star trek directive 1

Star Trek's Prime Directive Explained

If there is one thing to remember about the rules of "Star Trek," it is the importance of the Prime Directive. As opposed to sci-fi franchises that fight aliens or incite rebellions, Gene Roddenberry's brainchild is in a unique position in that the United Federation of Planets has reached a near-utopia. Starfleet's main concern is exploration — seeking out societies that have achieved warp technology to make first contact. On the other hand, planets that have not achieved this technology are deemed unready to know about the Federation and alien life.

As such, Starfleet is forbidden to interfere in the development of pre-warp civilizations, with captains even staking their lives on it. But with ships like the USS Enterprise constantly traveling through the stars, the opportunity to do so naturally comes up a time or two, and non-interference is easier said than done, especially when sitting by and doing nothing would lead to the extinction of an entire species. Consequently, Starfleet seems to violate the Prime Directive more often than not.

Violating the Prime Directive is often justified

As much as the characters of "Star Trek" insist on adhering to the Prime Directive, they very rarely take their own advice. For whatever reason, it always seems to be more of a hindrance than anything else — most of the time that the Enterprise goes on a journey to help another civilization, the Prime Directive gets in the way. For instance, while attempting to stop a volcano from wiping out a primitive species — and Spock (Zachary Quinto) — in "Star Trek Into Darkness," Kirk (Chris Pine) is the first to forgo it, leading to his temporary demotion. And while Kirk is always the first to bend the rules, he isn't the only one. Even Captain Pike (Anson Mount), who tries to live his life to the letter of Starfleet, finds himself in situations where skirting around the Prime Directive is the only way.

In the series premiere of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds,"  it is revealed that the Federation had accidentally made its existence known to the planet Kiley 279 during the Battle near Xahea. Having observed the 100+ warp signatures through a telescope, the Kiley were able to reverse-engineer the technology to create a warp bomb. So with Starfleet having effectively already interfered in the planet's development, Pike and his crew reveal themselves to convince the Kiley to use the technology for exploration rather than self-destruction. Despite their good intentions and ultimate success, however, it is only thanks to a loophole that everyone involved is not court-martialed.

Star Trek: How the Series Enforces Ethics With the Prime Directive

The Prime Directive is as much a part of Star Trek as the phasers. But what is it, and how did it begin?

The Prime Directive has played a central role in Star Trek lore since The Original Series as a fundamental ethical principle of the Federation that is to be maintained at all costs. It started as a plot conceit, allowing ethical debate to play out across a given episode’s storyline. It proved so compelling that it’s been used in almost every subsequent Trek series to date, including Star Trek: Discovery . The Directive itself is a statement of noninterference, maintaining that every planet has a right to self-determination. Starfleet is strictly forbidden from stepping in to help less scientifically advanced cultures with its vast resources, even if it means abandoning them to certain death.

The specifics were spelled out early and rarely wavered. Indeed the “Prime” part of the Prime Directive refers to its in-world status as General Order 1, superseding all others by stating, "No starship may interfere with the normal development of any alien life or society." There are strong reasons for it, which Star Trek has taken great delight in exploring over the years -- not only when the Prime Directive is maintained, but what happens when it’s broken.

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The details are straightforward enough. Starfleet believes that every society has the right to natural, unimpeded development. Those cultures who have not yet discovered warp travel must be spared any exposure to superior technology or knowledge of sentient life beyond their own planet, even at the cost of Federation personnel and starships. To break the Directive -- even for noble or humanitarian reasons -- could have catastrophic consequences for the affected culture. The Federation's duty is to protect developing cultures under its care, one of the things that set them apart from other galactic powers like the Romulans and the Borg.  Star Trek: Enterprise centered a number of episodes around the Prime Directive's development and the reasons why it was so important.

The concept first appeared in The Original Serie s Season 1, Episode 21, “The Return of the Archons.” When Kirk proposes dismantling a computer controlling an entire culture, Spock warns him that doing so could violate the Directive. Kirk argues that the world in question is trapped in stagnancy and thus not naturally developing as the Directive stipulates. The episode sets up the Directive and the fact that there is a lot of room for interpretation, which is why the franchise has used it so many times. The costs of upholding it and the price of breaking it make for compelling drama.

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It also leaves the specifics a little fuzzy: just enough to let the Star Trek 's heroes eel around it when they need to. For instance, the Prime Directive can be breached to repair the damage done by a previous violation, as Kirk did in The Original Series  Season 2, Episode 17, “A Piece of the Action.” It can similarly be broken by misfortune or catastrophe, as in Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 3, Episode 4, “Who Watches the Watchers?” in which the accidental reveal of a Federation anthropology team forces Picard to reveal himself to a primitive culture.

Specifics vary on punishment too. In  The Original Series  Season 2, Episode 23, "The Omega Glory," Kirk specifically states that a captain must sacrifice himself and his crew rather than violate the Prime Directive. However,  The Next Generation  Season 4, Episode 21, "The Drumhead," specifies that Picard had done so nine times since taking command of the Enterprise-D. Yet, he faced no disciplinary action for it. This suggests that the draconian approach had softened between the 23rd and 24th centuries, or at least when the writers needed a little flexibility to better explore what the concept might mean.

Now, the Prime Directive is as intrinsically tied to Trek as phasers and transporters. The moral quandaries of the Directive are simply too useful to Star Trek’s style of storytelling to let go. And it's a strong yardstick for the Federation's ethical principles by proving how it strives to do better than species only interested in conquest and exploitation.

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Why 'Star Trek's Prime Directive Changed the Course of Sci-Fi Forever

As Captain Archer says, we didn't come to space to play God.

If you're a sci-fi fan, there's likely been a time in your life when you've been show-surfing and stumbled upon a classic of a bygone era. Maybe it was The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) or The Man From Planet X (1951), but so many of these early sci-fi films seem to share a common thread. Extraterrestrials either land on Earth, or humankind reach out into the stars and eventually other planets. Either way, we as humans are faced with a life form we've never seen before and have no understanding of. Using the previously mentioned films as examples, we immediately meet these new forms of life with suspicion, an intent to exploit them, or even outright violence. One might chock some of this up to social commentary of the time period, as 1950s science fiction, in particular, was steeped in the nuclear arms race and the rising panic instilled through McCarthyism. However, even today, we see more than a few films where extraplanetary life is immediately acted upon in an outright hostile manner. With that having been said, there are more than a few bits of media that see humanity coexisting with a menagerie of alien life — most notably, Star Trek .

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One of the biggest reasons why can be traced back to the 1960s with the bright future of Star Trek: The Original Series (1966). In Gene Roddenberry 's vision of humanity's next steps, we've eliminated the endless cycle of want for the material and have turned our eyes to the stars, joining the intergalactic community as part of the United Federation of Planets. Starship captains venture into the unseen reaches of space, discovering worlds and brokering peace and collaboration between countless sentient species well beyond our own solar system. Some even back during Trek 's debut likely wondered if you've got such advanced technology at your command, why not just take what you want? Do as you please? Thankfully, Roddenberry was forward-thinking about this question as well, resulting in Starfleet's Prime Directive, also known as General Order 1.

Under this Starfleet regulation, it's expressly advised that officers do everything in their power not to interfere with the development of another society or culture, even if the desire to intervene is for positive reasons. Throughout the Federation, its many races came to the same conclusion: People showing up with high-tech compared to the native population doesn't tend to end well, regardless of the intent of the visitors. Captain Jean-Luc Picard ( Patrick Stewart ) puts this into perspective beautifully in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) during the episode "Symbiosis," stating, "history has proven again and again that whenever manking interferes with a less developed civilization, no matter how well-intentioned that interference may be, the results are invariably disasterous."

Even viewed as a non-human phenomenon, Captain Picard has a very good point. Even if there's no violence intended, just the idea of a more advanced civilization existing out there can cause severe ripples through even the most unified group of people. Thinking back to The Day the Earth Stood Still , humanity's first reaction to an otherworldly being wasn't a positive one. The benevolent extraterrestrial Klaatu ( Michael Rennie ) simply arrived with good will (and even a gift for the American President, had a nervous soldier not damaged it first) to provide humanity a warning: That our development of atomic weapons was concerning the community beyond our own planet. Before we even had the chance to hear Klaatu out, however, he was shot by the military and placed under guard while we attempted to pick through his saucer. For a guy who was just trying to do mankind a favor, we reacted about as well as our post-WWII minds were expected to.

This is exactly what makes the concept of the Prime Directive so special during a crucial time in sci-fi. Starfleet officers take an oath to preserve the tenets of the Prime Directive, with many officers openly stating that they would rather put their lives and that of their crew on the line to avoid violating the biggest rule that Starfleet holds dear. In reality, things aren't always as cut and dry, as more than a few episodes spanning the entire Star Trek franchise dealt with the dilemma of avoiding violation of the Prime Directive. Sometimes a violation is unavoidable, and officers have to simply do the best they can to minimize the damage. Depending on the Trek show in question, the Prime Directive is a little more... Flexible, but the core principles of it nearly always remain intact. Until a civilization has developed warp technology and can introduce itself to the intergalactic community, maybe the Federation doesn't drop Starfleet on its planet, waving tricorders and phasers around. Even if the civilization in question is causing self-inflicted issues, every society has growing pains, a lot of them. It doesn't seem unreasonable to bring a people along at their own pace as opposed to scaring the hell out of them or prompting a violent response.

Although it's better in theory than in practice in many Trek episodes, the idea of the directive showed future science fiction aficionados that we didn't have to blast our way through alien species we encountered. In-universe, it's also what separates the races of the Federation from the more domineering views of the Klingon Empire or the Romulan Star Empire, who have quite a few less scruples with exploiting and interfering with others. The Prime Directive is far from an absolutist doctrine, but it fosters a remarkable amount of restraint within Starfleet's technological prowess. For Trek fans in particular, we've seen the result of unfettered abuse of technology in the franchise's Mirror Universe, where Starfleet is the iron fist of the fascistic and human-centric Terran Empire. A galaxy brought to heel under force is a galaxy that has lost its freedom and self-determination, and it can all result from a mindset that is anathema to the Prime Directive.

In the wake of Trek and the Prime Directive, we've broadened our media horizons to include possible futures we often didn't consider during the Cold War era. Steven Spielberg 's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) follows a child attempting to help a new friend get home beyond the stars. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005) shows the incredibly whimsy of existing in the universe, even after Earth is in the rearview. Arrival (2016) even puts us back in the position of the less-advanced civilization, thinking the worst of our exraplanetary visitors until we realize, much like Klaatu, they want to do us a favor. Maybe these tentacled folks aren't living up to the Prime Directive so to speak, but the film's perceived panic and understanding is wiped away once we're able to communicate with our new visitors. Compared to earlier science fiction where humanity so often sought to conquer or immediately perceive threats where none existed, all of these films and many more are a significant sign of a paradigm shift in the genre.

Roddenberry's vision even today is incredibly bright compared to much of science fiction. Star Trek has surely endured many dark moments, and there's not a thing wrong with grittier sci-fi media in general, but a galactic community pushing for equality and cooperation is one that can be inspiring for many. It's a worldview that many science fiction lovers can imagine living in. As cool as movies like Blade Runner (1982), Star Wars (1977), or Alien (1979) are, being a part of their universe would likely be a very different proposition. Earth ravaged by corporate greed? A violent and authoritarian Galactic Empire imposing its worldview? Wealthy moguls attempting to capture hostile life forms for war?

When you put it that way, letting the Mintakans figure things out before joining the wider community out in space doesn't sound so bad. They can take their time along with plenty of other pre-warp civilizations, Starfleet is never out of things to do or places to be.

Prime Directive (novel)

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Prime Directive is a Pocket TOS novel written by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens . Published by Pocket Books , it was first released in hardback in September 1990 .

