10.5 Terran Explorations

Kazh

The planet Kazh is the homeworld of the Klingons. It is the second of seven planets orbiting a binary pair, the dominant of which is spectral class K1. It is also called Qo’noS and Klinzhai. It is sometimes called Kling in formal reference, usually in the phrase “Houses of Kling.” Its system primary is named Klingonkii and its secondary Kazara by the Federation but they have no native names among the Klingons themselves. They simply call them wah’Hov (“First Sun”) and cha’Hov (“Second Sun”).

Kazh is the focal point of the interstellar Klingon Empire. On it can be found the Klingon High Council, the Klingon Academy for Warriors, the Klingon Traders Guilds, and private complexes for most of the major Houses of Kling.

Kazh is an arid planet, with a single major continent and two minor continents surrounded on all sides by shallow, marshy seas and numerous island chains. The Kethla Lowlands on the major continent represents 60% of the planet’s agricultural sources. The Hamar Mountains are its largest and longest range, dominated by the massive peak of Kang’s Summit. Two of its arms nestle the inland Sea of Gatan, the largest such on the planet. Distanda is the major port city of “New Continent,” Kazh’s second largest land mass. The third largest land mass is composed entirely of military bases and training areas. It is called the Darvba Defense Complex and is strictly off-limits.

The largest and oldest city on Kazh is Kahl (Capitol). It was rebuilt a day’s journey southwest of the original Kahl, which was completely destroyed ages ago in one of the planet’s many civil wars. The ruins of Old Kahl can still be seen and are a popular place both for tourists and for pilgrimages by representatives of the eldest of the Houses of Kling. Other major cities include Qam-Chee, Quin’Lat, and Tong Vey.

The dominant lifeform on Kazh today is the native Klingon humanoid (homo sagittarii). These developed as a group in the planet’s southern hemisphere on New Continent. They are easily distinguishable from the humanoid norm by their swarthy skin, ridge bone protrusions, and superior strength (as befitting a high-gravity planet). The mainland Klingons, less numerous today than they once were, have fair skin and their bony ridges are far less pronounced than the Klingon norm. There are also a small number of genetically engineered Klingon fusion humanoids (Quch’Ha) living in separated colonies in the Northern and Southern Island regions. Most Klingon fusions prefer to live offworld due to their “unnatural” appearance; a topic that all Klingons steadfastly refuse to discuss with outsiders.

Specifications:

• System star: Klingonkii (no native name)
• Distance from system star: 240 million km
• Period of revolution (Terran measure): 18.26 hours
• Period of orbit (Terran measure): 291.90 days
• Mass: 1.392 x10²⁸ kg
• Diameter: 7489 km
• Axial inclination: 23°
• Average surface temperature: 23° C
• Satellites: none
• Planetary Richter Scale rating: M
• Level of technology: current
• Indigenous culture(s): Klingon (homo sagittarii)
• Additional culture(s): Klingon fusions (homo sagittari terran) (homo sagittari eridani)

Major surface features:

• Kang’s Summit
• Sea of Gatan
• New Continent
• Skral River

Places of note:

• Kahl City (both New and Old Kahl)
• The southern port city of Distanda (New Continent)
• The Caves of No’Mat

Talos IV

Talos IV is the sole habitable world in the eleven planets of the binary Talos star group. It was under the protection of Star Fleet General Order 7 since its discovery by the starship U.S.S. Columbia (NCC-1701) in 2232 until fairly recently. Access to the planet is still severely restricted at the desire of both its natives and the Federation Council.

The planet is for the most part a barren world, with what little surface water that remains locked away in thin polar ice caps. Thousands of years ago an atomic holocaust wreaked havoc on the planet’s surface and destroyed its ecosystem, forcing the survivors of its native peoples (homo talosii) to move underground. The few life forms that remain on the surface, all of them plants, have developed unique methods of surviving in what remains of the planet’s shattered ecosystem.

Recently, with the encouragement of Federation ambassador Christopher Pike, the Talosians have begun to reclaim parts of their planet. There is a small surface city (New Talos) located at the primary access point to the Talosian underground facilities. A limited number of carefully selected volunteers, mostly humans and Vulcans, are working with the Talosians towards the long-term goal of reclaiming more of their planet’s decimated surface.

Contact with the Talosians is barred to all but a few carefully chosen Federation citizens and then only under the authority of the Federation President. The Talosians have the highest psionic capabilities of any corporeal beings in the known universe and only recently (under Ambassador Pike’s efforts) have begun to use that power for good. Among those powers is the ability to instantly sift through the mind of almost any visitor (save for the strongest of telepaths) and know all that they know within seconds. This is an unnerving and unpleasant experience for all save those who are trained for this event or whose cultures permit such mental intrusions. Past encounters with the Talosians have usually resulted in open conflict and hostility. It will take considerable time, effort, and preparation before Talos IV is ready to accept visitors on a wider scale.

Specifications:

• System star: Talos (native name unknown)
• Distance from system star: 134 million km
• Period of revolution (Terran measure): 48.05 days
• Period of orbit (Terran measure): 194 days
• Mass: 5.063 x10²⁴ kg
• Diameter: 16,720 km
• Axial inclination: 12.5°
• Average surface temperature: 24° C
• Satellites: none
• Planetary Richter Scale rating: M
• Level of technology: current
• Indigenous culture(s): humanoid (homo talosi)
• Additional culture(s): humanoid (homo terran) (homo eridani)
• Major surface features: none

Places of note:

• New Talos (sole surface colony at present)