Captain ' s Oath The Captain ' s Oath was an oath for Starfleet captains which they took when assuming the command of a starship that outlined the mission and objectives of the given ship in the United Federation of Planets and the core values Starfleet stood for . ( ) History . Some of the words in the Captain ' s Oath were based on the historic speech given by Zefram Cochrane at the dedication ceremony of the Warp Five Complex in 2119 . A recording of this speech was broadcasted , when was launched in 2151 . In his speech Cochrane said : " " Imagine it . Thousands of inhabited planets at our fingertips . And we ' ll be able to explore those strange new worlds and seek out new life and new civilizations . This engine will let us go boldly where no man has gone before . " " ( ) " In 2258 in the alternate reality , Captain was asked to recite the Captain ' s Oath by before assuming command of the . At the time , he didn ' t appreciate the meaning of the words in the oath . Nearly a year after Khan ' s attacks , at the ship ' s rechristening ceremony , Kirk recited the oath again . At that time , he felt that the oath was a call for the Federation to remember who they had once been , and who they must become again . " " For the mission on which the " Enterprise " was about to embark , the Captain ' s Oath was " " Space : the final frontier . These are the voyages of the starship " Enterprise " . Her five - year mission : to explore strange new worlds . To seek out new life and new civilizations . To boldly go where no one has gone before . " " " ( ) " When the crew took up the brand new the entire crew took the Captain ' s Oath : " " Space : the final frontier . These are the voyages of the starship " Enterprise " . Its continuing mission : to explore strange new worlds . To seek out new life and new civilizations . To boldly go where no one has gone before . " " " ( ) The final words of the oath have been inscribed to the dedication plaques of most starships named " Enterprise " that have served , among other duties , as ships of exploration for the United Earth and the Federation . ( ; ; " " " set artwork " ) The oath Starfleet captains made also implicitly meant they were required to sacrifice their own life and the lives of their crew rather than violate the Prime Directive . ( ) In 2369 , Captain Jean - Luc Picard said , he refused to mass murder the Borg species , because of the oath he had taken to uphold certain values . ( ) In 2376 , Captain Kathryn Janeway reminded Captain Rudolph Ransom of the oath he had taken " " to seek out life , not destroy it " , " when it was discovered he was responsible for murdering several nucleogenic lifeforms . ( ) Appendices . Background information . The Captain ' s Oath in " Star Trek Into Darkness " was a revised version of the well known monologue by William Shatner ' s James T . Kirk from the title sequence of . However , Kirk ' s recital of the oath in the film marks the first time that it appears as part of dialogue and not as a voice - over speech , only spoken to the audience . Apocrypha . In " Star Trek After Darkness , Part 1 " , Kirk was interrupted as he was reciting the oath again for his captain ' s log . called the oath a beautiful ode to the captain ' s job . Kirk thought it was important and good for the soul to reflect on why they were out there in deep space .