Even unfinished, the superstructure of Starbase Two was an impressive sight to behold.
Stretching to a height of nearly three hundred meters, the station was taller than the Enterprise was long. The entire lower half consisted of a cylindrical core that dropped downward in a single piece; the shiny metallic plating was interspersed with glowing veins of deep purple that would one day pulsate with the power generated within. The massive power plants and machinery bays would be far more powerful than anything Starfleet had put in space before.
Above the cylindrical core came two disks, one fifty meters above the other, before the station bulged once again into the control module that sat on top. The disks themselves possessed roughed-in rings of airlocks and umbilical cords; when finished, they would provide docking for even the largest of Starfleet vessels. Engineering teams could work from within to repair and retrofit the various starships of the fleet.
The control module itself was the broadest part of the station. Starting from its base, it flared outward as it rose before inverting into a conical pyramid. The package was nearly a hundred meters tall, and was segmented into ten levels; when the interiors of the station were complete, it would house living quarters, recreational facilities, a state-of-the-art medical bay, and the two-level command deck to oversee sector-wide operations. Extruding from the outer surface were periodic packages of sensors, communications arrays, and other assorted apparatus; and from the top, a subspace antenna stretched upwards for another fifty meters.
On one side, the Starbase shone brightly in the light of Sigma Draconis. The engineers predicted that the station would be visible to the naked eye on the surface of Berengaria; it may even be the brightest object in the sky, visible even during the light of day in the clear skies of the planet.
When it's finished, Archer reminded himself as he transported over to the shell of the Starbase. The chamber he materialized in would one day be a transporter alcove; at the moment, it was a barren cubby possessing no bulkheads and capped conduits. The transporter pad was not yet installed either; the captain beamed onto an old-fashioned doormat, and he conscientiously wiped his feet.
"Welcome aboard, Captain." The chipper voice that greeted him came from an unlikely source; the flag officer was a short, compact man of mixed Chinese and European ancestry who barely rose to Archer's shoulder.
"Commodore," Archer greeted the man warmly. Jonathan Archer and Daniel Yee had known each other for years, going back to the days before the Enterprise was commissioned. "It's quite the station you have here."
Yee chuckled lightly. "If you think it's impressive now, wait until it's finished," he rejoined as he waved the captain off the platform. "Come on, I'll show you around a bit."
Following the commodore's energetic lead, Archer stepped down and through a gaping hole in the wall that would eventually house a door. As they stepped into the barren corridor, the captain noticed the strong chill in the air; life support was still at minimum levels, and the insulation was still being installed. The visitor's directions had instructed Archer to wear Starfleet-issue thermal undergarments to protect his body temperature; as the captain's breath solidified in the air, he was grateful that he had complied.
"How long until construction is complete?" Archer asked as the two men stepped around a pile of carpeting; piles of material lay in the pathway, staged for future use.
"T-hour is set for four months," Yee observed as he spryly darted around the mounds. "Total time from start to finish should be under a year."
"That's amazing," Archer replied with surprise. It had taken several years to construct the Enterprise, which was considerably smaller. It was hard to imagine that the vacant shell would be anywhere near completion by the due date.
Yee smiled broadly as he handed Archer a pony-tank of air. "We were always capable of doing it, Jonathan," the commodore observed. "But the will wasn't there. After the Xindi attacks…many things changed."
Archer fixed the tank to his belt and strapped the tubules around his head, fitting them in underneath his nose. The concentrated oxygen was a welcome relief in the thin air of the unfinished base. "A lot of things changed," he agreed quietly. The first attack had come less than eighteen months earlier; since then, the United Earth Parliament had amended Starfleet's charter to include interstellar defense, and the organization was undergoing a vast expansion.
"How do the residents of Berengaria feel about it?" Archer asked as they walked. The colony had been largely autonomous since its founding; such a large Starfleet presence would not go over easily.
"We've been working closely with the colonial government from the start," Yee answered. He turned on a palm beacon as they rounded a corner into an unlit stretch. "We've made it clear that they retain jurisdiction over the planet itself. We've also agreed that any resident who wants to enlist can choose to be stationed here." Berengaria's current population had recently passed a hundred thousand, and was growing rapidly.
It's a good idea, Archer thought. It would ease any tensions, and get the colonists more involved in protecting their system. "What will the crew complement be?" he asked.
"It'll be around five hundred, give or take a couple," Yee replied blandly.
Archer nearly stumbled; prior to the first Xindi attack, all of Starfleet had barely five thousand.
Yee led the way down a cross-cut corridor as he spoke. "When construction is finished, Starbase One will be able to single-handedly hold off a small fleet," he commented as he snaked around a dangling hose. "Our weapons systems will be the best that Starfleet has to offer."
And with the sheer size of the power plant, power will never be a problem, Archer recognized, although one thing did disturb him. "Commodore, is that the point of the starbase?" he asked slowly, choosing his words with care. "Defense?"
Yee didn't answer. Instead, he held up a single finger and pointed forward; Archer followed as directed, and the commodore led him into an observation lounge. It was still barren of amenities—no chairs, no tables, no carpet—but the expansive, transparent plasticine was in place. The darkness of the room helped to accent the bedazzling display of starlight outside.
"Do you know which direction this is, Captain?" Yee asked softly, as if hesitant to disturb the heavens. "Right now, we're looking outward, almost on a perfect trajectory from Earth. Out there lies the great unknown."
Archer didn't reply; even a veteran spacer could be entranced by the pure beauty of space.
"In a hundred years, humanity has barely gone twenty-five light-years from home," Yee continued, speaking reverently. "But we're on the cusp of a great era of exploration, Captain; I firmly believe that. In the century to come, twenty-five light-years will be a trip around the block; our starships will reach out to explore stars that are hundreds of light-years from home. Have you ever been to St. Louis, Jonathan?"
"Once, as a boy," Archer replied, recalling a trip he had taken with his father. They had ridden the lift to the top of the Gateway Arch, which had been rebuilt in the decades following the Final World War.
"It was called the 'Gateway to the West,'" Yee observed as he watched the stars. "And that, Captain, is why this Starbase is here: we are the gateway to the great beyond."
"A forward operating base," Archer replied, understanding the analogy. In addition to sector defense, the Starbase would be a supply and requisitioning post, a repair facility, and a home base for charting missions, along with any other needs that may arise.
"There are four billion humans alive today, Jonathan," Yee replied quietly. The human population was still rebuilding from the Final World War. "If even one percent decided to live outside of the Terran system…"
"That's still forty million people," Archer responded. He shook his head slightly as he wrapped his mind around the scale.
"Forty million," Yee echoed. "Every day now, we're receiving requests for starcharts and survey details for the sectors beyond here, and we already have wildcat colonists striking out on their own. Someday—and soon—these stars will be filled with our people, Jonathan, and I intend to see that Starfleet is at the forefront."
Archer exhaled a strong breath of air. "I'll tell you something, Commodore," he replied as the gas clouded the thin, cold air. "I can't wait to see what's out there."