Qualor II
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Qualor II is home to a Federation surplus ship depot. Its remote location in Sector 213, a region frequented by pirates, smugglers, and illegal arms traders, ensures that Qualor II often finds itself in the midst of intrigue and illicit activity. In addition, Qualor II lies only 1.3 light years from the Romulan Neutral Zone, a fact which played a key role in the establishment and development of both Qualor II and the entire Qualor system.
Qualor II is the second of six planets orbiting the star Qualor. It is a Class M world similar to Earth and Alpha Centauri in many respects. Its sister, Qualor III, is also Class M. However, neither planet has any sentient native lifeforms.
There are only a few notable locations on Qualor II (besides, of course, the Zed 15 ship depot). Torrallia is the planet's "capital" and largest city; it is an important trade center in Sector 213. Amarie's Bar, a "watering hole" often patronized by arms dealers, is located in Torrallia; it is named for its four-armed piano player.
Federation Surplus Ship Depot Zed 15
Encircling Qualor II, the Federation Surplus Ship Depot Zed 15 stands as a vast ship graveyard. It is home to hundreds of decommissioned Federation and Starfleet starships, including those from nearly every Federation member world. Although the depot and shipyard orbit Qualor II, the depot's administration facilities are located on the planet's surface.
The enormous shipyard, which virtually surrounds the planet like one of the rings of Saturn, holds over 5,000 ships. It is divided into over 7,000 areas, each designated by a system of coordinates devised by the Zakdorn. The Zakdorn organize the shipyard into 360 distinct areas, each stretching the equivalent of one degree along the orbit of the shipyard around the planet. Each of these areas is then further divided into 200 individual sections. In most cases only a single ship occupies any single section of the shipyard, but some areas contain multiple smaller-sized ships such as transport ships, runabout-class ships, and small fighter-type craft.
Generally, ships visiting Zed 15 must remain outside its perimeter rather than being permitted to navigate in and around and between the ships stationed at the shipyard. In certain circumstances, navigation through the shipyard itself is permitted, but is limited to a top speed of 200 kph.
When a ship arrives at Zed 15, the Zakdorn catalog it and assign it a section of the shipyard. Within a few days of its arrival, a team of technicians reviews the ship for any salvageable equipment and components and files a salvage report with the shipyard administrator. Engineering teams then board the ship and begin the long process of salvaging its equipment and components. The salvage team marks and catalogs the components removed from each ship before transporting them to holding ships located along the perimeter of the shipyard. This thorough, but often painstakingly slow, process has led some larger ships to remain stationed at Zed 15 for years before being stripped completely of salvageable components.
The Zakdorn sell some components to merchants and traders and Federation member worlds, but keep many in storage until requested or purchased. As supplies of various components and equipment change over time, the Zakdorn route the stockpiles of components between the various holding ships located along the shipyard's perimeter. The frequent and regular transport of goods and components between the holding ships and the ground-based facilities rivals that of even the busiest starbases.
Although Zed 15 is sometimes referred to a ship graveyard, most of the ships there are not dead in space. Maneuvering thrusters on most ships ensure that they remain in position and in orbit, and minimal power remains online to maintain life support on those ships where salvage operations still take place. Most of the ships arrive at Zed 15 are no longer serviceable, but the shipyard uses some as holding ships and transports. The decommissioned U.S.S. Tripoli was one such ship before its theft in 2368.
Most of the personnel at Zed 15 are Zakdorn, but they also employ a number of technicians and engineers or other races. In particular, the engineer corps that services the Zed 15 shipyard includes Tellarites. Just as the Tellarites are experts at ship design and construction, so too are they expert at salvage.
History and Population
Qualor II remained uninhabited until just over a hundred years ago, when Starfleet established an outpost on Qualor III, also a Class M world. This outpost's mission was to monitor activity near the Romulan Neutral Zone. The first to inhabit Qualor III were Centaurans, followed by humans and, later, Andorians. Within a few decades these settlers had also colonized Qualor II, which quickly became a popular trading post in this sector of the Beta Quadrant. Eventually Qualor II formed its own government. When the Zakdorn joined the Federation, they were asked to lend their considerable strategic expertise to monitoring the Romulan Neutral Zone, and many of them were posted to Qualor III. When the Federation chose Qualor II as the site for a surplus ship depot in 2312, the Zakdorn assumed the duties of administering the facility, a role they have held since.
From its establishment in 2312 until 2368, Zed 15 enjoyed the reputation of having never been the victim of the theft or loss of any ships or equipment. In 2368, agents working for the Romulan Star Empire stole two ships, the U.S.S. Tripoli and the Vulcan ship T'Pau. These ships were both used in the failed Romulan takeover of Vulcan of 2368. Since that time, the Zakdorn have attempted to restore their almost spotless record through increased security measures, but given the vast size of the shipyard, thefts of both ships and components still occasionally occur.
Beyond the legal trade which flows through the merchant centers of Qualor II, a considerable level of illicit trade also finds its home on this remote world. Among the various types of illicit trade encountered on Qualor II, arms trade is perhaps the most common in several cities on the planet. The underground arms markets of Qualor II attract interest from as far away as the Alpha Quadrant. Among those to profit from the illicit arms trade on Qualor II include the Duras family of the Klingon Empire, the Cardassian Union, and even the Maquis.
Government
The personnel of Zed 15 and related facilities come under the direct administration of the Federation. The colonists, on the other hand, are more independent. Their government is an economic oligarchy, or plutocracy, in which the wealthiest 15 persons on the planet, as determined by a permanent bureaucracy, rule. In effect, this makes the bureaucracy the real rulers; the bureaucrats have tremendous influence over Qualorian society.
Strategic Importance and Present Conflicts
Qualor II, or, more precisely, the Qualor system, holds great strategic importance. Its location near the Romulan Neutral Zone makes it an ideal place for listening posts, as well as a jumping-off point for any missions of expeditions into the Neutral Zone or Romulan space (if Starfleet ever felt it necessary to take any). Presumably it would be one of the Romulans' first targets in the event of a Federation-Romulan war.
Qualor II is generally peaceful, with no major societal conflicts. Because of the amount of illicit trade going on, there are plenty of shady characters on the planet at any given time, though, and there have been incidents of violence. Furthermore, the colonists' desire for free trade and Starfleet's desire for security often cause tension.
Notable Inhabitants
Klim Dokachin is the chief administrator of Zed 15. Like many Zakdorn, he is fussy, precise, meticulous, and disdainful of conflicting opinions, but even for a Zakdorn Dokachin takes these qualities to extremes. In short, he's an extremely unpleasant person to work for or spend time with.
A fat Ferengi named Omag, one of the most well known arms traders on Qualor II, can be found regularly at Amarie's Bar in Torrallia. He visits the lounge nearly every day and always requests his favorite song, "Melor Fanagal." Omag was among those involved in the theft of ships and components from the Federation shipyard which were used in the failed Romulan conquest of Vulcan in 2368.
Creatures
There are many indigenous lifeforms on Qualor II, though few are bigger than a large dog. The best known is probably the gzilgra, a greenish-brown porcupine-like creature whose extremely tough, leathery hide is covered with sharp spikes or thorns. These creatures are very difficult to find and kill, but are considered a delicacy on Qualor II and so are often hunted by the colonists.
Reference(s)
- Cambias, James, et al. Planets of the UFP: A Guide to Federation Worlds, Last Unicorn Games, 1999. ISBN: 0671040065.