General Order
1 ("Prime Directive")
As the right of each sentient species to live in
accordance with its normal cultural evolution is considered sacred, no
Starfleet personnel, Federation citizen and/or representative 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. Starfleet personnel may not violate
this Prime Directive, even to save their lives and/or their
ship/installation, 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
1A ("Omega Directive") TOP
SECRET–CAPTAIN'S RANK AND ABOVE ONLY
Due to its destructive nature upon subspace &
its inherent dangers towards all starfaring civilizations, the omega
particle has been determined to be the greatest natural threat to the
Federation and the entire galaxy. For that reason, any and all omega
particles found to be in existence are to be destroyed at any cost.
During the duration of said mission, the Prime Directive is suspended.
Notification of the crew of a vessel or installation as to the true
nature of this directive is an offense punishable by general
court-martial, dishonorable discharge from Starfleet, and a prison
term no less than 30 years and no greater than the offender's natural
life.
General Order
2
No Starfleet 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
3
The sovereignty of each Federation member being
respected in all things, Starfleet personnel shall observe any 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 local governmental bodies.
General Order
4
If contact is made with hitherto undiscovered
intelligent lifeforms, under no circumstance shall Starfleet
personnel, either by word or deed, inform said lifeforms that worlds
other than their own or intelligent life-forms other than their own
exist outside the confines of their own space or answer questions by
said lifeforms pertaining to the existence of other species outside
said space.
General Order
5
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
Federation citizenry. Within the scope of these emergency powers, duly
authorized civilian personnel may assume temporary command of
Starfleet vessels, installations, and/or personnel to deal with the
emergency. Starfleet personnel must submit to their authority for the
duration of the crisis.
General Order
6
The request for emergency assistance from Federation
citizenry or non-aligned persons demands unconditional priority from
Starfleet personnel. Such personnel shall immediately respond to said
request, postponing all other activities. This responsibility extends
to current governments at odds, actively or passively, with the
Federation.
General Order
7
No Starfleet vessel shall visit the planet Talos IV
under any circumstances, emergency or otherwise. This order supersedes
General Order 6. Any transgression of this general order shall be
punishable by death.
General Order
8
Upon sighting a warship within Federation space and
identifying it as belonging to a foreign power, the commander of the
Starfleet vessel/installation shall determine the reason(s) for that
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 or other non-aligned persons under current Federation
protection. In such cases, the commander may use their discretion in
deciding whether to use force to disable the hostile vessel. However,
care should be taken to avoid unnecessary loss of sentient life.
General Order
9
A commander of a Starfleet vessel or installation,
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. However, said decision
may and can be overturned by a superior officer or representative of
the Federation government pending a reviewal of circumstances.
General Order
10
If there exists eyewitness testimony by senior
officers or similar verifiable evidence that an individual, military
or civilian, 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 governmental
representative shall then take such action as he deems necessary to
minimize the results of the violation.
General Order
11
Starfleet officers with command-level rank 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 Chief of Starfleet Operations,
the Secretary of Starfleet, and the Federation Council.
General Order
12
When approaching a vessel with which communication
has 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
Except when orders state to the contrary or in
accordance with General Order 6, Starfleet personnel will respect the
territorial integrity of independent planetary systems and governments
within and without the confines of the Federation's borders, and will
not violate territorial space belonging to such worlds.
General Order
14
Starfleet 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 effective title of governor or
higher.
General Order
15
No officer of command or flag rank shall travel into
a potentially hazardous area without suitable armed escort.
General Order
16
Starfleet personnel may extend technological,
medical, or other scientific assistance to members of foreign powers
or previously unrecognized sentient species only if such assistance in
no way compromises the Prime Directive or the security of the
Federation or Starfleet.
General Order
17
The commanding officers of Starfleet vessel and
installations are to consider the lives of their crew members and/or
civilian population as sacred. In any potentially hostile situation,
the captain will place the lives of his crew above the fate of his
ship.
General Order
18
Upon being accused of treason against the
Federation, Starfleet personnel may demand a trial conducted by the
Federation judiciary or representative Judge Advocate General for that
sector. If the individual is acquitted, Starfleet Command shall have
no further legal recourse against the accused in said matter.
General Order
19
Except in times of declared emergency, Starfleet
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,
whether against Federation members or other non-aligned worlds. This
order applies to independent worlds within the Federation as well as
to Federation members.
General Order
20
Officers and personnel of Starfleet 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. This
includes temporary violations of General Order 13, but not of the
Prime Directive.
General Order
21
No Starfleet personnel, either officer or enlisted,
may offer his services to an independent foreign government without
the express authorization of the Federation Council.
General Order
22
As the rights of individual expression and free
discourse are considered sacred, Starfleet personnel may debate the
policies, decisions, and actions of their governmental representatives
privately at any time, to the extent that such discussions do not
violate their command oath or specific duties to the Federation per
these General Orders or Starfleet regulations.
General Order
23
When verifiable proof is presented to the senior
commanding officer of a Starfleet vessel or post that a Federation
representative may currently be acting or have acted in the past to
violate the Prime Directive, the officer may relieve said
representative of office, then assume the full powers of that office
pending a full investigation by governmental officials.
General Order
24
If a commanding officer deems that a planet has been
culturally contaminated to a point where correction is no longer
viable and said culture now poses a direct threat to Starfleet
personnel or Federation civilians, he may order the destruction of a
planet's surface to occur within a time limit set upon invocation.
General Order
25
Civilian and military personnel–whether a citizen
of the Federation, a non-aligned world, or a foreign power–taken
into custody by Starfleet personnel during times of extreme emergency
shall be accorded proper treatment consistent with their rank or
station, insofar as such treatment does not compromise the security of
the Federation or Starfleet.
General Order 26
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 Starfleet
personnel will share in disciplinary measures taken against the
Commanding Officer(s) if said individuals 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. However, failure to attempt to halt the
actions of said superiors is a violation of the order and as such is
punishable by general court-martial.
General Order 27
No member of Starfleet shall be required by the
assignment of standard duties and responsibilities to undergo extended
separation from his family if family members can be reasonably provided
for aboard ship or as a part of an existing Starfleet installation.
General Order 28
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 per Starfleet
Procedural Order 104, sections B and C. Whenever possible, such
officers shall include the ship's First/Executive Officer, Chief Medical Officer,
Counselor, and one junior officer of command station.
General Order 29
The primary responsibility of the commander of any
Starfleet vessel or installation is the welfare and safety of his crew,
including any civilian members. 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. This is a concurrent order with General Order 17.
General Order 30
Starfleet Command recognizes the right of each ship
commander to interpret the specifications of the Prime Directive as he
sees fit, consistent with the conditions of other existing general
orders in effect, and based upon circumstances that may arise in dealing
with newly discovered sentient races. However, said decision may and can
be overturned by a superior officer or representative of the Federation
government pending a review of circumstances.
General Order 31
The conditions and specifications of the Prime
Directive shall henceforth apply to all sentient lifeforms 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 Starfleet
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 Starfleet 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 Starfleet 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 Starfleet,
is allowed to visit a planet or star system placed under quarantine by
Starfleet or the Federation Council unless the visitation falls under
the jurisdictional actions accredited by General Orders 1, 5, and 6.
General Order 37
Starfleet personnel shall respect binding contracts,
agreements, and bondings made by the Federation government and/or
Starfleet itself and shall operate within the boundaries &
governances of said treaties, especially in matters dealing with the
co-signatories of said treatise.
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 Starfleet, whether for medical or
psychological reasons, by either the Chief Medical Officer or by the two
ranking command staff officers.
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