The 14 Dumbest Things In Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan
5. Universal Armageddon… But No Rush
As David Marcus frets, as the Genesis proposal demonstrates, and as the Spock and Bones argument makes clear, the Genesis device has the potential to be a “dreadful weapon” if used where life already exists. “We’re talking about universal Armageddon!” Bones exclaims. In short, Genesis is a "Manhattan Project" (the secret project to develop the atomic bomb), and Kirk clearly knows what it is before revealing it to his confidants.
So why is everyone so… blasé about Carol’s cry for help?
Consider:
Carol calls Kirk to ask if he gave the order, and states that someone is going to take Genesis without proper authorization. Mid-conversation her transmission is “jammed at the source.” This isn’t “garbled communications,” it’s deliberate.
Kirk calls Starfleet Command to try to get to the bottom of things, and when he clearly doesn’t get an answer to what is going on, instead of immediately calling the bridge and ordering maximum warp to Regula One, he meanders to Spock’s quarters for a friendly chat, then finally goes up to the bridge and orders Sulu to go to warp 5.
Warp %&@#ing 5.
Yes it’s a minor continuity point, but in the previous film the Enterprise zipped along to meet V’ger at warp 7 without breaking a sweat. Warp 5 is like a police car driving below the speed limit while “rushing” to an active crime scene. Kirk oughta have been court-martialed just for that.
Take things seriously, Admiral.
As scripted, this was slightly better as the scene with Kirk going to the bridge happened prior to him going to Spock. This was swapped around in editing for dramatic effect but at the cost of making Kirk appear to not be taking this whole thing as seriously as he ought.