An orb containing a Vezda
An orb was a device created by an ancient, highly advanced civilization to contain the Vezda, an extra-dimensional parasitic species. Thousands of these orbs were secured within a layered dimensional prison on Vadia IX.
One such orb was retrieved by grave robbers, who perished after they were trapped inside the prison, thus leaving the Vezda inside it — Zeperez — contained. Centuries later in 2261, Ensign Dana Gamble came across the orb and unwittingly picked it up, whereupon the Vezda forced its way out and possessed his body. Lieutenant jg Montgomery Scott speculated that the orb broke because it had been weakened from being cut off from its power source. He later used the orb to catch the Vezda once it had been ejected from Gamble's body, before dematerializing both with the transporter. (SNW: "Through the Lens of Time")