star trek romulan law

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This page refers to the NPC. For the duty officer of the same name, see "Law" .

Law is a Romulan who is a former peacekeeper on Nimbus III . He fled to Nimbus III after the destruction of Romulus . He considered the Nimbosians "lesser species," and took it upon himself to become a Peacekeeper. Peacekeepers were a group dedicated to upholding the law on Nimbus III, but were widely perceived as a joke.

Law once provided assistance to a Starfleet officer by the name of Harvson who promised to stop the Orion Syndicate , but then left the planet after being paid off by the Orions. Law was captured and dragged through the streets by Orions loyal to Hassan the Undying , while the Nimbosians did nothing to defend him. He quit as Peacekeeper after that incident.

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A Complete History of the Romulans in Star Trek

Since The Original Series, the Romulans have been one of Star Trek's most mysterious villains, but who are they and how do they relate to the Vulcans?

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The romulans were created to be star trek 'romans', the timeline of the romulan star empire, the romulan cold war and joining forces against the dominion, the destruction of romulus changed star trek timelines.

Some of the most mysterious villains in Star Trek are the Romulans, whose history with Earth dates back to before the time of Star Trek: The Original Series . The Romulans are depicted as an oppressive group with a militant culture and are arguably even less agreeable than the Klingons. Still, they have united in common cause with the Federation in some instances.

When Star Trek: Discovery advanced the timeline by 900-plus years, the Romulan Star Empire was no more. Their home planet, Romulus, was destroyed. Thanks to Spock's efforts to expose their culture to Vulcan logic, the Romulans found a new home on Ni'var, the renamed Vulcan homeworld. In fact, along with their distant, pointy-eared cousins, the Romulans are part of the Federation in the 32nd Century. Romulans went from unseen enemies in Star Trek 's history to cohabitating with humans' first alien friends, but have plenty of story left to tell.

How Gene Roddenberry Lost Control Over the Star Trek Movies

Before Star Trek returned for its second wave of stories, the creation of the Romulans was a point of contention. In a featurette on The Original Series Blu-ray, writer and franchise legend Dorothy Fontana said freelance writer Paul Schneider invented them by taking inspiration from the ancient Roman Empire. Schneider confirmed this in Captain's Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyagers by Edward Gross and Mark A. Altman, calling his creation "an extension of the Roman civilization to the point of space travel." This is the impetus for their militaristic society, drive to conquer and fanatical loyalty to the unseen Emperor.

The Romulans appeared twice in Star Trek: The Original Series and weren't fully fleshed out as adversaries until the time of The Next Generation . Originally, they looked just like Vulcans, but makeup supervisor Michael Westmore added forehead ridges and a different hairstyle. The Romulans were considered to be the villains in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock , but the production opted for the more popular Klingons. They would have taken the place of the S'ona in Star Trek: Insurrection . However, Patrick Stewart objected to their inclusion thinking fans wanted a fresh villain. Ironically, the opposite was true.

The Romulans also appeared as villains in Star Trek: Nemesis , Star Trek (2009) and in Season 1 of Star Trek: Picard . Because they were originally introduced as an "offshoot" of Vulcans, Leonard Nimoy appeared as Spock on The Next Generation to send the character to make peace with them. His final mission was to reintegrate the Vulcan and Romulan cultures as one society. Star Trek: Discovery revealed he succeeded indirectly by the 32nd Century. While there was an Earth-Romulan war, this story hasn't been told yet, likely because humans never saw their enemies in the flesh.

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In the Star Trek universe, it was discovered that most humanoid life could trace its genetic origins to a single star-faring species billions of years in the past. They traveled the universe colonizing many planets, and both Vulcans and Romulans share traces of this DNA. At some point in Vulcan's history, before the populace adopted the logic-based philosophy of Surak, a group of Vulcans went to the stars and eventually settled on Romulus. These beings became Romulans, and possibly Remans, the pale-skinned, scaled "slave caste" of the Romulan Star Empire, at least through the late 24th Century.

By the 22nd Century, the Romulan Star Empire was known by Vulcans, yet they had no contact with their long-distant cousins. In fact, this connection was lost to history among Vulcans, although Romulans retained that information. On Star Trek: Enterprise the NX-01 encountered a planet surrounded by cloaked mines. They briefly exchanged communications with this unknown race, but never identified them for certain. Later, the Romulans sent spies to Vulcan to attempt reunification, but when Captain Archer and T'Pring discovered Surak's teachings, the plans fell apart.

