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Star Trek: Picard: What Happened to Romulus?

Confused about this fabled supernova that destroyed the Romulans referenced in Star Trek: Picard? We have the answers.

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This article contains massive Star Trek: Picard spoilers.

One of the most essential pieces of the Star Trek: Picard  puzzle actually happens off-screen, and to fully understand it, you have to travel back in time about ten years. In the first episode of Star Trek: Picard — “Remembrance” — a lot of folks are talking about the Romulan Supernova; a galactic cataclysmic event which changed everything. But what the heck was the Romulan Supernova and why is it so important not just to Jean-Luc Picard, but to the entire galaxy? The short answer is: the Romulan Supernova is J.J. Abrams. Here’s the long answer:

Famously — or infamously — the 2009 J.J. Abrams-directed Star Trek is a film reboot insofar as it created a parallel universe in which Captain Kirk became blue-eyed Chris Pine, Spock became Zachary Quinto, and the architecture of the 23rd century looked like it had been designed by Steve Jobs. But in a move straight out of Biff’s playbook in Back to the Future Part II , the Abramsverse exists because of time travel meddling. At the start of the film, a Romulan ship called the Narada — captained by a Romulan named Nero (Eric Bana) — emerges from a time vortex and destroys the USS Kelvin in the year 2233. Later, after waiting around for quite awhile , Nero and the Narada causes a lot of trouble for the reboot crew in the year 2258. But, if you’ve seen the 2009 reboot film, this is old news, right? Well, yes and no. One thing you may have forgotten is exactly where and when Nero and his Romulans came from when they popped out of that time vortex. Because although we connect those Romulans with the reboot film, and therefore the 23rd century, the fact is, from a non-linear, but strictly canonical point of view, Nero comes from Picard’s 24th century specifically, the year 2387.

So when Jean-Luc is getting interviewed in the first episode of Picard on the anniversary of the Romulan Supernova, this is the exact same event from the 2009 reboot. In that movie, we got all the information from Old Spock, who, like Nero and the angry Romulans, also had time traveled from the late 24th century. But now, about 11 years after the reboot movie, we’re essentially rejoining the future that Old Spock left behind when he time traveled into the past. Only now it’s the year 2399, and the Romulan Supernova is history — recent history — but still history.

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read more: The  Next Generation  Episodes to Watch Before  Picard

Prior to the launch of Picard , it was generally assumed that the destruction of the Romulan home planet, Romulus, would be discussed in the series, but the Picard premiere reveals that this event is pivotal to the backstory of the show. Jean-Luc himself had planned to lead a rescue armada to help evacuate the entire Romulan Empire, but because Mars was suddenly attacked by rogue Synths (synthetic lifeforms) in 2385, the plans for the rescue armada for Romulus were called off, and, clearly angry and heartbroken, Picard resigned from Starfleet. So essentially not only did the Romulan Supernova create the backstory to the Kelvin Universe of the reboot films, it’s also the prologue to everything that happens in Picard .

On top of all that, Picard has also neatly fixed a plothole in the J.J. Abrams Star Trek , which has been lingering since 2009. In that film, Spock was acting alone to help the Romulans avoid total destruction, which is why he was trying to inject experimental “red matter” into the supernova. Because J.J. Abrams movies move really fast, upon first viewing in 2009, we didn’t have a lot of time to ask why Old Spock was all on his own, and now we know; the Federation planned to help the Romulans, but then, after getting attacked by rogue Synths, decided to pull the plug on Picard’s plan. Which is why Old Spock was totally alone in his quest to stop the supernova with his tiny spaceship and goofy red matter.

Shockingly or not, the producer of Star Trek: Picard , and one of the show’s co-creators is Alex Kurtzman, the co-writer of both Star Trek  (2009 ) and Star Trek Into Darkness   (2013). So in terms of connecting the slightly confusing mythologies between the reboot films and the Prime timeline (which is where Picard happens, to be clear) Kurtzman was uniquely suited to juggle this complicated event. In other words, if anyone in the Picard writers’ room asked: “Where was Picard while Spock was getting high on red matter?” Kurtzman would know, because he’s the guy who exploded this whole champagne Romulan supernova in the first place.

read more: Short Treks — How  Children of Mars  Sets Up  Picard

In fact, Kurtzman’s involvement could also explain why one bit of left-over Star Trek apocrypha from 2009 has resurfaced in a slightly different way for Picard . Before the 2009 reboot hit theaters, IDW published a four-part comic book miniseries (co-written by Kurtzman) called Star Trek: Countdown , in which it was revealed that the Narada was outfitted with reverse-engineered Borg technology. In the final moments of “Remembrance” it comes clear that the Romulans are in possession of a Borg cube, which suddenly makes this small non-canon detail from the original Countdown  comic, true. (The rest of it, including Data as Captain of the future- Enterprise and Picard an ambassador to Vulcan, really doesn’t work, however.)

Right now, IDW has published two issues of a 3-part series called Star Trek: Picard: Countdown , which — you guessed it — outlines exactly what Picard was going to prep for the Romulan rescue before everything went to hell on Mars. The first two issues have already been published, and the final issue is expected out on January 29. So, far, this series has firmly established why Jean-Luc’s Romulan housekeepers in the new series — Laris and Zhaban — got involved with Picard in the first place. And, yes, it essentially because they had nowhere to go after the supernova, but also, because they left the Tal Shair (the Romulan secret service) in disgrace for helping Picard.

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read more: Where  Star Trek: Picard  Fits in Federation History

Finally, curious as to why there are dual rings in Romulan space? Well, that might be the remains of the Romulan supernova. Nobody says “Hobus Supernova” in Picard , numerous sources (like Star Trek: Online , and the Star Trek maps book Stellar Cartography: The Starfleet Reference Library ) call the star that exploded the “Hobus star.” But because we see two ominous rings in Romulan space right at the end of the episode, were there two Hobus stars? Was this binary star system that blew up? One Geoff Mandel illustration from  Stellar Cartography  (map 10, specifically) seems to depict Hobus as a double star. This hasn’t been confirmed in on-screen dialogue, but those double rings are pretty serious, right?

If the Hobus system was a binary system, that means the Romulan Supernova was a Star Trek explosion so good, they decided to make it a double.

Star Trek: Picard  is now streaming on CBS All Access.

Ryan Britt is a longtime contributor to Den of Geek! He is also the author of three non-fiction books: the Star Trek pop history book PHASERS…

The History Of The Romulans, And Their Place In The Star Trek Universe

"Star Trek" is home to countless alien races, but few have as enduring a presence in the franchise as the Romulans. They're the most persistent adversaries of the Federation, so much so that blue-tinted Romulan Ale remains under trade embargo. This hostility makes it all the more ironic that they resemble humanity's first alien allies, the Vulcans , sharing their pointed ears and arched eyebrows.

The in-universe origin of the Romulans is that they were Vulcans, millennia ago. In that distant past, the Vulcans were a warlike people, far from the cold logicians that fans know. That changed when (in Earth's 4th century), the philosopher Surak taught his people to embrace logic and master their emotions. Not all Vulcans accepted Surak's teachings; "Those Who March Beneath The Raptor's Wings" were eventually exiled from Vulcan. These dissident Vulcans settled on the twin planets Romulus and Remus, evolving into the Romulans and personifying a violent path not taken by their Vulcan cousins.

"Star Trek" is big on allegory — the interstellar powers represent the geopolitics of the 20th century. The Federation is the United States of America, a democracy of many member states. As the Federation's most pressing rival, the Klingon Empire is the Soviet Union. The Romulan Star Empire is China, a "sleeping dragon" superpower.

So, why have the Romulans endured as a crucial part of "Star Trek" history — and what does their role in that history look like?

Romulans in the Original Series

The Romulans were created by writer Paul Schneider, debuting in the season 1 episode "Balance of Terror." The episode features the Enterprise reacting to the destruction of outposts along the Romulan Neutral Zone; the culprit is a Romulan ship armed with a cloaking device. The Romulans flee back home while the Enterprise pursues its invisible quarry in a cat-and-mouse game.

