The Azure Nebula was a class 11 nebula located on a border of the Federation and the Klingon Empire in the galaxy's Beta Quadrant. The nebular gases it was composed of included oxygen, argon, theta-xenon, fluorine, and sirillium. (VOY episode & novelization: Flashback)
History and specifics[]
The nebula was created in the year 2168 by the supernova explosion of the star which was charted as FGC-SR37-758. Until the nova occurred, the star was orbited by the planet Erigol, the homeworld of the Caeliar civilization. That explosion also created a series of subspace passages leading to numerous points across and beyond the Milky Way galaxy. (ST - Destiny novel: Gods of Night)
In 2293, the USS Excelsior encountered a Klingon battle cruiser commanded by Captain Kang during an attempt to rescue Captain James T. Kirk from Klingon custody. The Excelsior escaped when Captain Hikaru Sulu ignited the nebula's sirillium gas. The Azure Nebula had a superficial similarity to the class 17 nebula encountered in the Delta Quadrant by the USS Voyager that triggered a memory virus to surface within Lieutenant Tuvok. (VOY episode & novelization: Flashback)
In 2381, the Borg Collective began using the Azure Nebula's subspace tunnel network to invade Federation space. The Starfleet starships USS Enterprise-E and USS Aventine eventually discovered this network, and called for an allied armada to gather in the Azure Nebula against an anticipated Borg invasion. The USS Titan also independently located the other terminus of subspace tunnels by unintentionally uncovering the hidden planet New Erigol by detecting the high-energy byproducts of the tunnels. By extrapolating the energy pulses, chief tactical officer Tuvok determined that one path intercepted the nebula. While the vessels were investigating the network, an armada of 7,461 Borg vessels entered the Alpha Quadrant through the Azure Nebula, attacking an assembled fleet of more than 300 vessels. The USS Voyager was the only ship of that fleet to survive the engagement. (ST - Destiny novel: Mere Mortals)
The Azure Nebula was also the place where the Borg Collective met its final end. The Caeliar city ship Axion used its Omega molecule generator to lure the entire Borg armada to the Azure Nebula. The Caeliar then proceeded to dismantle the Collective, freeing trillions of Drones in the process. (ST - Destiny novel: Lost Souls)
In 2409, the Tholian Assembly established a permanent presence in the Azure Nebula and the surrounding sectors. (STO - New Romulus mission: "Tau Dewa Sector Patrol (Daily)")
The Tholians established bases on asteroids in the nebula, capturing Romulan Republic warbirds and holding them at the bases with tractor beams. The Republic dispatched the IRW M'sarr and the RRW M'sarr light warbirds with an escort of five Allied ships to rescue as many Romulans as possible. The task force attacked each of the four Tholian bases, Aganippe, Dryope, Glauke and Otheis to battle Tholian flotillas and rescue the Romulan warbirds. (STO - Task Force Operations: Romulan Mystery mission: "Azure Nebula Rescue")
Alternate timelines[]
In 2409 of an alternate timeline, the USS Enterprise-C emerged from the past into one of the subspace tunnels within the Nebula, during its attempt to return to 2344 to participate in a historically-important battle with Romulan forces to defend the Klingon colony at Narendra III. In this timeline, although not allies, much bickering between the Alpha powers left the Federation and Klingon Empire in weakened states, permitting the Dominion and Breen Confederacy an easy victory over the Alpha Quadrant. The Tholian Assembly, which had signed a non-aggression pact, was left alone and given that sector of space. The Enterprise-C and her crew were held at a Tholian mining base on an asteroid within the nebula. However, the Enterprise-C was able to escape with help from natives of the altered timeline. Even in the "corrected" timeline, the Azure Nebula remains a base of operations for the Tholians, who take advantage of the area's subspace tunnels to acquire technology and prisoners from across space, time, and even other dimensions. (STO mission: "Temporal Ambassador")
- The top-view map projection of Star Charts places the Azure Nebula within Federation territory near Klingon space. "Flashback" and "Star Trek: Destiny" further establish that the nebula touches arms of the Klingon Empire and the Romulan Star Empire. In Star Trek Online the nebula is located in the Tau Dewa sector block, on the border of Federation and Klingon space and within the territory of the fledgling Romulan Republic.
Appendices[]
Connections[]
Tau Dewa sector block | |
---|---|
Azure sector | Acamar (Theta Eridani) (Acamar Prime, Acamar III) • Azure Nebula • Carraya (Carraya IV) • Japori (Japori II) • Jouret (Jouret IV, Dyson sphere gateway) • Khitomer (Khitomer) • Suliban/Suliban system (Suliban Helix) • Virinat (Virinat) |
Narendra sector | Archer (Archer IV) • Galorndon Core (Galorndon Core) • Gamma Eridon (Gamma Eridon II) • Gasko (Gasko II, Gasko Station) • Narendra (Narendra III) • Nequencia (Nequencia colony) • Pheben (Pheben III, Pheben V) |
Nimbus sector | Beta Lankal (Beta Lankal (planet), Beta Lankal (planetoid)) • Beta Thoridor (Beta Thoridor) • Chaltok (Chaltok IV) • Gamma Crateris (Crateris colony) • Dewa (Dewa III ~ New Romulus ~ DiWahn) • Nimbus (Nimbus III) • Starbase 234 (Starbase 234 system) |
Star clusters and nebulae in Star Trek Online | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Alpha Quadrant | Betreka Nebula • Rolor Nebula • Zenas Expanse | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Beta Quadrant | Afehirr Nebula • Arucanis Arm • Azlesa Expanse • Azure Nebula • B'Tran Cluster • Briar Patch • Celes Nebula • ChoS Nebula • D'kel Star Cluster • Delta Volanis Cluster • Eridan Belt • Eridon Nebula • Great Bloom • Hromi Cluster • Kahless Expanse • Khazan Cluster • Mutara Nebula • Paulson Nebula • T'Kanis Nebula • T'Ong Nebula • Yan Nebula |
External links[]
- Azure Nebula article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.
- Azure Nebula article at Star Trek Online Wiki.