First contact
The term first contact described the first official encounter between representatives of two races or governments. ()
{{bginfo|In the scripts, the term "first contact" is only capitalized as "First Contact" when referring to the historically significant first contact between Humans and Vulcans that occurred in 2063. Otherwise first contact is spelled simply as "first contact".  }}

The first contact protocols of the United Federation of Planets and Starfleet are based on procedures long used by the Vulcans. (ENT: "Civilization"; SNW: "Strange New Worlds")

Occasionally, the official first contact took place years or even decades after members of the species involved first met. Typically, first contact was only initiated by the Federation if a civilization was sufficiently advanced or had developed interstellar travel (via warp drive, for example). Contact with more primitive civilizations was prohibited by the Prime Directive. It was stated that the preferred method was to privately approach scientists and intellectual leaders to make the initial contact, on the assumption that they would more easily grasp the concept of alien life. Also, the population was typically observed covertly for some time before making first contact, a decision made after the Klingon first contact. ()

Starfleet Command Directive 010 stated that "Before engaging alien species in battle, any and all attempts to make first contact and achieve non-military resolution must be made." () First contact procedures were a part of the Bridge Officer's Test. () These Starfleet first contact principles were revised over the years, including by Captain McCoullough. () One who specialized in making first contacts was known as a first contact specialist. ()

Several Starfleet captains became known in part for the number of species with which they had initiated contact. As of 2378, Kathryn Janeway had made first contact with more species than any captain since James T. Kirk. () By 2379, Jean-Luc Picard had represented the Federation during first contacts with twenty-seven different alien races. ()

Other cultures also recognized first contact as a momentous occasion. According to Marla Gilmore, the Ponea considered every first contact to be a reason for celebration. ()

Seven of Nine once expressed to Kathryn Janeway that her practice of following Starfleet protocol regarding first contact was incompatible with the objective of getting the  home. Janeway respectfully disagreed, noting that she and her crew sought out new races because they wanted to as part of an insatiable Human curiosity about the universe, not simply because they were following protocol. ()

Angry about the situation during the "first contact" with the Novans, Captain Jonathan Archer stated, "If I can't make first contact with other Humans I don't have any business being out here." ()

In 2151, a drawing  "" and created by the fourth grade student  was sent to . It depicted a first contact between a one-eyed alien with ten tentacles and a Human in an environmental suit from the USA. ()

 Human-Vulcan first contact 

The capitalized term First Contact, in Human context, was used to specifically refer to the first official publicly and globally known contact between Humans and extraterrestrials. The First Contact took place on the evening of April 5, 2063, when a Vulcan survey ship, the , having detected the warp signature of the Phoenix, touched down in Bozeman, central Montana, where the crew met with the Phoenixs designer and pilot, Zefram Cochrane. This event was generally referred to as the defining moment in Human history, eventually paving the way for a unified world government and, later, the United Federation of Planets. The event also became an annual holiday called First Contact Day. (; ; ; ; ; )

An unofficial first encounter between Humans and a Vulcan occurred during the Depression era in New York City. In 1930, James Kirk and Spock, a Vulcan from the 23rd century, traveled through time and walked on the streets of New York being witnessed by many. When the two were caught stealing clothes by the police, Kirk attempted to explain to the officer that Spock was Chinese and his ears the result of a childhood accident. After they avoided being taken into custody, Spock disguised his Vulcan appearance. ()

Well documented at the Vulcan Science Directorate and Space Council, but not in common Human knowledge, was also the incident of a small Vulcan survey ship crash landing in Carbon Creek, Pennsylvania, a mining town, in 1957. The survey ship was sent to investigate the launch of Earth's first artificial satellite, Sputnik. An impulse manifold malfunction forced the crew to attempt crash-landing. The commander of the vessel perished in the crash, leaving command to T'Mir, T'Pol's second foremother. Having exhausted their emergency rations, the crew entered Carbon Creek in disguise as Humans. As the weeks and months wore on, the crew took up various employment in the town and managed to keep their identity as aliens a secret. T'Mir and Stron were rescued by the D'Vahl in 1958. Mestral chose to stay behind and live on Earth among Humans, which the other two kept covered up. ()

Roswell UFO incident

The Roswell Incident was the actual first contact between modern Humans and extraterrestrials that was not considered by Humans to be a supernatural event. The incident was however covered up by the United States Air Force and never made public knowledge. In July 1947, the Ferengi shuttle Quark's Treasure crash-landed near the town of Roswell, New Mexico. The event was initially reported in the newspapers, but was quickly retracted by the military, claimed to be a misidentification of weather balloon debris. The three aliens, thought to be Martians at the time, were found unconscious on board the damaged ship and taken into custody by the United States Army Air Forces. President Harry Truman wanted the aliens to be examined and interrogated, tortured if necessary. The shuttle was stored in Hangar 18 of the Air Force Base and was examined by the military; however, they couldn't figure out how it worked.

