Qualor II was an M-Class world, the second planet of the Qualor system in Sector 213 of the Beta Quadrant. It was the site of Starfleet Surplus Depot Z-15, which orbited the planet in a ring-like formation. (TNG: "Unification I", "Unification II"; LUG: Planets of the UFP)
The planet was uninhabited until the late 23rd century, when Starfleet established an outpost on the neighboring planet, Qualor III. The outpost's mission was the monitor activity near the Romulan Neutral Zone. Within a few decades, settlers from Qualor III had also colonized Qualor II, which quickly became a popular trading post in the region. Eventually, the denizens of Qualor II formed their own government as an independent colony.
In 2312, the Federation established Surplus Depot Z-15. After the Zakdorn joined the UFP in 2344 and lent their strategic expertise to the monitoring of the Neutral Zone, many of them were stationed at Qualor III and they also took on the administration of the Depot.
While the Depot and other facilities came under the direct oversight of the Federation, the colonists of Qualor II remained independent. The local government took on the form of an economic oligarchy or plutocracy in which the wealthiest fifteen persons on the planet, as determined by a permanent bureaucracy, rule. In effect, this gave the bureaucrats the real power, and they wielded tremendous influence over Qualorian society. Save for their protection from the neighboring Romulan Star Empire, the Qualorian government shunned most Federation influence, and the world operated as an independent trading planet, earning a seedy reputation.
By the 2370s, Qualor II had a population of more than 50 million: around 30 million Centaurans, 10 million humans, 5 million Andorians, 2 million Zakdorn, and the rest were members of assorted other species, including Ferengi, Dopterians and Orions.
Torrallia was the planet's capital and largest city, an important center of trade and commerce in Sector 213. Amarie's, formerly Shern's Palace, a local "watering hole", was a favorite haunt of locals, traders and arms dealers alike, and one of the best places to meet contacts, make deals and obtain information on the planet.
Beyond the legal trade which flowed from the merchant centers of Qualor II, a considerable amount of illicit trade also found its home on the remote world. Among the various underworld dealings on Qualor II, the arms trade was perhaps the most common, with the underground arms markets attracting interest from many parties across the two quadrants, including the House of Duras, the Cardassian Union, and even the Maquis. (LUG: Planets of the UFP)
In 2371, individuals involved in an assassination attempt on Gowron, Chancellor of the Klingon Empire, fled to Qualor II from Rura Penthe; they hid in an Andorian "red light" district, and were pursued by members of the Yan-Isleth before escaping to a smuggler's haven in the nearby Mendora Nebula. (Klingon Honor Guard)
External links[]
- Qualor II article at Memory Alpha, the canon Star Trek wiki.
- Qualor II article at Memory Beta, the non-canon Star Trek wiki.
- Qualor II article at Star Trek Expanded Universe, the fanon and fanworks Star Trek wiki.