Turkana IV
The Class M world Turkana IV is the fourth planet of the Turkana system and the site of a failed Federation colony.
While officially a Federation protectorate, the planet's government began breaking down in the 2330s. Dozens of factions developed, and civil war broke out. The Turkana government gave emergency powers to the two largest factions, the Coalition and the Turkana IV Alliance, but it was quickly overthrown by those cadres, and the planet broke away from the Federation in the 2350s, the two factions declaring the planet's independence. Lawlessness became the norm, and rape gangs became a common threat. Few citizens escaped the planet. One of those fortunate enough to do so was Tasha Yar, who left the planet at age fifteen, and later went on to become a Starfleet officer. (TNG: "The Naked Now").
In 2361, the USS Potemkin attempted to contact the colony. The vessel was warned away with the threat that anyone beaming down to the surface would be killed.
Six years later, the USS Enterprise-D visited Turkana IV, in response to a distress call from the Arcos. The Arcos was lost, but survivors crash-landed on the planet in an escape pod. At that time, the surface structures had all been destroyed by years of civil war, and the planet's inhabitants lived in structures that extended up to three kilometers below the surface. Proximity detectors were used to separate the two factions, and both sides' bases were heavily defended, in order to prevent all-out conflict. (TNG: "Legacy")
Turkana IV also appeared in the starchart Data and Picard were studying in stellar cartography in 2371. (Star Trek Generations)
- Although it is not alluded to in the episode, it can be speculated that the civil wars on this world may have involved biological or nuclear weapons which rendered the surface uninhabitable to humanoid life, due to the fact that the colonists live underground.
- Darnar Brokas was originally from Turkana IV.
