Tal'Diann Timeline

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Background[edit | edit source]

This is more of a narrative story than a timeline atm, as such plan to split this into two things eventually.

Chapter 1[edit | edit source]

Ji'ana t'Charvon Arrives at the End of the 24th Century (or, "Temporal Shenanigans, Part One")

In 2360, a young Romulan woman arrived on ch'Rihan with an infant girl named Rache t'Vrinak, not her own daughter, and sought out the woman then known as both "Liviana t'Charvanek" and "Fvillha Thea." They had come from the past, specifically, 2153, after the young woman been sent to 2152 along with another young woman (who was, unknown to anyone at the time, pregnant), by the future Praetor of the Tal'Diann, Ji'ana t'Charvon, from 2410 to undertake a mission necessary to preserve the timeline. The two agents were supposed to return to 2410 after the mission was completed, but this did not occur as planned, due to complications arising from the Temporal Cold War being waged in the 22nd century.

This young woman's name was Veloria t'Laren. With her had gone her immediate superior officer in the Tal'Diann, Telrine t'Vrinak. t'Vrinak, however, had been pregnant, and gave birth while they were in the past laying groundwork toward the completion of their mission. Some months later, Telrine sacrificed her own life in order to complete the mission and to protect t'Laren and Rache, having set their temporal shuttle to return to 2410. For reasons as yet unspecified, but having something to do with the aforementioned Temporal Cold War, the shuttle experienced a malfunction and arrived in 2360 instead of 2410, the shuttle damaged so as to make any further time travel impossible. Veloria t'Laren had hoped that t'Charvanek would be able to repair the shuttle, or have it repaired, but the damage was too pervasive, and t'Charvanek ordered t'Laren to scuttle the shuttle. In order to avoid contaminating the timeline, t'Laren would not give all of the details of the mission in the past, nor the situation in the future, to t'Charvanek, but she did present undeniable evidence of the truth of her strange tale, and so t'Charvanek, being a Co-Praetor of the Romulan Star Empire and in the High Command of the Tal'Diann, saw to it that t'Laren and Rache were provided for, isolated close by but not immediately present, in order to prevent any possible temporal contamination.

In 2379, t'Charvanek, by then the former Chief of the Division of Security of the Tal'Diann and a former Co-Praetor of the Star Empire, left ch'Rihan and went to ch'Havran, due to the political situation on ch'Rihan at the time and also due to the presence on ch'Havran of a man with whom she had been intimate over a hundred years previously. She had t'Laren and the young t'Vrinak also brought to ch'Havran. While she was living among the Havrannsu in 2381, her old-new love interest having returned to visit his homeworld, some of her Havran friends discovered a crashed ship very close to one of the uninhabitable zones of the planet, and they sought her scientific expertise in their efforts to repair and restore the ship. It was obviously of Romulan make, but like nothing any of them had seen before, and made use of technology with which the Havrannsu were unfamiliar. Among other things, the ship was powered by a warp core instead of a singularity core, but while some of them had some familiarity with warp cores, and while t'Charvanek herself had commanded both D7 battlecruisers with warp cores and V-11 Akif Stormbirds, the warp core on this particular vessel was considerably more advanced than anything they knew.

Nevertheless, they did succeed in repairing the damaged hull and restoring the systems, and decided to take it for a test flight. By this time, t'Charvanek had determined that the vessel was a Romulan temporal science vessel from the future, of a ship class designated "R'Mor" in honor of the scientist Doctor Telek tr'R'Mor, and had a strange registry prefix, "ch'M'R" (R.R.W. in Aenglish). It was named the Ri'Unhaiynen ("Temptress"). As they broke free of the orbit of ch'Havran, one of the stressed consoles shorted out and burst into flames, and in their haste to extinguish the fire, they accidentally activated the temporal drive, hurling the vessel, unshielded, into the year 2399. Had that console not shorted out, the temporal shielding would have automatically activated before the temporal drive would function.

Chroniton radiation permeated the bridge of the unshielded vessel and bathed the Commander and her crew. The effects of this exposure varied a bit, but all of the personnel experienced at least some effects on their physical age. Liviana t'Charvanek had been born in 2228, and was thus 153 years old when the temporal drive was activated. After arriving in 2399, her physical age and appearance had reverted to that of a Romulan woman who was approximately in her fifties. In addition, her right eye was injured. After recuperating from the shock of these effects and being treated for radiation poisoning, the Commander and her crew set about trying to discover where -- and when -- they were. Checking the astrometric charts, they realized that they were near the Eisn system, but scans picked up no indication of the Eisn star nor the planets ch'Rihan and ch'Havran. No standard cloaking device was equipped on the vessel, but it did have a temporal cloak, which they promptly activated, searching subspace frequencies for any information. Interference from what had been the Eisn system forced them to move off in order to receive any clear signals, and so they sat, cloaked in time, listening. It was not long before they picked up transmissions from imperial warbirds, and Ji'ana utilized Tal'Diann codes to hack into the computer of the closest warbird and download its database.

File:RRWRiUnhaiynen1.jpg

  • The R.R.W. Ri'Unhaiynen before repainting

A Romulan temporal agent attempted communication with the vessel, but t'Charvanek was too intent on figuring out what had happened, and ordered the crew to evade the other temporal vessel, which gave pursuit. This went on for some time, while t'Charvanek scoured the database for the information she sought. Having learned of the destruction of the Eisn system and the loss of billions of Romulan lives, as well as the loss of the man with whom she had rekindled her romance, and the possible death of her daughter, in 2387, and the repairs of the vessel having been completed, t'Charvanek ordered the crew to prepare for a return trip to the past, intending to prevent the destruction and loss of life. The temporal shielding was activated, and the temporal agent grew more insistent in her transmissions to t'Charvanek, even trying to inform her that her daughter was still alive, but t'Charvanek had muted the hails before that bit of information was received, and she ordered the crew to engage the temporal drive, with the course set for 2387, shortly before the Hobus star went supernova. Upon arrival, t'Charvanek sought any means by which to prevent the supernova, but the event was already flooded with chronitons, suggesting that others had already made changes to the timeline. She had the crew remain until the last possible moment, still trying to make any change, but whatever could be changed had already been changed, apparently more than once. Her efforts were in vain. She ordered the crew to return to 2381, where they picked up t'Laren and and the young t'Vrinak, who was by now a young woman and no more an infant. t'Charvanek then offered her crew the option of remaining in 2381 or returning with her to the future. All of her Havran crew had no objections to returning to 2399, since the inhabitants of ch'Havran had been relocated to a colony world named Crateris, prior to the destruction of the Eisn system, and most actually preferred to do so, since they had all been affected by age reversal as a result of traveling through time without proper shielding; none of them left the ship to even bid their farewells to friends and family. This, it would turn out, was a very beneficial thing, for it minimized the possibility of any temporal contamination. Veloria t'Laren then provided further information about her mission and the orders she had been given. And so instead of returning immediately to 2399, t'Charvanek had the course set for 2699.

At the end of the 27th century, t'Charvanek contacted Romulan temporal agents and demanded to know why she had not been able to change the past. The answers she received were vague, but confirmed what she had already inferred: the Hobus event had already been changed several times, and when she arrived there with her plan to change history again, no further change was possible due to the complexities of temporal mechanics. A debriefing session was then held, with t'Charvanek being recruited as an "asset" and told that she must return to 2399 and contact the temporal agent who had tried to convince her not to go back to 2387, while t'Laren would remain behind in the future. For the next 3 months, t'Charvanek and her Reman crew were put through a rigorous training program so that they would understand their responsibilities with regard to the timeline in compliance with the Temporal Accord. In addition, t'Charvanek was instructed to visit a planet known as Vor before returning to 2399, and was given a device which would bestow enhanced vision to her damaged right eye. On Vor, the reason for the vision device became apparent when she encountered a lifeform with the ability to bend light in such a way as to be invisible. With the device, disguised as an eyepatch, t'Charvanek was able to see this person in her true form: a cybernetically enhanced and genetically modified individual who most closely resembled a Ferasan, to whom t'Charvanek gave a name: Shadowcat. This lifeform had been intended to be the prototype of an army, but she was too effective in her assigned role, and killed the scientists who had made her in vengeance for their having made her kill her Pride mates, after which she lived as a wild creature on Vor for a rather long duration of time. The fact that t'Charvanek could actually see her resulted in Shadowcat deciding that t'Charvanek was a Mistress of the Hunt, and thus a worthy mentor. After an extended time of teaching the almost-feral Shadowcat some basics of social interaction, t'Charvanek took her back to the Ri'Unhaiynen, and then set course for 2410, where she had Rache t'Vrinak beamed to a warbird waiting for the transport of t'Vrinak. The crew of the Ri'Unhaiynen activated a holoemitter to disguise the vessel as a t'Liss warbird, and then set course for 2399.