A long-distance Romulan plot also attempted to foster war in the galaxy via cloaked drones, controlled telepathically. This caused Captain Archer to form an alliance with founding members of the Federation , thereby starting the process of its creation. In 2156, Earth and Romulus went to war. The Vulcans, Andorians and Tellarites united again to defeat them in 2160, whereby the neutral zone was established. The treaty was negotiated via long-distance communication. The Romulans were never seen until the USS Enterprise encountered a cloaked vessel attacking Earth colonies near the edge of the neutral zone.

10 Star Trek Time Travel Stories That Changed Canon

Two years after this encounter, Captain Kirk was ordered to violate the Neutral Zone to steal a cloaking device. He succeeded and captured a Romulan commander as well. Later, in Star Trek: The Animated Series , the Romulans tried to steal the Enterprise, but were defeated. By the late 23rd Century, the Romulan Star Empire had an ambassador at Federation headquarters. He was part of the conspiracy to prevent the Klingon Empire and the Federation from signing the Khitomer Peace Treaty. The Romulans remained isolated until the mid-24th Century.

There was a Cold War between the Empire and the Federation with many incidents amounting to 45 appearances in the second-wave series and films. Notable encounters included the attempted defection of Admiral Alidar Jarok. A Romulan spy impersonated the Vulcan ambassador T'Pel. After a test of a new cloaking device failed, the USS Enterprise-D helped the stranded Romulans. The Enterprise conducted two cover missions on Romulus. First, they were sent to retrieve Spock who had decided to preach Surak's teachings to Romulans. They then sent Deanna Troi to help Vice-Proconsul M'Ret defect to the Federation.

The Romulans still engaged in conflict with the Klingons periodically throughout the 24th Century. They also tried to steal an experimental starship, thwarted by the ship's Emergency Medical Hologram and the EMH from the USS Voyager. The Romulans stayed out of the Dominion War, until Captain Sisko aided Garak in framing the Dominion for the death of one of their ambassadors. They remained allies until the war ended.

Star Trek: Discovery's Kenneth Mitchell Was Heroic On and Off Screen

The film Star Trek: Nemesis took place in 2379, when the Remans rose up against the Romulan masters. A clone of Captain Picard named Shinzon became the new praetor. He brought the USS Enterprise-E to Romulus under the ruse of peace talks, but he needed Picard to heal a medical malady. His plan was to launch a war with the aim of destroying Earth. His defeat led to true diplomatic negotiations, aided by Ambassador Spock. In the 2380s, a cosmic accident destroyed Romulus. Spock and a mining vessel captained by Nero were sent to the past and created an alternate timeline, in which Vulcan was destroyed.

Back in the Prime Timeline, Admiral Picard tried to help refugees from the (now so named) Romulan Free State relocate. The Romulan secret order Zhat Vash used synthetic lifeforms to destroy the Utopia Planitia shipyards and the relocation fleet. Years later, the group attacked two synthetic lifeforms -- "children" of Data -- and a retired Picard helped save them and a planet full of their kind from destruction. A group of Romulans also captured a Borg cube, creating the Borg Reclamation project. The Artifact, as it was called, ended up landing on the planet of synthetics, where they presumably took over the effort.

By the 32nd Century, the Romulans and Vulcans successfully reunified. Vulcan was renamed Ni'var, and while there remained cultural tension, the two cultures lived in relative peace. When a cosmic accident caused all the dilithium crystals to explode, which prevented warp travel and killed countless people, Ni'Var retreated from the Federation. With the help of Captains Michael Burnham and Saru, they agreed to rejoin the union. This means the forthcoming series Starfleet Academy could introduce Romulan cadets.

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The Star Trek universe encompasses multiple series, each offering a unique lens through which to experience the wonders and perils of space travel. Join Captain Kirk and his crew on the Original Series' voyages of discovery, encounter the utopian vision of the Federation in The Next Generation, or delve into the darker corners of galactic politics in Deep Space Nine. No matter your preference, there's a Star Trek adventure waiting to ignite your imagination.

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Published Dec 6, 2022

The Romulans: Federation Foes and Sometimes Their Darkest Mirror

Looking back at three key moments when the Federation had, perhaps, more in common with their Romulan enemies than they realized.

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Over Star Trek 's many decades, the development of rival civilizations that spar with the Federation have been a key aspect of the franchise's ever-increasing complexity. Amongst them, the Romulans have often been at the center of some of the show's most fascinating stories. Since their introduction in The Original Series , the Romulans have been frequently positioned as an expansionist, power-hungry empire that, despite its ambitions, was always cautious when it came to starting a war.

