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Vagra II
Astronomical Location
Sector Zed Lapis
System Vagra
Physical Characteristic
Classification H
Surface Gravity 1.12g
Rotational Period 26 hours
Orbital Period 366 days
Moons None
Additional Information
Affiliation Under quarantine by the Federation
Native Race(s) Armus
Population N/A
  [Source]



Vagra II was once the site of the inspiring Vagran civilization, but has been deserted for millennia. Only Armus, the former inhabitants' "skin of evil," remains behind, a deadly threat. Vagra II orbits Vagra, an undistinguished red dwarf (Type M5 V) in the Zed Lapis sector. Vagra has only four planets, two Class H (Vagra I and II) and two small Class J worlds (Vagra III and IV). Between Vagra II and Vagra III lies a very wide asteroid belt composed almost entirely of silicates and carbonaceous chondrites. The Vagra system has few usable metals or dense minerals anywhere, although there are traces of millennia-old mining operations.

Environment

Vagra II is hot, arid, and unpleasant. The thin atmosphere is high in contaminants; human life on Vagra II would be impossible to sustain over long periods of time without protective domes. Shallow salt pans, perhaps the sole remnants of long-drained lakes or seas, litter the planetary surface. Evidence in the Vagran ruins suggests the world may have been rich in mineral wealth at some far-off point in its history - current scans indicate nothing worth mining. The planet's mineral resources have apparently been depleted.

Locations

The most important locations on Vagra II are the Vagran ruins dotting the surface near the drying salt oceans and the marsh where Armus lurks. The Vagran ruins show a disturbing mingling of glorious achievement and artistically nuanced perfection with brutal construction and contempt for large-scale design questions. Vagran technical devices may still operate in buried chambers somewhere on the planet.

Armus' marsh emits occasional energy readings in various wavelengths. Overhead, auroras coalesce and ball lightning flickers, illuminating the entire area with an eerie radiance. At other times, Armus' marsh seems as still and placid as any other stretch of this deserted world.

History

Thousands of years ago, Vagra II was home to a highly advanced civilization. Determined to accelerate themselves up the evolutionary ladder, the Vagrans sloughed off all evil impulses and psychic energies into a psychoactive collagen solution. The Vagrans became creatures of dazzling beauty and left their once-proud planet behind, a deserted husk. The accumulated "skin of evil" of the Vagran culture became the sentient entity Armus.

In 2364, Armus pulled a passing shuttlecraft from the U.S.S. Enterprise-D off course and crashed it. When an away team beamed down to rescue the castaways, Armus murdered Lieutenant Natasha Yar in cold blood out of pure malice. The Enterprise escaped Armus' trap, and Starfleet imposed a quarantine on Vagra II to prevent Armus from ever escaping into deep space.

Strategic Importance

Vagra II is of little strategic importance - because of previous events on the planet, Starfleet has declared it a quarantined world and forbids travel to the system. Some persons might see the remnants of Vagran technology as a strategic resource to be uncovered and exploited, but given the presence of Armus, they'd likely be fools to try.

Armus

Vagra II's only inhabitant or remaining living creature (besides a number of bacteria, a few hardy mold species, and a nine-legged silverfish) is Armus, the sum total of all evil in Vagran civilization. Armus resembles an oil slick, but can assume a humanoid form if he desires. Armus can attack physically, by sucking victims into his oily "body," or by emitting deadly energies. Armus can project force fields and other energies, including enough to pull passing shuttlecraft into collision with the planet. Armus' fields weaken if he is provoked to wrath. Without a suitable vehicle, however, or enough metal to construct one, Armus remains trapped on Vagra II.

Reference(s)

  • Cambias, James, et al. Planets of the UFP: A Guide to Federation Worlds, Last Unicorn Games, 1999. ISBN: 0671040065.