File:RRWRiUnhaiynen2.jpg

  • The R.R.W. Ri'Unhaiynen after repainting

When once they had returned to the end of the 24th century, t'Charvanek opened a secure channel to the other temporal vessel which had given pursuit. She had thought that the voice sounded familiar, and indeed, it was the voice of a Romulan woman she knew from the past, present, and future, Veloria t'Laren. [redacted


Chapter 2[edit | edit source]

The Birth of the Republic (or, "Romulans Return to Their Formative Ideals")

Now having returned to the beginning of 2399, Liviana t'Charvanek found that the back door security measures she had put in place during her time as Chief of the Division of Security of the Tal'Diann were still in place, and she was thus able to get into the Tal'Diann database and use the information there to contact the current head of the organization, a woman named [redacted]. Once t'Charvanek had proven who she was, she was told that the person who was then in her old position, a man named [redacted], was about to be promoted to Chief of the Military Internal Affairs Wing, which would leave a vacancy where she had served for over a decade, and asked if she would like her old office back. To this question, t'Charvanek answered enthusiastically in the affirmative, and so she was once more, after all her trials and tribulations, back in a position to serve the Romulan and Reman people. She assumed a new identity, giving herself the nahi "Jessatra t'Sathe" in order to conceal her true identity from political enemies. For the next week, "t'Sathe" studied the history she had missed and the state of the Star Empire at the time. She was not pleased with what she learned, but she resolved to work for the betterment of the living conditions and civil rights of the people as best she could from her position. Among the information she discovered was that the Tal'Diann had continued her investigation after she was placed in "protective custody," and that they had found definitive evidence that the Tal'Shiar had indeed been responsible for her husband's death in 2373, just as she had suspected.

Two months later, the head of the Tal'Diann was assassinated by a Tal'Shiar black ops team, and t'Sathe's immediate superior rose again to lead the Tal'Diann, which resulted in t'Sathe being promoted to Chief of the Military Internal Affairs Wing. Her first act was to personally track down those who had assassinated the late head of the organization one by one, and dispatch them to Areinnye. Unfortunately, the consequence of this was that the new head of the Tal'Diann received the "Tebok Treatment," as the Tal'Shiar was referring to the computer virus they had used to remove the threat posed to their plans by General tr'Tebok. For the second time in 2399, the Tal'Diann was without a leader. As such, Jessatra t'Sathe assumed the office of Fvillha s'Tal'Diann, and was shortly thereafter contacted by certain elements of the Imperial Star Navy who had by this time had more than enough of the Tal'Shiar and their usurpation of authority, as well as the abuses of Praetor Taris. The mysterious death of General tr'Tebok had actuated them to begin working toward the establishment of a schismatic polity, and they wanted the cooperation of the Tal'Diann in this venture. Having been given this information, t'Sathe suggested a military coup in order to remove Taris from power and disband the Tal'Shiar, hoping to restore the Star Empire to its former perspectives and policies. She was told by her contact that several of the Admirals involved in this scheme agreed with that idea, and that, if she committed herself and the Tal'Diann to this dissident movement, she would be able to argue for such a coup and against the establishment of a breakaway polity.

Several days passed as t'Sathe mulled over her decision and reviewed the current situation of the Star Empire in greater detail than she had done after rejoining the Tal'Diann earlier in the year. She opened a secure channel to her contact and agreed to bring the Tal'Diann on board. Over the next few months, those involved in the plot debated what course of action they should take. In the course of these debates, t'Sathe decided that the majority of the Admirals were correct; the Star Empire had descended into incurable madness and the only way forward was to remove themselves from the equation, much as their ancestors had removed themselves from Vulcan in order to remain free. Her impassioned pleas for this path swayed a sufficient number of those who were still waffling to obtain a super majority, and so they began making preparations to depart from the failure which the Star Empire had become, and seek greener pastures elsewhere. Their first act was to elect a leader, and t'Sathe threw her support to a young man named D'Tan, who had been a pupil of Spock. D'Tan also had the virtue of having many connections in the colonies, including the Maiori of a new colonial settlement which had been established that very year on the planet of Virinat, already a colony world for several decades, with other colonial settlements already established elsewhere on the planet . D'Tan was thereafter elected to be the figurehead of the movement, and was invested with the title "Proconsul." Jessatra t'Sathe confided her true identity to the new Proconsul, asking if her connection to the noble Houseclans s'Charvon and s'Rllaillieu would be a challenge, but D'Tan insisted that she remain in her position, and left it up to her whether to go public with her true identity or not. She opted to continue using her nahi, but reserved the right to reveal the truth at some point in the future. D%27Tan.png D'Tan, Ehkifv Temjahaere s'Kreh'dhhokh Mol'Rihanai (D'Tan, Proconsul of the New Romulan Republic)

By the middle of the year 2400, the schismatic movement was ready to make its move, and whole fleets of the Imperial Star Navy, along with the Tal'Diann and the Reunificationist movement, abandoned the Star Empire and published their manifesto, a declaration of independence which proclaimed "The Romulan Republic," condemned the government of Praetor Taris, and was especially critical of the Tal'Shiar. The reaction from Taris and the Tal'Shiar was predictable: they declared the schismatic group "traitors and terrorists," and began a military campaign to eradicate all of them. This effort, however, was made difficult by the fact that "the Romulan Resistance," as some sympathetic outsiders named them, had no fixed location, but traveled throughout the territory of the Star Empire in a flotilla of warbirds, cargo vessels, and civilian yachts, seeking a new home.

Proconsul D'Tan approved t'Sathe's plan to insert herself undercover into the colony on Virinat, where she would go by the name "Jessatra t'Prell" (Hfihar s'Prell being one of the septs of Hfihar s'Charvon, and some of the members of this sept being on Virinat already, including one of her younger cousins whom she had known in the past, Jisit t'Prell), and so she arrived on Virinat in early 2402, with Malem (the Maiori of the colony), cooperating to facilitate her cover on Virinat. She posed as a cultural anthropologist specializing in linguistics, and in this role, she was able to move about the colony and to the other colonies on Virinat, as well as beyond the planet, with relative freedom, as well as a lack of suspicion from any of the colonists. With her went two of her Reman crewmembers, both Security officers, Subcommander E'Mzon and Subcommander Rislykat, whom she had made her personal bodyguards, and who posed as her research assistants on Virinat. She sought out her cousin Jisit (who had gone to Virinat to convalesce following an injury she received as an officer in the Imperial Star Navy, from which she had now been honorably discharged) and confided in her, and Jisit agreed to help her establish herself as a legitimate member of the sept, being sympathetic to the cause of the Republic. This was not difficult, as the members of Hfihar s'Prell had been intermarrying with the members of Hfihar s'Charvon for several centuries, and so Jessatra had a family resemblance to some of the members of the sept, including Jisit. Jessatra soon recruited the younger woman into the Tal'Diann. Jisit%2Bir%2527Virinat%2Bt%2527Prell%2Bin%2BAcademic%2BChancellor%2BDress%2BUniform.jpg Jisit ir'Virinat t'Prell some time in mid 2409, after she became Chancellor of the Academy of the Tal'Diann (the uniform she wears is the dress uniform of the Chancellor of the Academy of the Tal'Diann)

While the Maiori was not fully on board with the Republic, he was also not opposed to their quest for freedom and independence from the Star Empire, and so had maintained his contact with D'Tan, while taking precautions. Once "Jessatra t'Prell" arrived on Virinat, those precautions included having her act as his go-between for most communications with D'Tan. In her cover as a linguistic anthropologist, Jessatra t'Prell learned that the colonists were developing their own dialect of the Rihan language, as an organic result of the population having come from various regions of the Star Empire. One of the distinctive differences in their developing dialect was an orthographic innovation; some words were spelled slightly differently on Virinat. An example of this was her own name Jessatra, which the Virinat colonists inexplicably represented as "G'essatra." As she studied this orthographic phenomenon, Jessatra t'Prell discerned that words with an initial J followed by a slender vowel (e or i) were having the J replaced with a G', and began preparing a work she named "The Lexicon of the Virinatic Dialect of the Rihan Language." While this was of course part of her cover, she had a fascination for languages from an early age, and so she took some pleasure in this work, even choosing to adopt the local spelling of her name "G'essatra t'Prell" in place of the standard Rihan spelling "Jessatra t'Prell."

