Starbase 260

Starbase 260
General Information
Class	Vision-class
Affiliation	Starfleet
Status	Active
Commissioned	2365
Location
Quadrant	Alpha Quadrant
Assignment
Role	Task Force 86 Support Base
Task Force	Task Force 86
Personnel
Commanding Officer	Captain Hagon Zaff
Executive Officer	Commander Evan Price
Template:Starbase

Starbase 260 is a Vision-class station near the Federation border with the Ferengi Alliance. As a light outpost, its primary role is to support peaceful commerce and interactions between citizens of both powers. This makes Starbase 260 a hub for trade with the Ferengi and other local powers. It is responsible for curbing smuggling or trade law evasion threats, both onboard and on neighboring Federation border worlds and colonies. While physical threats to Starbase 260 are limited, little of this border crime providing a direct danger, it has been described as the most exhausting outpost in the Federation.

Starbase 260 is assigned to Task Force 86, and acts as an outpost in their duty in maintaining border security across the Federation. From SB-260, ships of TF86 can monitor local criminal activity, while also keeping a weather eye on potential border risks such as the Ionite Nebula, a recent site of incursion by the Breen in 2399.

Design and Layout

Starbase 260 is a Vision-class station strategically positioned near the Federation's border with the Ferengi Alliance. The station is designed with a modular structure, featuring multiple docking bays capable of accommodating various starship classes. The command center, located centrally, oversees the starbase’s operations, including monitoring trade and security.

Residential and commercial areas are integrated throughout the station, catering to Starfleet personnel and civilian traders. The promenade is a bustling hub of activity, featuring shops, restaurants, and recreational facilities. Advanced sensor arrays and defensive systems ensure the starbase's security, while its spacious cargo bays and transport hubs facilitate the high volume of trade traffic typical of this region. The station’s design prioritizes efficient commerce and border security management, reflecting its role as a critical outpost for trade and law enforcement.

Mission Operations

Starbase 260 plays a key role within Task Force 86, which is focused on maintaining security and stability along the Federation's borders. As part of this task force, the starbase facilitates peaceful trade with the Ferengi Alliance and supports Task Force 86's broader mission of border defense and crisis response. Starbase 260 coordinates patrols, gathers intelligence on potential threats and serves as a staging ground for Task Force 86 operations, ensuring that the Federation’s interests are protected in this strategically vital region.

The starbase is not huge, with a crew of only a few hundred; with civilian residents and even visitors, its population rarely exceeds one thousand people. It acts as a minor resupply hub, able to observe the local area and provide basic support for nearby ships, including offering crews of smaller or more cramped vessels space and facilities for R&R. But it remains a mixture of lonely and intense, stuck on a busy frontier that feels quite remote from the rest of the Federation, and lacks the size or facilities to feel like a city in space.

History

Starbase 260 was built in 2365 to monitor the border with the Ferengi Alliance just as relations were beginning to soften. Quickly, it transitioned from an outpost with a primarily strategic duty, acting as an early-warning system against incursions from aggressive DaiMons, to a border management hub. As the relationship with the Ferengi transitioned from that of a tense neighbour to a potential trading partner, SB-260's focus shifted to more of a customs outpost, monitoring trade and imports, while offering protection to ships moving along these trade lanes.

It has never seen serious threat, and would be too small to repel a significant military assault anyway. In its thirty-five years of service, SB-260 has dispatched missions to run down pirates, intercept smugglers, and provide aid to trade ships in distress. Upon the Breen attack on Starbase 38 in 2399, SB-260 provided secondary support, housing supplies and helping with the repairs of low-priority ships, and assisted in monitoring the Ionite Nebula for additional threats in the aftermath. In 2401, SB-260 was assigned to the Fourth Fleet's Task Force 86, which could oversee its responsibilities as a border outpost.

Crew of Starbase 260

Captain Hagon Zaff

Captain Hagon Zaff is the Commanding Officer of Starbase 260. This experienced and cheerful Bolian is known for his friendly and gregarious nature. Zaff loves interacting with everyone, inviting people over for dinner, and enjoying quality bonding time. He is seen as a skilled diplomat and knows how to deal with the Ferengi. In the Breen incursion of 2399, Captain Zaff demonstrated his logistical and strategic mind, overseeing SB-260's support of Starbase 38 and the ensuing increase in security and surveillance of the Ionite Nebula.

Commander Evan Price

Commander Evan Price is the Executive Officer of Starbase 260. This trickster of a human is known to act on his instinct. With his skill set in engineering, he knows how to deal with and coordinate with the most upcoming problems of an old-designed starbase such as 260. Evan has a reputation for being a gambling man, yet he uses this skill in the field and works most of the time in his favor.

Lieutenant Commander Nilo Tunem

Lieutenant Commander Nilo Tunem is the Chief of Operations of Starbase 260. She is a veteran Trill who is experienced in both ship and starbase operations. Nilo is described as the most organized person Captain Zaff has ever met. Following her guidance is important, seeing that Starbase 260 is a busy hub of ongoing traffic.

In Play

• Starbase 260 is a Task Force 86 asset and can be featured in stories within the task force.
• SB-260 Ideal for facilitating trade or diplomatic missions with the Ferengi, or encountering border security challenges.
• You can reference Starbase 260 as a source of trade regulation, background intel, or as a hub for your crew’s resupply.
• It’s suitable for scenarios involving smuggling operations, border skirmishes, or trade disputes.
• SB-260 is like a smaller, more Starfleet, more tense version of Deep Space 9 - with more Ferengi. It's a frontier town expected to deal with some of the most engaged, yet also challenging neighbours the Federation has. It's not so much a den of scum and villainy or the beacon of light on a crime-ridden frontier, so much as the inauspicious cleaning crew for a slightly grimy area.
• Contact the Task Force CO or XO for approval if using Starbase 260 significantly, such as in major diplomatic events or security breaches.