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Jorahl

Why Romulans Are Just Better Than You

53 posts in this topic

On Aegis, we are beginning a project of building a shipyard which will eventually build a joint Romulan/Federation ship. In this really early stage I have been considering technologies from which side would be the best to adapt. I've thought about these ideas before this project was presented and they seem to hold true.... Romulans Rock! And here is why....

 

Our first view of the Romulans was in Balance of Terror. At first glance it would seem the Enterprise well outmatched the Bird of Prey. Mr. Scott said as much. But let's look at the facts here. Spock said cloaking was theoretically possible but the energy costs were extreme but that the Romulans must have solved that problem. Chalk ONE up for the Romulans. Then the plasma bolt weapon which turns a federation outpost into dust in 2 shots. Romulans 2, Terrans Zero.

 

Ah, but what about Mr. Scott's words when Kirk asked him if the Enterprise could take on the Romulan Bird of Prey. Scotty said the Bird of Prey's power was purely impulse. In this regard it seemed that the battle was won. But let's stop and think about it. Cloaking device, ultimate weapon, oh...and warp speed... all powered by a little impulse reactor. Yes, warp speed without a warp reactor. The Neutral Zone was described as a 1 light year wide boarder. Unless this episode took place over a years time the Bird of Prey must of made warp speed to even cross the boarder let alone hit multiple outposts.

 

So, okay...you might say Sure, your little scooter may get better millage then my truck but which can go faster? Well, let me tell ya another story. In The Enterprise Incident while attempting to escape the Enterprise heads out at warp 9. We'd seen before the Enterprise nearly shake itself apart when trying to go warp 8. Warp 9 was really putting the petal to the metal. And what of the Romulans, "gaining quickly" were Spocks words. And that was in a second hand Klingon hull.

 

So, warp without a warp reactor...not a problem. Add a warp reactor and you'd better hold on.

 

How about into Next Gen times? Well, the Romulan Warbirds are not as fast as a Galaxy Class ship, that was established in Tin Man. Again, let's look deeper. The size of a Warbird has been questioned but it's somewhere between 1.5 to 2 times the size of a Galaxy Class. It's power source, artificial quantum singularity. So, twice the mass of a Galaxy Class and hauling around a small black hole and still top speed of warp 9.6 .

 

I think it can easily be said that Romulans are the masters of power efficiency.

 

And this is just the intro to what could be a very lengthy essay on Romulan superiority. Feel free to lay down your weapons now and please proceed orderly through the line for Romulan immigration. And we thank you for choosing The Romulan Star Empire as your overlord of choose.

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And my char is half! I knew I was half better than some of the crew! The other half... Any in-depth info on Klingons?

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On Aegis, we are beginning a project of building a shipyard which will eventually build a joint Romulan/Federation ship. In this really early stage I have been considering technologies from which side would be the best to adapt. I've thought about these ideas before this project was presented and they seem to hold true.... Romulans Rock! And here is why....

 

Our first view of the Romulans was in Balance of Terror. At first glance it would seem the Enterprise well outmatched the Bird of Prey. Mr. Scott said as much. But let's look at the facts here. Spock said cloaking was theoretically possible but the energy costs were extreme but that the Romulans must have solved that problem. Chalk ONE up for the Romulans. Then the plasma bolt weapon which turns a federation outpost into dust in 2 shots. Romulans 2, Terrans Zero.

 

Ah, but what about Mr. Scott's words when Kirk asked him if the Enterprise could take on the Romulan Bird of Prey. Scotty said the Bird of Prey's power was purely impulse. In this regard it seemed that the battle was won. But let's stop and think about it. Cloaking device, ultimate weapon, oh...and warp speed... all powered by a little impulse reactor. Yes, warp speed without a warp reactor. The Neutral Zone was described as a 1 light year wide boarder. Unless this episode took place over a years time the Bird of Prey must of made warp speed to even cross the boarder let alone hit multiple outposts.

