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Several films and episodes of thescience fiction franchiseStar Trek are set in distinctastrographical regions ofspace. Some of these fictional locations exhibit anomalous physical properties; others are defined as sensitive buffer zones under various fictional political accords.
This list describes some of the more significant settings forStar Trek films or story arcs over multiple television episodes.
TheBadlands comprise an area of space that appears (or is referenced) in episodes ofStar Trek: Deep Space Nine andStar Trek: Voyager.[1]
Located inStar Trek's Alpha Quadrant, the Badlands are characterized by constantplasma storms andfunnel clouds.[1] TheMaquis use it in several episodes as a meeting or hiding place because of its treacherous navigation.[1] It is also known to harbor some planets hidden within the clouds and nebulae.
In "Caretaker", the pilot episode ofStar Trek: Voyager, thetitular starship pursues a Maquis ship into the Badlands before being pushed by an energy wave to theDelta Quadrant.[1]
In "Erigah", the seventh episode ofStar Trek: Discovery season 5, the Badlands are determined to be the temporary location of a next clue to finding vital creation-of-life technology.[2]
The Badlands are also mentioned in the computer gameStar Trek: Armada II, where theBorg build up forces in that area close to theFederation.
In the fictionalStar Trek universe, the Bajoranwormhole is aspatial anomaly located within 160,000,000 kilometres (1.1 au) (DS9 S1Ep2: "Emissary (Part 2)") of the planetBajor. It appears as an aperture of swirling golden-white light surrounded by blue clouds, which appears whenever a vessel approaches or exits from it and disappears again afterwards. The wormhole can only be traversed by ships traveling at impulse (sub-light speed) velocities.
The Bajoran wormhole is discovered in thefirst episode ofStar Trek: Deep Space Nine. It is found to connect the Bajor-B'Hava'el system in theAlpha Quadrant to the Idran system in theGamma Quadrant,[3] which are seventy thousandlight-years apart. Due to the strategic importance of such a phenomenon, theDeep Space Nine space station is moved out ofBajor's orbit and repositioned 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) from the wormhole, where it acts as a gateway.
Starfleet CommanderBenjamin Sisko and LieutenantJadzia Dax are the first people to make contact with the wormhole's mysterious creators, who dwell inside it. Though these incorporeal beings are simply referred to as "wormhole aliens" by theFederation, they are revered asProphets in the Bajoran religion, and the wormhole itself is referred to as the "Celestial Temple". It is these "Prophets" who provided the Orb-like energy artifacts (or "Tears of the Prophets") to the Bajorans, and these mystical artifacts are the basis of Bajoran religion. Via one of the Orbs, the wormhole is closed by one of thePah Wraiths, malevolent non-corporeal beings who are enemies of the Prophets. The wormhole is later restored via an additional Orb discovered by Sisko, who is prophesied to be the Prophets' Emissary.
Regions called theBriar Patch feature in more than one series.
TheBriar Patch is anebula in sector 441 in theStar Trek universe. It was first introduced in the 1998 filmStar 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 inFederation territory, the Briar Patch is a region of space that starships usually 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 drives cannot be used, and evenimpulse drives are undermined.
The planet featured inStar Trek: Insurrection is a class-M world; it is unusual for its possession of an intricate planetary ring system. TheBa'ku have established a colony on the surface, where the colonists rejected most forms of advanced technology and attempted to create autopian society. Some time after their arrival, the colonists discovered that "metaphasic radiation" from the Briar Patch has become concentrated in the planet's rings, continually rejuvenating their genetic structure; unbeknownst to the outside universe, the Ba'ku planet is effectively a fountain of youth.
The Klingon systemKlach D'Kel Brakt is also given the designation "Briar Patch" by DrArik Soong in theStar Trek: Enterprise episode "The Augments". At least two inhabitable planets exist there;[4] Soong and his band of Augments attempt to reach the system and use it as a hideout. In 2272, it was also the site of a dramaticRomulan/Klingon confrontation, which was led on the Klingon side by the future Dahar MasterKor, who frequently re-enacts the battle with his fellow veterans and Dahar Masters,Koloth andKang.[5]
TheDelphic Expanse, commonly shortened to "the Expanse", is the setting for the entirethird season ofStar Trek: Enterprise, first aired in 2003 and 2004.
The Expanse is about 2000 light years across, surrounded by thickthermobaricclouds. Its edge is located about 50light-years fromEarth. It is the home of the previously unknown hostile races collectively known as theXindi, but the crew of theEnterprise (NX-01) discovers that the Xindi are being manipulated into their enmity by other forces with vested interests in the region.
