The Admiral’s Log: My Journey Through ‘Star Trek Online’ – Part XLVIII

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

The Majesty of New Romulus 

Of the many, many species that we’ve been introduced to in the Star Trek mythos, I am hard pressed to find one as mysterious and as alluring as the Romulans. For these cunning villains were often shrouded in secrecy in the earliest days of the franchise, to the point where they became an afterthought as the years rolled on and it really wasn’t until The Next Generation that they were given the proper chance to grow on screen and allow for the fans to discover their rich yet brutal culture. But while we learned plenty about them during Picard’s time aboard the Enterprise-D, once his initial adventures through the stars came to an end, our exploration of this species in essence came to a close.
 
Which I think is a shame because we all wanted more, in fact, I would venture to say that we want to feel as familiar with them as we do with the Klingon Empire and that’s why I firmly believe that J.J. Abrams used them as the primary villain of his 2009 reboot of the saga and why Star Trek: Picard will feature them heavily as well. Because the idea presented in these two stories, in that an Empire as large as this one can be brought to its knees by natural disaster, makes for some incredible storytelling to say the least and I’m eager to see what Picard will bring to the table in regard to a universe without Romulus and Remus. But alas, we have to wait until 2020 to find that out, and this is in fact a gaming blog about Star Trek Online and the importance of discussing the Romulans here has its rhyme and its reason; simply because their rich culture and their new beginning can be explored within the game right now.
 
For STO took the time to adopt the storyline involving the destruction of Romulus and Remus in 2387 and their direction with it is nothing short of brilliant. Because in 2410, there’s relative peace with this once proud race of warriors, simply because they were able to see that the only way forward was to make peace with their enemies and it’s fascinating to navigate a quadrant of space that is now free from Neutral Zones and the threat of war with neighbors and what is truly the crown jewel of this wonderful storytelling decision, is the fact that your character can fly to New Romulus and set foot on a world that was once forbidden to all by its host species, and my goodness what an incredible experience this is in game.
 
Because once you arrive within the confines of the capital city, you can see the people of this world working hard to rebuild and create homes and a functional civilization once again, and it’s wild to see Klingons and Starfleet officers working alongside them to accomplish those goals and the magic of this world doesn’t end there. For one can explore a great deal of New Romulus and there’s something quite beautiful about seeing a new world for the first time and exploring it from a scientific standpoint alongside the Romulans. For much remains hidden about this planet and it’s just so cool to tag creatures you’ve never seen in the series before and aid a former foe with safety and security themed missions.
 
If anything, the Romulans chose a lovely world from which to start fresh and it’s easy to get lost within its forests or even its mountain regions since you’ll find yourself just staring at the scenery. But what matters most to me is that New Romulus and everything we’ve just discussed in this Log, serves as a fine reminder of what Star Trek stands for. Because centuries of hostilities are forgotten in this place, and bad blood is a phrase that no one knows, since everyone is working together to help the Romulans thrive and proper once again and that’s just a beautiful thing to see within the framework of the game and its hopeful to say the least, and it leaves one to wonder if someday the newly formed Romulan Republic will apply for admission into the Federation.
 
But that’s likely a long way off, so in the meantime it is best we just celebrate the fact that there is peace at last, and there’s a majestic world to explore and study and it’s almost a shame that we have to leave this world, but it’s necessary in order to finish our second journey through the galaxy. So, for now, we bid this planet farewell to set sail for a place that is a little more rough and tumble, despite its nickname, and that’s where we will pick up, next time. Until then.  

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