Star Trek Sets Course for the Nearest Starbase

The U.S.S. Cerritos made its way to Starbase 80, the infamous Federation outpost with a lackluster reputation, in ' "" As it turned out, the situation aboard the station was not as dreary as it appeared to be, though the Cerritos' crew did have some very unique experiences while visiting the facility.

On the other hand, the Federation's expansive network of starbases and other space stations has supplied Starfleet with a wealth of pivotal moments and strange encounters that were completely unrelated to the notorious nature of Starbase 80.

As we set out to examine some of those memorable starbase trips, keep in mind that we'll be excluding stations near Earth (Starbase 1 and Earth Spacedock) and those we visited with regularity (Deep Space 9 and Federation Headquarters).

Starbase 11 in 's ""

In the wake of a severe ion storm, the U.S.S. Enterprise stopped at Starbase 11 to undergo repairs. A discrepancy over the timing of Captain James T. Kirk's decision to jettison a pod during the mission, an act that caused Lieutenant Commander Finney's death, led Kirk to be accused of perjury and face a court martial.

With the assistance of his lawyer, Samuel T. Cogley, Kirk uncovered that Finney had faked his demise as an act of retribution to punish his former friend and captain. After taking Finney into custody, the charges against Kirk were dropped. A court martial stemming from the death of a man who wasn't actually dead? Well, that almost sounds like something that would take place on Starbase 80!

Deep Space Station K-7 in Star Trek's ""

Captain Kirk and the U.S.S. Enterprise responded to a distress call at Deep Space Station K-7 only to learn that a Federation official wished for his crew to guard a valuable supply of high-yield quadrotriticale grain intended for the development of Sherman's Planet. The Klingons, who also sought to colonize the planet, arrived soon after the Enterprise.

Unbeknownst to Kirk, an undercover Klingon agent named Arne Darvin had posed as a human and poisoned the grain. Luckily for Starfleet, an unexpected and out-of-control tribble infestation uncovered Darvin's scheme and prevented the shipment from being sent to Sherman's Planet. Of course, Darvin attempted to correct his mistake via a jaunt through time in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's "," but that is a starbase story for another day…

Starbase 6 in Star Trek's ""

Upon the U.S.S. Enterprise’s arrival at Starbase 6, Commodore Wesley informed Captain Kirk that his crew would temporarily be reduced to a complement of 20 personnel in order to test the capabilities of Dr. Daystrom's M-5 multitronic unit.

Designed to run the ship on its own, performed admirably until it targeted an automated ore freighter. The rogue M-5 unit took complete control of the Enterprise, taking aim at four nearby Federation vessels who were unaware that the war game had suddenly become a very real battle for survival. The M-5 computer, whose circuits had been programmed with Daystrom's own engrams, finally dropped its defenses once Kirk accused it of murdering the crew of the U.S.S. Excalibur. Kirk's quick thinking neutralized M-5 long enough to disconnect the unit and halt it from completely eradicating the Starfleet task force.

Regula I in

A remote outpost where Drs. Carol and David Marcus developed the terraforming (and potentially terrifying) , Regula I became a natural target for once he escaped from Ceti Alpha V and learned of Genesis' potential for both creation and destruction. Khan executed the majority of Regula I’s scientists, but failed to obtain the prize of Genesis.

The Augment leader laid a devious trap for Admiral Kirk, utilizing Ceti eels to control Captain Terrell and Commander Chekov so that Kirk might drop his guard. This ploy eventually guided Khan to the operational Genesis Device nestled within the caverns of the planetoid below the space laboratory, setting the stage for an epic showdown between Kirk’s U.S.S. Enterprise and Khan’s pirated U.S.S. Reliant.

Starbase 74 in 's ""

A routine maintenance check and a series of computer upgrades were on the schedule when the U.S.S. Enterprise-D docked at Starbase 74, but a sudden deterioration of the ship's antimatter containment field prompted the crew to abandon ship and set it to automatically depart.

