The Strand was an unusual sort of system, a giant formation of 46 small planets and moons in an engineered synchronous orbit, built by an ancient civilization in the galaxy's Alpha or Beta Quadrants.
History and specifics[]
One thousand years ago, the system had been capable of supporting 800 billion individuals. At least one world had a ring system. But by the 23rd century, its occupants had rendered the Strand mostly uninhabitable due to pollution.
Only one planet remained habitable in the 2260s decade, the site of an advanced genetic engineering laboratory. Doctor Othello Beck and about 20 others occupied the facility in an effort to cure his wife's Logan's disease. The Starfleet starship USS Enterprise visited the system in the year 2269. (TOS - Year Four comic: "Issue 1")