 

So, okay...you might say Sure, your little scooter may get better millage then my truck but which can go faster? Well, let me tell ya another story. In The Enterprise Incident while attempting to escape the Enterprise heads out at warp 9. We'd seen before the Enterprise nearly shake itself apart when trying to go warp 8. Warp 9 was really putting the petal to the metal. And what of the Romulans, "gaining quickly" were Spocks words. And that was in a second hand Klingon hull.

 

So, warp without a warp reactor...not a problem. Add a warp reactor and you'd better hold on.

 

How about into Next Gen times? Well, the Romulan Warbirds are not as fast as a Galaxy Class ship, that was established in Tin Man. Again, let's look deeper. The size of a Warbird has been questioned but it's somewhere between 1.5 to 2 times the size of a Galaxy Class. It's power source, artificial quantum singularity. So, twice the mass of a Galaxy Class and hauling around a small black hole and still top speed of warp 9.6 .

 

I think it can easily be said that Romulans are the masters of power efficiency.

 

And this is just the intro to what could be a very lengthy essay on Romulan superiority. Feel free to lay down your weapons now and please proceed orderly through the line for Romulan immigration. And we thank you for choosing The Romulan Star Empire as your overlord of choice.

 

Much digging, much information, much . . . interesting supposition. ::thoughtful pose::

 

Let the games begin, Centurion?

 

::chuckle::

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On Aegis, we are beginning a project of building a shipyard which will eventually build a joint Romulan/Federation ship.

 

Nice! Romulans are very cool, always have been in all of their portrayals, and they rock out in the Rihannsu novels penned by Diane Carey. I'm gathering that the in character crew will be joint as well, if this ship were to head out on some sort of patrol from the Aegis station?

 

If so that would make an interesting dynamic what with two empires/organizations that have clashed a bit over the years can lead to some misunderstandings. I bet you'll have at least one NPC or junior officer character who will try to be related to Stiles from the Balance of Terror episode and has carried the family torch of Romulan animosity throughout the generations. Good interaction opportunities though provided that it is handled right.

 

There is also an undercurrent of political maneuvering as well as what I call "dark honor" within the culture as a whole. Rihans have the discipline of their Vulcan cousins, but aren't bound by the non-emotion rules that are a part of the Vulcan society.

 

The Romulans are passionate, but you gotta watch out for that passionate dark honor streak at times! Have fun!

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I'm gathering that the crew will be joint as well? And if so that would make an interesting dynamic what with two empires/organizations that have clashed a bit over the years can lead to some misunderstandings. I bet you'll have at least one NPC or junior officer character who will try to be related to Stiles from the Balance of Terror episode and has carried the family torch of Romulan animosity throughout the generations. Good interaction opportunities though provided that it is handled right.

 

Not the Stiles, but one from the family of Enterprise-C's Captain Rachel Garrett. Her granddaughter and name sake, Rachel E. Garrett, had the misfortune of being posted on Aegis as assistant engineer under " Tylus Petrinius Jorahl siva Romii N'Marys Gol'van, part of the team which took apart and studied the Federation starship Enterprise-C after the Battle of Narendra III." He made sure she knew about it on their first encounter, clearing the air in true Romulan fashion. Aegis is Rachel's first posting and, unlike her grandmother, Rachel E. is unsure of herself and is on probationary status after barely graduating from SF Academy. Needless to say, there is quite a bit of tension between the two.

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I'm gathering that the crew will be joint as well?

 

We will be producing the ships but I don't think the intent is for joint crews. Aegis itself is a joint crew. Okay, it's me, Mr. Drankum, and a bunch of kids in pajamas... but anyway. We build the ships and each government crews the ships it purchases, much like any military manufacturer who supplies to multiple countries.

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Rihans have the discipline of their Vulcan cousins, but aren't bound by the non-emotion rules that are a part of the Vulcan society.

 

Romulan discipline is a curious notion, but one hardly placed on par with that of their Vulcan cousins. Their engineering prowess, particularly considering material scarcity, is something to be acknowledged and admired. That said, the curious frequency at which it suffers defeat at Federation hands must be that much more disheartening - to those not bound by non-emotional rules.

