Everything that happens in TWoK is Chekov’s fault
It occurred to me during my 10000th rewatch of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan that everything that happens is due to Chekov being either lazy or burnt out from months of searching for a test planet for Genesis.
”Does it have to be completely lifeless?”
If he and Capt Terrell had decided to move on and look for a planet without “a particle of pre-animate matter” then they never would have given Khan and his crew a way to get off Ceti Alpha V.