Keras was a male Romulan who served in the Romulan Star Empire's fleet during the 23rd century.
Biography
Keras held the rank of Commander and served as the commanding officer of the Gal Gath'thong, a Romulan Bird-of-Prey. Keras was somewhat atypical, having tired of war and conquest as a way of life for the Romulan people. He was a member of the Chironsala house, one of the oldest on Romulus. (Star Trek CCG, ST novel: The Return)
In 2266, the Praetor ordered the vessel commanded by Keras to cross the Neutral Zone and enter United Federation of Planets space. Keras was ordered to attack the Federation's defenses along the border, and gauge the response of Starfleet to this attack. Keras proceeded to attack and destroy several outposts in the area, attracting the attention of the USS Enterprise.
Captain James T. Kirk tracked down the Bird-of-Prey, and eventually managed to disable the Romulan vessel. Hailing the Romulan ship, Kirk and Keras spoke to each other briefly - the first time in history that a Human and Romulan had openly spoken to each other. While Kirk was willing to take on survivors from the Romulan ship, Keras refused, stating it was not the Romulan way. Keras committed suicide by activating his ship's auto-destruct systems. (TOS episode: "Balance of Terror"). This would be remembered by all Romulans as the Battle of Icarus IV. (TOS novel: The Return) And in those years, Enterprise second-in-command Spock told his father how much a striking resemblence the two men shared. More credence to the long standing theory about the Vulcan/Romulan genetic relationship. (ST novel: Sarek)
Alternate timeline
In a timeline where the United Earth never joined the Coalition of Planets, Keras was dispatched by the Romulan Star Empire to prevent the Earth government from joining the interstellar government. To accomplish this, he infiltrated Babel and pretended to be Vulcan ambassador Sarek in order to capture Lady T'Pol who was seen as a vital symbol of Earth joining the Coalition. When asked why he went to great lengths to appear as Sarek, Keras revealed that his features were normal and believed that he and Sarek shared an ancestor from the time of the Sundering. (TOS novel: A Less Perfect Union)
- Though Keras took part in the above chain of events, he was not named in the story.
Family
In the aftermath of the defeat, Keras' family was disgraced. They, under the command of his grand daughter Salatrel, would later seek revenge against Captain James T. Kirk and the Federation, and were one of the forces behind the Romulan alliance with the Borg. (ST novel: The Return)
Keras's son, Jannek, would become a diplomat who went to Deep Space Nine. (DS9 comic: Blood and Honor)
- The name Keras comes from the Star Trek CCG expansion The Trouble with Tribbles, and is an anagram of Sarek, as both characters were portrayed by Mark Lenard. This is similar to the way Krase was named.
Connections
- Keras article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.