This episode established the Romulan Star Empire had fought humanity in a devastating war a century ago. The war ended with a Neutral Zone established between the two parties' territories. Notably, no human had ever seen a Romulan in this time (or at least, no human who survived to tell about it). That means the Enterprise crew is stunned when they discover their adversaries are identical to Vulcans. The Romulans' exact backstory isn't spelled out, but Spock (Leonard Nimoy) speculates they are a Vulcan offshoot who retained his ancestors' warlike ways.

Schneider modeled the Romulans on the Romans; their twin homeworlds are named for the mythical founders of Rome and they employ ranks like "Centurion." Interviewed for "The Captains' Logs" by authors Edward Gross and Mark Altman , Schneider explained: "I came up with the concept of the Romulans which was an extension of the Roman civilization to the point of space travel, and it turned out quite well."

The Romulans' ship, dubbed a "Bird of Prey" due to the hawk painted on its underbelly, also created an association between the Romulans and birds. By "Star Trek: The Next Generation," their imperial insignia had evolved into a stylized raptor. Their ancestors' moniker, "Those Who March Beneath The Raptor's Wings," was probably extrapolated from this connection too by writer André Bormanis (the name first appears in "Star Trek: Enterprise" episode, "Awakening," written by Bormanis).

Further appearances

"Balance of Terror" is one of the most acclaimed episodes of "Star Trek: The Original Series." It was even semi-remade for the season 1 finale of "Strange New Worlds," titled "A Quality of Mercy." The unnamed Romulan Commander (played by Mark Lenard, who would go on to play Spock's father, Sarek) is an especially well-remembered villain, predating Khan Noonien Singh as the first worthy adversary of Captain Kirk (William Shatner) and the Enterprise. Even with his last words, he retains dignity and honor: "I regret that we meet in this way. You and I are of a kind. In a different reality, I could have called you friend."

Despite this dynamite debut, the Romulans made only two more appearances in "The Original Series." They are the antagonists of the season 2 episode "The Deadly Years," about the Enterprise crew succumbing to premature aging. However, only their ships are seen, not the Romulans themselves. They make a second and final onscreen appearance in season 3's "The Enterprise Incident" ( written by the legendary D.C. Fontana ). In this episode, Spock seduces a Romulan commander (Joanne Linville) while Kirk poses as a Romulan officer to steal her ship's cloaking device.

According to "The Art of Star Trek" by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens, "Romulans were originally intended to be more of an ongoing threat to the crew of the Enterprise, but the make-up requirements proved too expensive. Klingons were cheaper." Note how, in "Balance of Terror" and "The Enterprise Incident," Romulan extras often wear ear-concealing helmets — an easy way to bypass make-up expenses.

The Romulans had only minor roles in the six theatrical "Star Trek" films featuring the original cast. They were rejected as villains of the third film, "The Search for Spock," again in favor of the Klingons (this is why the Klingons in that film have a cloaked ship called a Bird of Prey).

The Rihannsu

During the 1980s, the Romulans took center-stage in "Rihannsu," a five-novel series written primarily by Diane Duane (Peter Morwood co-authored the second, "The Romulan Way.") Published from 1984 to 2006, the novels invented a culture and language for the Romulans wholesale; they are technically not "Trek" canon but remain acclaimed for their world-building.

"Rihannsu" ("The Declared") is the Romulans' native name for themselves, akin to how German people call their nation "Deutschland," the Japanese call theirs "Nippon," etc. They are driven by "D'era," an expansionist impulse akin to Manifest Destiny, and "Mnhei'sahe" (ruling passion), a complex code of conduct that is foremost a rejection of the Vulcan system of logic.

"Mnhei'sahe" is weighed by one's personal strength and devotion to the Empire. Romulans seek power not for personal benefit per se, but because greater power serves the Empire. Selflessness is an alien concept to the Romulans; do things for the sake of your own Mnhei'sahe and others will benefit in the process. "Mnhei'sahe" spreads its claws even into simple Romulan social interactions, where the ideal outcome is for both parties to depart with their honor intact.

Much of Duane's other additions are inferences based on "Balance of Terror" and "The Enterprise Incident." Akin to Rome, the Romulans are an Oligarchic Republic; a Praetor is elected by the Senate itself, not the people at large. "The Enterprise Incident" showed a Romulan woman with a high military rank. So, "Rihannsu" gave the Romulan society a matriarchial tilt; a Romulan's family lineage is derived from their mother, not their father.

Much of "Rihannsu" is a holdover from the suggestion in "Star Trek: The Original Series" that Romulans were a warrior culture. For instance, their society has a semi-feudal system with a strong emphasis on family affiliation. Canon material would take a different path, showing Romulans as militant but not exactly honorable.

The Next Generation

In "Star Trek: The Next Generation," the Klingons were now good guys (mostly). They also became the go-to warrior race of "Star Trek"; Klingon society took on Viking and Samurai characteristics, where war, personal honor, and feudal affiliation were everything.

The Romulans became less and less the noble Roman-esque adversaries that Schneider had conceived of, with "TNG" instead highlighting their duplicity (with the cloaking devices) and isolationism. Thus, the stereotypical traits of Romulans became paranoia, deception, and xenophobia.

The Romulans were reintroduced in "TNG" season 1 finale, "The Neutral Zone," where it's said they had stayed out of galactic affairs for much of the 24th century. The episode (where several of their colonies are destroyed by the to-be-revealed Borg) awakens them. Creator Gene Roddenberry had initially not wanted to use the Romulans, but poor reception to the Ferengi meant the Federation needed a new adversary. Thus, the Romulans became the most frequent alien antagonist in the series; the Federation and Klingons were united as their enemies. Recurring Romulan villains included Tomalak (Andreas Katsulas) and Sela (Denise Crosby).

The most notable additions to the Romulans in "TNG" included V-shaped forehead ridges (dimorphic evolution from their Vulcan cousins), the D'deridex Class (enormous green warships descended from the Birds-of-Prey from "The Original Series"), and the Tal Shiar, Romulus' secret police.

Romulan highlights in "TNG" include "The Defector" (a Romulan military officer defects to the Federation) and "Reunification" (where Ambassador Spock has begun a push on Romulus for the two peoples to be one again).

The Next Generation (cont'd)

The Romulans weren't as prominent in "Deep Space Nine" as in "The Next Generation," but that series featured them finally uniting with the Federation. While the Federation and Klingons fight a losing war with the expansionist Dominion, the Romulans initially stay on the sidelines.

In the season 6 episode, "In The Pale Moonlight," Captain Sisko (Avery Brooks) and Garak (Andrew Robinson) falsify evidence of the Dominion's plans to invade Romulus and try to sway Senator Vreenak (Stephen McHattie). When their deception is revealed, Garak (with Sisko none the wiser until it's done) pulls a move the Romulans would be proud of: he assassinates Vreenak and frames the Dominion. Thus, the Romulans join the war as allies, and remain so until the series' end.

The Romulans finally got a silver screen spotlight in "Star Trek: Nemesis," the final "TNG" theatrical film. The Romulan Senate is assassinated by a bio-weapon and a new Praetor, Shinzon (Tom Hardy), seizes power. It turns out Shinzon is a failed clone of Picard, the product of an aborted spying operation. The biggest wrinkle "Nemesis" introduces to the Romulans is the Remans. Playing on the pre-established twin planets Romulus and Remus, the grey-skinned Remans are a slave race, toiling as forced laborers and shock troops.

The film skimps on the details of Reman history, so viewers can surmise they evolved on Remus and were subjugated by the Romulans. However, the novel trilogy "Vulcan's Soul" by Josepha Sherman and Susan Shwartz builds on the Remans displaying telepathy like the Vulcans (which the Romulans have always lacked). In this telling, the Remans were Vulcan exiles who refused to give up their telepathy and so were oppressed by the future Romulans; their appearance stems from the poor living conditions on Remus.

