Star Trek Online,
Season 9: "A New Accord"
The year in Terrhain reckoning is 2410. A recounting of recent history is in order to ensure understanding. In early 2409, peaceful colonies of the Romulan Star Empire were attacked by the Tal'Shiar and the Elachi. Refugees of these attacks mostly joined with what was then named "the Romulan Republic," a faction vying for power in the wake of the destruction of Romulus and Remus in 2387, made up of a number of personnel from the Romulan Star Navy who had become stridently opposed to the overweening authority of the Tal'Shiar and the abuse thereof by Tal'Shiar agents. They elected one of their own as their leader, a Romulan by the name of D'Tan, who had studied the teachings of the Vulcan philosopher Surak and joined the Reunificationist movement as a youth, under the leadership of Ambassador Spock of Vulcan. Spock gave his life to save other worlds from the fate of Romulus and Remus, destroyed by the subspace spread of energy from the Hobus supernova -- a supernova caused, it was learned later in 2409, by the Tal'Shiar. While still a Reunificationist, D'Tan did not push his personal views on others in the movement. At the beginning of 2409, "the Romulan Republic" was merely a schismatic faction of Rihannsu, without any real territory to claim as their own.
In early 2409, the Romulan agricultural colony on the planet Virinat was involved in life as usual. The Virinat variety of Romulan Ale had been brewed and had fermented in the casks long enough; it was time for the Festival of the Tapping, when the Virinat Romulan Ale casks would be tapped and the colonists would spend the evening in revelry. The Virinat style of making Romulan Ale had led to a popular variety throughout the Romulan Star Empire; the colonists harvested nectar produced by Khellidir, insects native to the planet Virinat, and added it to the mix when the brewing process was completed, after which the ale would be poured into wooden casks at the time of the fulness of the Virinat moon and then left to ferment for five cycles of the Virinat moon. Then the casks would be tapped, and a festival would ensue before the work of distributing the product to buyers throughout and beyond the Romulan Star Empire. In the afternoon before the first Festival of the Tapping of 2409, colonists noticed that the normally peaceful Khellidir were strangely aggressive. Investigation led to the discovery of machinery bearing a resemblance to Borg technology, but somehow different. One of the elders of the colony suggested a connection to a race called "Elachi," who live in subspace. The machinery having been disabled, however, and the Khellidir back to their typical behavior, further investigation was to be put off until after the festival. As Malem, the Maiori of the Virinat colony, had just finished his oration at the opening ceremony and the fireworks were beginning to flash in the night sky, the colony was rocked by an explosion, and then another, and another ...
Virinat was under attack. Colonists were abducted or killed. A fortunate few managed to escape the planet's surface in shuttles, only to be confronted by Tal'Shiar drone ships and Tal'Shiar light warbirds. Some colonists managed to get to older light warbirds in the system, relics of past service by the Maiori and other elders of the colony. These colonists would fight off the Tal'Shiar drone ships and light warbirds, and even a more powerful Tal'Shiar vessel commanded by Colonel Hakeev, the Chief of the Tal'Shiar, the latter with assistance from warbirds of "the Romulan Republic" which warped in at a critical moment. An Elachi vessel was also destroyed by the Colonists and the warbirds of The Romulan Republic. Many of the Colonists chose to throw in their lot with the schismatic faction at this point. Not long afterward, the unwarranted aggression was repeated in another place; the peaceful Reman mining colony on Crateris was also attacked by Elachi and Tal'Shiar forces. Fortunately for the Remans of Crateris, however, they had vessels in orbit, and some vessels from the Romulan Republic were also present to lend support, including ships commanded by refugees from Virinat. A few months later, the Reman Resistance, under Obisek, allied themselves with the Romulan Republic.
Investigations conducted by the Romulan Republic's Militia Intelligence revealed the depths of Tal'Shiar crime and corruption; a repetition of the offenses would be extensive, and is not necessary in this place, having been recounted elsewhere already, but among them is a practice of indoctrination and brainwashing using various chemical, physical, psychological, audio-visual, and other techniques. The sycophancy, passive-aggressive tendencies, cruelty, capriciousness, and incompetence which result from successful indoctrination is very similar to symptoms of Damaged Personality Disorder, with an unhealthy dose of Paranoia tossed in. Deprogramming efforts to liberate the psyches of subjects have not always been entirely successful.
In the first half of 2409, an expedition of vessels from the Romulan Republic rediscovered Dewa-III, a planet to which their ancestors had come after The Sundering and which they had settled before settling on the Two Planets in the Eisn System which became ch'Rihan and ch'Havran. Important and symbolically potent artifacts from the first settlement by the ancestors were discovered and a new conference was called at Khitomer, where, after attempts to sabotage the proceedings were made by the Tal'Shiar and foiled by elements of the Romulan Republic's Star Navy and the Klingon Defense Force, the Romulan Republic was formally recognized by both the Klingon Empire (and thus the Orion Syndicate, which now secretly runs the Klingon Empire) and the United Federation of Planets. Territory, including the Dewa System, was recognized as held by the Romulan Republic. The planet Dewa-III was renamed ch'Mol'Rihan, or "New Romulus," and a Capitol City was constructed on the planet with assistance from the Federation and the Klingon Empire. Although the Federation and the Klingons were still officially at war, the situation had come to the point of being primarily a cold war, with occasional minor territorial skirmishes, raids, and the like. The two powers, and what was now "the New Romulan Republic," were faced with far more dangerous enemies, including the Tal'Shiar-Elachi alliance, the Hirogen, the Tholians, the Borg, the Breen, the True Way terrorists, the Undine, and the silent puppetmasters sitting concealed in subspace: the Iconians.
With the discovery of a functional Iconian Gateway beneath the surface of ch'Mol'Rihan, a new season came. The New Romulan Republic chose to power up the Gate and open it. Representatives of both the Klingon Empire and the United Federation of Planets were present for the event, which was almost a catastrophe, but that potential was averted. In the process, several persons from the three powers had to escape through the active Gateway. They found themselves inside a Dyson Sphere. A solanagen-based lifeform was present in the Sphere, as were Voth, a reptilian race which had originated on Terrha and was bent on exterminating anyone who challenged their fundamentalist pseudoscience. The Solanae Dyson Sphere, as it came to be called, was capable of amazing things. Among the discoveries was the fact that connecting to the Jenolan Dyson Sphere was possible. Unfortunately, the Undine invaded the Jenolan Dyson Sphere and began plans to launch an attack on the powers of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants. The three major powers of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants, namely, the United Federation of Planets, the Klingon Empire (Orion Syndicate), and the New Romulan Republic, banded together to fight off these attacks, but Earth Spacedock and the Qo'noS Orbital Shipyard were destroyed. A number of Undine who had infiltrated the Federation were revealed and died trying to kill citizens of the three major powers. An Iconian appeared with a warning.
Following these events, the Klingon Empire (Orion Syndicate) and the United Federation of Planets agreed to call an end to their hostilities. The Federation-Klingon War was over. The threats to the peace of the three powers, and indeed the plenitude of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants, from the Tholians, the Tal'Shiar-Elachi Alliance, the Hirogen, the Borg, the Voth, and the Undine continue. The Tal'Diann stands ready and vigilant to these and any other threats to the security and freedom of the citizens of the New Romulan Republic.
Join us and fight for the New Romulan Republic.
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