History NightmareFuel / StarTrekVITheUndiscoveredCountry

* When ''Kronos One'' recovers and comes nose-to-nose with the unshielded ''Enterprise'', the ship locks photon torpedos and prepares to fire. Kirk just stares, slack-jawed at the view screen for a full ten seconds. This is the first time in the history of ''Star Trek'' that we've seen Kirk [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness falter in the command chair]]. He doesn't order shields up, he doesn't order evasive maneuvers, and he doesn't charge weapons, or anything else we expect him to do. He just sits there, staring. . .and then he surrenders. It's terrifying. What sells that part is the rest of his crew's reaction, ''especially'' Valeris', you know, an emotionless Vulcan.

--> '''Valtane:''' I have confirmed the location of Praxis, sir, but...
--> '''Sulu:''' What is it?
--> '''Valtane:''' I cannot confirm the '''existence''' of Praxis.

* When ''Qo'nos One'' recovers and comes nose-to-nose with the unshielded ''Enterprise'', the ship locks photon torpedos and prepares to fire. Kirk just stares, slack-jawed at the view screen for a full ten seconds. This is the first time in the history of ''Star Trek'' that we've seen Kirk [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness falter in the command chair]]. He doesn't order shields up, he doesn't order evasive maneuvers, and he doesn't charge weapons, or anything else we expect him to do. He just sits there, staring. . .and then he surrenders. It's terrifying. What sells that part is the rest of his crew's reaction, ''especially'' Valeris', you know, an emotionless Vulcan.

'''Valeris:''' (with barely contained terror) '''''Captain, OUR SHIELDS!'''''\\

* The attack on ''Qo'nos One'' is also a subtle indication of General Chang's fanaticism, because Chang was aboard ''Qo'noS One'' at the time of the attack. Considering that ''Qo'noS One'' had just sustained heavy damage, and that they were facing a fully-armed and operational Starfleet cruiser commanded by James T. Kirk--a man who eats Klingon battlecruisers as a between-meal snack--the Klingon ship had virtually no chance of winning a firefight with ''Enterprise'', and no reason to expect that Kirk wouldn't defend his ship. This means that General Chang wasn't just willing to die for his cause, he ''expected'' to die for it. Keep in mind that this was a plan that ''he was involved in making''. There's something very unsettling about that level of commitment to a warmongering and racist cause.

[[caption-width-right:350:On the surface, [[DeathWorld nothing can survive.]]

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%%https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1642193091068711500
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* Rura Penthe in its entirety. A penal colony on a frozen asteroid, with the only slim chance of escape being to walk the several miles needed to get beyond the magnetic field that prevents transporter operation, and just hope to hell that someone's looking in the right place to beam you up before you freeze to death. The prison itself is filled with an untold number of hostile aliens, and considering that prisoners aren't allowed universal translators, there's a good chance you'll unwittingly offend someone into injuring or killing you while the guards watch on, laughing. And if you try rebelling, fail to pull your weight in the mines, or if the commandant just needs someone to make an example of, then you can look forward to being stripped naked and thrown out into the icy wastes in front of the latest set of arrivals, probably leading to you freezing to death before they even descend into the prison.

* After the Klingon moon Praxis explodes in a massive PlanarShockwave, the USS ''Excelsior'' is close enough to not only have to ride out the shockwave, but when they scan the moon, they learn that ''[[EarthShatteringKaboom most of it is now simply not there anymore]]''. They then receive one of the more disturbuing {{Distress Call}}s in the history of the franchise, a Klingon, surrounded by flames, screaming in panicked Klingon before the signal abruptly cuts off, followed by a Klingon officer tersely messaging them to tell them that there has been [[DeadlyEuphemism an accident]], and that Starfleet's assistance is ''not'' required.

* Also, the same attack, from the ''Enterprise'' crew's point of view. The ship they are escorting is being attacked, and by all indications, it was the ''Enterprise'' that did it, with the bridge crew and Mr. Scott urgently shouting at each other unable to agree on what their own conflicting comptuers are telling them, trying to figure out just ''what the hell is going on'' before the Klingon ship finally regains control and prepares to [[ThisMeansWar open fire on them in evident self defense.]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tuchd0796.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:"We come in peace, and you blatantly defiled that peace!"]]

-->'''Chekov:''' Shields up, Captain?
-->'''Valeris:''' (with barely contained terror) '''''Captain! OUR SHIELDS!'''''
-->'''Chekov:''' Shields ''UP'', Captain?
-->(beat) (Klingon Cruiser is now at point-blank range filling the viewscreen, torpedoes armed)
-->'''Kirk:''' Signal our surrender.

