Melakon

Melakon was an Ekosian male who lived on Ekos during the 23rd century.

When Federation observer John Gill violated the Prime Directive by attempting to set up a benign version of a Nazi government - with himself as Führer - Melakon became Gill's chief subordinate.

At first Gill's new government seemed to work well. All that changed when Melakon seized power and manipulated the Ekosian people into the same brutal racial supremist policies of the original party. In this case the main target of Ekosian aggression was the people of their planetary neighbor Zeon. Much like what was done to the Jews on Earth, Zeons were expelled from the Ekos planet, or worse, rounded up into camps.

Gill was turned into a puppet, drugged and helpless as the worst excesses of the Nazi party came to light. The Federation, having lost contact with Gill sent the USS Enterprise to the planet to investigate what had happened to Gill. Upon learning of the situation Gill's tampering had brought about, Captain James T. Kirk and Mr. Spock attempted to rectify the damage to the society of Ekos before an attack against the Zeon homeworld was begun.

Doctor McCoy and Mr. Spock were able to help revive Melakon from his catatonic state. Gill went on state television to also apologize to the Zeon people for what had happened, and he ordered a halt to the attack against the Zeon homeworld. Gill then went on to reveal that Melakon had usurped power, and was a traitor. Melakon responded by firing a machine gune into the room where Gill was, killing Gill. Melakon was in turn shot by one of the other officers in the room.

As he died in the arms of former student James T. Kirk, Gill admitted that he made a terrible mistake, that the non-interference directive was the correct way of dealing with less advanced people. The incident would come to be regarded as a textbook example of the importance of the Prime Directive. The Ekosian Reich was soon replaced by a more benign state. (TOS episode Patterns of Force).