Deep Space 19
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| Deep Space 19 | |
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| Technical Details | |
| Class: | Unknown |
| Registry: | DS-19 |
| Status: | Occupied |
| Crew Information | |
| Commanding Officer: | Captain Benjamin J. Byrne |
| Executive Officer: | Commander Jaeih Andorzai |
| Second Officer: | Lt. Commander Aeitos th'Ralik |
| [ Source ] | |
Deep Space 19 is the Federation designation given to the alien space station discovered in 2388 by the Starship Endeavour in the Gamma Hriolis sector. The station is located in neutral space, but is close enough to both the Federation and Tholian borders to cause concerns for either party should the station be occupied with belligerent intent.
A portion of one of the station's upper tower structures has been sectioned off from the remainder of the station via a series of sealed blast doors and Federation-constructed containment fields. These sections have had the environmental controls altered to make them habitable on a long-term basis for the Tholians who share residence of the station under the treaty amendments negotiated by Captains Byrne and MonRoe shortly after Starfleet's occupation of the station began. These sections of the station have come to be known colloquially amongst the station's crew as the "Tholian Enclave".
History
Distant Past
Very little is known about the origins of the station; its designation are not even known. However, scans of the facility indicate that it has been abandonned for many thousands of years, and was constructed perhaps thousands of years prior to that. Starfleet's primary goal aboard the station is to study its origins and its creators.
Federation Residence
Starfleet first discovered the station in 2388 after the USS Endeavour detected a faint power signal whilst on a routine border patrol. The crew investigated, and were able to trace the source of the location to an unclaimed system in the Gamma Hriolis Sector. The system was uninhabited and generally unremarkable, except for the large station orbiting with the asteroid belt near one of the system's barren planets.
Location
The location of the star that Deep Space 19 orbits has been the root of the conflict between the Tholians and the Federation over the station since the crew of the USS Endeavour were first able to restore power to the facility's systems, thus making it more readily visible on Tholian sensor scans. Located roughly 40 light years from both the Tholian and Federation borders, the station is situated ideally to serve as a staging ground for one power to begin annexing the outer fringes of the other's territory, to enclose within their own borders. To the Galactic East of the system there exists no data; neither power has committed any manned exploration of that region of space, and the station would serve as an ideal staging area in order to conduct such an expedition.
