List of Star Trek regions of space

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Several films and episodes of the science fiction franchise Star Trek were set in distinct regions of space. Some of these fictional locations exhibit anomalous physical properties; others were defined as sensitive buffer zones under political accords.

This list describes some of the more significant such areas which were the setting for Star Trek films or story arcs over multiple television episodes.

Contents

[edit] Badlands

The Badlands is a fictional area of space that appears or is referred to in episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager.[1]

Located in Star Trek's Alpha Quadrant, the Badlands is characterized by constant plasma storms and funnel clouds.[1] The Maquis use it in several episodes as a meeting place or hiding ground because of its treacherous navigation.[1] It is also known to have a few planets hidden within the clouds and nebulae.

In, "Caretaker", the pilot episode of Star Trek: Voyager, the titular starship pursues a Maquis ship into the Badlands before being teleported to the Delta Quadrant.[1]

The Badlands is also mentioned in the computer game Star Trek: Armada II where the Borg build up forces in that area close to the Federation.

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[edit] Briar Patch

[edit] Briar Patch in Star Trek: Insurrection

The Briar Patch is a fictional nebula in sector 441 in the Star Trek universe. It was first introduced in the 1998 film Star Trek: Insurrection. While the nebula's visual characteristics are reminiscent of astronomical photographs, many of its more interesting properties were invented to support the film's storyline.

Located in Federation territory, the Briar Patch is a region of space which most starships avoid. Various radiation sources and energy fluctuations impair communications systems, making it difficult for vessels inside the nebula to make contact with those outside the nebula. Cloud pockets of metreon gas, a highly volatile substance of unknown composition, make travel through the nebula difficult as well. Warp drive cannot be used, and even impulse drive is reduced in utility. The one featured in Star Trek: Insurrection is a class-M world unusual for its possession of an intricate planetary ring system. A Ba'ku colony established itself on the surface, where the colonists rejected most forms of advanced technology and attempted to create a utopian society. Some time after their arrival, the colonists discovered that "metaphasic radiation" from the Briar Patch, concentrated in the planet's rings, continually rejuvenate their genetic structure. Unbeknownst to the outside Universe, the Ba'ku planet was effectively a fountain of youth.

[edit] Klach D'Kel Brakt

The Klingon system Klach D'Kel Brakt was also given the designation "Briar Patch" by Arik Soong. At least two inhabitable planets existed there,[2] in which Arik Soong and his band of Augments attempted to reach the system and use it as a hideout. In 2272 it was also the site of a dramatic Romulan/Klingon confrontation, which was led on the Klingon side by the future Dahar Master Kor, who would re-enact the battle often with fellow Dahar Masters and veterans Koloth and Kang.[3]

[edit] One and the same?

Whether the Briar Patch seen in "The Augments" and later mentioned in "Blood Oath" was the same one seen in the film Star Trek: Insurrection is a source of confusion and disagreement among fans. Some argue that it may be a different area of space with the same name (as there are many instances of multiple cities on Earth with the same name), and that Admiral Dougherty's dialogue in Insurrection (“They’re calling this whole area the Briar Patch”) implies that it was a recently-discovered location.

Other fans believe that the show's creators would not intentionally sow such obvious confusion by deliberately reusing a name for two different locations in a fictional universe without specific relevance to the plot, pointing out that the two locations appeared identical, and that the fact that two habitable planets were mentioned within it was a specific reference to the Baku planet in Insurrection. These fans suggest that perhaps the anomalies of the area were not known to Arik Soong or anyone else until much later, as well as the starship improvements needed to withstand them, and that Michael Sussman, who wrote "The Augments", merely forgot the details of Insurrection that indicated it was a recent discovery.

According to the non-canon Star Trek Atlas, which is based on official production materials and on-screen diagrams, the two areas are distinct. The Briar Patch of Insurrection is located in Federation space a few hundred light years from the Klingon border, while Klach D'Kel Brakt is positioned on the far side of Klingon space, near the Romulan border. It should be noted the Atlas book was released well before Enterprise's first season, and an updated version if released could conceivably combine the two references for clarity.

The Memory Alpha wiki indicates that they are indeed one and the same, citing evidence from both "The Augments" and Insurrection.

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[edit] Delphic Expanse

The Delphic Expanse, commonly abbreviated as "The Expanse", was the setting for the entire third season of Star Trek: Enterprise, first screened in 2003 and 2004.

The Expanse was approximately 2,000 light years across, surrounded by thick thermobaric clouds. Its edge was located approximately 50 light years from Earth. It was the home of the previously unknown hostile races collectively known as the Xindi, but the crew of the Enterprise (NX-01) discovered that the Xindi were being manipulated into their enmity against humanity by other forces with vested interests in the region.