Quark introduced himself as a Ferengi, the chief financial officer of the Ferengi Alliance, and wanted to sell advanced technology to the United States in exchange for gold. He claimed the Ferengi had conducted surveillance of Earth for years and knew everything there was to know about Humans. He threatened to sell the technology to the Soviet Union if the Americans wouldn't buy it from him. Rom attempted to tell the interrogators the truth, that they were accidental time travelers from the future. Nog in turn attempted to tell the interrogators what they wanted to hear, that they were scouts of a massive alien invasion force that was orbiting the Earth and about to invade the planet.

The three Ferengi managed to escape on their ship with the help from Garland and Jeff. Odo was seen shape-shifting by the two 20th century Humans. The Americans did not learn where the aliens really came from or what their true mission was or where they went after they escaped. The incident however proved the existence of intelligent extraterrestrial life to the United States government, and gave them information on alien physiology from the thorough medical examinations of the three Ferengi. ()

 Other notable first contacts 
During the history of Earth, the planet was in fact contacted several times by aliens. These contacts before the 21st century were not well known, went unnoticed, faded away into mythology or were interpreted as supernatural encounters. Even so, many of them had a lasting impact on the evolution of Human culture through the ages. 

On several occasions extraterrestrial visitors on Earth who interacted with Humans appeared to be or were disguised as Humans themselves and were not identified as aliens. These included the Sahndaran refugees who lived among the Greeks during the 1st millennium BC, the El-Aurian Guinan, the half-Betazoid Deanna Troi and a group of Devidian shapeshifters who visited San Francisco in the 1890s, the Bajoran Kira Nerys in San Francisco in 1930 and the Trill Jadzia Dax in San Francisco in 2024. In some cases when aliens were identified by Humans, the encounters didn't become public knowledge, such as when the half-Klingon B'Elanna Torres was discovered by Humans in Arizona in 1996 and the group of Xindi-Reptilians who were seen in Detroit in 2004. (; ; ; ; )

 Human-Sky Spirit first contact 

The earliest known notable Human - extraterrestrial first contact was with the Sky Spirits, a race of humanoid explorers, with warp-capable starships, from the Delta Quadrant of the Milky Way Galaxy. They first visited Earth in the Paleolithic age around 42,600 BC and saw that most Humans were barbaric in nature. They did however find a nomadic tribe of hunters who had no culture or language, but who had respect for all life and land. The Sky Spirits initiated first contact and gave the nomads a genetic bond that made them a race of Human-Sky People hybrids called the Inheritors. The genetic bond gave them the appearance of the Sky Spirit race and the Sky Spirit mentality for curiosity and adventure that eventually became part of all Human culture. The Inheritors were also the first people to migrate to the American continent. When the Europeans invaded the lands around the 16th century most of the Inheritors were killed by war and disease. One tribe of Inheritors, who had the Sky Spirit physical appearance, survived in hiding in the Central American rain forest, while at least one other tribe modernized and moved away from Earth. ()

 Human-Kukulkan first contact 

Kukulkan, an immensely old alien being and the last of its race, saw humanoids in the galaxy as violent beings, always eventually destroying themselves. Kukulkan visited Earth as an experiment and had contact with all the civilizations on the planet. With a plan of turning Humans to a path of peace, it gave them advanced knowledge, such as the Mayan calendar, hieroglyphic writing, and architectural plans to a city with designs of obelisks, s, temples and gateways. The ancient Egyptians, Chinese and the Native Americans attempted to build the city but only finished parts of it. Kukulkan's visit was remembered in Comanche, Mayan and Aztec legend. In Toltec legend he was called Quetzalcoatl. Kukulkan was the basis of the Chinese dragon, and all the other similar winged serpent gods in the various cultures on Earth. ()

 Human-Greek gods first contact 

In the early 3rd millennium BC, a group of powerful immortal beings from Pollux IV landed on Earth in the Mediterranean region. These aliens considered themselves to be gods and presented themselves as such to the primitive Humans. They had the power to control and transform the environment, to change physical shape, the power of teleportation, as well as control over the life and death of other beings. The worship of these aliens was the beginning of the Ancient Greek civilization and their deeds on Earth became the Greek classic myths. Eventually, Humans became less interested in the worship of these gods. Instead of punishing Humans and demanding worship, the aliens left Earth around 2700 BC for their home planet. Many of the Greek gods eventually decided to end their own existence. 

