Sample file Conquest and War in the Star Fleet Universe Written by John Sickels. Converted to PD20M by Jonathan M. Thompson and Tony L. Thomas.

Additional material by Steven P. Petrick, Matthew Francois, Ken Burnside, Loren Knight, Gary Plana, Jean Sexton, and Stephen V. Cole. Edited by Steven P. Petrick, Jean Sexton, and Leanna M. Cole. Cover by Alvin Belflower & Ted Geibel. Illustrations by Alvin Belflower, Loren Knight, Dale McKee, Matthew Tito Cuenca, Bryce Nakagawa, Richard Emond, and others. Computer graphics by Ted Geibel and Stephen V. Cole. SkyHawk deck plans by Nick Blank. Planetary Maps by John Sickels.

Data for PRIME DIRECTIVE is available on the website: www.StarFleetGames.com/pdindex.shtml

PD Staff: Gary Plana, John Sickels, Tony L. Thomas, James Goodrich, Loren Knight, Nick Blank, Doug E. Lampert, Jonathan Thompson. Sample file

Romulans PD20M is copyright © 2012 by Amarillo Design Bureau, Inc.; all rights reserved. Printed in USA.

“d20 System” and the “d20 System” logo are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. and are used according to the terms of the d20 System License version 5.0. A copy of this License can be found at www.wizards.com/d20.

Romulans PD20M is a product of the Star Fleet Universe. Publication Date March 2012. Elements of the Star Fleet Universe are the property of Paramount Pictures Corporation and are used with their permission.

TABLE OF CONTENTS Military Forces ...... 71 Honor of the House ...... 2 Rank Insignia ...... 74 Overview ...... 9 Military Templates ...... 81 Biology ...... 10 Armory...... 85 History ...... 11 Warships ...... 91 Politics ...... 26 SkyHawk Destroyer Deck Plans ...... 101 The Great Houses ...... 31 Visions of Empire ...... 113 Society ...... 35 Visions of History ...... 118 Justice ...... 43 Abraxas Station ...... 127 Planetary Surveys ...... 47 Publisher’s Information ...... 143 by John A. Picheco sealed by the Praetor, gives me authority to seize control Y179, Planet Terimene, of military assets during any emergency. As commander Romulan Colony near Gorn Border of the local military post, you now come under my com- mand. We must evacuate the colonial staff and the Pente-Centurion Falshin felt grim as he walked towards rhodinium. The Treachery is the largest warship here, yes?” the governor’s office. He knew the governor was not going The cruiser had been sent here to await a repair ship. to be happy about the news; she never liked bad news. “Yes, Governor, but she sustained heavy damage and Falshin estimated that, in about 30 hours, the governor crew losses. Ante-Commander Terin will have difficulty and he would be dead or prisoners of the Gorns. getting the ship out of range of the Gorns, and it will be a Terimene was a mining colony, one that mined rich prime target for them.” ore and processed it into iridium, rhodinium, and manga- The governor was still looking up at him. “The Cetus nese, all things that the Romulan Star Empire needed. and Draco are both too slow.” They were old frigates await- Governor Slatoris was a rising star of House Aurellius, one ing a convoy to guard. “I guess it’s going to be the Kishawk. of the most powerful of the Romulan political factions. Her Contact Major-Tribune T’Finn and let him know we are com- House had won control of Terimene in a power play