Battle of Astrofori One

The Battle of Astrofori One occurred in 2395 on stardate 239511.03 between the Tholian Assembly and the United Federation of Planets. It resulted in the destruction of Astrofori One and the loss of the Federation's main outpost in the Menthar Corridor.

Ships involved

United Federation of Planets

• USS Minerva
• USS Stalwart

Tholian Assembly

• 322 Tholian vessels

Prelude to the battle

Earlier that year (2395), the Romulan Star Empire launched a full-scale invasion of Duronis II. Starfleet was able to successfully repel the invasion, and in response, the Federation Council imposed sanctions against the Romulan Star Empire for the provocation. The Romulans subsequently withdrew their support from the Astrofori One project. As one of the four major powers supporting the project, the Romulans' departure represented a major loss to the station's defensive presence. After the Romulans withdrew their support, the Breen followed suit, leaving Starfleet and the Kubarey as the station's only defense.

Meanwhile, the notoriously xenophobic Tholian Assembly had grown increasingly impatient with what they viewed as foreign encroachment towards their territory ever since the USS Mercury first ventured out into the Menthar Corridor in 2388. The Mercury was subsequently replaced by the much larger and more powerful USS Garuda in 2390 and then the USS Invicta and several support ships as part of the Invicta Expedition in 2392. While the Federation had established an outpost in the Menthar Corridor with Deep Space 10 in 2389, the completion of the much larger Astrofori One station in 2392 established a permanent presence not just for the Federation but also many other Alpha and Beta Quadrant powers right on the doorsteps of the Tholians.

With Astrofori One's defenses reduced by the Romulan and Breen withdrawal, the Tholians decided to intervene in late 2395.

See also

• Embassy of Duronis II May 2395 mission report:
  • "Starfleet repels Romulan invasion of Duronis
• Federation News Service articles:
  • Stardate 239510.18: "Federation Council announces sanctions against Romulan Star Empire for failed Duronis invasion"
  • Stardate 239510.24: "Romulan Star Empire withdraws support from Astrofori One in response to Federation sanctions"

Course of the battle

On stardate 239511.03, while patrolling Astrofori One's defense perimeter, the USS Minerva detected a fleet of 322 Tholian vessels heading towards the station. The Tholians hailed the Minerva and issued an ultimatum:

"Federation vessel, this will be your only advisement. Your presence in this sector is a violation of Tholian sovereignty. Furthermore, the Assembly will no longer tolerate the threat to our security from the illegal outpost that you have installed. You have precisely one hour to evacuate from the outpost before its neutralization."

USS Minerva and USS Stalwart subsequently engaged the Tholian fleet to buy time for Astrofori One's evacuation. Though both Starfleet ships ultimately were lost, the Minerva and Stalwart were able to stall the fleet long enough for the station's occupants to evacuate before its destruction by the Tholian fleet.

Outcome

• Decisive Tholian victory
• Destruction of Astrofori One, USS Minerva, and USS Stalwart
• Loss of Federation stronghold in the Menthar Corridor
• Activation of ancient Menthar AI defense system known as Sentinel, ultimately resulting in the Battle of Gamma Camelopardalis in 2396.

See also

• "The Fall of Astrofori One": series of sims depicting the battle
• Flashpoint: mission pages for the two "Flashpoint" missions that occurred in the wake of battle