The Mad Planet was the name given to a seismically unstable planet known to the Skorr and Vedala races in the 23rd century.
Background[]
The Mad Planet was the second of three planets located in an Alpha or Beta Quadrant star system containing one star. It had five moons with highly eccentric orbits that produced severe gravitic tidal forces that destabilized the planet's crust. As a result, the surface was covered by volcanoes, earthquakes, cyclones, glaciers and deserts, with geologic upheavals and commonplace shifts in weather. Hail and ash were often shot into the breathable atmosphere. (TAS - Log Five novelization: The Jihad)
Surface temperatures ranged from 20° to 370° Kelvin (204° Fahrenheit). Snowstorms, downpours and scorching sunlight could affect the same area within hours. (TAS episode & Log Five novelization: The Jihad)
History[]
In the 23rd century, a small group of Skorr built a temple on the Mad Planet, employing earthquake-proof structural engineering.
In 2270, these zealots conspired to incite a retaliatory war against the known galaxy by stealing their homeworld's sacred relic, the Soul of Alar, which they hid within the locked temple. The Vedala tracked the artifact to the Mad Planet, but lost three expeditions attempting to recover it. A fourth group, which included Captain James T. Kirk, Commander Spock, tracker Lara, reptilian Sord, lockpick Em/3/Green, and Skorr Prince Tchar, were transported to the planet. They were eventually successful in recovering the artifact and exposing Tchar as the leader of the conspirators. (TAS episode & Log Five novelization: The Jihad)