Captain Spock: What you want is irrelevant, what you have chosen is at hand.
Captain James T. Kirk: Spock, you want to know something? Everybody's human.
Captain Spock: I find that remark... Insulting.
Captain Spock: If I were human I believe my response would be "go to hell." If I were human.
Commander Pavel Andreievich Chekov: Course heading, Captain?
Captain James T. Kirk: Second star to the right and straight on till morning.
Chang: I am constant as the northern star!
McCoy: I'd give real money if he'd shut up.
Chosen answer: Kirk is highly skilled and experienced in combat. He knows the bird of prey must be between the Enterprise and the planet, so he instinctively orders a reverse after they are hit, fearing that they are at point-blank range. Chang is worried that Kirk may have somehow detected him, so he holds fire and repositions, but Kirk is merely being cautious.
BaconIsMyBFF