Looking to the past

"Star Trek: Enterprise" was a prequel set in the 22nd century, beginning before first contact between humans and Romulans. That event was depicted in the season 2 episode "Minefield," when the Enterprise stumbles into Romulan territory and is disabled by a cloaked minefield. True to canon, only the Romulans' ships are seen in the episode.

The Romulans finally took a larger role in season 4. The three-parter, "The Forge/Awakening/Kir'Shara" was about a Vulcan conspiracy to invade the Andorians. The ending revealed that Vulcan Administrator V'Las (Robert Foxworth) was in league with the Romulans and secretly working towards reunification. A subsequent three-parter, "Babel One/United/The Aenar," featured the Romulans as the explicit villains. A Romulan drone-ship, equipped with a holographic projector and controlled by Admiral Valore (Brian Thompson), attacked ships throughout the Alpha Quadrant to ferment dissent (the story begins with it destroying an Andorian ship while disguised as a Tellarite one, it later destroys a Rigellian freighter while disguised as Enterprise, etc.). However, the attacks only wind up bringing the targeted races together.

"Enterprise" established a firm timeframe for the Earth-Romulan War: 2156 to 2160. Moreover, the war was revealed as the event that brought the Federation together; Humans, Vulcans, Andorians, and Tellarites united in a military alliance against Romulan expansionism and never broke apart. The Romulans' increased presence in season 4 was building up to the war, but unfortunately, "Enterprise" was canceled before subsequent seasons could depict it. Thus, the Earth-Romulan War remains undepicted onscreen, confined to novels "Beneath The Raptor's Wings" and "To Brave The Storm" (both by Michael A. Martin).

The home world destroyed

Romulans were again the villains of a "Star Trek" film in director JJ Abrams' eponymous reboot. In the year 2387, Romulus and Remus are destroyed when their star goes supernova, shattering the Empire. Spock manages to contain the explosion with the substance Red Matter, opening a wormhole that sends him back in time to the 23rd century. Following him is the Romulan mining vessel the Narada, captained by vengeful Captain Nero (Eric Bana) — his name is another allusion to ancient Rome . 

The Narada's presence creates an alternate timeline; Nero and his men destroy Vulcan with Red Matter before being defeated themselves. Nero and the Narada's crew stand out from other Romulans thanks to their shaved heads and tattoos; the admittedly non-canon comic "Star Trek: Countdown" suggests this is part of a mourning ritual. Normally the tattoos would fade, but Nero and his crew burnt them into their skin to ensure they'd never forget the loss of their home.

"Star Trek" returned to the "TNG" era with "Picard" and followed on from this point. It turns out that Starfleet offered to help evacuate Romulus, but after an attack on Mars, reneged on the plan; Picard himself resigned in disgust. The Romulans are far from extinct though. The Empire has collapsed into warring factions, one of which is the Romulan Free State. According to "Star Trek: Discovery," Vulcan/Romulan reunification will have become a reality by the 31st century. The groups remain culturally divided, but they again exist on the same planet, renamed from Vulcan to "Ni'var" (meaning two combined into one).

Romulan worldbuilding

Michael Chabon, showrunner of "Picard" season 1, also shared (via Medium) worldbuilding notes on the Romulans . These presumably influenced his onscreen depiction of them. Chabon writes that the Romulans are such secretive people that there is nothing more intimate to them than the truth; marriages have three participants because there must be third-party verification in everything.

The Romulan government is organized like an espionage network, with multiple competing cells, while Romulans all have four names: the common name (used for familiarity), imperial name (the state-recognized name), open name (for outsiders), and their true name (used only for close intimacy). Chabon suggests that a rumored reason for the Romulans' secrecy is the abundance of camouflaged predators on their adopted homeworld; their cloaked warbirds are modeled on a raptor whose plumage blends into the horizon.

Not all depictions of the Romulans totally align — compare Duane's Rihannsu to Chabon's Romulans. However, they all draw upon "The Original Series" and make inferences from there. "Star Trek" writers and fans aren't much different; they both take canon material and expand on it with some imagination.

"Star Trek" and its spin-offs are streaming on Paramount+.

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9 essential Romulan episodes to watch before Star Trek: Picard

Credit: CBS

If you want to talk about the politics of the Star Trek galaxy, you have to talk about the Romulans. And in order to really understand what's going on in Star Trek: Picard , it's a good time to brush up on your knowledge of the pointy-eared aliens who are not the friendly Vulcans.

Each of the trailers for Star Trek: Picard feature several Romulans, including the sword-wielding Elnor (Evan Evagora), a young member of Picard's new crew, and Narek (Harry Treadway), a bad guy who is clearly up to no good. Additionally, at several points in the trailer, we also see a retro Romulan Bird-of-Prey starship, straight out of the style from the original Star Trek . Notably, Picard also takes place in the aftermath of the future-events of the 2009 Star Trek reboot, in which we learned that the Romulan home planet — Romulus — was destroyed by a giant supernova. So, in theory, the Romulans in the Picard- era will be without a home planet.

Bottom line: The Romulans will be a big deal in the new series. Right now, a three-part IDW comic book series called Picard: Countdown is outlining how Picard tried to help evacuate several Romulan planets while he was still an Admiral in Starfleet. But, the overall history of the Romulans in Star Trek is worth taking a look at.

Here are nine essential Romulan-centric episodes and films to rewatch before Picard debuts.

**Spoiler Warning: There are spoilers ahead for The Next Generation , Deep Space Nine , and the movies. No spoilers ahead for Picard .**

Note: For episode numbers of individual Star Trek series, I'm using the Netflix order, which, in some cases, will differ from the way the episodes aired. However, this order is easiest if you want to stream these right now.

A Romulan commmander sympathizes with Kirk. (Credit: CBS)

01 . The Original Series: Season 1, Episode 15, "Balance of Terror"

The very first Romulan episode ever revealed the greatest bombshell ever: They look almost exactly like Vulcans! This revelation seems to shock Mr. Spock, even though, later in Star Trek canon, we learn that the Romulans did split away from the Vulcans in ancient history. Funnily enough, this very first Romulan is played by Mark Lenard, who, in Season 2 of the original Trek would play Sarek, Spock's dad . (Just try not to think about that.)

In any case, "Balance of Terror," is a stand-out episode of the original series, and when Bryan Fuller was in the process of creating Discovery , he listed this as one the most influential episodes ever. Romulan history starts here!

A Romulan Bird-of-Prey and two repurposed Klingon ships outflank the Enterprise in the remastered version of "The Enterprise Incident." Credit: CBS

02 . The Original Series: Season 3, Episode 2, "The Enterprise Incident"

Ever wonder why people talk about the "Vulcan death grip"? This episode will answer that question! It's also a great espionage episode for Star Trek , and gives us a deeper look at what Romulans are really like. Plus, you really have to wonder why Spock didn't decide to join the Romulans instead of staying on the Enterprise . They were giving him a pretty good deal, and, after this one, you realize that they're not half bad.

By making the Romulans so similar to the Vulcans, they become a complex enemy for the "good guys." Basically, the Romulans aren't doing anything wrong in this episode, and Kirk and Spock are sort of the aggressors.

La Forge teams up with a Romulan named Bochra in "The Enemy." (Credit: CBS)

03 . The Next Generation: Season 3, Episode 7, "The Enemy"

Although The Next Generation reintroduced the Romulans in the Season 1 finale, "The Neutral Zone," it's not really until Season 3 when TNG starts to really get deep into the political problems between the Federation and the Romulans.

"The Enemy" is a great episode because it really gives you a sense of not only how much Picard distrusts Romulans at this point, but also why Klingons like Worf hate them with a crazy burning passion. Like all good Star Trek , this is an episode about poking at prejudices and talking about the long road to peace.

Picard can't even with this Romulan defector. Credit: CBS

04 . The Next Generation: Season 3, Episode 10, "The Defector"

This episode rocks. When a Romulan claims he wants to defect to the Federation, Picard can't believe anything the guy is telling him. Following the events of "The Enemy," this episode doubles-down on the mistrust between the Federation and the Romulan Empire, while also giving us new insight into just how deceitful Romulans can be in order to get what they want. Just like with humans, there are good Romulans and bad ones. This fact will surely be a huge part of Picard .

