Why were Pike and Spock left behind on the planet during the storm? Because the Enterprise didn't have its own shuttlecraft until Season 2 of TOS.
This one seems unlikely. Enterprise debarked a whole bunch of shuttlecraft and drones while fighting Control alongside Discovery in that series' second-season finale. It also had a visible shuttlebay throughout the 2250s and 2260s. More than likely, Number One and the crew just didn't want to risk a small shuttlecraft (or several) getting easily taken down by a large ion storm. They're on a five-year mission into distant space, after all, and this isn't Prodigy in the 24th century where a vessel has the facilities to readily fabricate a new shuttlecraft.
This should probably be removed because we have confirmation the Enterprise has shuttles by episode 4.
Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
This should probably be removed because we have confirmation the Enterprise has shuttles by episode 4.
Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.