Klondike Caverns

Klondike Caverns was the Starfleet facility established on Norala IV after the Federation incursion into the Freeworlds Region of the Par'tha Expanse.

After their successful rebuilding of the Chon defense outpost into Deep Space 26, Admiral Krieger sent many expedition teams throughout the Freeworlds Region to scout locations for a ground installation. Scouts discovered the icy world of Norala IV. While not a first choice for a supply base, the fact that it was uninhabited by sentient beings, and had an abundance of raw materials which could be mined and refined, both on the planet and in the nearby asteroid belt. The scouts recommended the world to Admiral Krieger, who agreed to their proposal.

Lt. Cmdr. Wembly, head of the Starfleet Corps of Engineers on DS26, was sold the location of a series of caves by an old smuggler. Wembly was then dispatched to Norala IV to plan and oversee the construction of what would become Klondike Caverns. Geothermal analysis indicated that the best location for the base was on the northern edge on the only livable temperate band near the equator. Wembly's engineers built the base under the mountains of the Granger Range south of the Blethim Ice Flow and reinforced the natural ice caverns beneath the surface of Hoth to serve as pathways.

After a standard year, Klondike Caverns was completed. Two large bay doors provided main entrances at the north and south ends of the mountain range. The hangar was one of the first segments built to allow for the steady flow of resources. The facility included some perimeter defenses, communications unit, shielding, habitation, a medical facility and command center. At its height, the base housed 200 miners and command personnel, 30 support personnel, and 5 medical personnel. The hangar was large enough to simultaneously house at least ten medium transports, and twelve shuttles.