Captains log, stardate 99646.37
“Do you understand my meaning, Captain? We… are back." -Tebok
First revealed to the Federation and the wider galaxy in 2364, the decloaking of a D’deridex marked the end of the Romulan Star Empire’s fifty-three-year isolation. After that point, the D’deridex would quickly become one of the largest threats to any of the alpha and beta quadrant powers.
Making use of unique singularity warp drives and a horizontally split "shell" hull design, with a prominent forward section, the D’deridex reached a whopping length of 1353 meters making this a truly massive ship and the first large base ship in my Star Trek Armada "expansion".
D’deridex-Class Tal Shiar Command Ship:
As the watchful eyes of the Star Empire, the Tal Shiar need a strong head to operate from. Although rarely fully under the control of Tal Shiar operatives, sometimes key members would hold positions on these warbirds and have sway over their actions. Their well-rounded arsenal makes them both effective warships and command ships for any Tal Shiar agents that may be on board.
D’deridex-Class Warbird:
Reorienting their disruptor banks and torpedo tubes forward compared to the first variant, the Warbird variant packs a devastating punch that can rival even the deadliest of Klingon warships. Like its other variant, the Romulan bureaucracy does slow down the speed on their actions compared to others.
IRW Khazara:
Secretly sent on a special mission to allow some Romulans to defect to the Federation, the Khazara is able to risk dropping its shields for a cloak or transport as any ship who tries to take the opportunity to attack them will find it harder to modify their dice.
IRW Haakona:
Sent to intercept the Enterprise D’s sisters ship around Iconia, the Haakona later tried to download the Enterprise's logs but caught the same Iconian virus the ship had. Her title lets her again attempt to download information from other ships, however at a risk.
Sela:
The half Romulan half-human daughter of Tasha Yar, Sela was a brutal and skilled commander in the Star Empire. Her presence inspired fear and loyalty amongst her troops, and although not a part of the even more feared Tal Shiar. Her tactics were sometimes similar, taking out weak members of her troops to encourage better work from the rest, and her commander card lets her do that again!
N’Vek:
Although a part of the Khazara’s mission, N’Vek was still a skilled officer, and thanks to his work with Deanna Troi, he was able to skilfully transport the defecting Romulans to the Enterprise D. Because of this, his upgrade allows him to slip boarding teams through a single point of shields.
Selok:
Sent on a secret missions to infiltrate the Federation as the Vulcan ambassador, Selok would later return to her people despite the operation being discovered. Because of her long term role as a spy, she can aid her fleet by forcing her opponent's ships to have their first set command dials revealed allowing her, and her fleet the knowledge to counter her opponents first moves.
Mendak:
As a part of the operation to retrieve Selok, Mendak would have been poised to act on her information. Thanks to this he can quickly devastate key enemy ships in his reach before they even activate.
Singularity Engineers:
The ships of the Romulan fleet were famed for using a strange form of warp speed propulsion, the Artificial quantum singularity reactor. This was essentially a contained singularity (black hole) used to manipulate space around the Romulan ships to achieve warp speed. Although not stated, I believe these drives could also be used to slow down other surrounding ships, both to the benefit of allies or the annoyance of enemies.
Tal Shiar Hijackers:
The silent knife behind the strong Romulan back, the Tal Shiar, was the true strength of the Romulan Star Empire. Their agents gather countless amounts of information from their enemies, slipping in unnoticed, wreaking havoc, getting their info, then slipping out again. This boarding card ensures you benefit from another ship's command once their shields are down.
Under The Tal Shiar’s Watchful Eye!:
Although skilled at espionage against the Romulans' rivals, the Tal Shiar also ensured loyalty at home as well. They did this through fear and making the disloyal disappear. When they did, others would soon ensure they were working twice as hard to make sure they weren't next.
This upgrade lets you do this by discarding your useless crew to increase your overall ship strength, just don't ask where those crews go…
The D’deridex is truly a ship to be feared, combining its imposing size, massive arsenal, tenacious crew and cunning leaders, this ship will make any of the other Alpha and Beta Quadrant powers think twice about meddling with the Romulan Star Empire!
Points:
I've taken inspiration from Star Wars X-Wing 2.0 and not included points on the ship cards so I can adjust them in the future!
You can find the points for every ship and upgrade on this document!
If you like the look of this ship and cards and wish to use them, please go here to find my D’deridex-Class Ship Pack for sale at only £1. It includes all the files for all the cards in this article as well as the ship base plates so you can print them out and use this ship in the game.
The cost is to fund my purchase of some test ship models from Shapways as I'm working with Armadillo Miniatures to hopefully bring the community star Trek Armada ships that are scaled to the game! Please check out their already wonderful store!
Thank you for reading,
Computer, end log.