The Cestus III outpost after the massacre.
The Cestus III Massacre was the name of the brutal slaughter of the Federation outpost on Cestus III by the Gorn who believed the colony was an intrusion on their Hegemony.
The Massacre[]
The Gorn's attack on the Cestus III outpost was launched without warning, and Commander S'slee's cruiser Gress'sril launched a first weapons volley able to take out the outpost's deflector shields and phaser batteries. Once the outpost's defenses were disabled, the Gorn warship dispatched landing parties to the surface to kill all remaning personnel and destroy the outpost. The Gorn eventually succeeded in ceasing the outpost despite valiant attempts by Commodore Travers and his staff to hold on to the outpost's administrative center and other buildings. By the end of the assault, only one Starfleet officer, Lieutenant Matthew Harold, had survived. (TNG novel: Requiem)
Following the assault on the outpost, the Gorn lured the Federation starship USS Enterprise to the planet by impersonating Commodore Travers over fake subspace communications. Captain James T. Kirk and a landing party then beamed down to the remains of the outpost where the ground forces again launched an attack. Kirk was able to successfully repel the ground forces and returned to the Enterprise so that they could give chase to the departing Gorn warship. (TOS episode: "Arena")
Aftermath[]
After departing Cestus III, the Enterprise pursued the Gorn warship to a point near 2466 PM, where both starships were seized by a powerful species known as the Metrons. Captain Kirk and his Gorn counterpart were then forced to battle each other on a planet's surface. Kirk eventually won the battle, but refused to kill S'slee, which impressed the Metrons, and they allowed both ships to return to their respective homeworlds. (TOS episode: "Arena")
A holodeck program of Kirk's encounter with the Gorn captain was later made as part of a course at Starfleet Academy. (TNG novel: Requiem)