Intense gravitational distortions, similar to quantum singularities, made travel through the Expanse extremely difficult as it appeared that space did not obey the known laws of physics in the region. Travellers risked injury, disfigurement, or death if their vessels were not lined with the protective metal Trellium-D.

Species native to the Expanse included the Loque'eque, the Skagarans, the Triannon, as well as the Xindi.

Locations in the Expanse featured in the series included Azati Prime, the Calindra system, Oran'taku, Triannon, and Xindus.

History of the Expanse

Thousands of years ago, a number of spheres the size of small moons were constructed throughout the Expanse by trans-dimensional beings as a prelude to invasion. These were cloaked and their purpose was to alter the fabric of space in the region to make it habitable for the Sphere-Builders. One area of space, 700 million kilometers wide and centrally located within a group of spheres, was distorted into a bubbling particle soup with an organic appearance. The spheres used artificial intelligence and operated as a network, with several serving command functions.

Because the spheres were cloaked, their exact number was unknown. Triannons believe that there were thousands of spheres. Xindi scientists, including Degra, determined that there were at least 78 spheres.

The Triannons called the Expanse the "Chosen Realm", and formed a religion around the spheres and the mythology of their creation.

In 2037, a temporally-divergent starship Enterprise from 2154 became stranded in the Expanse. It would become a generational ship, dedicated to countering the Xindi threat destined to arise in the 2150s.

In about 2133, a group of Klingons entered the Expanse, but returned anatomically inverted (and still alive). Unsuccessful attempts to explore the region were also made by the Vulcan ships Seleya and Vaankara. The Seleya was later discovered, with its crew driven mad due to exposure to Trellium-D, and subsequently destroyed.

In about June of 2153, the Earth Starfleet ship Enterprise (NX-01) entered the Expanse to locate the Xindi. They were followed later in the year by the Andorian ship Kumari.

On February 13, 2154, Enterprise destroyed the network of Spheres, reverting the distorted space to its natural form, and gradually dissipating the thermobaric cloud barrier. The Expanse thus ceased to exist - becoming a normal, non-threatening region of space.

Although Enterprise Captain Jonathan Archer was shown a possible timeline in which the Expanse becomes a major threat to the future United Federation of Planets, this eventuality appears to have been eliminated following the successful destruction of the Spheres; no reference to The Expanse is made in any of the "later" Star Trek series.

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[edit] Galactic Barrier and Great Barrier

In the Star Trek universe, the Galactic Barrier, also referred to as the Great Barrier or Energy Barrier, is an energy field that surrounds the Milky Way Galaxy. The field completely encompasses the galactic disk and prevents conventional starship travel beyond the edge of the galaxy. It is uncertain whether or not the energy barrier is a natural or artificially created phenomenon.

Although numerous attempts to travel outside the galaxy have been made, with various degrees of success, the barrier usually damages or destroys ships that try to pass through it. It also has psychoactive effects as some personnel gain powerful telekinetic and telepathic abilities if traveling near the barrier.

The barrier appears as a pinkish band of light, and upon entering it, a ship is surrounded by dancing clouds of colorful energy. Inside the barrier, a ship's power and engines shut down and navigational systems become erratic.

The Galactic Barrier made its first appearance in the original series episode "Where No Man Has Gone Before", in which the crew of the USS Enterprise had to deal with those affected by the psychic powers of the field - as did the crew of the ill-fated SS Valiant which had encountered the same barrier, two centuries earlier.

It was also encountered again in the episode "Is There in Truth No Beauty?" where the Enterprise becomes lost within the barrier and is saved by the incredible navigational skills of an alien passenger.

The barrier had also damaged an alien ship from outside the galaxy, in the episode "By Any Other Name", stranding the aliens in our galaxy until they try to steal the Enterprise and return to their home galaxy.

There is also a second barrier at the core of the Milky Way, which was first revealed in the motion picture Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. Being the only encounter ever shown, the only known reference is the "Great Barrier". This energy barrier at the core was thought to be impenetrable like the one at the edge of the galaxy; however, it was revealed that only mankind's natural fear of the unknown was keeping them from entering it.