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Romulan discipline is a curious notion, but one hardly placed on par with that of their Vulcan cousins. Their engineering prowess, particularly considering material scarcity, is something to be acknowledged and admired. That said, the curious frequency at which it suffers defeat at Federation hands must be that much more disheartening - to those not bound by non-emotional rules.

 

That's because the writers are biased.

 

Of course one thing I've always noted is that the Rihannsu have such a superiority complex, they often under-estimate their opponents.

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If so that would make an interesting dynamic what with two empires/organizations that have clashed a bit over the years can lead to some misunderstandings. I bet you'll have at least one NPC or junior officer character who will try to be related to Stiles from the Balance of Terror episode and has carried the family torch of Romulan animosity throughout the generations. Good interaction opportunities though provided that it is handled right.

 

Does having a bounty on your head for something your father did count, Kansas? Will's father, in family history of a previous incarnation of the Arc ( ::cough:: SFOL ::cough:: ) annoyed the Rommie government sufficiently enough that they placed a significant bounty on his head, which has continued through his sons... Sins of the father, and all that. So it makes for interesting interactions when it comes time to interact with 'em.

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Romulan discipline is a curious notion, but one hardly placed on par with that of their Vulcan cousins. Their engineering prowess, particularly considering material scarcity, is something to be acknowledged and admired. That said, the curious frequency at which it suffers defeat at Federation hands must be that much more disheartening - to those not bound by non-emotional rules.

 

On Romulan discipline, Counselor Troi while advising Picard in "The Neutral Zone" said, "They will not initiate anything, they will wait for you to commit yourself."

 

And it might be noted that Vulcans have not disciplined their emotions anymore than a man who muzzles their dog has taught them not to bite. It is the wolf who watches over the safety of babes that is disciplined...not the wolf shackled and chained. But this debate could go on for awhile, especially against a well learned Vulcan such as Mr. Sorehl.

 

And as to our defeats, I'd expect the Federation to hush up all of their own defeats at our hands. As to "Jorahl's" personal history he has some nice trinkets labeled Enterprise-C, a wall sized high detailed poster of the Enterprise-D's warp core, and the personal satisfaction that the Romulans saved the Klingons and Federation's hide in the Dominion War. And our defeats have cost us little.

 

Balance of Terror: Romulan Losses: One small ship, Terran Losses: 4 Outposts.

Enterprise Incident: Romulans Losses: 1 Cloak, 1 Commander, Terran Losses: Reputation of not being thieves.

 

And most all other Romulan actions have been with the use of pawns, mostly Klingons. Losing those is still a plus for the galaxy as a whole.

Edited by Jorahl

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On Romulan discipline, Counselor Troi while advising Picard in "The Neutral Zone" said, "They will not initiate anything, they will wait for you to commit yourself."

 

And it might be noted that Vulcans have not disciplined their emotions anymore than a man who muzzles their dog has taught them not to bite. It is the wolf who watches over the safety of babes that is disciplined...not the wolf shackled and chained. But this debate could go on for awhile, especially against a well learned Vulcan such as Mr. Sorehl.

 

And as to our defeats, I'd expect the Federation to hush up all of their own defeats at our hands. As to "Jorahl's" personal history he has some nice trinkets labeled Enterprise-C, a wall sized high detailed poster of the Enterprise-D's warp core, and the personal satisfaction that the Romulans saved the Klingons and Federation's hide in the Dominion War. And our defeats have cost us little.

 

Balance of Terror: Romulan Losses: One small ship, Terran Losses: 4 Outposts.

Enterprise Incident: Romulans Losses: 1 Cloak, 1 Commander, Terran Losses: Reputation of not being thieves.

 

And most all other Romulan actions have been with the use of pawns, mostly Klingons. Losing those is still a plus for the galaxy as a whole.

 

This is true.

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On Aegis, we are beginning a project of building a shipyard which will eventually build a joint Romulan/Federation ship. In this really early stage I have been considering technologies from which side would be the best to adapt. I've thought about these ideas before this project was presented and they seem to hold true.... Romulans Rock! And here is why....

