Gaius was a Class M planet in the Romulan Star Empire, close to the border with the Taurhai Unity in the Beta Quadrant. It was the site of a Romulan colony established in the early 24th century, and annexed by the Taurhai Unity shortly thereafter. (LUG: The Way of D'era: The Romulan Star Empire)
The Taurhai conquered Gaius as part of their plans to bring "civilization" to the warlike Romulans. A "war" for control of the planet's culture ensued between the Romulan colonists and the Taurhai "guides," who sought to teach the Romulans proper, civilized ways and enforce the precepts of taurite to that Gaius could be shown to the rest of the Romulan Empire as an example of the benefits the Unity could offer its people. While the Empire still claimed Gaius as a colony, the Taurhai claimed it as a protectorate, pending full membership in the Unity. The planet's status was under discussion at the Paxar IV peace talks between the Taurhai and the Romulans during the 2370s.
With the colony only a few years old before the Taurhai conquest, the planet had considerable untapped resources that the Romulans had only begun to survey. The Taurhai encouraged the Romulans to continue their work, with an eye toward more advanced methods of utilizing the planet's resources for the benefit of all.
The colony itself continued to be administered by the Romulans, overseen by the Taurhai. Those Romulans who showed an acceptance of Taurhai ways were given greater positions of authority in the colony and permitted to serve the Taurhai Unity by further educating their peers.
The Taurhai maintained a monitoring station on Gaius' sole moon, to protect the population from both Imperial assault, local terrorists, and smugglers attempting to bring weapons and contraband to the planet. The lunar station also scanned for cloaked vessels, as well as subspace signals and transporter activity, easily tracing any to their source. The Unity also kept a strong military presence near the system, with at least one star dragon in orbit or on patrol nearby.
External links[]
- Gaius (planet) article at Memory Beta, the non-canon Star Trek wiki.