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This page details a counterpart of Romulan Star Empire in the Kelvin timeline; for the Romulan Star Empire in the primary universe see Romulan Star Empire; for the Romulan Star Empire in the mirror universe see Romulan Star Empire (mirror); for the Romulan Star Empire in the mirror universe of the Kelvin timeline see Romulan Star Empire (mirror) (Kelvin timeline); for the Romulan Star Empire in all other alternate universes see Romulan Star Empire (alternates).

The Romulan Star Empire was the state of the Romulan people in the Kelvin timeline. The Empire was situated in the Beta Quadrant, sharing significant borders with the United Federation of Planets and Klingon Empire. (TOS movie & novelization: Star Trek; ST reference: Star Charts)

History[]

The history of the Empire prior to the divergence of the timelines in 2233 is identical to that of the prime reality; the Empire was created after the Sundering when a group of Vulcans left Vulcan and settled on Romulus. In the mid-22nd century the Romulan Empire went to war with Earth, with an eventual victory for Earth, bringing about the formation of the Romulan Neutral Zone along the Federation/Romulan boarder. Following the war the Romulans made no further contact with the Federation. (TOS novel: The Romulan Way; TOS episode: "Balance of Terror")

For a more comprehensive history of the pre-divergence Romulan Empire see the relevant sections of the Romulan history page.

Moments after the arrival of the Narada in 2233, George Samuel Kirk, Sr., the first officer of the USS Kelvin, correctly identified the Narada's crew as Romulan, citing them as the nearest known genetic relations to the Vulcans, but notable more emotional. Captain Richard Robau questioned this, pointing out the Federation had had no contact with the Romulans since before 2180, but ultimately agreed with Kirk's assessment.[1] (TOS movie & novelization: Star Trek)

Shortly after this the Kelvin was destroyed when Kirk piloted it on a collision course into the Narada to allow escape vessels to get clear. Onboard the damaged Narada the crew had realised they had travelled back in time and some sought to return to the Romulan Empire of the present, to enjoy time on Romulus, which they had only recently witnessed destroyed by the Hobus supernova in 2387. Captain Nero declared they would return to Romulus, but only once they had saved its future by destroying the Federation. Those adamant they wished to return to Romulus were granted use of one of the Narada's shuttles to make the journey, but were shot down by Nero as soon as they departed, as a show of strength to his crew. (TOS comic: "Nero, Number One")

When the Narada attacked Vulcan in 2258 Captain Christopher Pike of the USS Enterprise, considering the attack to be an act of war on the part of the Romulan Empire, demanded Nero withdraw, offering to arrange a conference with the Romulan leadership at a neutral location. Nero immediately rejected the offering, rejecting any affiliation with the Empire.

A short time later, while attempting to disable the Narada's plasma drill, Cadet James T. Kirk wondered how the Romulans had managed to make such huge technological advances, questioning whether the Federation had any reliable contacts within the Empire that had let the advancement get by unnoticed. Only later was the true future origin of the Narada determined. (TOS movie & novelization: Star Trek)

When the Romulans received word of Nero's acts, they hailed him as a hero, mourning that they would never be able to honour such a patriot with the hero's welcome he so deserved. (TOS comic: "Vulcan's Vengeance, Part 2")

In the immediate aftermath, the Empire, in a development spearheaded by Senators Lucian and Vicia, opted to finish the extinction of the Vulcan species, conscious that they would be blamed for the destruction of Vulcan. Using a tiny amount of red matter, to be piloted and detonated by Arix and Vella, the last two members of Nero's crew, the Romulan fleet aimed to destroy the Vulcans in orbit of Ceti Alpha V. Though they nearly succeeded, the movements of their ships was detected by the Federation fleet who chased them away, Arix detonating the red matter in a dignified suicide, bringing no harm to anyone. (TOS - Legacy of Spock comics: "Part 1", "Part 2", "Part 3", "Part 4")

Following this, a group of Vulcans, led by none other than Ambassador Sarek, sought revenge on the Romulans, intending to use another piece of red matter to destroy Romulus. The crew of the USS Enterprise managed to stop this but at the cost of leaving the red matter and the blueprints for the Narada in Romulan hands. (TOS - Vulcan's Vengeance comics: "Part 1", "Part 2")

At some point in the 2250s forces of the Romulan Empire engaged in battles with Starfleet vessels.[2] (TOS video game: D-A-C)

After the crisis with John Harrison, the Romulan Senate was approached by the disgraced Section 31, offering an alliance against the Klingon Empire. Offered the blueprints of the USS Vengeance, the Romulans mass-produced a fleet of next-generation warbirds, with command being to Commander L'Nar, their firepower razing the prospective Klingon colony of Khitomer. Backed up by Section 31, the Romulans intended to use their red matter on Qo'noS, using their new ship to destroy the Narada-derived Klingon warships. The Romulans would find themselves double crossed however, for when Section 31 acquired the red matter, they activated a sleeper program on the Romulan ships, destroying them all and crippling the Romulan fleet. (TOS - The Khitomer Conflict comics: "Part 1", "Part 2", "Part 3", "Part 4")

