk managed to destroy Kruge's Bird-of-Prey over the Genesis Planet. As you know, the Enterprise fired a single torpedo when the Bird-of-Prey decloaked, but lost the ability to fight once Kruge returned fire. What if Kirk had been more aggressive, and destroyed the Bird-of-Prey before Kruge had a chance to fire?
Presumably he would have simply beamed Spock, Saavik, and David aboard (assuming the Klingons did not kill them all once they lost contact with Kruge.) They then could have gone to Vulcan long before the planet broke apart. Perhaps the Vulcans would have assisted with repairs just as they did the Bird-of-Prey. Kirk would still have had the opportunity, presumably, to remain in command of the ship on his way back to Earth for court-martial.
But that's where it gets interesting. In TVH, the ability of the Bird-of-Prey to cloak was integral to the plot. They avoided detection by telescopes and satellites of 1986 using the cloaking device. If they were in the Enterprise instead, how would they have managed that? Hiding behind the moon, perhaps? Would this leave them close enough to transport? Would Scotty have had to build whale tanks, or would existing rooms on the ship do? The scene where they stop the whaling ship from harpooning George and Gracie would surely have turned out differently.
The climax of the movie also depended on the unique abilities of the Klingon vessel, when it lost power due to the Probe and splashed down in San Fransisco Bay. (Lucky piloting?) With the Enterprise in orbit and without power, could they have gotten the whales into the ocean safely? I don't think the whales could hear the Probe while in orbit, especially without enough power to open a channel.
After all that, presumably things would have been the same afterward. Kirk is given his ship back, and the Enterprise would still need lots of repair work done, meaning TFF might proceed in a similar fashion. But with David still alive, would TUC be any different?
Food for thought. I'll try to sleep better tonight...
PS: TVH was the first Star Trek movie I saw. It was in theaters when I was only three and we bought it on VHS the next year. Until I was older and saw TWoK and TSFS later, I struggled to understand why Kirk and Spock were flying around in a winged green ship rather than the familiar Enterprise from the show, and why they were all wearing different outfits. Good times.
Presumably he would have simply beamed Spock, Saavik, and David aboard (assuming the Klingons did not kill them all once they lost contact with Kruge.) They then could have gone to Vulcan long before the planet broke apart. Perhaps the Vulcans would have assisted with repairs just as they did the Bird-of-Prey. Kirk would still have had the opportunity, presumably, to remain in command of the ship on his way back to Earth for court-martial.
But that's where it gets interesting. In TVH, the ability of the Bird-of-Prey to cloak was integral to the plot. They avoided detection by telescopes and satellites of 1986 using the cloaking device. If they were in the Enterprise instead, how would they have managed that? Hiding behind the moon, perhaps? Would this leave them close enough to transport? Would Scotty have had to build whale tanks, or would existing rooms on the ship do? The scene where they stop the whaling ship from harpooning George and Gracie would surely have turned out differently.
The climax of the movie also depended on the unique abilities of the Klingon vessel, when it lost power due to the Probe and splashed down in San Fransisco Bay. (Lucky piloting?) With the Enterprise in orbit and without power, could they have gotten the whales into the ocean safely? I don't think the whales could hear the Probe while in orbit, especially without enough power to open a channel.
After all that, presumably things would have been the same afterward. Kirk is given his ship back, and the Enterprise would still need lots of repair work done, meaning TFF might proceed in a similar fashion. But with David still alive, would TUC be any different?
Food for thought. I'll try to sleep better tonight...
PS: TVH was the first Star Trek movie I saw. It was in theaters when I was only three and we bought it on VHS the next year. Until I was older and saw TWoK and TSFS later, I struggled to understand why Kirk and Spock were flying around in a winged green ship rather than the familiar Enterprise from the show, and why they were all wearing different outfits. Good times.
