Deep Space Nine (space station)
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 Deep Space Nine with vessels docked |
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| First appearance | "Emissary" |
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| General characteristics | |
| Auxiliary craft | Runabouts, USS Defiant |
| Armaments | Photon torpedoes Phasers |
| Defenses | Deflector shields |
The space station Deep Space Nine (DS9) is the main setting of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
The station serves as a base for the exploration of the Gamma Quadrant via the Bajoran wormhole, and is a hub of trade and travel for the sector's denizens. It is run by a joint crew of Starfleet and Bajoran officers, and it is the home port of a number of Starfleet runabouts and the USS Defiant. The station and its crew play a vital role to the events surrounding the Bajoran sector, the wormhole, and the Dominion War.
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The station model was principally designed by Herman Zimmerman and Rick Sternbach. Ricardo Delgado, Joseph Hodges, Nathan Crowley, Jim Martin, Rob Legato, Gary Hutzel, Michael Okuda, and executive producer Rick Berman also contributed to the design. The miniature was fabricated by Tony Meininger. [1]
Deep Space Nine, over a kilometer in diameter, is composed of a broad outer docking ring; an inner habitat ring containing residences; and a central core containing the promenade, the fusion reactors, and the operations center, known as "ops". Three sets of docking pylons sweep up and down equidistantly around the docking ring, defining a spherical shape. It is of identical design to Empok Nor. In its current position at the mouth of the wormhole, the station is three hours away from Bajor by shuttle.
The promenade is the main public thoroughfare in which visitors and residents congregate, on which can be found Quark's Bar (the crew's most frequently-seen off-hours location), the infirmary, the replimat, a Bajoran temple, Garak's clothing shop, chief of security Odo's office, a Klingon restaurant, a mineral assay office, a candy kiosk, and, for a brief time during the first season, Keiko O'Brien's classroom. There are normally about 300 permanent residents of the station, though the station can accommodate up to 7,000.[2]
Originally a Cardassian mining and refinery station named "Terok Nor" in orbit around Bajor, it was built by slave Bajoran labor under Cardassian rule in 2351. The station was commanded by Gul Dukat, the last Cardassian prefect of Bajor. It was abandoned toward the end of the Cardassian occupation of Bajor in 2369; the Cardassians removed anything of value on their way out.
In 2369, the Bajorans assumed control of the station. The Bajoran provisional government requested the assistance of the United Federation of Planets, who renamed it Deep Space Nine (DS9) and placed Commander Benjamin Sisko in command. Despite the Federation presence, the station remains subject to Bajoran law. Shortly after Sisko assumes command, his crew discovers the Bajoran wormhole. The station is moved to the mouth of the wormhole to secure Bajor's claim to it, after which the station assumes great commercial, scientific and strategic importance.
After the encounter with the Dominion in 2370 in which the Galaxy class USS Odyssey was destroyed by just three Dominion vessels and owing to other threats, it became obvious that the station's existing occupation-era weapons would be insufficient in defending the station. Utilising surplus and recycled parts along with some new parts, the station's weapons and defensive systems were upgraded. The upgrade included the installation of multiple rotary torpedo launchers on the docking pylons and weapons sail towers, stowable phaser banks that stow into former runabout maintenance bays when not in use and improved shields that extend 300 meters around the station. The total capacity of torpedoes was increased to 5000.
These upgrades were first used against the Klingons in their offensive against Cardassia in early 2372. At the beginning of the Dominion War in late 2373, the station was temporarily lost to the Dominion. In early 2374, Federation and Klingon forces retook it after the Battle of Bajor.
Aside from a failed Bajoran military coup, the Dominion's occupation, and a brief leave of absence from late 2374 to early 2375, Sisko, promoted to captain in 2371, remained in command of Deep Space Nine. In late 2375, at the end of the Dominion War, Colonel Kira Nerys assumed command.
In the continuing story novels, DS9 was forced to jettison its power core due to the actions of rebel Jem'Hadar. As one of his first actions as chief of operations of the station, Nog had Empok Nor towed to the station's location, and used its power core as a replacement. The remainder of Empok Nor was broken down for scrap and spare parts.
Later, DS9 would host Bajor's formal acceptance into the Federation. With the station now under Federation law, Quark almost closed down his bar, but remained open after Rom arranged to have it designated as the Ferengi embassy to Bajor, placing it under the Jurisdiction of Ferenginar.
"Terok Nor" is also a space station in the Mirror Universe, built under the authority of the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance in orbit of Bajor (because the wormhole is unknown there). In 2370, the station is the command post for the Alliance authority throughout the Bajoran sector, under the command of Intendant Kira Nerys. The station also serves as a processing center for uridium ore mined from Bajor; the processing facilities are manned by Terran slaves.
In 2372, the Terran Rebellion wrests control of the station away from the Alliance. The Alliance, determined to recapture the station, sends a fleet under Regent Worf to fight the rebels. The rebels are able to build their own Defiant based on schematics for the Defiant in the primary universe, and they use it to defeat the Alliance fleet. Terok Nor remains a base of operations for the Terran Rebellion for at least the next three years.
- Deep Space 9 article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki
- Terok Nor article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki
- Mirror Universe Terok Nor article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki
- ^ The Star Trek Encyclopedia
- ^ Episode "Sanctuary"
