Coridan (species)

*For similarly named articles, see Coridan.*

The **Coridans** (also called **Coridanians**, **Coradanites** or **Coridani**) were a humanoid species native to Coridan III. They were physically quite similar to humans, though their noses had wide bridges with cross-shaped indentations, that joined a protruding, furrowed brow ridge. Lines ran down their faces in a somewhat "diamondback" pattern from the center of the brow, over the nose and mouth, down to the chin. (ENT: "Shadows of P'Jem")

When off their homeworld, Coridans traditionally wore an intimidating mask of ornate chitinous material that obscured their faces, lending them a "crustacean-like" appearance. (ENT: "Demons")

The Coridans had a long history of trading in the abundant resources of their planet, especially dilithium. They were trade partners with the Orions going back "hundreds of years" before the 2150s.

During the mid-22nd century, the Coridan population numbered over 3 billion on their homeworld, with colonies throughout their system, and their technology was more advanced even than that of the Vulcans. They were reputed to have the best shipyards in the sector, as well as fabrication facilities that far outstripped anything seen on Earth.

Internecine conflict between the corrupt government and rebels plagued Coridan society, exacerbated by outside influence from both the Vulcan High Command and Andorian Empire, each supporting a different faction, as well as the covert machinations of the Orion Syndicate. (ENT: "Shadows of P'Jem")

In 2155, Coridan representatives were present at the conference on Earth which proposed the formation of a Coalition of Planets. They were initially reticent to support the Coalition, but after details regarding Orion trade sanctions were worked out with the Tellarites, they signed on. (ENT: "Demons"; *ENT* novel: *The Good That Men Do*).

Some months later, Coridan suffered a devastating attack from the Romulan Star Empire in an effort to disrupt the Coalition, which caused the death of more than half the Coridan population - over one and a half billion souls were lost in the conflagration that engulfed the planet. Withdrawing from the Coalition in fear of further attacks, the Coridans fell into a series of bitter civil wars. (*ENT* novel: *The Good That Men Do*)

With the Coalition occupied with the Romulans, Coridan was easy prey for the Orion Syndicate, who established illegal mining operations in the system, abducting many Coridani to use as a slave labor force, a practice which continued well into the 23rd century as by law Vulcan and Andor were forced to abandon their interests in the planet after the founding of the United Federation of Planets in 2161. Despite this, some Federation members, such as the Tellarites, secretly held their own mining interests in the Coridan system. (Decipher: *Worlds*; *The Worlds of the Federation*; Template:SOT)

Between the civil wars and Orion depredations, the Coridans were unable to recover from the Romulan attack, and their planet and system remained "underpopulated and underdeveloped" for more than a century.

In the 2260s, the Coridans petitioned for Federation membership, hoping that Starfleet and Federation law would bring peace and stability to region. Due to all of the outside interference in the system, it was a murky issue, and in 2267, a Babel Conference was called to debate the Coridans' application. The crew of the USS *Enterprise* foiled an Orion plot to disrupt the conference and sow dissension among the Federation members, and thanks to the work of Ambassador Sarek of Vulcan, Coridan was admitted to the Federation over the objections of Tellar. (TOS: "Journey to Babel"; TNG: "Sarek")

Over the next century, the Coridans were fully integrated in the Federation and took an active role in galactic affairs. Many Coridans joined Starfleet, and many more worked as traders and merchants throughout the Alpha and Beta Quadrants, and trade agreements were made between the Coridans and the Ferengi Alliance. However, despite Starfleet's best efforts, a strong criminal element remained on Coridan, much of which was run by the Orion Syndicate, despite the Coridans' strong antipathy towards Orions over the slave trade. (Decipher: *Worlds*; Template:SOT)

Kaetan Ziid was a one Coridan who served in Starfleet. During the 2370s, he held the rank of Lieutenant and was Assistant Chief of Security aboard the USS *Sally Ride*. (Template:SOT)

During the Dominion War, Coridan dilithium was of great strategic importance for the Federation. In a tragic echo of the past, in 2374 the Coridans suffered more losses when Dominion forces bombarded their planet, targeting the dilithium mines and causing thousands of deaths. (DS9: "One Little Ship"; LUG: *The Dominion War Sourcebook: The Fires of Armageddon*)

The Coridan population never regrew to its size before the Romulan attack. As of 2378, there were 185 million inhabitants of Coridan Prime, most of which were Coridani natives. (*Star Trek: Star Charts*)

## External links

* Coridanite article at ***Memory Alpha***, the canon *Star Trek* wiki.
* Coridanite article at ***Memory Beta***, the non-canon *Star Trek* wiki.
* Coridan (species) article at ***Star Trek Expanded Universe***, the fanon and fanworks *Star Trek* wiki.