 

Centurian

 

I am having sufficient difficulties with Ferengi arrogance just now without entering a discussion on the Romulan variant of the theme. I shall pass on in depth cultural comparison.

 

However, I would inquire as to whether you intend to incorporate the singularity power source in the new joint design. Much power. Much mass. I have always believed singularity drive's power would be good for straight line speed, but the mass would make for poor acceleration and poorer maneuverability. That, and the more one uses a singularity, the heavier it would become. One would have to replace it periodically? If one doesn't, the ever increasing mass results in slowly decreasing acceleration and cornering performance?

 

I also believe such singularities would make an extreme planet eating terrorist weapon. This is not to say that antimatter is precisely safe. I mean, any warp capable spacecraft is capable of scarring a planet. The energy levels required for warp drive are just inherently high enough that only political restraint allows civilization to continue. Still, I'm not sure I would want singularities being sold on the open market.

 

I also remember the singularity induced time loop that occurred during Admiral Goram's tenure on Aegis, when the Romulan fleet fought the pseudo Dominion force. I never came to understand the physics of it, but I have been worried since of what might happen when a singularity drive ship is damaged enough that the contain on the singularity is lost. An antimatter ship just obliterates anything near it as it goes up. A singularity might try to eat planets or stars. If contain on a singularity is lost, do you have the ability to catch and contain it again?

 

What sort of effort and technology is required to create and secure a singularity? Is it something you really intend to release for general sale? Would we have to construct some sort of singularity manufacturing reactor at Aegis, or would we rely on the Romulan Empire for fuel?

 

Equipping our craft with cloaks would raise treaty and legal considerations. It is a defining technology that could differentiate an Aegis built ship from most other ships on the market. Cloaks would also be very useful if we are to probe Breen space and resolve the mysteries there. Still, are the Romulans willing to tear up the old treaties yet? If we built cloak equipped ships, would we be allowed to fly them? To sell them on the open market?

 

Those would be the two issues I am concerned with, the safety and security issues on singularities, and the old treaty concerns with cloaks. Neither seem insurmountable. I am not saying that we should not go there. I would like you to address both points at length, however, before we proceed very far in either direction. I would be inclined to avoid either technology, to produce a relatively 'normal' ship, to avoid unnecessary complications.

 

The trade offs between phaser flexibility and disrupter power, who has the better or easier to produce computers or inertial compensator components... all else I would leave to the engineers. The singularities and cloaks, however, seem to raise political concerns.

 

And, of course, if you wish to augment your primitive designs with some of The Maker's technologies, you may contact me. Your civilizations are getting advanced enough at this point that Norman One might consider further technology release.

 

Ambassador Joy Two, Aegis

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Ambassador Joy Two, Aegis

 

Many questions about a design still in the works.

 

About AQS', I don't believe they are as dangerous as portrayed. In my idea if containment is lost the AQS would become a free black hole for about a nanosecond before exploding outward. That's still enough time to turn a starship into a crushed aluminum can but the end result is still a big boom.

 

Read over the AQS stats on the Talon's specs. I think you can get a fair idea of things there.

 

Now, I do know those specs say that AQS' are ONLY produced in one place in the entire Star Empire. I personally find that part hard to believe and think it would be a critical weakness in multiple ways.

 

My first thoughts however are that the ships can be equiped with either a M/AM reactor or AQS, depending upon who will take possesion of the craft. This would cover cloaking devices as well.

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However, I would inquire as to whether you intend to incorporate the singularity power source in the new joint design.

 

Wow. At the risk of exposing my total incomprehension of engineering - a singularity drive? Haven't the Romulans experimented with enough things that gave them problems? The phase cloak comes to mind. And now a singularity drive? Pretty close to an improbability drive, I would say. Scary stuff, but I'm a doctor, not a mechanic.

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Oh... One other point. We of Mudd consider LCARS to be absurdly non-secure. All the built in command over rides make it a highly flexible system, but it might be the easiest system in the galaxy for a hacker to take over.

