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Romulan
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The Tal Shiar emblem |
The Romulans are a passionate, aggressive, and highly honorable warrior race from the planets Romulus and Remus. They are an off-shot of the Vulcan race that left Vulcan over a millennium ago, in rebellion against Surak's philosophy of logic and pacifism. Capable of considerable tenderness, the Romulans can also be violent in the extreme. Also, the Romulans have been characterized as having great curiosity, while maintaining a tremendous self-confidence that borders to arrogance.
In interstellar relations, the Romulans have generally preferred to react to actions of a potential adversary, rather than committing themselves beforehand. A bitter war between the Romulans and Earth forces around 2160 resulted in the establishment of the Romulan Neutral Zone, which is a region of space approximately one light-year across, and where violations were considered an act of war. The neutral zone remained un-violated until 2266 when a single Romulan ship crossed into Federation space in a test of Federation resolve.
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Romulan written |
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A Romulan |
Very little is known about the political structure within the Romulan Empire, but it seems that the Empire is ruled by a Praetor (emperor). Below the Preator is a Proconsul, whom in turn presides over the Imperial Senate. How a Romulan citizen becomes a member of the Senate, or even how the Proconsul comes to power is still unknown.
The Romulans entered into a brief alliance with the Klingon Empire around 2268, when an agreement between the two powers resulted in the sharing of military technology and spacecraft designs. By the mid-2280s, Klingons were using ships described as Birds-of-Prey (a traditionally Romulan term) that were equipped with cloaking devices very similar to those developed by the Romulans.
Then in 2311, the Romulans again went in isolation, and did not emerge until 2364, when early indications of Borg activity were detected.
The Elite Romulan Imperial Intelligence service, the Tal Shiar, is a secret, often brutal, and sometimes extra-governmental agency that enforces loyalty among the Romulan citizenry and military. Tal Shiar agents carries broad discretionary powers and are able to overrule field military commanders with little fear of reprisal from the government. Some elements of Romulan society, including members of the military, feels the Tal Shiar's tactic to be unnecessary brutal, but such opinions are rarely spoken publicly for fear of retribution that includes having family members simply "disappear".
