Star Fleet General Orders

General Order One (The Prime Directive)

As the right of each sentient being to live in accordance with its normal culture evolution is considered sacred, no Star Fleet personnel may interfere with the normal and healthy development of alien life and culture. Such interference includes introducing superior knowledge, strength, or technology to a world whose society is incapable of handling such advantages wisely. Star Fleet personnel may not violate this Prime Directive, even to save lives and/or their ships, unless they are acting to right an earlier violation or an accidental contamination of said culture. This directive takes precedence over any and all other considerations, and carries with it the highest moral obligation.

General Order Two

No Star Fleet personnel shall unnecessarily use force, either collectively or individually, against members of the United Federation of Planets, their duly authorized representatives, spokespersons, or designated leaders, or members of any sentient non-member race for any reason whatsoever.

General Order Three

The sovereignty of each Federation member being respected in all things, Star Fleet personnel shall observe and all statutes, laws, ordinances, and rules of governance currently in effect within the jurisdiction of a member planet. Violators of such ordinances will be subject to such punishments or corrections as shall be determined by such local government bodies.

General Order Four

If contact is made with hitherto undiscovered intelligent life forms, under no circumstances shall Star Fleet personnel, either by word or by deed, inform said life forms that world other than their own or intelligent life forms other than their own exists outside the confines of their own space.

General Order Five

In cases of extreme emergency, Federation special representatives are empowered to assume emergency powers to deal with a condition or circumstance that is deemed hazardous to the welfare of the Federation citizenry. Within the scope of these emergency powers, duly authorized civilian personnel may assume temporary command of Star Fleet vessels and/or personnel to deal with the emergency. Star Fleet personnel must submit to their authority for the duration of the crisis.

General Order Six

The request for emergency assistance from Federation citizenry demands unconditional priority from Star Fleet personnel. Such personnel shall immediately respond to said request, postponing all other activities.

General Order Seven

No Star Fleet vessel shall visit the planet Talos IV under any circumstances, emergency or otherwise. This order supersedes General Order Six. Any transgression of this general order shall be punishable by death.

General Order Eight

Upon sighting a warship within Federation space and identifying it as to belonging to a foreign power, the commander of the Star Fleet vessel shall determine the reason(s) for the craft's presence in the vicinity. If there is conclusive evidence that the vessel has hostile intentions, the Federation vessel may take appropriate action to safeguard the lives and property of Federation members. In such cases, the commander may use his/her discretion in deciding whether o use force to disable the hostile vessel. However, care should be taken to avoid unnecessary loss of sentient life.

General Order Nine

No commander of a Star Fleet vessel, military or auxiliary, may grant political asylum to any individual without first being given express permission to do so by a representative of the Federation government.

General Order Ten

If there exists eyewitness testimony by senior officers or similar verifiable evidence that an individual has violated the Prime Directive, said individual may be relieved of duty by a duly sworn representative of the Federation government and placed under immediate arrest. The government representative shall then take such action as he deems necessary to minimize the results of their violation.

General Order Eleven

Star Fleet officers with the rank of captain or higher are granted full authority to negotiate conditions of agreement and/or treaties with legal representatives of non-Federation planets. In such circumstances, the acting officer carries de facto powers of a Federation special ambassador. Any and all agreements arranged in this manner are subject to approval by the Commander-in-Chief of Star Fleet command and the Secretary of Star Fleet (Fleet Commander and Vice-Fleet Commander, respectively).

General Order Twelve

Federation officers may violate the Neutral Zone areas designed by treaty only if such action is required to save the lives of Federation citizens under conditions of extreme emergency.

General Order Thirteen

Except when orders state to the contrary, Star Fleet personnel will respect the territorial integrity of independent planetary systems and governments, and will not violate territorial space belonging to such worlds.

General Order Fourteen

Star Fleet personnel may intervene in local planetary affairs to restore general order and to secure the lives and property of Federation citizens only upon receiving a direct order to do so from a civilian official with the title of governor or higher.

General Order Fifteen

No officer of flag rank shall travel into a potentially hazardous area without suitable armed escort.