 

I have no great expertise with Romulan computer systems, but from what I understand of your culture, you must have a more secure system than the Federation? If so, the prudent thing to do might be to commit to one computer core design, the operating system that runs on that core, and then select the hardware that has software drivers written that run on that operating system.

 

Joy

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About AQS', I don't believe they are as dangerous as portrayed. In my idea if containment is lost the AQS would become a free black hole for about a nanosecond before exploding outward. That's still enough time to turn a starship into a crushed aluminum can but the end result is still a big boom.

 

I consider the danger canon. At the very least, singularities should make people nervous. I know a Romulan fan might want to make unpleasant aspects of Romulan canon vanish, but I'm not sure that should be so. It is also a potential conflict and plot tension. I'd kind of like to keep it. Of course, the Romulans might try to minimize the danger. You can present the Ferengi with cost liability trade off studies and risk analysis reports. If you talk fast and wave you hands a lot, you can likely persuade them. You don't think they'd check your math, do you? After all, they didn't read the fine print before invoking 14(7). ;)

 

Now, I do know those specs say that AQS' are ONLY produced in one place in the entire Star Empire. I personally find that part hard to believe and think it would be a critical weakness in multiple ways.

 

I would propose that the Romulans quietly encourage the rumor that there is only one place that creates singularities, but I would not be at all surprised if there are one or two back up sites that don't officially exist. This might make for a balance between honoring canon and the Romulans not being totally stupid.

 

But even if there are several such sites, putting one at an isolated allied station on the Breen border... This seems a stretch. If there are only a few singularity factories, i don't imagine that they are small, cheap and easy to operate.

 

My first thoughts however are that the ships can be equiped with either a M/AM reactor or AQS, depending upon who will take possesion of the craft. This would cover cloaking devices as well.

 

I'm not thrilled with that one. Most antimatter-warp drive ships have a vague similarity in design, with the two nacelles common towards the rear and a central hull, usually with the habitable areas forward. Each culture has a variation on the theme, but I have a sense that Paramount wants people to think that all races are dealing with the same laws of physics. The Warbird design is unusual, cool, and alien. I've always thought that the very unusual design of the Warbird hull is a result of the unusual drive system.

 

The notion that you can plug and play the two drive systems as modular replacements in the same hull to me makes the singularity drive somewhat less special and unique. Call it an irrational subjective thing, but...

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Wow. At the risk of exposing my total incomprehension of engineering - a singularity drive? Haven't the Romulans experimented with enough things that gave them problems? The phase cloak comes to mind. And now a singularity drive? Pretty close to an improbability drive, I would say. Scary stuff, but I'm a doctor, not a mechanic.

 

I know the Federation attempted to create a phase cloak, which turned out to be a very tricky thing indeed. I don't know that the Romulans attempted the same.

 

But the singularity drive is solidly canon for the Romulan Warbird. (I believe most of their smaller ships are still more conventional?) I understand that such drives were considered dangerous at first, but perhaps the technology could be more mature at this point.

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I consider the danger canon. At the very least, singularities should make people nervous. I know a Romulan fan might want to make unpleasant aspects of Romulan canon vanish, but I'm not sure that should be so.

 

I do not make it vanish because I don't like it, I do so because....as I said, that's the way I see it. As for canon danger, where? We saw a Romulan science vessel eject their core and it managed not to suck the Enterprise and Romulans into a black hole. If I remember right, actually there was a nice boom. When the joint Cardassian/Tal Shiar fleet was being wiped out by the Dominion we did not see black holes popping up at the location of each destroyed Warbird. We did not see this during the Dominion War either.

 

 

But even if there are several such sites, putting one at an isolated allied station on the Breen border... This seems a stretch. If there are only a few singularity factories, i don't imagine that they are small, cheap and easy to operate.

 

Actually, being a remote outpost would be the reason they would. The remote location is why ships are being built here in the first place. It's far easier to build them here, supply them here, and maintain them here rather than traveling back and forth to "civilized" space. It is an even longer trip to Romulan space. Which is also why a Romulan crew would want a power source they know and understand rather than trying to figure out how some Starfleet steampot works in an emergency.