In 2267, James Kirk and his crew made contact with Apollo, the last of the Greek gods, who had waited for his worshipers to develop space travel and seek him out. The encounter resulted in the death of Apollo and the extinction of his species. ()

 Human-Megan first contact 

During the 13th century, a group of Megans settled on Earth. They were an ageless species from a parallel universe where magic was part of the natural laws. They assisted Humans as sorcerer-contractors using their natural ability to change reality with the power of thought. The Megans were responsible for the medieval legends of magic and love potions, witches, wizards, evil sorcerers, demons, and warlocks.

By the 17th century, it had become clear to the Megans, that Humans were only manipulating them to gain power for themselves and to serve their own greed and lust. When Megans refused to serve, Humans turned against them and taught others to fear and hate them. Lucien, a Megan, known on Earth by the name Lucifer, became synonymous with the mythological Devil of Christianity. Asmodeus, became known as a demon. The Megans who had survived the centuries of persecution eventually settled in Salem, Massachusetts, to live out their lives there in the guise of normal Humans. After several Megans made the mistake of using their powers again, they were burned as witches during the Salem witch trials. The last surviving Megans left Earth and returned to their universe, where they remained bitter and fearful of Humans.

In 2269, the  made contact with the Megans and Captain Kirk managed to prove them that Humans had changed. Asmodeus welcomed Humans to visit Megas-Tu in the future. ()

 Human-Non-corporeal first contact 

In the late 17th century, a symbiotic non-corporeal anaphasic lifeform took the appearance of a Human male, claiming to be the ghost of a man called Ronin, who was born in 1647 in Glasgow, Scotland. It did this to fool Jessel Howard into a symbiotic relationship. Jessel was one of Beverly Crusher's distant ancestors and one of the rare Humans who had biochemistry compatible with the lifeform's energy matrix. The symbiotic relationship was passed down to each of her daughters and was the source of many ghost stories surrounding the family. ()

In 1888, Redjac a non-corporeal parasitic lifeform began to gain fame on Earth when he used host-Humans to become a serial killer of women in London, England. The entity fed on the emotions produced by the fear and terror in its victims. Newspapers dubbed him "Jack the Ripper". ()

 Human-Klingon first contact 

Unofficially, the first known encounter between a Human and a Klingon took place when Samuel Clemens traveled forward in time from the year 1893. He was beamed aboard the  and met Lieutenant Worf in the year 2369. Clemens returned to his own time and did not reveal his knowledge of the existence of Klingons or other extraterrestrials to the public. () Lily Sloane also met Worf in 2063 and remained silent about the encounter. ()

In April of 2151, a Klingon  scoutship piloted by the courier Klaang was returning to Qo'noS with evidence that the  was responsible for recent internal strife within the Klingon Empire. Klaang was pursued by members of the cabal and crash-landed on Earth in Broken Bow, Oklahoma. Though Klaang managed to dispatch his pursuers, he was shot by a Human farmer named . Against the urgings of the Vulcans, Starfleet launched its first warp five vessel  to return the wounded Klaang to Qo'noS. () This first contact with the Empire was considered a disastrous event that led to decades of war. Based on this bad experience, it was decided to conduct surveillance on new races before making contact. ()

 Human-Andorian first contact 

The first contact between Humans and Andorians occurred in June of 2151 at the Vulcan monastery at P'Jem. The Andorian Empire had at the time sent a commando of the Andorian Imperial Guard to the monastery. They suspected that the Vulcan High Command had constructed a secret listening post at the monastery to spy on the Andorians, in violation of a treaty between the two powers. The Andorians, led by Commander Thy'lek Shran, believed Enterprise was a supply ship for the listening post and took the landing party hostage. After the listening post deep below the monastery in the catacombs was , Captain Archer allowed the Andorians to leave with proof of the listening post. 

