Post by Geralyn on Jan 29, 2015 4:07:07 GMT
Starfleet General Orders
Here are listed the known General Orders under which Starfleet operates. These are the only General Orders mentioned in any Star Trek medium, such as television, film, novels or comics. No other General Orders have ever been detailed by canon or licensed works. Non-canon General Orders are indicated in blue.
General Order 1: No starship may interfere with the normal development of any alien life or society.
General Order 1 was also better known as the Prime Directive. It superseded all other laws and directives, with the exception of the Omega Directive.
The Prime Directive, also known as Starfleet General Order 1 or the Non-Interference Directive, was the embodiment of one of Starfleet's most important ethical principles: noninterference with other cultures and civilizations. At its core was the philosophical concept that covered personnel should refrain from interfering in the natural, unassisted, development of societies, even if such interference was well-intentioned. The Prime Directive was viewed as so fundamental to Starfleet that officers swore to uphold the Prime Directive, even at the cost of their own life or the lives of their crew.
A complicated order, the Prime Directive had 47 sub-orders by the latter part of the 24th century. (VOY: "Infinite Regress") However, a high-level summary was "no identification of self or mission; no interference with the social development of said planet; no references to space, other worlds, or advanced civilizations." (TOS: "Bread and Circuses") The directive provided guidance on what constituted prohibited "interference" with a society.
The scope and specifics of applicability – and exceptions – are very large in number. This is not a 'black and white' directive. A complete reference can be found here
General Order 4: Said to be the only death penalty left on the books.
Mentioned only once by Pavel Chekov (TOS: "Turnabout Intruder"). The crime that General Order 4 made eligible for the death penalty was never stated in the Star Trek canon. It is believed he misspoke (and the editors didn't catch it) and that he meant General Order 7, supported later on by a mention in the PC game Star Trek: 25th Anniversary. The USS Enterprise computer states General Order 4 is sometimes confused with General Order 7.
General Order 6: If all life aboard a Federation starship had perished, the ship would self-destruct within twenty-four hours to protect other ships from potential hazards within.
General Order 7: No vessel under any condition, emergency or otherwise, is to visit Talos IV.
This was also said to have been the only death penalty left in Starfleet. ("The Menagerie, Part I") As noted above, Chekov may have misspoken in "Turnabout Intruder", calling it General Order 4
General Order 12: On the approach of any vessel, when communications have not been established, all Starfleet vessels are to maintain maximum safety precautions, regardless of the origin of said vessel, be it a foreign power, an hitherto unknown ship, or a Starfleet vessel.
General Order 13: Evacuation Order for Starfleet vessels.
General Order 15: No flag officer shall beam into a hazardous area without armed escort.
Note that Kirk states that "there's no such regulation", and Saavik's response of understated amusement suggests either that her description of this general order is not accurate and intended only to help persuade Kirk to allow her on the landing party, or that the regulation exists and Kirk was knowingly trying to circumvent it.
General Order 16: This was a long-standing order initiated by Captain Jonathan Archer of the Earth Starfleet in 2151, directing any ship detecting a specific energy pattern emitted from devices known as the "Malkus Artifacts" to investigate, and to confiscate said devices. (ENT - The Brave and the Bold, Book One short story: "Prelude: Discovery")
General Order 21: Access to the Gateway system is restricted. (STO video game: Star Trek Online)
General Order 24: An order to destroy all life on an entire planet.
This order has been given by Captain Garth (Antos IV) and Captain Kirk (Eminiar VII). On neither occasion was the order actually fulfilled. (TOS: "Whom Gods Destroy", "A Taste of Armageddon")
General Order 30: Deals with states of alert where hostilities are considered likely. (TOS novel: Timetrap)
Self Defense General Order (number unspecified): - Starfleet vessels will respond to force with equal force and no more. (DC Comics, "Ashes of Eden", 1995)
The Omega Directive: The Omega Directive (denoted by Ω) was a highly classified Starfleet general order requiring the captain of a starship to notify Starfleet Command immediately upon detection of an Omega molecule.
The directive also authorized the use of any and all means to destroy an Omega molecule. This made the Omega Directive the only known order to supersede the Prime Directive. The Omega Directive was deemed necessary because of the extreme power and the threat to interstellar civilization posed by even a single molecule. Knowledge of the Omega molecule and the Omega Directive was restricted to Starfleet officers ranking captain or higher.