De acordo com a novela do filme, Spock de fato tinha dúvidas sobre a missão, mas essas foram superadas por seu próprio senso de moralidade e pelo fato de que ele já discutira os argumentos com Kirk antes (fora das câmeras). Uma recusa adicional poderia ser interpretada como um motim em face de uma ordem direta, especialmente desde que o Capitão lhe disse explicitamente que a Primeira Diretriz não está sendo frustrada.
Tilting his head slightly to one side, he [Spock] spoke toward the suit’s pickup.
“Captain, did any representatives of the indigenous intelligence see you? At the risk of repeating the obvious and despite the difficulties inherent in our current effort, I must repeat that the Prime Directive clearly states that there can be no perceived external interference with the internal development of an alien civiliza—”
Despite the shuttle’s increasingly violent rocking, Kirk’s response came through clearly.
“No, Mr. Spock, they did not! I know what it says! I might have missed a few details here and there in certain classes . . .” The admirable clarity of the surface-to-shuttle transmission was confirmed as Kirk’s communicator picked up the nearby McCoy’s unmistakable sarcastic snicker. “. . . but I didn’t miss that one. We’re not supposed to be here at all. It’s because of the Prime Directive that we’re having to do this the hard way. Now, drop off your super ice cube and let’s get out of here! Kirk out!”
Então logo em seguida;
The science officer would have argued further with his captain save
for two reasons: The time to do so had long since expired, and arguing
with James T. Kirk frequently generated far more frustration than
satisfaction. Filing the details of their brief conversation for
future discussion, Spock returned his focus to the business at hand.
Até então, Kirk sem dúvida não havia violado a diretiva. Ele certamente o distorceu além do reconhecimento, mas nada que ele tenha feito poderia ser interpretado como uma violação direta. Poucos minutos depois, quando ele revela a Enterprise, essa é a coisa mais importante e Spock não teve parte em concordar.
“Congratulations, Spock. You just saved the world.”
“Captain. You violated the Prime Directive.”
“So they saw us.” The commanding officer of the Enterprise shrugged. “Big deal.”
Before the science officer could respond further, Kirk signaled to the members of the emergency response team. Any further deprecating comments disappeared beneath a whoosh of coolant gas and sprayed decontaminant.