USS Agamemnon - General Orders of Starfleet Command

Starfleet Charter Articles

Article 14, Section 31: The exact language has never been cited, but certain lines in this section permit the use of "extraordinary measures" in times of dire emergency.

Federation Regulations

Book 19, Section 433, Paragraph 12: Regulation concerning the ability of ranking Federation officials to give direct orders to Starfleet officers. Referred to but not cited by High Commissioner Ferris in 2267 during the search for the missing shuttlecraft Galileo.

Galactic Emergency Procedures

Title 15 of these procedures allows ranking Federation officials to assume direct command of Starfleet vessels under certain conditions.

General Orders

General Order 1: "No starship may interfere with the normal development of any alien life or society."

General Order 1 is also better known as the Prime Directive. It supersedes all other laws and directives, with the exception of the Omega Directive.

General Order 4: Said to be the only death penalty left on the books.

This contradicts General Order 7 below, which is also said to be the only death penalty left. If relations with the Talosians have not changed, it could be this new General Order might have been made to include other planets that might be a threat to the Federation like Talos IV. It is also possible that in "Turnabout Intruder," Chekov misspoke.

According to the CD-ROM 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 has perished, the ship will self-destruct within twenty-four hours to protect other ships from potential hazards within.

This order is contradicted by the episodes TOS: "The Omega Glory", "The Tholian Web", and TNG: "Unnatural Selection".

General Order 7: No vessel under any condition, emergency or otherwise, is to visit Talos IV.

This is also said to be the only death penalty left in the United Federation of Planets.

This order must have been rescinded for General Order 4 which is also the only death penalty left on the books. As noted above, Chekov may have also misspoke in "Turnabout Intruder."

According to the CD-ROM game Star Trek: 25th Anniversary, the USS Enterprise computer states General Order 7, and the death penalty associated with it, more generally refers to high treason.

General Order 12: On the approach of any vessel, when communications have not been established...

Saavik was interrupted before completing the quotation of the order, but it is implied that the ship is supposed to take a defensive posture when faced with a non-communicative ship.

General Order 15: No flag officer shall beam into a hazardous area without armed escort.

Kirk stated there was no such regulation, although this was likely intended simply to discourage Saavik.

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.

Garth may have explained the spirit of the order when he suggested he gave the order because, "I could say they were actively hostile towards the Federation".

Starfleet Directives

Directive 010: "Before engaging alien species in battle, any and all attempts to make first contact and achieve nonmilitary resolution must be made."
Directive 101: Any individual accused of murder does not have to answer any questions.
Tactical Directive 36: "The captain will not engage a hostile force without the protection of a security officer."

Prime Directive

The Directive states that members of Starfleet are not to interfere in the internal affairs of another species, especially the natural development of pre-warp civilizations, either by direct intervention, or technological revelation. When studying a planet's civilization, particularly during a planetary survey, the Prime Directive makes it clear that there is to be "No identification of self or mission. No interference with the social development of said planet. No references to space, other worlds, or advanced civilizations." Starfleet personnel are required to understand that allowing cultures to develop on their own is an important right and therefore must make any sacrifice to protect cultures from contamination, even at the cost of their own lives.

The Prime Directive is not enforced upon citizens of the Federation. Under the rules as defined in the Directive, a Starfleet crew is forbidden from removing citizens who have interfered with the culture of a world. Violating the directive can result in a court-martial for the offending Starfleet officer or crew.

In all, there are 47 sub-orders in the Prime Directive.

Originally the Directive was a shield for primitive worlds. If such a world was in danger, Starfleet had been known to order ships to save that world, provided it could be done without violating the Directive

The Directive was later amended, prohibiting Starfleet officers from intervening even if non-intervention would result in the extinction of an entire species or the end of all life on a planet or star system. By the 24th century the Federation had begun applying the Prime Directive to warp-capable species, refusing to interfere in internal matters such as the Klingon Civil War.

There are two general exceptions to the Prime Directive:

The first is in cases where an extreme threat to the Federation exists. General Order 24 authorizes a Captain to order the destruction of an entire civilization under certain circumstances.

The second is in the event that a protected civilization has already been exposed to the knowledge of superior technologies and off-world civilizations.

Some Starfleet Captains, including James T. Kirk, Jean-Luc Picard and Kathryn Janeway have noted that the Prime Directive only applies to living growing civilizations and have overlooked the directive where it has been more convenient to do so, particularly in cases where societies have been enslaved or in a state of total stagnation (also known as an arrested culture).

The Starfleet also had no qualms about dealing openly with civilizations that, while possessing the requisite knowledge of advanced technology, choose not to make use of it. An example of such a culture would be the Ba'ku. Though the Ba'ku were initially treated as "protected" by the Prime Directive (Admiral Dougherty's and the Son'a's machinations aside) due to the appearance that they were a pre-warp culture, it later became known that they in fact were not.

Temporal Prime Directive

The Temporal Prime Directive was a fundamental Starfleet principle.

All Starfleet personnel were strictly forbidden from directly interfering with historical events and were required to maintain the timeline and prevent history from being altered. It also restricts people from telling too much about the future, so as not to cause paradoxes or alter the timeline.

