The Voyage Home Nears - I
The crew of the Enterprise chose to remain in the cramped quarters of the Klingon Bird of Prey during their exile on Vulcan, despite repeated offers of hospitality from Sarek and Amanda. Kirk felt that staying out of Sarek's compound created at least the illusion of distance between official Vulcan and the crew. (Sarek naturally saw through the illusion, but had long ago learned to tolerate human foibles.) The plan was that when the crew returned to Earth, they would leave the Bird of Prey to the Vulcan Diplomatic Service, which in turn would negotiate its return to its rightful owners as a gesture of peace. But when Kirk learned that Starfleet couldn't be bothered to send a ship to Vulcan - one of Earth's nearest neighbors - he felt returning in a Klingon ship would be ironically appropriate.
With their departure nearing, Scotty, Saavik, and a team of Vulcans oversaw a partial overhaul of the Bird of Prey's systems. The ship would have been able to manage the trip to Earth with ease, but Scotty insisted...
"Admiral, this ship is a bumblebee."
"A bumblebee?"
"Aye. A bumblebee. I recall hearing when I in the academy that bumblebees shouldn't be able to fly. Now it's clear that they can, and I'm sure a good engineer can tell you why, but that doesn't mean that that they should. That's this ship. I've never seen anything so haphazardly wired. It's a wonder that it didn't explode the first time it went to warp. And the power usage...it's no surprise the Klingons want so much dilithium."
"Scotty, the trip is a short hop. We'll be fine."
"Admiral, I got you this far. What kind of engineer would I be if we didn't make it the last leg because someone decided not to make sure we could do it?"
...Jim admired Scotty's dedication. He felt sorry for the old veteran, finally promoted to captain (a rare honor for an engineer) and now without a ship. Without the ship that he loved as much as Jim did. Odds were that Scotty would get the same treatment. Sabotaging the Excelsior was a high affront to the fleet, and a message, he was sure, had to be sent. He wondered if Scotty had thought about that while he happily battled against Klingon technology.
With their departure nearing, Scotty, Saavik, and a team of Vulcans oversaw a partial overhaul of the Bird of Prey's systems. The ship would have been able to manage the trip to Earth with ease, but Scotty insisted...
"Admiral, this ship is a bumblebee."
"A bumblebee?"
"Aye. A bumblebee. I recall hearing when I in the academy that bumblebees shouldn't be able to fly. Now it's clear that they can, and I'm sure a good engineer can tell you why, but that doesn't mean that that they should. That's this ship. I've never seen anything so haphazardly wired. It's a wonder that it didn't explode the first time it went to warp. And the power usage...it's no surprise the Klingons want so much dilithium."
"Scotty, the trip is a short hop. We'll be fine."
"Admiral, I got you this far. What kind of engineer would I be if we didn't make it the last leg because someone decided not to make sure we could do it?"
...Jim admired Scotty's dedication. He felt sorry for the old veteran, finally promoted to captain (a rare honor for an engineer) and now without a ship. Without the ship that he loved as much as Jim did. Odds were that Scotty would get the same treatment. Sabotaging the Excelsior was a high affront to the fleet, and a message, he was sure, had to be sent. He wondered if Scotty had thought about that while he happily battled against Klingon technology.