(Also: Both "The Defector" and "The Enemy" feature Trek 's most famous — and arguably best — Romulan, Tomalak. This character appeared in four TNG episodes in total and was played by the late, great Andreas Katsulas, equally famous for his long role as G'Kar on Babylon 5 . )

Disguised as a Romulan (with hair!) Picard meets with Spock on a secret mission. Credit: CBS

05 . The Next Generation: Season 5, Episodes 7 and 8, "Unification Parts 1 and 2"

"Unification Parts 1 and 2" are the moments when Spock (Leonard Nimoy) famously crossed-over to The Next Generation . This was possible not through time travel, but simply because Vulcans live a lot longer than humans. But outside of the novelty and nostalgia of Spock, "Unification" is focused on secret peace-loving Romulans who want to be more like their Vulcan cousins.

Spock is trying to make this happen, but Sela — the half-human/half-Romulan daughter of Tasha Yar — is trying to sabotage them. We won't see Spock in Picard (unless it's a flashback, he went time-traveling before this show starts) but we could perhaps see Sela. And it's reasonable to assume that the pro-unification Romulans still remember that Picard tried to help them.

Picard finds some common ground with one Romulan in "The Chase." Credit: CBS

06 . The Next Generation: Season 6, Episode 20, "The Chase"

Though this episode isn't about the Romulans specifically, it does concern a larger mystery about why all the aliens in Star Trek essentially look humanoid. When the Romulans learn that they might have something in common not just with Vulcans, but with humans, too, there's an important moment where Picard realizes that maybe they won't all be enemies forever.

It's a faaaake! Credit: CBS

07 . Deep Space Nine: Season 6, Episode 19, "In the Pale Moonlight"

The Romulans are big players in the galactic politics of Deep Space Nine , and you could go on a huge binge on that series, too. But, the most relevant Romulan episode from that series is one in which Captain Sisko (Avery Brooks) has to try and outright lie to the Romulans in order to get them to do what Starfleet wants. Its a brilliant study in ethics, and is considered one of the finest moments of Deep Space Nine for a reason.

And, like "The Enterprise Incident," this episode is all about the good guys trying to out-fox the Romulans, which is a tricky game to play because the Romulan government is really good at espionage and lying.

The Enterprise prepares to ram Shinzon's ship. Credit: Paramount

08 . Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)

In terms of the regular timeline, the last time we saw the Romulan homeworld, the planet Romulus, Tom Hardy was running the show! This is hard to believe, but in Nemesis , Hardy played Shinzon, a younger clone of Jean-Luc Picard, who was briefly running the Romulan Empire.

Interestingly, Nemesis is also the first time we had any details about the planet Remus, Romulus's sister planet. (Back in the episode "Balance of Terror," Spock mentioned that Remus existed, but we never saw it, or the Remans, until this movie.)

Nemesis is a flawed film and not everyone's cup of Earl Grey Tea. But, in terms of the timeline, this is the last time we saw Picard in action before the events of the new series. And, relevantly, Picard was very hopeful about peace with the Romulans at this point... even though his evil clone was trying to murder him and steal his blood.

Nero (Eric Bana) trying to kill Captain Kirk. Credit: Paramount

09 . Star Trek (2009)

The Romulans in the J.J. Abrams-directed Star Trek reboot may have tried to kill Captain Kirk, Captain Pike, and Spock, but these Romulans are actually from the 24th century, not the 23rd. In fact, chronologically speaking, the backstory of the Star Trek reboot is the closest thing to a direct prequel to Star Trek: Picard . (Other than "Children of Mars," of course.)

When Prime Universe Spock (Leonard Nimoy) mind-melds with Kirk (Chris Pine) in the Kelvin Universe, he reveals that the planet Romulus was destroyed by a supernova, which happened roughly in the year 2387. So, Nero (Eric Bana), the Romulan captain hell-bent on revenge in that movie, is actually from Picard's time, not Kirk's. And Nero's journey back in time will have happened about a decade before the events of Star Trek: Picard .

Now, it's not clear if Picard will reveal why some Romulans started shaving their heads during this time period, but the fact is, the most recent events in Romulan history are depicted in this movie, and because both Spock and Picard tried to help the Romulans at various points in time, you can bet the destruction of Romulus will be mentioned in the new show. A lot.

And, perhaps most relevantly, the co-screenwriter of this film was Alex Kurtzman, who not only is a co-creator of Picard , but also basically the current overseer of the entire Star Trek franchise.

• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
• Star Trek: Picard
• Star Trek: The Next Generation

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• Cast & crew
• User reviews

Face of the Enemy

• Episode aired Feb 6, 1993

Deanna awakes to find herself altered to look like a Romulan, immediately unaware she's involved in a cat-and-mouse game as a member of their intelligence agency. Deanna awakes to find herself altered to look like a Romulan, immediately unaware she's involved in a cat-and-mouse game as a member of their intelligence agency. Deanna awakes to find herself altered to look like a Romulan, immediately unaware she's involved in a cat-and-mouse game as a member of their intelligence agency.

• Gabrielle Beaumont
• Gene Roddenberry
• Naren Shankar
• René Echevarria
• Patrick Stewart
• Jonathan Frakes
• LeVar Burton
• 18 User reviews
• 7 Critic reviews

• Captain Jean-Luc Picard

• Commander William Thomas 'Will' Riker

• Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge

• Lieutenant Worf

• Doctor Beverly Crusher

• Counselor Deanna Troi

• Lieutenant Commander Data

• Sub-Cmdr. N'vek

• Cmdr. Toreth
• Ensign Stefan DeSeve

• Khazara Pilot Palteth

• Corvallen Freighter Captain
• Ensign McKnight
• (as Pamela Winslow)

• Crewman Garvey
• (uncredited)
• Ensign Kellogg
• Romulan Aide
• Khazara Romulan Officer
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Did you know

• Trivia Worf's ponytail makes its debut here. He would keep it for the remainder of this series and keep when he moved on to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993) . Michael Dorn wanted the change because he was tired of "looking like a Klingon who's just been to the beauty salon!"
• Goofs Troi goes undercover as a Romulan, presumably relying on the Universal Translator to make her language sound like theirs. It has been established that the Translator takes the voice of whoever is speaking and translates the words to the listener's language. Therefore, to the Romulans, Troi would look like a character in a poorly dubbed foreign movie, with the spoken words not matching the mouth movements, which would make the disguise impossible to keep up, but no one seems to notice. However, it is never specifically stated that Troi is using the Translator, so it could be the case that Troi speaks Romulan and is able to pass herself off as one. The Commander's suspicions about Troi's background could be based on her accent, which a non-native speaker would surely possess. This, of course, would ignore all of the other instances across all of Star Trek in which the crew communicate readily with species never before encountered, but at least this occurrence has a plausible explanation.

Counselor Deanna Troi : We're not playing it your way anymore, N'Vek. I've been kidnapped, surgically altered, put in danger. I've gone along with all your plans; now *you* are going to listen to me! You find a way to let the Enterprise track us, or I will go to Toreth and tell her I've discovered you're a traitor! I'll have you ejected into space, is that clear, Subcommander?

• Connections Referenced in Star Trek: The Next Generation: Timescape (1993)
• Soundtracks Star Trek: The Next Generation Main Title Composed by Jerry Goldsmith and Alexander Courage

User reviews 18

• Sep 25, 2014
• February 6, 1993 (United States)
• United States
• Official site
• Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA (Studio)
• Paramount Television
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

Technical specs

• Runtime 46 minutes
• Dolby Digital

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Tier 6 Command Ships - Romulan

By LaughingTrendy | Wed 11 Feb 2015 12:00:00 PM PST

In the previous Command Battlecruiser introduction blog we unveiled this new ship type and the Inspiration mechanic.  In this blog we’ll reveal these ships’ stats, console abilities, set bonuses and starship traits.

