Vanguard (station)

For the mirror universe counterpart, see Imperial Starbase 47.

Starbase 47, Vanguard
Class:	Watchtower-class
Facility type:	Starbase
Affiliation:	Federation, Starfleet
Location:	Taurus Reach
Constructed:	2263-2265
Status:	destroyed (2268)

Vanguard was the name given to Starfleet Starbase 47. It was a Watchtower-class station constructed by the Starfleet Corps of Engineers between 2263 and 2265 in the Taurus Reach, a region beyond Federation space, between the Klingon Empire and the Tholian Assembly. It was declared fully operational on stardate 1271.4 under the command of Commodore Diego Reyes. (VAN novel: Harbinger)

In 2266, Vanguard's crewmembers worked in three duty shifts: Alpha shift was from 0700 to 1500 hours, Beta shift from 1500 to 2300 hours, and Gamma shift from 2300 to 0700 hours.

Rear Admiral Heihachiro Nogura assumed command of Vanguard after Reyes' court martial. (VAN novel: Open Secrets)

In 2267, a Klingon fleet under Captain Kutal was immobilized by the Organians as it prepared to assault the station. Later that year, Vanguard suffered damage when attacked by the Shedai Wanderer. (VAN novel: Precipice)

Destruction

In late 2268, experiments on Mirdonyae Artifacts in Vanguard's secret laboratory, the Vault, drew the attention of the Tholians. Their history with the Shedai imprisoned within the artifacts was enough to provoke them into mustering an armada, consisting of approximately twenty percent of their active combat fleet, and heading to the station to destroy the Shedai before they escaped and enslaved them once more.

Admiral Nogura ordered an evacuation of all civilians and non-essential Starfleet personnel. To that end, he ordered every civilian ship within three days of Vanguard to assist in the evacuation. A small fleet of Starfleet vessels remained to defend the station. The fleet consisted of the USS Buenos Aires, USS Endeavour, USS Panama, USS Sagittarius and, at the last moment, the USS Enterprise.

Despite a valiant defence, Starfleet was outgunned five-to-one, and the Buenos Aires and Panama were destroyed. Vanguard was severely damaged and, after the Tholians ignored Nogura's request for surrender, he ordered the fleet to retreat even though the station had not been fully evacuated. Cut off in the Vault, Lieutenant Ming Xiong activated the self destruct when the vengeful Shedai escaped from their containment. The resulting explosion obliterated Vanguard and wiped out the Shedai, it also destroyed most of what was left of the Tholian armada. Operation Vanguard was officially over. (VAN novel: Storming Heaven)

By 2270, the designation of "Starbase 47" had been transferred to another facility near the Romulan Neutral Zone. (TOS comic: "The Chosen")

By 2343, the designation had been transferred again to a facility near Cardassian space. (TLE novel: The Art of the Impossible)

Station specifications and layout

• Height: 921 meters
• Width: 849 meters
• Standard crew complement: 2,400
• Standard duty shift complement: 800
• Standard guest capacity: 1,200
• Emergency guest capacity: 61,500
• Power source: Mark IX matter/antimatter reactor
• Defences: deflector shields
• Armaments: 12 phaser/photon torpedo emplacements

(Specifications are from Harbinger's fold-out diagrams.)

Sections

Docking bays

USS Endeavour leaving docking bay 1

Vanguard had at least 92 docking bays for vessels of varying sizes. The four main bays in the primary hull could accomodate starships up to the size of the Constitution-class, while the others catered for smaller ships and shuttlecraft. Docking Bay 92 was large enough to service Cervantes Quinn's Mancharan starhopper, Rocinante. (VAN novel: Harbinger)

Lower core

The lower core was serviced by four turbolift shafts, and included the secret laboratory, the Vault. Cargo bays were located through levels 44 to 51. (VAN novel: Storming Heaven)

Assigned Starfleet vessels

• USS Akhiel (2266 - 2268)
• USS Bombay (2265, destroyed)
• USS Buenos Aires (2266 - 2268, destroyed)
• USS Defiant (2267 - 2268, lost)
• USS Endeavour (2265 - 2268)
• USS Gloucester (2267)
• USS Hannibal (2266)
• USS Intrepid (2267)
• USS Lovell (2265 - 2268, destroyed)
• USS Panama (2268, destroyed)
• USS Sagittarius (2265 - 2268)
• USS Theseus (2266)

Personnel

Unless otherwise noted, personnel listing is as of 2265 and is of main characters. For a full listing, see the relevant sections of this page.

Starfleet

• Rear Admiral Heihachiro Nogura, commanding officer (2266-)
• Commodore Diego Reyes, commanding officer (2265-2266)
• Commander Jon Cooper, executive officer
• Captain Rana Desai, senior JAG officer
• Doctor Ezekiel Fisher, chief medical officer
• Doctor Jabilo M'Benga, medical staff (2265-2267)
• Lieutenant Commander/Lieutenant junior grade T'Prynn, intelligence officer
• Lieutenant Haniff Jackson, security chief
• Lieutenant Isaiah Farber, senior engineering officer
• Lieutenant Judy Dunbar, senior communications officer
• Lieutenant Ming Xiong, archeology & anthropology officer
• Lieutenant/Lieutenant commander Holly Moyer, JAG
• Ensign/Lieutenant Junior Grade Toby Greenfield, Commodore Reyes' alpha-shift yeoman

Federation diplomats

• Ambassador Jetanien, a Rigelian Chelon, senior Federation diplomat
• Anna Sandesjo, aka Lurqal, Federation diplomatic attache/Klingon spy
• Akeylah Karumé, diplomatic envoy assigned to Ambassador Lugok of the Klingon delegation

Klingon diplomat

• Ambassador Lugok

Tholian diplomat

• Ambassador Sesrene

Civilians

• Tim Pennington, journalist
• Cervantes Quinn, human trader, prospector, rogue
• Ganz, Orion merchant-prince
• Zett Nilric, Nalori assassin and right hand of Ganz
• Manón, Silgov female, owner of Manón's, a cabaret lounge in Stars Landing
• Doctor Carol Marcus, human female assigned to manage research in the Vault
• Tom Walker, bartender and owner of Tom Walker's

Astrography

Gariman sector: neighboring sector along the Klingon border to Deep Space Station K-7.

Nearby worlds

• Kessik IV
• Ravanar IV
• Boam II
• Yerad III
• McIlvain's Planet
• Erilon
• Jinoteur system
• Palgrenax system
• Zenstala II
• Dorala
• Korinar
• Golmira