As a result of that dichotomy, not only did their skirmishes with the Federation reflect the politics of each respective era, they would frequently expose the darker aspects of our protagonists. The men and women serving in Starfleet are supposed to represent the best qualities of humanity, but that doesn't mean they're incapable of prejudice, hatred, and more.

"In a different reality, I could have called you friend."

Star Trek: The Original Series - Balance of Terror

The Original Series episode " Balance of Terror ," written by Paul Schneider and directed by Vincent McEveety, features tense action, sharp themes, complex characters and, just like many of the best TOS episodes, a heavy use of metaphor that probably could be toned down a degree or five. It's also the first introduction of the Romulans, and an early example of Star Trek acknowledging that even Starfleet officers are capable of humanity's darker qualities.

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In “Balance of Terror,” a happy marriage between two lower-deck crewmembers is interrupted by an attack on a nearby outpost bordering the Neutral Zone between Starfleet and the Romulans. Three others were destroyed recently, and Kirk is under orders to avoid starting a war as the Enterprise investigates.

Much has been said about the tension of the episode, in particular the battle scenes that echo destroyer versus submarine warfare. But what's key about "Balance of Terror" is how, while Kirk faces off against the mysterious Romulan forces, another threat is found in Bridge officer Lieutenant Stiles. Stiles is the rare exception to the normally idealistic nature of Starfleet officers; he lost family in the last war with the Romulans and still openly holds a grudge.

Not only does he harbor a blunt prejudice towards the Romulans, but when the Enterprise is finally able to get a glimpse of what Romulans look like now, Stiles notes the resemblance between them and Vulcans, and begins to suspect that Spock is a spy and a traitor.

While the episode presents Stiles as having understandable reasons for his hatred of the Romulans (even Spock agrees that there is reason to distrust them), there's a vast difference between his perception of the Romulans as war-hungry savages and how the Romulan Commander behaves in the episode. While he's cunning, devious, skilled at battle, and willing to perform sneak attacks as a testing ground for a potential war, the commander is also wise and war-weary. It's a third of the way through the episode before he appears, but when he speaks to his closest friend, he speaks of regret for the war that he's bringing back home. Throughout "Balance of Terror," Kirk and the unnamed Commander praise their respective counterparts, and through Kirk's own reluctant admiration of the Commander, we see the Romulan as not a vicious enemy that must be defeated, but a worthy opponent we don't wish to see die.

But die he must, and his ending is just as ironic as it is tragic. His final moments in a crippled warbird are seen on the Enterprise viewscreen, a stark echo of the final transmission from Outpost 4. When Stiles spoke of the Romulans earlier on as vicious warmongers, in the aftermath of a sneak attack that murdered countless people, we agreed. But the Commander's final words to Kirk — "I regret that we meet in this way. You and I are of a kind." — speak once again about how the Romulans are far less alien than Stiles thinks.

"Where does it end, Worf?"

Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Enemy

With the Klingons as allies of the Federation during most of Star Trek: The Next Generation , it was the Romulans that became frequent adversaries of the Enterprise-D . But it's not until the third season of TNG that an episode really got the chance to explore who the Romulans are.

" The Enemy ," written by David Kemper and Michael Piller and directed by David Carson, centered around Geordi, Worf, and Picard, focused on how to deal with an enemy that you don't want to fight, and the dark legacy of war. The Enterprise arrives on a barren, uninhabitable rock in Federation space called Galorndon Core in response to a distress signal, and soon discovers debris from a Romulan ship. They find one injured Romulan there, but the party gets split up, and Geordi is left behind on the planet with a damaged VISOR. There's no escape unless he can manipulate a probe just right, but in order to do so, he has to convince the Romulan he's stuck with to put down his weapon to help him.

While Geordi breaks through his captor's defenses and gets him to open up is always good to see as Picard's verbal sparring with the Romulan captain Tomalak is Patrick Stewart at his snappiest, it's Worf's interactions with the Romulan that hit the hardest. On the ship, the rescued Romulan is dying, and can only be saved if Worf donates tissue to him. Worf, whose parents died in a Romulan attack, has no interest in doing so. As he says to Riker, "I am asked to give up the very lifeblood of my mother and my father to those who murdered them!"

His meetings with Riker and Picard in the episode show two conflicting facts; Worf knows that his duty is to go through with the donation. He states that he will do so if ordered, and even implies that he wants to be given that order — but it's an order that Picard cannot bring himself to give, and the Romulan dies.