Starfleet Orders

Starfleet Order 2: Starfleet regulation against the taking of intelligent life.
Starfleet Order 104: Section B, Paragraph 1-A - In the absence of a starship's assigned captain, a flag officer has the authority to assume command of the starship should he deem it necessary.
Starfleet Order 104: Section C - Should it be proven with admissible evidence that the flag officer who has assumed command is medically or psychologically unfit for command, the starship's ranking officer may relieve him on that basis. However, such an action must be supported by an appropriate certification of unfitness by the ship's Chief Medical Officer (requiring the CMO to also produce test results to that effect) or other clear evidence, such as an act of attempted suicide.
Starfleet Order 2005: Orders the destruction of a starship by allowing matter and antimatter to mix in an uncontrolled manner. This is a last resort for a captain that allows him/her to prevent their ship or crew from falling into enemy hands.
Special Order 66715: Federation order that states: "[Starfleet has] the authority to neutralize security threats to Deep Space 9 by any means necessary".

This might not actually be a real Order as it appeared only in a simulation created by Luther Sloan. Nevertheless, considering the importance of the keeping the station under Federation control during the Dominion War, may also very well be a real Order.

Starfleet Regulations

Regulation 3 (Paragraph 12): In the event of imminent destruction, a Starfleet Captain is authorized to preserve the lives of his crew by any justifiable means.

Captain Ransom attempted to use this regulation to convince Captain Janeway that the actions he took against the nucleogenic lifeforms were justified, but Captain Janeway doubted that the regulation covered mass murder.

Regulation 6.57: At least two staff officers to be present during any treaty or contract negotiations.

Jean-Luc Picard quoted this regulation to Radue of the Aldeans who had kidnapped a group of specially gifted children from the Enterprise in 2364; Radue offered scientific knowledge as compensation. Moments later, when Data admitted not to be familiar with the regulation, Picard revealed that it was in fact non-existent. It was merely something he made up on the spot in order to deceive the Aldeans to allow him to bring Beverly Crusher with him to their planet's surface.

Regulation 7 (Paragraph 4): An officer must consider himself under arrest, unless in the presence of the most senior fellow officers presently available, the officers must give satisfactory answer to those charges...
Regulation 12 (Chapter 4): Relates to the Captain undertaking command of an away mission.

During the Best Man Speech Picard states that Data will never let him undertake an away mission, Data is told to shut up by Picard before he can complete reciting the regulation.

Regulation 42/15: "Pressure Variances in IRC Tank Storage" Part of the basic operational specifications for impulse engines, cited by Geordi La Forge. Written by Montgomery Scott, who told him to ignore it, saying: "A good engineer is always a wee bit conservative... at least on paper."
Regulation 46A: If transmissions are being monitored during battle, no uncoded messages on an open channel.
Regulation 157, Section 3 (Paragraph 18): Starfleet officers shall take all necessary precautions to minimize any participation in historical events.
Regulation 191 (Article 14): In a combat situation involving more than one ship, command falls to the vessel with tactical superiority.
Regulation 476.9: All away teams must report to the bridge at least once every 24 hours.
Regulation 2884.3: Substances unstable in an oxygen atmosphere must be handled with care.
Regulation 3287.0: Due to its high volatile nature, antimatter must be stored in magnetic confinement pods.
Procedure Q: If a state of deep hostility exists, a landing party is to beam down fully armed and ready for any kind of trouble.
Reserve activation clause: A "little known" and "seldom used" clause in Starfleet regulations which allows for the recall of a retired or discharged officer in the event of an emergency.
The Starfleet uniform code governed the proper wearing of the uniform by Starfleet officers.

Starfleet Away Team Guidelines

Medical Emergency on Alien Terrain: "It is recommended to keep an open com-channel at all times."
"Specifically forbid the transport of unknown infectious agents onto a starship without establishing containment and eradication protocols."
Captain leading Away Teams: Starfleet Code Section 12, Paragraph 4
Starfleet Regulation #476.9: "All Away Teams must report to the Bridge at least once every 24 hours."

Starfleet Security Protocols

Protocol 28 (Subsection D): "In the event of hostile alien takeover the EMH is to deactivate and wait for rescue."

Starfleet Safety Protocols

Un-numbered protocol. Tuvok once claimed that use of the transporters while at warp was a direct violation of Starfleet safety protocols. He did not cite the protocol by number.

Harry Kim's reaction suggests that the safety protocol may more precisely be a ban against using transporters while the beaming vessel is at warp and the target vessel is at impulse, or stationary. The reason for caution is cited as having to do with the speed differential between the two vessels.

Starfleet Medical Protocols

Protocol 121 (Section A): The Chief Medical Officer has the power to relieve an officer or crewman, including a superior one, of their duties if in the officer's professional judgment, he or she is medically unfit.

Starfleet/Federation Codes

Code 1: signals either a total or imminent disaster, a possible invasion, or indicates that the Federation is either currently or about to be engaged in open warfare with a hostile power. The code requires all Starfleet personnel within the affected area to immediately assume a 'war' footing or posture. It is also colloquially known as "Defense Alert", or a "Priority One Alert".

Code 1-Alpha-Zero: Indicates a starship in distress.

Code 7-10: a "quarantine code". No Starfleet or Federation-registered starship is to approach a system or vessel which is broadcasting Code 7-10.

Code 47: an ultra-secure communications protocol. So secure that all traces of a Code 47 transmission or communication are automatically wiped from all computer records.

USS Agamemnon NFC-7801 - International Federation of Trekkers GEO 1