The incident caused a temporary strain on Earth-Vulcan relations, particularly after the Andorians later destroyed the monastery and listening post. It was however, the beginning of a long-standing alliance between Earth and Andoria and a personal friendship between Archer and Commander Shran. ()

 Human-Akaali first contact 
First contact with the Akaali was made by Enterprise NX-01 in 2151. It was significant in that it was the first Human-initiated first contact. Despite the Vulcan advice not to contact the primitive Akaali homeworld, Captain Archer took a landing party to the surface. In doing so, the Enterprise uncovered a covert mining operation by the Malurians. ()

 Federation-Gorn first contact 

First contact between the Federation and the Gorn occurred in phases.

The first known encounter with the Gorn took place in the 2230s when the  was captured by the Gorn. The entire crew save one, La'an Noonien-Singh, were killed and La'an launched in a Mark IV liferaft, where she was rescued by the  ()

In 2259, the USS Enterprise, responding to a request from a colony on Finibus III, were attacked by Gorn hunters and a Gorn destroyer as the colony had been attacked by them prior to their arrival and used the survivors as a trap. The Enterprise was heavily damaged by the attack, but were able to drive away their attackers. () Later that same year, the Enterprise was called to investigate the disappearance of the  near Valeo Beta V. Captain Christopher Pike lead an away team to the planet and discovered the ship crash landed due to survivors being implanted with Gorn eggs, the only survivor being a young human girl named Oriana. The infestation was culled by the away team, but not before Cadet Chia and Lieutenant Duke were murdered and Lieutenant Hemmer comittted suicide to prevent the eggs inside him from hatching ()

First contact with the Gorn occurred in 2267, when they attacked the Federation colony on Cestus III. The Gorn saw the strike as a preemptive move, since they regarded the Cestus system as part of their territory. ()

James Kirk was the first Federation officer to physically confront a Gorn following his pursuit of their vessel in response to the attack on Cestus III. This pursuit attracted the attention of the Metrons, a highly advanced race who opposed conflict within their territory. They transported Kirk and the Gorn captain to a prepared planet and forced them to battle there. This deed was meant as a punishment, but ultimately, Kirk spared the Gorn captain; the mercy displayed by Kirk's refusal caused the observing Metron to think of the conflict as a test, which Humans had passed. ()

 Federation-Ferengi Alliance first contact 
First contact with the Ferengi took place in multiple phases. The very first contact between Humans and Ferengi actually occurred in 1947 in the Roswell Incident. Although the aliens were identified as Ferengi and their physiology was examined, knowledge of the incident was suppressed and never became public knowledge. () 

In 2151, the Enterprise NX-01 was boarded by a single Ferengi ship, sedating the entire crew, except for Commander Tucker. The Ferengi never identified themselves as such. ()

In 2355, the  encountered a vessel of unknown origin in the Maxia Zeta system, a system the Ferengi had claimed as part of their territory. The Federation was unaware of the claim at the time. Combat between the two vessels ensued, and it was here that Captain Jean-Luc Picard employed the Picard Maneuver to confuse and destroy the Ferengi ship. The Stargazer also took heavy damage and had to be abandoned by its crew following the incident, and the enemy ship was not officially identified as a Ferengi vessel until 2364. ()

Determinate first contact between the Ferengi Alliance and the United Federation of Planets occurred in 2364 in the Delphi Ardu system, where a Ferengi starship and the  were trapped in orbit by a derelict outpost of the ancient Tkon Empire. Prior to this, only conflicting hearsay and third hand reports were known by Federation scholars regarding the Ferengi. It was known for sure only that the Ferengi were ruthless traders. ()

Contact between the Ferengi Alliance and the Federation steadily increased to a level of significance, and only minor conflicts ensued from then on. (, etc.)

 Federation-Borg first contact 
The first contact between Humans and the Borg occurred in 2063 during the Borg temporal incursion to prevent the Human-Vulcan first contact. Lily Sloane was the only Human of that era to witness the Borg, though many saw the Borg sphere in orbit in the night sky over Bozeman, Montana attempting to bomb the Phoenix missile silo. Borg drones from the sphere were found in a debris field in 2153, where they were revived by a survey crew who weren't aware of the danger the drones posed. These drones assimilated the survey crew, along with their research vessel, Arctic One, and escaped into space, where they immediately attempted to contact the Collective. These Borg were later intercepted and destroyed by the crew of , but not before they were able to send a subspace communication deep into the Delta Quadrant. They didn't identify themselves during the later encounter, and it is unknown if Starfleet was aware of their true identity. (; )