Sure, the Romulan does himself no favors, declaring that he'd rather die than have Klingon tissue within himself. But it's not really about whether or not the Romulan is a good person, as Picard points out and Worf agrees with. A dead Romulan on a Starfleet ship is a reason for the Romulans to go to war, a war that the Federation might win but doesn't want. It's a story about mutual hatred, trust, suspicion, and a war that seems like it's only a single mistake away, averted at the last moment.

The relationship between the Federation and Romulans seems to echo that of the attitude between the NATO powers and the U.S.S.R. during the late 1980s. Both superpowers, both wary of war, both filled with hatred and suspicion towards the other. It's a message that no doubt resonated quite a bit when it aired, three days before the fall of the Berlin Wall. But it's one that resonates on a universal level, as lingering prejudices continue to haunt the politics of today, Even people as ethically noble as the Enterprise crew have a hard time forgetting what came before.

"It may be a very messy, very... bloody business."

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - In the Pale Moonlight

While past Romulan tales often reveal the Federation at its darkest, no episode of the franchise did so quite like Deep Space Nine 's " In The Pale Moonlight ," written by Michael Taylor and Peter Allan Fields and directed by Victor Lobl. It’s possibly the most DS9-y episode the series ever produced, laying out a plot which forces good people to do rotten things because the cost of not doing those things is so much worse. It may be the powerful Dominion that has put the Federation in a war that they're losing, but the Romulans could change everything if they could be convinced to enter the fray.

Captain Sisko decides he has to get the Romulans to join the Federation in fighting the war, which means convincing Romulan Senator Vreenak that the Dominion will go after the Romulans next. It's a story with a brusque but honest and honorable man on one side, and on the other, a deceptive, scheming individual attempting to mislead his counterpart for his own people's benefit.

What makes the episode soar is that Vreenak, despite being in favor of staying neutral in the war and being quite rude towards Sisko at points, is the honorable one. The Romulans are suspicious, paranoid, and holding firm to their old feelings of supremacy, but it could be argued that they're just doing what the Federation might otherwise do — stay out of a war that does not directly involve them yet.

To get the Romulans involved, Sisko teams up with Garak, the incomparable Cardassian tailor who Sisko knows is willing to fight dirty. He arranges the freedom of a forger to help with the task. He bribes a man to cover up assault and attempted murder. And he does nothing when his morally-flexible ally murders the Senator to secure the win.

The Romulans have always been good at getting under the skin of our Starfleet heroes, through old tragedies, through ruthless schemes that are always a few moments from success. But throughout their appearances, they're frequently portrayed as very human, perhaps more so than the Klingons, Vulcans, or Ferengi we see in Star Trek — which is why they're able to bring out the latent darkness of our heroes. From the first Romulan we ever saw, to the tragic victim of assassination that paves the way for humanity's victory, their culture may be different, but they certainly aren't.

This article was originally published on October 3, 2020.

Liz Shannon Miller (her/hers) is an LA-based writer and editor who has been covering the world of pop culture for over 10 years for publications including Vulture, Variety, The AV Club, The Hollywood Reporter, IGN, The Verge, and Thought Catalog. She is also a produced playwright, a host of podcasts, and a repository of X-Files trivia — find her on Twitter as @lizlet.

Eric Miller (he/him) is an LA-based Star Trek fan with aspirations of writing and talent. He works in the video game industry, at least when he's not busy arguing online about which science fiction show is superior.

Stay tuned to StarTrek.com for more details! And be sure to follow @StarTrek on Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram .

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Star Trek: Picard Episode 2 Paints the Romulans as a Genuine Threat

This review contains spoilers for Star Trek: Picard , episode 2, “Maps and Legends.”

Enter the Romulans! We saw glimpses of Romulan death squads in the series premiere , beaming in and eventually killing Dahj Asha, the synthetic that presents one of the central mysteries of the show thus far. Here, we begin to see just how deep the Romulan threat truly is and get more of Narek (Harry Treadaway), whom we only briefly met in the first episode.

Seeing the Romulan death squad in that first episode, my first reaction was disappointment. The fascistic relatives of the Klingon often came off as too static to me. Their society was very secretive, and it often made their motivations too muddy to dig into, and their threat, though big in the moments when our crew met them, didn’t feel as meaningful as, say, that of the Borg.

