In Star Trek, following the rules isn’t always the best policy, as renegade characters prove time and again. Starfleet’s chaotic good superstars reject the notion that every order is just and morally sound, preferring to trust their own instincts over arbitrary commands from on high. There’s always a reason that Star Trek characters defy orders, whether it’s the gray morality of war in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the need to solve a mystery in Star Trek: Discovery, protecting the United Federation of Planets in Star Trek: Picard, or simply having a better idea than the Starfleet higher-ups who call the shots in Star Trek: Lower Decks.
Starfleet praises captains who can make tough calls without guidance from Starfleet Command, but when a lower-ranked officer goes against orders, it’s far more likely that they’ll face consequences. Defying orders could land even the best Star Trek characters in the brig or demoted in rank, even when they believe that they’re doing the right thing, but those same officers could be promoted quickly for acts of valor carried out in defiance of policy. Officers who can master the art of walking the fine line between heroism and insubordination may risk their careers as subordinates, but make great, even legendary captains.
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From Cadet to Admiral, the career path of a Starfleet officer has become an integral part of the stories of many of Star Trek’s best-loved characters.
8 Michael Dorn as Captain Worf
“Even I could not stand against my own heart.”
The Starfleet regulations and Klingon traditions that served Lt. Commander Worf throughout Star Trek: The Next Generation are no match for the strength of the Klingon heart, which Worf embraces as his true guide in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Worf’s love for Lt. Commander Jadzia Dax (Terry Farrell) supersedes Starfleet protocol, and Worf’s dedication to the Klingon Empire means slaying Chancellor Gowron (Robert O’Reilly) is the right thing to do. In Star Trek: Picard, an enlightened Captain Worf is an ‘independent contractor’ with Starfleet Intelligence, as Worf is able to reconcile the best of Federation and Klingon philosophies without being strictly beholden to either.
7 Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock
“The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one.”
Logic and rules do not always go hand-in-hand, as Mr. Spock proves time and again by defying both convention and direct orders. In his early years, Spock runs away from home regularly and elects to join Starfleet instead of the Vulcan Expeditionary Group. Spock’s Starfleet career is marked by incidents where Spock’s own brand of logic prevails over specific orders, risking not just his commission but also his life, such as bringing Fleet Captain Christopher Pike (Sean Kenney) to Talos IV under penalty of death. In all ways, Spock remains loyal to his ideals, even with controversial ideas like an armistice with the Klingon Empire, or Spock’s dream of Vulcan and Romulan reunification.
6 Michelle Forbes as Ensign Ro Laren
“I always thought Starfleet had a lot to learn from me.”
In Star Trek: The Next Generation, Ensign Ro Laren is a reluctant Starfleet officer who prefers to see the Federation’s resources used to help the people of Bajor, still suffering from the Cardassian occupation. Like many Bajorans, Ro’s faith is strong, but instead of being placed in the Bajoran religion, Ro’s faith is in her own convictions. Ensign Ro is willfully independent, speaks frankly without regard for rank, and every regard for actually getting things done. That attitude makes Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) believe Ro Laren is a promising officer, and Picard’s not wrong, but it also means Ro chooses her own beliefs over Starfleet’s, always.
5 Jeri Ryan as Captain Seven of Nine
“We are all that is left of Starfleet. It’s up to us.”
Seven of Nine’s issues with authority begin with testing the limits of newfound individuality by opposing Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) in Star Trek: Voyager, and continue in Star Trek: Picard season 3. Serving as Commander Annika Hansen is not Seven’s idea, but it’s not Captain Liam Shaw’s (Todd Stashwick) microaggressions that push Seven to disobey Shaw’s orders. Instead, Seven defies restrictive orders instead of sitting idly by when the Titan-A can help people, and takes matters into her own hands when the Titan is out of options. By being independently proactive, Seven actually earns Shaw’s respect, a promotion to Captain, and command of the USS Enterprise-G.
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Star Trek has featured many starships named Enterprise. Along with Kirk and Picard, here’s every Enterprise Captain from each movie and TV series.
4 Sonequa Martin-Green as Captain Michael Burnham
“I believed that our survival was more important than our principles. I was wrong.”
Star Trek: Discovery‘s Michael Burnham is driven by a personal code of empathy, curiosity, and respect, above all else, so Burnham will do anything to avoid compromising her moral integrity, even defy orders. When tasked with weaponizing a tardigrade, Michael preserves its life. When told to drop investigating the cause of The Burn, Michael persists. When killing a friend might save everyone, Michael refuses. Michael Burnham is willing to sacrifice her career, her relationships, and even her life in the name of doing what she believes is right, so goes from being Starfleet’s very first mutineer to saving the galaxy as Discovery’s captain, by stubbornly holding onto her principles.
3 Tawny Newsome as Lieutenant Beckett Mariner
“I’m going to become an insubordination supernova and control my own fate.”
It might sound nuts, but Star Trek: Lower Decks’ Lieutenant Beckett Mariner makes herself an agent of chaos because she secretly really does love Starfleet. Mariner’s reckless behavior is both an act of self-sabotage, to avoid difficult command decisions, and an open defiance of some of Starfleet’s dumbest rules, because Mariner believes that Starfleet can be better than it is. By ignoring the stupid regulations, Beckett Mariner can do the awesome stuff she signed up for, like actually helping people and exploring new worlds, the way Starfleet is supposed to. It doesn’t matter if willful insubordination lands Mariner in the brig. Mariner loves the brig.
2 Avery Brooks as Captain Benjamin Sisko
“I can live with it.”
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine‘s Captain Benjamin Sisko plays fast and loose with rules. At the edge of the final frontier, Sisko’s primary objective is facilitating peace, which sometimes means a little blackmail or espionage is in order, and it definitely means ignoring Starfleet directives when following them causes more conflict on DS9. Of course, Sisko’s worst crimes are committed in the interest of winning the Dominion War, when the ends are far more likely to justify the means. Broken rules don’t matter in war; Benjamin Sisko has already calculated the risks and decided that they’re an acceptable price to pay for the freedom of the whole Alpha Quadrant.
1 William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk
“I don’t believe in no-win scenarios.”
As Star Trek: The Original Series’ fearless leader, Captain James T. Kirk doesn’t actually break rules. No, Kirk tosses rules out the airlock entirely and invents new ones, like when Kirk famously rewrites the Kobayashi Maru test as a Starfleet Academy Cadet to trigger a win in the unwinnable scenario. From bluffing his way through a dangerous first contact situation to ignoring the protocols that would just put his crew in further jeopardy, Captain Kirk is the quick-thinking maverick who comes up with strategies to guarantee the Enterprise’s — nay, the galaxy’s — continued survival. Kirk finds answers where none seem to exist, which is why Kirk remains a true Star Trek legend.
Ironically, it’s often Starfleet mavericks who believe in Starfleet ideals the most, and break the rules because Starfleet Command has forgotten that it’s supposed to stand for exploration, the pursuit of knowledge, and peaceful cooperation with other alien species. These officers call rules into question, and hold authority figures responsible when their power is abused. By elevating the characters who are willing to take matters into their own hands, Star Trek teaches us to follow our hearts to make the best moral decision, regardless of whether it’s in line with what’s codified as law.