• 2 Memorable quotes
• 3.1 Cover gallery
• 4.1 Canon characters
• 4.2 Non-canon characters
• 5 References
• 6 External links

Summary [ ]

During the last year of the first five-year mission, the USS Enterprise is called to the pre-contact world of Talin IV. The mission is unusual from its inception, as the Enterprise is not allowed to travel at warp speed, nor use subspace communications for several days – an unusual precaution, as they are approaching a world that should have no means of detecting their approach. An observation post has been built on the Talin moon by the Federation's First Contact Office (FCO), to observe the indigenous culture in preparation for a possible first contact . The Talin, a reptilian race with a culture comparable to Earth in the late 20th century , are divided into two principle factions – the "Browns" and the "Greens", engaged in their own "Cold War". The First Contact Office and the crew of the Enterprise are both anxious to see the Talin survive this highly volatile point in their history, but are prohibited from intervening by the Prime Directive . The possibility of a first contact is complicated by the fact that the Browns and the Greens are perilously close to instigating a nuclear war. At the same time, scientists on Talin are on the verge of discovering the existence of subspace communications through experiments with dilithium . Both these facts mean that the FCO and the Enterprise must be particularly careful to avoid detection. Further complicating matters, the elderly and curmudgeonly Dr. Alonzo Richter, creator of the Richter scale (a complex grading of cultural development by which a planet is determined to be ready for first contact) has also traveled to Talin IV, advocating ignoring his own scale and that the Talin be contacted immediately.

While observing the planet and the tensions between its two superpowers, Kirk learns that the FCO has been caught and photographed by military observation posts while spying on the planet, possibly exacerbating the tense political situation and perhaps even violating the Prime Directive. He leads an away mission to secretly retrieve data from the Talin military to determine how badly the FCO mission has been compromised. As he returns, a nuclear missile explodes in its silo, leading to limited nuclear exchange between the Browns and the Greens. Determining that the explosion was accidental and was in fact likely to impair the planet's natural cultural evolution, Kirk and the Enterprise act quickly and covertly to disable or destroy the missiles before they can cause further harm. The near destruction of the world, and (to the Talin) miraculous chain of events that saved them, pull the Talin back from the brink of destruction and instigate a new period of peace and cooperation. Kirk convenes a board of inquiry on his own actions, and is determined to have saved the Talin without contravening the Prime Directive. Almost immediately after, however, the entire nuclear arsenals of both the Browns and the Greens are launched without warning or reason. When Kirk attempts to once again prevent the Talin from destroying themselves, a nuclear missile impossibly targets and strikes the Enterprise , seemingly indicating that Kirk's actions have revealed the presence of the Enterprise . The ship is nearly destroyed, and Talin IV is swept by firestorms. Scotty , the only member of the senior staff not on the bridge , reluctantly charges Kirk with violating the Prime Directive, and destroying a world.

Kirk, Spock, Chekov, Sulu, and Uhura become infamous for their actions, known as the "Enterprise Five". When Starfleet threatens to court martial all five, Kirk resigns in a vain attempt to protect his crew. Starfleet refuses to investigate the bizarre chain of events that led to the destruction of Talin IV. McCoy attempts to force the issue by punching an admiral, but later resigns himself when he realizes the Starfleet would rather see the issue swept under the rug than face the negative publicity of a high profile trial. Chekov and Sulu soon follow. Spock is demoted to ensign, and also resigns, Uhura is the only member formally tried, and is given a dishonorable discharge. Despite being separated and disgraced, all of Kirk's crew work to return to Talin (now branded "Kirk's World") and determine what actually happened. Kirk finds himself working under an assumed name on a terraforming project and as a cargo handler on a freighter. Spock joins forces with a group of radical college students who advocate the repeal of the Prime Directive on humanitarian grounds. Sulu and Chekov join the crew of an Orion smuggler and slave trader in hopes of stealing his ship. McCoy and Uhura purchase a ship and work to create a false identity for McCoy, the dreaded space pirate "Black Ire". While the rest of crew work to reach Talin, Scotty finds himself frustrated in his own efforts investigate the disaster, while he supervises the repairs to the Enterprise under the direct command of the arrogant Lieutenant Lawrence H. Styles .

Spock manipulates the student group and the Vulcan embassy to secure credentials for himself and Dr. Richter to speak to the Federation Council . Spock deliberately steers the conversation so that the assembly is forced to concede that Talin IV, by merit of the worlds held in trust for them by the Federation for future development once they achieve space travel, could already be considered a de facto member of the Federation. Based on this premise, all the Talin must do to receive Federation aid is request it. Spock then stuns the Council by introducing two Talin astronauts, one from each of the warring nation states. With the assistance of Richter and the FCO crew, the joint mission escaped just before the disaster.

The crew reunite at the now-closed FCO outpost on the Talin moon. Spock's investigations reveal that the natural development of the Talin was in fact harmed by extraterrestrial influence… but not Kirk, the Enterprise , or the crew of the FCO. These aliens, who call themselves the Many, resemble large insects, and operate as a hive mind, exist on solar energy, and communicate by means of organically-occurring radio. Kirk discerns that the Many created the conditions and instigated the nuclear war on Talin IV to prepare the planet for consumption by another entity, a creature called the One. The Many tell Kirk where to find the One. Scotty, having fitted a new pair of warp engines to the Enterprise , is tasked with locating the One, and brings along the Enterprise Five as observers for the Talin. Once beyond the jurisdiction of the Federation, Scotty orders Kirk and the rest of the crew to assume their usual posts. The One is revealed to be a massive, planet-sized creature moving slowly through space towards Talin IV. Spock posits that the One is immensely old, possibly older than this universe. In sixty years, the One will reach Talin IV and consume it. While McCoy advocates destruction of the One, comparing it to a dangerous shark or other predator. Kirk points out that a shark can't help being a shark; moreover, it is extremely unlikely that the Enterprise (or all of Starfleet, for that matter) could have the firepower necessary to destroy the impossibly old planet-sized creature. The Federation and the Talin arrange for the One to be redirected to a gas giant in the Talin system, saving both the Talin and the One.

Thanks to Spock's presentation to the Federation Council and the truth about what happened at Talin revealed, emergency relief is rushed to aid the stricken world. Just as the rescue mission commences, Kirk and the rest of the Enterprise Five are reinstated to full rank and resume their mission, with an apology from the Federation. Spock discovers that through a natural ability to weave a protective cocoon, over two billion Talin have survived the disaster, and are waiting in hibernation. Kirk leads the first away team to the planet's surface, and makes the long-awaited first contact with a Talin child, with the words, " Let me help. "

Memorable quotes [ ]

" You have broken our most sacred commandment, James T. Kirk – and in doing so, destroyed a world. "

" As of this day, you are relieved of your command, stripped of your rank and all accompanying privileges, and discharged from Starfleet. "

" May whatever gods there are have mercy on your soul. "

Background information [ ]

• The authors had originally intended the hardback novel slot they had been contracted for to form what eventually became Federation ; however, their initial outline was rejected by Paramount Licensing as not permissible (it would take another four years to change their minds). Still with a novel slot to fill, the pair developed the concept of a world being devastated by nuclear war in a week. ( Voyages of Imagination , p. 125)
• Reaction to the novel was reportedly critical, with many fans unhappy with the in medias res approach, beginning with the aftermath of the Talin mission. As Voyages of Imagination recorded, " It was clear that most of the upset fans had not gotten past the first part of the book. " ( Voyages of Imagination , p. 125)
• The novel is set during the final year of James T. Kirk's first five-year mission, and after the events of Star Trek: The Original Series . The Pocket Books novel timeline in Voyages of Imagination sets this story just before Star Trek: The Animated Series , thus explaining alterations to the Enterprise bridge set and main bridge crew.
• The audiobook adaptation, by the Reeves-Stevens, omits most of the " Enterprise Five" plotlines – Spock does not resign, but instead is given control of the investigation into the Talin disaster; the other disgraced officers are then brought in to support him. Some of Kirk's storyline survives to act as an introduction to the flashback to the Talin mission.
• The novel was reprinted in paperback in the UK in May 1991 by Pan Books .
• Prime Directive reached number ten on the New York Times Best Seller List for 16 September 1990 , its first week on the list. [1] It remained on the list for six weeks. The paperback reprint reached number ten on the Paperback Best Seller List for 1 September 1991 , its first week on the list. [2] It remained on the list for five weeks.
• The Science Fiction Book Club released a special edition of the hardback in December 1990 .
• This novel influenced the writing of the 2009 film Star Trek . Roberto Orci , who wrote the film's script together with Alex Kurtzman , clarified, " The inner monologue of the characters in that book inspired our characterizations and descriptions in the script, but nothing specifically story-wise was referenced. " [3]
• Bookriot.com ranked the novel among as one of the best Star Trek novels. [4]

Cover gallery [ ]

Characters [ ]

Canon characters [ ], non-canon characters [ ], references [ ], external links [ ].

• Prime Directive at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• Prime Directive at Wikipedia
• Prime Directive at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• 3 ISS Enterprise (NCC-1701)

General Order One: The Prime Directive In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Explained

If we're going to talk about "Star Trek" and the Prime Directive, we need to talk about rats.

According to an article published by Columbia University, Norway rats were first introduced to the American continent in 1776 when Hessian soldiers — and the rats — arrived on ships to fight the American colonists. Rats, being hearty, quickly spread across the continent, thanks to their ability to reproduce quickly, their large size when compared to native rodentia, and their aggressive behavior. They also eat a lot, consuming two-thirds of their body weight in grain daily. The Norway rat has long been considered a destructive pest, and they still occupy large cities to this very day. 

The Norway rat is hardly the most destructive thing to have spawned from Earth's annals of colonialism, and a brief look over your history textbooks reveals far too many examples of cultures infiltrating — and destroying — others. Every breath we take in the present contains particles of a horror from the distant — and not-so-distant — past. Usurpation, exploitation, and slavery are woven into our every garment. It is a legacy modern humanity must be in a constant state of unpacking. 

When Gene Roddenberry created "Star Trek," he wanted it to take place in a post-colonialist world. In the future, humanity will have access to the greatest technology ever imagined, and will be able to soar from star to star, but they are not there to impose their values on others, and are certainly not there to conquer. There will be no war, interpersonal conflicts will be handled tactfully, and humanity will not interfere with the cultures of others. 

That last bit is well-known throughout "Star Trek" as the Prime Directive, a much lauded and sometime-harangued principle that stands at the very center of the Federation's ethos. It's important enough to be called "The Prime Directive," after all, and it has come into play multiple times throughout "Star Trek" — sometimes under the name General Order One, a name change that is stated explicitly in the first episode of " Star Trek: Strange New Worlds " — as a constant ethical struggle. 

Non-interference

The Prime Directive was first mentioned in the "Star Trek" episode "The Return of the Archons," which first aired on February 9, 1967. In that episode (written by Gene L. Coon ), the Enterprise is investigating the disappearance of a ship called the U.S.S. Archon that had disappeared a century earlier. In so doing, Kirk (William Shatner) and crew beam down to the planet Beta III and encounter a planet of people dressed in early 20th-century garb, and who all seemed to be placidly hypnotized. When the clock strikes, "Red Hour" begins, and the people go wild, smashing windows, undressing, and rioting. Festival! Festival! The crew eventually finds that the people are under the thrall of an order-seeking computer named Landru that has been brainwashing people for centuries under the auspices of keeping them safe, arranging itself as a benevolent deity. When Kirk meets the computer — it's intelligent, but not emotional — the good captain argues that the computer itself is doing more harm than good, and it destroys itself. 

Ethical quandary: Was Kirk right to end the computer's influence over the Betans? It was the place to which their culture had brought itself, after all. Landru, we learn, was a real person who lived 6,000 years previous, and who had become a Messiah figure after reducing a technologically busy planet to something simpler. Now Landru was an automated Savior machine. 

