Kenfori

Kenfori was an uninhabited planet in the Kenfori system, located between Federation and Klingon space. Its orbit lay just inside of a massive dust cloud. The surface was lush with vegetation but lacked any animal life. This was one of the few known locations where the chimera blossom could be found. The planet was also home to a type of perennial moss that consumed all other plants around it to proliferate itself.

In the 23rd century, the Federation operated an agricultural research facility, specializing on crop longevity, on Kenfori. The researchers developed an agent, derived from the chimera blossom, that could insert perennial moss genes into food plants to create hybrid "supercrops" able to survive in any environment.

At the start of the Federation-Klingon War in 2256, the Klingon Empire invaded the Kenfori facility without regard for safety protocols, causing an uncontrolled release of the chimera agent. The agent transformed all Federation and Klingon personnel inside the facility into mindless "zombies" that attacked and devoured living beings on sight. Before succumbing, the facility's chancellor ordered a lockdown to contain the agent and recommended the planet be abandoned.

After the war's end, the Federation and the Klingons mutually relinquished their claim to Kenfori and placed the system in a restricted zone, with access prohibited by multiple treaties. The mines in the area were removed, and a Klingon warning beacon was left in orbit.

In 2261, Captain Christopher Pike and Doctor Joseph M'Benga embarked on an off-the-books mission to obtain chimera blossoms from Kenfori, with which to treat Captain Marie Batel's Gorn egg infection. They were followed by a Klingon force chartered by Bytha, who sought to restore the honor of the House of Ra'Ul by killing M'Benga. Though the chimera agent had long since broken down, both Starfleet and Klingon landing parties ran afoul of the zombies inside the abandoned facility. Pike and M'Benga were able to secure a single chimera blossom sample before they were confronted by Bytha on the facility roof. After being defeated by M'Benga in ritual combat, Bytha sacrificed herself to the zombies to give Pike and M'Benga a chance to escape.

Meanwhile, the USS Enterprise encountered a D7-class Klingon battle cruiser in the dust cloud above the planet. With Pike and M'Benga in need of retrieval, Commander Una Chin-Riley ordered the Enterprise to sneak by the cruiser. However, Lieutenant Erica Ortegas disobeyed orders and allowed the Klingons to detect them, so as to force her preferred course of action: a risky warp jump into Kenfori's thermosphere. Though the maneuver successfully allowed Pike and M'Benga to be beamed back to the ship, Chin-Riley consequently relieved Ortegas of duty as both Pike and M'Benga were about to leave the planet anyway without help. (SNW: "Shuttle to Kenfori")

The name of the planet may be a reference to Dawn of the Dead actor Ken Foree.
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