Khan Noonien Singh’s (Ricardo Montalban) escape from Ceti Alpha V and rampage with the Genesis Device inStar Trek II: The Wrath of Khanonly happened because of a big mistake on Starfleet’s part. Directed by Nicholas Meyer,Star Trek IIis a sequel to “Space Seed,” the classicStar Trek: The Original Seriesepisodethat introduced Khan. The genetically engineered super villain stole the planet terraformingGenesis Device inStar Trek II, and the USS Enterprise led by Admiral James T. Kirk (WIlliam Shatner) stopped him at great cost.
Star Trek: The Original Series' “Space Seed” ended with Captain Kirk sending Khan and his 70+ followers to the planet Ceti Alpha V. A rugged world devoid of technology, Khan and hisgenetically augmented peoplewould need all of their abilities to survive.Kirk and Starfleet evidently never returned to see what became of Khanon Ceti Alpha V, but that isn’t the big mistake that ultimately set Khan loose on the galaxy. It was the inexplicable error made by the USS Reliant that put the destruction inStar Trek II: The Wrath of Khaninto motion.
A Big Mistake By Starfleet Freed Khan In Star Trek II
“THIS Is Ceti Alpha V!”
As Khan told the USS Reliant’s Captain Clark Terrell (Paul Winfield) and Commander Pavel Chekov (Walter Koenig) when they met,“THIS is Ceti Alpha V!“The gobsmacked Terrell and Chekov came to the Ceti Alpha system believing they were on Ceti Alpha VI. On loan toDr. Carol Marcus' (Bibi Besch) Project Genesis, the USS Reliant sought Ceti Alpha VI as a lifeless planet to test the Genesis Device’s terraforming powers.Captain Terell and the Reliant’s crew had no idea Ceti Alpha VI explodedsix months after Captain Kirk left Khan and his followers on Ceti Alpha V.
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However, mixing up Ceti Alpha V and VI is a massive blunder on the part of the USS Reliant’s crew. If Ceti Alpha VI exploded, it wouldn’t have been vaporized. There would have been asteroids and debris, ample evidence of the planet’s destruction. Further, Reliant was specifically searching for Ceti Alpha VI, yet the ship’s sensors somehow missed that the Ceti system’s planet count was one short - or Reliant never scanned at all.
It doesn’t truly make sense that Captain Terrell and his Starfleet crew had no clue whatsoever Ceti Alpha VI was destroyed, and they beamed onto the wrong planet – except forStar Trek IIneeding it as a plot device to set Khan’s diabolical mayhem into motion.
Star Trek: Lower Decks Pointed Out Starfleet’s Big Mistake
Starfleet Fixed Its Lack Of Follow Through In The 24th Century
Starfleet’s other big mistake inStar Trek II: The Wrath of Khanwas, of course, lack of follow-through and never checking up on what happened to Khan. Starfleet was notorious enough for this practice thatStar Trek: Lower Decksnot only commented on it, but built the animated comedy’s mission statement around remedying Starfleet’s poor attention to detail. InStar Trek: Lower Decks,the USS Cerritos and the California Class fleet’s mission is Second Contact, i.e. following up on the strange new worlds, life forms, and civilizations Starfleet meets.
Starfleet had fewer starships in the 23rd century, compared to the armada available to oversee the more expansive United Federation of Planets of the 24th century.
If Starfleet’s California Class existed inStar Trek’s 23rd century, it’s likely Khan wouldn’t have escaped. Starfleet would have had a ship travel to the Ceti Alpha system and learned that Ceti Alpha VI exploded, shifting Ceti Alpha V’s orbit. Thetorture Khan inflicted on Commander Chekovand Captain Terrell inStar Trek II: The Wrath of Khanwas terrible and regrettable. But the tragedies resulting from Khan’s escape could have been avoided if the USS Reliant hadn’t made a huge mistake in not scanning the Ceti Alpha system properly, to begin with.
