Paragon Colony was a location on the planet Sycorax.
History[]
The colony was founded by humans in the 22nd century who opposed the United Federation of Planets' ban on genetic engineering. They had initially hoped to settle on the planet Miranda only for the unstable orbit of the planet's moon to make the target world uninhabitable. Lacking the power to return to Earth, the colonists settled on Sycorax, turning to genetic engineering to survive. In 2270, as tensions between the Federation and the Klingon Empire mounted once more, Paragon applied to join the Federation. The USS Enterprise was sent to appraise the colony only to discover that Koloth had beaten them there, the Klingon Empire seeking to conquer the planet. At dinner, Korax attempted to download defence information only to be caught and the Klingons evicted from the planet. As the Klingons left, the remotely detonated a photon grenade Korax had left behind, damaging the colony's protective dome and allowing dangerous UV radiation to seep in. (TOS novel: The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh, Volume 1)
Sacrificing the Columbus in the process, James T. Kirk managed to augment the colony's shields, allowing time for Leonard McCoy to provide the colonists with cordrazine, which they quickly synthesized and used to repair the dome. With Spock having severely damaged the IKS Devisor, the Klingons retreated, though not before Koloth warned that the Empire would not tolerate an alliance between the Paragon colony and the Federation. That night, Kirk spoke with Gary Seven who convinced the captain that humanity was not yet to ready to accept their genetically engineered kin. Ultimately, Kirk decided to quarantine Sycorax, giving it Federation protection but not membership. (TOS novel: The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh, Volume 2)
In 2287, when Kirk ventured to the ruins of Ceti Alpha V and the Botany Bay colony, he proposed to Astrid Ericsson that he could evacuate her and her followers to the Paragon Colony. (TOS novel: To Reign in Hell: The Exile of Khan Noonien Singh)