 

Again, these are all questions that Aegis' engineers and scientist will have to work on... and we only got the project a few days ago.

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Again, these are all questions that Aegis' engineers and scientist will have to work on... and we only got the project a few days ago.

 

Good nuff. I think Joy would keep an eye on the treaty aspects of the cloak, but otherwise let the engineers do their thing.

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A fine discussion here regarding Romulan Techonology and the Romulans themselves.

 

Please do continue..

 

-Precip

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Rihans have the discipline of their Vulcan cousins, but aren't bound by the non-emotion rules that are a part of the Vulcan society.

 

Romulan discipline is a curious notion, but one hardly placed on par with that of their Vulcan cousins.

 

To clarify, I had meant that discipline as applied to their military/political culture, not the mental discipline and less military minded outlook of the Vulcans.

 

See, here's the problem: the non canon Romulan novels of Duane show the Rihan culture - both military, political, and family and estate ties - in detail, while the canon television shows only touch on the culture, and typically we only see the military or political manuevering, with some concentration on the underground movements (rejoining the Vulcans) as showcased in the Spock "Unification" episodes of Next Gen. I understand that the Star Trek novels are non canon, and Star Trek TV shows are canon, but I feel as if the Duane novels showcase a possible Rihan culture much better, or rather give us a better overview to play with in the imagination.

 

I like the Romulans, and as an original Original Series species, they really have not gotten the exposure due them as the more popular Klingons have.

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We have been telling au this all along!! So what's the surprise?!!

 

So since you all now love us.....come sign up for the Talon, and we'll show you what 'real Rihannsu' are like. Real Rihannsu would not put up with those weak Federation notions however....nor halfbreed fvai.

 

We have been noticing alot of the Federation sims are all now playing with or as Romulans, so why not 'actually play' in a Rihannsu sim? It's that, or we start writing silly storylines about the Federation in return!

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It's that, or we start writing silly storylines about the Federation in return!

Now that I would like to see. ;)

 

I have always believed singularity drive's power would be good for straight line speed, but the mass would make for poor acceleration and poorer maneuverability. That, and the more one uses a singularity, the heavier it would become. One would have to replace it periodically? If one doesn't, the ever increasing mass results in slowly decreasing acceleration and cornering performance?

It depends on how exactly the ship extracts energy from the singularity. One way to do it is by harvesting the Hawking radiation emitted by the singularity (assuming Hawking radiation exists). There are other methods, but this one seems the most practical for a vessel, at least in my opinion. If this is the case, then the singularity is actually shrinking (evaporating) as it emits radiation. Then feeding more mass into the singularity merely maintains its optimal size rather than increasing its mass.

 

These are theoretically micro-singularities (since I don't think you'd want a macro-singularity anywhere near a ship), which means they don't pose much of a threat as a planet-based weapon. Micro-singularities emit the most Hawking radiation and thus evaporate very quickly (this is why concerns over the danger of the Large Hadron Collider producing a planet-gobbling black hole are unfounded). I can see how micro-singularities would be cool as vacuum weapons, since you could fire them at the hull of a ship and pepper it with pinpricks until the vessel depressurizes ... but I digress. I would be more worried about the weapons that people can actually power with the amount of energy they extract from their pet quantum singularity.

 

Once you start playing around with the absurd amounts of energies required for things like warp drive, you've pretty much signed any waiver of "safety." Just consider the transporter--its innate dangers are often lampshaded by paranoid characters, but the truth is, it really does disassemble your body into constituent atoms and reassemble you elsewhere. That is freaky, and unsafe. Quantum singularities just seem more dangerous because they're mysterious and misunderstood (sort of like the "bad boy" cool kids of the physics high school...).

 

I would expect that the Romulans will want to maintain as much secrecy and misinformation about their AQS system for as long as possible. Rather than disclosing any schematics to the other powers involved with the Aegis shipyard, I would think that the Romulans will regularly send as many pre-manfactured AQS drives as required, and a team of Romulan technicians will install the AQS systems aboard the ships.

