Starfleet Command General Orders

Starfleet General Orders
Curiously, the complete list of Starfleet General Orders and regulations was never published by Simon and Schuster, not even in the Star Trek Encyclopedia. I found most of them published by Last Unicorn Games’ Player’s Guide, General Orders 1 -15 reproduced here for gamers of Star Trek: (note that I added those General Orders that were curiously omitted, such as General Order 14.)

General Order One (also referred to as the “Prime Directive”): ''No officer of Starfleet shall interfere in the natural evolution of a sapient species, nor shall any officer permit a Federation citizen to interfere in the natural course of development of a sapient species. ''

This is the sole General Order that takes precedence over all others; all remaining General Orders are considered equal in authority to each other; the commanding officer, or ranking duty shift officer, must make an informed decision when two general orders appear to contradict each other.

General Order Two: ''Starfleet officers and agents shall at all times protect the life, liberty, and property of Federation citizens. ''

General Order Three: ''In the event of catastrophe, the commanding officer is authorized to order the destruction of the ship, to keep Federation technology from falling into the hands of a developing culture less advanced than the Federation.''

General Order Four: Starfleet authorizes any and all commanding officers to countermand Starfleet regulations in the event of extreme threat to Federation security.

General Order Five: ''Commanding Officers shall safeguard the safety and liberty of crew members and civilians under their command. ''

Starfleet Regulation 3, Paragraph 12: “In the event of imminent destruction, a captain is authorized to preserve the lives of his crew and passengers by any justifiable means.”

General Order Six: Starfleet Personnel must aid and assist any space-faring vessel signaling a distress call.

General Order Seven: No Starfleet vessel or officer shall visit the planet Talos IV, nor shall he allow any Federation citizen to visit Talos IV.

This is the only death penalty still on the books. Even in the 24th Century, it has never been changed.

General Order Eight: ''Starfleet personnel are required to investigate any and all instances of espionage on Starfleet facilities and vessels, and within the United Federation of Planets. ''

Starfleet Regulation 13, Paragraph 4: “In the event of espionage efforts by threat forces found to be at work in Federation territory, responsibility for counterintelligence falls to the ranking Starfleet Intelligence agent on hand.”

General Order Nine: Starfleet personnel are directed to protect and defend Federation property and territory.

General Order Ten: Starfleet personnel shall take no hostile action unless responding to a hostile action.

Starfleet Regulation 13, Paragraph 5: “In the event of hostile action or potential hostile action which would endanger Federation lives and property, Starfleet Intelligence agents are authorized to respond as necessary to neutralize said threat.”

General Order Eleven: Starfleet Personnel shall not enter the Romulan Neutral Zone or permit Federation citizens from entering the Neutral Zone, without a direct order from Starfleet Command.

Starfleet Regulation 13, Paragraph 6: “In the event of loss of contact with Starfleet Command, or when time is a pressing issue, Starfleet Intelligence agents are authorized to enter threat territory, even the Romulan Neutral Zone, if in their own judgement the need is urgent. However, if caught or killed, the Secretary will disavow all knowledge of your actions. (Good luck, Jim.)”

General Order Twelve: ''Starfleet personnel are required to take adequate defensive precautions when approached by a spacecraft with which prior contact has not been established.''

Starfleet Operations Regulation 69, Paragraph 1: “When the commanding officer or duty officer orders a Red Alert, the main computer will automatically raise the combat shields to a defensive posture.”

Starfleet Operations Regulation 69, Paragraph 2: “Upon the approach of any vessel or artificial construct, when communications have not been established, combat shields must be raised.”

General Order Thirteen: ''To the extent that it does not interfere with their other duties, Starfleet personnel are obligated to investigate any unusual phenomenon.''

General Order Fourteen: In the event the captain of a Federation starship is killed or incapacitated on a classified mission, the ranking Starfleet Intelligence agent shall assume command of the vessel, to assure success of the mission.

(U.S.S. Twilight’s main computer used this General Order to give command of the ship to Lt. Cmdr. Jaryd Harker, M.D., when the bridge was destroyed and most of the senior officers were killed.  Even though Harker was the ship’s Chief Medical Officer, he was the ranking line officer left aboard, as well as the ranking SI agent, so command of both the mission and the ship fell to him.  This was Harker’s first command.  Uhura made it permanent upon their return to the 24th Century, after promoting Harker to full commander, and a six-month crash course in command school.) He was promoted to captain soon afterward.

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