History

SPOILERS FOLLOW!

When the Matrian Empire was at the height of its power, a growing enviromental movement convinced the ruling Council of Mistresses that the best way to manage a growing population without impacting their homeworld would be to build cities in space instead of on the surface. The first such city to be launched, Matronus, proved sufficiently successful that further cities were planned. Unfortunately, Matronus was clandestinely destroyed by the Council as part of a secret plan that would trigger a massive war and aid them in cementing their control over the Empire. The city that would become known as Haven, or Starbase 341, was under construction at the time Matronus was destroyed. In an effort to preserve it, it was hidden beneath the Evendra Desert and all record of its existance erased. Two hundred years later, the city was discovered by the crew of the USS Silverado and used as a hiding place during the Qu’Eh occupation of Matria Prime. Eventually, the city was launched and the occupation ended.


Starbase 341 buried beneath the Evendra Desert

Overview

Haven was designed to function as a fully independant city, providing living space, recreation, commerce, business space and industry for its residents. In addition, it was intended to serve as a gateway between Matria Prime and the various colony worlds of the Empire and beyond. With the Empire gone and a new Matrian Republic having been formed, the city has been designated Starbase 341 and serves as the Federation presence in the Matrian sector. Intended to be a city and not merely a space station, Haven was constructed with a fully functional ecosystem including plants, animals and weather.

The city itself is disc-shaped and consists of a thick ring-shaped structure known as the Outer Rim and a domed city proper.


Starbase 341 - Dorsal View

The City

The centerpiece of Haven is its domed city. Consisting of many dozens of towers and smaller buildings, the city is the commercial, social and residential hub of Starbase 341. Energy generation and life support are housed below ‘ground level’ and in certain secure buildings. Unlike another fictional space-city that shall not be named, Haven is fully airtight beneath its dome, and individual buildings are made airtight in the event of a dome breach. So there’s no danger of everybody suffocating if the power goes out.

The city is divided into two areas, seperated by the central ring-shaped lake. The island area including the central Command Tower is considered to be Downtown, while the rest of the city is generally referred to as the Suburbs.

Unlike most Federation outposts, Haven’s network of turbolifts do not normally allow one to travel between any two points of the city. Instead, to handle traffic (and reduce gluteus maximus expansion) the residents of the city must walk or make use of the extensive tram transit system. The central interchange of the transit system, the Transit Hub, is located directly beneath the Command Tower at the exact center of the city. A large, ring-shaped space, the Transit Hub contains much commercial space, in addition to connecting directly to the six Atriums that serve as shopping malls, theaters or performance halls.


Starbase 341 - Downtown


Starbase 341 - Transit Hub


Starbase 341 - Command Tower & Departmental Towers


Starbase 341 - The City

Haven Command Complex

The equivalent of a bridge or Ops, the Command Complex is the brain of the city. Perched in a pod-shaped structure at the peak of the Command Tower, the Command Complex has three levels including an upper command deck, a middle deck with several large monitors and a lower deck with turbolift access. The large windows are equipped with holographic overlays, allowing crew to examine the city itself or external objects.


Command Complex - Lower Level


Command Complex - Upper Level (Buried)

Outer Rim & Underground

The Outer Rim, along with the ‘underground’ areas of the central city, are easily the more utilitarian and ‘space-station-type’ sections of Haven. These areas contain docking and cargo facilities, including twelve major docking bays, six shipyards and numerous docking ports. The defensive weapons systems of the city are also located in these areas. Several antigravity & impulse engines are mounted along the underside of the Outer Rim, used to launch the city as well as for subluminal maneouvering.

Due to its rediculous size, the city cannot generate enough power to launch itself. A massive geo-thermal energy generation and storage system was built into the city construction site and enough power was transferred to the city to get it into orbit. The energy transciever remains a part of the city, though its uses are now limited.

The Outer Rim is further divided into two sections. Spaceside refers to the sections of the Rim that face out into space, while the Inner Rim holds numerous apartment buildings that look into the city dome.


Inner Rim - Apartments


Outer Rim - Shipyard, Docking Bay, Engine Assembly & Energy Transceiver visible.

Misc


Outer Rim - Docking Bay Interior


Typical Transit Station