this post was submitted on 14 Sep 2026
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/c/StarTrek: Your safe harbored Spacedock in these Stellar Seas!
Fire up the inertial dampeners, retract all moorings and clear space dock. It's time to boldy go where no one has gone before!
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Probably my favorite Scotty moment.
And yes, he absolutely was bluffing. Montgomery Scott would not kill innocent civilians, even under direct orders. Recall that in this same episode Scotty refused a direct order to lower the shields and was fully willing to accept the consequences. (See also Star Trek 2009 where Scotty resigns rather than violate his professional ethics.)
I also like how Uhura reacts. She heard Kirk give General Order 24 but didn't connect that with destroying the civilization below until Scotty utters his threat. This reinforces my headcanon that General Order 24 is actually a public health ordinance that was never intended to be used as a threat.
What you say makes much sense to me, but Memory-Alpha doesn't seem to agree with you:
So I see it as an actual threat in response to an actual threat, which Kirk was hoping would break Anan7's resolve. Fortunately, the threat didn't need to be carried out, but evidently it was indeed real.
I disagree with this characterization. Scotty's line is, "We can't fire full phasers with our screens up, and We can't lower our screens with their disruptors on us. Of course I could treat them to a few dozen photon torpedoes." From the tone and delivery I took it as an expression of frustration rather than a serious idea he had, let alone one he had already decided on.
Which is a really weird thing for Starfleet to have a protocol for. It makes more sense if we assume that GO24 is actually some kind of quarantine/sterilization procedure intended to prevent the spread of dangerous life forms.
If he was bluffing in the first place then he would still be bluffing here. There would be no point in tipping his hand until the situation was under control, which at that point it was not.
I wouldn't argue with that take. Moreso that this all comes down to interpretation and ultimately, belief. And we're talking about a fantasy sci-fi show, in which the needs of delivering weekly shows for an audience were arguably the #1 priority, not that Roddenberry didn't do his best for all things to adhere to his "Show Bible."
Compare ST-TOS to MAS*H, par exemple. A show that took off fairly early on, and accordingly was able to make a load of uncomfortable social commentary, far in excess of TOS's more conceptual versions, somewhat in the vein of The Smothers Brothers and the American version of All in the Family.
Altho it ultimately got cancelled short of the 5yr mission, I feel like TOS was an utterly brilliant show in any number of ways, but much of it was in building parallels to the crazy global events in the world, at the time. Or simply, commentary upon human nature itself.