Romulan Star Navy
From Star Trek: Gamma One
The RSN, as it's often referred to, is the military arm of the Romulan Star Empire. It tends to be much more heavily involved in politics than an organziation such as Starfleet is.
Contents |
Organization
Star Command
Equivalent to the Federation's Starfleet Command, this body is in charge of the Navy. It answers to the High Tribunal, an advisory body at the top political levels of the Empire and made up of the Praetor, several Senate representatives, and high-ranked officers of the various commands and fleets in the military.
Fleets
The Navy is a conglomeration of various types of fleets, each of which has its own particular usefulness or purpose. Technically, Command fleets answer to the High Tribunal, and thus are the military arm of the government itself, much as Starfleet is the military arm of the UFP. These are the fleets most often encountered by Federation forces. Ostensibly neutral to political factions, they nonetheless often become pawns in the political intrigues of the Empire. A Senatorial fleet, on the other hand, is loyal first to a former commander now risen to the rank of Senator, and are used freely as a hand of that particular Romulan. The starships in these fleets often bear the colors of their patron, rather than the standard Romulan green hullplates. Occasionally, several Senators of the same governmental bloc will combine their ships, usually in a time of political crisis, to form temporary Coalition fleets. The Praetorian fleet is the elite of the military, and answers only to the Praetor. By tradition, its ships are the only Romulan vessels allowed to enter the homeworld system, as the Praetorian fleet is directly responsible for the safety of the Praetor.
Divisions
The Navy is further divided into specialized functions called Commands:
- Exploration Command: Not considered a particularly glamorous posting, this division handles scientific research and exploring new planets. Necessary for the furtherment of D'era, it is nonetheless not a highly-desired assignment.
- Occupation Command: After a planet has been absorbed into the Empire, this division moves in to transform it into a respectable client world of subjects. Both military police on the one hand, and diplomacy and propaganda on the other, are used to accomplish this task. Ideally, as much of the latter as possible is brought to bear, and only as much as necessary of the former. Officers known as censors serve as interim governors, directing the process and reporting progress back to the Senate.
- Outpost Command: The support division of the Navy, this Command builds, staffs, and maintains posts and bases throughout the Empire. It's another posting that brings precious little glory to the personnel assigned to it. It is to the worst postings in this Command that subjects serving Serona in their bid for citizenship are often assigned.
- Pacification Command: The Romulan Empire is just that- an Empire of conquered worlds. Some worlds fall peaceably or with little trouble; some see the benefits of the Empire's protection and need no persuasion. The Pacification Command forcefully, and somewhat ruthlessly, takes over those planets who try to fight their destiny as a client world of the Empire.
- Tal Diann: The Tal Diann is the intelligence force of the Navy, mostly occupying itself with ensuring the loyalty of officers and crew, but often dealing with external threats as well. At least, that's what they're supposed to restrict themselves to...
Navy Life
Navy personnel are divided into three main branches: Command (self-explanatory), Tactical (which covers both ship tactical and security), and Operations (which handles everything else on a ship or base). The first experience most Romulans have with the Navy is a five-year period of mandatory military service every Romulan citizen must undertake. Both this period and those undergoing it are referred to as Serona, and they make up the rank-and-file equivalent of 'enlisted' personnel. Those who wish to continue their career in the military then attend the War College as cadets before becoming officers. Generally, an officer's tour of duty lasts five years, though often he will serve most or all of those tours on the same ship or posting.
The Federation's Starfleet has its regulations and its Uniform Code of Military Justice. The RSN's equivalent is much more compact. Most of the rules governing a Navy officer's life are summed up in the Precepts:
- Denial: Denying the enemy vital intelligence that could be harmful to the Empire is a priority. For this reason, the Precept of Denial requires that an officer destroy himself or, in the case of commanding officers, his ship, rather than allow himself or his vessel to be captured.
- Discipline: Obey your superiors. It's safe to assume they have knowledge and information that you don't, and that they're acting upon that. Questioning orders is a serious offense, a breach not only of discipline, but of loyalty.
- Loyalty: And, speaking of loyalty... A Romulan owes all his loyalty first to the Empire and the Praetor; he knows that disloyalty weakens the Empire. Always, always, he places the good of the Empire before his own desires or needs, and will endure any number of discomforts- or even agonies- for that greater good.
- Strength: The Empire is a living, changing thing, and as with all living things, it must grow to survive. Following the destiny of D'era, this means that the Empire remains strong, and becomes stronger, by absorbing the weaker, lesser species around them (which would, of course, be all other species). Only when all others have been taken in under the wings of the Empire can peace be achieved and maintained as it should be, to the benefit of all Romulans and their subjects.
- Watchfulness: It's every Romulan's duty to be on the lookout for potential danger to the Empire, and to report it. This danger could include the presence of enemy agents, of traitors within the Navy or the Romulan people, but also alien ideas that could compromise one's loyalty and discipline.
Violations of the Precepts are treated seriously and harshly. The Star Navy doesn't bother with a complicated system of justice; only two punishments exist. One is censure- the formal reprimand and demotion of an officer. While he may still be alive, his career is crippled, probably permanently, certainly for decades. Many censured officers have committed suicide; others feel that the Empire still desires their service, and Discipline keeps them alive. The other punishment, for more serious offenses, is execution. Depending on the severity of the offense, this could encompass a swift, merciful death, or days of slow torture.
Of rather less importance are the Rules of Legate. Over the centuries, most of its dictates have been absorbed into the Precepts; nowadays the Rules merely outline the powers of a legate aboard a ship or posting. They generally only come into precedence during times of crisis.