The people on this planet were being robbed of their free will, but were also, unarguably, peaceful. The Prime Directive would dictate that the people be left alone. Kirk makes a (rather weak) argument that noninterference with a growing culture only applies if the culture is actively growing. The computer had stymied evolution, and Kirk felt justified in destroying it. He certainly felt a righteous need to impose his morals on this planet. As a way to make up for essentially toppling society, he orders a team of Federation educators come in and teach the Betans how to live in a functional society again. 

This was followed up in a hilarious episode of " Star Trek: Lower Decks ."

Bread and circuses

"Bread and Circuses" (written by Coon and Roddenberry , originally aired on March 15, 1968) is as ethically tricky as they come, but also features an instance wherein Kirk obeyed the Prime Directive. In the episode, the Enterprise encounters a planet that is very much like Ancient Rome, but evolved into a 20th-century-Earth-like timeframe. As such, there are still slaves forced into gladiatorial combat, but they are broadcast on modern TV equipment. Eventually Kirk and co. are going to be forced into the arena as slaves. 

The Enterprise has encountered a world whereupon slavery still exists. With the ship's superior technology, Kirk could easily free the slaves, assassinate dictators, and install a democratic government with a team of Federation educators, right? Just like in "The Return of the Archons"? Doesn't this sound preferable to slavery? The issue with interfering in the case of "Bread and Circuses" is that it encourages colonialist thinking. If you feel you're in the right and you have superior technology to the "primitive" species you seek to aid, then congratulations, you are a colonialist. 

"Bread and Circuses" leaves audiences on something of an ambiguous but generally optimistic note. Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) points out that the slave uprising they had briefly encountered called themselves The Children of the Sun. Only she had mistranslated the phrase earlier, and finds that the phrase was closer to ... The Son of God. Kirk opines that this planet had a Caesar analogue, but also a Christ analogue. The Enterprise did not end slavery on that planet, but knowing Earth history, one can take comfort in the fact that the Rome planet will continue to evolve. It will have new religions, new philosophies, perhaps Holy Wars, but — in the long run — may find itself eventually entering its own Roddenberrian future. They just need time to work all that s*** out. 

Will people die and suffer? Yes. But the Prime Directive prevents humans from being the saviors. Civilization necessarily evolves at its own pace. 

Who watches the watchers?

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? One of the best examples of the Prime Directive at work in " Star Trek: The Next Generation " was in the episode "Who Watches the Watchers?," written by Hans Beimler, which first aired on October 16, 1989. In that episode, a disguised Federation outpost is watching over a primitive species — they are in their agrarian phase — suddenly becomes visible after an accident. One of the locals is injured in the accident and Dr. Crusher (Gates McFadden) beams him up to the ship in what is a clear violation of the Prime Directive. She justifies it by saying that they were the ones responsible for his injuries. The local (Ray Wise) witnesses everything on board the starship, including the work of Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart). Although Dr. Crusher tries to erase his memory, it doesn't take, and Wise ends up spreading a legend among his people of a new god called The Picard. Oops. 

So that civilization is tainted. There's no going back. Picard, however, feels he can stem the damage somewhat by explaining to the locals that he is not a god, but a very mortal traveler. A regular person, just like them. Ray Wise, to prove that Picard is immortal, shoots him with an arrow. When Picard is nearly killed, the Wise character reneges. This primitive civilization now knows about the existence of aliens, but their culture will not be altered by a new belief system, a new religion, or a new worship structure. To most eyes, this was the preferable option.

The communicator

"Star Trek: Enterprise" took place before the inception of General Order One, and the crew of that show's ship had a heck of a time discovering why it might be needed. Captain Archer (Scott Bakula) is told by his Vulcan first officer T'Pol (Jolene Blalock) that Vulcans had a habit of noninterference, and it was they who invented General Order One, not yet adopted by human Starfleet. 

In the episode "The Communicator" (written by André Bormanis, first aired on November 13, 2002), disguised Enterprise crewmembers — partly for study, but partly for fun — beam down to a 21st-century-tech-level planet to look around. Upon returning, they find they left behind a communicator, a technology far beyond what the planet currently possessed. The communicator was discovered by a local who thought Archer and his crew were an enemy faction invading their country. Eventually, after Archer returns to retrieve the communicator, the locals will apprehend him, remove his disguise makeup, and learn that his blood is red. Archer claims he's not an alien, but a genetic experiment conducted by his captor's enemies. Good story, bro. Events snowball to the point when shuttlecraft are flown in to rescue Archer. 

The final scene of the episode is T'Pol grilling Archer over what he did wrong. Archer learns that he escalated a conflict on the planet's surface, and revealed tech they never knew possible. 

Yeah. That's a 10 on the Whoops Scale. "The Communicator" is one of the better instances of why a philosophy of noninterference is required in a universe where multiple civilizations were evolving at different rates. 

Roddenberry wanted that pact to be applied throughout history. At least in fiction, we can have it.

Den of Geek

Star Trek: Starfleet’s Number One Rule Is Also Its Most Complicated

In Star Trek, there's nothing simple about the Prime Directive.

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If you have ever watched Star Trek , you already know what the Prime Directive is. General Order One. As Kirk describes it in The Original Series episode, “Bread and Circuses,” the order decrees Starfleet crews should make “No identification of self or mission; no interference with the social development of said planet; no references to space, other worlds, or advanced civilizations.”

Of course, there’s a bit more to it than that. According to one episode of Voyager , the Prime Directive contains 47 sub-orders, including more than a few loopholes that have been exploited over the years, but the gist of it is, if a civilization has not yet developed warp travel, Starfleet is to treat their planet like a nature reserve, to be observed but never interfered with.

“I think of the Prime Directive as having two components,” says Robin Wasserman, who has written two episodes of Strange New Worlds . “One is the idea of non-interference with another civilization’s cultural mores (no matter how antithetical they may be to Starfleet values), while the other is the call to preserve a civilization’s ‘normal development’ by protecting them from knowledge (like, say, the knowledge of aliens) or technology that might provoke radical change.”

Bill Wolkoff, the writer of four episodes of Strange New Worlds , echoes this sentiment, calling the “spirit” of General Order One both “beautiful and aspirational.” He says, “The Prime Directive just keeps us focused on exploration. We’re not trying to play gods, we just want to meet the neighbors, share some cool things we know, and ideally learn from them, too. In other words, we’re not trying to make distant planets more like ours, or how we imagine they should be. We’re expanding our minds by discovering the universe as it is.”

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But the Prime Directive is also famous for being the rule that Starfleet captains, Kirk in particular, break most frequently, with gleeful abandon. While the Directive speaks to Starfleet’s noble ideals, in practice there is no denying it has some difficult implications.

“The question of ‘can or should you interfere in the development of other civilizations’ seems like it should have an obvious answer – ‘no,’” says Aaron J. Waltke, writer and co-producer of Prodigy . “But upon a second look, that response is somewhat reductive when you consider the complexities of when and how it’s applied to a spacefaring civilization.”

Waltke points out that the Prime Directive and the way it is applied has plenty of exceptions, varying from captain to captain or even episode to episode.

“Although it’s thorny and uncomfortable, each case needs to be examined on its own merits and flaws with nuances taken into account,” Waltke argues. “ One of the mandates of  Star Trek: Prodigy , in particular, has been to introduce new and young audiences to the core concepts of  Trek , and all the strange, wonderful and sometimes complicated issues surrounding them.”

That being the case, it’s not surprising that the series has already touched upon the Prime Directive, or at least the reason it exists in the first place. The episode “All the World’s a Stage” takes on a vintage TOS concept – an alien society gets “contaminated” by an Earth artifact and reconstructs its entire culture around it. Only in Waltke’s episode, the artifact is the idea of Starfleet itself, with the aliens of the week creating a kind of TOS -era Trek cargo cult.

“In some ways, ‘All the World’s a Stage’ is meant to reflect on the power of sincerity and its unswerving optimism to combat cynicism and self-doubt,” Waltke says. “Dal is quick to dismiss the Enderprizians because he worries their unapologetic embrace of Starfleet is ignoring the realities of their dire situation. In the end, it’s that very dedication to the thriving spirit of ‘Star Flight’ — curiosity, boldness, kindness — that saves Dal and the Prodigy crew. The spirit of the law is far more important than the letter — perhaps like the Prime Directive itself.” 

A Rule That’s Made to Be Broken

But there’s “obeying the spirit of the law” and there is flat-out destroying the evil computer that has enslaved the entire planet, as Kirk has done more than once, or smuggling illicit art supplies to the local kids, as Beckett Mariner does on the regular in Lower Decks .

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“Mariner has a personal code, she believes in the overall value of Starfleet, but she’s more than willing to get thrown in the brig for doing what she believes is right,” says Mike McMahan, Lower Decks ’ showrunner. “The Federation and Starfleet might be the futuristic, ideal systems we think we want – but a system is never going to address the needs of every situation or individual. Blindly following rules has never been an appealing trait – on Lower Decks , we try to honor and celebrate what we love about Starfleet – but since we (the writers and the characters) know it so well, we’re the best at thumbing our noses at it.”

Some argue that it is precisely because the ideals behind the Prime Directive are so important that they have to be put through frequent trials by fire.

“ Anything worthwhile needs to be stress-tested. This is a unifying principle for all members of the Federation. Vulcans, Andorians, Tellarites, and even those little gold people in fezzes picking at the buffet in ‘Journey to Babel’ all must adhere to it,” Wolkoff explains. “As it affects multiple billions of people, not everyone is going to approach it in the exact same manner. In order for it to endure, we must see what happens in those frequent instances where it is abused, used to shield wrongdoing, or where it simply does not apply in a binary way.”

Wasserman agrees that although the Prime Directive springs from a well-intentioned place, even the best intentions can have unintended consequences

“Which, of course, is presumably why Starfleet wanted a Prime Directive in the first place—because some well-intentioned efforts to ‘help’ or ‘improve’ alien civilizations went catastrophically wrong,” she says. “So they course corrected, and pushed policy to the opposite extreme.”

Wasserman believes that for every ethically thorny, narratively potent encounter that makes up an hour of Trek storytelling there are a hundred others that go pretty much by the book, with the Prime Directive suiting everyone just fine.

“But what do you do when theory collides with practice, when good intentions collide with intolerable consequences, when upholding what’s ‘correct’ means betraying what’s right?” Wasserman asks. “My favorite Prime Directive episodes are those that leave you just as tormented as the characters are about what they’re doing—and what they should have done.”

The Storytelling Directive

As for those other hundreds of encounters?

“On a very simple storytelling level, if the Enterprise arrives on a planet, takes a look round, and the captain says, ‘Oh, they’re not space-faring, better jog on…’ then that makes for a very short episode, doesn’t it?” points out Una McCormack, the author of both Spock and Kathryn Janeway’s autobiographies, as well as numerous other Trek novels.

Whatever the Prime Directive’s virtues and problematic implications in-universe, the fact is it has turned out to be a rich ground for storytelling.

“ The Prime Directive is such an interesting aspect of Star Trek storytelling. I like that Starfleet has rules to protect those that they observe. It feels scientific and ethical, but it’s also fun to see captains constantly break it when their own morals demand it,” McMahan says. “The Prime Directive serves as a great storytelling function for the morality tales that Trek often tells. I love the conversations that come from the Prime Directive in Trek , and that it comes from the post-scarcity aspect of the show which allows this huge fleet to dedicate so many resources to the pursuit of knowledge.”

As clearly defined as the Prime Directive appears to be, Waltke points out that like Asimov’s “Three Laws of Robotics” there are enough loopholes and grey areas to make for interesting exceptions to the rule.