Formal first contact with the Borg was forced upon the Federation by the entity known as Q, a member of the Q Continuum in 2365 in System J-25. () (See also: Borg first contact)

 Federation-Wadi first contact 
A Vulcan ship traveling through the Gamma Quadrant encountered a Wadi ship, initiating contact. An official meeting was developed in 2369 between the Wadi and the United Federation of Planets, with the meeting to occur on Deep Space 9. The Wadi ship with their representative Falow arrived at the station, marking the first Gamma Quadrant delegation to arrive in the Alpha Quadrant. Commander Benjamin Sisko led the contact, however, Falow and his crew were more interested in the gaming available in the Alpha Quadrant rather than an official meeting. ()

 Federation-Dominion first contact 
The Ferengi were the first Alpha Quadrant species to learn of the existence of the Dominion, which was achieved through business dealings with a Gamma Quadrant race called the Dosi. The Federation then heard more about the Dominion when Skrreean refugees came through the Bajoran wormhole, having escaped when the Dominion had conquered the Skreeans' oppressors, the T-Rogorans. Following the Skreeans' exodus, Odo and Jadzia Dax later learned that the Dominion had conquered the Yaderans in 2340. 

The first official contact between the Federation and the Dominion came in late 2370, when Benjamin Sisko and Quark were taken prisoner on a planet in the Gamma Quadrant by the Jem'Hadar. Starfleet tasked the  under the command of Captain Keogh, with going through to the Gamma Quadrant, and locating Commander Sisko. During this rescue attempt, the Odyssey was rammed and destroyed by the Jem'Hadar, as they were retreating back through the wormhole to the Alpha Quadrant, marking an end to one of most disastrous first contacts in Starfleet history. ()

 Bajor-Cardassia first contact 
Ancient Bajorans first established contact between Bajor and Cardassia through the use of a Bajoran lightship. Although traveling at sublight speeds, the ship was eventually propelled by a tachyon eddy to speeds equivalent to warp, enabling the ship to bypass the hazards of the Denorios belt. Cardassian archaeologists claim that the vessel's remnants were discovered on Cardassia Prime in 2371, coinciding with the arrival of Benjamin and Jake Sisko on a replica lightship, though apparently Cardassia had been unofficially aware of them for some time by that point. Cardassians had previously dismissed Bajoran claims of first contact as a "fairy tale", disputing that Bajorans achieved interstellar flight first. ()

Vulcan-Klingon first contact
A disastrous first contact between the Vulcans and the Klingons was made at the planet H'atoria in the year 2016, which resulted in the destruction of a Vulcan ship. The Vulcan starship's attempt to peacefully hail the Klingons was seen as a sign of weakness and an invitation to attack, and the Klingons made no attempt to contact the Vulcans. Yet the Vulcans were not to make the same mistake twice: in subsequent encounters with Klingon vessels, Vulcan starships adopted a shoot-on-sight policy.  Eventually, this policy worked: the Klingons were a warrior race who respected strength, and were only willing to communicate with the Vulcans on even terms once they had proven themselves. Nonetheless, relations between the Vulcans and Klingons remained tense afterwards. ()

 Federation-Lapeerian first contact 
In 2381, the Federation starships  and  were assigned a first contact mission to Lapeeria. Due to an unexpected incident that disabled the Archimedes, Captain Carol Freeman of the Cerritos'', who normally specialized in second contacts, conducted the first in-person contact with the Lapeerian leader. The Lapeerians revealed themselves to be a very casual people who were fond of alcohol. ()

Federations-Species 10-C first contact 
In 3190, the Federation starship  was assigned a mission to find and initiate first contact with Species 10-C in order to stop the rampaging Dark Matter Anomaly that threatened the galaxy. The mission was threatened by renegade allies Cleveland Booker and Ruon Tarka, who sought to find and obtain the power source that could transport them to another universe. The mission was further threatened by United Earth General Diatta Ndoye, whose fear of the diplomats safety caused her to briefly ally with the two. Species 10-C were revealed to be giant creatures whose bonds of unity lead to no concept of individualism.()

Appendices

See also
Alien abduction
List of first contacts

Related topics
Drayan II
Gamma Trianguli VI
Gorn
Malcorians
Mirasta Yale
Romulan
Tholian
Vhnori
Vidiian

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