Talos IV

For the mirror universe counterpart, see Talos IV (mirror).

Talos IV
Alternate name(s):	Clesik
Classification:	class M planet
Affiliation:	nonaligned, and quarantined
Location:	Talos star group, coordinates 7.49S 1.48E, Alpha Quadrant
Moon(s):	Mone, Toh
Dominant species:	Talosian
Warp capable:	c. 500,000 years ago
Population:	10 million (2280s)
Gravity:	0.71 G

Talos IV, known as Clesik to its native Talosian civilization, was a planet located in the space of the galaxy's Alpha Quadrant, in orbit of the Talos star group, at coordinates 7.49S 1.48E. (TOS episode: "The Cage", FASA RPG module: The Federation; ST references: The Worlds of the Federation, Star Charts; DSC episode: "Light and Shadows")

History

The Talosian civilization once flourished on the surface and were warp drive capable half a million years prior to the 23rd century. Unfortunately, over 200,000 years before the Federation era, around 400,000 years earlier, the Talosians became combatants in a psionic combat. This cataclysmic war decimated them, and this plus a concurrent usage of nuclear weapons, made much of the planet's surface uninhabitable. They moved underground, and developed their mental skills even as their technological knowledge atrophied. (ST reference: Star Charts; TOS episode: "The Cage"; Last Unicorn RPG module: All Our Yesterdays: The Time Travel Sourcebook; DTI novel: Watching the Clock)

The DSC episode: "If Memory Serves" establishes a slightly narrower timeframe for the Talos IV cataclysm, with a shuttlecraft computer in the episode mentioning that the event occurred "several thousand years [ago]," as opposed to 200,000 years, but perhaps this can simply be reconciled as Federation conjecture based upon incomplete knowledge gathered during the Enterprise's prior 2254 mission to the planet, and is also very inconsistent with Vina's own dialogue in "The Cage" describing the war as having taken place "thousands [of] centuries ago."

In 2236, the SS Columbia, a scientific survey ship from Earth, crashed on the planet. The sole survivor was a human woman named Vina. She was retrieved by the Talosians and her injuries attended to, although the Talosians' lack of knowledge of human anatomy hindered their efforts.

The surface of Talos IV in 2254.

In 2254, the USS Enterprise visited Talos IV, lured there by a false distress signal. Captain Christopher Pike was kidnapped in an effort to provide Vina with a mate. Pike and the Enterprise were eventually allowed to leave. Given the extreme threat of the Talosians' powers of illusion, Starfleet issued General Order 7, forbidding any travel to Talos IV, under penalty of death. (TOS episodes: "The Cage", "The Menagerie")

Realizing that the string of numbers Spock was repeating were coordinates, Michael Burnham set course for Talos IV in 2257 to determine if that planet could unravel the reasons behind his apparent mental breakdown. (DSC episode: "Light and Shadows")

In 2267, Lieutenant Commander Spock kidnapped then-Fleet Captain Pike and hijacked the Enterprise to Talos IV. Given the specific circumstances, General Order 7 was rescinded, and Pike allowed to live the remainder of his life in an illusory existence on Talos IV. (TOS episode & Star Trek 4 novelization: The Menagerie)

In the later 23rd century, Talos remained under Federation quarantine. By reference stardate 2/2306.01, the world had a population of less than 10 million. (FASA RPG module: The Federation)

In 2290, then-Captain Spock returned to Talos IV at the behest of Starfleet, in order to offer Captain Pike a new medical treatment that would allow him to return to the Federation and retain his mobility. It was during this visit that Spock met Phillip Pike, the child of Christopher and Vina. (TOS comic: "Door in the Cage")

In 2320, then-Ambassador Spock was summoned again to Talos IV, where he witnessed a revitalized planet and Talosian culture, thanks to the efforts of Christopher Pike. (TOS novel: Burning Dreams)

In 2372, members of Starfleet Academy's Omega Squad traveled to Talos IV when Betazoid Cadet Edam Astrun received a compulsive telepathic distress call from the Talosians, under siege by the Jem'Hadar. With the assistance of a telepathic image of Pike, the squad was able to defeat the Jem'Hadar. (SA comics: "Return to the Forbidden Planet", "A Prelude to War")

In 2376, Nog recalled Omega Squad's mission to Talos IV, when thinking of his experiences before his graduation. (DS9 - Mission Gamma novel: Cathedral)

Sometime prior to the year 2380, the classified nature of the Talosian species and the death penalty for visiting Talos IV were lifted by Starfleet. By this time, Starfleet had apparently developed scanning instruments that could detect the difference between reality and Talosian illusions. (TNG novel: Q & A)

Locations

Polar Mountains • Talosian Menagerie Complex • North Salt Flat • Tyler's Mountains • Northern Mountains • Pike's Gap • Barrier Montains • Western Salt Flat • Western Sea • Stark Mountains • Southern Mountains • Polar Ruins • Central Salt Flat • Northern Equatorial Mountains • Eastern Salt Flat • Eastern Sea • Southern Equatorial Mountains • Drake Mountains

Appendices

Connections

the planet Talos IV
Polar Mountains • Talosian Menagerie Complex • North Salt Flat • Tyler's Mountains • Northern Mountains • Pike's Gap • Barrier Montains • Western Salt Flat • Western Sea • Stark Mountains • Southern Mountains • Polar Ruins • Central Salt Flat • Northern Equatorial Mountains • Eastern Salt Flat • Eastern Sea • Southern Equatorial Mountains • Drake Mountains

Background

• Talos IV also appeared in the EV comic: "Nor Iron Bars a Cage", which retold the events of the TOS episode: "The Cage" from the point of view of Mia Colt.

External links

• Talos IV article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.
• Talos IV article at Teletraan I, the Transformers wiki on Wikia.