Intensegravitational distortions, similar toquantum singularities, make travel through the Expanse extremely difficult, as it seems that space does not obey the known laws ofphysics in this region. Travelers risk injury, disfigurement, and death if their vessels are not lined with the protective metalTrellium-D.
Species native to the Expanse include theLoque'eque, theSkagarans, the Triannon, and the Xindi.
Featured locations of the Expanse includeAzati Prime, the Calindra system, Oran'taku, Triannon, andXindus.
Thousands of years ago, a number ofcloaked spheres the size of small moons were constructed throughout the Expanse by trans-dimensional beings as a prelude to invasion; their purpose was to alter the fabric of space in the region, to make it habitable for theSphere Builders. One area of the Expanse, 700 million kilometers wide and centrally located within a group of spheres, has already been distorted into a bubbling particle soup with an organic appearance. The spheres useartificial intelligence and operate as a network, with several providing command functions.
Because the spheres are cloaked, their exact number is unknown. Triannons believe that there are thousands of spheres.Xindi scientists, includingDegra, determined that there were at least 78 spheres.
The Triannons call the Expanse the "Chosen Realm", and formed areligion around the spheres and themythology of their creation.
In 2037, a temporally divergentstarshipEnterprise from 2154 becomes stranded in the Expanse; it becomes agenerational ship, dedicated to countering the Xindi threat destined to arise in the 2150s.
In about 2133, a group ofKlingons enter the Expanse, but return anatomically inverted (and still alive). Unsuccessful attempts to explore the region are also made by theVulcan shipsSeleya andVaankara. TheSeleya is later discovered with its crew driven mad due to exposure toTrellium-D, and subsequently destroyed.
In about June 2153, the EarthStarfleet shipEnterprise (NX-01) enters the Expanse to locate the Xindi. It is followed later in the year by theAndorian shipKumari.
On February 13, 2154, theEnterprise destroys the network of Spheres, reverting the distorted space to its natural form, and gradually dissipating the thermobaric cloud barrier. The Expanse thus ceases to exist, becoming a normal, unthreatening region of space.[6]
Although theEnterprise's CaptainJonathan Archer is shown a possible timeline in which the Expanse becomes a major threat to the futureUnited Federation of Planets, this eventuality appears to be eliminated by the successful destruction of the Spheres.
In theStar Trek universe, theGalactic Barrier (also referred to as theGreat Barrier orEnergy Barrier) is an energy field that surrounds theMilky Way Galaxy. The field completely encompasses the galactic disk, preventing a conventionalstarship from traveling beyond the edge of the galaxy. It is not clear whether the energy barrier is a natural or artificially created phenomenon.
Although numerous attempts to travel outside the galaxy are made, with various degrees of success, the barrier usually damages or destroys ships that try to pass through it. It also has psychoactive effects; some personnel gain powerfultelekinetic andtelepathic abilities when traveling near the barrier (as seen in "Where No Man Has Gone Before").
The barrier appears as a pink band of light and, upon entering it, a ship is surrounded by dazzling clouds of colorful energy. Inside the barrier, a ship's engines shut down and navigational systems become erratic.
The Galactic Barrier makes its first appearance in the original series episode "Where No Man Has Gone Before", in which the crew of theUSSEnterprise must deal with those affected by the psychic powers of the field—as did the crew of the ill-fated SSValiant, which encountered the same barrier two centuries earlier.
The barrier is encountered again in the episode "Is There in Truth No Beauty?", where theEnterprise becomes lost within the barrier and is saved by the astounding navigational skills of an alien passenger.
The barrier had also damaged an alien ship from outside the galaxy, as explained in the episode "By Any Other Name", stranding the aliens until they try to steal theEnterprise and return to their home galaxy,Andromeda.
InStar Trek: Discovery season 4, the USSDiscovery must venture past the galactic barrier in the 32nd century to make contact with an alien race known as Species 10-C who are using a gravitational anomaly to mine boronite from the Milky Way galaxy, threatening the existence of anything that crosses its path. By this point in time, the energies of the galactic barrier had grown strong enough that shields were actually weakened by passing through, forcing the crew to find and hide in bubbles of stable space to enact repairs before continuing their travels. AfterDiscovery convinced Species 10-C to stand down, the aliens used their wormhole to returnDiscovery to Earth, negating the need for travel back through the barrier.
In theStar Trek: Discovery series finale "Life, Itself,"Discovery used its spore drive to send aBreen dreadnaught and scout ship to the galactic barrier. Commander Rayner noted that it would take a couple of decades for the ships to return, but the crews would survive.
A second barrier at the core of the Milky Way is first revealed in the motion pictureStar 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 is thought to be impenetrable like the one at the edge of the galaxy; however, it is revealed that only mankind's natural fear of the unknown is keeping mankind from entering it.
