Starbase Z26 is an antiquidated class of space station, most commonly resembling a trio of Mexican sombrero hats attacked to a large central pylon. It has a functional crew of 120 and can accomodate 600 more in relative comfort. The hull shows it’s age, as the starbase is nearly 200 years old. Conditions inside are cramped, the air has a slight metallic taint to it, from the mechanical scrubbers rather than the superior recycling systems found on newer starships.
The area arround the starbase is a minefield of space junk, ranging from chunks of ships destroyed in battle, to entire vessels that have been retired from active service but being held in reserve to repair other ships of the class still in service. As such, there is a large amount of space junk, and it covers a very wide variety of ships. Older classes such as the Miranda, Excelsior, and such are most often found missing their warp nacelles, these pieces having been salvaged to repair damaged ships.
Extensive records are kept of the ships held at Z26, including the mothballing of M/AM reactors and the removal of shield generators, weapons systems, and the key componenets of sensor arrays.
While not in a contested area, Z26 has several layers of defense, it has excellent shields and tractor beams though this is mostly to protect the station from errant debris dislodged for it’s parking place in the salvage yard. The tractor beams deflect large pieces and can push them back into stable locations. The station mounts two phaser arrays, one at the ventral and dorsal points of the central pylon. Neither is very powerful.
Being a stockpile of Federation resources and technology, Z26 keeps two retired starships on active duty. These ships have minimal crew and most of the time are relegated to working as tugs, moving hulks that have been brought to the starbase, or sweeping up transit lanes through the scrap yard. In rare instances, pirates looters or other less technologically advanced races will attempt to sneak into the yard to steal some overlooked piece of hardware. In this instance, the two ‘tugs’ retain their shields and weapons and keep the riff-raff out.