Prime Directive (novel)
From Memory Alpha, the free Star Trek reference
| This article is written from the Real World point of view |
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| This article is written from the Real World point of view |
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| Author(s): | Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens |
| Publisher: | Pocket Books |
| Series: | Pocket TOS |
| Published: | 1 September 1990 (hardcover) 1 September 1993 (paperback) |
| Pages: | 406 |
| Stardate: | Unknown (2269) |
| Reference: | ISBN 0671707728 (hardcover) ISBN 0671744666 (paperback) |
| Audiobook | |
| Narrator: | James Doohan |
| Running Time: | 180 Minutes (on 2 cassettes) |
| Publisher: | Simon and Schuster Audioworks |
| Published: | 1 September 1990 |
| Reference: | ISBN 0671726315 |
It is Starfleet's highest law. And James T. Kirk has broken it...
Contents |
[edit] Summary
- From the book jacket
- Starfleet's most sacred commandment has been violated. 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...
- Thus begins Prime Directive, an epic tale of the Star Trek universe. Following in the bestselling tradition of Spock's World and The Lost Years, Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens have crafted a thrilling tale of mystery and wonder, a novel that takes the Star Trek characters from the depths of despair into an electrifying new adventure that spans the galaxy.
- 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 out how – and why – this tragedy occurred and discover what has become of their captain.
- Excerpts of copyrighted sources are included for review purposes only, without any intention of infringement.
The USS Enterprise is in orbit of the world Talin IV in preparation for a possible First Contact with the help of Dr. Richter, the Federation's leading expert on First Contact and the creator of the Prime Directive, although he is now campaigning for its repeal. While observing the planet and the tensions between its two superpowers, Kirk accidentally starts a nuclear war which apparently kills much of the life on the planet, collapses the planet's civilization, and in an attempt to stop the war while the missiles are in the air he cripples the USS Enterprise, reducing it to a lifeless hulk in a precarious and decaying orbit around a dying world, now called "Kirk's World". Kirk is dishonorably discharged from Starfleet and finds himself working under an assumed name on a terraforming project, with his name being a synonym for "planet killer". Spock, also discharged, is living with some college students trying to find a way to understand exactly what went wrong. Scotty was spared a discharge since he was not directly involved with the final incident, and finds himself ordered to rebuild the Enterprise with insufficient manpower and equipment and the arrogant Lieutenant Styles in command of the refit, as his attempts to resign in protest are stonewalled by regulations and bureaucracy. Sulu and Chekov end up working for Orion smugglers aboard a very old and broken-down freighter. Uhura is still imprisoned on a string of technicalities. McCoy now spends his now-discharged days in retirement on the Moon.
However, each of the crew individually starts working to discover what went wrong, and eventually end up reunited where it is revealed that a mysterious alien beings, unknown to the Federation observers, had been tampering with their culture, trying to provoke them towards nuclear war, because the post-nuclear environment of Talin IV would be perfect for them. Essentially they were goading the Talin into terraforming the planet into a form more appropriate for them.
Once this fact becomes well established, and Spock makes a brillant argument before the Federation Council that technically the Prime Directive does not apply to Talin IV because it is already a de facto member of the Federation because it had worlds and territories set aside for it in trust and had been granted Rights already under interstellar law in preparation for First Contact. With it clear that the nuclear war was primarily the result of an alien force other than Starfleet and a waiver for the Prime Directive granted in their case, Starfleet begins to quietly clean up the incident. The Talin race is not as wiped out as first feared as apparently most of the planet that survived the initial blast spun protective coccoons around themselves to survive the fallout and aftermath. Kirk and company are all quietly reenstated to their ranks and positions, and spare parts meant to build an entire new Constitution-class cruiser are diverted to repair the Enterprise. The novel ends with the Enterprise repaired, Kirk and company restored to active duty, and their missions continuing for a few more months before the five year mission ends.
[edit] 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..."
[edit] Background Information
- Prime Directive is a novel by Judith Reeves-Stevens and Garfield Reeves-Stevens. It is set during the final year of James T. Kirk's first five year mission, and after the events of the Original series. The novel was originally released in 1991 by Pocket Books as a hardback. Some fans considered the plot to be somewhat implausible, that Kirk and company could be disgraced publicly throughout the Federation and considered essentially war criminals, yet quietly reactivated to active duty to come home as legendary heroes less than a year later. Or by the same note, that the Enterprise would get massive repairs, equivalent to rebuilding much of the vessel from scratch by when the huge refit from the movies was also less than a year from beginning.
[edit] Cover Gallery
 Paperback cover |
 Audiobook cover |
[edit] Characters
CANON CHARACTERS
- James T. Kirk
- Spock
- Leonard H. McCoy
- Montgomery Scott
- Uhura
- Hikaru Sulu
- Pavel A. Chekov
- Carolyn Palamas
- Styles
NON-CANON CHARACTERS
- Anne Gauvreau
- Captain of the cargo vessel Ian Shelton; former Starfleet officer & first officer aboard the USS Yorktown under Captain Matthew Decker.
- Komack, Fitzpatrick and Nogura
- Gauvreau's three black and orange cats, each named after a Starfleet admiral.
- Zalan Wilforth
- Director of FCO Outpost 47.
- Carole Mallett
- Head of sampling operations at FCO Outpost 47.
- Mario Cardinalli
- Communications manager at FCO Outpost 47.
- Hammersmith
- Vice Admiral. High-ranking officer assigned to the space sector where Talin IV is located.
- Sytock
- Vulcan ambassador.
- Alise Chavez
- Lieutenant. Starfleet attorney.
- The Browns and The Greens
- The two "major races" on Talin IV on the brink of nuclear war when the Enterprise is summoned.
- The Many
- The metallic insect-like drones that forced Talin IV into its nuclear catastrophe, in order to grow the algae for the One to consume.
- The One
- A large, energy being that consumes planets that the Many have prepared for it.
[edit] References
- le rêve d'étoiles
- French phrase meaning "the dream of stars"; a common phrase used at Starfleet Academy to explain why the cadets aspired toward becoming Starfleet officers.
- USS Intrepid (II)
- Second Constitution-class vessel named Intrepid; replacement vessel for the original Intrepid. The warp nacelles originally meant to be used for the Intrepid II were instead installed on the Enterprise.
- John Burke
- Enterprise shuttle named after either the noted American lawyer, jurist, and political leader, or the 21st Century scientist, the Chief Astronomer at the Royal Academy.
- Galileo
- Enterprise shuttle named after the noted astronomer.
- SS Ian Shelton
- Anne Gauvreau's cargo vessel; named for the Canadian astronomer.
- First Contact Office [FCO]
- The Federation's main division dedicated to observing planets coming near "first contact" status.
- FCO Outpost 47
- The main FCO base situated on the moon of Talin IV, meant to covertly observe Talin IV's progress.
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