Non-canonical explanations

Various books have tried to explain the existence of the galactic barrier, although none of these are canonical:

  • The Star Trek: The Q Continuum series of novels explains the two barriers, stating that they were created by the Continuum 600,000 years ago to keep one omnipotent being sealed away at the center of the Galaxy, and to keep another, whose powers can rival the Q, locked out of our galaxy forever due to his rampages and destruction of species.
  • In William Shatner's novel Captain's Glory, Picard mentions the events of the Q Continuum trilogy, but states that the barrier was built by the proto-humanoids shown in "The Chase (Star Trek: The Next Generation)" 4 billion years ago (not as stated in The Q Continuum) to protect their "children" (the races they seeded across the galaxy) from a dark matter entity known as the Totality.
  • The novel Q-Squared reveals the Galactic Barrier to be Q himself, in a time-tossed and temporally discorporated state.
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[edit] Nekrit Expanse

The Nekrit Expanse is a vast unpopulated nebular region in the Delta Quadrant, several thousand light years across. It is impossible to chart due to its constantly changing structure. As a result of its size, the Expanse functioned as a natural barrier, limiting contact between species on either side of the cloud. USS Voyager entered the expanse in 2373.[4]

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[edit] Neutral Zone

In the Star Trek universe, a neutral zone is a sort of "buffer zone" between the territories of two different powers. If either party enters a neutral zone it is an aggressive move and is usually considered an act of war. The Federation has had two neutral zones: one with the Klingon Empire and one with the Romulan Star Empire. Used on its own, "the Neutral Zone" generally refers to the Romulan Neutral Zone. A Neutral Zone in all but name also exists between the Federation and the Cardassians.

[edit] Cardassian Demilitarized Zone

There was a Federation-Cardassian Demilitarized zone created at the end of hostilities between the two powers in the mid-24th Century. The peace treaty ending the war, and subsequent border adjustments, resulted in several Federation worlds within the zone to be ceded to the Cardassians. Militant Federation colonists called the Maquis formed a guerrilla militia to oppose the treaty and their new Cardassian administrators, and received assistance from Bajoran veterans of the long Cardassian occupation of Bajor. The DMZ ceased to exist at the outbreak of the Dominion War in 2373.

[edit] Klingon Neutral Zone

The Klingon Neutral Zone, sometimes known as the Organian Neutral Zone, appears to be set up during the time of the Star Trek: The Original Series. Unlike the Romulan Neutral Zone, the Klingon Neutral Zone appears to have some commercial traffic crossing it.

The Organians are non-corporeal beings from the planet Organia IV, which is strategically situated between the Klingon Empire and the Federation. When both parties, thinking them a pre-industrial people, attempted to occupy their world, they reveal their posthuman nature and imposed the Neutral Zone and a peace treaty between the two powers. In Klingon it is known as orghenya' rojmab (Organian Peace Treaty).

The zone is the site of the Kobayashi Maru scenario in the film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

The Klingon Neutral Zone is abolished by the Khitomer Accords in 2293.

[edit] Romulan Neutral Zone

The Romulan Neutral Zone is still in effect at the end of Star Trek Nemesis, the chronologically latest work in the Star Trek franchise. It was established around 2160 or 2161, by the same treaty that ended the Earth-Romulan War. Like the Klingon Neutral Zone, any entry by either party was considered an act of war. It was unviolated until 2266, when the Romulans crossed it; a war, however, was avoided. The Enterprise (NCC-1701) crossed the Neutral Zone three times: once to get to a starbase quickly when the crew was suffering accelerated aging, once when it was commandeered by a group of disestablishmentarians in their quest for paradise, and once more to steal a Romulan cloaking device.

The Neutral Zone remained uncrossed during a period of extended Romulan isolationism. In 2364, several Romulan outposts along the Neutral Zone were destroyed by then-unknown forces, prompting the Romulans to cross the Neutral Zone to investigate the matter. It was determined several months later that the destruction had been caused by the Borg. The following year, the USS Yamato crossed into the Neutral Zone to prevent the Romulans from finding the Iconian home world, an abandoned planet that contained highly advanced technology. In 2366 a Romulan defected to the Federation, breaching the Neutral Zone, warning of a secret plan to attack the Federation; the Enterprise-D, along with three Klingon warships, in turn, crossed the Neutral Zone to investigate the claim. Finally, in the same year, the Romulan scout ship Pi crashed just inside of Federation space, and a Romulan ship crossed over to recover survivors.

Subsequent covert incursions of the Neutral Zone included Captain Picard's secret mission to Romulus to find Spock, and the Romulans' plan to invade Vulcan using disguised Vulcan ships. An overt but lawful entry into the Neutral Zone occurred when the USS Bellerophon participated in a Federation-Romulan conference on Romulus during the Dominion War.

The first season finale of Star Trek: The Next Generation was set here and titled "The Neutral Zone".

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[edit] Sector 001

Sector 001 refers to the area of space that contains Earth's solar system. The term "Sector 001" was first used in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Best of Both Worlds".

The engagement between Starfleet and the Borg in Star Trek: First Contact was likewise named the Battle of Sector 001.

External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d Okuda, Mike and Denise, with Debbie Mirek (1999). The Star Trek Encyclopedia. Pocket Books. ISBN 0-671-53609-5. 
  2. ^ Star Trek: Enterprise episode "The Augments"
  3. ^ Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Blood Oath".
  4. ^ Fair Trade (Star Trek: Voyager) and subsequent episodes