Starfleet General Orders
General Order 1
| First Appearance | TOS22 (9 Feb 1967) |
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Also known as the Prime Directive, it prohibits interfering in the development of other civilizations.[1]
Section 1:
Starfleet crew will obey the following with any civilization that has not achieved a commensurate level of technological and/or societal development as described in Appendix 1.
a) No identification of self or mission.
b) No interference with the social, cultural, or technological development of said planet.
c) No references to space, other worlds, or advanced civilizations.
d) The exception to this is if said society has already been exposed to the concepts listed herein. However, in that instance, section 2 applies.
Section 2:
If said species has achieved the commensurate level of technological and/or societal development as described in Appendix 1, or has been exposed to the concepts listed in section1, no Starfleet crew person will engage with said society or species without first gathering extensive information on the specific traditions, laws, and culture of that species civilization. Then Starfleet crew will obey the following:
a) If engaged with diplomatic relations with said culture, will stay within the confines of said culture's restrictions.
b) No interference with the social development of said planet.[2][3]
General Order 4
| First Appearance | TOS79 (3 Jun 1969) |
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In 2269, Ensign Chekov stated that General Order 4 was the only death penalty still in existence. It is possible that he accidentally conflated it with General Order 7.[4]
General Order 5
| First Appearance | LDS01 (6 Aug 2020) |
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General Order 5 prohibited the killing of native animal species when it was possible to avoid or stun them.[5]
General Order 7
In 2267, General Order 7 was the only death penalty left on the books in the Federation. Captain Kirk quoted the rule as: "No vessel under any condition, emergency or otherwise, is to visit Talos IV."[6]
General Order 12
| First Appearance | ST02 (4 Jun 1982) |
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General Order 12 required adequate precautions be taken when approached by a spacecraft with which contact has not been made.[7]
General Order 15
| First Appearance | ST02 (4 Jun 1982) |
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According to Lieutenant Saavik in 2285, General Order 15 required that "no flag officer shall beam into a hazardous area without armed escort." Admiral Kirk, however, stated that no such regulation existed.[7]
General Order 24
| First Appearance | TOS23 (23 Feb 1967) |
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General Order 24 was a command to destroy the surface of a planet. Captain James T. Kirk threatened to invoke General Order 24 on Eminiar VII in 2267, in an effort to force the planet's leadership to enter into peace talks with the leaders from the neighboring planet Vendikar.[8]
Notes and References
- ↑ Roddenberry, Gene (Executive Producer). "The Return of the Archons." Star Trek, Episode 21 (Production 22). Directed by Joseph Pevney. Story by Gene Roddenberry. Teleplay by Boris Sobelman. Desilu Productions, 9 February 1967.
- ↑ "First Con-Tact." Star Trek: Prodigy, Season 1, Episode 7 (Production 107). CBS Entertainment. 12 January 2022.
- ↑ The text of the first two sections of the Prime Directive displayed in the episode "First Con-Tact" were taken directly from the book Federation: The First 150 Years.
- ↑ Roddenberry, Gene (Executive Producer/Story) and Freiberger, Fred (Producer). "Turnabout Intruder." Star Trek, Season 3, Episode 24. Directed by Herb Wallerstein. Teleplay by Arthur Singer. Paramount Pictures Corporation, 3 June 1969.
- ↑ McMahan, Mike et al (Executive Producers). "Second Contact". Star Trek: Lower Decks, season 1, episode 1 (Production number 01). Directed by Barry J. Kelly. Written by Mike McMahan. Based upon Star Trek created by Gene Roddenberry. Created by Mike McMahan. CBS Entertainment. 6 August 2020.
- ↑ Roddenberry, Gene (Executive Producer). "The Menagerie, Part I." Star Trek, Season 1, Episode 11 (Production 16). Directed by Marc Daniels and Robert Butler. Written by Gene Roddenberry. Desilu Productions, 17 November 1966.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Salin, Robert (Producer). Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Directed by Nicholas Meyer. Story by Harve Bennett and Jack B. Sowards. Screenplay by Nicholas Meyer (Uncredited). Paramount Pictures. 4 June 1982.
- ↑ Roddenberry, Gene (Executive Producer). "A Taste of Armageddon." Star Trek, Season 1, Episode 23 (Production 23). Directed by Joseph Pevney. Written by Robert Hamner (Story and Teleplay) and Gene L. Coon (Teleplay). Desilu Productions, 23 February 1967.
