Beta Proxima was a neutron star system located within Federation space, neighboring the Alpha Proxima system. In late 2266, the USS Constellation was order to perform a two-week survey of the star, before heading off for a diplomatic conference in the Crellis Cluster. Three days before the scheduled completion of the survey, the Constellation received a distress call from the colony on Alpha Proxima II and Commodore Matthew Decker ordered the ship to depart immediately, much to the disappointment of Science Officer Guillermo Masada. (TOS - The Brave and the Bold, Book One novella: The First Artifact)