“ I suspect the reason the Prime Directive has such an enduring legacy in pop culture is because it  isn’t  obvious when and how it should be applied, which leaves room for a lot of rules lawyering and philosophical debate,” Waltke says. “I personally think there are interpretations of the Prime Directive that I find difficult to support as a 21st-century human – for instance, Picard’s willingness to allow an entire planet to die in ‘Homeward’ and ‘Pen Pals,’ or Janeway’s refusal to warn a civilization their actions will destroy themselves in ‘Time and Again’ or ‘Thirty Days.’ However, even the captains in those episodes have arguments with their crew in those episodes about the pros and cons, and sometimes even change their mind.”

“As for the restrictions it imposes, that just allows our characters the opportunity for outside-the-box thinking,” Wolkoff says. “I’ll always love a good Prime Directive story. Because you’ll never know when it’ll force Kirk and Spock to dress as Chicago mobsters and invent fake card games like Fizzbin to get out of a bind.”

But Wolkoff, with Wasserman, also wrote a hard-hitting episode of Strange New Worlds that features no such loopholes or get-out-of-jail-free cards. In “Lift Us Where Suffering Cannot Reach” Pike encounters a seemingly idyllic, technologically advanced, progressive society that depends entirely on a single child being hooked into a machine and tortured to death. It’s a modern-day reworking of Ursula K. Le Guin’s “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” and there is no feel-good heroic ending for the Enterprise crew at the end of it.

“That was a real bind for Pike,” says Wolkoff. “Their way of thinking was abhorrent to him, and many (if not all) of us. But I think it would have been potentially more harmful for him to march in there phasering stuff up like the police of the universe and showing other Federation members that we really are colonizers no matter what we claim.”

Wasserman adds, “What I loved most about this episode was the final confrontation between Pike and Alora, and her effort to draw a moral equivalence between their two societies. Alora wants to believe that the suffering of one child is acceptable if it means alleviating a planet’s worth of pain. And I think she might argue that Starfleet, by following the Prime Directive here, is doing the same.”

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But then, that the Prime Directive can deny you that heroic “overthrow an alien culture and save the day” moment is also part of its strength as a storytelling tool.

“ The Prime Directive is the best kind of narrative tool, less a final answer than a burning question—the kind of question that forces us to interrogate what we believe in, what we care about, what the purpose of exploration and governance and life itself may be,” Wasserman says.

The reason it seems counter-intuitive is that it is a moral guideline that requires our heroes not to act, which goes against our fundamental storytelling instincts. That is even more clear in an interactive environment like a tabletop RPG, but Jim Johnson, who heads up Star Trek Adventures for Modiphius Entertainment, argues that even here, the Prime Directive offers players the opportunity to make a choice.

“Players still have all the agency; the PD provides guidance on what they should or shouldn’t do,” he says. “It’s never as simple as black and white, do this or don’t do this. There’s always nuance. It’s up to the players what they do with the information they’re given.”

The Prime Directive on Earth

But this is not just an argument about in-universe lore or storytelling techniques. Star Trek has never been a show that is just about spaceships and aliens.

“All science fiction tells us more about the time in which it was written than about the future that’s being imagined, and Star Trek is no exception,” McCormack insists. “From the outset, Star Trek is telling us about the USA’s vision of itself in the world. Specifically, in the case of the Prime Directive, 1960s Star Trek is making a clear statement about the misguidedness – the immorality – of American military involvement in Vietnam. It’s also a broader statement against colonialism.”

Even today, the Prime Directive works as a metaphor to examine how we interact with cherished real-world political institutions.

“An institution with a noble charter can sometimes fall short of its founding principles because even good institutions are imperfect and can be perverted to do harm,” Wolkoff says. “Take the Supreme Court. The Constitution has lots of good directives that justices have interpreted in a calculated manner to do bad things. But I would also argue that our constitution does a lot more good on aggregate, and by design gives us tools to keep fighting to restore any rights the court takes away.”

But as Waltke points out, our ethics and values in these situations are far from constant.

“Human civilization is constantly reassessing what is acceptable and what isn’t when it comes to geopolitics, and when to intervene in another country for humanitarian purposes or in war,” Waltke agrees. “We also face similar conundrums around ‘uncontacted’ people who still live in isolation in shrinking rainforests being devastated by climate change and whether it’s our place to introduce them to the outside world.”

Obviously, our own history with “first contacts” ably demonstrates the case for a non-interference directive, as science fiction author Adrian Tchaikovsky points out, “One feels that if some 15th-19th century political theorist had framed and popularized a doctrine borrowing from the Prime Directive then European contact with other cultures might have been considerably less genocidal.”

The big difference is that in Star Trek these cultures each live on their own world, separated by light years of space, while we share one increasingly interconnected planet.

“We can all agree, I hope, that every society should have cultural autonomy—but how do we navigate that in an increasingly entangled global order?” asks Wasserman. “When is non-interference an obligation—and when, if ever, is it a moral crime?”

Changing Directives

While the Prime Directive is enshrined in the origins of the Federation, attitudes change. McCormack has written for Star Trek characters in all eras, and has seen how the interpretation of General Order One has changed through the generations.

“There’s an undercurrent in the earlier conception of the Prime Directive that civilizations naturally go through stages of development and become increasingly sophisticated [until they’re] ‘mature’ enough to enter the great galactic community,” McCormack says. “This kind of language seems to lessen (it doesn’t go away entirely). There must have been a big change in Federation social theory, I’m glad to say.”

“It’s paternalistic: Who is the Federation to decide when a civilization is and is not ‘ready’ for radical change?” Wasserman agrees. “Who is the Federation to deprive a civilization of the opportunity to make its own choice about how to handle the reality of the universe?”

But sometimes, as Deanna Troi says, a cake is just a cake, and some of what we should take from the Prime Directive is straightforwardly literal.

“I feel that, on the basis that we’re likely to be sending probes to exoplanets within my lifetime, we should probably be trying to work out a genuine space-based code of conduct for how to approach any alien world with anything recognizable as a biosphere on it,” Tchaikovsky points out.

Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations

Star Trek is not the only space opera, and certainly not the only science fiction to deal with the ethical briar patch surrounding first contact.

Tchaikovsky’s sci-fi trilogy, Children of Time , Children of Ruin , and Children of Memory charts a course from relatively hard sci-fi where space travel spans evolutionary epochs, to a multispecies faster-than-light interstellar civilization that wrestles with similar dilemmas to the Federation.

“In Children of Time the baseline ethos is something that both the Federation or Banks’ Culture would recognize and approve of, at least a little,” Tchaikovsky says. “That idea of empathy for the other, giving personage and respect to sapient life that’s very different to yourself.”

However in Children of Memory , without their own “Prime Directive,” Tchaikovsky’s space explorers are forced to establish their own morality around these dilemmas from first principles.

“Because the universe they are exploring is far more depauperate than Trek ’s when it comes to life, and sapience in particular, they want to study life as it has developed independent of their coalition. On the other hand, the life they find is having a very tough time of it, practically begging for an advanced civilization to step in and help,” Tchaikovsky says. “But the moment they do that – in any way – they destroy the thing they are trying to observe.”

It was a book that changed Tchaikovsky’s own perspective on the Prime Directive.

“I think it’s a profoundly noble ideal to basically have- ‘we won’t exploit the less powerful,’ and to recognize that even the most peaceable contact will constitute unpalatable interference. Except then I wrote Children of Memory ,” Tchaikovsky says. “Do you have a duty to relieve ‘naturally occurring’ pain and suffering? How does that differentiate you from any cultural imperialist who feels that life would be better if they were more like us? I don’t think there’s an easy answer.”

But as McMahan points out, “The Prime Directive isn’t ‘the only directive.’ Life is rare, we’re all here together and we have to support each other. The Prime Directive’s function is cautionary, so you don’t destroy while trying to preserve. While I don’t love that the Prime Directive demands inaction, it’s based in respect and empathy. A little more of that from everyone would be great.”

Ultimately, the question any Prime Directive story comes down to is “What would you do?” You might expect most people to go full Kirk, knocking over any oppressive planetary regime they encounter. However, in playing and running Star Trek Adventures games, Johnson has seen people are a bit more complicated than that.

“In my decades of Trek roleplaying and gamemastering, I’ve noticed that players will almost always try to adhere to at least the spirit of the Prime Directive,” he says. “Sometimes the best course of action is the least-worst course of action, and sometimes there’s no right answer.”

Chris Farnell

Chris Farnell is a freelance writer and the author of a novel, an anthology, a Doctor Who themed joke book and some supplementary RPG material. He…

Starfleet Orders & Directives

General Order 1: The Prime Directive

As the right of each sentient species to live in accordance with its normal cultural evolution is considered sacred, no Starfleet personnel 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, 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 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 life-forms, under no circumstance shall Starfleet personnel, either by word or deed, inform said life-forms that worlds other than their own or intelligent life-forms other than their own exist outside the confines of their own 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 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 demands unconditional priority from Starfleet personnel. Such personnel shall immediately respond to said request, postponing all other activities.

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 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. In such cases, the commander may use his 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

No commander of a Starfleet vessel, 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.

General Order 10

If there exists eyewitness testimony by senior officers or similar verifiable evidence that an individual 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 the rank of captain 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 and the Secretary of Starfleet.

General Order 12

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.

General Order 13

Except when orders state to the contrary, Starfleet personnel will respect the territorial integrity of independent planetary systems and governments, 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 title of governor or higher.

General Order 15

No officer of 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 a member of a 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

Starfleet vessel captains are to consider the lives of their crew members 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 trail conducted by the Federation judiciary". 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. 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.

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 Assembly.

General Order 22

As the rights of individual expression and free discourse are considered sacred, Starfleet personnel may debate the policies and decisions 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 an individual or group of individuals pose a threat to Starfleet personnel or Federation civilians, he may take any action deemed necessary (including force) to secure the safety of those threatened.

General Order 25

Civilian and military personnel 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.

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. Whenever possible, such officers shall include the ship's First 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.

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.

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

Except in the case of an extreme emergency, no Starfleet commander is authorized to order his ship to travel faster than Warp Factor Five without express permission from Starfleet Command.

The Omega Directive

The Omega Directive was created to deal with a threat not only to the Federation, but to the entire Alpha Quadrant; and indeed the whole Galaxy. Starfleet named the hazard the Omega molecule/particle phenomenon. It was first synthesized over 100 years ago (during the mid-22nd century,) by a Starfleet physicist named Ketteract. The molecule created was the most powerful substance known to exist. A single Omega molecule contains the same energy as a warp core. It has been suggested that in theory, a small chain could sustain a civilization. It is not known whether Ketteract was searching for an inexhaustible power source, or a weapon. He created a single molecule particle of Omega, which lasted for only a fraction of a second before it de-stabilized. His work was done on a classified research center in the Lantaru Sector. Ketteract and 126 of the Federation's leading scientists, were lost in the accident. Rescue teams attempting to reach the site, discovered an unexpected secondary effect. There were subspace ruptures extending out several light years. To this day, it is impossible to create a stable warp field in that sector. It can only be traversed under sublight power. This is the danger of the Omega molecule. Omega destroys subspace. A chain reaction could devastate subspace throughout the quadrant. Space-faring civilization would no longer exist, and many lives would be lost in space. When Starfleet learned of this impending danger, it suppressed all knowledge of the Omega phenomenon. Only Starfleet Captains and Federation Flag Officers may view this document.

Directive: Starfleet Captains and Federation Flag Officers must ensure the safety of the quadrant from the Omega threat. To this end, whenever sensors positively determine the presence of Omega in a ship's vicinity it will enter "Omega Mode." Doing so locks all navigation, sensor, tactical and propulsion systems. Only the ship's Captain, or a Federation Flag Officer can release the Omega lockout. Access to sensor data retrieved on the Omega effect is limited to Clearance Level 10. When Omega has been verified, the ship's captain will contact Starfleet Command immediately. No information may be relayed to the ship's crew. All other priorities are rescinded until the threat is neutralized. The prime directive may be compromised during such a mission, if necessary. Blatant abuse of this power will be prosecuted to the fullest extent using all other Starfleet Directives. If violation of the prime directive is even minimally anticipated, it is authorized and advised. If Starfleet Command cannot be contacted for any reason, the primary priority is the destruction of all Omega molecules detected. There will be no computer record of the sensor logs, and Captain's/Captain's Personal Logs must be either encrypted or deleted.