 

I'm not thrilled with that one. Most antimatter-warp drive ships have a vague similarity in design, with the two nacelles common towards the rear and a central hull, usually with the habitable areas forward. Each culture has a variation on the theme, but I have a sense that Paramount wants people to think that all races are dealing with the same laws of physics. The Warbird design is unusual, cool, and alien. I've always thought that the very unusual design of the Warbird hull is a result of the unusual drive system. The notion that you can plug and play the two drive systems as modular replacements in the same hull to me makes the singularity drive somewhat less special and unique

While I agree with you in principle, I disagree with your reasoning.

 

The purpose of the warp nacelles is to generate a symmetric subspace field around a starship, causing the ship to go to warp. As you've observed, this design seems very common--probably because it's one of the easiest ways to generate a symmetric field, much like having two flat wings on either side of a plane is one of the easiest ways to generate lift. I've always thought that the glowing pods on either "wing" of a D'deridex Warbird were nacelles--someone correct me if I'm wrong.

 

In any event, the warp core is an incidental component of the warp drive itself. It's really just a glorified matter-antimatter reactor. The drive system is power-agnostic--all it needs is electroplasma to inject into the nacelles; it doesn't care if this plasma comes from a warp core or an AQS. So I can see us designing a ship that's able to use either power generation method with the same power distribution system.

 

Now, there may eventually arise other technical or diplomatic reasons that hinder the modular development of the ship's power systems ... we'll see.

 

Personally, I've always found the AQS unique and cool just because ... well, it's quantum. And not "quantum" like "quantum torpedoes, but honest-to-goodness funky quantum, with all the spatial-temporal side-effects this implies. We just need to slap a huge sticker on the side of the unit that says, "Warning: Going to warp voids the warranty."

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We have been telling au this all along!! So what's the surprise?!!

 

So since you all now love us.....come sign up for the Talon, and we'll show you what 'real Rihannsu' are like. Real Rihannsu would not put up with those weak Federation notions however....nor halfbreed fvai.

 

We have been noticing alot of the Federation sims are all now playing with or as Romulans, so why not 'actually play' in a Rihannsu sim? It's that, or we start writing silly storylines about the Federation in return!

 

Well, I played many moons ago on the Selok. And, I've played since somewhere in the mid 90's on a Romulan ship of another group.

 

But frankly, I do not like "Rihannsu" Romulans. I am not a fan of those novels. The language is horrid and sounds exactly like what it is, random letters crunched through a computer program. I can not tell you how much I hate that language, especially when it is overused to the point I don't know or even care anymore what someone is trying to say.

 

I am not a huge fan of TNG Romulans either, but can actually deal with them better. The why I play Romulans is based on the TOS Romulans. I play my Romulans as coming from the planet Romii. I do not consider this to be Remus or Rom2 as some have speculated. If you search Romii on Wiki it redirects you to Greek, specifically ancient Greeks. I keep to the idea that the Romulans are like the classical cultures of Greece and Rome.

 

Romulans were introduced during the time when Ben-Hur, Cleopatra, and many other Roman Empire based movies were all the rage. I think they were trying to capitalize on this. But, because Klingon makeup (at the time) was cheaper the Klingons got most all the airtime on TOS. By the movie times two things had happened. First, the Klingons were the popular villain and Japaneses culture (specifically Ninja's and Samaria) were all the rage. So, the Klingons got a cultural makeover (TOS Klingons were more like Cardassians then anything) as the "creatures of honor". This left the Romulans to fill the "unhonorable" alien role. Why? Because of the cloaking device. "They hide in shadows...they MUST be dishonest!" Of course the Klingons got cloaking devices too. (Romulans were suppose to be the bad guys in ST:III Search For Spock).

