10 Star Trek Captains Who Broke The Rules

Captain Janeway is the angel to Rudy Ransom's devil. Faced with similar conditions, she managed to keep her crew, her ship, and her conscience in one piece - for the most part - all while facing uncharted space and unknown worlds.

Her resolve to strictly adhere to Starfleet regulations was tested and ultimately broken, when Voyager encountered Omega in the Delta Quadrant. A devastating molecule that could, when detonated, obliterate subspace for light-years, thus preventing any ship from establishing a stable warp field, it posed a direct threat to Voyager's journey home.

The Omega Directive clearly stated that Janeway had to destroy the molecule, without aid from her crew, and inform no one. The first chink in the armour was Seven Of Nine, who already had knowledge of Omega. There was certainly wiggle room for argument in recruiting Seven to help. 

However, it is Chakotay who convinces her to break the big rule - and share the existence of Omega with the rest of the senior staff. As she says herself, had Voyager encountered the molecule in the Alpha Quadrant, there wouldn't have been any thought or debate - they would never have been informed. 

However, their unique position encouraged Janeway to break this rule and, it turns, entirely for the better - as the sheer amount of Omega discovered would have required far more resources than her original shuttle-based plan would have provided.