04 ”MyGod,
Bones.What
haveI done?”
Scotty,Kirk,
andMcCoy
watchthe
Enterprise’s
fieryfinish.
05 Kirk
sacrificed
somuch
forSpock,
includinghis
son,David.
06 Breakout:
Kirkspirits
Bonesaway.Charged with violating nine
Starfleet regulations, Admiral Kirk and
hisco-conspirators finally faced the
legal repercussions stemming from The
Search for Spock at the end of The Voyage
Home. With Spock at their side, the
Enterprise’s senior staff discovered that
allcharges except for the one pertaining
toKirk’s disobedience of a direct order
had been dropped. The mission to save
Spock’s final victim turned out to be
Kirk’s rank, as the Federation president
demoted the admiral to a captain.
Luckily for Kirk, the “punishment”
placed him precisely where he wanted
tobe: in a starship’s center seat.Ultimate Sacrifice
Along with his trusted crew, Kirk
accomplished the impossible and
provided his friend Spock with a
second chance at life. David Marcus
stands out as the greatest loss from theventure to the Genesis planet, with
the scientist’s death clearly having the
most impact on his father.
From McCoy to Sarek, the
members of Kirk’s inner circle each
placed their reputations on the line to
varying degrees, though they all avoided
any long-term harm to their careers
and prestige. The Enterprise’s fiery
demise and Kirk’s reduction in rank
grade as the unsanctioned journey’s
final concrete consequences, but even
those events worked out in Kirk’s favor
as he began his tenure as the U.S.S.
Enterprise-A’s commander. However,
the legal slap on the wrist does not
diminish the bravery and selfless
behavior exhibited by the Enterprise’s
officers, or David’s sacrifice; for Kirk
and his colleagues truly believed that
undertaking the odyssey on Spock’s
behalf meant the end of their Starfleet
service, and possibly their lives.refuseSpock’smindandbody.When
T’LarquestionedSarek’srequest,the
ambassadoradmitted,“Mylogic...is
uncertainwheremysonis concerned.”
Fora VulcaninSarek’sposition,
acknowledgingsucha significantlapse
inlogicjeopardizedhispublicimage.
Whilethefactremainedunknown
untilStarTrekIV:TheVoyageHome,
Kirk’sconflictwithKrugejeopardized
peacenegotiationsbetweenthe
FederationandtheKlingonEmpire.
TheKlingonambassadoremphasized
Kruge’sdeathandthepilferedBird-
of-PreytotheFederationCouncil,but
fortunatelySarekpointedoutthatthe
KlingonsdestroyedtheU.S.S.Grissom,
soughttostealinformationabout
theGenesisDevice,executedDavid
Marcus,andlaunchedanunprovoked
assaultontheEnterprise. Regardless
ofblame,Kirk’sactivitiesnevertheless
inflamedtensionswiththeKlingons.
04
05 06ANALYSIS