Survivors of Romulus
Chapter 1: The Old Lost, The New Found
Hey, guys, I know it's been forever since I last posted any fanfics, but college life has been insanely busy. It'll be quite some time until I can get my Phineas and Ferb fanfic-on-hiatus posted . Anyway, this story, like my previous one, A Perfect Moment in Time, is a gift story to my girlfriend, Rebekah. This time, however, we are Romulan survivors in the Star Trek Online time period who have finally settled down permanently on Dewa III – Mol'Rihan, or New Romulus. I am Taivek, and she is D'Rhina. I'm a bit out of practice with my writing fanfics specifically, but hopefully not in terms of eloquence. I'm not writing this story for reviews. This is for Rebekah, the brightest light to ever shine in my life.
22 years ago, everything changed. The Romulan Star Empire was no more. Core worlds "blasted across cold, heartless skies", as D'Tan put it. Romulus, our home, was gone. Remus, home to our former slaves, was no longer to be seen, either. The Romulans and Remans, now equally-destitute, scavenging and searching endlessly for new worlds to colonize and find rest once more in. It is now 2409, and many of our old leaders have tried to reinstate the rule of fear we were once held under...the rule of the Tal Shiar, and the new, self-proclaimed Empress Sela. In the last days of our world, we had begun to embrace tolerance and understanding in schools and homes, and slowly in our government...all thanks to Ambassador Spock and his alliances with underground movements. Starfleet discovered that it was former Praetor Taris herself who induced the Hobus supernova that unnaturally traveled subspace and destroyed our worlds. Had it not been for her evil acts, perhaps Spock would still be with us, watching the fruits of his labor as Romulus became a world more open to the universe. Instead, he was pulled into the black hole he created while being pursued by a fellow Romulan miner named Nero...neither to be heard from again.
Two men in this day have arisen to bring about a new future for us all. D'Tan, a Romulan, has begun a new colony on the third planet in the Dewa System. Many call it Mol'Rihan. It is from here that he has begun his mission to create the Romulan Republic, a new faction of Romulans dedicated to peaceful coexistence with all races. Obisek, a Reman, who leads the Reman Resistance, has allied himself and his group with D'Tan so that lost Remans may also taste the sweet air of freedom that their Romulan brothers now do. Together, these two men have brought lost families, friends, and other individuals together to a place that they can now call home. Despite attacks by the Tal Shiar, their Elachi mercenaries, their elusive Iconian allies, or the new Tholian threat to this sector, we have stood strong. We have not faltered in our determination to survive and defend the ones we love from the heartless who try to rule over us again. And even with the Klingon Empire and United Federation of Planets at war once again, both factions have opened up diplomatic relations with us, and both have come to our aid, even helping each other on the rare occasion. With their help, Taris, Sela, and even the fearsome leader of the Tal Shiar, Hakeev, have been brought to justice.
My name is Taivek. I once worked with the Tal Shiar. It was a dirty business, filled with cunning, deceit, and backstabbing. After the failed coup of 2379 brought on by Shinzon, and with Remus being overmined, some of us were charged with eliminating any and all Remans we could find who remained in our space. I left once the orders were given, and I did my best to live a simpler life in everyday society. I met my love, D'Rhina, in said life. We were both off-planet when the supernova shockwave reached Romulus, myself seeking employment with the Miner's Guild, her meeting up with family elsewhere. Over the past 22 years, we have sought each other out, only having limited and broken communication with each other. There were times when it would be years between conversations...and when the Tal Shiar rose to power again, our separate colonies evacuated people as best they could during raids, no matter how much closer to or farther from each other we got. Many nights, I would bitterly weep in fear of her safety. Any given moment, she could be in an interrogation chamber...or slaving away under the brutal heel of guarded work sites. And so could I. Many times, I would frantically try to steal any spacecraft I could get my hands on – anything to get closer to D'Rhina. And when I arrived at New Romulus, I immediately began searching for her, learning that D'Tan's forces were rescuing all of the lost they could find on other worlds.
And today, while on break from my citizen duties, I found her in the Vastam Peaks. She was being attacked by a Dewan Arthropod, which I rescued her from with my plasma pistol. We recognized each other after a few good looks, and the joy that surged through our hearts was immeasurable! Never before had I felt so alive since the day we admitted our feelings to each other for the first time. Thanks to the Elements, our long searches were now at an end. We swore to never let each other go, and we meant it with all of our hearts. This will be the first night we spend together in a long time...one we have both looked forward to for so long. I never was that great at romance, but then again, neither was she – if she tried too hard. Same with me. But we loved each other for all of the oddities and humorous facets we knew in the other, and by being ourselves, we were able to find the love we share. I eagerly await our night in Atlai, right by the river, in the company of the adorable Epohhs and Nanovs. Tonight will surely be a night to remember...
Yes, part of this is based on my relationship with Rebekah...after her mom and my parents finding out about our relationship, and forbidding us to talk, we kept our relationship a secret for many months after. But then her younger sister, a former ally of ours, decided to turn her back on us out of fear and guilt. And in order to neutralize the threat, and be able to work in having her mom allow us to talk again, we stopped real-time communication so that her grief and stress would become more realistic in her appeals with her counselor on our side. And I eagerly long for the day when all of our current difficulties will mean nothing...
Read on for the date (or Romulan equivalent) our two lovers go on on the night of their reunification.