two mandeering his ship.” The governor hesitated. “Tell T’Finn years earlier. She needed a successful tour in a major in- that he and most of his crew, fighters, and combat sup- dustrial production center to advance her career, and the plies are to transfer to Treachery and help to get her out of self-contained colony had become very much a luxury re- here. Terrin, T’Finn, and all three ships can leave when- sort for her and other functionaries of the House. ever they want. I want Kishawk to be ready to leave, with Pente-Centurion Falshin commanded the military gar- all of my personnel and records on board, and all the re- rison, which consisted only of a warning station, a century fined metals, in ten hours. You will command Kishawk. of ground troops, and some ground-based phasers, enough “Take your leave.” to drive away a pirate but an easy target for Gorn Marines. Centurion Falshin saluted, walked from the room, and His career was stalled and he would never be promoted to thought to himself: We are evacuating, and it looks like I tribune, a fate he had long come to terms with. PartSample of the will not file be dead in 30 hours. A slight smile grew on his face deal that ended the power play was that the military forces as he found himself profiting from a house power play for on Terimene had to be commanded by an officer not affili- the first time in his life. Being ordered to take command of ated with any house, one supposedly neutral in the power a ship was clearly a promotion; not being killed by the Gorns plays that the houses continually engaged in. With the was clearly a good career move. She was bribing him with largely honorary promotion from major-centurion to pente- his own life to ensure her escape, which made sense given centurion, Falshin had found the post a comfortable retire- that T’Finn was loyal to House Antreidies and therefore a ment. political rival. Falshin’s own second-in-command, Major- Upon reaching the governor’s office, he told the sec- Centurion Halkon, came from House Pentalion and was retary that he needed to see the governor, and said that it here to keep an eye on Slatoris and Aurelius. He would be was so urgent it could not wait. The governor didn’t hesi- left behind to make a glorious stand against the Gorns. tate and summoned him into her office. Falshin walked up Halkon would die or be a prisoner in 30 hours. Falshin to the governor’s desk, came to attention, saluted, and smiled again, realizing that even in a military disaster, one waited. of the Great Houses had found a way to harm not just one, “Centurion, whenever you formally report like that, it’s but two of the other Great Houses. bad news. So, let’s have it. What went wrong this time?” After Centurion Falshin left, the governor pushed a Falshin hesitated, then blurted it out, “Governor, a Gorn button on the desk. “Meri, cancel all appointments and go fleet has broken through the Second Star Legion and is to file number two and execute. Understood?” After the headed this way. The fleet should arrive at Terimene in 22 secretary replied, the governor stood up, straightened her hours.” skirt, and quickly walked to the bathroom, her long black The governor opened a drawer and took out a com- hair flowing behind her. puter storage crystal and handed it to him. “This crystal,