Jisit had grown up in another settlement on Virinat (at a time before the colonists' language had begun to diverge from Standard Rihan, and so continued to spell her name in the standard orthography), so it was only natural that she return to the planet to recover from her injuries after her honorable discharge. When Jessatra arrived, Jisit chose to join her in the new settlement, where she encountered a young man she had known in her youth, one Vrairok tr'Dorran, who had grown up in the same village. He had admired her from afar, and when she won numerous beauty pageants prior to leaving Virinat for her military service, tr'Dorran had been too intimidated to approach her. Even now, years later, he remained shy in her presence, and she thought he was aloof, having heard tales of his exploits and even knowing of a certain birthmark rumored to exist on his derriere. Some years later, after he also joined the Tal'Diann, he finally worked up the courage to approach her, and one of the first things she did was to ask him about the birthmark, but that is a story for later in this account. Virinat_-_Khellid_Cave.png A typical Khellid Cave Hive entrance on Virinat.

On one of her travels to another colonial settlement, G'essatra visited the alehouse of the main brewery of kheh'irho ih'Liun (the Liun label of the Virinat variety of Romulan Ale), established on Virinat in 2362 by Hfihar s'Liun (Houseclan Liun), and where the Hfihar s'Liun had moved their main brewing operations in 2380, in order to take advantage of the native Khellidir, a genus of insects which produced a nectar used in the preparation of the Virinat variety of kheh'irho, a lucrative product for the Houseclan, as Virinat Romulan Ale was in great demand throughout the Star Empire. While there, she also visited the local militia barracks, where a young woman named Dhiov t'Liun was the physician in attendance. Some years later, Dhiov, then using the nahi Dhiov t'Liss, would become a member of the Tal'Diann, but at this point in time, she was content to be a citizen-soldier of the colony. Virinat_farm.png The farm of the colonial settlement on Virinat governed by Malem as Maiori

For the next seven years, G'essatra t'Prell spent most of her time in the main colony on Virinat, using her apartment there as a refuge, and traveling to the Flotilla of the Republic four times a week (the Romulan week is ten days long) in the temporally-cloaked Ri'Unhaiynen in order to direct the operations of the Tal'Diann. This was all to change in early 2409. Virinat_surface.png The colonial settlement on Virinat governed by Malem as Maiori


Chapter 3[edit | edit source]

Hearts and Minds (or, "Prelude to Yet Another Romulan Civil War")

In the second half of the first century After Shipfall in the Eisn system, t'Rehu seized power, but was put down by rebels, many of them from ch'Havran (Remus), who dispersed once she was killed. In what the Terrhasu (Humans) would regard as the 10th century, a civil war started by various Romulan colonies vying for independence eventually resulted in the rebellion being put down and the formation of the Shiar ih'Saeihr Rihan (Romulan Star Empire). From 2379 to 2385 (again by Terrhain reckoning), Romulan and Reman society were subjected to the coup by Shinzon (who managed to hold onto power for a mere three days), followed by civil unrest and political instability, with various individuals and groups struggling to take power, and the office of Praetor finally being settled on Tal'aura did not resolve these conflicts (during the regime of Tal'aura, members of Hfihar s'Lupercal, a sept of Hfihar s'Charvon, smuggled the still young Karataia t'Charvon, daughter of Liviana t'Charvanek and Devoras ei'Narviat tr'Charvanek, off of ch'Rihan and away to safety on one of the colonies; she would be known as Kara t'Lupercal for the next three decades); Donatra formed a schismatic polity which she named the Jahkaer ih'Shiar Rihan (Imperial Romulan State), then reunited with the Star Empire, and finally, Senator Chulan was named Praetor. The Romulan Star Empire seemed to be on the road back to stability, and Chulan was expected to restore society to a state more like that which preceded the renaissance of na Latas s'D'Era (a period beginning in about 2350, in which the fanatical religious sect, the Way of D'Era, whose followers are known as "the Children of Ket-Cheleb," became a major force in the politics of Romulus). Less than two years later, however, Donatra had disappeared, the Eisn system had been destroyed by the Hobus supernova, and Praetor Chulan was dead. The Star Empire again descended into chaos as individuals and groups once more attempted to establish themselves as the leadership of the government. This period of instability would last until 2391, when Taris was proclaimed Praetor. By some accounts, the Romulans and Remans had thus experienced no less than three or four civil wars (not counting the Clan Wars which raged for about a century after t'Rehu was killed) over the course of their history up to this point.

From 2391 to 2399, Taris did not demonstrate the qualities of leadership. Her excesses and disregard for Romulan and Reman life, as well as the growing power of the Tal'Shiar under her, led to considerable unrest, but the Tal'Shiar dealt with those whose dissent became too obvious. Eventually, they were even responsible for the death of General tr'Tebok. As previously noted, this act of assassination had motivated many of the already-disaffected Admirals in the Imperial Star Navy to develop a plan to break away from the Star Empire, the corrupt rule of Taris, and the abuses of the Tal'Shiar. In Terran year 2400, the Deihuit Rihan on Nova Roma planned to restrict the powers of the Praetor, while Taris argued that her powers should be expanded due to the upheavals in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants. In the end, although she was able to sway some Deihur to her position, the Deihuit proceeded with its plans to limit the authority of the Praetor. This, however, was too little, too late, as far as the Admirals were concerned, because of the still-growing power of the Tal'Shiar, which they expected to eliminate those Senators who had opposed Taris. As such, these Admirals led entire fleets of the Imperial Star Navy, and the Head of the Tal'Diann led that organization, to split from the Star Empire and declare independence, establishing the Romulan Republic, which was, as already stated, immediately declared to be "a terrorist organization of traitors" by Taris and the Tal'Shiar, with Taris ordering those still loyal to attack the forces of the Republic. However, as the Republic had no static location, these efforts proved futile. In 2402, General Velal , backed by a trusted group of warbird commanders, appeared before the Deihuit Rihan and demanded that Fvillha Taris resign before she was removed from office by force. Velal had the backing of many of the Deihur, but a vote of no confidence nevertheless failed by a small margin. Taris then called for ships of the fleet loyal to the legitimate government of the Shiar ih'Saeihr Rihan to forget about the Republic and instead engage those supporting the revolution. There were multiple skirmishes between the two groups, and when Sela's fleet re-entered Romulan space in support of Velal, the conflict exploded into open warfare, which fourth (or fifth, according to some) civil war continued until 2403, when Taris disappeared and Sela was named Praetor. By 2403, rumors of the Romulan Republic had reached the United Federation of Planets, but few within the Federation gave these rumors much credence.

Praetor Sela chose to ignore the Republic, for the most part, although she had standing orders for imperial forces to engage the forces of the Republic should they encounter them. Instead, Sela focused on consolidating her power in the Star Empire, and on 13 May 2408, she was crowned Empress. These five years allowed the Republic to gather strength and build contacts in several colony worlds. In June, however, Sela turned her attention to the Romulan Republic, ordering Hhakhifv, the head of the Tal'Shiar, to look into the matter and resolve it. For the remainder of 2408, Tal'Shiar operatives sought out Republic sympathizers with the goal of intimidation, and Tal'Shiar forces harried Republic vessels at every opportunity. The flotilla of the Romulan Republic retreated into the Azure Sector, near the border of Romulan and Klingon space. Sela became obsessed with eradicating the Republic, her paranoia increasing to such an extent that she extended more authority to the Tal'Shiar and approved all of Hhakhifv's schemes for dealing with the breakaway state. In early 2409, one of those schemes was put into action, and it would kick off yet another Romulan civil war, with the Romulan Republic replacing the Romulan Star Empire as one of the three major powers of the Beta Quadrant.

In early 2409, as dusk fell over the settlement governed by Malem as their Maiori, and the Festival of the Tapping began across one half of the Romulan colonial world of Virinat, the Tal'Shiar under Hhakhifv, together with their Elachi allies, launched an unprovoked attack on the colonial settlements there.


