Ahrir'fvahir Mnean? Ilhael 4 - Na Kreh'dhhokh Mol'Rihan (What Are We? Book 4 - The New Romulan Republic)

Ahrir'fvahir Mnean?  (ilhael 4)
(What Are We?  [Book 4])

~ Na Kreh'dhhokh Mol'Rihan ~
(The New Romulan Republic)

The attack upon Virinat was undertaken by the Tal'Shiar and an alien race previously forgotten by most inhabitants of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants, namely, the Elachi, although their identity would not be discovered until a bit later in the year.  Acting on the orders of Ssiebh (Colonel) Hhakhifv ("Hakeev" in Federation Standard Aenglish), the new head of the Tal'Shiar under ri'Rhiyrh Sela, Tal'Shiar operatives beamed to the surface of Virinat and proceeded to attempt to subdue the colonists, even as the strange vessels of the Elachi were capturing the people of the Virinat colony.  Several small groups of colonists managed to get to shuttles and then into orbit, where they were dogged by Tal'Shiar drones and manned vessels, as well as Elachi vessels.  Had it not been for the bravery of a few who were able to get to old T'liss Light Warbirds in orbit, and the assistance of vessels from a resistance group calling itself "the Romulan Republic" (one of which was the D'serek, commanded by Riov tr'Temer), most if not all of these refugees would have been captured or killed.  Hakeev himself made an appearance to challenge one of the colonists' Warbirds, but thanks to the combined might and skill of those fighting for liberty, Hakeev's ship was damaged and he lost an eye in the encounter, and the colonial refugees escaped the Virinat system, en route to the flotilla of "the Romulan Republic" some light years away.

Virinat after the attack.

Many of the refugees from Virinat chose to throw their lot in with the resistance movement, whether before or after talking with D'Tan, the leader of the movement (the movement was originally formed by portions of the Romulan Star Navy who rebelled against the excessive power of the Tal'Shiar, and they elected D'Tan as their leader), becoming commissioned officers in the Star Navy of the Romulan Republic.  As they began to undertake missions in their new roles, it quickly became apparent that the Tal'Shiar and Elachi attack on Virinat was no isolated incident.  The Tal'Shiar were also interfering with the business of the Suliban Helix, although it not being strictly Romulan, they had not attacked blatantly.  The Tal'Shiar with the Elachi also subsequently attacked Crateris, the new home of the Havrannsu, repeating the acts they had committed on Virinat to the best of their ability (on this occasion, however, they chose to attack a world which was defended, and were therefore much less successful than they had been with Virinat).  The Tal'Shiar had even inserted their agents into the personnel of the Gasko Station, where they murdered additional Rihannsu.

The Sword of the Raptor Star was rediscovered early in the Earth year 2409 when an expedition sent by the leadership of the movement known as "the Romulan Republic" or "the Romulan Resistance" explored Dewa-III while searching for a new homeworld after the destruction of ch'Rihan and ch'Havran, and discovered that Dewa-III had been settled by their ancestors in the ancient past, before they found the Eisn system and settled on ch'Rihan and ch'Havran.  The planet was renamed "Mol'Rihan" (New Romulus), and the Kreh'dhhokh Rihan (Romulan Republic) began making plans to relocate its governing body to Mol'Rihan, becoming the Kreh'dhhokh Mol'Rihan (New Romulan Republic).

A T'liss Light Warbird (the ch'R Virinat, commanded by Jisit ir'Virinat t'Prell, cousin to G'essatra ir'Virinat t'Prell), one of the vessels involved in the search for a new homeworld, approaches the Dewa system in 2409.

However, the planet was wild and would need permanent structures built, and investigations of the native flora and fauna -- to say nothing of total exploration (and archaeological work).  There were also Tholinsu who had taken some interest in the planet, or more precisely, the artifacts of the extinct Dewans, who had lived on the planet in a time before the Sundered Declared first visited the planet, and they would need to be defeated and kept away.  Nausicaan pirates had also entered the system, but they became discouraged once the necessary space traffic to and from ch'Mol'Rihan started up.  First, though, the Kreh'dhhokh Rihan, or Kreh'dhhokh Mol'Rian, would need allies and legitimacy, because otherwise, the movement would remain just that:  a revolutionary movement within a political entity and lacking sovereignty.