Availability

Command Battlecruisers will be made available in the C-Store very soon.  These starships have three variants per faction and are available in three ways:

• Individually (3000 ZEN each)
• Faction Bundles of all three variants at a discount (6000 ZEN each)
• A Super Bundle that includes all three variants for all three factions at a huge discount (12000 ZEN)  

Please Note: Captains who purchase single ships will be unable to purchase bundles containing that ship.  

Command Battlecruiser Stats

Romulan Republic Command Warbirds

Engineers from the Romulan Republic have looked at new command ship designs from their allies in both Starfleet and Klingon Defense Force. Rather than contract with those groups to build ships for their fleet, the Republic has instead chosen to design and commission a new series of Command Warbirds to be constructed at the New Romulus Shipyards. These ships are designed to act as mobile command centers that will inspire allies with instantaneous informational updates throughout a battle. They are also built to please the Romulan desire for grand scale, creating large, tough Warbirds that can lead a fleet into combat.

This Tier 6 starship is an engineering centric variant of the Command Warbird.  It features more engineering console slots and engineering bridge officer seats than the other Command Warbird variants.

• Mininum Rank: Vice Admiral
• Hull Strength: 47,437 at level 50 and 55,000 at level 60
• Shield Modifier: 1.1
• Fore Weapons: 4
• Aft Weapons: 4
• Device Slots: 4
• Bridge Officer Stations: 1 Lieutenant Tactical, 1 Lieutenant Commander Engineering, 1 Commander Engineering/Command, 1 Lieutenant Science/Command, 1 Lieutenant Universal
• Console Modifications: 3 Tactical, 5 Engineering, 3 Science
• Base Turn Rate: 8
• Impulse Modifier: 0.15
• Inertia: 35
• +10 Weapon Power, +10 Engine Power
• Can Load Dual Cannons
• Hangar Bays: 1
• Hangar Bays loaded with Scorpion Fighters
• Console - Universal – Fleet Defense Platform
• Romulan Battle Cloaking Device
• Turn the Tide
• Against All Odds
• Battle Preparation
• Absorptive Plating
• Enhanced Weapon Banks
• Enhanced Plating
• Armored Hull
• Improved Brace for Impact (Starship Trait)
• 40 Base Power for All Subsystems
• Plasma Shockwave
• Quantum Absorption
• Warp Shadows
• Singularity Jump
• Singularity Overcharge  

This Tier 6 starship is a science centric variant of the Command Warbird.  It features more science console slots and science bridge officer seats than the other Command Warbird variants.

• Bridge Officer Stations: 1 Lieutenant Tactical/Command, 1 Lieutenant Engineering, 1 Commander Engineering/Command, 1 Lieutenant Commander Science, 1 Lieutenant Universal
• Console Modifications: 3 Tactical, 4 Engineering, 4 Science
• Console - Universal - Tachyon Pulse Platform
• Improved Tachyon Beam (Starship Trait)

This Tier 6 starship is a tactical centric variant of the Command Warbird.  It features more tactical console slots and tactical bridge officer seats than the other Command Warbird variants.

• Bridge Officer Stations: 1 Lieutenant Commander Tactical, 1 Lieutenant Engineering, 1 Commander Engineering/Command, 1 Lieutenant Science/Command, 1 Lieutenant Universal
• Console Modifications: 4 Tactical, 4 Engineering, 3 Science
• Console - Universal - Defense Platform
• All Hands on Deck (Starship Trait)

Command Battlecruiser Consoles

Each of the above Command Battlecruisers and Warbirds is equipped with a universal console. Below is a summary of what each of these consoles do:

Console – Universal – Fleet Defense Platform The Concorde, An’quat and Baratan class Command ships come equipped with the Fleet Support Platform. While the Fleet Support Platform console is equipped, your starship can launch a mobile shield repair platform that will follow your starship for a while. Allies within 3km of the Fleet Support Platform will have their shields repaired and hardened. This console also provides a passive boost to maximum hull hit points.

This console may be equipped on any Command Battlecruiser or Command Warbird, but can be put into any of their console slots. You may only equip one of these consoles.

Console – Universal – Tachyon Pulse Platform The Geneva, Klinzhai and Deihu class Command ships come equipped with the Tachyon Pulse Platform. While the Tachyon Pulse Platform console is equipped, your starship can deploy a stationary shield draining platform. Enemies that get too close to this platform will have their shields rapidly drained. This console also provides a small passive boost to shield hardness and shield healing.

Console – Universal – Defense Platform The Presidio, An’quat and Vastam class Command ships come come equipped with a Defense Platform. While the Defense Platform console is equipped, your starship can launch a formidable weapons platform. This platform will be deployed at your current position and will fire beam arrays at nearby enemies.  Additionally, it will deploy a large number of mines in the vicinity. Once these mines are detonated, they will be replaced after a short time. Equipping this console also provides a moderate boost to projectile damage.

Command Platforms Console Set

This console set consists of the following consoles:

• Console – Universal - Fleet Support Platform (Concorde, An’quat and Baratam Classes)
• Console – Universal – Tachyon Pulse Platform (Geneva, Klinzhai and Deihu Classes)
• Console – Universal – Defense Platform (Presidio, Ty’Gokor and Vastam Classes)
• Console – Universal – Regenerative Integrity Field (Kobali Samsar Cruiser)  

Equipping consoles from this set will unlock 2, 3 and 4 piece set bonuses:

Integrated Enhanced RCS Module (2 piece)

• +Kinetic Damage Resistance Rating
• +All Energy Damage Resistance Rating
• +Flight Turn Rate  

Encrypted Command Frequencies (3 piece)

• Your Bridge Officer abilities build 33% more Inspiration for yourself
• +Maximum Shield Capacity  

Command Platform Synergy (4 piece)

• +Energy Weapon Damage
• Defense Platform : Create a second Defense Platform
• Fleet Support Platform : The platform will now also heal ally hull for a moderate amount in addition to regenerating shields
• Tachyon Pulse Platform : Increases the range of the Tachyon Pulse beams from 5km to 10km  

Starship Traits

Reaching starship mastery level 5 in any of the above Command Battlecruisers and Warbirds will unlock a new starship trait. Below is a summary of these starship traits:

Improved Brace for Impact

After achieving level 5 in the Concorde, An’quat or Baratan Class Command ship’s starship mastery, you will unlock the Improved Brace for Impact starship trait. While this trait is slotted activating Brace for Impact grants you a very large amount of Temporary Hit Points for a short period of time.

Improved Tachyon Beam

After achieving level 5 in the Geneva, Klinzhai or Deihu Class Command ship’s starship mastery, you will unlock the Improved Tachyon Beam starship trait. While this trait is slotted Tachyon Beam will now regenerate the shields of allies near the target.

All Hands on Deck

After achieving level 5 in the Presidio, Ty’Gokor or Vastam Class Command ship’s starship mastery, you will unlock the All Hands on Deck starship trait. While this trait is slotted, activating a Tactical or Command Bridge Officer ability will reduce the recharge time of Science Bridge Officer and Captain abilities. This may only occur once every few seconds.

Inspiration

Q : Can you better explain how building Inspiration works in regards to team size?

A: The amount of the Inspiration resource that is built is dependent upon two things:

• Type of ability

As mentioned above, Command Bridge Officer abilities will generate bonus Inspiration and the smaller your team size, the more Inspiration each individual contributor will add to the Inspiration pools of Command ships on your team. This bonus is largest when you are solo. That said, you will almost always fill your Inspiration meter more quickly when you’re on a full team.

NOTE: The stats and features of the above ships are all subject to change.

Phil “Gorngonzolla” Zeleski Lead Systems Designer Star Trek Online

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A Closer Look at Romulans

Looking at Star Trek's Romulan Empire.

StarTrek.com highlights Romulans throughout the Star Trek universe.

• Zen Store starships
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Vastam Tactical Command Warbird

• VisualEditor
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Release date: February 12, 2015 The Vastam -class Tactical Command Warbird is a Tier 6 Warbird Battlecruiser which may be flown by Romulan Republic characters, as well as characters of any other faction . All faction restrictions of this starship can be removed by having a level 65 KDF character or by purchasing the Cross Faction Flying unlock from the Zen Store . This starship can be used from any level upon completion of the tutorial experience. As you level up, this ship gains additional hull, weapon slots, and console slots.

