Solarion IV

Solarion IV is the last of the four planets of the Solarion System; a heavily-forested Class M world that was first settled by Federation colonists in 2296. It was soon discovered that the planet had undergone a magnetic pole reversal within the last 300 years or so. When hostilities broke out between the Federation and the Cardassian Union in the 2340s, there had always been concern over the proximity of the planet to Cardassian space.

In 2368, those fears became real when the colony was attacked and destroyed by an unidentified vessel, resulting in 326 casualties. The first ship to respond to the distress call was the USS Enterprise-D and initially it was believed that a Bajoran Resistance splinter group was responsible. Later it was discovered to be a Cardassian ploy to lure the group leader Orta out of hiding. (TNG: "Ensign Ro")

The colony had yet to get back on its feet when the Federation-Cardassian Treaty of 2370 created the Demilitarized Zone, placing Solarion IV nearly in the middle of it. When the Dominion War erupted, the planet was again evacuated and laid for the most part deserted until 2375. A joint Federation-Bajoran endeavor re-colonized the planet and by 2385 the population hovered near 30,000.