Accordingly, D'Tan called for representatives of the Lloann'mhrahel and representatives of the Nneikha Klling'hann to meet with the leadership of the Kreh'dhhokh Rihan, and a conference was arranged to take place on Khitomer, a world rich in history, both pleasant and unpleasant.  Prior to the official start of the conference, Sela made an appearance to mock D'Tan and the Kreh'dhhokh Rihan, and even the conference itself.  At least two of the refugees from Virinat who were present were prepared to execute her on the spot, but D'Tan's cooler head prevailed, and Sela soon departed.  Tal'Shiar vessels were discovered in orbit, but were defeated or driven off by the combined efforts of Klingon and Romulan Republic vessels.

This was the flag used by the Kreh'dhhokh Rihan at the Khitomer Conference of 2409.

This was not the end of Tal'Shiar interference, however, for undercover Tal'Shiar agents had infiltrated the conference and planted explosives.  All of these devices but one were disarmed by agents of the Kreh'dhhokh Mol'Rihan, most of whom were refugees from the Virinat colony;  the Tal'Shiar agents were likewise killed.  The final explosive charge was, like the others, cloaked, and there was no time remaining to disarm it when it was discovered.  Therefore, tr'Temer enclosed the device and himself within a force shield, saving the life of the Klling'hann Councilor, Woldan, who would have been killed otherwise.  At this demonstration of honor and courage, the Klling'hann delegation to the Khitomer Conference of 2409 gave their support to, and agreed to alliance with, the Kreh'dhhokh Mol'Rihan, and the Lloann'mhrahel did likewise, lest the Klling'hannsu gain an advantage by allying with the New Romulans (of the two main representatives of the Lloann'mhrahel to the conference, one was over-exuberant and rather naively idealistic, and the other, the Vulcan woman, Admiral T'nae, was obnoxious, condescending, and obviously bigoted against the Rihannsu).  The Kreh'dhhokh Mol'Rihan now had a home, legal recognition of their sovereignty, and allies, as well as support for building their new home.  Next, the leadership of the new government would need to be formed.

Riov Temer hiullhullnahu alhu lleiset, na mnhei'sahe hachaen lamne'elh s'Rihan.
 (Commander Temer sacrificed himself for freedom, the central ruling passion of the Romulan collective psyche.)

Already elected leader of the Republic before the rediscovery of ch'Mol'Rihan, D'Tan was named Ehkifv Temjahaere (Proconsul) of the Kreh'dhhokh Mol'Rihan (although there were quiet murmurs from some quarters, due to his being a Reunificationist and a former student of Spahkh s'Thaei, but these were for the most part discontinued when it became apparent that D'Tan would not be pushing his personal ideals on the people or government of ch'Mol'Rihan), and a Deihuit was also established.  Some of the heroes of the Kreh'dhhokh were named Honorary Senators, and khre'Enriov (Admiral) tr'Kererak was made commander in chief of the Romulan Republic Force, the military of the new government  In addition, the Praetorate was reformed, divided into several offices, with each Fvillhu being ranked below the Ehkifv Temjahaere.  Exploration and study of the new homeworld began in earnest once a Raenasa'kri (Command Center) and a few other permanent structures were raised.

D'Tan, Ehkifv Temjahaere s'Kreh'dhhokh Mol'Rihanai

New challenges arose for the infant government of ch'Mol'Rihan.  The Tholinsu and the more aggressive native fauna were already present on the planet, but now the Tal'Shiar began to meddle, even recruiting Hirogen hunters with whom Sela had previously (Terran year 2391) made a pact (allowing them to hunt Rihannsu and Havrannsu in exchange for their support in her bid to become ri'Rhiyrh s'Shiar ih'Saeihr Rihan) to harass and kill citizens of the now-sovereign Kreh'dhhokh, while the Tal'Shiar themselves established secret bases in the mountains from which to harry the Mol'Rihannsu (New Romulans).  One of their agents contacted D'Tan, offering their services to the new government, but D'Tan let it be known in no uncertain terms that neither he nor the Kreh'dhhokh would be in need of the sort of "services" for which the Tal'Shiar were notorious.

Officers of the Star Navy of the Kreh'dhhokh Mol'Rihan continued their missions.  Some were involved in investigations of the Tal'Shiar, some successfully discredited false allegations made by the Tal'Shiar of terrorist activities on the part of D'Tan and the Virinat colony, some infiltrated the Tal'Shiar, some investigated the ruins of the Eisn system.  By this time, a veteran of the old Tal'Diann, known as Riov Tal'Mera, was working with the Kreh'dhhokh;  Tal'Mera kept a close watch on those officers of the New Romulan Star Navy who worked with her, gauging their abilities and loyalty, in order to recruit the best of them when the time came.