CULTURE & HISTORY 2 ROMULANS PD20M Bridge, Romulan SeaHawk-B Escort Carrier Kishawk their houses might arrange a marriage. Either of them could Thirteen Hours after Leaving Terimene do a lot worse. Slatoris had been droning on, ordering several para- The turbolift doors opened as Governor Slatoris en- graphs of political information, personnel lists, and direc- tered the bridge. She was wearing a knee-length gray skirt, tives to her relatives to be included in the distress signal. gray jacket, and a form-fitting animal-print shirt. She T’Valin gave her a quick smile, then turned to Falshin. showed a sophisticated air — someone to be desired and “Commander, I suggest we make the distress signal short feared — an air which she was pulling off so far. She walked and simple. While the Gorns cannot break our codes, they directly to Centurion Falshin. could more easily detect a longer message.” “Centurion, when will the engines be working again? “I agree.” Falshin turned to the communications officer. The Gorns cannot capture this ship. The personnel, re- “Send the three-digit distress code for ‘request assistance’, fined metals, and records are too valuable.” ‘enemy in area’, and ‘warp drive failure’. Then add our co- Centurion Falshin sighed. The personnel and records ordinates according to the encrypted war charts, my sig- on board were valuable to Slatoris’s House, and were nature code, and the governor’s code as well. Send it on frankly not really important to the Empire itself. The directional beams toward known Imperial units and bases.” rhodinium was, but it was her excuse to protect her per- “Very well,” the communications officer replied, work- sonnel. Even so, his fate was linked to hers by the fact that ing his panel. he now commanded her ship. Even throwing her and the “Well, Centurion, how much of a defense can we put rhodinium overboard wouldn’t save him, and making her up?” Falshin asked. happy could pay political dividends later, although it was “Commander,” T’Valin said matter of factly, “a Gorn becoming more and more difficult to hide his annoyance. police frigate could capture us in two minutes. We have In a calm voice Falshin replied. “First, Governor, as little more than a minimum crew, a hangar deck full of civil- the officer in charge of this vessel, I am to be addressed ians, and 150 tons of rhodinium replacing the combat as “Commander.” Second, Ante-Commander T’Finn took stores.” the bulk of his crew, and all the best people, to the Treach- “Can you organize available personnel to repel board- ery to help get her spaceworthy. The remaining engineers ers?” are working on the engine malfunction, but I cannot tell “I will do what I can,” T’Valin said with a shrug. “At you when they will have it fixed until they find out what the least some of the civilians regularly play sports and are in problem actually is.” good physical condition. A few of them are military veter- “So what do we do?” Slatoris asked. ans. I can also organize all available crewmen to defend “We send a distress signal,” the centurion behind themselves, but we cannot take them for combat duty as Slatoris interrupted, “and we hope an Imperial ship arrives you will need them at their posts when the engines are before a Gorn finds us.” repaired.” Governor Slatoris leaned closer to the centurion and “Carry on,” Falshin and Slatoris said at the same time, said softly, “Centurion T’Valin, Commander Falshin is cor- then darted their eyes toward each other with annoyance. rect that we should be on a more professional and formal basis on the bridge. And by the way, you do lookSample the part.” file Centurion T’Valin did indeed look the part. He was in full dress uniform with all four Eagles, along with dozens of valor stars, service globes, and command bars on them. The military’s highest award, the Iridium Eagle with a star for valor, adorned his left shoulder. He had received this for his heroic last stand saving the Behemoth from cap- ture. He carried the ceremonial short sword signifying House Casifax at his waist. He just happened to be on Terimene recovering from wounds from that battle and was to return to duty after his convalescence. Said convales- cence seemed to be going well; he had been escorting Governor Slatoris to all the state functions and, security reported, sharing her bed at night. His House was strongly allied to that of Slatoris (at least currently), and she simply brought him along with her retinue. She could not, of course, leave a hero on a defenseless planet to get captured. T’Valin offered his services to Falshin when the vessel’s engines failed, but as a Marine his help with the warp en- gines was limited. Falshin found himself genuinely liking T’Valin despite his current assignment as escort to the governor. It remained to be seen, but for all Falshin knew,

