Janus VI

Janus VI was the inhabited sixth planet of the Janus system. This was the homeworld for the sentient Horta, a non-humanoid species. This system was located in the Alpha Quadrant. ( production art)

Janus VI was colonized by the United Federation of Planets over fifty years prior to 2267, with the underground Janus VI colony. The colony was a major producer of pergium for the Federation. Janus VI was geologically inactive, and had no atmosphere. Though the planet was rich in mineral resources, reaching them was difficult with standard mining technology. Minerals present included gold, pergium, platinum, sirium, and uranium.

The Federation was unaware of the Horta until that year, when a new level was opened up and the miners inadvertently began destroying Horta eggs, causing the mother Horta to retaliate by sabotaging equipment and killing fifty colonists by the time she was stopped three months later. Once it was realized that the Horta was a sentient creature, an agreement was created so the two sides could share the planet. 

In 2269, when attempting to understand the threat they faced on the Kalandan outpost, after Captain James T. Kirk asked if the rocks could have life, Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu thought it possible that the captain was thinking back to his time on Janus VI and his experience with the Horta. Lieutenant Commander Leonard McCoy disagreed with the captain arguing that the Horta registered as a lifeform and the medical tricorder wasn't picking up life signs from the rocks. 

The location of Janus VI in the Milky Way Galaxy was labeled on several star charts. The first time was in 2293 on a wall chart on board the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-A), ( production art) the second time was in 2367 on a tactical situation monitor on board the USS Phoenix, ( display graphic) and the third time was in 2371 in stellar cartography on board the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D). ( display graphic)

In an alternate 2366, Janus VI was marked on a tactical situation monitor showing the fleet deployments in the Federation-Klingon War. ( display graphic)

Background information
For the "remastered" version of "The Devil in the Dark", a new, computer-generated version of Janus VI was created to replace the stock footage used in so many TOS episodes. New shots of the planet's surface were also created.

Janus VI was named twice on the tactical situation monitor. In the "The Explored Galaxy" star chart, Janus VI was located between the Tholian Assembly and Romulus. Both were identified in as being located in the Alpha Quadrant.

According to Star Trek Maps (page 26) Janus VI was a class-H planet. One of ten planets orbiting the moderate yellow star Janus. According to The Worlds of the Federation (page 110), Janus was a class-E planet known as Shaul by the Horta. According to Star Trek: Star Charts (page 23), Janus VI was classified as a class-F planet.

Apocrypha
Janus VI was additionally mentioned in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Pocket Books novel Devil in the Sky and, in the IDW comic A Matter of Perspective, the Enterprise was en route to revisit the planet before being redirected for a distress call from a pleasure cruise.

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