Starbase 12

The area surrounding Starbase 12

Starbase 12 was a Federation outpost in the Gamma 400 system. It comprised both orbital and planet-based facilities, and was a major center of Starfleet operations in the region for more than two centuries. (Star Trek: Star Charts)

The base was established as an orbital command post in 2163, testing Starfleet's long-range construction and deployment capabilities. Admiral Uttan Narsu assumed command by 2165, and by 2167, the USS Essex was stationed out of Starbase 12. (Decipher: Starfleet Operations Manual; TNG: "Power Play"; ENT novel: Uncertain Logic)

During the next 30 years, Starbase 12 became one of Starfleet's chief shipbuilding facilities outside of the founders' home systems. As the nascent Federation expanded, Starbase 12 became a key point in defense of the core worlds, as well as a major hub of communications and intelligence. (Decipher: Starfleet Operations Manual)

Starfleet began construction of the starbase's planetside facilities on Rontelm in the early 2200s, but when the Federation Council reduced Starfleet appropriations in 2210, the expansion was postponed indefinitely, leaving the ground facilities incomplete. (FASA: The Federation)

In 2257, Starbase 12 was one of three starbases targeted by the Klingons in a trio of devastating, coordinated attacks that destroyed one-third of Starfleet's active vessels. The Klingons occupied the base for weeks, if not months, until the end of the war. (DSC: "The War Without, The War Within")

While repairing Starbase 12 after the war, Starfleet resumed construction on the Rontelm planetary facilities, and that portion of the base finally became operational in the early 2260s. The spacedock and shipwright facilities were also expanded during this era. (FASA: The Federation; The Orions: Book of Common Knowledge; Star Trek IV Sourcebook Update)

Starbase 12 was one of the command bases for the five-year mission of the USS Enterprise in the 2260s. In 2267, the Enterprise towed the derelict sleeper ship SS Botany Bay to Starbase 12, passing by the Ceti Alpha system. (TOS: "Space Seed")

During the 2270s and 2280s, Starbase 12 remained an important part of both Starfleet's defense against the Klingons, and in monitoring the Orion Neutrality Area. The USS Arkadelphia was assigned to Starbase 12 in 2276. (FASA: Decision at Midnight; The Orions: Book of Common Knowledge; Star Trek IV Sourcebook Update)

In 2278, the USS Bozeman averted a sneak attack on Starbase 12 by intercepting a Klingon ship in the Typhon Expanse. The Bozeman was presumed lost during the engagement. (TNG novel: Ship of the Line)

Starfleet Intelligence ran the Operation Dixie out of Starbase 12 in 2285. The operation became known as one of the biggest intelligence disasters in Starfleet history, and resulted in a reshuffling of roles at Starfleet Command. (FASA: Star Trek IV Sourcebook Update; The Dixie Gambit)

Later that same year, the surviving crew of the USS Reliant were transported to Starbase 12 after being recovered from Ceti Alpha V. (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan; TOS comic: The Wormhole Connection)

Early during the parasite crisis of 2364, Starbase 12 was evacuated for two days without explanation. This was one of my such incidents that raised the suspicions of Captains Walker Keel, Rixx and Tryla Scott about the conspiracy within Starfleet Command. (TNG: "Conspiracy")

Two years later, in 2366, the USS Enterprise-D underwent a week-long refit at Starbase 12, following a particularly grueling mission to Gemaris V. During this time Captain Picard took shore leave on Risa at the urging of his first officer and ship's counselor. (TNG: "Captain's Holiday")

In 2369, Starbase 12 was the command base for sector 25712. (TNG: "Aquiel", okudagram)

While the bulk of her construction was carried out at San Francisco Fleet Yards, the USS Enterprise-E underwent additional work at Starbase 12 before her shakedown cruise in early 2372. During that period, the USS Roderick was also under construction at the starbase; she would ultimately be renamed and commissioned as the USS Bozeman-A. (TNG novel: Ship of the Line)

Appendices

Location

• In "Space Seed", Kirk says that Starbase 12 is the Enterprise's "command base in this sector," implying proximity to Ceti Alpha V and the Mutara sector. A reference in "Who Mourns for Adonais?" also implies that it is the closest base to the Pollux IV region.
• The novel Ship of the Line bases the location of Starbase 12 on different assumptions than both previous and subsequent material. In connecting the base with the disappearance of the Bozeman in 2278, that implies the Typhon Expanse lies on a line between the Klingon Empire and Starbase 12, which cannot be the case based on other data about the Expanse's location. Therefore the placement of Starbase 12 in the Fries-Posnikoff sector has been ignored. It is possible that Fries-Posnikoff is not a standard sector of 20ly², but could be a larger sector block, subquadrant, or astrogation grid. The fact that it is said to be adjacent to both the Typhon sector and the Mutara sector, though, would be hard, if not impossible, to reconcile in any case.

External links

• Starbase 12 article at Memory Alpha, the canon Star Trek wiki.
• Starbase 12 article at Memory Beta, the non-canon Star Trek wiki.
• Starbase 12 article at Star Trek Expanded Universe, the fanon and fanworks Star Trek wiki.