Starbase 12 is a Federation starbase located at Rhodes colony, at planet Rontelm in the Gamma 400 star system of the Fries-Posnikoff Sector. Starbase 12 is one of the most important outposts in the Federation as it is in reach of both the Klingon and Romulan empires. (TOS episode: "Space Seed"; TNG novel: Ship of the Line)
Starbase 12 is the closest base to the Sheridan system, where Sheridan's World is located. (ST module: Conflict of Interests)
In 2253, a diplomatic party of ambassadorial personnel from Delta Indus II were dropped off at Starbase 12 after the passenger vessel they were traveling on developed engine problems. The USS Enterprise was expected to retrieve them and ferry them the rest of the way to their homeworld. (TOS novel: Vulcan's Glory)
In the late 23rd century, Starbase 12 supported 39,000 Starfleet personnel and over 150,000 civilian employees, two-thirds of whom were Orion, so many that it counted as an Orion Colony. Apart from some occasional unrest, Rontelm was considered a showplace for Orion-Federation co-operation and harmony.
Starbase 12 was, at that time, the home of the 12th, 42nd, and 91st Strategic Forces as well as the 3rd, 6th and 7th Pursuit Groups of Scorpio-class corvettes, and reputedly was home base of an anti-pirate force which Starfleet denied the existence of at that time, with classified numbers.
The base was supplied by farms and mines on Rontelm, as well as mines on the neighboring fourth and fifth planets, and the moons of the outer planets of the system. (ST modules: Federation Ship Recognition Manual, The Orions: Book of Common Knowledge)
The USS Enterprise visited Starbase 12 at least three times during James T. Kirk's five-year mission. (TOS novels: The Joy Machine, Ishmael, The Final Reflection)
In 2285, the surviving crewmembers of the USS Reliant were transferred to Starbase 12 after their ship's destruction. (TOS comic: "The Wormhole Connection")
In 2336, a shuttle piloted by Starfleet Intelligence agent Laura Burke was found destroyed in an asteroid field within several parsecs of Starbase 12. (TLE novel: Well of Souls)
The USS Enterprise-D traveled to Starbase 12 in 2366 for a maintenance overhaul. (TNG episode: "Captain's Holiday")
In 2370, the wife of USS Odyssey chief engineer Commander Rodzinski was stationed at Starbase 12. (DS9 novella: The Second Artifact)
In 2372, construction of the USS Enterprise-E and USS Roderick both took place at Starbase 12. (TNG novel: Ship of the Line)
By the 24th century, Starbase 12 had a fully operational Federation-built space station facility which was active in the late 2370s, after the Dominion War. (TNG video games: Armada, Armada II)
By 2379, Starbase 12 had been moved to the New Holland Colony in the Maelstrom for some reason. (TNG video game: Bridge Commander)
- In Armada, the starbase's space station name was randomly assigned to a playing field station by the game software.
- The timeline inside the FASA Star Trek IV Sourcebook Update claims Starbase 12 was built in 2265 in response to a Klingon base at Mastocal, after the Four Years War. However, the TNG episode: "Power Play" makes it clear that a facility with this name existed as early as 2167. There is some uncertainty as to which portion of Starbase 12 was built at that time, as Ship of the Line and the FASA module: The Orions: Book of Common Knowledge has the base being a planetside facility, while Ishmael describes it as an alien space station refurbished for Federation use, while Armada describes a standard Federation station. It is fully possible that all three are part of the same base complex.
Station visits
- 2167
- USS Essex visits Starbase 12. (TNG episode: "Power Play")
- 2253
- USS Enterprise sets course for Starbase 12. (TOS novel: Vulcan's Glory)
- 2267
- USS Enterprise diverts from Starbase 12 course to visit Ceti Alpha. (TOS episode: "Space Seed")
- USS Enterprise undergoes a maintenance layover at Starbase 12. (TOS novel: The Joy Machine)
- USS Enterprise visits space station of Starbase 12. (TOS novel: Ishmael)
- 2269
- USS Enterprise visits space station of Starbase 12. (TOS novel: The Starship Trap)
- 2270
- USS Enterprise arrives for maintenance. (TOS novel: Black Fire)
- USS Raven stolen from Starbase 12. (TOS novel: Black Fire)
- 2278
- USS Bozeman visits Starbase 12. (TNG episode: "Cause and Effect")
- 2364
- Starbase 12 evacuated for two days. (TNG episode: "Conspiracy")
- 2366
- USS Enterprise-D arrives for maintenance. (TNG episode: "Captain's Holiday")
- 2369
- USS Enterprise-D plans for possible visit to Starbase 12. (TNG episode: "Aquiel")
- 2372
- USS Enterprise-E constructed onsite. (TNG novel: Ship of the Line)
- USS Bozeman-A constructed onsite. (TNG novel: Ship of the Line)
- USS Dauntless and USS Sovereign assigned to Starbase 12 (TNG video game: Bridge Commander)
Appendices
Connections
External links
- Starbase 12 article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.
- Starbase 12 article at Star Trek Expanded Universe wiki, the wiki for fan-authored Star Trek.