Various books try to explain the existence of the galactic barrier, although none of these arecanonical:
In the originalStar Trek, "quadrant" is used interchangeably with "sector". However, beginning withStar Trek: The Next Generation, the term refers to agalactic coordinate system.
Galactic quadrants withinStar Trek are based around a meridian that runs from the center of the galaxy through Earth'sSolar System,[1] which is not unlike thesystem of quadrants used by non-fictional astronomers. However, rather than have theperpendicularaxis run through the Sun, as is done in astronomy, theStar Trek version runs the axis through theGalactic Center. Also, rather than ordinals, quadrants are designated by theGreek lettersAlpha,Beta,Gamma, andDelta.
According to StarTrek.com, "if the great plane of the galaxy is viewed as a clock face and the 6 o'clock position bisects the Sol system"[7] (when viewed from the galactic north pole), then the four fictional quadrants are as follows:
The Alpha Quadrant and the nearby areas of the Beta Quadrant comprise the primary setting ofStar Trek: The Original Series,Star Trek: The Next Generation,Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, andStar Trek: Enterprise. According to theEncyclopedia, the Federation is largely on the Alpha Quadrant side, but with parts in the Beta Quadrant, whereas theKlingon andRomulan Empires are mainly in the Beta Quadrant but extend in part into the Alpha Quadrant.[8] TheStar Trek Star Charts have the Romulans and Klingons entirely within the Beta Quadrant, as well as theGorn Hegemony, theSon'a Solidarity, and theMetron Consortium. TheStar Trek Star Charts further locate in the Alpha Quadrant theFirst Federation,Breen,Ferengi,Tzenkethi,Cardassians,Bajorans,Talarians, andTholians.
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country implies that the Alpha/Beta border runs through, or is relatively close to,Federation space. TheStar Trek Encyclopedia attributes this decision to rationalize a line inStar Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, in whichJames T. Kirk claims that theEnterprise is the only Federation ship in the quadrant.[8][9] Maps produced by the art staff for the series show that the Alpha/Beta border runs through the Solar System.[10]
TheStar Trek Star Charts claim that the Beta Quadrant contains the core worldsVulcan (40 Eridani),Andoria (Procyon),Risa, and the Rigel (Beta Orionis) systems; the Alpha Quadrant containsTellar (61 Cygni),Trill, andBetazed.[10]
TheDominion, which is one of the most aggressiveantagonists in theDeep Space Nine TV series, control a large portion of the Gamma Quadrant. The Alpha Quadrant comes in contact with the Dominion through theBajoran wormhole, which is the setting and primary source of conflict in the series. InStar Trek: Prodigy, Federation bases in the Gamma Quadrant are mentioned.
Most of the information about the Delta Quadrant and its inhabitants comes from the seriesStar Trek: Voyager. This quadrant is largely unexplored by theUnited Federation of Planets, apart from the return voyage of theUSSVoyager, the USSEquinox, theUSSRaven, briefly theUSSEnterprise-D, and the Federation citizens assimilated into or de-assimilated from the Borg. The Delta Quadrant is home to theBorg Collective,[11] theKazon, theVidiians, the Talaxians, theOcampa, theHirogen, and the Malon.
Star Trek: Prodigy, which takes place several years after the end ofStar Trek: Voyager, also explores the Delta Quadrant. The crew of young aliens who serve as the main characters start the series as slaves on the Tars Lamora prison colony in the Delta Quadrant where they find and steal the derelict USSProtostar. It is later revealed that theProtostar was sent to continue the mission of exploration begun byVoyager. In the second season, now-Vice AdmiralKathryn Janeway returns to the Delta Quadrant in theVoyager-A to stop the threat posed by the Vau N'Akat.
On someStar Trek maps of the center of the galaxy, the galactic core is regarded as its own area, not part of any of the four Quadrants. The Cytherians, from theNext Generation episode "The Nth Degree," are located near this area. InStar Trek V: The Final Frontier, a "God"-being is encountered from within what is called the "Great Barrier".
TheNekrit Expanse is a vast unpopulatednebular region in theDelta 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 functions as a natural barrier, limiting contact between species on either side of the cloud. TheUSSVoyager enters the expanse in 2373.[12][13]
In theStar Trekuniverse, aneutral zone is a sort of "buffer zone" between the territories of two different powers; if either party enters a neutral zone, it is considered an aggressive move (usually an act ofwar). In the course of the various series, theFederation develops two neutral zones: One with theKlingon Empire and one with theRomulan Star Empire; the generic term "the Neutral Zone" usually refers to the Romulan Neutral Zone. Also, a neutral zone in all but name exists between the Federation and the Cardassians.