“Maps and Legends” is seemingly on a mission to make me eat my words, as we start to see just how the Romulans can be made interesting, or at least human. We see them just going about their day, and though it still isn’t a lot, we experience them as living creatures, not just evil villains. This is years after the supernova that took out Romulus and years more after they decided to go fully into isolation, where they have spent most of their history. Yet Star Trek never really showed us what an isolated Romulan Empire looks like. We see Narek as a person, and even though his personality has a level of deception on the surface, there is more going on with him.

We learn more about the death squad, the Zhat Vash, a predecessor to the Tal Shiar , the Romulan Secret Police. At the beginning of the episode, we didn’t know why the Zhat Vash wanted to kill Dahj. Here, a little more is uncovered.

They hate synthetics, for one. Rizzo, one of the Romulans undercover in the Federation, refers to synthetics as “Abomination” and that they need to find the others. “Abomination” is a loaded word, especially given how Romulans are often coded as fascist. It is a word used to dehumanize the other in the real world. Considered with the events on Mars, a fascist framing may be the intended reading.

We start the episode watching that synthetic uprising on Mars. The non-synthetic workers mock and insult the synthetic working with them, and suddenly we see a spark in his eye. He kills a couple of the workers and starts the ignition of the atmosphere before killing himself. This isn’t framed as free will but rather as a glitch that, with the later context from the Romulans, doesn’t feel like an accident.

A central tenet of fascism is “othering” people and using them as scapegoats, and when events don’t fit within that narrative, the context is often shifted to blame those that they need to “other.” It is made clear that the Romulans hate synthetics, and as the fascist-coded empire, making a synthetic glitch in order to take out these synthetics once and for all makes perfect sense.

This brings us to Jean-Luc Picard, a man who trusts synthetics as people and wanted nothing more than to save Romulans, despite their being an enemy to the federation. He has his hand in both pots, and this makes his curiosity toward the mystery of Dahj’s death so important and the Romulans such an important threat.

Picard is denied almost immediately when he heads back to Starfleet looking for answers and a mission. He wants to take a small reconnaissance ship with a skeleton crew to find Bruce Maddox and Dahj’s twin to find answers, but he is rebuked. His televised anger is a reason given, in addition to the amount of damage a mission that sensitive could cause, but it is clear there is more going on. The Romulans have infiltrated Starfleet, and that’s part of the reason why there is so much hostility.

Earlier, Picard spoke to a doctor. He has cancer, so his motivation widens from just finding answers and getting back into the adventure of Starfleet to fighting against time, knowing that this adventure might just be his last. This helps us understand the motivations of Jean-Luc through the episode and why, after being denied by Starfleet, he is willing to break the rules. Patrick Stewart has always been a phenomenal performer, and here we see a man defined by calm and thoughtful reflection starts to realize that he might not be around forever, and it’s all shown through his eyes. It’s hard to pull off a quiet man with internal toil without coming off as either boring or overacted, but one of Stewart’s great talents as an actor has been finding that balance.

What I don’t love is the idea that his cancer made him lose his cool in the interview. Yes, Picard is a generally stoic man, but it was powerful that the idea of Starfleet refusing to save lives simply because they were enemies is enough to bring him to rage. The Federation allowed a genocide to happen, and it feels like it is minimizing the importance of Picard’s decision to leave, how repugnant he finds what Starfleet has become.

“Maps and Legends” also begins to assemble a crew. We already met Agnes Jurati (Alison Pill), who comes in to help Picard with his search, but the new addition is Raffi (Michelle Hurd), whom we only meet briefly. Picard clearly has a history with her, and he explicitly contacts her because she probably hates him. That’s new. Rarely on The Next Generation would a member of the crew be actively antagonistic towards Picard, and though Roddenberry’s original vision of having little to no interpersonal conflict within the crew acts against that idea, I am curious to see what they can do with it.

They will also be working without the blessing of Starfleet; it will be interesting to see what kind of moral quandaries Picard and his crew will be able to grapple with. To me, the most compelling parts of Star Trek are when a morally good action comes up against Starfleet rules. This is every time a crew breaks the Prime Directive, or when the captain breaks a direct order as Picard did in the events leading up to the series. Without Starfleet, the consequences and discussions around the choices Picard might make are wide open, and I am excited to see where they decide to take it.

Overall, “Maps and Legends” was a mixed bag. On one hand, it hints at some really interesting ideas around how Romulans fit into this universe in a way that hasn’t been explored yet. However, the willingness to undercut emotionally complex moments is concerning. Regardless, I’m still all in and ready to explore.

Screen Rant

Who is doctor vellek tng romulan in star trek: discovery explained.

