The leader of the mining operation on Janus IV, Vanderburg asked for the USS Enterprise's help after his staff began to fall victim to a mysterious force in the tunnels of the planet. When Kirk discovered a Horta living on Janus IV, Vanderburg wanted to kill the creature. He modified his attitude when he realised that the Horta was only retaliating for the accidental destruction of thousands of her eggs at the hands of the miners. A peace was agreed, and Vanderburg was delighted when the newly hatched Horta offspring began to do all his tunnelling work for him. [1]
