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.
