The Briar Patch is the colloquial name for a region of space in Sector 441, bordering the territories of the United Federation of Planets and the Klingon and Romulan Star Empires. The Patch, as it is often called, consists of gaseous anomalies, metaphasic radiation, supernova remnants, and other dangerous space detritus, making warp travel extremely hazardous and next-to-impossible. Known to the Klingons as Klach D'Kel Brakt, its informal name was coined by the human scientist Arik Soong, in reference to a children's literature series from Earth. The Patch is also the location of several habitable worlds, including the Ba'ku planet. (Star Trek: Insurrection; ENT: "The Augments")
In 2271, Klingons under the command of Dahar Master Kor won a decisive victory over the Romulan Star Empire during the Battle of Klach D'Kel Brakt. Over a century later, in 2375, the USS Enterprise engaged Son'a forces in the Battle of the Briar Patch. (DS9: "Blood Oath"; Star Trek: Insurrection)
Fanon
- Note that when the Briar Patch first appeared in Star Trek: Insurrection, it was intimated, though not explicitly stated, to be in the Alpha Quadrant, not far from the Dominion War theatre of operations as the Son'a were secondary participants in that conflict. It was only several years later that Star Trek: Enterprise would place the Briar Patch in the Beta Quadrant near Klingon territory and connect it with Klach D'Kel Brakt, a reference from an earlier Star Trek: Deep Space 9 episode. As such, fanon projects originating before the Enterprise episode often ignore that development in favor of their own preexisting continuity.
Star Trek: Hidden Frontier
Following the Ba'ku incident in 2375, Starfleet established Outpost 40 in the Briar Patch, also known as the Ti'krit Expanse, and eventually augmented that facility by building Deep Space 12 in orbit of Ba'ku. During the late 2370s and into the 2380s, the Tholian Assembly would show great interest in the Briar Patch, often coming into conflict with Starfleet and its allies. The Cardassian Union, the Son'a, the Tzenkethi and the Breen also entered into conflicts over the Briar Patch during this period.
Due to the Briar Patch's unique composition of metreon clouds and metaphasic radiation, travel at normal warp speeds is impossible in the region. Modifications can be made to impulse drives to allow starships to travel above the one-third impulse usually required. Limited to sublight speeds, attempts to explore deeper into the Patch proved fruitless, until the Federation learned of naturally-occurring subspace currents that would allow warp travel within the Patch. The Tholians also used these currents.
At one point, the Ti'krit Expanse was home to an advanced ancient civilization, the creators of the tetrahedrons which were eventually discovered throughout the Patch and the nearby McAllister Nebula. The Briar Patch is also the home of the Grey Confederacy, the Tren'La and a number of cosmozoan species.
In 2381, around stardate 58532.1, Starfleet discovered that the Grey had built a massive dyson sphere around their home star. The sphere was composed of millions of tetrahedrons. (Star Trek: Hidden Frontier, Star Trek: The Helena Chronicles)
After the destruction of the dyson sphere in 2383, the Briar Patch dissolved and the region reverted to normal space for the first time in centuries. While Starfleet and the humanoid inhabitants of the Patch had cause for celebration, this turn of events displaced numerous cozmozoan lifeforms indigenous to the area. Following the dissolution of the Patch, Starfleet established the Regeneration Shipyards at Ba'ku. (HF: "Its Hour Come Round At Last"; THC: "Sanctuary")
Star Trek: Banshee Squadron
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