Starbases are supposed to be a home away from home for starship crews, a sanctuary where they can take a time-out in Starfleet-approved surroundings. Starbase 80 is different, a space station so riven with neglect that many officers believe it's cursed.
Starbase 80 has been mentioned on several previous occasions in "Star Trek: Lower Decks" — Mariner was temporarily exiled there, while Captain Freeman's doppelganger is the station's commander in a parallel universe. Now, in new episode "Starbase 80?!", we get to see what life is really like at the Federation's least desirable pitstop.
When a routine mission to Piskes 9 leaves the USS Cerritos without a functioning warp drive, the ship is forced to make an unwanted detour to Starbase 80 to pick up the nav computer it needs to continue its mission. The zombie infestation they encounter on the station seems to confirm all their prejudices about Deep Space Nine's bargain basement cousin — but there's more to Starbase 80 than messed-up gravity and corn dogs.
Spoiler warning! Caution advised if you haven't watched this week's episode.
What is a Starbase in "Star Trek"?
A Starbase is essentially a permanent Starfleet installation. It can be a space station, a base on the surface of a planet or moon, or even a Spacedock for mooring starships. They provide a safe haven for Federation members, whether they're looking for repairs, supplies or simply somewhere to hang out.
Farpoint station in "The Next Generation" pilot episode "Encounter at Farpoint" fits the bill, even though it was built on a giant space jellyfish, while Yorktown (in the alternative Kelvin timeline of "Star Trek: Beyond") is effectively a giant floating city. The most famous example of a Starbase is Deep Space Nine (originally a Cardassian base known as Terok Nor), which lent its name to its own long-running TV series.
In canon, Starbases date back to the earliest days of Starfleet, when Captain Jonathan Archer and his crew of 22nd century explorers sought out potential locations for permanent settlements across the galaxy ("Star Trek: Enterprise").
What's so bad about Starbase 80?
Starbase 80 could do with going on a serious PR offensive, seeing as it's widely regarded as "the worst Starbase in the quadrant".
It's a destination where one-size-fits-some uniforms come as standard and, if its residents are to be believed, a general odor of garbage and sweat lingers on the air. It's reputation is so bad that a posting to Starbase 80 has become a punishment for underperforming Starfleet officers. This is exactly why Beckett Mariner found herself banished to the station after her mom, Captain Carol Freeman, mistakenly believed the junior officer had dished the dirt to a visiting journalist ("Trusted Sources").
Mariner was so haunted by the experience that she believes floating in space indefinitely, waiting for a rescue that may never come, would be preferable to visiting Starbase 80. In short, she thinks Starbase 80 is cursed, with the ability to turn regular smart people into "total buffoons".
Captain Freeman also has her reasons for giving Starbase 80 a wide berth. When the crew met alternative versions of themselves from a parallel universe 0.327% different from their own in "Dos Cerritos", she learned that her alternate self had been stationed there against her will — a fate she's desperate to avoid for herself.
Why do the Cerritos crew have to apply gel before they land on Starbase 80?
The Starbase 80 transporters are not safe for "organic use", meaning that the crew have to travel there via traditional docking procedures. No transporters means no biofilters so, in order to avoid the transfer of harmful substances, the crew are required to cover themselves in decontaminant gel.
It's a nod to the procedure regularly carried out on Archer's Enterprise 200 years earlier. "Check me out, I'm a total T'Pol over here," says Bradward Boimler (whose facial hair continues to progress nicely), referencing Archer's Vulcan second-in-command.
Cerritos first officer Jack Ransom enjoys applying the gel much more than anyone should.
Is Starbase 80 really that bad?
That depends on your point of view. While diplomatic liaison Kassia Nox sees Starbase 80 as a place for "second chances", few outsiders would describe station's serious bat infestation as a selling point. Ultimately, however, most of Starbase 80's issues boil down to a lack of investment from Starfleet.
As such it feels like a relic of the past, with "Enterprise"-era uniforms, turbolifts operated by hand rather than voice controls, and corn dog vendors in place of Starfleet-standard food replicators. With no holodecks on board the crew spend their time playing arcade games, and — thanks to some localized issues with the gravity plating — things have a tendency to get a bit topsy-turvy. This is why chief engineer Gene Jakobowski cons Freeman and Ransom into carrying out on-the-fly station repairs, making them wait for the nav processor the Cerritos requires to continue its mission.
The classic Starfleet communication badge never made it to Starbase 80 either, but that particular oversight may have been a blessing in disguise…
Why do the Cerritos crew start turning into zombie-like creatures with a penchant for licking walls and triggering self-destruct mechanisms?
Despite Mariner's assumption that her crewmates have been infected by the curse of Section 80, Cerritos actually brought the pathogen with them from Piskes 9. It turns out that a young anaphasic entity named Clem had "possessed" one of the Cerritos's beluga whale crew members during an away mission to the watery world, and hitched their way back to the ship.
Attempting to impress its superiors by communicating with corporeal life forms, Clem ultimately spread themselves too thinly, turning the entire crew into mindless zombies as they zapped their way from officer to officer via their combadges — devices the involuntary luddites of Starbase 80 were never issued.
Clem's ultimately removed from the original host when Starbase 80's medical officer, Dr Horseberry, resorts to some old-school "bonking", whacking the infected whale with a fishing net before trapping the luminescent contaminant under a bucket. The afflicted crew are instantly cured.
Why were the whales on board the Cerritos in the first place?
It's standard practice to use whales to assist with navigation on Starfleet vessels, and has been for years — there's a blink-and-you'll-miss-it reference to Cetacean Ops in classic "The Next Generation" episode "Yesterday’s Enterprise".
Cerritos belugas Kimolu and Matt are commissioned Starfleet officers, and appear to be valued members of the crew, carrying out their duties in bespoke aquarium-like work stations. We also met the USS Voyager-A's resident humpback whale Gillian (a nod to cetacean expert Gillian Taylor in "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home") in "Star Trek: Prodigy".
Despite the obvious similarities, however, there's no reason to suspect that these whales have any connection to Darwin, the talking dolphin in '90s submarine drama "Seaquest DSV."
New episodes of "Star Trek: Lower Decks" season 5 debut on Paramount Plus on Thursdays.
