Briar Patch

The Briar Patch is the commonly used name for the Ti'krit Expanse, a region in Sector 441 (known to the Klingons as Klach D'Kel Brakt) containing dangerous space matter including the remains of supernovae, false vacuum fluctuations, metaphasic radiation and a few known habitable planets, one of which is Ba'ku. The Federation's primary presence in the Briar Patch is starbase Deep Space 12. It is also home to the mysterious and powerful Grey Confederacy. Normally, ships in the vicinity must travel at less than one-third impulse power to avoid overheating the vessels' impulse manifolds. Travel at normal warp speed is impossible. The colloquial "Briar Patch" name used by the Federation was first coined by Arik Soong in the 22nd century, a reference to Br'er Rabbit of the 1880s Uncle Remus stories by Joel Chandler Harris of Earth. The region is often referred to as "the Patch" for short.

Travel
Ships that traverse the Patch face some limitations. Due to the unique nature of the Patch's metreon clouds and metaphasic radiation, normal warp travel is impossible. Only with modified impulse engines can ships travel at full impulse. This sublight limitation has hidden much of the Patch from explorers. However, some have developed various technologies to overcome this limitation. The Grey travel throughout the Patch using their fold drive. Thanks to Commander Tolian Naros and his nemesis, Siroc, the Federation and the Tholians use a naturally occurring phenomenon, subspace currents, that underlie most of the Patch.

Politics
The Patch has recently become the focus of intense exploration by a variety of competing and cooperating Alpha Quadrant powers: the Federation, the Tholian Assembly, the Cardassian Union, the Son'a, Tzenkethi and the Breen. At first, Ba'ku attracted attention because of the restorative powers of its rings. The discovery by the Excelsior of the powerful tetrahedrons has created even more interest in the entire Patch. Tholian aggression in search for more tetrahedrons has brought the entire region to the verge of war.

History
In the 18th century, a group of Ba'ku arrived in the Briar Patch and established a colony on one of several planets located in the Patch. The planet contained metaphasic rings that meant that their lifespans were greaty increased.

By the 22nd century, the Patch was located inside Klingon space, although they maintained no military presence inside. In 2154, Dr. Arik Soong viewed the area as a perfect hiding place for him and his Augments when they were being pursued by the Enterprise (NX-01).

In 2271, the Patch was the location of the Battle of Klach D'Kel Brakt which saw Kor lead the Klingons to a great military victory over the Romulan Star Empire.

By 2375, the Briar Patch was located inside Federation space, and was the setting for a joint Starfleet-Son'a mission in the Patch which was the forced relocation of the Ba'ku and attempt to harness the life-prolonging powers of the planet's rings. Thankfully, Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the USS Enterprise managed to prevent this.

Following these events, Starfleet established Outpost 40 and later Deep Space 12 in the Patch and maintained a small task force to protect the Ba'ku planet and the immediate area. In 2376, the Patch was the site of a further battle between Starfleet and Son'a forces as they attempted to take control of the planet.