Returning to STO: The Romulan Way

I borrowed my post title from Diane Duane's classic TOS novel The Romulan Way.

Personal Log of Lieutenant D'Valon i-Harke tr'Soturi: The flight from the colony was harrowing. For the second time in my life, I have had to flee the destruction of my home—once again, alone. After settling on Virinat more than a decade ago, I thought my military days were long over. Amazing how battle reflexes never quite leave you. Now D'Tan and Temer have gotten me back into a uniform.

This old Warbird still has quite a few punches left. The Reman engineer we picked up on Crateris—Veril? So many new faces!—has worked wonders with the singularity drive. The other former colonists have taken to calling her "Gearbox." I certainly don't plan on returning to the stifling formalities of the Imperial Navy, so Gearbox it is.

The forward crew lounge is rather more subdued than the last Warbird I flew on. Many people lost loved ones in the Tal Shiar attacks. Their pain opens old wounds of my own. How I miss you, my precious Rhakas, and little D'Rohkea.

Luckily for us, old D'Vex maintained the hydroponics bay with plants from Romulus, as well as Virinat. Fresh fruits and vegetables will be a refreshing respite from replicated mush, not to mention a fond reminder of what was once our home.

Meanwhile, there is much to do for this commander and crew. Temer has us on a mission to various other colonies in the sector, trying to recruit them the new Romulan Republic. We're offering solidarity, and protection from the predations of Empress Sela and the Tal Shiar, so that what happened on Virinat and Crateris doesn't happen again.

I never thought I'd sit in the Big Chair, much less be fighting for the freedom of the Romulan people. It may not be much, but I will do everything in my power to avenge the good folk of Virinat, defeat the Tal Shiar, and restore the proud legacy of my people.

In the spirit of that restoration, Khev and I decided to re-dedicate this grand old vessel as RRW T'liss Rising, to represent our rise from the ashes of Virinat and Romulus to new glory.

Re-Dedication Plaque: The T'liss hope, can wing her way through the desert skies, and still defying fortune's spite; revive from ashes and rise. ~adapted from Miguel de Cervantes, harking back to Rowan Starblanket's first ship. I substituted the word "T'liss" for "phoenix" in the original.


Valon's name is a callback to my SWTOR Jedi Knight, Valon Soturi, which is (butchered) Finnish for Warrior of Light. In that vein, his family—lost in the destruction of Romulus—also have names that have meaning in Finnish: Rakas means "beloved," and Rohkea means "brave." With that, I can establish Valon as being in his late 40s (by Earth years), having been a young Sublieutenant in the Romulan Military at the time of the Hobus supernova, unable to save his family from the destruction of Romulus. I'll fill in more backstory as it comes to me.

Rolling Rommy (yes, I'm trying to make that a thing ><) is mildly disappointing for me. I like my character well enough. but all the Romulans come across as pointy-eared humans. There is no real sense of the uniqueness of their culture. Not that I want them running around as portrayed in the various incarnations of the series either.

Once I get the basics of the new game systems down (e.g., Skills, Combat Maneuvers, etc.), I am very interested in revisiting my other captains. And as you can see, it's so easy to slip into a storytelling mode based on my adventures in the Star Trek universe. All in all, it's a good move for Cryptic, I think. Renewed interest in STO, exactly what they were after here. :D