Starbase 18

Starbase 18
Facility type:	starbase (space station/ground complex)
Affiliation:	Federation, Starfleet
Location:	55-Hamilton, Hamilton system (2251) Hamal IV, Alpha Arietis system (2381)
Status:	destroyed (2251) operational (2381)

Starbase 18 was a Federation starbase, consisting of a planetside facility as well as an orbital space station in the Hamal system. The orbital station maintained a distance of 200 million kilometers from the star Hamal. (TOS novel: The Wounded Sky)

As The Wounded Sky implied the space station was fairly new in the mid-2270s, earlier references would seem to refer to the Starbase 18 planetside facility pictured in FASA RPG module: The Federation or an earlier incarnation of the orbital facility.

History and specifics

Design

Until 2251 the starbase comprised hydroponic gardens, an artificial lake, farmland, and six multistory buildings on the surface of the asteroid 55-Hamilton. It accommodated a population of 78 civilians, Starfleet personnel, and their families. (TOS novel: The Children of Kings)

The 2270s orbital station was constructed by the Hamalki, the natives of Hamal IV. This was an oblong, cigar-shaped space station, built with elaborate golden spires and architecture. James T. Kirk found the design very alien, as it was styled with crystalline objects and mirror-finished metal surfaces. (TOS novel: The Wounded Sky)

By 2278, Starbase 18 featured a dumbbell-shaped design with docking modules at each end, each capable of accommodating up to 12 ships of different sizes. The connecting cylinder housed 20 decks, providing habitable workspaces and living quarters. (TOS novel: Deep Domain)

History

Starbase 18 was the Federation's most remote outpost in a specific sector of the galaxy on the surface of the asteroid 55-Hamilton. It fell victim to unidentified adversaries in 2251. Thee months into its Five-year mission, the USS Enterprise under Captain Christopher Pike was dispatched to investigate the space debris field in order to uncover identify the perpetrator of its destruction. (TOS novel: The Children of Kings)

In the year 2256, Starbase 18 instructed the pilot of Starfleet prison shuttle SPT 21, en route to the mines of Tellun, to don an EV suit and exterminate Species GS54 bugs depriving the shuttle of electricity. (DSC episode: "Context Is for Kings")

In 2270, to confound the malfunctioning Service Control Computer FS-137-B, which managed some of the food processors aboard the USS Enterprise, an ensign asked it to compute how many bowls of oatmeal were needed to reach from Starbase 18 to the far side of the Klingon Empire. (TOS - Which Way Books novel: Voyage to Adventure)

In the 2270s decade, the station was commanded by Commodore Katha'sat. (TOS novel: The Wounded Sky)

In 2274, the USS Enterprise picked up a contingent of Bebebebeque at Starbase 18 for transport to Mimit. (TOS comic: "The Wristwatch Plantation")

In 2275, the USS Enterprise visited the station to be refitted with an experimental inversion drive. (TOS novel: The Wounded Sky)

During a period of heightened tensions in 2276, the starbase was equipped with formidable weaponry and a large compliment of starships in anticipation of a possible Romulan invasion of its sector. (TOS novel: Swordhunt)

In 2278, the Enterprise again stopped at the station to receive supplies for the Vestra V colony. (TOS novel: Deep Domain)

William Riker was aboard the starbase in 2357 when he received orders assigning him to a destroyer. He instead boarded the USS Yorktown by mistake. (TNG novel: Ghost Ship)

In 2359, the USS Starbound limped to Starbase 18 on impulse engines, after being attacked and crippled by Orion pirates. The starbase received their radio distress signal and sent a starship to tow them the rest of the way. However, once they arrived, station security arrested acting commanding officer Darryl Adin to face a court martial on charges of treason, murder, and conspiring with the Orions. By 2364, computer records still in existence were examined by Data, indicating the Starbase 18 arrest had been made on the basis of false information added to the base computer network intended to frame Adin. (TNG novel: Survivors)

In 2381, the USS Enterprise-E transported a number of refugees from the Borg invasion earlier that year to Starbase 18. From there, the refugees were expected to go on to settle on other worlds, including Tellar. (TNG novel: Losing the Peace)