There is a Federation-Cardassiandemilitarized 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 result in several Federation worlds within the zone being ceded to the Cardassians. Militant Federation colonists called theMaquis form aguerrilla militia to oppose the treaty and their new Cardassian administrators; they receive assistance from sympathetic Federation citizens, including several Starfleet officers, and fromBajoran veterans of the long Cardassian occupation of Bajor. The DMZ ceases to exist at the outbreak of theDominion War in 2373; the Maquis are subsequently eliminated as a functional resistance group by a joint Cardassian-Dominion task force.
The Klingon Neutral Zone, sometimes known as theOrganian Neutral Zone, appears to be set up during the time of theStar 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 the Organians are a pre-industrial people, attempt to occupy their world, the Organians reveal theirposthuman nature and impose the Neutral Zone and a peace treaty between the two powers. InKlingon, this treaty is known asorghenya' rojmab (Organian Peace Treaty).
The zone is the site of theKobayashi Maru scenario in the filmStar Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
The Klingon Neutral Zone is abolished by theKhitomer Accords in 2293.
InStar Trek Into Darkness, set in an alternate reality, the USSEnterprise violates the Neutral Zone to captureKhan Noonien Singh.
The Romulan Neutral Zone is established around 2160 or 2161 by the treaty of Algeron which ends theEarth-Romulan War, and is still in effect at the end ofStar Trek Nemesis. In the 2009 filmStar Trek (specifically the events depicted in the year 2387),Romulus is destroyed when its star goes supernova. Like the Klingon Neutral Zone, any entry into the region by either party is considered an act of war; this is not violated until 2266, when the Romulans cross it, but a war is avoided nevertheless. TheEnterprise (NCC-1701) crosses the Neutral Zone three times: Once to get to astarbase quickly when the crew is suffering accelerated aging, once when it is commandeered by a group of disestablishmentarians in their quest forparadise, and once more when the Federation attempts to steal a Romulancloaking device.[14]
The Neutral Zone remains uncrossed during a period of extended Romulanisolationism. In 2364, several Federation and Romulan outposts along their respective sides of the Neutral Zone are destroyed by unknown forces. TheEnterprise-D is ordered to investigate. While visiting some of the Federation sites, Captain Picard encounters a Romulan ship that has crossed the Neutral Zone. Each side suspects the other of being responsible for the attacks. This encounter between representatives of the Federation and the Romulan Empire—the first in over 60 years—ends peacefully. (These events occur inThe Next Generation first-season episode "The Neutral Zone".) It is determined several months later that the destruction was caused by theBorg. The following year, the USSYamato crosses into the Neutral Zone to prevent the Romulans from finding the Iconian home world, an abandoned planet that contains highly advancedtechnology. In 2366, the Romulan scout shipPi crashes just inside of Federation space, and a Romulan ship crosses over to recover survivors. Finally, in the same year, a Romulan defects to the Federation, breaching the Neutral Zone, warning of a secret plan to attack the Federation; theEnterprise-D, along with three Klingon warships, in turn, cross the Neutral Zone to investigate the claim.
Subsequent covert incursions of the Neutral Zone include the Romulans' plan to invadeVulcan using disguised Vulcan ships. An overt but lawful entry into the Neutral Zone occurs when the USSBellerophon participates in a Federation–Romulan conference on Romulus during theDominion War.
InStar Trek Nemesis, Shinzon lies that he wishes to take down the zone as part of his ultimately failed plot to destroy Earth and the rest of the Federation.
Following the destruction of Romulus in 2387, the Romulan Empire collapsed. With no formal government to enforce the treaty, the Romulan Neutral Zone ceased to exist.[15]
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Sector 001 is the Federation designation for the area of space that contains theSolar System. The term "Sector 001" is used in theNext Generation episode "The Best of Both Worlds".[16]
InStar Trek and other science fiction, aspatial anomaly (or, often, asub-space anomaly) is a broad term for any sort of extraordinary disruption in thespace-time continuum. It may take the form of irregularities ingravity, ripples inspace that can damageequipment andpersonnel, alterations in thelaws of physics, and areas of disruption inimical to thehuman brain.
TheDelphic Expanse was rife with such distortions generated by spheres which reconfigured space to resemble the Sphere Builders'transdimensional realm.
Other episodes featuring spatial anomalies are "Disaster", which features two quantum filaments that temporarily cripple theEnterprise, theseries finale ofStar Trek: The Next Generation (in which the USSEnterprise-D encounters a "multiphasic temporal convergence in thespacetime continuum", caused by "an eruption of anti-time"), and "One Small Step" (in which theUSSVoyager discovers a rare "gravitonellipse").
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