892-IV: A Brief Introduction

[Marcus Quintus 0]

The mid-2200s saw two discoveries which cast new light on interpretations of the classical world; coincidentally, both were made during the five-year mission of the U.S.S. Enterprise. One was the discovery of the planet 892-IV, a variant off the classical civilization of Rome initially thought to have been the result of an extreme case of Hodgkins' Law of Parallel Planetary Development. 892-IV, or as it was later learned to be called, Magna Roma (Greater Rome), was a replica of the Roman Empire with the equivalent technology of Earth's twentieth-century. The second was an encounter with a lifeform which identified himself as the Apollo, one of the beings which became identified as gods in the early days of Earth's classical civilization.

 

True "first contact" with Magna Roma did not go particularly smoothly. A private vessel, the S.S. Beagle, became stranded in the system, and the crew took up refuge on Roma with mixed results. Many of the crew were killed after they could not adjust to new lives on the planet, being identified as barbarians, but a few exceptions managed to blend into the society without incident. The ship's commander, however, was something of an exceptional case.

 

Using promises of knowledge of great technology and connections to alien powers to gain allies and prestige within the government, R. M. Merik (Latinized to Merikus) became the Princeps -- First Citizen -- a title preferred to "emperor" but carrying the same power and connotations. Behind Merik, however, was a native of the planet and political power, Claudius Marcus, the real authority behind the "barbarian" figurehead. When the U.S.S. Enterprise discovered the situation in 2268, their mission was primarily to ascertain the condition of the Beagle crew, and to extricate their officers once the infiltration and survey of the planet was discovered. It was unclear exactly whether the Romans aware of Merikus' non-Roman status were entirely cognizant of the fact that "barbarian" in his case meant "offworlder", but the idea certainly took hold in some circles, especially after contact with the Enterprise crew.

 

In 2295, following the development and mass-production of warp technology, officials in the Roman government began initiatives to make contact with the "outside" world -- the rest of the galaxy. The primary purpose behind this was to facilitate trade, thereby acquiring more advanced technology, coupled with an intense desire to learn more about the "aliens" possessing a culture with surprising echoes of their own.

 

Their long-range communication project (which, Starfleet later assured itself, had nothing to do with the fact that they left communication devices on the planet when Enterprise had departed) met with success, and contact was established between the Federation and the Romans. However, at this point in the proceedings, only a few, key players in the upper echelon of the government and the scientists responsible for the development of the communications array were aware of the project's existence. In response to the Romans' overtures, Starfleet dispatched the U.S.S. Challenger.