Chapter 4[edit | edit source]

The Exodus to Freedom (or, "A New Beginning")

Eitreih'Dva'enh (The Festival of the Tapping) is a traditional Romulan holiday observed at different times of the Romulan year depending on the varying seasons of the several colony worlds within Romulan jurisdiction, just after dusk. The holiday is named for the first tapping of the kegs of a batch of kheh'irho (Romulan ale) after it has been brewed and gone through a fermentation process. Eitreih'Dva'enh will be celebrated on any given world twice each planetary year, with the northern hemisphere of the planet celebrating the holiday at the same time, and the southern hemisphere of the planet celebrating it half a planetary year later, each at the end of their summer and beginning of their autumn. Virinat_market.png Typical market area of a settlement on Virinat

In the Terrhain year 2409, Eitreih'Dva'enh was held in the northern hemisphere of the primarily agricultural colony world of Virinat on what the Terrhasu would reckon as 5 January of that year (in the Virinat Romulan calendar, this was the last day of Khaidoa numner s'Okhala and the first eve of Khaidoa nuhwir s'Jaeih) -- or rather, it began on that date, and was interrupted by disaster. The day had begun with the colonies carrying out their usual activities, tending to the irrigation systems, looking after the native Khellidir, bringing produce into market, and so on. The sky was a lovely shade of blue, with few clouds, and the morning air was mildly crisp, unusual for the time of year, but by midday, the heat typical of the season had returned. In the settlement whose Maiori was Malem, a former warbird commander, some other oddities were noticed; the Khellidir were behaving in an uncommonly aggressive manner, and their local cave hives had been invaded by strange devices. Once these devices had been dealt with by the locals, the Khellidir resumed their normal behavior. Several other settlements on Virinat had experienced the same situation. Preliminary investigations turned up the name of a mysterious species of sentient life from elsewhere: Elachi. This, however, was at the time only considered a possible explanation, and further investigation was to be done after the Festival. As the afternoon waned and evening drew near, the locals repaired to their homes to change into their Festival attire. Virinat_Tapping_Festival_Preparations.png Preparing for Eitreih'Dva'enh on Virinat Virinat%2B-%2BFestival%2BOpening%2BCeremony.jpg The Opening Ceremony of Eitreih'Dva'enh, Maiori Malem beginning his speech

Sunset deepened into twilight, and the colonists gathered in the central square, milling about, chatting, waiting for the Maiori to give the oration which would open the Festival. The sense of anticipation was palpable; everyone was excited to celebrate into the night, and forgotten for the moment were the strange events of the day. Twilight gave way to dusk, Malem took his place on the stage, and the assembled settlers grew silent. The Maiori's speech was brief, and the first keg was tapped as fireworks exploded in the night sky. Suddenly the ground shook as a louder explosion occurred, then another, and more, followed by screams as panic struck the colonists. Someone was attacking. Strange drones grabbed random settlers and made off with them, militia and civilian alike, male, female, child, no distinctions were made in the targets. Tal'Shiar personnel began beaming in and opening fire on the colonists. Some of the settlers were able to arm themselves and fight back. A few managed to get to shuttles and evacuate into orbit, where more challenges awaited them. Among the leaders of the evacuation were Jisit t'Prell, Dhiov t'Liun, Vrairok tr'Dorran, and several others. Some were able to get to old T'lissir in orbit and assist other shuttles, as they were menaced by Tal'Shiar warbirds. G'essatra t'Prell gathered as many as she could and got them to her R'Mor, which was hidden on the surface and still disguised as a T'liss by holoemitters. The vessel rose into the sky and broke into orbit, from where she was able to get a signal off to the flotilla. The vessels of the colonists fought Tal'Shiar warbirds as they attempted to escape the system. A few warbirds from the flotilla of the Romulan Republic arrived and rendered assistance, and although many settlers died that evening, many more were saved. The majority of these survivors made their way to the flotilla, and most of those who had taken command of the old warbirds elected to join the cause of the Republic, where they learned that Virinat was not the only colony to be attacked. Some Republic warbirds were sent to the Suliban Helix, from where they brought Romulan refugees of these attacks back to the flotilla. Virinat%2B-%2BFestival%2BCelebrations%2BBegin.jpg Fireworks heralding the start of the celebrations of Eitreih'Dva'enh Virinat%2B-%2BFestival%2Bturned%2BMassacre.jpg Festival turned Massacre by the Tal'Shiar and the Elachi, armed colonists defending themselves Virinat_razed.png Malem's settlement on Virinat after the attacks.

Soon the Republic was called upon to deal with yet other attacks on other colonies. The next planet attacked by the Tal'Shiar was Crateris, to which the inhabitants of ch'Havran had migrated prior to the destruction of the Eisn system, their old world having been overmined of minerals to such an extent that further mining could lead to the planet being destroyed. Some years prior to this attack, a Romulan girl named Ophillia t'Vrinak had settled among the Remans on Crateris, thinking all of her family killed. She was blinded in the attacks which had led to the separation from her family, and when she arrived on Crateris, she was taken in by a local Maiori, who had a daughter about her age. As Republic forces fought the Tal'Shiar in orbit and on the surface, G'essatra t'Prell found this girl, by then a young woman, and several Havrannsu whom she had beamed to her vessel (by this time, she was using an actual T'liss, her R'Mor being reserved for missions of a temporal nature). As the colonists of Crateris were being rescued by Republic forces, strange vessels like one seen in the orbit of Virinat during the exodus from that colony appeared overhead, and evacuation was ordered by the local authorities. Another battle erupted in orbit, the Tal'Shiar being defeated yet again, but one of the strange alien vessels arrived and emitted a strange pulse. Republic and Crateris militia warbirds counterattacked, and, following a fierce battle, defeated the strange craft, only to discover many of the shuttles which had contained colonists from Crateris were unoccupied, their crews and passengers having been abducted. Among the missing was the adoptive father of the young blind woman t'Vrinak, whom G'essatra t'Prell thereafter adopted. Ophillia had some past experience in Intelligence work, and so G'essatra sent her to be trained by her cousin Jisit (who had now joined the Tal'Diann and was appointed by G'essatra to head up the new Lasasam s'Tal'Diann), in preparation for recruitment into the Tal'Diann. Crateris_surface.jpg Crateris before the attack

Further missions were ordered after this, the Republic gradually gathering as many refugees as they could, and then multiple warbirds were sent to seek out a new homeworld for the people of the Republic. A number of planets were explored and deemed unsatisfactory, and then the third planet in the Dewa system was investigated. This was a Minshara-class planet, capable of supporting humanoid and vulcanoid life, and so expeditionary teams were beamed to the surface. The findings of the exploration were astounding. This was the legendary "Vastam," the planet upon which the Declared Travelers had first attempted to settle after leaving Vulcan. They had left, however, due to still-high levels of radiation, and went on to discover and settle two planets in the Eisn system, ch'Rihan and ch'Havran, or Romulus and Remus. As Republic personnel explored this planet, radiation levels having subsided, an amazing discovery was made: the long-lost Sword of the Raptor Star (one of the Swords of S'harien which had been entrusted to S'task by Surak before the departure from Vulcan) was located encased in a crystalline structure, which had preserved it against the elements. Much work would need to be done, and hazards overcome, but this was deemed the best option possible, and Republic citizens and military personnel began settling the planet which they now called ch'Mol'Rihan, or New Romulus, first in the region where their ancestors had first built their later abandoned settlements, a region which Republic citizens named "Vastam" to commemorate the original settlement there by their ancestors. Among the threats to be dealt with were expeditions of Tholinnsu on the surface, searching for something; the object of their search was unknown to the Republic. The settlers began building a city in the Vastam region, which would serve as the Capitol City of what was now being called the New Romulan Republic. We're_building_a_new_city_here_-_2015-01-08_00006.jpg The beginnings of the Capitol City of the New Romulan Republic

Next the Republic would need to seek allies against the Tal'Shiar and the corrupt Romulan Star Empire, but first, they would need to get those potential allies to recognize the legitimacy of their government.


Chapter 5[edit | edit source]

Our Legacy Lives! (or, "In Enemies, Find Allies.")