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Federation Prime Directive , Star Trek Prime Directive , Starfleet Prime Directive , The Prime Directive - August 15, 2022

Star Trek's Prime Directive- History, and Introspection

There is no rule, no law, that is more Federation and Starfleet than the Prime Directive. It is one of the cornerstones. It's also known as General Order Number One; "No starship may interfere with the normal development of any alien life or society."

The Prime Directive is not just a set of rules; it is a philosophy… and a very correct one. History has proven again and again that whenever mankind interferes with a less developed civilization, no matter how well-intentioned that interference may be, the results are invariably disastrous."

It's a straightforward concept before a civilization achieves warp speeds, they must be allowed the natural progression towards that. Even in the face of destruction, if that's how the dice rolls for your civilization, then that will of the universe will be respected. 

The very core of the philosophy was the concept that Starfleet should refrain from any interference, covert or otherwise, even if well-intentioned.

So fundamental was the observance of the Prime Directive that Starfleet officers would uphold it, even if it meant their lives.

The origins of the Prime Directive are Vulcan.  When or how they came up with this rule for themselves is unknown, but T'Pol of the Enterprise advised Captain Archer of it. He strongly agreed with the philosophy after seeing the damage done by interference on a pre-warp planet.

It wasn't just the General Order, the Prime Directive had 47 sub-orders by the end of the 24th Century.

Some of them included:

• Providing intelligence of the greater universe, (the Federation's or any other alien species) even if that species leaders already know of it, to pre-warp societies
• Avoiding or subverting the established laws of a society.
• Helping to escape a natural disaster known to the civilization, even if Starfleet's inaction would result in a society's end
• Helping advance technologies or science of pre-warp societies
• Advancing the overall development of a pre-warp society

The Prime Directive on first read seems simple and straight-forward. But nothing is ever purely logical. It has been bent, broken, or abandoned in the course of the Star Trek universes. Here are a few examples of it being tested.

Trouble with Kirk

Captain Kirk had trouble following the Prime Directive on numerous occasions.

When the Enterprise dealt with the people of Beta III, they discovered a stagnant, pre-warp civilization. Rather than abiding by the Prime Directive, Kirk dismantled the ruling supercomputer Landru, which freed the people but left their society in need of further direct intervention as seen on Lower Decks when the Betans attempt to turn it back on.

In another instance, Kirk destroys the Vaal, a reptilian machine that has kept a society primitive for over 10,000 years requiring the Federation to come in and pick up the pieces.

In another mission, on the planet Neural, Klingons have decided to give advanced weapons (flintlock rifles) to one faction of the population, to take over the planet by proxy. Kirk decides to balance the scales, violating the Prime Directive and arms the other faction, believing that was the lesser damage.

The cowboy captaining of Kirk reflects the times in which the show was made. Kirk doesn't have to be there to pick up the pieces of the newly freed, he is off to the next mission. The conflict between acting on conscience to free people that you believe need your help, or to leave them be, reflected the times as Star Trek ran during the Vietnam War. The Prime Directive is a policy of noninterference.

That's why there's such a sharp contrast between Kirk and Picard. They are opposites, especially regarding the Prime Directive.

It's the principle…

The USS Enterprise under Captain Jean-Luc Picard became a place of ideals and the expectation of always presenting the very best of Starfleet. Even when he did violate the Prime Directive, it was only to limited degrees or to save what had become a very messy situation.

When Data was contacted by Sarjenka of Drema IV, this contact ultimately gave Picard the excuse to save her and her people without them knowing as her communication was a direct plea for help. Otherwise, he would have allowed her and the rest of her people to die per the Prime Directive.

When the power source keeping a research location hidden from a proto-Vulcan civilization fails, killing some of the staff, the Enterprise goes to assist them. Dr. Crusher breaks the Prime Directive by beaming and treating one of the locals who is hurt investigating the observation post. This leads to a situation where he tells the populace of "The Picard" rekindling belief in the supernatural. It takes a full intervention by Picard to stop this belief.

 When Wesley Crusher was going to be executed for his crime of falling into some flowers by the Edo people, Picard intervenes asking "When has justice ever been as simple as a rulebook?" Picard's duty to protect the crew or their children, even when it endangered thousands, outweighed the dictates of the Prime Directive for Picard.

The long way home

Captain Janeway of the USS Voyager had the choice between leaving the Caretaker's Array or destroying it as the Caretaker died he. Lt. Tuvok advised Captain Janeway of the potential Prime Directive violation of involving Voyager in the struggles of the Kazon and Ocampa. Destroying the array "would affect the balance of power in this system. The Prime Directive would seem to apply." However, because the Kazon ship would not have collided with the array if not for the arrival of Voyager and the Marquis ship Val Jean, Janeway's destruction of the array was a corrective action that reinstated the Caretaker's self-destruct plan and thus did not technically violate the Prime Directive. Destroying the array sacrificed returning Voyager to the Alpha Quadrant quickly, leaving them to have to find another slower way home.

The Pralor Automated Personnel Units (APU) were seeking to stave off their extinction with the help of Lt. Torres. Janeway forbade Torres to do this as it was a violation of the Prime Directive. She said it was the "equivalent of altering their genetic structure," and that "extinction is often the natural end of evolution". The APUs kidnapped Torres but she destroyed her work thus removing any interference in their evolution.

There is one directive that supersedes all others and that is the Omega Directive.

A team of 127 top-Federation scientists, led by the Starfleet physicist Ketteract, was working on a top-secret experiment at a classified research station in the Lantaru sector in the mid-23rd century. Research showed that a single molecule of Omega contained the same power as a warp core. Theoretically this power could sustain a civilization indefinitely. Ketteract's goal was an inexhaustible power source, or as pointed out by Seven of Nine a power that could also be used as a dreadful weapon.  The Borg had been aware of this molecule and had named it Particle 010. Federation cosmologists theorized that the Omega molecule once existed in nature for an infinitesimal period as the big bang occurred. Some even claiming that the Omega was the primal source of energy for the Big Bang.

 The scientists were able to synthesize a single Omega molecule, which only remained stable for a fraction of a second. With destabilization, the research center was destroyed killing all. Discovered during the rescue and recovery attempts was a rupture of subspace within a radius of several light-years, causing warp travel to become permanently disabled.

After this incident, Captain Kirk created the directive and suppressed all knowledge of the events. Only starship captains and flag officers are briefed about it and specialized teams would be dispatched to deal with any Omega-related crises.

Great Bird, great vision

Gene Roddenberry was a World War II Army fighter jet pilot. After the war, he became a police officer with the Los Angeles Police Department. He served in law enforcement for years and then switched to become a writer. In 1963, he helmed a TV show called The Lieutenant, and it featured many as-yet-unknown actors, including Leonard Nimoy.

In the 1950s and 1960s, as the world worked to reclaim itself post-war, the bigger countries preyed on the weaker, less developed ones. It was Capitalism vs Communism. Roddenberry saw this and it is reflected in the future he wanted. Where neither capitalism nor communism wins but a society of free people seeking to better themselves and the universe. The Prime Directive is that continued reflection, giving people a chance to develop how they naturally will without the involvement of 3rd parties like the US or USSR.

It's a utopian dream to be sure, but that's why we watch, especially now with Discovery, where the past will heal the future, bringing back the Federation and its ideals, including the Prime Directive, to protect civilizations that need that shield 930 years from their home.

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Prime Directive

• View history

The Prime Directive of Non-Interference , also known as the Prime Directive or the Non-Interference Directive , were the colloquial terms for the Federation Starfleet 's General Order One . The Prime Directive dictated that no Starfleet personnel knowingly interfere with the natural progression of pre-warp civilizations .

• 1 Background
• 2 Applications
• 3 Education
• 4.1 References
• 4.2 External link

Background [ ]

The origins of the Prime Directive began with humanity's first great exploration of the galaxy around them in the 2150s , with the Enterprise . Although the Vulcans had developed their own non-interference directives in the 1870s , humans were not bound by these restrictions. ( TOS novel : Strangers from the Sky )

In 2151 , the Enterprise made contact with the Fazi and the Hipon on the planet Fazi . When Captain Jonathan Archer discovered that the Fazi were less developed than humans, he immediately wanted to begin to share technology and information with those people. However, persuasion from the Hipon, a more advanced species on the planet's southern continent, urged him not to proceed. Following the advice from Subcommander T'Pol , he decided not to share technology to allow the two races to communicate in an attempt to let the two races advance at their own rate. However, Archer decided that guidelines governing first contacts and cultural contamination were needed. ( ENT novel : By the Book )

Even after the foundation of the Federation in 2161 , no rules had been established to govern contact with other species, and during the 2160s there were a number of cultural contaminations of pre-warp civilizations, the most notable case being the Horizon 's visit to Sigma Iotia II . While the initial contact went well, an Horizon crewman left a book , Chicago Mobs of the Twenties , behind on the planet. Over the next century , the Iotians modeled their civilization on the book. ( TOS episode : " A Piece of the Action ", ENT novel : Kobayashi Maru )

In November, 2165 , Admiral Jonathan Archer proposed an official directive of non-interference expressing the dangers of getting involved in the affairs of others, Starfleet 's need to change its approach when making first contact and deciding whether or not a culture or civilization requires their assistance. He cited the repercussions of Starfleet's first contact with the Saurians leading to the dictator Maltuvis seeking an alliance with the Orions thereby virtually conquering their homeworld , and the misunderstanding with the Ware task force that led to severe famine and death among the various species within the Partnership of Civilizations and elsewhere who had become dependent on Ware technology. Admiral Thy'lek Shran considered the proposal cowardly enabling Starfleet to stand by while others suffered. He vowed that if Archer went forward with the proposal he would fight it and he wouldn't be alone. ( ENT novel : Live by the Code )

By the 2170s , it was decided by the Federation Council that action needed to be taken and in 2175 the Resolution of Non-Interference was drafted and signed by all Federation members, putting together a single philosophy to be adopted. By the 2190s , the Prime Directive had come into force. ( TNG - Double Helix novel : Double or Nothing )

Applications [ ]

The philosophy of the Federation was all well and good, but a method needed to be adopted in order to measure the cultural development of a civilization. In the early 2200s , the Richter Scale of Culture became the chosen method to monitor a civilization's progress. ( TOS novel : Prime Directive )

Elements within the Prime Directive prevented Starfleet officers from interfering in internal matters of other races. However, they were able to help in negotiating in a compromise so long as both sides agreed to it. ( TOS video game : Judgment Rites )

Though the world of Treva lacked spaceflight, it had been contacted by and traded with non-Federation cultures prior to its contact with the Federation, and made a preliminary application for membership in 2349 . As a Starfleet preliminary survey team had made a non-negative report on the world, Starfleet was able to provide appropriate aid in its political difficulties at the request of its elected government . ( TNG novel : Survivors )

The Prime Directive was a Starfleet regulation, however, and not a civil law. As a result, Federation civilians were legally allowed to engage in activities that would be considered violations of the Prime Directive were they in Starfleet. In 2364 , several Federation citizens on the planet Angel I attempted to influence that world's matriarchal society to embrace a more egalitarian ideal; Federation Starfleet personnel on site determined that they could not force those civilians to refrain from influencing Angel I's society. ( TNG episode : " Angel One ") The mercenary band of the Silver Paladin , comprising Federation citizens and former Starfleet officers, assisted in a rebellion on the planet Treva that same year . After uncovering existing alien interference, the necessary actions of active Starfleet officers, Data and Natasha Yar were waived and the USS Enterprise -D was able to assist. ( TNG novel : Survivors )

Similarly, Lwaxana Troi , a Federation delegate with diplomatic immunity, was able to persuade scientist Timicin to reconsider his Kaelon commitments, a 1400-year-old absolute, in 2367 . ( TNG episode : " Half a Life ")

In 2368 , the Directive was again in question when a J'naii pilot , Soren , wanted to break tradition and choose the female gender. Although influenced by mutual affection for William T. Riker of Starfleet , s/he made a decision hirself , and ultimately accepted that hir mind be "reformed" back to one accepted by society. ( TNG episode : " The Outcast ")

In situations where the Omega Directive applies, the Prime Directive is considered null and void. ( VOY episode : " The Omega Directive ")

Education [ ]

Starfleet Academy taught Starfleet officers about the Prime Directive and how to handle situations involving it. The Priam IV test covered such issues. ( TNG novel : Survivors )

Appendices [ ]

References [ ].