-->'''Chekov:''' Shields Captain?
--> (beat)

--> (beat) (Klingon Cruiser is now at point-blank range filling the viewscreen, torpedoes armed)
-->'''Valeris:''' (with barely contained terror) '''''Captain! OUR SHIELDS!'''''

* FridgeLogic: The Enterprise has just fired on a ship carrying a diplomat on a mission of peace. There was no warning or provocation. Furthermore, agents from the Enterprise have deliberately murdered most of the crew on that ship, as well as the diplomat in question. It is an act of war, and worse, it is straight up treachery. The Klingons, worshiping honor, would perceive this as a Pearl Harbor-style event, and their revenge would only be satisfied by the complete destruction of the Federation. It would be a galactic war in which trillions might die and the entirety of known space would be dramatically destabilized even in the best-case scenario. The only evidence Enterprise would have to prove their non-complicity would be the ship's records and the crew's testimony, proof that the Klingons would never trust even if it hadn't been tampered with, because James Kirk is vocal about his hate of Klingons. And of course, let's not forget that this *is* being orchestrated by some top brass in Starfleet. Kirk hates the Klingons for personal and professional reasons, but he also understands them. He knows that any hope of proving the innocence of his ship, and of the Federation, would be forfeit in the event that the Enterprise attempts to defend itself or to escape. He is willing to sacrifice his life, his ship and its crew, because that is the only action he can take, under the present circumstances, which might possibly prevent this apocalyptic war. He will permit the Klingons to retaliate uncontested because to do so would subvert the narrative that Kirk ordered the attack out of personal animosity, and the Klingons respected Kirk as a warrior too much to believe he would order such an attack and react that way. Indeed, Kirk is more than happy to surrender himself to the Klingons once presented with the opportunity for the same exact reason he refused to raise shields. Rather than having a HeroicBSOD, Kirk is demonstrating *the* most legitimate act of heroism of the entire franchise.

* The attack on Gorkon's ship ''Qo'nos One'', from the Klingons' point of view. The ''Enterprise'', sent to escort them into Federation space for peace talks, unexpectedly opens fire on them, crippling them and knocking out the ArtificialGravity. Two [[FacelessMooks space-suited assassins]] beam aboard and begin [[ImplacableMan slowly and methodically]] marching through the ship, shooting helpless crewmembers as they float in freefall, unable to fight back or seek safety. Once they find their target, they shoot him in the heart, before calmly marching back the way they came and beaming back to their ship. Did we mention that, due to the lack of gravity, the Klingons' blood is left to ''float'' in blobs drifting through the air, trailing behind the wounded or dead crewmembers, in a rare exception to the BloodlessCarnage usually seen on ''Star Trek''?

%% [[caption-width-right:350:some caption text]]

-->'''>Chekov:''' Shields Captain?

* When ''Qo'nos One'' recovers and comes nose-to-nose with the unshielded ''Enterprise'', the ship locks photon torpedos and prepares to fire. Kirk just stares, slack-jawed at the view screen for a full ten seconds. This is the first time in the history of ''Star Trek'' that we've seen Kirk [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness falter in the command chair]]. He doesn't order shields up, he doesn't order evasive maneuvers, and he doesn't charge weapons, or anything else we expect him to do. He just sits there, staring. . .and then he surrenders. It's terrifying.
** What sells that part is the rest of his crew's reaction, ''especially'' Valeris', you know, an emotionless Vulcan.
---->'''>Chekov:''' Shields Captain?
----> (beat)
---->'''Chekov:''' Shields ''UP'', Captain?
----> (beat) (Klingon Cruiser is now at point-blank range filling the viewscreen, torpedoes armed)
---->'''Valeris:''' (with barely contained terror) '''''Captain! OUR SHIELDS!'''''

* After the Klingon moon explodes in a massive PlanarShockwave, the USS ''Excelsior'' is close enough to not only have to ride out the shockwave, but when they scan the moon, they learn that ''[[EarthShatteringKaboom most of it is now simply not there anymore]]''. They then receive one of the more disturbuing {{Distress Call}}s in the history of the franchise, a Klingon, surrounded by flames, screaming in panicked Klingon before the signal abruptly cuts off, followed by a Klingon officer tersely messaging them to tell them that there has been [[DeadlyEuphemism an accident]], and that Starfleet's assistance is ''not'' required.

