Star Trek Online lore: 2379 to 2384
It's rare for an MMO to bring with it a history as rich and generational as Star Trek. The Trek universe is as deep and rich with lore as Lord of the Rings or Star Wars, and just like both those titles the lore has been passed down from parent to child over generations now. This leaves any game which attempts to encapsulate that lore in a precarious situation of both having to remain close to the canon, yet leaving enough creative room for the player to feel like they're making a true difference in the universe.
And while we have yet to see if Star Trek Online lives up to the second part of that criteria, we can take a look at how they are moving the lore forward and dealing with the canocial events of past Trek incarnations. The main conduit for this lesson in lore has been through the sporadic postings of The Path to 2409 on the official STO website. However, there's a lot of information there and it's quite easy to get lost in it all.
So, let's take a look at the Star Trek Online timeline Cryptic has released thus far. To begin with, we'll go over the years 2379 through 2384.
Concerning the Star Trek movie
First off -- a note about the J.J. Abrams prequel movie. Star Trek Online takes place in the original universe timeline. That means the events of young Kirk and young Spock never took place in this universe. Things like the destruction of Vulcan never occurred in this timeline.
The STO timeline thus far
Star Trek Online will take place 30 years after the events of Nemesis. Some people are going to be dead that we're familiar with. Picard has probably passed (although we don't know this, I'm just speculating), and Riker would be about Picard's age in The Next Generation. A lot of questions about the individual history of characters from the shows will be answered once the lore of the game is cemented at launch, and it'll be interesting to take a look at it all then.
But more importantly, especially for the universe that STO will exist in, is the politics and cultural changes that will take place between the end of Nemesis and 2409. So without further ado, let's look at the first five years post-Nemesis.
2379 to 2380:
Romulan:
Government falls.
Three individuals/groups vie for power:
Tal'aura's group (former Senator)
Commander Donatra (lots of military fleets)
General Xiomek of the Remans
Tal'aura gets mad at Xiomek, so she orders the Reman homeworld to be blockaded; no food or supplies.
Federation:
Enterprise-E undergoes a refit. Most Enterprise crew we know leave for other assignments.
Female Changling Founder goes on trial for the Dominion War, committed to a maximum security penal facility.
Cardassian:
Post Dominion War, over 800 million Cardassians killed.
Economy is gone.
Rejects Federation aid, with one exception.
Andak project, Federation funded, works to restore Cardassia Prime's agriculture. Project is pushed forward by Elim Garak.
2381:
Romulan:
Civilization moving towards an open civil war.
Federation working with other major empires to control the situation.
Reman forces and Tal'aura forces are engaging in skirmishes.
Remans join forces with the Romulan/Vulcan Unification movement, Spock goes back to the Federation Council to plead his case.
Commander Donatra takes over a few planets and establishes a capitol on Archenar Prime.
Commander Donatra declares herself the first empress of the Imperial Romulan State.
Cardassian:
Bajor demands Cardassians stand trial for the crimes against Bajor and the Dominion War. Cardassia refuses.
Borg:
Increased activity in the Alpha Quadrant. Picard appointed to handle it, who asks Seven of Nine to join him.
Federation:
Stargazer-A star ship is completed, a new class of ships for scientific research and exploration.
2382:
Romulan:
Tal'aura accepts food shipments from the Federation.
Tal'aura reforms the Romulan Senate, although not to everyone's liking.
Federation council tables the Unification movement over objections from the Vulcans.
Klingon:
Klingons take advantage of the weakened Romulans and retake Khitomer.
Federation:
The Doctor (Emergency Medical Hologram from Voyager), sues to block the transfer of his mobile emitter.
Cardassian:
Bajoran demands for justice continue, and 472 Cardassians wanted by Bajor go "missing."
2383:
Romulan:
Riots over food shortages on Romulus.
Tal'aura's faction in some ways becomes weak because of the riots and political strife, but she's granted new powers as praetor to help build her up.
Spock returns to Romulus to be with the Unificationists.
Tal'aura's forces (under the rule of Commander Tomalak) suffer a major defeat against Donatra's forces.
Cardassian:
Sign agreement for aid from the Federation.
Ancient religions and cultural practices become popular, called Hebitian.
Two factions develop:
Oralians - Religious Hebitian group, outlawed by the Cardassian Union, wants spirituality and general peace.
True Way - Totalitarian group, wants the ways of the Cardassian Union to return.
Klingon:
Federation doesn't like the Klingon takeover of Khitomer.
Qo'noS recalls all ambassadors from the Federation, however Federation ambassadors are not ejected from Klingon space.
Federation:
Soong Foundation and the Daystrom Institute begin work on a mobile holographic emitter.
2384:
Romulan:
Federation strengthens the Neutral Zone because of the weakened Romulan government.
Sela replaces Tomalak as commander of Tal'aura's fleet. Sela was the principal Romulan involved with the House of Duras during the TNG era.
Tal'aura is murdered. More internal struggles happen throughout the Romulan empire. Sela blames Tal'aura's death on the Remans and the Unification movement (although no evidence is found at the time).
Klingon:
Gorn ship attacks the Klingons.
Klingons and Gorn are at the brink of war.
Federation:
Bajor renews their application for Federation membership.
B-4 is transferred to the Soong Foundation to fully restore his positronic net after he was deactivated post Enterprise-E era.
That's all for now. A lot more to come in the following days. Stay tuned!