• VOY - Myriad Universes - Infinity's Prism novella : Places of Exile
• PIC - Stargazer comic : " Issue 1 "

External link [ ]

• Prime Directive article at Memory Alpha , the wiki for canon Star Trek .
• 1 Ferengi Rules of Acquisition
• 2 The Chase
• 3 Preserver (race)

• More to Explore
• Series & Movies

Published Apr 5, 2024

RECAP | Star Trek: Discovery 501 - 'Red Directive'

There's never a dull moment for the U.S.S. Discovery!

SPOILER WARNING: This article contains story details and plot points for Star Trek: Discovery.

StarTrek.com

The fifth and final season of Star Trek: Discovery opens with " Red Directive, " where Captain Burnham and the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery are sent to retrieve a mysterious artifact hidden inside a 800-year-old Romulan vessel – but find that they’re not the only ones on the hunt. Meanwhile, Saru is offered the position of a lifetime.

• Michael Burnham
• Hugh Culber
• Paul Stamets
• Sylvia Tilly
• Laira Rillak
• Charles Vance
• Christopher
• Joann Owosekun
• Keyla Detmer
• Cleveland "Book" Booker

• Federation Headquarters
• U.S.S. Discovery -A
• U.S.S. Antares

As a vessel traverses the stars at high warp, Captain Michael Burnham experiences exhilaration as she clings to its hull in her environmental suit. The captain quips that there’s "never a dull moment" and proceeds to use her phaser in a bid to knock out the starship's engines. Burnham notes that they need to retrieve an item taken from a vault over the comm channel. As her suit advises her that warp bubble stability is declining rapidly, the captain remarks that this is not what she expected to happen when the night started…

"Red Directive"

Four hours earlier, Burnham joyfully converses with Ensign Adira Tal, Lt. Sylvia Tilly, Commander Paul Stamets, and Dr. Hugh Culber at Federation Headquarters, where Cadet Ross introduces them to Tonic 2161 — the official cocktail of the millennium celebration. Though the Federation was founded in 2161, the Burn prevented any widespread festivities when the holiday actually occurred decades before in 3161. Paired with a blue liquid, the beverage’s "floaty bits" — which taste like Bajoran jumja sticks — honor the Federation flag and its starry features.

The captain offers a smile, stating that it’s good to see that the Federation is back and at peace. Stamets nevertheless comes off as melancholic, and Culber discloses that the astromycologist just found out that Starfleet is shuttering the spore drive program. Paul expresses trepidation over his new title of "Scientific Luminary," adding that the Federation’s new Pathway Drive "won out" as the propulsion system of the future. Adira chimes in, remarking that this means the U.S.S. Discovery -A will always be one-of-a-kind, but Stamets replies with skepticism, believing his legacy was destroyed along with Cleveland "Book" Booker’s ship.

Certain he would have figured out the spore drive's navigator problem one day, the scientist emphasizes the potential for rolling out the technology to the whole fleet. His friends exchange concerned glances, but Captain Burnham then assures him that they will all find a new purpose and raises a glass in a toast to change. An aide informs Burnham that her presence has been requested by Federation President Laira Rillak, leaving Stamets to chastise himself for mentioning Book as the captain departs. While Tilly assures him that Burnham has not even talked about Book in months, Culber applies his psychiatric expertise and highlights the significant difference between locking something away and moving on. Tilly notices a fellow officer and goes to visit him, and the rest of the group disperses to "mingle."

On the dance floor, Captain Saru chats softly with Ni'Var's President T'Rina, who recognizes that the Kelpien has news and playfully wonders if she'll be "forced" to mind meld with him in order to learn what has transpired. President Rillak would like Saru to serve as a Federation Ambassador to a coalition of smaller worlds, ensuring that their needs are addressed as the Federation continues to expand. T'Rina appreciates the government’s effort to avoid repeating its past mistakes and observes that the planets’ locations could leave them open to influences from the Tholian Republic or the Breen Imperium.

Saru cites the Federation's need to remain unified, but the post would require that he resign his Starfleet commission. However, as an ambassador, he would be based at Federation HQ, in close proximity to T'Rina and her own duties. Ni'Var's president interrupts her dance partner, stating that — despite their deep love for one another — it is only logical that their relationship not factor into Saru's decision, an observation which seems to unsettle the Kelpien.

Across the room, Admiral Charles Vance approaches Captain Burnham and hands her an infinity-shaped device. The two retreat to a secure location — a featureless, all-white area known as the Infinity Room — and rendezvous with Dr. Kovich, who acknowledges the facility’s over-the-top theatricality. Turning to Burnham, Vance explains that an 800-year old science vessel was just found at the edge of the Beta Quadrant. Discovery needs to jump there immediately, but Kovich will only say that the ship contains "something vital to the security of the Federation." Burnham begins to object, but Kovich silences any disagreement when he reveals that the mission is a Red Directive.

Saru beams into Discovery 's Bridge and receives status reports from Lt. Christopher, Lt. Linus, Lt. Commander Joann Owosekun, Lt. Naya, Lt. Commander Gen Rhys, and Lt. Commander Keyla Detmer. Burnham and Kovich transport aboard and share that the crew will be going on a Red Directive classified mission. Their target? A 24th Century Romulan science vessel that will most certainly attract the attention of scavengers and other nefarious characters. A second Starfleet ship is already en route, but Discovery will arrive first — or so they believe…

Across the quadrant, two helmeted figures pillage the derelict Romulan starship, ultimately removing their protective gear and taking in the ship’s breathable atmosphere. The female — Moll — comments that the U.S.S. Antares is on its way, and her male cohort L’ak sees a second Starfleet ship on their scanners. L’ak believes this means that the Romulan cargo must be "extra shiny," but he suggests they call it a day and enjoy a holodeck for two. Moll asks if L’ak wants "the pebbles or the mountain," convincing her partner to stay the course.

Discovery enters scanning range, and Owosekun detects two lifeforms on the Romulan ship — at least until their lifesigns suddenly vanish. Burnham gathers Owosekun and Rhys for the away team, but Kovich offers some disturbing insight — setting weapons to stun might not be enough, so they are authorized to use lethal force. Shock covers Burnham's face, and Kovich orders her to successfully complete the mission by any means necessary.

The three Starfleet officers beam over to the Romulan vessel's darkened corridors with phasers drawn and begin searching for the trespassers. Aerosolized water droplets notify them that the intruders had not been gone long, and Burnham advises Rhys and Owosekun to keep their phasers on stun. The trio continue on and locate an 800-year old Romulan corpse and an uncloaked — and empty — vault. Realizing the scavengers must be close, the Starfleet officers spin around and open fire. Moll and L'ak materialize in front of them, managing to capture Rhys and Owosekun in containment fields and making their escape.

Captain Burnham pursues, converting her weapon into a phaser rifle and exchanging volleys with her opponents. Moll and L'ak step forward, holding the prize they acquired from the vault and tossing an explosive charge toward the captain. As the intruders beam away, Burnham is tossed through an opening and into space. Fortunately, her programmable matter EV suit automatically activates, and the captain jets toward the outline of Moll and L'ak's ship. Burnham magnetizes her suit as the craft enters warp.

As Burnham works to sabotage the engines, the U.S.S. Antares follows and grabs the ship with a tractor beam. Captain Rayner signals Burnham, who notices the warp bubble has started to collapse and urges the U.S.S. Antares to release its hold on the fleeing vessel. Operating on Burn-era tech and lacking a state-of-the-art Pathway Drive, Rayner knows the Antares can’t pull the enemy craft out of warp. Having previously encountered Moll and L'ak, Rayner is hesitant to let them elude him

Checking in from Discovery 's center seat, Saru informs Burnham — who doesn’t want to miss her upcoming saxophone lesson — that Owosekun and Rhys are being treated in Sickbay. Detmer pilots the Crossfield -class vessel into position and Lt. Gallo prepares to transport the captain to safety. The ride is bumpy, but Kovich resolves to remain on the Bridge until the mission is completed. Burnham repeats her warning to Rayner, advising that the breakup of Moll's ship would also destroy the Antares . Believing that every mission is personal, Rayner pushes back on Burnham's own record, but he eventually concedes.

The three starships, as well as Captain Burnham, drop out of warp. The intruders' vessel spouts numerous probes, and they all leap to warp on different courses. Burnham is beamed right to Discovery 's Bridge, barely able to catch her breath before Rayner's hologram appears to discuss what he describes as the "cherry that they just dropped on our shit sundae." Appearing with a stern face and pointed ears, Rayner states that the probes left behind 20 warp signatures, meaning it will take days to determine which course Moll and L'ak actually took. Kovich voices his displeasure, but Burnham admits she knows someone who can help them find the thieves.

Discovery jumps to a ringed planet, and its captain nervously strolls into the shuttlebay to greet Cleveland "Book" Booker, who beams in and requests permission to come aboard. The somewhat awkward reunion shifts into Discovery 's corridors, where Burnham announces her suspicion that Moll and L'ak used to be couriers. The Federation is expanding and most of the old networks are closed, but Burnham hopes Book's experience, expertise, and insight can assist them in determining the correct warp signature. The two acknowledge that it has been a while since they spoke, and Burnham commends him for the work he has done with the refugees who were affected by the Dark Matter Anomaly. Book is eager to "make things right" in the wake of stealing the experimental spore drive for his own ship.

Burnham and Book confer with Saru, Kovich, Vance, and Rayner in the Ready Room, where the Antares ' captain briefs them on what is known about Moll — a human — and L'ak, a member of an unknown species. The duo, who showed up in the sector approximately two years ago, procured a tan zhekran — a traditional Romulan puzzle box — from the science ship. Kovich claims he is not at liberty to share details about the item and shifts the conversation to Book's detective skills. Factoring in the need to avoid Federation territory and the few fencers who would have interest in a 24th Century haul, Book determines that Moll and L'ak are headed to meet with a broker named Fred — just "Fred" — on Q’Mau. Vance orders Burnham and Rayner to investigate, insisting that they try working together.

The officers begin to walk out, but Saru stays behind to speak with Captain Burnham in private. Noting that a tan zhekran can contain almost anything, including a weapon or a pathogen, the captain is concerned that Kovich won't even tell her the name of the Romulan scientist who owned it. Saru slyly suggests that someone outside of Discovery 's chain of command with access to different databases might be able to assist. Burnham responds with a joyous smile, her expression turning serious as she remembers Saru could soon be leaving for another post.

Back at Federation HQ, Lt. Tilly enters her quarters in the midst of an energetic chat with Lt. Jax. Lamenting over a cadet who refuses to leave the lab during the Academy's Simulation Week, Tilly outlines collaboration's importance to Starfleet's future and — very briefly — ponders whether she could crash every cadet onto an ice moon in order to teach them that lesson. Tilly attributes her talkativeness to the champagne served at the after party, and the two officers exchange flirtatious gazes.

