Sigma Iotia II Sigma Iotia II was the inhabited second planet in its star system . It was the homeworld for the Iotian s , a pre - warp capable humanoid species . The planet was located in the outer reaches of the Milky Way Galaxy , from where it took a hundred years for a radio message to reach the in the 2260s . ( ) History . In the mid - 22nd century , the Iotian civilization was in the beginning stages of industrialization . In 2168 , the starship " " discovered the planet and made first contact with the Iotians . The Iotians were found to be an extremely intelligent and imitative species . The first contact occurred before the Prime Directive was adopted by Starfleet . When the " Horizon " left the planet , they left behind a number of textbooks and technical manuals on how to make radio sets and other similar technology . The book that became most influential was a text published on Earth in 1992 , called " Chicago Mobs of the Twenties " . This text became something of a " Bible " for the Iotian culture for decades to come . The Iotian population completely mimicked their society on the criminal underworld of Prohibition - era Chicago , that was described in great detail in the book . The " Horizon " was lost shortly after it left Sigma Iotia II . As a result of " Chicago Mobs of the Twenties " , cultural development on the planet stalled to the 1920s Earth level , as planetary resources were wasted on endless gang wars between the different territories . In 2268 , came to visit the planet and to investigate the cultural contamination caused by the first contact , after the last radio messages of the " Horizon " were received by the Federation . In an attempt to manage the contamination and to steer the Iotian civilization to a more ethical path , Captain James T . Kirk of the " Enterprise " posed as a gangster and established a syndicate of the criminal organizations controlling the planet . He left Bela Okmyx , the Iotian crime boss of the Northside Territory , in charge and demanded an annual cut of 40 % for the Federation . In reality , the 40 % was to be put into the planetary treasury and used as a resource to guide the Iotians into adopting a more ethical system of government . After the " Enterprise " left the planet , Doctor Leonard McCoy thought he might have forgotten his communicator on the planet . Spock noted that if the Iotians took it apart , they would have access to transtator technology , the basis for every important 23rd century Starfleet equipment . ( ) Appendices . Background information . The described Sigma Iotia II as a class M planet located some 100 hundred light years beyond Federation space . According to " " , The original idea for celebrating " Star Trek " s 30th anniversary on was to have the crew return to Sigma Iotia to find the Iotians imitating the original series crew . It would have been a tongue - in - cheek to the " typical " " Star Trek " fan . The idea was dropped in favor of what became . For the remastered edition of " A Piece of the Action " , Sigma Iotia II was recreated with computer - generated imagery , making it appear as a more realistic and Earth - like planet . Apocrypha . According to " The Worlds of the Federation " , the Iotians did in fact learn transtator - based Federation technology from McCoy ' s communicator . By the time the next starship arrived to the planet , the Iotians had built a Federation starbase - like installation in orbit and were all wearing Starfleet uniform s . By the 24th century , the planet had become a Federation protectorate . According to the comic " . . . Let ' s Kill All the Lawyers ! , " however , the Iotians never touched McCoy ' s communicator for fear of angering him and eventually returned it to him decades later ; the society was still modeled on Chicago ' s gangs but was more peaceful and law - abiding . The planet was visited by the in with the 1998 story " A Piece of Reaction " in the final issue of " Star Trek Unlimited " . According to the " " short story " Fables of the Prime Directive " , Sigma Iotia eventually joined the Federation after years of work behind the scenes by cultural specialists .