ROMULANS PD20M 3CULTURE & HISTORY Flag Bridge, Romulan SuperHawk Bridge, Romulan SeaHawk-B Escort Carrier Kishawk Heavy Carrier Imperial Standard The decurion at the sensor console proudly an- Major-Admiral Chassis Seraphine sat quietly in his nounced. “Commander, multiple vessels heading from comfortable command chair. He was very happy right now. Romulan interior are approaching, but still at long range.” His carrier group was fully refitted and resupplied, having He paused a moment to be sure he had the commander’s left port two weeks ago after 10 months of constant fight- attention. “Four vessels with a total warp signature of three.” ing on the Federation border. They were almost to the front, A longer pause, then the Decurion suddenly continued with where an attack on the key Gorn mining world of Gornghella great emotion, “Commander, five vessels approaching from awaited only his arrival. Seraphine knew that switching his astern. Total warp signature three-point-three. They ap- flagship to the Gorn front for a quick strike on the key re- pear to be coming from Teri….” source center was the result of political maneuvering be- Centurion T’Valin pushed the communications officer tween his House, Sorkalif, and his uncle’s allies, Houses aside and opened a channel to the approaching Romulan Casifax and Aurellius. Seizing the Gornghella mines would ships. “This is the Kishawk to Romulan fleet. We are about give the Empire a boost, but would also create wealth and to be overrun by Gorn forces. Lock on this signal and in- power for the allied houses. tercept with haste.” Admiral Seraphine was lost in thought, trying to digest A middle-aged Romulan with light brown hair, dressed reports on the Gorn capture of Terimene. He could of course in an admiral’s uniform, appeared on the viewscreen. “This divert his squadron to recapture it, but if he proceeded is Major-Admiral Seraphine of the Imperial Standard. What with plans to capture Gornghella, Terimene would be cut is the disposition of enemy force?” off and fall into his lap. His House would demand the im- Centurion Falshin pushed a button on his chair. “Com- mediate recapture of Terimene, as it was controlled by an mander Falshin of the Kishawk. Thank you for answering, ally, but this way would be a better military plan and an Admiral. There are five Gorn vessels with a warp signa- adequate political result. ture of three-point-three approximately two minutes away.” He stared at the viewscreen. The image on the screen He gave the bearing and range. was of the SparrowHawk-class escort cruiser Dark Angel. Admiral Seraphine didn’t hesitate. “Commander, pre- The Dark Angel was a beautiful ship, but not as beautiful pare to abandon ship.” as her commander. He thought about Commander Albus, Governor Slatoris, recognizing Seraphine, interrupted. an independent officer with no House affiliation, and he “Admiral, this is Governor Slatoris. There are two hundred was glad that he could give her career some help. He was key administrative personnel on this ship, plus vital records, also glad that he had an excellent officer commanding his and a cargo hold full of rhodinium. Everything must be done most important escort. She deserved the command, as to save this ship.” she was the most brilliant officer that served under him. “Very well, Governor, we will do what we can.” This He missed having her on his staff — and in his bed — but would work out even better, he nodded to himself. He could she served better commanding a ship. Perhaps in time rescue the governor now to buy himself a couple of weeks she might make a suitable wife for one of his nephews or to let the Gornghella campaign play out. younger cousins. SampleCenturion file T’Valin quickly jumped into the conversa- A female centurion approached him. “Admiral, a Ro- tion before the admiral terminated it. “Admiral Seraphine, mulan distress signal has been detected. Kishawk suffered Centurion T’Valin here. We only have a skeleton crew on a warp power failure while fleeing Terimene. There is also board. I would not want a repeat of Renicon.” a curious thing, Sir. The command signature is that of The crew on both bridges were stone-cold silent. They Pente-Centurion Falshin. I checked the database, and he were waiting for the Admiral’s reaction to this obvious is currently posted as commander of the ground defenses breech in military etiquette. The Admiral calmly replied, “I on the planet of Terimene. Also in the message is the sig- understand, Centurion. End transmission.” nature code of Governor Slatoris of Terimene.” Commander Falshin and the bridge crew stared blankly “Centurion Baccus, what kind of ship is the Kishawk?” at T’Valin. Slatoris blurted out, “What does Renicon mean?” “A SeaHawk-class escort carrier, assigned to escort T’Valin looked around the bridge at all the people with convoys from border planets to the interior. The Kishawk the questioning looks on their faces. He stopped at Slatoris. was last reported at Terimene, waiting for a new escort “A year ago, I led a boarding action on the Gorn battle- frigate.” cruiser Renicon. We captured the ship, but the Gorns coun- Seraphine turned his chair toward the young centu- terattacked, and I didn’t have enough men to hold it. Admi- rion. “Well, Centurion, it looks like the governor escaped ral Seraphine would not reinforce us. I fought my way to from Terimene after all. Order the squadron to proceed to the shuttlebay and escaped in a Gorn shuttlecraft with four the Kishawk’s coordinates at maximum speed. Do not re- of my men. I lost 76 soldiers from my century on that mis- spond to the Kishawk. I do not want to tell the Gorns where sion.” It went unspoken that if the admiral abandoned we are. Have Tribune Solkov report to the flag bridge im- T’Valin again, there would be problems between their two mediately.” noble houses.

