The Romulans are members of the Romulan Star Empire, which is located on the outskirts of the galaxy. While little is known of the Empire as a whole, we do know that it encompasses several solar systems. The Romulans are an off-shoot of the Vulcan race, but lost contact with the Vulcans in the distant past. The two races are physically almost identical, and it is extremely diffcult to tell them apart, even with sensor readings.
Romulans are highly militaristic, aggressive by nature, ruthless in warfare, and do not take captives. The Star Empire is a dictatorship, with sme similarities to the warrior-stoic philosophies of Earth's ancient Roman Empire. Their equivalent of a starship captain carries the title "Sub-Commander." The generic title of all Romulan Officers translates into English approximately as "Centurion." A "Commander" is one who commands an entire fleet.
There is complete equality between the sexes; women are as often found in command of a ship as are men.
Due to a recent alliance, the Romulans are primarily armed and equipped with Klingon weapons, ships, material, etc. The combination is posing a serous security problem to United Federation of Planets. An uneasy peace exists between the Star Empire and the Federation and is based on a prolonged war which occurred about 100 years ago. The conflict was inconclusive, and eventually baoth sides decided to put an end to hostilities. A peace treaty wa negotiated (entirely by sub-space radio--there wa no physical contact during the negotiations), and a neutral zone established between the two combatants. Entry into the neutral zone is considered an act of war. The treaty has remained unbroken, except for one major incident. ("Balance of Terror")
It is hard to hate the Romulans completely, as they often display enormous courage. Although members of a warrior society in which the strong surive, they live their beliefs with great intergrity.
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