Star Trek: Discovery's Doctor Vellek is a 24th-century Romulan connected to a surprising revelation from a Star Trek: The Next Generation episode.

Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery Season 5, Episode 1 - "Red Directive"

• Dr. Vellek's discovery of Progenitors' technology kicks off a galactic treasure hunt in Star Trek: Discovery season 5.
• The Romulan scientist kept the location secure with a paper diary hidden in a puzzle box on his 24th-century ship.
• The Progenitors' technology holds the power to create and destroy, potentially changing the galaxy forever.

In Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 1, "Red Directive", the USS Discovery's mission takes Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) to an 800-year-old Romulan starship containing the belongings and the remains of a long-dead Romulan scientist named Doctor Vellek (Michael Copeman). Vellek has been entombed in his ship since the 24th century, when Star Trek: The Next Generation takes place. Dr. Vellek's notes contain key information on the galaxy's greatest treasure: a mysterious, ancient, and very powerful artifact that the United Federation of Planets' mysterious Dr. Kovich (David Cronenberg) prioritizes recovering before it falls into the hands of the villainous Moll (Eve Harlow) and L'ak (Elias Toufexis).

In Star Trek: The Next Generation season 6, episode 20, "The Chase", Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) follows in the footsteps of his recently-deceased archeology mentor, Professor Galen (Norman Lloyd), by picking up a trail that Galen had long been pursuing. Picard forms a tenuous alliance with Klingons and Cardassians pursuing the same mysterious goal , discovering clues that lead to the uninhabited planet Vilmor II. Upon arrival, however, Picard, Lt. Commander Worf (Michael Dorn), and Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden), along with Klingon and Cardassian representatives, beam down to find a crew of Romulans that have beaten them there. Star Trek: Discovery season 5's premiere reveals more about one of those Romulans, Dr. Vellek.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Returning Cast & New Character Guide

Who was doctor vellek in star trek: tng’s “the chase”, star trek: discovery reveals the romulan doctor vellek's tng connection..

Doctor Vellek is a Romulan scientist with the crew that has already arrived at Vilmor II in Star Trek: The Next Generation's "The Chase" , establishing how Discovery season 5 connects to TNG . Instead of joining in the collaborative effort with the Federation as the Klingons and Cardassians did, the Romulans simply monitored communications as the USS Enterprise traveled from site to site, unveiling clues at each destination that led to the next. Everyone present is equally privy to the information revealed by a hologram of an Ancient Humanoid (Salome Jens) that their race seeded life throughout the galaxy, so all humanoid species share a common ancestor, which Star Trek: Discovery has dubbed the Progenitors.

Dr. Kovich already knows what's been "classified for centuries" when telling Captain Burnham about Vellek's own discovery of the Progenitors' technology.

The Klingons and Cardassians drop the spirit of cooperation that led them to this point, balking at the idea that they're related in any way. But the Romulans, who essentially copied the Federation's homework to arrive at Vilmor II, contact Captain Picard with hope of an alliance between the Romulans and the Federation. This implies Vellek had been in contact with the Federation while leading the search for the Progenitors' technology in the 24th century , because in Discovery 's 32nd century , Dr. Kovich already knows what's been "classified for centuries" when telling Captain Burnham about Vellek's own discovery of the Progenitors' technology.

Why The Progenitors Technology Is Star Trek: Discovery’s Greatest Treasure

"a few thousand years ago, we'd have called them gods.".

The Progenitors' technology is Star Trek: Discovery 's greatest treasure because it holds the answers to scientific and philosophical questions about the nature of life as we know it, and also has the power to create life essentially from scratch. The site of Progenitor technology could explain the ancient humanoids' motives beyond what was revealed in Star Trek: The Next Generation , fundamentally altering societies at their very core. With that kind of information and the power of creation, the user of Progenitor technology could become the most powerful force in the galaxy , especially if the power to create also holds within it the power to destroy.

The Romulan in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 1 , "Red Directive", Dr. Vellek, understood the importance of keeping information about the Progenitors and their technology as secure as possible. Vellek attempted to keep the location of Progenitor technology out of the wrong hands by keeping a paper diary, which can't be hacked, and hiding that book within a Romulan puzzle box, itself within a cloaked vault aboard his 24th-century Romulan ship. Even then, Dr. Vellek's diary isn't the treasure itself, but a clue that kicks off Star Trek: Discovery 's galactic treasure hunt, destined to change the galaxy irrevocably.

Star Trek Discovery season 5 streams Thursdays on Paramount+. Star Trek: The Next Generation is streaming on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Discovery

Star trek: the next generation.

