Outpost Unity: A slice of home in the Delta Quadrant

In the far reaches of the Delta Quadrant lies a station offering both new sights and familiar comforts and tastes for the adventuring traveler.

With increasing frequency, quantum starliners are crisscrossing the vastness of space, turning far-flung destinations into reasonable getaways. Planets such as Bajor, Cestus III, and Deneb IV can now be reached from Earth in hours or days instead of weeks, and the skies are opening up to a new wave of casual holiday makers.

For hardcore travelers, however, slipstream travel presents a unique opportunity to journey to another corner of the galaxy, and Outpost Unity, a newly constructed space station in the Delta Quadrant, is quickly gaining a reputation as an adventure tourism hotspot.

Located in the Pouiyeog region near the border between the Beta and Delta Quadrants, Outpost Unity is a joint Talaxian–Federation installation constructed on the exterior of a Dyson sphere. The showpiece of its hub-and-spoke design is the Dome, where Unity’s commercial, trade, and recreation facilities are housed. Despite being 30,000 light years from home, new arrivals will quickly find all the creature comforts of a Federation starbase in a unique, wooded setting.

At the centre of the Dome is the circular Central Green, complete with a massive Talaxian Guiding Tree and assorted fauna, walking paths, and a large pond fed by a stream. Visitors can meander barefoot through lush green space, and visit the Federation Garden, within which grows at least one plant endemic to every Federation member planet.

Operating on a standard Talaxian 20-hour day, the Dome cycles between day mode and night mode every ten hours, giving horticulture enthusiasts a rare chance to see the galaxy’s largest known collection of night-blooming luminescent Talaxian orchids.

Ringing the Central Green is Unity’s Promenade, where the bulk of the retail and trade offerings can be found. Any Federation visitors suffering from homesickness can find edible solutions at a number of establishments catering to the Alpha Quadrant palate. Among the more popular outlets are BlueSea Bolian Deli, famous for its breakfast sushi; Johnny Laser’s, a Terran diner specializing in the Galaxy Burger; and Marcel’s, a café in French provincial style. Unity even has a franchise of the popular Bajoran/Terran chain, The Orb of Taste.

Visitors looking to experience local fare can drop into A Slice of Spice, Unity’s Talaxian eatery. The menu changes daily, with entrees like roast thill with soral stuffing served on a bed of pigweed shallots, and fried booky wings with pruder bean casserole and swamp tubers. In keeping with Talaxian culinary tradition, the wait staff is on hand to provide a tableside history of each meal.

Within the Dome’s outer blocks are Unity’s most desirable housing flats, and while most are off-limits to temporary visitors, a few can be rented for medium-length stays. Also on the outer fringes are a Bajoran Temple, a tour operator offering excursions to the nearby Talaxian homeworld, and a shuttlepod-for-hire agency, allowing visitors to explore the exterior of the Dyson sphere on which the outpost is built.

Despite the rush of new establishments, the space within the Dome is still less than 50% occupied. Scheduled to open next month is a branch campus of the Rigelian Polytechnic Institute, and later this year, a live theatre to be operated by the newly formed Outpost Unity Amateur Dramatics Society.

Most travel to and from Outpost Unity originates from either Starbase 118 or Deep Space 6, and takes between two to four weeks. Unfortunately, none of the major commercial starliners has announced plans for scheduled service to Unity, meaning the only viable options at this time are Starfleet vessels.

PLANNING YOUR VISIT

• Location: Pouiyeog region, Delta Quadrant
• Dominant Native Species: Talaxian
• Travel Arrangements: Contact Starfleet Operations for information about employment, work/study, and other opportunities to be placed aboard a vessel traveling to the region.

• About the Author
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About Nash Blaxland

Nash Blaxland is a human journalist with a career spanning over 20 years. A graduate of the University of Tasmania and the University of Alpha Centauri, Blaxland is a fifth-generation journalist and has been a correspondent for the Federation News Service since 2392, based from both Earth and StarBase 118.

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