10 Weirdest Laws In The Star Trek Universe

6. Regulation 3, Paragraph 12

Star Trek Rudy Ransom
CBS

A Starfleet captain, when the ship is facing imminent destruction, is authorized to attempt to preserve the lives of his crew by any justifiable means.

Captain Rudy Ransom attempts to use this regulation to cover himself to Captain Janeway, after she discovers he has been harvesting the bodies of nucleogenic life forms to increase the speed of his vessel. She flatly denies that this regulation covers mass murder yet, when one pauses, what does this cover?

Any justifiable means. How then does Starfleet define what is or isn't justifiable? While yes, it would seem obvious that mass murder is off the cards, what Starfleet captain wouldn't go to extremes to protect their crew? Janeway herself enacted this law with the execution of Tuvix, to allow Tuvok and Neelix to return to life again.

In this case, it seems to be a numbers game. Taking the lives that they did, the crew of the Equinox may well seem like monsters. Yet, Janeway took one life and is then exonerated. As written, this regulation is open to interpretation.

Arguably, while morally Ransom and his crew were reprehensible, they didn't break Starfleet law.

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Seán is the host and head writer/presenter for TrekCulture, as well as a writer/presenter on WhoCulture and WhatCulture Horror. He has authored two novels, dozens of short stories, and hundreds of articles for WhatCulture. He holds a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from University College Dublin. As part of his work with TrekCulture, Seán has been invited to participate in collaborations with Roddenberry Entertainment, as well as contributing to several Star Trek community projects. An avid fan of Star Trek, Doctor Who, and the horror genre at large, Seán's expertise has helped develop these channels to the successes they are today. As host of the Ups & Downs series on TrekCulture, Seán has become internationally recognised for his positive yet critically informed approach to reviewing every episode of modern Star Trek, ensuring he is one of the go-to voices in the Trek community. Favourite Quote to describe himself: "I'm serious about what I do, just not always about the way that I do it"