One week after the attacks on Virinat and Crateris, rumors of those heinous deeds on the part of the Tal'Shiar had reached some of the officers in the Imperial Star Navy. For one such officer, these rumors served to confirm her suspicions that the Tal'Shiar were no longer acting in the best interests of the Star Empire nor its people, particularly when, while she was visiting Earth Space Dock, she was approached by G'essatra t'Prell with evidence in support of the rumors. After some discussion, t'Prell was able to recruit this officer as a spy working inside the Star Empire for the Tal'Diann. Her name was Vi'vi t'Ehhelih, and she was the first of former enemies to become an ally. New_Romulus_space.png ch'Mol'Rihan

Proconsul D'Tan arranged for a conference between the United Federation of Planets, the Klingon Empire, and the New Romulan Republic, to be held on Khitomer, a planet with considerable history, not all of it pleasant. Tal'Diann personnel were among the representatives present from the Republic, and helped to thwart a plot by the Romulan Star Empire to sabotage the conference by means of hidden explosive devices and meddling in orbit. However, one life was lost: Riov Temer gave his life to save one of the Klingon representatives to the conference, an act of honor which so impressed the Klingons that they rushed to recognize and ally with the Republic, which motivated the Federation to do likewise, lest the Klingons gain any advantage in the war then raging between the two powers. Temer.png Temer, Hero of the Republic

From that moment, personnel of both the Federation's Starfleet and the Klingon Defense Force would render aid and assistance to the Republic in reclaiming ch'Mol'Rihan and building their Capitol. As time passed, many of the citizens and military personnel of the New Romulan Republic would begin to refer to the City as Hachae s'Temer, or Soul of Temer, to honor the memory of the man who had given his life to secure recognition and allies for the Republic. The Romulan Civil War continued, with more skirmishes and battles between the Romulan Republic Forces supported by their allies on one side, and the Romulan Imperial Star Navy and Tal'Shiar on the other side. Tal'Diann personnel, along with personnel of other branches of the Romulan Republic Forces, continued fighting the Star Empire and the Tal'Shiar, with the Republic Militia's Intelligence division working with the Tal'Diann to infiltrate and undermine the Tal'Shiar, even succeeding in soliciting collaboration from Riov t'Janek of the Tal'Shiar, after she grew disillusioned with Hhakhifv's insanity. In the course of these operations, RRF personnel uncovered a startling revelation previously unknown to all but officers of the Tal'Shiar and the upper echelons of the government of the Romulan Star Empire: the Hobus supernova was not a natural event, but was intentionally caused by the Tal'Shiar. The Tal'Shiar was therefore responsible for the destruction of the Eisn system and the murder of billions of Romulans. New_Romulus_surface.jpg A view of part of the Vastam region of ch'Mol'Rihan, with Hachae s'Temer in the background and the large moon Lleiset overhead

The Reman Resistance initially was willing to fight all Romulans in their quest for freedom, unaware of the distinctions between the Star Empire and the Republic. They raided the Vault in the Haakona system, from which they stole remnants of former weapons development including thalaron weapons, intending to use these to secure their freedom. Romulan Republic Forces personnel pursued them to Nimbus-III, where they and their allies also had to contend with an Orion criminal boss, Hassan, who had gone rogue and was no longer taking his orders from the Syndicate, although he maintained the pretense of doing so to the locals, hoping that the reputation of the Orion Syndicate would intimidate them into submission and compliance. On the planet was also discovered a Tal'Shiar installation; the Tal'Shiar was working with Hassan in covert operations intended to exploit the reputation of the Syndicate for their own ends. Before the campaign on Nimbus-III was complete, Hassan had been killed by the allied forces of the Republic, the Federation, and the Klingon Empire, working with local privateers who bristled under the fat Orion's dominance, and the Tal'Shiar were driven off the planet, several locals and captured Starfleet and KDF personnel, as well as Romulan and Reman colonists rescued from both Hassan's thugs and the Tal'Shiar in the process.

By now, Republic forces had verified the identity of the Elachi as having been in collusion with the Tal'Shiar in the attacks on Virinat, Crateris, and other colony worlds. Also revealed at the time of the discovery of the cause of the Hobus supernova was the fact that the Elachi were servitors of the Ikonnsu (Iconians), and that the Tal'Shiar leadership were obsessed with the Ikonnsu, Hhakhifv himself so devoted to them that his obsession bordered on religious worship. Several more battles between the Republic and the Star Empire led to the liberation of more Romulan worlds from the tyranny of the Star Empire, and RRF warbirds and personnel took the battle to the Elachi in subspace, finally defeating them in a decisive battle in the orbit of ch'Mol'Rihan. In the process, RRF personnel learned what being captured by the Elachi led to: humanoid and vulcanoid persons were placed in incubation chambers and fed upon by Elachi spores as they developed.

Eventually, RRF personnel captured the head of the Tal'Shiar, Colonel Hhakhifv, during the Battle of Brea-III. Involved in the capture were Amon ei'Xiomek tr'Aegis, Kara t'Lupercal, and several others who would soon become Tal'Diann personnel. The Praetor of the Tal'Diann, G'essatra t'Prell, with the approval of the leader of the Reman Resistance, Guard Captain tr'Obisek, executed Colonel Hhakhifv on the spot ((See note below.)), and, once Republic warbirds in orbit had destroyed the Iconian gate on Brea-III, the flag officers returned to their vessels in pursuit of Empress Sela, who had beamed out moments before the capture of Hhakhifv. Sela in her dreadnought warbird, the I.R.W. Laehval, not yet realizing that the sun was setting on her rule and her empire, continued her usual fulminations and posturing, issuing threats to Romulans and Remans who regarded her as nothing but a failed tyrant and an embarrassment, and they in turn pressed their attacks on her vessel. As the Republic warbirds were about to destroy the Laehval, victory was snatched from their grasp by an Iconian vessel arriving through an orbital gateway, which locked a tractor beam on Sela's warbird and dragged the Laehval back through the gateway. Fvillhu_G%2527essatra_t%2527Prell_Lachnofv_Ssiebh_Hhakhifv_fvoir_draao%2527Daeus_tr%2527Obisek_Rehhae.png Fvillhu G'essatra t'Prell lachnofv Ssiebh Hhakhifv, fvoir Morairi'Enarrain tr'Obisek rehhae. (Praetor G'essatra t'Prell executes Colonel Hakeev, while Guard Captain Obisek watches.)

((Note: The execution of Hhakhifv is the only specific act in the storyline done by all players which I have claimed for my main, and, although a few fleet members have objected to this, I am not going to back down from that. It is poetically just that the head of the Tal'Diann should execute the head of the Tal'Shiar, all the more so since it was the Tal'Shiar which assassinated her husband. This is part of our fleet's canon.))

Subsequently, after all these interactions with Republic forces, and learning of the laws and policies of the Republic, the Reman Resistance was convinced to join with the Republic. The leader of the Reman Resistance, Morairi'Enarrain (Guard Captain) tr'Obisek, after joining with the Republic, was named Praetor of the Khhiu'draao Mol'Rihan (New Romulan Land Army), with the rank of draao'Daeus (Field Marshal). Obisek.jpg draao'Daeus tr'Obisek (Field Marshal Obisek)

The Romulan Civil War, however, was not yet over. Tal'Shiar forces, now led by Hhakhifv's appointed successor, Riov tr'Ruul, continued to harry the Republic and her forces, and tr'Ruul in his foohardiness expanded their efforts to attacks on the allies of the Republic, the United Federation of Planets and the Klingon Empire. Riov tr'Ruul was later captured in the Mountain Pass on ch'Mol'Rihan, where the Tal'Shiar had established a cloaked base of operations, but this did not stop the Tal'Shiar from continuing to send their forces to the Vastam region, particularly in the Vastam Peaks near the Mountain Pass where their hidden base had been. The Tal'Shiar also continued their attacks on Republic forces in space, and on both Klingon and Federation territories.

After all of this, however, it was time for some R&R, and the rapidly approaching Lohlunat Festival on Risa afforded the perfect opportunity for this. The Lohlunat Festival was open to all personnel of Starfleet, the RRF, and the KDF, and would last most of the summer of 2409. Before that, however, certain Intel services of the Klingon Empire and the United Federation of Planets made contact with the Romulan Republic Forces, specifically, the Tal'Diann and Republic Militia Intelligence. Something strange was going on throughout the Klingon-Federation Neutral Zone.


