Ventaxian The Ventaxians were an intelligent humanoid race native to the planet Ventax II . In the mid - 24th century , their government ' s head of state was Acost Jared . Mythology . In Ventaxian mythology , their version of the Devil was known as Ardra . She provided a threat of punishment for those who did not behave . She also made deals in which she benefited from others . It was considered bad luck to speak her name out loud . After the 14th century , she was widely known to have created a contract , the Contract of Ardra , between herself and the entire Ventaxian people in which they had one thousand year s of peace , and she owned them and their planet afterwards . Ardra was the cornerstone of Ventaxian theology . Law . Ventaxian law was particularly detailed , requiring time to interpret decisions . There was one case which involved an alien claimant . It involved a contract dispute over services rendered by a Klingon craftsman on the construction of a Ventaxian home . As the case was between an alien claimant and a Ventaxian , both sides decided that arbitration rather than courts should decide the case . Both sides were required to choose an arbiter . In a hearing , it was acceptable for the contract to specify how to determine the identity of one of the parties without direct evidence . History . The Ventaxians had a long recorded history . Before the 14th century , the Ventaxians were a highly advanced industrialized society . However , it was also divided in numerous and overcrowded city - states who constantly warred with each other . This conflict destroyed great parts of their planet ' s ecology with industrial pollution as well as maintained frequent threat of starvation and epidemics . In an attempt to return the planet to peace , the Ventaxian leaders used the myth of Ardra to convince their people to stop fighting . They wrote the mythical Contract of Ardra on a set of scrolls and stored them in the Atheneum vaults . The population agreed to the contract , and was amenable to change . Scholars would later study the scrolls and incorporate their findings into Ventaxian theology , but otherwise they were of little interest until the 24th century . After the Contract , a council was convened to consider options for a new government . They drafted a new constitution , ratified by the people , which brought the various factions together . They signed a treaty of non - aggression in which weapons were ordered destroyed . They also drafted initiatives to purify the water and atmosphere as well as ecologically sound methods of waste disposal . With these in place , changes in the environment happened gradually over the next centuries . In 2297 , a Klingon expedition made first contact with the civilization and conducted business with them , including constructing homes . For several years leading up to 2367 , Jared increasingly became worried about the myth of Ardra , believing she would come back and enslave the population . He saw signs which were stated in the contract , including tremors and visions . This eventually resulted in riots in 2367 . An posed as Ardra after studying the myth , intending to take claim of the planet . The riots also put the Federation station in danger and therefore drew the attention of the . While Jared completely believed this person was Ardra , Captain Jean - Luc Picard confronted her and used Ventaxian law to ask for arbitration and argue his case . However , the law was successfully used by the impostor until Doctor Howard Clark and Geordi La Forge found her ship and disabled it , proving to Jared she was not Ardra . This dissolved the Contract and the riots eventually ended . ( )