The Union Gateway is a Very Large Gateway (VLG) located in the Union star system, unusual because of its lack of physical apparatus. Whereas both of the other two VLG's so far discovered (F'hoca Gateway and Solaria Gateway) are large physical rings in space containing much complex machinery and detectable power systems, Union Gateway is more analogous to the Bajoran Wormhole. It thus cannot be destroyed by conventional weapons. The dissimilarity has led Federation scientists to speculate that the Iconian Gateway network may consist of many different kinds of Gateway, each with its own unique shape, characteristics, and capabilities.

When not active, Union Gateway appears on sensors as a high concentration of chroniton particles; it is otherwise invisible. Triggered to open by high concentrations of warp plasma and deuterium (or an energy beam with similar properties, which most vessels have used since 2380), the maw of the Union Gateway erupts as a blue-green blossom several kilometers in diameter. Entering the Gateway causes rapid or sometimes instantaneous transit to the corresponding Solaria Gateway in The Round Table, tens of thousands of light years away. The Union Gateway was previously linked to F'hoca Gateway prior to the latter being destroyed. Furthermore, some research has been done into the possibility of using chroniton radiation to "dial" other, hitherto unknown Gateways throughout the galaxy. Unfortunately, this research has been shelved for the time being, as the "dialing" process has been found to destabilize the Gateway.

Because of its profound transportational potential, Union Gateway is widely considered to be one of the most strategically critical points in the Beta Quadrant. Most of the defenses in Union, including Starbase 911, are dedicated to its protection.

Credits

Original information created by the players of the U.S.S. Excelsior-C simm. Permission for its use on the SB900 websites given by Alcar Dovan.