Coridan (planet)

Coridan was an inhabited Federation planet and homeworld of the Coridans, a warp capable humanoid species. The planet was located in the Coridan system, which was near the Orion system.

The planet Coridan was rich in valuable resources, most significantly dilithium. 

In 2151, Coridan had a population of three billion with the majority living in several cities in the equatorial region. The capital city was surrounded by a shantytown, and there were almost as many bio-signs outside the city as there were within it. The planet was known for having the largest shipyards in its sector building advanced warp-capable vessels, some of which were rumored to reach warp 7. However, the planet was also embroiled in an internal conflict between the government, backed by the Vulcan High Command, and rebel forces, secretely supported by the Andorian Empire. The Vulcan agenda was to keep the planet's chancellorship stable while the Tau Ceti Accords prohibited any Andorian presence on the planet, which in turn assured Coridan's dilithium exports to Vulcan. 

Chancellor Kalev invited Captain Jonathan Archer and T'Pol of the to visit the planet, but they were captured by rebels and held for ransom. As a result, a commando force led by Sopek, the Vulcan senior officer of the sector, as well as the Andorian Imperial Guard, led by Shran, who was thereby violating the Tau Ceti Accords, came to assist the rescue. 

A year later, in 2152, Jonathan Archer, playing the role of a smuggler, claimed to have outrun a customs vessel near Coridan. 

In 2155, Coridan took part at the talks on Earth to form a Coalition of Planets. Here the Coridans rejected the Tellarite proposal of a trade embargo against the Orion Syndicate. The Coridan representative claimed his people have been trading with the Orions for centuries and that the accusation of Orions attacking Tellarite freighters is slander. 

Over the next century, Coridan would become under-populated to the point that it could not defend its dilithium mines. In 2267, Coridan sought admission to the United Federation of Planets. However, due to the wealth of minerals available on Coridan and the presence of illegal mining operations, Coridan's admission was a controversial subject between Tellarites and Vulcans. The Babel Conference was convened to settle the matter and ultimately approved Coridan's admission although the Orion Syndicate initially tried to sabotage the meeting. Ambassador Sarek of Vulcan was credited with achieving the consensus towards admitting the planet to the Federation. 

Shortly before the start of the Dominion War, Kandra Vilk moved from Deep Space 9 to a neutral world near Coridan. 

During the Dominion War, Coridan's dilithium mines came under attack by the Dominion in 2374 due to their strategic importance. Gelnon left Kudak'Etan in command of the USS Defiant (2370) while he and his ship left to launch an attack on Coridan. 

Background
According to the script for "Sarek", the pronunciation for Coridan was "CORE-ah-don". 

Star Trek: Star Charts
Coridan was the third planet of the Coridan system. This M-class world was governed by The People's Republic of Coridan from its seat at New Coridan. The dominant species were the humanoid Coridans. The Coridans were warp capable in 2093. In the mid-22nd century, there were three billion living on Coridan. This planet was a destination on the Vulcan trade routes. On 10/01/2151, the visited this planet. By the mid-23rd century, a centuries-long civil war had reduced the population. In 2378, Coridan was a Federation member. (Pgs. 45, 53, 60, "United Federation of Planets I")

Apocrypha
In the non-canon novel The Good That Men Do, Coridan was referred to as "Coridan Prime", on the verge of developing warp-7 technology. To prevent such advances from spreading to other Coalition of Planets member worlds, the Romulans launched a vicious attack on Coridan, flying a vessel into the planet at maximum warp. Anti-matter from the suicide attackers' ship mixed with Coridan's abundance of dilithium, causing a fireball that spreads across the planet, killing billions. The planet's population was said to be further depleted by civil wars that continued after the Romulan attack.

In the Star Trek: The Original Series - Core Game Book, Coridan is described as a cold dry class M world with a chronically corrupt government in the 2260s.

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