The universe of Star Trek is so much richer when we create detailed background documents to explain and describe what goes on after the show ends. And the tradition of rewriting real-life documents to fit the fictional universe goes back to Franz Joseph’s Star Trek Technical Manual . (For those who didn’t know, his version of the Federation Charter was quite liberally borrowed from the real Charter of the United Nations .)

Back in college, I had the opportunity to immerse myself in some similar documents during research for my history classes. And I was inspired to do basically the same thing; take some real-world documents and rewrite them to fit the Star Trek universe.

Available Documents

Romulan language

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Romulan script

The Romulan language was the language read and spoken by Romulans that was used within the Romulan Star Empire and the Romulan Free State . Its written form consists of square and rectangular letters , which could be arranged horizontally or vertically. (e.g.: TNG : " The Mind's Eye ", " Face Of The Enemy "; DS9 : " Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges "; Star Trek Nemesis ; PIC : " Fly Me to the Moon ")

• 1 Written language
• 2.1 Words and phrases
• 2.2 Examples of spoken language
• 3.1 Appearances
• 3.2 Background information
• 3.3 Apocrypha
• 3.4 External link

Written language [ ]

Some letters of the written Romulan language

Romulan text aboard the Narada

The name board of the Romulan Social Club

In 2370 , Jean-Luc Picard identified an artifact recovered from Calder II as being from Vulcan , because the alphabet and symbology of the glyphs and pictograms on the artifact was much more consistent with early Vulcan than Romulan. ( TNG : " Gambit, Part II ")

Spoken language [ ]

The Romulan spoken language had three dialects, and was difficult to distinguish from the Vulcan language to those not proficient in xenolinguistics . ( Star Trek )

As of 2258 in an alternate reality , Starfleet officer Nyota Uhura was knowledgeable in all three Romulan dialects. ( Star Trek )

Upon the first official encounter between Romulans and Starfleet in 2152 , audio-only communications were established. Although the early universal translator initially had problems to lock on to the Romulan language, Enterprise communications officer Hoshi Sato was able to translate what turned out to be an ultimatum to depart immediately. ( ENT : " Minefield ")

The Artifact was a joint project between the Romulan Reclamation Site and the Borg Reclamation Project , thus announcements, signage and crew conversations tended to be in both English and Romulan. ( Star Trek: Picard )

Ramdha , the foremost expert on Romulan mythology , noted that Romulan didn't have a word for " mythology " – that a better translation would be "the news ." ( PIC : " The End is the Beginning ")

Words and phrases [ ]

• Chula – Place name of a valley on Romulus ( TNG : " The Defector ")
• Data referred to the Romulan starships as " D'deridex -class cruisers "; ( TNG : " Tin Man ") the same type of ships were referred to as " Warbird -class starships " by Jean-Luc Picard ( TNG : " The Defector ")
• Gal Gath'thong – A place name on Romulus ( TNG : " The Defector ")
• Ganmadan – Ancient term for the "Day of Annihilation" ( PIC : " Absolute Candor ")
• Jolan tru – A salutation used for "hello" and "goodbye" ( TNG : " Unification I "; ENT : " United "; PIC : " Absolute Candor ")
• Kali-fal – A type of Romulan ale ( DS9 : " In the Pale Moonlight ")
• Lu shiar – Lifting the eyes; second segment of Zhal Makh ( PIC : " The Impossible Box ")
• Pixmit – Cards with cultural significance ( PIC : " The End is the Beginning ")
• Prod – Praetor or commander ( Star Trek )
• Qalankhkai – "Freeblade", a Qowat Milat warrior bound to a worthy cause ( PIC : " Absolute Candor ")
• Qazh – a profanity ( PIC : " Nepenthe ")
• Qezh – a profanity ( PIC : " Broken Pieces ")
• Qezhtihn – An insult ( PIC : " The End is the Beginning ")
• Qlam wath – The Unfolding; third segment of Zhal Mahk ( PIC : " The Impossible Box ")
• Qowat Milat – An order of warrior nuns ( PIC : " Absolute Candor ")
• Rok khan – A later segment of Zhal Makh ( PIC : " The Impossible Box ")
• Shaipouin – "False door" ( PIC : " The End is the Beginning ")
• Tal Shiar – The Romulan intelligence agency/secret police ( TNG : " Unification I ")
• Tan qalanq – A sword wielded by the Qowat Milat ( PIC : " Absolute Candor ")
• Uhlan – A rank in the Romulan military ( TNG : " The Defector ")
• Commander William T. Riker was familiar with the term, and used it against Alidar Jarok when the Romulan disparaged Lieutenant Worf with Klingon curse words ( TNG : " The Defector ")
• Viinerine – A type of food ( TNG : " Face Of The Enemy ")
• Vorta Vor – The source of all creation ( Star Trek V: The Final Frontier )
• Vri glam – The center; the fourth segment of Zhal Makh ( PIC : " The Impossible Box ")
• Yut makh – Closing (as of the eyes ); starting point of a Zhal Makh ( PIC : " The Impossible Box ")
• Zarbalgon – Wanderer ( DIS : " Under the Twin Moons ")
• Zhat Vash – A term sometimes used for the dead ( PIC : " Maps and Legends ")

