Addendum to Yesterday’s Review: General Order 24

I failed to mention one thing in last night’s Trek Review of “A Taste of Armageddon.”  Kirk’s move to call for General Order 24 towards the end of the episode.

If you will recall, General Order 24 is described as such according to Memory-Alpha.org:

General Order 24: An order to destroy all life on an entire planet.

Now, was Kirk bluffing, was he making up regulations?   Remember what he did in “The Corbomite Maneuver,”  in his great bluff of Balok to not destroy the ship.  I don’t think he was bluffing here.  While Kirk doesn’t have to go through with it here, the notion of it does come up again in the Third Season episode “Whom Gods Destroy.”  Captain Garth doesn’t go through with it then, either, but still… the notion of this order is frightening!

I don’t think Kirk ever wanted to go through with it, but given the situation of being held hostage by Anan Seven and the high council of Eminiar VII, he had no choice but to do his duty.  If I were in the same scenario, I would probably be a bit hesitant to do it, but ultimately I would do it too.

Does that make me a bad person?  Depends on your point of view, doesn’t it?