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NOVEL
Prime Directive
Attribution

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 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.

Summary

References

Characters

Artinton • Peter Bloch-Hansen • 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 • Kyle • Lasslanlin • Leslie • Alexander Llorente • Marita Llorente • Lowell • M'Benga • Carole Mallett • Leonard H. McCoy (alias "Black Ire") • Orr ni'Li • Carolyn Palamas • Alonzo Richter • Montgomery Scott • Seerl ti'La • Spock • Styles • Hikaru Sulu • Sytok • Nyota Uhura • Zalan Wilforth

Referenced only 

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

Starships and vehicles

John Burke • USS Constellation • Daedalus • USS Defiant • Eagle • Claw of the Vindicator • USS Enterprise • USS Excalibur • USS Exeter • USS Farragut • Galileo • USS Hawking • Heart of the Storm • Icarus • USS Intrepid • USS Intrepid II • Robert E. Lee • USS Monitor • RRV Queen Mary • Rhode Island • SS Ian Shelton • Surak • USS Yorktown

DY-500 • Class J starship • Mark II shuttlecraft • Mark 12 shuttlecraft • Vulcan probe ship • workbee • Wraith-class shuttlecraft

Locations

892-IV • Aldebaran • Antares • Arms of Avalon • Asteroid Tessel • Avalon • Base One • Centaurus • Delta Triciatu • Eisner's World • FCO Outpost 47 • Gamma 7A system • Hanover • Hudson's World • Intrator II • Iowa • Luna • Lunar Hall of Justice • Mars • Memory Alpha • Meridian • Minotaur Cluster • Miracht • Oceanview • Paris • Pollux IV • Pyris VII • Rigel • Rigel II • Rigel VIII • San Francisco • Sarpeidon • Sherman's Planet • Siberia • Starbase 29 • Talin IV • Talin VIII • Tholian Annex • Titan • TNC-5527 • Tranquility Park • Triton • Venus

Species and cultures

Andorian • Centauran • European • Human • Klingon • "the Many" • Maori • Native American • "the One" • Orion (Ur'eon) • Preservers • Rigellian • Romulan • Talin (race) • Tellarite • Vulcan

States and organizations

Antares Corona Worlds • Babel Conferences • Berkeley University • "Browns" • Centaurus Concordium • Cochrane Institute • Federation Council • Federation General Council • Federation Resource Management Board • First Contact Office • Greenpeace • "Greens" • Information Office • Interworld Construction • La Légion étrangère • Lloyds • Orbital Transfer Control • Planetary Society • Richter Institute • Russia • Smithsonian Institution • Space Safety Board • Starfleet • Starfleet Academy • Starfleet Command • Starfleet Emergency Rescue Office • 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 • asteroid belt • astronaut • autokitchen • Babel Conferences • barge g'l • Battle of Ghioghe • Big Bang • bloodrinds • Blue Season • Blue Season Miracle • cat • Civil Conversation • cloning • coffee • cosmonaut • dancerknife • Danylkiw Limit • destin • diburnium • dog • Eugenics Wars • f'deraxt'la • Federation Council Chambers • Federation Council President • first contact • Fitzpatrick • fladge • flars • 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 • horta • 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 • narflin • Nobel Prize • Nogura • Nomad • nuclear fission • nuclear weapon • nyeem • patak • particle curtain • Phinda • plaser • quartz • razfelsin • Richter Scale of Culture • roller whip • Romulan Wars • rostonagon • rubindium • S-type asteroid • sal'tasnii • sateen • Siryk Variations • skrak • slamboxing • snorled • 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 • tislin • Trader's Tongue • Trader's Measure • Trader's Script • transtator • tribble • trillium • Voyager (probe) • vrelq • Vulcan Ambassador to United Earth • whisky • Wortham unit • Z. Magnees Prize • ziq

Appendices

Background

This novel, published in 1990, 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.

External link

• Prime Directive (novel) article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.