Tilly and Jax — who both love walking and talking — share a clumsy goodbye that nevertheless elicits a smirk from the Academy instructor. Now alone, Tilly orders up a coffee from the replicator. The respite is short-lived, as an incoming communication from Captain Burnham provides another boost to Tilly's energy reserves. Theorizing that Tilly must have had some Andorian champagne, Burnham adopts her "serious voice" and asks Tilly for her help. Always available for her friends, Tilly gleefully responds, "Whatever it is, I’m in."

Discovery arrives at Q’Mau, where Burnham and Book beam down to a small settlement that is surrounded by a desert landscape and rocky outcroppings. Book remarks that it feels like their old courier days, and Burnham asks about Grudge — the Queen is great, she says, "Hi." They disagree about who should have made more of an effort to contact the other, but Rayner's arrival disperses the mounting tension.

Elsewhere in the marketplace, Moll and L'ak are scanned and welcomed into Fred's establishment. Fred, who has the distinctive appearance of a synthetic lifeform, maintains a friendly demeanor, though his guards supply the room with an air of hostility. Fred notices Moll and L'ak's "togetherness," spiritedly contrasting the bilabial nasal of "Moll" with the voiceless velar plosive of "L'ak." The thieves present Fred with their recent finds — isolinear coprocessors, vintage PADDS and tricorders, self-sealing stem bolts, and the mysterious puzzle box.

Intrigued, Fred mentions that he hasn’t encountered such an item in 622.7 years. He unlocks the box by shifting its features into a new configuration, revealing a handwritten diary. The android skims the text, happily offering Moll and L'ak three bars of latinum for the entire lot. The duo replies with a laugh, unsatisfied with the price. Fred refuses to return their items, prompting the pair to burst into hand-to-hand combat with his guards. Moll is struck by an energy blast from the synth’s weapon, and — though her wound is not fatal — L'ak launches into a violent frenzy that results in Fred’s demise.

Book, Burnham, and Rayner locate Fred's lair soon after and confiscate the synth's body so that Discovery can scan his memory. Rayner hurriedly sets off on his own, but Book and Burnham remain to plot their next move. As they realize that Moll and L'ak must have cloaked their ship outside the settlement, Dr. Culber observes Fred's corpse in Sickbay. The android is an old model — dozens of generations before the tech used for Gray’s body — marked with the serial number "AS0572Y." Stamets deduces that the "AS" was intended to honor Altan Soong*, marveling at the 24th Century scientist’s legacy. The astromycologist needs wires to interface with Fred's memory drive, quipping that — luckily — Culber had married a packrat.

Down on the planet's surface, Moll and L'ak speed by Rayner on sand runners — swift transports used by locals to navigate the terrain. Thanks to their patience and foresight, Burnham and Book had anticipated the chase and already rented three of the vehicles. Rayner isn't impressed by Burnham's "strategic advantages," leaving Discovery 's captain to tell Book that she hasn’t disliked someone this much in 930 years.

Meanwhile, at Federation HQ, two security officers burst into Tilly's quarters as the lieutenant prepares to break the shifting fractal encryption which safeguards a secure Federation database. Vance marches in and intervenes, who astonishingly agrees that Captain Burnham deserves to know why her crew is risking their lives for an 800-year old Romulan ship. The admiral says that it is a "shame" he didn't get to stop Tilly in time and allows her to unlock the file. A shaky holo-recording manifests, depicting Doctor Vellek* — the Romulan whose body they had found. The Romulan scientist warns that his knowledge of an ancient technology beyond all comprehension — hidden in the "shadow of twin moons" — must not be lost or fall into the wrong hands.

On Q’Mau, the Starfleet officers close in on Moll and L'ak, but Rayner ventures ahead once again. Book teases Burnham by claiming that Rayner reminds him of another captain he knows, but the situation intensifies once the thieves reach their starship. Moll and L'ak set course for a nearby mountain's tunnel system so as to avoid detection by Discovery and Antares , and sensors detect an explosive charge in one of the tunnel's entrances. Aware that their foes planned ahead to distract their pursuers with an avalanche. According to Saru, Zora estimates there to be a 30% chance that the disaster would decimate the settlement.

Captain Rayner proposes an unorthodox plan — detonate the charge themselves and block Moll and L'ak's escape route. Burnham disagrees, yet her counterpart insists that she is letting stats get in the way of strategy — though possible, an avalanche is unlikely. As Rayner orders Antares to lock phasers on target, Burnham contends that they are on a non-Federation planet and undertaking a classified mission, but Rayner follows through with his plan. Phaser beams strike down from orbit and seal the tunnel, yet Saru confirms that scans show the mountainside remains stable… at least until Moll and L'ak launch a photon torpedo that sends the rattled cliff into a freefall.

Burnham, Book, and Rayner flee from the rising debris cloud on their sand runners, but Zora announces that the avalanche is reaching speeds of 200 kilometers per hour — there is not enough time to evacuate the local encampment. In Engineering, Stamets and Adira run through several solutions, ultimately landing on the idea of combining Discovery and Antares ' shields to serve as a "brake" for the avalanche. Will it work? Stamets thinks — no, hopes — it will work, finally deciding, "Let’s go with 'hope.'"

Captain Saru starts to organize the maneuver, but Rayner does not want Antares to leave orbit and lose track of Moll and L'ak. Burnham emphasizes that the safety of the civilians in the avalanche's path is now their primary mission, and Rayner relents. Discovery and Antares burst through the atmosphere in a tight formation, fusing their shields together and burying their forward saucers into the planet's desert. The avalanche ripples against the energy barrier, but the starships triumphantly hold the line and inspire cheers from the settlement. The relief is lost on Rayner, who watches as Moll and L'ak escape to warp.

Rayner beams back to the Antares , giving Burnham and Book a moment to enjoy each other's company and confess that they both should have called one another. Still bruised from the ordeal, Burnham takes her admission a step further and reveals that she's not sure how to be around him anymore. Book considers the statement, countering that some things are hard to move past. The heart-to-heart is interrupted by a transmission from Tilly, who tells the captain that she has "wild" answers to her pressing questions.

The Discovery -A employs its spore drive to return to Federation Headquarters, where Captain Saru resolves to have his own private conversation with his partner. T'Rina expresses concern over rumors of Saru's eventful mission. The Kelpien reflects on the danger the civilians had faced and recalls something Tilly had once told him — "life is just a blink." Saru struggles to elaborate, aware that fear had constrained him from embracing love while dealing with the cullings of his youth.***

Had he been endangered by the avalanche, Saru would only have been able to think of T'Rina, therefore their relationship must be factored in as he considers his future. T'Rina is his home, his family, and so much more, and he intends to accept the ambassadorship to be alongside her — always. T’Rina welcomes the news, pleasantly surprising Saru when she proposes they "codify" their bond through marriage.

On Discovery , Captain Burnham enters Sickbay to get an update on Fred from Culber and Stamets. They downloaded the last 15 teraquads of data from his ocular processing unit, giving them an extended look at the pages of Vellek's diary. A handwritten diagram depicting the Vileen system's "twin moons" catches the captain's attention, sending her on a mission to meet Kovich on a holographic representation of a barren planetary surface. Kovich admires her tenacity but claims this Red Directive has been classified for centuries. His threat to pass the assignment to another team doesn't phase Burnham, who knows she holds the key to their target's location.

"The Chase"

Kovich lets out a sheepish grin, aware that Tilly and Vance played key parts in briefing the captain. He discontinues the holo, and — as the two stand in his office — he recounts the details. As one of the greatest scientists of his day, Dr. Vellek, was present when a Starfleet captain — Jean-Luc Picard — found a message left by a race of ancient beings — referred to as the "Progenitors" — who created every humanoid species in the galaxy.** Vellek discovered the technology that the Progenitors used to design life itself, but its location was lost when he disappeared 800 years ago.

Now, either Moll and L'ak know where this powerful find is or the diary is the first piece of the puzzle. Starfleet must track down this technology to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands. Burnham divulges that Lyrek, a planet situated in an outer sector of the Beta Quadrant within the Vileen system, has three moons — two of which move in perfect sync. Pleased, Kovich proclaims that the greatest treasure in the known galaxy is out there, lightheartedly asking the captain what she’s waiting for. Burnham flashes a smile and replies, "Let’s fly."

* " Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 1 " — The dealer in Q'Mau, Fred, is a Soong-inspired synthetic possessed a memory drive that had a serial number with an attribution to Altan Soong. The self-described "mad scientist" is the son of Noonien Soong , the creator of Soong-type androids. Altan Soong would continue his work despite the Federation's ban on synths. His work (and Dr. Maddox's research), known as the Soong Method, on transferring sentience into an artificial golem body was what helped create Gray Tal's new synthetic body's design in "Anomaly."

** " The Chase " — This Star Trek: The Next Generation adventure was where Captain Jean-Luc Picard found himself in a race with the Cardassians, Klingons, and Romulans to solve a four billion year old genetic puzzle. The Romulan Dr. Vellek, one of the greatest scientists of his day, was among those present when Picard discovered a message left by a race of ancient beings known as Progenitors, who created life as we know it — every humanoid species in the galaxy.

*** " An Obol for Charon " — Following Saru's survival of Vahar'ai , he discovered that the maturation process didn't signal death. It was in fact a biological event in the Kelpien's evolution that removed their suppression of fear. Concerned with their own survival, the Ba'ul who lived on Kaminar with Kelpiens exploited their binary nature to oppress the later group.

• Written by Michelle Paradise
• Directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi

"Red Directive" features a dedication:

For JP, with love.

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Jay Stobie (he/him) is a freelance writer, author, and consultant who has contributed articles to StarTrek.com, Star Trek Explorer, and Star Trek Magazine, as well as to Star Wars Insider and StarWars.com. Learn more about Jay by visiting JayStobie.com or finding him on Twitter, Instagram, and other social media platforms at @StobiesGalaxy.

Star Trek: Discovery Seasons 1-4 are streaming exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S., the UK, Canada, Switzerland, South Korea, Latin America, Germany, France, Italy, Australia and Austria. Seasons 2 and 3 also are available on the Pluto TV “Star Trek” channel in Switzerland, Germany and Austria. The series streams on Super Drama in Japan, TVNZ in New Zealand, and SkyShowtime in Spain, Portugal, Poland, The Nordics, The Netherlands, and Central and Eastern Europe and also airs on Cosmote TV in Greece. The series is distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.

Star Trek Just Quietly Brought Back Deep Space Nine’s Most Underrated Villains

Never turn your back on a Breen.

One of the deadliest alien species in all of Star Trek has never been fully revealed. After an offhand reference in The Next Generation , the Breen appeared in the Deep Space Nine episode “Indiscretion,” encased in suits that felt like they borrowed from Princess Leia’s bounty hunter disguise in Return of the Jedi. The Breen are infamous but seldom seen, a tradition which Star Trek: Discovery is subtly rebooting in Season 5.

Amid an episode about time jumps and flashbacks to the beginning of the series, Discovery quietly snuck the Breen in and positioned them as possibly the most important factor in the fate of Star Trek’s future. Here’s why the Breen matter, and how this comeback could expand on the canon laid down by Deep Space Nine almost three decades ago. Spoilers ahead for Star Trek: Discovery Season 5, Episode 4, “Face the Strange.”

Who are the Breen?

A member of the Breen in Deep Space Nine.

The Breen began life as a random, hostile race tossed around in dialogue only. In 1990, in the TNG episode “The Loss,” Data lists alien races who “are not empathically detectable,” including the Breen. In the 1994 film Generations , when Riker and Worf investigate an observatory that’s been raided by people using a “type-three disruptor,” Riker notes only three alien races could be suspects: “Romulan, Breen, and Klingon.”