• 2 Class variants
• 3 Starship Mastery
• 4.1 Universal consoles
• 4.2 Specialization seating
• 4.3 Battle Cloak
• 4.4.1 Carrier commands
• 4.5 Inspiration Abilities
• 4.6 Singularity
• 5 Standard configuration
• 6.1 Equipment slots and seating
• 6.2 Hull strength
• 6.3 T6-X upgrade
• 7 Ship comparison
• 8 Admiralty ship
• 11 External links

Overview [ | ]

Engineers from the Romulan Republic have looked at new command ship designs from their allies in both Starfleet and Klingon Defense Force . Rather than contract with those groups to build ships for their fleet, the Republic has instead chosen to design and commission a new series of Command Warbirds to be constructed at the New Romulus Shipyards . These ships are designed to act as mobile command centers that will inspire allies with instantaneous informational updates throughout a battle. They are also built to please the Romulan desire for grand scale, creating large, tough Warbirds that can lead a fleet into combat.

The Vastam -class Command Warbird is a tactical centric variant and features more tactical console slots and tactical bridge officer seats than the other Command Warbird variants. The Vastam class is named after Vastam Peaks, region on the surface of the newly-settled Mol'Rihan .

Class variants

Starship mastery [ | ], abilities [ | ], universal consoles [ | ].

The Vastam Tactical Command Warbird comes equipped with the [ Console - Universal - Defense Platform ] .

This ability is part of the Command Platforms Set , which also includes [ Console - Universal - Regenerative Integrity Field ] , [ Console - Universal - Fleet Support Platform ] and [ Console - Universal - Tachyon Pulse Platform ] obtainable with Kobali Samsar Cruiser (T6) , Engineering Command Warbird (T6) and Science Command Warbird (T6) , but also equippable on the Vastam Tactical Command Warbird. For each console added after the first, an additional passive bonus is unlocked.

Specialization seating

The Vastam -class Tactical Command Warbird features the following specialist seats:

Battle Cloak

The Vastam -class Tactical Command Warbird has a battle cloak that allows the ship to cloak during combat, granting stealth and a damage bonus upon decloaking.

Hangar bay [ | ]

The Vastam Tactical Command Warbird comes equipped with a single wing of Scorpion Fighters .

These light craft are equipped with fore Plasma Pulse Cannons and Plasma Torpedo Launcher .

The Elite variant of the Scorpion Fighter is obtainable from the New Romulus reputation system .

Carrier commands [ ]

Inspiration Abilities

The Vastam Tactical Command Warbird features special Inspiration Abilities . Every time one of the team members activates a bridge officer ability , player gains an Inspiration point. When the player's Inspiration meter is full, the following abilities become available:

Singularity [ ]

As a Romulan Warbird , the Vastam -class Tactical Command Warbird comes with built-in Singularity abilities. These abilities do not automatically rank up when acquiring higher tier Warbirds. These powers build in severity based on the charge built up by the ship's Singularity Core .

Standard configuration [ | ]

Romulan starships come with standard equipment and weapons of the lowest mark available at the ship's minimum rank. The items provided are appropriate to the type of vessel and its related playing style.

Fore Weapons

Aft Weapons

Scaling starship

This starship's equipment slots, base hull capacity and shield capacity scale as your level increases.

Equipment slots and seating [ ]

As you rank up every 10 levels, up to level 40, the ship's forward weapon slots, aft weapon slots, tactical console slots, engineering console slots, science console slots and available bridge officer (boff) abilities will slowly increase toward endgame capabilities:

Hull strength [ ]

This table shows how the ship's hull strength scales at each level. The base hull of all scaling starships is 10,000, which is then multiplied by the ship's hull modifier (1.375 for the Vastam -class Tactical Command Warbird), and then multiplied by the scaling multiplier below at each level.

T6-X upgrade

By using an [ Experimental Ship Upgrade Token ] , the Vastam -class Tactical Command Warbird may be upgraded to T6-X , unlocking an extra ship device slot, universal console slot, and the ability to slot an extra starship trait .

Ship comparison [ | ]

Admiralty ship [ | ].

Gallery [ | ]

In orbit of New Romulus

Patrolling the Gamma Eridon System

Notes [ | ]

• The Vastam -class was released as issue #6 in the Star Trek Online Starships Collection , represented by the R.R.W. Vastam .

Romulan Star Empire

• View history
• 2 Territory
• 3.1 Foreign relations
• 3.2 Subject species
• 5 Science and technology
• 6.1.1 Location
• 6.2 Apocrypha
• 6.3 External link

History [ ]

The Romulans originated from dissident Vulcans who rejected Surak 's philosophy of peace, during the Time of Awakening and emigrated from their homeworld around the 4th century . They settled on the planets Romulus and Remus , subjugating the native Remans in the process. ( TNG : " Gambit, Part I "; Star Trek Nemesis ) The development of warp drive enabled the Romulans to expand their state into a Star Empire. ( Star Trek: Insurrection )

In 2152 , the Romulans came into contact with the Human starship Enterprise . ( ENT : " Minefield ") Relations between the Empire and United Earth deteriorated as the Enterprise crew thwarted a Romulan plot to subvert the Vulcan High Command . ( ENT : " Kir'Shara ") Recognizing the growing threat posed by Earth , the Romulans attempted to incite war in the region by attacking civilian shipping using disguised drones . The effort, however, backfired, as their involvement was exposed by Enterprise and spurred the formation of an alliance between the Humans, Vulcans, Andorians , and Tellarites , the nucleus of what would become the United Federation of Planets . ( ENT : " Babel One ", " United ", " The Aenar ")

Open war erupted between Earth and the Romulans in 2156 , ending four years later with a humiliating Romulan defeat at the Battle of Cheron . An ensuing peace treaty established the Romulan Neutral Zone , after which the Romulans had no substantial contact with Humans for a century. In 2266 , the Romulans tested Federation resolve by sending a Bird-of-Prey to attack Federation outposts along the Neutral Zone. The defeat of the Bird-of-Prey by the USS Enterprise averted war. ( TOS : " Balance of Terror "; TNG : " The Defector ") During this period, the Romulans experienced a short-lived break in their enmity with the Klingons, resulting in a technological exchange between the two. ( TOS : " The Enterprise Incident ")

The Romulans viewed the 2293 Khitomer Accords between the Federation and the Klingon Empire unfavorably, as it shifted the balance of power against them. ( Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country ) Escalating hostilities between the Star Empire and the Federation culminated in the Tomed Incident of 2311 and the Treaty of Algeron . The Romulans again ceased meaningful contact with the Federation, though they continued to war intermittently with the Klingons. In 2364 , the Empire began to engage once more with the Federation, following a series of mysterious attacks on their Neutral Zone outposts. ( TNG : " The Neutral Zone ", " The Defector ", " Yesterday's Enterprise ", " The Pegasus ") The Star Empire also launched at least one attempt to infiltrate the Federation, creating a clone of Starfleet Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the USS Stargazer who came to be known as Shinzon . This plot was abandoned after a shift in power in the government, leading to Shinzon being condemned to the dilithium mines of Remus . ( Star Trek Nemesis )

For the latter part of the 2360s , the Romulan Star Empire was locked in a cold war with the Federation, launching repeated probes of Federation space and subversive actions. Most significantly, they attempted to break the Federation-Klingon alliance , resulting in the Klingon Civil War , and to exploit the Vulcan reunification movement to invade Vulcan. Both plans were unsuccessful. ( TNG : " The Enemy ", " Redemption ", " Redemption II ", " Unification I ", " Unification II ") At some point after resuming contact with the Federation and learning of the existence of Soong-type androids such as Data and Lore , a Romulan Zhat Vash agent began infiltrating Starfleet under the alias Oh . ( PIC : " Broken Pieces ")