As a result of the aforementioned missions, the truth of the Hobus supernova was brought to light, when one of these officers confronted the former Fvillhu, Taris, who had been "missing" for several years.  She had actually been recruited into the Tal'Shiar and was involved in the scheme established by Hakeev to facilitate the return of the Iconians, with whom Taris revealed that Hakeev had made an alliance.  It was also revealed that the Elachi were in fact servitors of the Iconians.  The scheme Hakeev had concocted for the purpose of making a return of the Iconians easier was no less than the supernova of the Hobus star set off in such a way as to damage subspace.  Hakeev, and the Tal'Shiar, were responsible for the devastation of the Eisn system, the destruction of the worlds of ch'Rihan and ch'Havran, and the murder of billions of Rihannsu.  Lest this startling revelation be lost in the body of this discussion, the third book has been deliberately named "Eisn:  Na Llaekh" and the fact shall be repeated in its own paragraph:

Hakeev, and the Tal'Shiar, were responsible for the devastation of the Eisn system, the destruction of the worlds of ch'Rihan and ch'Havran, and the murder of billions of Rihannsu.

Many of those colonists from Virinat and Crateris (as well as other Romulan colony worlds) who had been taken captive by the Elachi were rescued, but some of them could not be saved in time;  they had been consumed by Elachi young.  The Tal'Shiar under Hakeev, with the cooperation of Sela, had taken innocent Rihannsu and Havrannsu, and allowed them to be made into food for an alien race of servitors to another alien race.  This is yet another point in the long list of war crimes and crimes against Romulanity of which the Tal'Shiar leadership, and ri'Rhiyrh Sela, were guilty.  Eventually, loyal officers of the Star Navy of the Kreh'dhhokh defeated Elachi forces in a massive space battle, and the Elachi withdrew back to subspace, with only minor incursions into normal space afterward.  The cooperation of Sela with the Tal'Shiar was also made apparent when New Romulan Star Navy officers were captured and unsuccessful efforts to brainwash them were undertaken by the Tal'Shiar.  The Tal'Shiar also attempted to get its hands on thalaron triggers which had been sold to a rogue Orhyhon operating on Nimbus-III -- operating, it should be added, in defiance of the Syndicate and Melani D'ian.  New Romulan Republic Star Navy officers were able to prevent this.  However, Nimbus-III also held other secrets of the Tal'Shiar, including facilities where innocent Rihannsu and Havrannsu were incarcerated.  Many of these innocents were rescued, but some had injuries from torture from which they could not be saved.  Torture was of course a crime practiced by the Tal'Shiar for almost the entirety of their existence, although not in their earliest years when Ael was still alive.

Further missions ordered by Raenasa ch'Mol'Rihan (the Command Center of the New Romulans) led to interaction between officers of the Republic's Star Navy and various Havrannsu, including the Thehnhasisam Havran (the Reman Resistance) led by Obisek.  After some effort on the part of New Romulan Star Navy officers, Obisek joined D'Tan's new government and was made the Second-in-Command of the Romulan Republic Forces and the right hand of Kererek.  Obisek also brought other Havrannsu to Mol'Rihan, the Rihannsu taking the upper reaches of the planet, and the Havrannsu taking the lower, less well-lit areas (due to their photophobia).

The beginnings of the new Capitol City, which some of us call "Hachae s'Temer" (Soul of Temer)

After witnessing Sela chastise Hakeev and officially declare a severing of ties with him, officers of the Romulan Republic Forces finally were able, at the climax of a ground battle on Brea-III, to capture Hakeev.  One of those present decided to exceute him on the spot, a fate better than he deserved, but at least he finally paid for his crimes.  The executioner subsequently received a commendation and promotion.  The Tal'Shiar became like a headless serpent, still able to inflict harm, but dead without knowing it;  while Hakeev had named a successor in the person of Riov tr'Ruul, he was as incompetent as most of the Tal'Shiar sycophants.  The battle moved into orbit then, to which Sela had retreated after her tirade against Hakeev.  Vessels of the New Romulan Republic retaliated against the ch'R Laehval, the Scimitar which Sela commanded, but before her ship could be disabled or destroyed, an Iconian vessel appeared through an Iconian gateway, locked a tractor beam onto the Laehval, and towed her back through the gateway.  The fate of Sela remained unknown at the time of this writing.

Most Rihannsu were finally free again;  only a handful of aging reactionaries clung, in their doddering senility, to the ghost of the Romulan Star Empire, and only the brainwashed members of the Tal'Shiar (scattered though they were) continued any real effort to overthrow the new regime.  Lleiset (Freedom) had been restored to its rightful place as the highest virtue and central ruling passion of the Mol'Rihannsu.

ch'Mol'Rihan in late 2409, following efforts by the Republic and its allies to establish a permanent settlement.

