Talos IV

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

Talos IV, known as Clesik to its native Talosians, was a planet in the Talos Star Group in the Alpha Quadrant. (ST reference: The Worlds of the Federation; TOS episode: "The Cage")

The Talosian civilization once flourished on the surface and were warp capable half a million years ago. Unfortunately over 200,000 years ago (specifically, 400,000 years earlier), they fought a cataclysmic war, making 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"; ST roleplay module: All Our Yesterdays: The Time Travel Sourcebook)

In 2236, the S.S. 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.

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")

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 Given the specific circumstances, General Order 7 was rescinded, and Pike allowed to live the remainder of his life in an illusory existence on Talos IV.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: "The Menagerie")

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")

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)

[edit] Appendices

• 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

[edit] External link

• Talos IV article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.