While TNG was still airing, writer Ira Steven Behr described the Breen as a “running joke” since they never appeared. Although TNG writer Jeri Taylor wanted to reveal the Breen for a storyline in TNG’s sixth season in 1993, it wasn’t until 1995, in DS9 Season 4, in the episode “Indiscretion,” that the Breen actually showed up in those iconic helmets. As DS9 went on, the Breen became major players in the Dominion War, and were responsible for attacking Starfleet Headquarters on Earth in 2375, seriously damaging the Golden Gate Bridge in the process.

The Breen are Back in the 32nd Century

Rayner is a member of another deep-cut DS9 species, the Kelleruns.

Mentioned offhand in the Discovery Season 5 debut episode, “Red Directive,” the Breen became a big deal in the time-jump episode “Face the Strange.” After being hit by a temporal weapon called a Time Bug, Burnham and Rayner find themselves jumping to different moments in time aboard the USS Discovery. This takes them to the pivotal moment where Discovery jumped to the future at the end of Season 2, as well as all the way to very early in Season 1, before Burnham gained the trust of the crew.

Burnham and Rayner also end up in 3218, which Rayner notes is “almost 30 years in the future” from their current home timeline. In this future, Discovery’s friendly AI Zora is alone on the ship and tells Burnham and Rayner, “You all died years ago.” Zora then reveals the Breen destroyed the entire Federation.

Zora explains the Breen weaponized the secret Progenitor tech and “launched a devastating attack” on the Federation. Rayner suggests the Breen must have been “Moll and L’ak’s highest bidder,” meaning that in one timeline, the mercenaries Starfleet is so keen to apprehend sold what they found to the Breen.

The future Burnham and Rayner see echoes what actually happened in Deep Space Nine , when the Breen decimated Starfleet and the Federation way back in 2375. While the good guys recovered then, the Federation and Starfleet are on shakier ground in the 32nd century of Discovery post-Season 3.

As of Episode 4, Discovery still hasn’t revealed what the Breen look like under those helmets. But by introducing this doomsday outcome for the Federation, Discovery has made one thing very clear for the rest of Season 5. The Breen are back, and this time, they may truly live up to their deadly reputation.

Star Trek: Discovery streams on Paramount+.

• Science Fiction

1 hr 12 min

Discovery S5E01: Red Directive & S5E02: Under the Twin Moons Transporter Lock - A Star Trek podcast

• After Shows

Ken and Bri ponder and posit how the end of Discovery as we know it has begun!

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• Transporter Lock by Ken Gagne & Sabriel Mastin is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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This Was Anton Yelchin's Favorite Episode From Star Trek: The Original Series

J.J. Abrams' 2009 "Star Trek" feature film wasn't so much an adaptation of the 1966 TV series as it was a film version of how non-Trekkies view the franchise. To explain: on the TV series, Captain Kirk (William Shatner) is typically depicted as being judicious, stern, and decisive. Because of the few times Kirk solved problems with his fists, however, he has gained a (perhaps unfair) reputation for being a reckless cowboy, an insufferable lothario, and a flippant charmer. Abrams' version of Kirk (Chris Pine) rolled with those misconceptions, making a "high-octane" version of the character. Indeed, all the characters are now broader, more passionate versions of themselves. This is in addition to each of them being secret super-geniuses, deeply expert in at least one field of science, language, medicine, or engineering.

Case in point, Chekov (Anton Yelchin) knows how to operate a transporter in such a way that he can snatch crewmates right out of the air as they plummet through a planet's atmosphere below. Everything in the 2009 "Star Trek" is shifted into overdrive, with whirling cameras, shouting, fighting, and desperate last-minute escapes. Abrams turned "Star Trek" into an action movie. 

That said, many of the new cast members did their "Star Trek" homework, watching old episodes of the original series and using their forebears as models for the latest versions of their characters. Yelchin in particular closely emulated Walter Koenig, and was even careful to imitate Koenig's unique Russian accent, even if it wasn't wholly accurate. 

In 2009, TrekMovie interviewed the late Yelchin about playing Chekov, asking the actor -- perhaps naturally -- what his favorite episode of the original series was. Surprisingly, Yelchin was very fond of "Who Mourns for Adonais?," the episode wherein the Enterprise crew faces off against the Greek god Apollo.

Read more: The 21 Best Star Trek Original Series Episodes, Ranked

Yelchin Thought That 'Who Mourns For Adonais?' Was 'Fascinating'

"Who Mourns for Adonais?" (September 22, 1967) begins with the Enterprise being grabbed in space by a giant green human hand. Kirk and company beam down to a nearby planet to find Apollo (Michael Forest) living there. This appears to be the actual god Apollo of Greek myth, and he demands that the Enterprise crew worship him, just like he used to be worshiped back on Earth. Kirk, Chekov, and the others surmise that Apollo is actually an ancient alien that once visited Earth thousands of years ago, and the locals assumed he was a god. Kirk explains to Apollo that humans have outgrown the need for gods, and Apollo is sad. After Apollo ascends to join the other "gods," Kirk admits that even without the benefit of divinity, modern civilization still owes a lot to ancient Greek culture. The title is a reference to an 1821 Percy Shelley elegy about John Keats.

Yelchin probably liked "Adonais" because Chekov has a lot to contribute. He was part of the episode's landing party, and he was active and contributive. In Yelchin's words: 

"Probably the one with Apollo. I think is such an intelligent episode. It is an episode where the basic point is that humanity ... looking at it in terms of the '60s when men are their own gods, and look at where they brought their universe to. It was such a fascinating, touching, weird thing to have an episode. Where men come to a planet where a god wants to be a god again." 

No such heady concepts were included in the 2009 film, as it was, as mentioned, an action picture. But It's nice to see that Yelchin found some of the original Trek concepts to be interesting. 

'Amok Time' - A.k.a. The Pon Farr Episode

Yelchin also liked "Amok Time," saying, "I also love the episode where Spock is PMSing and where Kirk has to fight Spock."

That's an indelicate way of describing pon farr, a Vulcan phenomenon where their bodies sexually activate once every seven years. While undergoing pon farr, Vulcans become unbearably horny, but also very angry and animalistic. They are moved to mate. In "Amok Time" (September 15, 1967) , Spock (Leonard Nimoy) undergoes pon farr and returns to Vulcan to marry his betrothed T'Pring (Arlene Martel). T'Pring finds that Kirk is a more appealing mate, however, and Kirk and Spock have to fight in a Vulcan gladiatorial arena for her hand. It's a notable episode of "Star Trek" because of the amount of Vulcan lore it introduced into the franchise, but many -- like Yelchin -- seem attached to the episode's silly, horny violence. 

Yelchin also admitted that he did more research than some of his co-stars. He read "The Star Trek Encyclopedia" by Mike and Denise Okuda, and watched every episode of the show. Chris Pine, it seems, began watching the series, but stopped partway through the first season. "I kept going. I loved it," Yelchin said. "I even watched the episodes that Chekov wasn't in. The ones that he was in I found interesting, like when they go to a bar in 'The Troubles With Tribbles' and they have a drink, I liked that." 

Yelchin also played Chekov in "Star Trek Into Darkness" in 2013 and in "Star Trek Beyond" in 2016, released posthumously .

Read the original article on SlashFilm

Screen Rant

I wish the breen had kept their helmets on in star trek: discovery.

Star Trek: Discovery finally reveals what DS9's Breen keep under their helmets, and after decades of speculation, the results are disappointing.

WARNING: Contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery, season 5, episode 5, "Mirrors"

• "Star Trek: Discovery" reveals Breen's true form, undermining DS9 mystery of enigmatic warrior race.
• The Breen design in "Discovery" is a missed opportunity for alien creativity, as they just turn out to be green humanoids.
• L'ak's face reveal in "Discovery" challenges perception of secretive Breen aliens from DS9, adding complexity.

Star Trek: Discovery has finally revealed what a Breen looks like underneath all its armor, but Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 's Breen should have kept their helmets on. In Discovery season 5, episode 5, "Mirrors", written by Johanna Lee & Carlos Cisco, and directed by Jen McGowan , audiences learn more about Moll (Eve Harlow) and L'ak (Elias Toufexis), and their motivations for seeking the Progenitors' treasure. "Mirrors" also contains a number of reveals about DS9 's Breen aliens , including that L'ak himself originates within the Breen Imperium.

For the first four episodes of Star Trek: Discovery season 5, audiences saw L'ak as a hulking green villain, determined to protect his lover Moll at any cost. Now, Discovery season 5, episode 5 reveals that audiences have been seeing the true face of one of the enigmatic Breen aliens from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine . In DS9 , Lt. Commander Worf (Michael Dorn) stated that no outsiders had seen what a Breen looked like under their armor and lived to tell the tale. Barring Fred (J. Adam Brown) and his guards from Discovery season 5, episode 1, "Red Directive", this is no longer the case.

“Jelly Breens”: Star Trek Writer Deep Dives Into Discovery Season 5’s Breen Villains

Discovery’s breen reveal undermines a big ds9 mystery.

There's no question that updated 32nd century design of the Breen refrigeration suits is a great upgrade for Star Trek: Discovery season 5 . The loss of the helmet's odd beak from the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine design makes them look sleeker and more like the armored warrior race that their reputation suggested. The main issue with the Breen in Discovery is that what's underneath the mask undermines the huge mystery that has surrounded the Breen since their introduction in DS9 . For years, Star Trek fans have speculated about what a Breen looks like underneath their armor, and now they discover it's a creature made of green Jell-O .

Worf's assertion that nobody had ever seen the face of a Breen and lived is undermined by Star Trek: Discovery season 5's love story . While the Breen remain secretive in "Mirrors", the very fact that L'ak shows his face out of love for Moll undermines the idea of an isolationist and secretive warrior race. Instead, it suggests that these implacable Star Trek: Deep Space Nine villains just need someone to love. This, combined with the confusing physiology of the newly-revealed Breen, means that the DS9 aliens in Discovery don't solve the mystery satisfyingly.

An abandoned plot for Star Trek: The Next Generation 's season 6 finale would have introduced the Breen as major antagonists for TNG 's final season.

Star Trek: Discovery’s Breen Design Is A Missed Opportunity

Star Trek: Discovery 's Breen design is a missed opportunity when compared to some of its other work in creating alien species. For example, Discovery season 4's antagonists, the non-humanoid Species 10-C felt alien in a way that Star Trek aliens had rarely felt since the days of TOS . With that in mind, Discovery could have really thought out of the box when it came to what was inside the Breen's refrigeration suits. Sadly, that isn't the case, as they're revealed to be that most enduring of sci-fi archetypes; the green man from outer space.

In an interview with The 7th Rule , Carlos Cisco spoke of the design of the Breen being inspired by " transparent deep sea fishes ."

The fact that the Breen are green humanoids is a missed opportunity, because the teases of the Breen in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine always hinted that they may not be a humanoid species at all . Their lack of circulatory system and reliance on refrigeration suits implied they were potentially higher beings that forced themselves into a humanoid form. While that's sort of the case with the gelatinous beings that have " evolved " past a solid form in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, it's hard not to feel underwhelmed by the Breen turning out to be yet another humanoid alien species in the canon.

Star Trek: Discovery season 5 streams Thursdays on Paramount+.

All episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine are available to stream on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Discovery

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Star Trek: Discovery is an entry in the legendary Sci-Fi franchise, set ten years before the original Star Trek series events. The show centers around Commander Michael Burnham, assigned to the USS Discovery, where the crew attempts to prevent a Klingon war while traveling through the vast reaches of space.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, also known as DS9, is the fourth series in the long-running Sci-Fi franchise, Star Trek. DS9 was created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller, and stars Avery Brooks, René Auberjonois, Terry Farrell, and Cirroc Lofton. This particular series follows a group of individuals in a space station near a planet called Bajor.