Prime Directive (novel)

Starfleet's highest law has been broken!

Introduction

 * Starfleet's highest law has been broken. Its most honored captain is in disgrace, its most celebrated starship in pieces, and the crew of that ship scattered among the thousand worlds of the Federation…


 * Journey with Spock, McCoy, and the rest of the former crew of the starship USS Enterprise to Talin—the planet where their careers ended. A world once teeming with life that now lies ruined, its cities turned to ashes, its surface devastated by a radioactive firestorm—because of their actions. There, they must find how—and why—this tragedy occured… and discover what has become of their captain.

Characters

 * Artinton • Mario Cardinali • Christine Chapel • Alise Chavez • Pavel Chekov • Jorge Frietas • Anne Gauvreau • Glissa • Glynis • Penn Grossman • Hammersmith • Sukio Hirashito • James T. Kirk (aliases Sam Jameson, Leonard Scott) • Krulmadden • John Kyle • Lasslanlin • Ed Leslie • Alexander Llorente • Marita Llorente • M'Benga • Carole Mallett • Leonard H. McCoy • Carolyn Palamas • Raycheba • Alonzo Richter • Montgomery Scott • Spock • Styles • Hikaru Sulu • Sytok • Nyota Uhura • Zalan Wilforth

Buzz Aldrin • Apollo • Robert April • Neil Armstrong • Chan • Michael Collins • Matthew Decker • Fisher • Garrovick • Colonel Green • George Kirk • Sam Kirk • Gary Mitchell • Christopher Pike • Siryk • Hanson Smith • Glynis Kestell Tabor • Ronald Tracey • von Holtzbrinck

Starships and vehicles

 * John Burke • USS Constellation (NCC-1017) • Daedalus • USS Defiant (NCC-1764) • Eagle • Claw of the Vindicator • USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) • USS Excalibur (Constitution class) • USS Farragut (NCC-1647) • Galileo • USS Hawking (NCC-618) • Icarus • USS Intrepid (NCC-1631) • USS Intrepid II • Robert E. Lee • USS Monitor • RRV • Rhode Island • SS • Surak • USS Yorktown (Constitution class)
 * Class J starship • Mark 12 shuttlecraft • Vulcan probe ship • workbee • shuttlecraft

Locations

 * 892-IV • Arms of Avalon • Asteroid Tessel • Avalon • Base One • Centaurus • FCO Outpost 47 • Gamma 7A system • Hanover • Intrator II • Luna • Lunar Hall of Justice • Mars • Memory Alpha • Meridian • Miracht • Oceanview • Paris • Pollux IV • Pyris VII • Rigel VIII • Sarpeidon • Siberia • Starbase 29 • Talin IV • Tholian Annex • Titan • Tranquility Park • Triton • Venus

Species and cultures

 * Andorian • Centauran • Human • Klingon • Orion • Preservers • Rigellian • Talin (race) • Tellarite • Vulcan

States and organizations

 * Antares Corona Worlds • "Browns" • Centaurus Concordium • Cochrane Institute • Federation Council • First Contact Office • "Greens" • Information Office • Interworld Construction • La Légion étrangère • Orbital Transfer Control • Resource Management Board • Richter Institute • Russia • Space Safety Board • Starfleet • Starfleet Academy • Starfleet Command • Starfleet Engineering • Starfleet Justice Division • Starfleet Operations • Starfleet Technology Support Division • Stellar Institute Press • Students for Stars for the People • T'Prar Foundation • Technology Support Division • United Federation of Planets • United States of America

Other

 * Articles of the United Federation of Planets • artificial singularity • askor • Battle of Ghioghe • Big Bang • bloodrinds • Blue Season • Blue Season Miracle • cat • Civil Conversation • cloning • dancerknife • Danylkiw Limit • destin • diburnium • dog • Eugenics Wars • f'deraxt'la • Federation Rules of Order • first contact • Fitzpatrick • flaxt'a • Fundamental Declarations of the Martian Colonies • Ganymede Green • General Order Number One • Gornaran archosaur • herbarium • Herbert • A Historical Analysis of the Five-Year Missions • hologram • IDIC • ironwood • karate • karskat • Karunda coroner beetle • Kera • kevas • Komack • kreldan • lacrosse • Lady • Lagrange colony • Mark IV Tractor Web • medic booth • Meridian housecat • molecular fusion sunball • mutual assured destruction • Nobel Prize • Nogura • nuclear weapon • nyeem • patak • particle curtain • Phinda • quartz • razfelsin • Richter Scale of Culture • Romulan Wars • rostonagon • rubindium • S-type asteroid • sal'tasnii • sateen • Siryk Variations • skrak • slamboxing • Speaker of the Council • Special Advisor to the First Contact Office • Standard Tongue • Starfleet Command Regulations • stator rel • tak • tarfel • television • tenday • tesare • Third World War • Trader Tongue • Trader's Measure • Trader's Script • transtator • trillium • whisky • Z. Magnees Prize

Background
This novel, published in 1991, predicted the discovery of fossilized lifeforms on the planet Mars. Five years later, scientists announced discovery of evidence of bacteria fossils in an asteroid believed to have originated on Mars.

Robert Orci, one of the writers of Star Trek (2009), lists this as one of his two favorite Star Trek books. Scenes from this book were used as readings for casting calls for the movie. He reported that there would be nods to some of the lore in this novel in the movie. (http://trekmovie.com/2008/09/19/orci-kurtzman-trek-very-true-to-canon-even-books/)

Connections
Note: Though the Pocket Books Timeline (and Memory Beta) places this novel in 2269, between the end of The Original Series and the start of the animated series, the compilation Worlds in Collision specifies the date as 2271, at the end of the first five-year mission.