Crippled as they were, Senator Decius continued to push for more expansion, his avarice earning him an Orange Lantern power ring. With the aid of Larfleeze, Decius killed the Senate and attempted to annex more assets for the Empire only for his ring to be stolen when Spock became the new White Lantern and summoned the Life Entity. (TOS - The Spectrum War comics: "Issue 2", "Issue 6")

In 2263, the borders of the Empire were violated by the Borg Collective, an advanced race of hostile cybernetic aliens whose technology had been used in upgrading the Narada. Having detected Romulan technology merged with their own, a single Borg sphere invaded the Empire, its might proving too powerful for the Romulans to match, in a futile search for the Narada. The Empire was again saved by the wit of James Kirk, who exploited a gap in the Borg shields to beam the entire photon torpedo complement of the USS Endeavour aboard the sphere. Though the Empire allowed Kirk to go free, they demanded he turn over Commander Valas, the daughter of political traitors. Though Kirk ardently refused, Valas agreed for the sake of her shipmates. Reflecting on this, Kirk cursed the pettiness of the Romulans, even in times of great crisis. (TOS - Boldly Go comics: "Issue 1", "Issue 2", "Issue 3", "Issue 4")

To counter the Borg threat, the Romulans agreed to a meeting with the Federation on Babel to discuss the possibility of an alliance. The Empire was represented by Ambassador Joltair who died of poisoning at the hands of Kintro, the Tellarite ambassador. Despite this, the Romulans were open to another conference. (TOS - Boldly Go comics: "Issue 7", "Issue 8")

Alternate timelines[]

Romulan logo alternate

Romulan emblem in 2258.

In a possible permutation of the 24th century, the Romulans joined forces with the Klingons to combat the threat of the Dominion. Dominion agents however, managed to infiltrate Romulus and destroy the planet with a sample of red matter. The former Romulan territories subsequently fell under Klingon control. (TOS - The Q Gambit comic: "Part 3")

In a timeline where Nero had chosen to destroy Earth before Vulcan, he was routed in battle after a failed attempt to destroy Andor. Limping to Romulus, Nero shared the advanced technology of the Narada with the empire, giving them an edge in their war against the Federation. When the Narada arrived to destroy Vulcan, the crew was caught up in Gary Mitchell's revenge against James Kirk, the Narada being seized by an alternate Spock. When Mitchell unwound events, the Romulan fleet was presumably returned to their native reality, presumably destroying Vulcan. (TOS - IDIC comics: "Part 3", "Part 4", "Part 6")

In his travels of the multiverse, Mitchell had found several versions of Earth where the planet had been conquered by the Romulans, showing Kirk Washington, DC under their rule. He noted however, that the Klingons held the lead when it came to conquered Earths. (TOS - IDIC comic: "Part 6")

Technology[]

Centurion class

A Centurion-class flagship.

As of the 2250s[2] Romulan starship designs were typically symmetrical and featured hull designs with a variety of spindly elements[3]. They were comparable in capabilities to Starfleet vessels of the period, and were typically armed with directed energy and/or projectile weapons. In addition to standard systems most ships of the period could also be armed with the repulsion charge and holo-mines, and could be equipped with a cloaking device and energy flux.

Starships in the Romulan fleet of that period included the Centurion-class flagship, Cetratus-class bomber, Gladius-class fighter, Securis-class missile cruiser, and Patronus-class support frigate. The empire also operated at least two types of drone-ship, the ramming drone and demolition drone, both of which caused explosive damage upon impact with enemy vessels. (TOS video game: D-A-C)

Appendices[]

Background[]

  1. How George Kirk became aware of the genetic similarities between Romulans and Vulcans, allowing him to identify the crew of the Narada as Romulan, is unknown. Given he did this mere moments into the new timeline he must also have had the same knowledge in the prime reality. At first glance this would appear to be a contradiction to the unknown appearance of the Romulans as late as 2266 in the prime reality in the episode "Balance of Terror", however Kirk makes his assessment without apparently being entirely sure, and the rest of the Kelvin crew appear surprised by the conclusion, even if they are readily willing to agree with its logic.
  2. 2.0 2.1 D-A-C gives no date, but as it features the USS Enterprise it is presumably set after the events of Star Trek, which featured the launch of the Enterprise in 2258. The reason for the Federation/Romulan confrontation at this time is not made clear.
  3. Pre-release publication for D-A-C indicated that Romulan ships in the game were inspired in design by the Narada.[1] In actual game play the Romulans are indicated to be affiliated to the Empire, so it is not clear what, if any, relationship the D-A-C Romulans might have Narada, and what led the Romulans to advance from their familiar bird-like designs to those seen in D-A-C.

Connections[]

Interstellar nations in the Kelvin timeline
major powers Klingon EmpireRomulan Star EmpireUnited Federation of Planets
Alpha Quadrant states Borg Collective (Unimatrix 12) • Breen ConfederacyUnited Federation of Planets
Beta Quadrant states Augments factionFibonan RepublicGorn ArmadaGornar HegemonyKlingon EmpireMetron ConsortiumOrion SyndicateRomulan Star EmpireTeenaxi DelegationTholian AssemblyUnited Federation of Planets
Alpha or Beta Quadrant states Varkolak Assembly
Gamma Quadrant states Dominion
Delta Quadrant states Borg CollectiveDark Market Syndicate
mirror universes Klingon EmpireTerran Empire

Appearances and references[]

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