General Order Sixteen

Star Fleet personnel may extend technological, medical, or other scientific assistance to a member of a previously unrecognized sentient species only if such assistance in no way compromises the Prime Directive or the security of the Federation or Star Fleet.

General Order Seventeen

Star Fleet vessel captains are to consider the lives of their crew members as sacred. in any potential hostile situation, the captain will place the lives of his/her crew above the fate of his/her ship.

General Order Eighteen

Upon being accused of treason against the Federation, Star Fleet personnel may demand a trial conducted by the Federation judiciary. If the individual is acquitted, Star Fleet Command shall have no further legal recourse against the accused in said manner.

General Order Nineteen

Except in times of declared emergency, Star Fleet personnel may under no circumstances convey personnel or material between planets or planetary systems when there is reason to believe that said personnel or material may be used to conduct aggression. This order applies to independent worlds within the Federation as well as Federation members.

General Order Twenty

Officers and personnel of Star Fleet Command may employ whatever means necessary to prevent the possession, transportation, sale, or commercial exchange of sentient beings held against their wishes within the boundaries of Federation space.

General Order Twenty-One

No Star Fleet personnel, either officer or enlisted, may offer his or her services to an independent foreign government without the express authorization of the Federation Assembly.

General Order Twenty-Two

As the rights of individual expression and free discourse are considered sacred, Star Fleet personnel may debate the policies and decisions of their government representatives privately at any time, to the extent that such discussions do not violate their command oath or specific duties to Federation per these General Orders or Star Fleet regulations.

General Order Twenty-Three

When verifiable proof is presented to the senior commanding officer of a Star Fleet vessel or post that a Federation representative may currently be acting or has acted in the past to violate the Prime Directive, the officer may relieve said representative or officer, then assume full powers of that office pending a full investigation by government officials.

General Order Twenty-Four

If a commanding officer deems that an individual or group of individuals poses a threat to Star Fleet personnel or Federation citizens, he/she may take any actions necessary (including force) to secure the safety of those threatened.

General Order Twenty-Five

Civilian and military personnel taken into custody by Star Fleet personnel during times of extreme emergency shall be accorded the proper treatment consistent with rank or station, insofar as such treatment does not compromise the security of the Federation or Star Fleet.

General Order Twenty-Six

No member of a ship's complement or other ground-based installation can be held directly accountable for the actions of their superiors. Similarly, no member of a ship's company or other Star Fleet personnel will share disciplinary measures taken against their commanding officer(s) if said individual were not directly involved in the actions leading to disciplinary measures. This order extends to conditions involving proven violations of the Prime Directive where proof of such violations exist.

General Order Twenty-Seven

No member of Star Fleet shall be required by assignment of standard duties and responsibilities to undergo extended separation from his/her family if family members can be reasonably provided for aboard ship or as part of an existing Star Fleet installation.

General Order Twenty-Eight

No officer of command rank shall be removed from command status unless such action has the complete and unqualified agreement of at least three senior officers present. Whenever possible, such officers shall include the ship's executive officer, chief medical officer, ship's counselor, and one junior officer of command station.

General Order Twenty-Nine

The primary responsibility of the commander of any Star Fleet vessel is the welfare and safety of his/her crew, including any civilian members of that ship's or installation's complement. No action may be taken that creates an unwarranted threat to the safety of those individuals under the officer's charge, except in the line of duty and when otherwise unavoidable.

General Order Thirty

Star Fleet Command recognizes the right of each ship commander to interpret the specifications of the Prime Directive as he/she sees fit, consistent with the conditions of the other existing general orders in effect, and based upon circumstances that may arise in dealing with newly discovered sentient races.

General Order Thirty-One

The conditions and specifications of the Prime Directive shall henceforth apply to all sentient life forms discovered, whether they are of natural or artificial origin.

General Order 32

Federation officers may violate Neutral Zone areas as designated by treaty only if such action is required to save the lives of Federation citizens under conditions of extreme emergency as required by General Order 6.

General Order 33

If a commanding officer deems that an individual or group of individuals pose a direct threat to the safety of Star Fleet personnel, Federation citizens, or those under current Federation protection, they may take any actions necessary to safeguard the lives of those threatened. In such cases, the commander may use their discretion in deciding whether to use force. However, care should be taken to avoid unnecessary loss of sentient life.

