- For the mirror universe counterpart, see Halka (mirror).
Halka II (also known as Halkan, Nola Boradne V or Omicron Indi III) is an inhabited planet in the red star system of Omicron Indi, at coordinates 4.27S 4.58E (-29.2 -147.3 -6.7) in the Beta Quadrant. The only class M planet in its system, the world is home to the Halkan civilization.
Halka is located in the general vicinity of Eminiar, M-113, Ariannus, Winston's Star, Elba and Axanar. (TNG novel: Dark Mirror; TOS episode & novelization: Mirror, Mirror; FASA RPG module: The Federation; ST reference: Star Trek Maps)
History[]
Halka was visited by the USS Enterprise in 2267, for the purpose of negotiating a mining agreement with the Halkans. The planet was considered by the Federation to be open for diplomatic contact, as the Halkans were aware of the existence of civilizations alien to their own, and possessed the means to communicate with them.
Captain James T. Kirk led a landing party consisting of himself, Chief Medical Officer Leonard McCoy, Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott, and Communications Officer Nyota Uhura to meet with the Halkan Council, the ruling government assembly of the world. Although the Halkans were receptive to friendly contact, they reiterated that they were a peaceful culture and would be unable to trade with the Federation, since the Federation had been known to them to participate in interstellar wars and carried weapons of mass destruction. Kirk reminded the Halkans that the Federation was bound by rules of peace and that armed conflict was a last resort, and that there would be no argument with the Halkan decision based on those rules.
When Kirk's party attempted to leave Halka, a severe electromagnetic storm had moved through the atmosphere, severely disrupting their transporter beam, causing a transference of subatomic particles exchanged with an identical beam in the mirror universe. (TNG novel: Dark Mirror; TOS episode & novelization: Mirror, Mirror)
In the 23rd century, Halka remained an independent world, and was patrolled by the Federation Starfleet to enforce the prohibition of mining on the surface. (FASA RPG module: The Federation)
In the 2280s, the USS Reliant proceeded to Halka after learning that they had been attacked by the Orions. First Officer Pavel Chekov led a landing party to the surface and learned that a local boy named Lojur took up arms against the Orions, and was subsequently banned from his village by the Elders. Chekov took pity on the boy and beamed him aboard the Reliant. By the 2290s, Lieutenant Commander Lojur was a key member of Captain Hikaru Sulu's senior staff as the helmsman of the USS Excelsior. (TLE novel: The Sundered; TOS novelization: The Undiscovered Country)
Kirk's words did spark some discussion with the Halkans, and a softening of their attitude towards the Federation began. By the 24th century, the Halkan culture as a whole had begun to better understand and embrace the ways of the Federation. After a century of refusals, Ambassador Elias Rinn negotiated the entry of Halka into the Federation on reference stardate 2/9905.17. For this great accomplishment, Rinn was awarded the Federation Peace Medal. (FASA RPG module: Star Trek: The Next Generation Officer's Manual)
Because the economy of the 24th century did not place a great value on the trade of dilithium, Halka became a very backwater world, maintaining only a low profile among a select few trading partners among nearby worlds that had refused Federation membership for reasons of religion. By the later 2360s, the world was rarely visited by the Federation.
In the early 2370s, the Preservers had manipulated Starfleet and Federation policy to allow the construction of a secret mapping station at Halka, towards their own mysterious ends. Since the Preservers acted through intermediaries and manipulation, the station was disguised as a Ferengi Commerce Authority project, and numerous Federation starships were diverted by false orders to avoid revelations of Ferengi presence at a protected world. The situation came to a head in 2375 when the starships Pathfinder and Enterprise-E arrived at the station with conflicting orders. It was revealed through an invesigation of the mirror universe Halka that the Preservers intended to ignite the dilithium of both worlds simultaneously in order to correct the separation between the normal universe and the mirror duplicate, collapsing the two universes into each other. A confrontation between the two Federation ships, and between Kirk and his mirror counterpart ensued, with the planet and the universe being saved, at the cost of the Pathfinder and the death of Kirk's wife. (ST novel: Preserver)
- Preserver indicates that Halka was considered to be non-aligned but still under Federation protection, indicating that the world's member status might not have been finalized or had been reversed.
Statistics[]
Rock formations on Halka's surface.
At the time of the Federation's first contact with Halka, the population was composed of 580 million individuals. (ST reference: Star Trek Maps)
Halka has a warm temperate climate, a class M terrestrial atmosphere and a day's length of 19 hours. Halka has a total surface area of 462,000,000 square kilometers and, with 45% land mass and 55% of the surface covered by water oceans, a total land area of 207,900,000 square kilometers. Halka has a gravity of .87g, a diameter of 12,800 kilometers and an equatorial circumference of 45,000 kilometers.
About 20% of Halka's makeup is usable metals, another 10% composed of gemstone and the planet has trace deposits of crystals and radioactive materials. Halka's notable composition is in special minerals such as dilithium, composing a surprising 35% of the world's mineral richness. It has been theorized that Halka's stormy atmosphere is caused by energy charges conducted by strata of these special minerals. (TNG novel: Dark Mirror; TOS episode & novelization: Mirror, Mirror; FASA RPG module: The Federation)
Halka's purple aurora effect.
By the 24th century, Federation science had found that the unique concentrations of transuranic elements in Halka's makeup was probably the result of two supernovae, only 27 light-years apart, in the distant past when Omicron Indi was forming. The blast waves from the astronomical events had collided in the birthing of Halka's orbit and promoted the natural synthesis of such materials. James Kirk's memories of the world included the fantastic purple auroral effects. (ST novel: Preserver)
Halka's population was composed of over 1.57 billion individuals in a late 23rd century survey of reference stardate 2/2306. Halka had a technological/sociopolitical index of 555567-85 and a nonexistant planetary trade profile, since the Halkans forbade outsiders from mining on their world. (TNG novel: Dark Mirror; TOS episode & novelization: Mirror, Mirror; FASA RPG module: The Federation)
Appendices[]
Background[]
The name of the planet and star were given in "Dark Mirror" for the mirror universe version of Halka. However, it is safe to assume that the Omicron Indi star shares the same name in the primary universe. The FASA RPG supplements note this as the fifth planet in its star system, contradicting the notation naming it as the third planet, although many of the stats were randomly generated for the sake of gameplay. Star Trek Maps also refers to this anomalously, as the second of three worlds. It is of course also possible that other planets in the system have doubled orbits or some other variation that would cause this to be thought of as simultaneously occupying multiple orbitals from the star, although there is no source supporting the introduction of such speculation into the body of this article.
It is not known whether or not the inhabitants of Halka had warp drive capability, but the Federation contacted the world without any mention of the Prime Directive prohibiting such contact. It could be that the Halkans had warp drive, but their simple nature as portrayed in most sources indicates they might not have. However, the Prime Directive would not forbid contact with them if they were aware of the existence of other beings through other means, such as a previous first contact with another culture.
Connections[]
| planets visited by the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-E) | |
|---|---|
| Earth • Elamin IX • Algenib II • Salva IV • Chiaros IV • Kendaray • Denobula • Galor IV • Gornar • Betazed • Raknal V • Ba'ku • Halka • Primus IV • Gemworld • TaD • Blossom IV • Terra Galan • Bajor • Narendra III • Pelleus V • Solosos III • Davlos VI • Cygnet IV • Myrmidon • Tezwa • Kolarus III • Romulus • Tolochon II • Dokalaan homeworld • Dokaalan colony • Carrea • Delta Sigma IV • Gorsach IX • Trophy World • Ramatis III • Fromander IV • Vulcan | |
External link[]
- Halka article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.