"This colony exists because generations gave their lives for it. Many died, before we found a way to adapt to the radiation, and many more died bringing water to this desert..."
-Gosheven, TNG "The Ensigns of Command"
Braidans
In the late 23rd century, a large human colony was established on a class K planet in the Braida system, with the hope of proving new terraforming techniques. Starting in pressure domes, the colonists hoped to create a paradise on the fringe of Federation space.
While they were initially successful, a catastrophic failure of one of the colony's power generators irradiated the planet. The level of radiation, combined with a complete loss of communications, left the Federation with little hope of finding survivors, and a rescue attempt out of the question. The colony was abandoned as a total loss, and the system declared completely uninhabitable and forgotten.
Despite the death sentence the Federation gave to the Braida colony, a small band did survive, seeking shelter in the pressure domes and integrating medical technology with the state-of-the-art terraforming equipment in order to cleanse their bodies of the dangerous toxins and radiation that now covered the planet. The constant need of this "flushing" limited the mobility of the colonists, forcing them to be creative and construct more portable units. As the years progressed, the units grew smaller until it was possible to directly implant the unit into the body. Further development allowed for near-total control of the colonists' biochemistry, allowing them to leave the pressure domes for longer and longer periods of time in the harsh environment.
While failing to create a new paradise, they had successfully created a new race - the Braidans.
Radiation levels dropped to sufficient levels to where communications were able to be re-established with the Federation in 2368, but conflict quickly arose. The Braidans were resentful that the Federation had declared their colony destroyed, while the races of the Federation viewed the Braidans with disdain for their uncomfortable similarity to the Borg following the devastating Battle of Wolf 359. Because of these conflicts, very few Braidans serve in Starfleet.
Chapter End Notes: The Braidans were created for the Fan-film series "Star Trek: The Helena Chronicles" by Areakt Productions. They are used here with permission. Information taken from the Star Trek Hidden Frontier wiki. While I did not create them, I am honored to have the permission to use them in my own works, and I hope I can do them justice.