As the senior staff reconvened in Starbase 74's operations center, they realized that Captain Jean-Luc Picard and Commander William T. Riker had not been evacuated. The breach proved to be a false alarm staged by the unified pair of Bynars responsible for the vessel's upgrades, as they sought to save their species by transferring a key file from the starship's databanks to their homeworld's master computer. The unorthodox gambit paid off, but as Captain Picard noted, the Bynars should have simply asked for Starfleet's help in the matter.

Starbase 173 in Star Trek: The Next Generation's ""

Although there were no confounding anomalies to study or interstellar superpowers to battle at Starbase 173, the U.S.S. Enterprise-D's visit to the station revolved around stakes that were just as profound.

Intent on having Data transferred to his command so that he could disassemble and duplicate the android, Bruce Maddox contested Data's right to resign and proposed that he was the property of Starfleet Command. , and Captain Picard delivered an impassioned defense which outlined a case for Data's sentience. While Starfleet could not definitively rule that Data was indeed sentient, the determination was made that the android was not property and had the freedom to choose his own fate.

Starbase 133 in Star Trek: The Next Generation's ""

Dr. Beverly Crusher welcomed Dr. Dalen Quaice, her friend and mentor, to the U.S.S. Enterprise-D when the ship stopped at Starbase 133 for regular crew rotation, but things soon took a turn for the strange. Quaice mysteriously disappeared, and !

Tensions heightened as the rest of the Enterprise-D's crew gradually vanished until Crusher found herself alone on the bridge. Initially unbeknownst to her, Crusher had become caught in a static warp bubble which allowed her to create her own reality. The being known as The Traveler arrived aboard the actual Enterprise-D to assist Wesley Crusher in his venture to retrieve his mother, directing the vessel back to its original coordinates at the starbase. Under The Traveler's guidance, and enjoyed a welcome reunion with Dr. Crusher.

Starbase Earhart in Star Trek: The Next Generation's ""

Whether an illusory experience or the byproduct of Continuum-induced time travel, Q transported Captain Picard back to the then-cadet's layover at Starbase Earhart as he and his friends awaited their first deep-space assignments. Q assured Picard that any changes made during the trip would not adversely affect the timeline, and while hesitant at first, Picard opted to rectify what he perceived to be youthful missteps.

However, Picard's newfound romance with his friend Marta and an attempt to prevent his pal Corey Zweller from angering a group of Nausicaans ostracized him from his colleagues. By playing it safe, Picard would never have had a brush with death that would grant him the focus necessary to become a captain. Against his better judgment, Picard altered course and confronted the Nausicaans, a deed which resulted in the injury that necessitated the installation of his famed artificial heart.

Starbase 375 in 's ""

Although Starbase 375 appeared several times over the course of the beginning of Deep Space Nine's sixth season, the facility's most significant contribution to Federation history took place in "Favor the Bold."

Starfleet utilized the station as a staging point for its plan to retake Deep Space 9 from , amassing an armada of over 600 starships which took positions in the space around the starbase. Led by Captain Benjamin Sisko and the U.S.S. Defiant, this force entered into a costly clash with the Dominion that nevertheless succeeded in liberating Deep Space 9 from under the Dominion's grasp and securing the Alpha Quadrant entrance to the Bajoran wormhole for the Federation-Klingon alliance.

Starbase Yorktown in

A massive architectural marvel situated near the Necro Cloud Nebula, the Kelvin Timeline's Starbase Yorktown appeared as a translucent orb of unimaginable scale and ranked as the Federation's most advanced starbase in 2263. Equipped with access tubes large enough to accommodate a starship, internal shipyards capable of constructing new vessels, a network of defense satellites, and a jaw-dropping city structure filled with a population representing a diverse array of worlds.

Starbase Yorktown proved to be the final stop for Captain James T. Kirk's U.S.S. Enterprise, as the ship was destroyed in an ambush near Altamid shortly after departing the station. Fortunately, Kirk's crew didn’t have to go far to find a replacement, as the U.S.S. Enterprise-A was built in and launched from Starbase Yorktown's very own drydock.