General Order 34

All Star Fleet personnel and/or Federation civilian contractors shall follow a superior's order to the best of their ability, unless said orders should conflict with the regulation laid out in these orders. Special dispensations are granted in emergency situations as per specific orders, with the exceptions of General Orders 1, 2, 3, or 7.

General Order 35

Should the entire personnel of a Star Fleet vessel or installation become severely incapacitated or deceased due to an environmental or medical contaminant, said vessel is to be destroyed within a 24-hour period from initial discovery of cause to prevent spread of the epidemic agent.

General Order 36

No Federation vessel, whether civilian or Star Fleet, is allowed to visit a planet or star system placed under quarantine by Star Fleet or the Federation Council unless the visitation falls under the jurisdictional actions accredited by General Orders 1, 5, and 6.

General Order 37

Star Fleet personnel shall respect binding contracts, agreements, and bondings made by the Federation government and/or Star Fleet itself and shall operate within the boundaries & governances of said treaties, especially in matters dealing with the co-signatories of said treaties.

General Order 38

In the event of the death, absence, or incapacitation of the commanding officer of record, command of a ship or installation falls to the next highest-ranking crewmember, regardless of position in the command structure. When two officers in the line of succession are of comparable rank, command first falls upon the officer with command experience; barring that requirement, command will fall upon the officer with seniority.

General Order 39

An officer or crewmember may be removed from active duty status if they are judged to be incapable of fulfilling their obligations as a member of Star Fleet, whether for medical or psychological reasons, by either the Chief Medical Officer or by the two ranking command staff off.

The Omega Directive

Brief - The Omega Directive was created to deal with a threat not only to the Federation, but to the entire Alpha Quadrant; and indeed the whole Galaxy. Star Fleet named the hazard the Omega molecule/particle phenomenon. It was first synthesized over 100 years ago (during the mid-22nd century,) by a Star Fleet physicist named Ketteract.

The molecule created was the most powerful substance known to exist. A single Omega molecule contains the same energy as a warp core. It has been suggested that in theory, a small chain could sustain a civilization. It is not known whether Ketteract was searching for an inexhaustible power source or a weapon. He created a single molecule particle of Omega, which lasted for only a fraction of a second before it destabilized. His work was done on a classified research center in the Lantaru Sector. Ketteract and 126 of the Federation's leading scientists, were lost in the accident.

Rescue teams attempting to reach the site discovered an unexpected secondary effect: there were subspace ruptures extending out several light years. To this day, it is impossible to create a stable warp field in that sector. It can only be traversed under sublight power. This is the danger of the Omega molecule. Omega destroys subspace. A chain reaction could devastate subspace throughout the quadrant. Space-faring civilization would no longer exist and many lives would be lost in space. When Star Fleet learned of this impending danger, it suppressed all knowledge of the Omega phenomenon. Only Star Fleet captains and Federation flag officers may view this document.

Directive - Star Fleet captains and Federation flag officers must ensure the safety of the quadrant from the Omega threat. To this end, whenever sensors positively determine the presence of Omega in a ship's vicinity it will enter "Omega Mode". Doing so locks all navigation, sensor, tactical, and propulsion systems. Only the ship's captain, or a Federation flag officer can release the Omega lockout.

Access to sensor data retrieved on the Omega effect is limited to Clearance Level 10. When Omega has been verified, the ship's captain will contact Star Fleet Command immediately. No information may be relayed to the ship's crew. All other priorities are rescinded until the threat is neutralized. The Prime Directive may be compromised during such a mission, if necessary. Blatant abuse of this power will be prosecuted to the fullest extent using all other Star Fleet directives. If violation of the Prime Directive is even minimally anticipated, it is authorized and advised.

If Star Fleet Command cannot be contacted for any reason, the primary priority is the destruction of all Omega molecules detected. There will be no computer record of the sensor logs, and personal log entries must be either encrypted or deleted.

External Links

• UF Starfleet LCARS: "Starfleet General Orders"