Tarsus IV Tarsus IV was the inhabited fourth planet of its star system . This was the home of an Earth colony . History . In 2246 , an exotic fungus destroyed most of the colony ' s food supply , leaving the colonists , of which there were eight thousand , in serious danger of starvation . Governor Kodos made a drastic decision : he ordered the deaths of four thousand colonists , so that the other four thousand might live , selecting those to be killed according to his personal theories of eugenics . Supply ship s arrived earlier than expected , but too late to save the four thousand people Kodos murder ed . All that Earth Forces found of Kodos was a burned body , and he was presumed dead , until his chance discovery on Planet Q twenty years later . Among the survivors of the Tarsus IV incident were James T . Kirk , Kevin Riley , and Thomas Leighton , who were three of only nine survivors who knew Kodos ' face , and who would be able to identify him . In 2266 , they were the only three of the original nine eye witnesses still alive . ( ) In 2328 , Tarsus IV was the destination for passengers traveling from Gamma Trianguli VI via commercial transport s . had traveled on the , Jack Litchfeld had traveled on the , and and had traveled on the . ( , " okudagram " ) Appendices . Background information . In the final revised draft of the script for , the Tarsus IV massacre was referred to as " the rebellion on Tarsus IV " . In the final version of the installment , though , no such rebellion is established as having taken place on the planet . In the same script , Kirk also described Tarsus IV as " " a colony which was disintegrating before my eyes ! Starvation ! Rioting ! Disaster ! " " The method of execution Kodos used was said to have been an antimatter chamber , which , after he threw a switch , completely disintegrated the four thousand colonists all at once . In the final draft script of the episode , Quark told Benjamin Sisko that the Ferengi had never had an incident like what had happened on Tarsus IV . ( " " ) According to Mike Sussman , a computer readout on the in stated that Hoshi Sato was among those killed by Kodos on Tarsus Four . However , the relevant section of the bio did not appear in the finished cut of the episode . According to the " Star Trek " app accompanying , John Harrison ' s bio claimed he was one of nine survivors of a 2246 attack on the planet , his parents Richard and Sara perishing . It was not made explicitly clear if this " attack " was the same event that happened in the regular timeline . According to the reference book " " ( " United Federation of Planets I " ) , in 2378 , Tarsus IV was a Federation member . Apocrypha . In the Shatnerverse novel " Avenger " , the famine was an act of eco - terrorism , the testbed for a plague created by the , a radical environmentalist group who believed that the " cosmic plan " that formed the basis of the Prime Directive should apply to planetary ecologies as well – after the famine , they assisted Kodos in his escape and provided him with the name Anton Karidian . In the " " short story " Though Hell Should Bar the Way " , the , under the command of Robert April , was en route to Tarsus IV with relief supplies when it was attacked by a Klingon vessel commanded by Kor – though the " Enterprise " was able to fight off the Klingon ship ( and dishonor Kor by not destroying it ) , they made it to Tarsus only to find that the massacre had already taken place , leaving April haunted , wondering if , had it not been for the Klingons , he might have reached the planet in time to save the colonists .