Chapter 6[edit | edit source]

Growth and Reunion (or, "Temporal Shenanigans, Part Two")

In the early days of the Tal'Diann following the rediscovery of ch'Mol'Rihan and the establishment of the alliances with the United Federation of Planets and the Klingon Empire, G'essatra's second in command was Donatra [redacted]. This was not the same Donatra who had been the Empress of the Imperial Romulan State, but another. An Orion named Perin was third in command, the Orions having talents which facilitated the gathering of information which would prove useful in the work of covert operations and military intelligence, and she was placed in charge of recruitment. These two women were of great assistance in building the Tal'Diann back up after the loss of so many when the Eisn system was murdered by the Tal'Shiar. Jisit was on board before the rediscovery of ch'Mol'Rihan, but once the new homeworld was relocated and settlement had begun, she was busy with contractors, having the first structures of the Lasasam s'Tal'Diann (Academy of the Tal'Diann) built and interviewing potential faculty members. New recruits began to swell the ranks, and the Tal'Diann holdings were being improved at a good pace. Among those early recruits were Khiy i'Ramnau t'Khialmnae, Lilithene ir'Virinat t'Kianna, Legion, Vulcius, Pontilus, Rommi, Tonan, Vadruk, Toot, Talisin, Darina, and Rain, to name but a few. G'essatra had gathered many of the surviving civilian members of Hfihar s'Charvon and secured territory for the Hfihar in the Vastam region of ch'Mol'Rihan, where they were hard at work building new lives and homes for themselves. The elders among them, knowing that the previous hru'Hfirh had been killed when the Eisn system was destroyed, and having been made aware of G'essatra's true identity, asked G'essatra to become their new hru'Hfirh, a responsibility she was at first hesitant to accept, but they pressed her with constant requests until she finally relented and consented. She established an apartment in Khfi s'Tal'Diann inside the city wall of Hachae s'Temer, and would administer the Hfihar from there when not engaged in her military responsibilities.

Khiy%2Bi%2527Ramnau%2Bt%2527Khialmnae.jpg Khiy i'Ramnau t'Khialmnae

So it was that with these and other new recruits, along with the established cadre from before the rediscovery of ch'Mol'Rihan, the Tal'Diann, together with Republic Militia Intelligence, were contacted by K'men of Klingon Intelligence and Captain Franklin Drake of an intelligence group within the Federation. Strange goings-on were afoot in the Klingon-Federation Neutral Zone, and a third party, with ties to both, was wanted, in order to investigate alongside Starfleet and KDF personnel. Fvillhu G'essatra decided it would be best if Commander Tal'Mera of Republic Militia Intelligence were stationed on Drozana Station, where she would liaise with the other two powers' intelligence organizations and give assignments to RRF personnel so that these phenomena could be investigated. In the process, she was also charged with identifying potential recruits for the Tal'Diann from the other branches of the RRF.

When the cause of the odd events was discovered, some travel into the past was deemed necessary. Those charged with these missions were sternly reminded of their duty to not perform any acts which would alter the timeline, and the Devidian threat was overcome. However, Donatra went missing, her warbird seemingly vanished (not unlike the more well-known Donatra), and Perin was placed on leave as a result of personal trauma. When it became apparent that she would not be returning to active duty, she was given an honorable discharge. Fortunately, the first potential recruit referred to G'essatra by Tal'Mera was soon to become her new second in command. This was Galactica Val'danadex Trel t'Charvon, a fifth cousin to G'essatra, the first of her kin with whom she would reunite besides those few members of the sept of s'Prell she had encountered on Virinat and the civilians she had gathered to Vastam. Gala had already risen to the rank of khre'Riov in the New Romulan Star Navy, and proved herself a capable officer in the Tal'Diann. She was subsequently made Hmnial (Aide-de-Camp and Chief-of-Staff) of G'essatra. She was also charged with being G'essatra's second in administering the Charvon Houseclan. Together the two of them renewed their search for other members of Hfihar s'Charvon with a strong military background or skills which would prove useful. Gala%2Bu%2527G%2527essatra%252C%2B2409.jpg Galactica t'Charvon and G'essatra t'Prell in the bar of Tal'Diann Starbase G-14, end of Spring 2409

Together, G'essatra and Galactica soon located Verelan ir'Rhi t'Charvon, a first cousin of G'essatra, who was made Chief of the Military Internal Affairs Wing of the Tal'Diann, she having experience in civilian law and investigative civilian police work. Not long after, another cousin was located, Jenova t'Charvon, a young woman of primarily Romulan ancestry, with a bit of Reman and traces of Orion and Andorian genetics as well. While Hfihar s'Charvon had accepted her as family, within wider Romulan society, she had been treated as a pariah under the Star Empire due to her alien appearance (her skin was a little greener than that of other Romulans, and she had antennae), and so had left Romulan space and enlisted in the Federation's Starfleet, where she had served with distinction in Starfleet Military Intelligence, but she had finally been given an honorable discharge and decided to find if there were a place for her in the new government or its military among those whom she regarded as her own people. Fvillhu G'essatra took her in, giving her a home within the territory of Hfihar s'Charvon in the Vastam region of ch'Mol'Rihan, and recruited her, placing her in charge of the Temporal Intelligence Division of the Military Intelligence Wing of the Tal'Diann. Verelan%2Bir%2527Rhi%2Bt%2527Charvon%2Bon%2Bone%2Bof%2Bthe%2Bbridges%2Bof%2BRhi%2BColony.jpg Verelan ir'Rhi t'Charvon

Jenova%2Bt%2527Charvon.jpg Jenova t'Charvon

Before the investigations in the Klingon-Federation Neutral Zone were complete, a few others were referred to the Tal'Diann by Tal'Mera. Among these were Vrairok ir'Virinat tr'Dorran (who was assigned to undertake a survey of Virinat to see if the colony could be reclaimed, and to establish some Tal'Diann bases there in order to ensure security), Rommie, and Amon ei'Xiomek tr'Aegis. The latter had been with Fvillhu G'esssatra and (then Guard Captain) tr'Obisek at the Battle of Brea III; he was inspired to accept Tal'Mera's recommendation by the fact that the Tal'Diann had helped to defend the Rhi colony (where he had taken up residence) from the Elachi and Tal'Shiar. He was the first Reman to be recruited to the Tal'Diann apart from those who had come with G'essatra from the past, and he was given charge of the main starbase of the Tal'Diann, that being Hdrael G-14. Amon%2Bei%2527Xiomek%2Btr%2527Aegis%2Bcloseup.jpg Amon ei'Xiomek tr'Aegis

Vrairok%2Bir%2527Virinat%2Btr%2527Dorran.jpg Vrairok ir'Virinat tr'Dorran

A few 23rd century energy weapons, rifles and pistols, were brought back from the past as a result of the Devidian situation, and some of these found their way into the armory of the Tal'Diann. Fvillhu G'essatra claimed one of the disruptor pistols for herself, a rather ornate example which, although of Klingon make, was very similar in appearance to her old service pistol when she was a Riov in the Romulan Star Navy in the 2260s. She did some work on it to make it more closely resemble the one she used in the past, and it has become one of her most treasured possessions, her original service pistol long since lost. She decided to use the other 23rd century weapons as rewards to Tal'Diann personnel for meritorious service.

A lull in military activity followed, and during this lull, organizational matters occupied the High Command of the Tal'Diann. Among other things, G'essatra and Gala revised the induction ceremony of the Tal'Diann, bringing it up to date and in line with the new political situation. Gala also devised an innovative addition to the ceremony, the presentation of the Oathblade. This "Oathblade" was a long straight sword, presented to new recruits as a reminder of their Oath to the Tal'Diann. Upon being promoted to the rank of Enriov, a new Oathblade was to be presented, this being a slightly shorter, curved sword. Both types are fully combat-ready, and have been used in battle, but the more official use of these weapons is ceremonial: Officers of the Tal'Diann proudly wear their Oathblades to formal and semi-formal functions when in uniform (along with their Honor Blades and concealed energy weapons).