 

But back on the point, I play my Romulans holding to the TOS ideal. And, being from Romii... a place I believe left well alone in ANY ST book I can create the culture I believe to be true to this ideal, while leaving how others play Romulans as just "that culture over there". The one thing I do like about "The Romulan Way" is every other chapter which tells you the Rihannsu history. While I disagree with that history, I like that story telling style. (The actual story making up the other half of the book is weak and after finishing the history part I stuck that thing back on the shelf and haven't looked back). Anyway, I hope to one day write up "My" history of the Romulan people.

 

The Romulan people HAVE to be a people of many cultures. And it doesn't matter. We KNOW Romulans, by whatever name or culture are a superior people. The Romulan Commander in The Enterprise Incident knew that Spock, a Vulcan was better than anyone else on Enterprise. Even a distant cousin from a totally strange culture to a Very emotional Romulan is seen as better. That ONE stereotypical culture is portrayed both in canon and the Rihannsu books is just troubling to me. The portrayals of Romulans in the 2 TOS episodes were SO good and SO SO deep, it just makes me sad how stereotyped they are made.

 

"Our people are warriors. Often Savage. But we are also many other pleasant things."

-Romulans Commander, The Enterprise Incident.

Edited by Jorahl

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These are the AQS stats from the Talon's specs. I think they give a good idea of how it's suppose to work.

 

Artificial Quantum Singularity (AQS):

 

Rather than apply the commonly used matter / anti-matter propulsion configurations of the lesser races, the RES Talon (along with all other Romulan ships) is powered by an artificial quantum singularity (AQS). It is the main power source for the warp engines and all of the ship's primary systems. Though difficult to create, the AQS has proven to be more powerful and more efficient than standard matter / anti-matter engines.

 

The AQS is housed in a specially constructed chamber in main engineering and protected by several layers of shielding. Besides containing the AQS, the dense housing that surrounds it also serves as the initial fusion reactor. Shortly after installation, extreme amounts of energy, in the form of hydrogen isotopes, are fed into the containment structure. A graviton field helps contain those isotopes which fuse to form an independently fueled star. Stable for only a short period of time, the miniature star quickly burns itself out and collapses. The tremendous gravitational pull of the collapsed star causes the microscopic quantum singularity to form – a point in time and space where the laws of physics break down. Intense kinetic reactions within the singularity produce virtual quantum particles. Normally, such particles are formed in pairs (a particle and an anti-particle) and immediately annihilate one another. However, the nature of the gravitational field causes the particles to separate. One is absorbed back into the singularity while the other escapes the event horizon and transforms into an actual particle. The actual particle is then collected by Talon's systems as radiation energy and stored for use.

 

Though the AQS system produces higher levels of energy than the standard matter / anti-matter engines, it does have two significant drawbacks. First, operating a ship that has such a significant spatial anomaly within the core would be extremely difficult. The physics of the singularity are such that nearby matter is automatically ensnared by its gravitational forces. Such a pull would be disruptive to the function of the ship and serve to quickly destroy it from the inside. To compensate, a dampening field is placed around the AQS. By containing the singularity and its disruptions, the field effectively 'lightens' the burden by masking its very presence.

 

Secondly, creation of an AQS requires extremely precise conditions. The massive amounts of energy needed, coupled with the specific environmental settings required, make artificial singularity formation an impossibility except within a controlled environment. The Romulan homeworld of ch'Rihan is the only such place where such an environment exists. Attempting to form a singularity without proper equipment and training has always had disasterous results. Consequently, if any ship's AQS is ejected or exhausted (and providing that the resulting explosion is contained and does not destroy the ship), it cannot be recreated except on the homeworld.

 

Like all natural black holes and gravity wells, the AQS has a finite lifespan. The rate of evaporation is directly proportional to the amount of energy it radiates. Because artificial singularities are formed by forcing the natural creation process and are enhanced to produce greater amounts of energy, they also age at a greater speed. Once any singularity reaches the end of its life, it will explode violently as it releases the remainder of its energy. Though artificial singularities have significantly shorter lifespans than those formed naturally (around 10 million years), they are speculated to last an estimated 10,000 years. Galae regulations require all ships to be refitted with new propulsion systems every twenty to thirty years.

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