Ligon II
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Ligon II is homeworld to an isolationist humanoid race that shows a polite and gracious face to one and all even as it regards foreigners with deep suspicion. It is valuable to the Federation mainly as one of the few known sources of a microbe that produces a treatment for Anchilles fever.
Climate
Ligon II’s climate falls well within Class M norms. Most of the planet’s landmass is concentrated in the subtropical and tropical zones, so not many Ligonians experience cold weather. Many, however, experience the tropical storms that roil the equator at the beginning and end of their warm weather season.
Geography
Ligon II’s total landmass is slightly smaller than average for a thriving Class M world. It has six continents, all of them about the same size as Earth’s Australia, and all of them separated by the planet’s oceans. Smaller islands dot the oceans, and many of these are inhabited.
Early Federation surveys of Ligon II revealed the existence of a microbe, amidia floris, that lives in large colonies in subtropical bogs and swamps, and which secretes an anti-toxin against the parasite that causes Anchilles fever. This makes the planet important to the Federation, as very few cures for that deadly disease exist. Federation scientists are much interested in conducting more detailed surveys of Ligon II’s native flora and fauna to see what curative properties they may have, but most Ligonian authorities have been reluctant to open themselves to more contact with outsiders.
Civilization
Publicly, Ligonians seem agreeable and eager to please. Their social code places a strong emphasis on politeness, as expressed through social rituals, and honor as measured by how others judge you according to generally accepted codes of conduct. Deceit, disloyalty, failure, personal rejection and criminal behavior are all considered shameful. In practice, however, this veneer conceals the fact that Ligonians are quite capable of devious intrigues against each other. Similarly, Ligonians treat those who visit them from off world with considerable grace, but privately, they regard foreigners with deep suspicion and usually consider them culturally inferior.
Federation sociologists often describe Ligonian society as matriarchal because only females have the right to own property, while males are relegated to stewardship of their possessions. But it is really more complex than that. Property owners place great trust in their husbands, seeing as how they function as operational managers of all of their assets. They are, in effect, business partners, although the wife is always the titular boss. And while Ligonian society permits polygamy, just as many males as females take multiple spouses, so the institution hardly functions as a way for one sex to control the other.
Ligon II has no world government, only regional and local lords whose rule by right of their wealth, the extent of their landholdings and the military power they command.
The Ligonians’ level of technology remains well behind that of the Federation, and this has always been a subject of anxiety and contention among their leaders. The Federation, in keeping with its Prime Directive, refuses to insist that the Ligonians open themselves to innovation, but clearly any lord who makes use of post-industrial production techniques or equips his followers with energy weapons could leapfrog ahead of his rivals in wealth and influence. In practice, however, any lord who attempts to do so is destroyed by his rivals before he can get too far ahead of them. The prevailing winds on Ligon II blow in a conservative direction, and the majority opinion among the ruling elite remains that their traditional ways are best, and that they have no need of “contamination” from foreign worlds.
History
The Ligonians are a relatively young civilization, as their lack of technological development would suggest. Their earliest written records suggest that they were once a warlike one, as they tell of local and regional chieftains fighting intense and bloody wars against each other. These centuries of constant warfare culminated in the period known as the Time of the Warring Lords, in which the social codes of honor that they follow to this day were formed. On the other hand, the Time of the Warring Lords also produced revulsion against rampant warfare among the ruling elite, and since then political leaders on Ligon II have largely refrained from open conflict with each other. The Ligonians made first contact with the Federation in 2318. They declined to apply for UFP membership, but did agree to very limited forms of cooperation. As a result of one such venture, the famed wrestler Eretan taught unarmed combat at Starfleet Academy from 2320-24, once giving a demonstration of traditional Ligonian martial arts that remained part of Academy lore for decades afterward.
After that initial period of cooperation, however, most Ligonian leaders began to pull back from contact with the Federation, fearing that too much foreign influence would destabilize their society. The Ligonians nearly ran afoul of the Federation in 2364 after an outbreak of Anchilles fever on Styris IV. Starfleet dispatched the Enterprise-D to negotiate for access to the amidia floris microbe. A delegation led by Lutan, who had become a minor lord by virtue of his marriage to a prominent landowner named Yareena, met them. Unfortunately, Lutan used the opportunity to kidnap Enterprise-D Security Chief Lieutenant Tasha Yar and claim her as his new First One, or primary spouse. Under Ligonian custom, this forced a ritual combat to the death between Lieutenant Yar and Yareena; Lutan hoped that Lieutenant Yar would prevail, thus allowing him to inherit Yareena’s property. Lieutenant Yar foiled the plot striking Yareena with the poisoned weapon, but using the Enterprise’s advanced medical technology to resuscitate her opponent.
The Federation Council chose to overlook the incident and maintain cordial relations with Ligon II. But the Ligonians remained aloof from the Federation. They never formally applied for Federation membership, despite many unofficial discussions with UFP diplomats on the subject.
Places of Interest
In particular, the Enterprise-D wanted access to a bog in a far corner of Yareena’s lands. Colonies of amidia floris flourish in such places, forming ugly graygreen sludge that floats on the surface of the water. Ligonians have always considered them eyesores, and sometimes drained their bogs to get rid of them.
Reference(s)
- Burns, Eric, Kenneth A. Hite & Doug Sun. Star Trek Roleplaying Game Book 7: Worlds, Decipher, 2005. ISBN: 1582369097.