Also during this lull, several more personnel were recruited, among them Anthia D'ahr, Arina, Talisin, Darina, and V'tal Vandervale. Efforts were underway to establish security in the Mol'Rihan system, and Tal'Diann Military Police were assigned to patrol both the orbit and surface of ch'Mol'Rihan, some stationed in and around Hachae s'Temer. The leadership of the Tal'Prai'ex had attempted to remain neutral in the civil war between the Romulan Star Empire and the Tal'Diann, but this had led to their organization folding, as their personnel found maintaining neutrality in so fierce and fundamental a conflict to be extremely difficult if not impossible. Fvillhu G'essatra gathered such of them as had made their home in Republic territory and reconstituted their organization, bringing it under the aegis of the Security Division of the Military Internal Affairs Wing of the Tal'Diann. Tal'Prai'ex personnel, after taking the Tal'Diann Oath, were assigned to guard the Proconsul and other members of the Continuing Committee (including Fvillhu G'essatra and her Hmnial), as well as the Senators of the Republic.

Following the Khitomer Conference of 2409, at which the Republic was recognized by the United Federation of Planets and the Klingon Empire, Fvillhu G'essatra had chosen to have the Tal'Diann work primarily with the Klingon Empire, she having worked with the Klingons during two previous alliances between them and the Romulan Star Empire. Now, however, with joint operations between the Klingon Defense Forces and the Tal'Diann stable and mutually beneficial, she began laying the foundation for expansion of Tal'Diann operations into equal joint projects with the Federation. This would not be actualized for a few more months, but establishing the groundwork for such was important, and so, Fvillhu G'essatra sent several operatives into Federation territory to begin negotiations to take over a few Starfleet holdings and prepare for greater cooperation between Starfleet and the Tal'Diann.

While the fighting resumed with additional Tal'Shiar attacks on Republic territories and warbirds, the might of the Star Empire had been diminished, and the Tal'Shiar were also involved in other efforts to retain their authority within the Star Empire and to extend their reach beyond. The Republic's allies were beginning to be of great assistance in countering these attacks, and Fvillhu G'essatra decided that the Tal'Diann could afford to start granting furloughs in rotation, the Lohlunat Festival on Risa having begun.


Chapter 7[edit | edit source]

Risian Lohlunat Festival, 2409 (or, "She Who Was Lost Is Found")

Suraya_Bay_on_Risa_at_night.jpg Suraya Bay

The Lohlunat Festival, or Festival of the Moons, is an annual fertility holiday held at Suraya Bay by the residents of Risa, a resort planet within the territory of the United Federation of Planets. Various celebratory and competitive events are held, and the festival is generally open to all, including warring factions (who put away their wars while on the planet, although there have been a few exceptions to this at times, and were Sela, for example, foolish enough to attend the festival openly, she would likely be arrested by Republic forces present, Risian law notwithstanding, since she is a notorious war criminal). Horga%2527hn.jpg An example of a Horga'hn, a fertility totem used during the festival to indicate openness to companionship

The Lohlunat Festival can be a rather dangerous event, for those who are unprepared, and even seasoned visitors are generally advised to traverse the planet in groups of two or more. Although a dampening field is in place to prevent the use of energy weapons, nevertheless, swords, knives, daggers, and assorted other such weapons can be -- and occasionally are -- employed there for all sorts of nefarious business, mostly armed robbery of unwary, foolhardy, and careless individuals, often those who are rather heavily intoxicated. The thing most often stolen is Gold-Pressed Latinum, as there is no other portable physical currency needed on the planet. Laws on Risa are very strict concerning violence, although the punishments are seldom harsh by some standards.

In 2409, the Tal'Diann, facing a lull in the battle against the Star Empire and the Tal'Shiar, began sending groups of personnel to the festival on Risa for shore leave. Some returned with Risian starships (racing vessels and luxury liners) they had managed to purchase after earning enough through gambling and the various competitive events which are annually hosted by the native folk. Many returned with tropical birds and/or feathered monkeys they had adopted as pets. Even the Fvillhu allowed herself some rest and recreation on Risa druing the festival. Over the course of the festivities, a number of new applicants sought transfer to the organization, and no less than 20 were approved and inducted before the end of the Lohlunat Festival that year. Among these were V'tal Vandervale (a Romulan, more or less), Tyor'Koth (a Klingon), Shi'Rawl (a Ferasan who was an old friend of the Fvillhu), Amelie (an Alien), Jennifer (a Romulan), S'Rawa (a Gorn), T'soressh (a Gorn), Kara t'Lupercal (a Romulan, who had limited memory of her childhood due to PTSD resulting from her experience of the psychic shrieks of the billions of Romulans who had been killed when the Eisn system was destroyed), Drake (an Alien), [redacted] (a Romulan who has since been exiled and whose name has been cursed), S'harien (a Vulcan who had rejected Surakianism and become a citizen of the Republic), Invicta (a Romulan), Dhael (a Romulan), [redacted] (an Alien whose name is not mentioned in official records, due to security concerns), T'holos Ch'Maktai (an Andorian), Te'elis ir'Rhi t'Asenth (a Romulan), Evangeline Lyn (a Trill), Stormi (an Orion), and Dejah (an Orion).

Hfihar s'Lupercal is an old sept of Hfihar s'Charvon, and over the centuries, there had been some intermarriage, so the resemblance between the Fvillhu and the newly recruited t'Lupercal was not in itself remarkable, but the resemblance being rather pronounced, and the fact of the similarity of the given name of the girl to the missing daughter of the Fvillhu motivated the latter to investigate the connection. Before the Lohlunat Festival was over, the Fvillhu summoned Kara to the Medbay of Hdrael G-14, where Kara was shown the results of a DNA test. The findings were undeniable; one of the samples was DNA from the mother of the girl from whom the other was taken. G'essatra then asked Kara to take a DNA sample from herself, then took one from her own person, and had Kara to test the two. A flurry of questions from the girl followed, G'essatra answering them as well as she could. Before long, the two embraced, tears flowing down their cheeks. Kara_Avatar.jpg Karataia t'Charvon

Mother and daughter were finally reunited after years of being apart, the daughter having believed the mother dead and the mother having been uncertain if the daughter were dead or no. She who was lost was finally found. the Fvillhu had at long last found her missing daughter.

The festival went on for a time, but during the last few weeks of the celebrations, Karataia t'Charvon and her mother were elsewhere, getting reacquainted. When the festivities were at an end and the last group of Tal'Diann personnel returned from their furloughs, the happy reunion was announced to the cadre, and there was much rejoicing. Paenhe%2Bu%2527ri%2527Nanov%2B%2528Kara%2Bu%2527Ji%2527ana%2529.jpg Kara and Ji'ana on the balcony at New Romulus Command, early 2410


Chapter 8[edit | edit source]

Tal'Shiar Schemes and New Romulan Archaeology (or, "Fighting the Foe and Finding Fragments")

Following the furloughs for the festival on Risa, all Tal'Diann personnel resumed their duties. Some personnel of the Security Division of the Military Internal Affairs Wing of the Tal'Diann were assigned to RRF diplomatic missions to the Alpha Quadrant, which resulted in their involvement in battling terrorists of "the True Way," an alliance of Cardassian Obsidian Order remnants with disaffected Jem'Hadar and invaders from one of the Mirror Universes. The point of the diplomatic missions, however, had been to try to establish an alliance of the Federation's Starfleet and the Klingon Defense Force with the RRF for purposes of combatting the threat of the Bhorgsu. It was in the course of preparing the groundwork for a conference to deal with these matters when the True Way interfered and had to be fought off. After these threats had been dealt with, the conference was finally held on Deep Space 9, and, just as it was coming to a successful conclusion, a fleet of Dominion vessels came through the Bajoran Wormhole and seized control of DS9. The conference delegates, minus one who was killed in the initial attack, were evacuated with the assistance of the Tal'Diann Security personnel who had been assigned to protect the Republic delegate, and a struggle to retake the station ensued, which, although it took some time and cost many lives, was eventually successful with the assistance of a Dominion Founder. During both of these campaigns, a few intact Jem'Hadar vessels were captured, some of which were turned over to the Research and Development Wing of the Tal'Diann, and after they had learned what they could from them, a small number of them were issued to select personnel in the various wings of the Tal'Diann. Several more Jem'Hadar hulks were stripped of gear, which was also distributed to various Tal'Diann personnel. However, the temporally-displaced Jem'Hadar fleet having returned to the Gamma Quadrant, the threat of the Bhorgsu could be addressed at last.