Additional missions undertaken by the New Romulan Star Navy led to strengthening ties with both the Nneikha Klling'hann and the Lloan'mhrahel, as well as new friendships and the restoration of old friendships with yet other species.  In the course of these missions, the fate of Donatra was learned:  she had been captured and assimilated by the Borg, but allowed to retain her name.  When she was last encountered, she was commanding a Scimitar with Borg modifications named, like her old Mogai, the "Valdor" ("Valdore" in Aenglish rendering).  When this vessel was destroyed by allied forces, several escape pods were jettisoned and escaped through a time portal.  Donatra is believed to have been aboard one of these escape pods.  Also uncovered was the Tal'Shiar secret base in a mountain pass of the Vastam Peaks, where Ruul had set up operations.  His forces, including Hirogen mercenaries, were defeated, and he himself was taken captive.  Tal'Shiar agents and Hirogen hunters continued to plague the efforts of the Republic on ch'Mol'Rihan, but they were even less coordinated than they had been under Ruul's poor leadership.  To date, all efforts at terrorism, intimidation, bribery, subterfuge, sabotage, and even the occasional and atypical (for the Tal'Shiar) direct confrontation by the Tal'Shiar in their efforts to destroy the New Romulan Republic have been defeated by the free Rihannsu and Havrannsu of the Kreh'dhhokh;  all attempts by the Star Empire (before it finally fell apart, leaving only the Tal'Shiar squatting in the ruins of what was once a mighty Empire, and which the Tal'Shiar themselves, through their own incompetence and psycho-sociopathy, had destroyed) to conquer and reabsorb (or even wholly eradicate) the Republic have been repelled.  Like an Alth'Indor rising from the ashes, the dead Shiar ih'Saeihr Rihan has been succeeded by na Kreh'dhhokh Mol'Rihan, which bears the authentic legacy of the Rihannsu on into the future, a legacy of Freedom, Passion, and Strength.

Late in 2409, an Iconian gateway was discovered in the caverns of ch'Mol'Rihan.  After investigation and study, the gateway was set up and reconnected to a power source.  The result of activation was nearly disastrous, but catastrophe was averted and a small group escaped through the gate itself into subspace.  Among this group were the Rihan scientist A'dranna, Captain Koren (commanding the flagship of the Nneikha Klling'hann, the Bortasqu'), Captain Shon (commanding the flagship of the Lloan'mhrahel, the Enterprise-F), Ambassador Worf of the Nneikha Klling'hann, and at least one Enriov of the New Romulan Star Navy.  While in subspace, this intrepid band encountered members of a solanogen-based lifeform, the Solanae (previously encountered by the crew of the Federation starship Enterprise NCC 1701-D), and discovered what came to be known as the Solanae Dyson Sphere.  They were able to escape back to normal space aboard an Obelisk Carrier they discovered, after reactivating all Iconian gateways which were still operational in the Milky Way.  Upon returning to normal space in the Jouret system, they were faced by an Elachi force determined to defend the gateway for their Iconian masters, but Riov Tiaru t'Jarok (the daughter of khre'Enriov Alidar tr'Jarok, herself commanding the flagship of the Kreh'dhhokh Mol'Rihan, a Falchion Dreadnought Warbird named the ch'M'R Lleiset [Freedom]) warped into the system, and soon thereafter, the Bortasqu' and the Enterprise-F arrived.  Together with the Lleiset, the Bortasqu', and the Enterprise-F, the Obelisk Carrier was able to defeat the Elachi vessels.  The Kreh'dhhokh Mol'Rihan then laid claim to the Solanae Dyson Sphere, since the Jouret system was in their territory, but Captain Shon objected, saying that the gateways should instead all be destroyed.  Captain Koren, however, chose to side with the Republic.

ch'M'R Lleiset

After some debate, it was eventually agreed that the Sphere would need to be explored and investigated by a Joint Task Force comprised of representatives, scientists, and military personnel from the Kreh'dhhokh Mol'Rihan, the Nneikha Klling'hann, and the Lloan'mhrahel, under the direction of the Kreh'dhhokh Mol'Rihan (since the known active gateways to the Sphere were both in the territory of the Kreh'dhhokh).  The first missions in the Sphere were promising.  A new era of cooperation seemed to be dawning.

Seal of the New Romulan Republic

Onre: Ilhael 5 - Na Tal'Diann Mol'Rihan
(Next:  Book 5 - The New Romulan Tal'Diann)