The Star Empire's position shifted when violent contact with the Dominion in 2370 presented a common threat to all Alpha Quadrant powers. The Romulans collaborated with Starfleet in a limited fashion to counter the Dominion threat by allowing the installation of a cloaking device aboard the USS Defiant . ( DS9 : " The Search, Part I ") By late 2373 , however, they opted to sign a nonaggression pact with the Dominion. ( DS9 : " Call to Arms ")

In mid- 2374 , the Romulan Star Empire was brought into the Dominion War on the Allied side through an act of subterfuge by Starfleet Captain Benjamin Sisko and former Obsidian Order agent Elim Garak , in which the Romulans believed that Senator Vreenak was assassinated by the Dominion. ( DS9 : " In the Pale Moonlight ") Romulan participation marked a turning point in the war and was critical to the defeat of the Dominion, the following year . ( DS9 : " Tears of the Prophets ", " What You Leave Behind ")

During the war, Shinzon was among those conscripted from the mines of Remus to serve as shocktroops. He distinguished himself in battle, and became a respected leader among the Remans ; he and his followers began amassing greater power within the Empire. In 2379 , Shinzon seized control of the government, assassinating the Senate and declaring himself Praetor. He subsequently attempted to launch a genocidal attack on Earth, only to be stopped by the USS Enterprise -E , the Romulan warbird ';' Valdore , and one other Valdore -type warbird . It was hoped, by members of both sides, that a lasting peace between the Romulans and the Federation would follow. ( Star Trek Nemesis )

In 2387 , the Star Empire suffered a terrible blow when the supernova of the Romulan sun destroyed Romulus. ( Star Trek ) By 2399 , it had been supplanted or at least partially replaced by the Romulan Free State . At least one of its key agencies, the Tal Shiar remained in existence, transferring its loyalties to the Free State. ( PIC : " Maps and Legends ")

Territory [ ]

• See : Romulan space

Government [ ]

The Romulan Senate (2379)

The Continuing Committee (2375)

The ruling body of the Romulan Star Empire was the Romulan Senate , with each senator representing a province . The Senate was led by the Praetor , followed by the Proconsul and then the Vice-proconsul . The Praetor also presided over the Continuing Committee , a powerful body that held authority over Senate members. Changes of government and attendant shifts in policy were not uncommon in the Empire. ( TNG : " Unification I "; DS9 : " Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges "; Star Trek Nemesis ) In 2373 , Q stated that, at one point, he could have produced offspring with the Romulan empress if he wished to do so. ( VOY : " The Q and the Grey ")

The Romulan Senate dispatched ambassadors from time to time, for example Caithlin Dar to Nimbus III and Nanclus to the United Federation of Planets . ( Star Trek V: The Final Frontier ; Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country )

Foreign relations [ ]

In external application, Romulan political agendas appeared largely unified over the centuries. Their goals focused on maintaining Imperial security through vigilance, and negating the perceived advantages of their rivals. Both goals were accompanied by a near-paranoid reticence to reveal information, even facts as basic as their racial identity, that might illuminate other Romulan ambitions or motivations. Short of war, the means to those ends have generally varied between favored methods:

Major Talok , an instrument of covert foreign-policy, in 2154

• Surreptitious political disruption of rivals – as in the secret relationship with V'Las of the Vulcan High Command in the 2150s , participation in the Khitomer conspiracy of 2293 , secret alliances both with the Klingons, such as in the House of Duras from the 2340s , or against the Klingons, or the aborted attempt to replace key Starfleet officers with clones in the late 24th century . ( ENT : " Kir'Shara "; Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country ; TNG : " Sins of The Father ", " The Mind's Eye "; Star Trek Nemesis )
• Limited, surprise or covert military action – as in the use of telepresence -operated drone ships to spark the " Babel Crisis " among neighboring powers in 2154 , a single Bird-of-Prey used to attack the Federation border and gauge its weaknesses in the Neutral Zone Incursion of 2266 , or the attack on the Klingon outpost at Narendra III in 2344 . ( ENT : " Babel One ", " United "; TOS : " Balance of Terror "; TNG : " Yesterday's Enterprise ")

Partial map of the Neutral Zone shown in 2266

The Empire did resort to open warfare when it was deemed necessary, but in typical fashion, their reasons for war were less than candidly expressed, as in the Earth-Romulan War and the enigmatic Tomed Incident of 2311 . Unlike the Klingon objectives of the Federation-Klingon War of 2267 , Romulans do not appear to have gone to war with neighboring powers under a flag of "expansion", and no competition existed for the development of class M worlds along the Romulan Neutral Zone . Romulans expressed little resentment for the negotiated Zone they zealously guarded, and following their conflicts, the Empire withdrew behind the safety of the buffer for many decades of self-imposed isolation from Federation affairs. ( TOS : " Balance of Terror ", " Errand of Mercy ", " The Trouble with Tribbles "; TNG : " The Neutral Zone ")

Subsequent to Shinzon's coup , some Romulan officers suggested that an era of warmer relations may be beginning with the Federation after Starfleet and Romulan military personnel cooperated to defeat Shinzon's forces before he could destroy Earth itself. ( Star Trek Nemesis ) However, during the years leading up to the destruction of Romulus, there was profound skepticism in the Romulan government about the idea of accepting Federation assistance in evacuating the Homeworlds. Picard himself, having been promoted to admiral and assigned to coordinate the Federation rescue fleet, had to testify to the reconstituted Senate in the Hall of State to persuade them to accept Federation assistance – creating a bitter sense of betrayal when the Federation withdrew its offer of help subsequent to the Attack on Mars . ( PIC : " Absolute Candor ")

Subject species [ ]

Military [ ].

Bird-of-Prey , 2152

The Romulan military was a powerful and technologically advanced force encompassing both spacefaring and ground forces. ( TNG : " Unification II ") Despite being defeated by Earth in the Earth-Romulan War of the 2150s , the Romulan Star Empire continued to be a powerful presence, not afraid to tempt Starfleet by entering the Neutral Zone. Romulan forces were a deciding factor in the Dominion War , whose entry in 2374 turned the tide of war in favor of the Allies. ( TOS : " Balance of Terror "; DS9 : " In the Pale Moonlight ")

Romulan military operations were supported by the War Plans Council , a high-level government agency. ( DS9 : " In the Pale Moonlight ")

Besides regular forces, the Romulan Tal Shiar and Zhat Vash also had its own fleet of starships, and were a ruthless and powerful organization within the Empire and beyond. ( TNG : " Face Of The Enemy "; DS9 : " The Die is Cast "; PIC : " Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2 ")

Science and technology [ ]

Appendices [ ], background information [ ].

The double-headed bird of prey emblem of the Romulan Star Empire was first introduced in " The Neutral Zone ". The symbol was designed by Monte Thrasher . ( The Official Star Trek: The Next Generation Magazine  issue 12 , p. 54) A Romulan emblem was seen in " The Enterprise Incident ", though it was never used again. [1]

Paul Schneider , writer of " Balance of Terror ", based many of the elements of the Romulan Star Empire such as Praetor, Proconsul, and the Romulan Senate on the Roman Empire . See Romulan - Background information for more information.

Location [ ]

In dialogue, the Romulan Star Empire has been exclusively referred to as an Alpha Quadrant power. It has also been stated that the space of the Romulan Empire was surrounded by the territories of the Cardassians , Klingons and the Federation.

The first time this fact began to be established occurred in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , in the episode " The Search, Part II ", where the Romulan Star Empire was identified as one of the great powers of the Alpha Quadrant. For the Dominion , there were four great powers in this quadrant: the Federation, the Klingons, the Romulans, and the Cardassians. With the Battle of the Omarion Nebula , two of these threats had been reduced in effectiveness – the Romulans and the Cardassians. By " Call to Arms ", the Cardassians were in an alliance with the Dominion and three powers, small and great, had signed non-aggression pacts with the Dominion. These powers were the Miradorns , the Tholians , and the Romulans. In the opinion of Odo , the Dominion was "making impressive inroads into the Alpha Quadrant."