* The attack on Gorkon's ship, from the Klingons' point of view. The ''Enterprise'', sent to escort them into Federation space for peace talks, unexpectedly opens fire on them, crippling them and knocking out the ArtificialGravity. Two [[FacelessMooks space-suited assassins]] beam aboard and begin [[ImplacableMan slowly and methodically]] marching through the ship, shooting helpless crewmembers as they float in freefall, unable to fight back or seek safety. Once they find their target, they shoot him in the heart, before calmly marching back the way they came and beaming back to their ship. Did we mention that, due to the lack of gravity, the Klingons' blood is left to ''float'' in blobs drifting through the air, trailing behind the wounded or dead crewmembers, in a rare exception to the BloodlessCarnage usually seen on ''Star Trek''?

** When the Klingon battlecruiser recovers and comes nose-to-nose with the unshielded ''Enterprise'', the ship locks photon torpedos and prepares to fire. Kirk just stares, slack-jawed at the view screen for a full ten seconds. This is the first time in the history of ''Star Trek'' that we've seen Kirk [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness falter in the command chair]]. He doesn't order shields up, he doesn't order evasive maneuvers, and he doesn't charge weapons, or anything else we expect him to do. He just sits there, staring. . .and then he surrenders. It's terrifying.

** FridgeLogic: The Enterprise has just fired on a ship carrying a diplomat on a mission of peace. There was no warning or provocation. Furthermore, agents from the Enterprise have deliberately murdered most of the crew on that ship, as well as the diplomat in question. It is an act of war, and worse, it is straight up treachery. The Klingons, worshiping honor, would perceive this as a Pearl Harbor-style event, and their revenge would only be satisfied by the complete destruction of the Federation. It would be a galactic war in which trillions might die and the entirety of known space would be dramatically destabilized even in the best-case scenario. The only evidence Enterprise would have to prove their non-complicity would be the ship's records and the crew's testimony, proof that the Klingons would never trust even if it hadn't been tampered with, because James Kirk is vocal about his hate of Klingons. And of course, let's not forget that this *is* being orchestrated by some top brass in Starfleet. Kirk hates the Klingons for personal and professional reasons, but he also understands them. He knows that any hope of proving the innocence of his ship, and of the Federation, would be forfeit in the event that the Enterprise attempts to defend itself or to escape. He is willing to sacrifice his life, his ship and its crew, because that is the only action he can take, under the present circumstances, which might possibly prevent this apocalyptic war. He will permit the Klingons to retaliate uncontested because to do so would subvert the narrative that Kirk ordered the attack out of personal animosity, and the Klingons respected Kirk as a warrior too much to believe he would order such an attack and react that way. Indeed, Kirk is more than happy to surrender himself to the Klingons once presented with the opportunity for the same exact reason he refused to raise shields. Rather than having a HeroicBSOD, Kirk is demonstrating *the* most legitimate act of heroism of the entire franchise.
** The scene is also a subtle indication of General Chang's fanaticism, because Chang was aboard ''Qo'noS One'' at the time of the attack. Considering that ''Qo'noS One'' had just sustained heavy damage, and that they were facing a fully-armed and operational Starfleet cruiser commanded by James T. Kirk--a man who eats Klingon battlecruisers as a between-meal snack--the Klingon ship had virtually no chance of winning a firefight with ''Enterprise'', and no reason to expect that Kirk wouldn't defend his ship. This means that General Chang wasn't just willing to die for his cause, he ''expected'' to die for it. Keep in mind that this was a plan that ''he was involved in making''. There's something very unsettling about that level of commitment to a warmongering and racist cause.

** The attack on Gorkon's ship, from the Klingons' point of view. The ''Enterprise'', sent to escort them into Federation space for peace talks, unexpectedly opens fire on them, crippling them and knocking out the ArtificialGravity. Two [[FacelessMooks space-suited assassins]] beam aboard and begin [[ImplacableMan slowly and methodically]] marching through the ship, shooting helpless crewmembers as they float in freefall, unable to fight back or seek safety. Once they find their target, they shoot him in the heart, before calmly marching back the way they came and beaming back to their ship. Did we mention that, due to the lack of gravity, the Klingons' blood is left to ''float'' in blobs drifting through the air, trailing behind the wounded or dead crewmembers, in a rare exception to the BloodlessCarnage usually seen on ''Star Trek''?

*** What sells that part is the rest of his crew's reaction, ''especially'' Valeris', you know, an emotionless Vulcan.