Ardana

Ardana is an inhabited planet in the Ardana system of the Beta Quadrant.
It is the homeworld for the Ardanans, a warp-capable humanoid species.

A Federation member, it is the only known planet that mines zenite.

The capital city of this world is an elevated city named "Stratos."

Other major cities include First City, Lejico, and Droxana.

Since before 2269, this planet was united under a planetary government, after being admitted into the United Federation of Planets in 2263.

The people of this world are nearly identical to Humans in outwardly appearance.

Society

The civilization of Ardana was divided into two castes, a labor class of "Troglytes" and an intellectual ruling class of Stratos city-dwellers. The caste system gave way to much conflict.

By the mid-22nd century, Ardanans had developed shuttle technology and had dealings with other species.

City-dwellers ruled the planet from the capitol city Stratos through a council existing solely of their class. They justified the total suppression of the Troglytes based on the widely-held belief that the latter was an inferior species, and were incapable of advanced culture. Troglytes were also considered to be mentally inferior, and therefore were forced to perform all the physical labor necessary to maintain Stratos, most notably mining the mineral Zenite. Unknown to both city-dwellers and Troglytes however, this mental disadvantage, while real, was only the result of exposure to a gas emanating from unrefined zenite, and furthermore, fully reversible.

When Ardana was admitted to the Federation, it was expected that the planet and its people would live up to its obligations in helping another member. Despite its membership in the Federation, Ardana employed torture and capital punishment. In 2269, Ardana's obligations as a Federation member were threatened by a rebellion. In that year, the USS Enterprise came to obtain zenite for use to prevent a bacterial botanical plague on a nearby planet. Captain James T. Kirk was able to successfully quell a rebellion by the Troglytes against the city-dwellers on the planet, while at the same time procuring a consignment of zenite for transport. The people of Ardana were subsequently referred to the Federation Bureau of Industrialization to resolve their differences.

Zenite

Zenite (sometimes spelled "zienite"), symbol Zi, atomic weight 318, atomic number 118, was discovered and known to the ancients on Ardana.

This mineral is useful in countering plant-based diseases. It is found only on the planet Ardana in soft ore material, and hand removal was the preferred method of mining.

Unfortunately, the mineral in its raw state has an undesirable byproduct: it emits a colorless and odorless gas that temporarily impairs synaptic functions.

• This stunts the subject's intelligence, as well as their emotional control. When the subject is removed from a high concentration of the gas, brain functions returned to normal.
• This medical problem was discovered by Dr. Leonard McCoy, who also learned that a simple filter mask was sufficient to prevent exposure.