Episode 80
Prologue
Romulus was
dead.
It had been a
slow, painful death, certainly not one that would soon be forgotten. The origins could be traced back several
decades, to a time when the very mention of the Romulans struck fear into the
hearts of billions—to a time when the Romulan Star Empire was a force to be
reckoned with. But a few disparate,
seemingly innocuous events slowly set forth a chain of events that would spell
the Romulans’ doom.
Many agree that
the cogs of fate began to turn at the outset of a brief, but bloody alliance
with the Klingons during the twenty-third century. The fruits of the alliance bared not only new technologies for
the two empires, but introduced them to new ways of life.
The Klingons
had once been an honorable warrior race—but after centuries of warfare, the
honorable aspect fell by the wayside, leaving little more than heartless
warriors bent on conquest. However,
interaction with the Romulans restored the Klingons’ faith in honor and
tradition. They returned to the more
honorable ways of old, a transition that paved the way for better relations
with the Federation—and the end of the alliance with the Romulans…
And while the
Klingons and the Federation became strange bedfellows, the Romulans inherited
the Klingon bloodlust. They knew the
unholy alliance of their greatest nemeses could spell their doom, and they
subsequently entered a great period of isolation that culminated into the
ultimate killing machine: D’deridex-class Romulan warbird. When the era of seclusion ended, the
Romulans were suddenly a force to be reckoned with… But this was hardly common
knowledge. In fact, outside of the
Neutral Zone, very little was known about the Romulans… and that worked to
their advantage. If knowledge was
power, then to be unknown was to be unconquerable…
In the years
that followed, the Romulans plotted and schemed their way to galactic
dominance, even going so far as to covertly invade the Federation under the
guise of peaceful unification with Vulcan.
They manipulated the Duras sisters during the Klingon Civil War and
attempted to collapse the Bajoran Wormhole.
But it was the joint Romulan/Cardassian invasion of the Gamma Quadrant
that marked the beginning of the end…
Much of the
Romulan fleet was decimated during the assault on the Founders’ Homeworld. The Romulans didn’t fare much better in the
subsequent war with the Dominion, and the Romulan flagship was obliterated by
the Jem’Hadar in the Chin’toka System.
By the end of the war, things were looking grim on Romulus, but it was
Shinzon’s hostile takeover of the Senate that put the Empire into a freefall.
Despite
numerous attempts to make peace with the Federation after the Shinzon incident,
their strained relationship only suffered as tensions along the neutral zone
increased. Colonies annexed during the
Dominion War were a continued point of contention, and before long, Romulus was
a world besieged by war…
Lacking a
strong leadership, the Romulan front crumbled after two years of heated
conflict. Control of the annexed
colonies was subsequently returned to the Federation, the Romulan descent
continued, and by the time the Elorg War reached its conclusion, the Romulans’
reign was over.
In the closing
days of the conflict, the Elorg took it upon themselves to rid the universe of
the Romulans. Every Romulan starship
was destroyed, the vast majority of the Romulan colonies were attacked, and the
very heart of the Romulan Star Empire—Romulus—was reduced to little more than a
smoldering sphere of ash.
…Romulus was
dead…
A thick, sooty
haze hung in the acrid air, entombing the few decrepit buildings that remained
in an eternal darkness. Mountains of
twisted metal and singed debris beleaguered the once pristine cityscape,
spreading from one horizon to the other in an endless plain of death.
Near the heart
of the destruction stood the blackened and charred remains of the Romulan
Senate. Once a majestic arena of
diplomacy, the Senate building was now little more than a dilapidated shell of
its former self. The upper tiers of the
Senate were completely gone, as was the roof and much of the north wing. It now resided on the ground in a mess of
twisted metal, shattered bulkheads, and dusty skeletons…
But this death
and destruction was not the end of Romulus.
In fact, it heralded a new beginning…
In the far
corner of the decrepit Romulan Senate, a lone ray of sunshine penetrated the
dark skies above. Though thick with
dust and other sooty particles, the golden light nevertheless managed to fall
upon the first signs of rebirth: a tiny aruul plant, slowly unfurling
its green leaves for the first time…
It was an
historic moment for Romulus—but at the same time, a stark reminder of the
fallen empire’s history.
A large, booted
foot suddenly fell upon the tiny plant, crushing its delicate leaves and
embedding them deep into the grimy debris.
The boot belonged to a large Nausicaan, and as he stepped into the
Romulan Senate, he did so with little regard for his surroundings. He briefly surveyed the area, and once
satisfied that all was well, the Nausicaan motioned for his companions to
follow.
Two smaller
Nausicaans promptly appeared at the leader’s side, dragging behind them a large
black case marked in Nausicaan text.
“Excellent
work.” The utterly neutral voice echoed
ominously throughout the vacant Senate, and for a moment, the Nausicaan leader
was unsure where it came from. But
after a moment, a tall shadowy figure appeared at the northern end of the
ruins, between two broken spires that used to form a doorway. “Were you able to get everything we
requested?”
The Nausicaan
leader grunted his affirmation. “At a
great cost,” he boasted, carefully watching the Romulan emerge from the
shadows.
“I would like
to inspect the merchandise,” the Romulan said, gently coughing as he inhaled a
breath of rancid air.
The Nausicaan
shook his head. “Everything is there,”
he loudly insisted. “And once I receive
payment, you are more than welcome to inspect goods.”
“Payment…” The
word rolled off the Romulan’s tongue more like an afterthought than anything
else. And as he raised his disruptor,
it became quite clear that the lethargic sentiment was indeed an afterthought.
A beam of green
light suddenly streaked across the Senate, casting the wasteland in an ominous
jade light that seemed to hang in the air long after the three Nausicaans fell
over dead. But if he noticed the
haunting illumination, the Romulan showed no sign of it. His attention was focused entirely upon the
sleek black case the Nausicaans had so kindly delivered—and he smiled in its
presence.
Little did he
know, he was being watched…
“The Nausicaans
have delivered the supplies,” said Lokor quietly as he returned to base camp
deep in the caverns below the surface.
The statement should
have been welcome news. Jerras and her
followers had been waiting anxiously for the Nausicaan shipment for many weeks,
and its arrival heralded a new beginning for the Romulans. But there was something in the tone of
Lokor’s voice that Jerras found most distressing. She slowly rose from the relative comfort of her rock, and
approached the young man. “Where are
the supplies?” she inquired.
Lokor hesitated
for only a moment before finding the words necessary to convey his thoughts. “The Nausicaans are dead,” he muttered. “The supplies have been intercepted.”
Jerras
frowned. “By whom?” she angrily
demanded, though the answer came to her racing mind the very moment the words
left her mouth. “The Tal Shiar?”
Lokor
nodded. “The agent was not clad in
standard Tal Shiar garb,” he nervously explained. “And my view of the exchange was limited by the atmospheric
conditions… But the weapon he used to dispose of the Nausicaans was clearly
issued by the Tal Shiar.” He exchanged
a nervous glance with Jerras. “What are
we going to do now?”
Grim as it
might have seemed, Jerras was more than prepared for the situation. She knew her plans would not go unseen by
the watchful eye of the Tal Shiar; in fact, she had long ago expected them to
intercept a shipment of goods. She
simply had to adjust her plans accordingly.
“We are left with few choices,” she whispered quietly. “We must contact the Federation…”