CULTURE & HISTORY 4 ROMULANS PD20M Flag Bridge, Romulan SuperHawk dress the entire bridge crew. “The situation might look grim, Heavy Carrier Imperial Standard but if you all perform your duty, we will be victorious.” The navigator spoke up. “Can we drop the warp en- The turbolift opened and out walked a slightly heavyset gines and evade detection in the melee?” Romulan with graying hair and the insignia of a chief engi- Falshin remained calm while he considered the idea, neer. He immediately went right to business. “Admiral, do but Slatoris interrupted his decision-making process. you really think I can fix that ship — during combat? I don’t “Absolutely not,” she ordered, “We must get the en- even know what’s wrong with it.” gines repaired and make all speed for Aurellius. Dropping Seraphine replied with a smile, “Tribune Maximus the warp engines would leave us defenseless if detected, Solkov, I have seen you perform miracles during impos- and the odds of escape are not worth that risk.” Falshin sible situations. Here is another impossible situation. I will accepted her decision without argument. Neither he nor try to keep the Gorns away, but don’t waste any time. Get Slatoris knew enough of starship combat to make any bet- those engines on line. Do your duty, Tribune, and you will ter decision. be well rewarded.” Tribune Solkov saluted and exited the bridge. Flag Bridge, Romulan SuperHawk Seraphine turned to the tactical officer, “Launch all fight- Heavy Carrier Imperial Standard ers. Group one to escort Rampart. Group two to escort Steadfast. The remaining groups are to protect the Admiral Seraphine sat quietly and watched the spec- Kishawk. Launch the multi-role shuttle when ready.” tacle unfold before him. The Gorns were spreading their The scanner officer reported, “Admiral, two Gorn ves- forces out. He smiled inwardly as he saw the Gorn fighters sels are launching fighters.” stay even with their ships. The heavy destroyer, probably Seraphine sat back and thought to himself. Well, we a dedicated escort variant, was heading straight towards are fighting a carrier group. This is going to be interesting. the Kishawk. The Gorn carrier was swinging wide, slowly “Communications, hail the fleet.” launching G-18 megafighters. The other wing of the Gorn Three images appeared on the viewscreen, an old attack was composed of a battle destroyer surrounded by ante-commander, a beautiful young female ante-com- G-18 fighters, with slower G-10 fighters following close mander, and a young tribune. Seraphine addressed them. behind. He had ordered Rampart to engage that group. “All vessels, pull ahead of the fighters and fan out, put Two G-18s launched plasma torpedoes. Then the 100,000 araterreks between you. Commander Albus, Rampart fired phasers at both fighters, destroying one. The you’re in the center. Head straight towards the Kishawk other G-18 turned and headed away. The viewscreen lit and keep those Gorn fighters away. I expect your racks to up with new symbols as plasma torpedoes were launched be empty after your first pass. Understood?” from dozens of tubes and canisters. Ships and fighters The female in the center spoke up. “Yes, Admiral.” were trying to veer off. Shields were flaring under the hits, Seraphine continued, “Steadfast, keep pressure on the and fighters were blinking out as they were smashed. Gorn fighters and take advantage of any opportunity.” The old engineer saluted. “By your command, Admi- ral, shall it be done.” Sample file Seraphine finished. “Rampart, engage the battle de- stroyer across from you and don’t get surrounded by en- emy fighters. Understood?” The junior captain nodded. “The Imperial Standard will stand in reserve. Any ques- tions?” There were none. Everyone knew that the Imperial Standard was vital to the next mission and must be kept out of combat. All three smaller ships were expendable; Imperial Standard was not. With a smile and a nod in acknowledgment from the Tribune, Seraphine ended the communication and ordered tactical displays put on the viewscreen. The lights dimmed and symbols of every unit registered on the viewscreen. His eyes were fixed intently on the screen.

Bridge, Romulan SeaHawk-B Escort Carrier Kishawk

T’Valin looked at Falshin. “Commander, we can ex- pect to be boarded. I will be in the shuttlebay.” He started to leave. “And you might want to arm the bridge crew.” Falshin looked around the bridge. “Decurion, open the weapons locker and arm all bridge personnel. You will per- sonally guard Governor Slatoris.” Falshin turned to ad-

ROMULANS PD20M 5CULTURE & HISTORY