Alva is a class M planet, the second planet in the Edison II star system. It was named after the famous American scientist, Thomas Alva Edison. Alva housed a Terran commercial colony, which was started by an investment group on Earth sometime between the 2220s and 2230s. In the late 2260s, Pat Bradley, Montgomery Scott, Leonard McCoy, and Spock of the USS Enterprise beamed down to do a routine check on the colony for medical supplies and technology. The away team was ambushed by a squad of Klingons, led by King Klandor. Klandor planned a takeover by beaming aboard the Enterprise with Spock.