Examples of spoken language [ ]

Appendices [ ], appearances [ ].

• " Contagion " ( Season 2 )
• " The Mind's Eye " ( Season 4 )
• " Unification I " ( Season 5 )
• " Face Of The Enemy " ( Season 6 )
• DS9 : " Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges " ( Season 7 )
• Star Trek Nemesis
• ENT : " Minefield " ( Season 2 )
• " Maps and Legends " ( Season 1 )
• " The End is the Beginning "
• " Absolute Candor "
• " The Impossible Box "
• " Nepenthe "
• " The Star Gazer " ( Season 2 )
• " Fly Me to the Moon "
• " Two of One "
• LD : " Second Contact " ( Season 1 )
• " Choose to Live " ( Season 4 )
• " Red Directive " ( Season 5 )
• " Under the Twin Moons "

Background information [ ]

Romulan dialogue was spoken by Ayel (played by Clifton Collins, Jr. ) in a deleted scene from the film Star Trek . Translated into English, the Romulan he said meant, " Commander Nero. We're surrounded. What are your orders? " The Romulan dialogue written for the show was supplied by Marc Okrand , better known for creating Klingonese . " I had never done anything with Romulan before, but since Romulans and Vulcans are related, I made the Romulan language one that could be related to Vulcan – not closely, but in certain patterned ways. The two languages are heard mostly in the background as opposed to being spoken by main characters. " [1]

For Star Trek: Picard , constructed language creator Trent Pehrson was hired to develop the grammar and vocabulary of Romulan language spoken in the series. Pehrson also served as a dialect coach for the language. [2] " I was given instruction on what preexisting fragments were to be considered as canon. I incorporated all of those. Essentially, those really only yielded limited phonotactic information, some vague lexical items, and a hand-full of possible grammatical morphemes. There was also some Vulcan canon, which was useful, in a historical linguistic sense, to further flesh out phonotactics, and to derive another small set of lexical items. Native Romulan orthography fragments, used in prior canon production, were aesthetically pleasing, but were clearly just a thinly disguised version of the Roman alphabet. So, I used only the visual aesthetic from that, and created a system fitting to the actual phonotactics and phonemic inventory of the Romulan language. ST:Picard, E2 recently featured a decent sampling in a scene. The rest (the majority of the language) I had to construct. " [3]

Pehrson was also credited as a Romulan language consultant for episodes of Star Trek: Discovery that featured the language.

Apocrypha [ ]

• In Diane Duane 's novel The Romulan Way , the Romulan language is said to be related to the Vulcan language . This suggests that during the Exodus of the Romulans, they abandoned most things Vulcan. "One thing they agreed on quickly was that they could not stop being Vulcan while they still spoke the language." In order to rectify this problem, the Romulans went back to old or "High" Vulcan and "aged" the language in another direction. The resulting tongue was named Rihan, with the Romulans' name for themselves being Rihannsu in Duane's novels, meaning "the Declared", in reference to their decision to secede from Vulcan society. (This name also used to collectively refer to the novel series .) The Romulan Way includes a partial glossary for the language (reprinted in the omnibus edition Rihannsu: The Bloodwing Voyages ), and Duane reportedly intended to publish a Rihan counterpart to The Klingon Dictionary but it never materialized. However, fandom has extensively expanded on it, and it has been reused in other licensed works including the Romulan War series of Star Trek: Enterprise novels and Star Trek Online .
• In the novel Vulcan's Heart , Spock notices Romulans cursing in old Vulcan.
• The Romulan language font is called Kzhad, and was created by Monte Thrasher based on the shapes of LED displays.
• FASA gaming manuals referred to the Romulan word for the Romulan language as "Romlastha".

External link [ ]

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