In " In the Pale Moonlight ", it was revealed that the Dominion forces were crossing the Cardassian-Romulan border and were launching attacks against Federation ships from there. When Benjamin Sisko was attempting to persuade Senator Vreenak to consider having the Romulans join the offensive against the Dominion, Sisko said, " I'd pick the side most likely to leave us in peace when the dust settles. Maybe you're right. Maybe the Dominion will win in the end. Then the Founders will control what we now call Cardassia, the Klingon Empire and the Federation. So, instead of facing three separate opponents with three separate agendas, you'll find yourselves facing the same opponent on every side. There's a word for that. Surrounded. "

The association of Romulus with the Alpha Quadrant was carried over to Star Trek: Voyager . In " Flashback ", Captain Kathryn Janeway reminisced about what it would be like to live in James T. Kirk 's era, with "the Alpha Quadrant still largely unexplored," and "Romulans hiding behind every nebula." In " Message in a Bottle ", a section of the Romulan border was identified to be located near the edges of the Alpha Quadrant. In " Bliss ", when it seemed that the USS Voyager would find a way back home, Tom Paris stated that he looked forward to encountering Cardassians, Ferengi , and Romulans again in the Alpha Quadrant. In " Flesh and Blood ", Chakotay identified the Romulan disruptor as an Alpha Quadrant weapon. In " Q2 ", in a simulation, several Alpha Quadrant species were fighting over mining rights to a planetoid , and Q Junior had to find a way to settle the dispute. The species listed were the Nausicaans , the Bolians , the Cardassians, the Romulans, the Ferengi, and the Bajorans.

In virtually all reference works , however, the Romulan Star Empire has been depicted to be located in the Beta Quadrant , with a border only with the Federation and the Klingon Empire . These books include such works as the Star Trek Encyclopedia  (3rd ed., p. 43, 393), Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Technical Manual (p. 2), Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Journal (p. 9), Star Trek: The Next Generation Writers' Technical Manual (p. 20), Star Trek: Voyager Technical Manual (p. 27) and Star Trek: Star Charts (pp. 45, 55, 56, et al. ). Even reference works that date back to a time before the Alpha and Beta Quadrant distinction was invented show the Romulans in the area that was later classified as the Beta Quadrant. These include such works as the Star Trek Star Fleet Technical Manual (T0:02:07:00) and Star Trek Maps (Chart A). Only one of these graphics was reused on-screen, as a display graphic on a PADD in Star Trek: Insurrection . [2] [3] The information on the PADD, though, was completely illegible on screen. [4]

Apocrypha [ ]

In many novels of the TOS era, such as in Diane Duane 's Rihannsu series, the Romulans are synonymously called "Rihannsu." Their home star is Eisn, known to Humans as 128 Trianguli.

In the video game Star Trek: Encounters , the Romulans mostly play the villain role in the levels based on Star Trek: The Next Generation . However, in the game's last level, a temporal anomaly near Earth causes the USS Defiant to briefly appear in an alternate timeline where the Romulan Empire has conquered the Federation .

In Star Trek Online , the Empire is in a state of inner turmoil after the destruction of their homeworld due to a supernova. They are now led by Empress Sela and blame the Federation for the destruction of their home planet, an event that led to a renewal of hostilities between the Romulan Empire and the Federation. Members of the Reman resistance and the Vulcan reunification movement have also established a Romulan Republic on "New Romulus" as a democratic state, allied with the Federation and the Klingon Empire in opposition to Sela's dictatorial regime. The new Romulan Republic play a major role in STO 's first expansion, Legacy of Romulus .

External link [ ]

• Romulan Star Empire at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• 2 ISS Enterprise (NCC-1701)

Screen Rant

The aunt of star trek: tng's tasha yar actress once romanced ds9's quark.

Despite leaving TNG in season 1, Denise Crosby has lasting ties to the Star Trek franchise, including her aunt, who fell in love with DS9's Quark.

The aunt of Star Trek: The Next Generation 's Denise Crosby once had a brief romance with Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 's Quark (Armin Shimerman). Denise Crosby played Lt. Tasha Yar in TNG , whose family continued to pop up in the show even after she was killed by Armus. Tasha's sister, Ishara Yar (Beth Toussaint), used the crew of the USS Enterprise-D to help her launch an invasion of the Turkana IV Alliance's territory in TNG season 4, episode 6, "Legacy". Star Trek: The Next Generation season 5 introduced Sela (Denise Crosby) Tasha Yar's half-Romulan daughter from an alternate timeline, who became a recurring villain on the show.

Tasha Yar's extended family appearing on Star Trek: The Next Generation was reflective of Denise Crosby's own family links to the wider Star Trek universe. Denise Crosby was the granddaughter of popular crooner and actor Bing Crosby, named after her father, and Bing's son, Dennis Crosby. Embarrassed by a high-profile child support case between Dennis Crosby and Denise's mother, Marilyn Miller Scott, Bing Crosby reportedly never met his granddaughter . Amid this court battle, Bing Crosby's second wife, Kathryn, gave birth to her second child, Denise's aunt and future Star Trek: Deep Space Nine guest star , Mary Crosby.

Star Trek: TNG's Most Hated Episode Still Traumatizes Denise Crosby

Star trek: tng's denise crosby's aunt played quark's love interest in ds9.

Denise Crosby's aunt Mary played Professor Natima Lang in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 2, episode 18, "Profit and Loss" . Mary Crosby was a prolific TV guest star in the early 1990s, appearing in shows such as Murder, She Wrote and Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman before being cast as Natima in DS9 . A specialist in political ethics, Natima was a prominent member of the Cardassian dissident movement, who wanted to overthrow their government's military rulers. Natima Lang was a character who brought out Quark's romantic and heroic side, something that DS9 writer and producer Ira Steven Behr disapproved of :

" I felt we didn't need another tough, sexy, swashbuckling character on the show. We had enough of those." - Ira Steven Behr, The Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion

Mary Crosby is best known for playing Kristin Shepard in the iconic soap opera Dallas between 1979 and 1981 . Kristin Shepard was the character who famously shot J.R. Ewing (Larry Hagman) in the soap, with the reveal becoming one of the highest-rated episodes of any TV drama. In an interesting parallel between her character in Dallas and her character in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , Mary Crosby also shoots Quark in "Profit and Loss", albeit accidentally. It's a fun nod to Mary Crosby's best-known TV role.

Denise Crosby's Other Star Trek Family Links

Mary Crosby isn't the only member of Denise Crosby's extended family to appear in the wider Star Trek universe. Denise Crosby's brother, Paul, is married to actress and stunt performer, Spice Williams, who has made many appearances in the Star Trek franchise . Spice Williams-Crosby played Vixis in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier , the first officer on Klaa's Klingon bird of prey. As a stunt performer, Spice Williams-Crosby doubled for Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine on episodes of Star Trek: Voyager.

Denise Crosby is also a distant relation of Family Guy creator and Star Trek: Enterprise guest star, Seth MacFarlane . Ancestry details of Seth MacFarlane reveal that he was a descendant of William Brewster, an ancestor of Bing Crosby. This means that Denise Crosby and Seth MacFarlane are distant cousins, a detail which must have pleased the noted Star Trek fan. In 2011, Seth MacFarlane revealed his desire to reboot the franchise on TV, a dream he never got to realize. However, his sci-fi comedy drama The Orville is the next best thing, a loving homage to Star Trek: The Next Generation that features many of its alumni.

All episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine are available to stream on Paramount+.

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Star Trek: The Next Generation is the third installment in the sci-fi franchise and follows the adventures of Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew members of the USS Enterprise. Set around one hundred years after the original series, Picard and his crew travel through the galaxy in largely self-contained episodes exploring the crew dynamics and their own political discourse. The series also had several overarching plots that would develop over the course of the isolated episodes, with four films released in tandem with the series to further some of these story elements.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

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Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, also known as DS9, is the fourth series in the long-running Sci-Fi franchise, Star Trek. DS9 was created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller, and stars Avery Brooks, René Auberjonois, Terry Farrell, and Cirroc Lofton. This particular series follows a group of individuals in a space station near a planet called Bajor.