Omega IV Omega IV was the homeworld for the Omega IV native s , a pre - warp humanoid species . This species was divided into two ethnic groups , the Kohm s and the Yang s , who had fought a biological war centuries ago . ( ) Location . In 2293 , the location of Omega IV in the Milky Way Galaxy was labeled in a star chart that was in Captain James T . Kirk ' s quarters aboard the . ( , " okudagram " ) History . While the planet had different landmasses from Earth , Omega IV shared a history nearly identical to Earth ' s , up to the 1990s or slightly beyond . Omega IV once had a nation called " The United States " similar to Earth ' s United States of America , with the same handwritten Constitution of the United States , the Pledge of Allegiance and United States flag identical to that of Earth ' s . The stand - off on Omega IV between the two superpowers had escalated into open biological warfare . One of the primary weapons of the war was a virus that disrupted the body at the molecular level , separating water molecules from other organic compounds until there was nothing of the body left but dehydrated crystals . The virus was still present on the planet in the 23rd century , though only a brief exposure to the atmosphere at that time was needed to provide a lasting immunity to the virus . The Asiatic Kohms , originally called " Communists " , won the war against the Caucasian Yangs originally called " Yankees " . As the survivors of the war adapted to the toxic environment , they acquired a naturally long lifespan . They could live to be more than a thousand years old . The Yangs were driven from their cities , and took to the ways of the native American s for survival . By the 23rd century , civilization on Omega IV had returned to the iron - age level . The Yangs , dressed in tribal attire , lived in the hills and mountains surrounding the ruined cities . The cities were inhabited by the Kohms , who dressed similarly to Earth ' s Mongolians . The Yangs were attempting to take their old cities back from the Kohms . In 2268 , Captain Ronald Tracey of the starship beamed down with a landing party to survey the planet for research purposes . He found the Kohm city and established friendly relations with the Kohms . However , when some of the landing party beamed back to the ship , they carried the virus back with them . Within a short time the entire crew of the " Exeter " was killed . Driven insane by the death of his entire crew and the loss of his ship , Captain Tracey sided with the Kohm villagers in their conflict with the Yangs . He used his phaser to drive off a Yang attack in violation of the Prime Directive . When the arrived to investigate , Captain Kirk refused to help Tracey in the battle against the Yangs . He took Tracey away from Omega IV and allowed its people to rediscover their own " history and liberty . " ( ) Appendices . Background information . The planet was recreated by CBS Digital for the remastered version of " The Omega Glory " . In a deleted scene from the episode , the landing party speculated that the Yangs and Kohms might , in fact , be Human . The classified Omega IV as a class M planet . Apocrypha . According to the " " novel " Forgotten History " , the American paraphernalia on Omega IV were not indigenous documents , but in fact replicas left behind by the crew of in the late - 2140s , to inspire the native Yangs in the struggle for freedom against the Kohms . According to the novel " Forged in Fire " , a key component in the virus used by The Albino to murder the sons of Kang , Kor , and Koloth came from Omega IV . The Albino also infected Sulu with the virus , but Sulu was immune to it because he had visited Omega IV .