In spite of the ongoing war between the Federation and the Klingon Empire, which by now had largely become a cold war marked by a few territorial skirmishes, the two powers were convinced of the necessity to band together with the forces of the Republic to combat the Bhorgsu. The Tal'Diann's Research and Development Wing had been hard at work already, and, together with their counterparts in the Federation's Starfleet and the Klingon Defense Force, supplied Battle Group Omega (the allied forces committed by the three powers to battle the Bhorgsu) with gear specifically designed to combat the threat. The Tal'Diann Special Operations Wing was more directly involved in the fight, with many of their personnel assigned to Battle Group Omega. And of course, the Tal'Diann Military Intelligence Wing worked behind the scenes, gathering information, analyzing it for practical intelligence, packaging the gleaned intel, and disseminating the packaged intelligence to those best placed to put it to good use. The forces of the Bhorgsu were subsequently strained sufficiently that their threat was significantly diminished; it would take them some time to recover. However, this victory was not solely due to the combined efforts of Battle Group Omega. Instead, a new threat, which was actually an old threat -- the threat which had in fact led to the Federation-Klingon War which was still, technically, ongoing -- invaded from Fluidic Space in order to continue their own battle against the Bhorgsu. The victory over the Bhorgsu had as much to do with their might as it did with the struggles of Battle Group Omega. Had the forces of Battle Group Omega known then what they later learned, they would have realized that this victory was a portent of challenges to come. At the time, however, matters elsewhere had to be dealt with.

The Tal'Shiar had been largely quiet since before the start of the Lohlunat Festival, with only occasional attempts to subvert the settlement of ch'Mol'Rihan by Republic citizens, but the Tal'Diann had remained vigilant in spite of allowing rotating shore leave for its personnel during the Festival. It therefore came as little surprise when the Tal'Shiar were discovered in the Yan Nebula. Tal'Diann Military Intelligence had been assisting the Klingon Defense Force with exploration and colonization efforts in various nebulae, star clusters, and the like, with the Praetor herself involved in campaigns in the D'kel Star Cluster and the T'Ong Nebula. In the course of these colonial and exploratory missions, a number of adversaries had made themselves known, including rogue Starfleet battle groups in the T'Ong Nebula and the Kahless Expanse, Bhorgsu in various places (especially the T'Kanis Nebula, the D'kel Star Cluster, and the T'Ong Nebula), True Way forces in the ChoS Nebula, and Tal'Shiar battlegroups in the Yan Nebula. The Tal'Diann committed several squadrons to assist in battling these threats, and particularly to battle the Tal'Shiar in the Yan, including a squadron under the personal command of Praetor G'essatra, officially designated Aen T'varo'en Nuhwir s'Tal'Diann (First T'varo Wing of the Tal'Diann), also known as "na Ehrefv Roselae'en ih'Temaren" ("the Night Flyers Squadron"), a wing of stealth torpedo boats, the Praetor transferring her flag to the R.RW. Lliefvi, a Fleet T'varo Retrofit, as the lead warbird of the squadron. 2014-06-03_00075.jpg The R.R.W. Lliefvi hunting Tal'Shiar warbirds in the Yan Nebula ch%27Mol%27Rihan_-_82677d6e78944c15f6c15c0f31ceae601388694676.jpg A view of Hachae s'Temer from the west, with Sihaer ih'Vastam in the distance, and the lighthouse at the tip of the peninsula nearby

As all of this was transpiring, exploration and settlement of the Vastam region of ch'Mol'Rihan was progressing. The new governmental and military administrative capitol city, named Hachae s'Temer ("Soul of Temer") was nearing completion, and a "twin" city regarded by many as the industrial and commercial capitol of ch'Mol'Rihan was established to the northeast as a residential, commercial, and industrial center, named Sihaer ih'Vastam (Vastam City). To the east of Hachae s'Temer, in the Thaliijir ih'Vastam (Vastam Peaks), a Mountain Pass had been discovered, where the Tal'Shiar had established a base under the command of Riov tr'Ruul, who was Hhakhifv's chosen successor to lead the Tal'Shiar, and he had been captured, but Tal'Shiar personnel continued to harry the efforts of the Republic in the Vastam Peaks and the Mountain Pass. As yet, Republic explorers had not been able to cross through the Mountain Pass to explore the eastern territories in the Vastam region. Instead, they had been travelling around the coast in order to reach the more eastward areas. Hih'rojennsu (Hirogen) were also troubling the explorers, botanists, geologists, and zoologists in a crater in the southeastern area of the Vastam region which had been named Khhiu'ladva ih'Paehhos (Mythic Crater); exercising the license they had been given by Sela to hunt in Romulan territory and refusing to recognize the sovereignty of the Republic. Likewise, Tholinnsu continued to harass exploratory and scientific efforts in the Seiyyasai ih'Hwael (Hwael Ruins, named for "na Hwael," which is "The Journey" on which the Proto-Romulans and Proto-Remans went in search of a new home after leaving Vulcan). New_Romulus_Vastam_Peaks_511x327.jpg Thaliijir ih'Vastam (Wing Peaks)

MountainPass_512x384.jpg Eirehhedra ih'Thaliij (Mountain Pass)

PaehhosCrater01_512x384.jpg Khhiu'ladva ih'Paehhos (Mythic Crater)

HwaelRuins_512x384.jpg Seiyyasai ih'Hwael (Journey Ruins)

In spite of these challenges, however, the geologists and archaeologists working in theKhhiu'ladva ih'Paehhos and Seiyyasai ih'Hwael located entrances to ruins underground, those in the Crater accessed via a cavern, and those in the Ruins accessed via the remains of what must have been some sort of ceremonial center established by the Exiles when they first attempted to settle the planet two-thousand years earlier. Within both of these areas were located evidence of a civilization which had been wiped out some 200,000 years prior, the native Dewan society. The Dewans had been servitors of the Ikonnsu, and many of the artifacts which were discovered were of Ikon make, the most important of which was a mostly intact Ikon Gateway. It would take some work, but the scientists were convinced that it could be restored to working order. If that were indeed possible, it would give the Republic quite an advantage in dealing with their enemies and in further exploration beyond ch'Mol'Rihan. UndergroundRuins_1024x768.jpg The entrance to the Underground Ruins beneath Seiyyasai ih'Hwael, where the Ikon Gateway was discovered

Around the time of the discovery of the Gateway on ch'Mol'Rihan, the Deferi were menaced by the Brinnsu (Breen), and Tal'Diann personnel were among those who answered the call for aid. As a result of these military actions, the warbirds of na Ehrefv Roselae'en ih'Temaren were able to be outfitted with gear captured from Brin vessels, which enhanced their effectiveness as stealth torpedo boats. A large number of Brin vessels were also captured, and, again, following the studies thereof by the R&D Wing of the Tal'Diann, many of these were issued to personnel in the various wings of the Tal'Diann. Moreover, an archive of the D'ravsai (the "Great Siblings," whom the Terrhasu know as "the Preservers") was located in the course of the campaign against the Brinnsu. This would prove of great interest and potential strategic importance in the following year.

When all of these things were concluded, numerous Tal'Diann personnel had received a wide variety of decorations, medals, and honors from the Republic, the UFP, the Klingon Empire, and the Deferi. Among these were the Silver Star of the KDF, the KDF Cross, the Klingon Empire Medal of Honor, the Silver Star of Starfleet, the Starfleet Cross, the UFP Medal of Honor, the Grand Symmetry of Defera, the New Romulan Republic Grey Heart (some with Green Rreinnte Leaf Cluster -- the NRR Grey Heart is only awarded to those wounded in battle), the Republic Star of Lleiset, the Republic Medal of Valor, the New Romulus Defense Star, the Lasasam s'Tal'Diann Distinguished Alumnus/Alumna Crescent (awarded only to those who had graduated from the Tal'Diann Academy), the Tal'Diann Military Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal, the Tal'Diann Military Intelligence Medal of Valor, the Silver Star of the RRF, the RRF Raptor, and the NRR Medal of Honor. In addition, some were made M.A.C.O. Elite Commanders, Omega Force Shadow Operatives, and Klingon Honor Guard Elite Commanders. Colonization efforts in the Klingon Empire's territory having been completed, many of the star clusters, expanses, and nebulae were closed off to further mass exploration, and instead, only occasional small expeditions would be allowed, primarily to render aid to the extant colonies. An era of stellar exploration had been thus brought to a close. But new possibilities were about to arise. TemporalScienceJump_HighCommand.jpg Praetor G'essatra in Temporal Jumpsuit, wearing the RRF Raptor she was awarded for her role in combatting the Brinnsu