Reman

Reman characters in Star Trek: Theurgy:

• Samala
• Lorad

Remans, the slaves of the Romulans. Their workers in the harshest conditions imaginable. Their warriors on the worst battlefields conceivable. Their bodyguards in the most treacherous hallways believable. A species whose history was lost, even to themselves. Yet one who was now fighting to reclaim their old identity and to establish a new one among the powers of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants.

Physiology

Reman physiology followed many of the same principles of other species in the galaxy. They were bipedal and possessed the same basic anatomical design as Klingons, Romulans, Humans and more. Their strength was biologically equivalent to a Romulan or a Vulcan but due to their environment, Remans often had a strength advantage over their oppressors. Their lifespan was also within the realm of 170-190 years, however few Remans lived to reach this age once weakness began to set in after 150 years. The Romulans had no use for a Reman who couldn't work. But their evolution on the planet known as Remus had also made them distinct.

Due to the tidal-locked nature of their homeworld, Remans evolved to live on the dark side of their planet. This lack of exposure caused them to develop enhanced hearing and night vision but at the expense of a weakness to bright lights ranging from discomfort to outright debilitating pain.

Their skin was often found to be a ghostly white due to lack of exposure to sunlight. However, the Remans that chose to live within the twilight zone of their world often developed tanned skin from the radiant light exposure. These same Reman also tended to have a greater resistance to light affecting their vision. An interesting note was that almost all non-hybrid Remans were completely 100% hairless.

A Reman's reproductive organs were quite similar to a Humans in regard to shape, appearance and function. A female's organs were visually hidden while the male's only point of distinction was the greater circumference of the glans penis in relation to the shaft. During copulation, a male's penis secreted a chemical that was absorbed by the vagina of the female which caused the muscles within the vaginal walls to pulsate and contract. When the male ejaculated, the large dump of this chemical caused the vagina to clamp shut around the penis, locking the participants together until the effects wore off. This, in fertile couplings, ensured an almost 100% pregnancy rate. The Romulans regarded this as evidence of the Remans' less-evolved nature.

Originally, Remans were a completely distinct species until the arrival of the Romulans. With the subsequent deposition of their criminals, and other undesireables, on Remus and the ensuing interbreeding that occurred, Romulans, and to a point Vulcans, were now the 'genetic cousins' of the Remans. This was best seen by their pointed ears and forehead ridges. It was rumoured that purebred Remans still existed on Remus, hidden from the Romulans to ensure their continued survival.

Another aspect of this interbreeding, more so the capability for it, was that the Remans possessed the same genetic markers from the Ancient Humanoid race that seeded life in the galaxy 4.5 billion years ago, that Humans, Romulans, Cardassians and Klingons all possessed. Biologically, Remans were able to interbreed with Romulans, Vulcans, Humans and Klingons, among others, without aid while minor assistance was required with other related species due to genetic drift.

Psychology

Image: Reman from the twilight zone of their planet, with a slightly less pale complexion.

The psyche of the Reman population had been moulded by their almost complete enslavement by the Romulans. They had, both individually and as a species, been beaten down, used, abused and discarded for over a millenium. This had caused a mentality of low selfworth to spread which, in turn, left much of the species with no hope. They simply existed, going from day to day as they lived their lives as their parents and others had before them.

On the other hand, when a Reman got a taste of freedom, a life out from under a Romulan's heel, they seized it tight and would do everything, anything to hold onto it. Many had even chosen to end their lives, either through combat or suicide, rather than return to the mines as a slave. More common, however, was the Romulans simply executing any renegade or rebellious Remans that they recaptured.

On an individual basis, Remans, like many species, displayed a wide range of personality types; both positive and negative.

Language

Reman was a complex language that used pictographs to represent certain verb roots, among other things. The construction of the language could be extremely puzzling to those who do not have any familiarity with it.

When spoken, the sentences were assembled in a somewhat odd manner, making translating into Reman confusing due to how words were used in context. Oddly, the reverse was not true and Reman translated to other languages without undue difficulty.

Homeworld

Remus, homeworld of the Remans, was the tidally locked 3rd planet in the Romulus System. The light side was uninhabitable while the dark side was heavily mined and inhabited by Remans. The darkside of the terminus was almost exclusively used for farming by those Remans with some adaptability for light.

Culture & Customs

The Reman culture, such as it was, encompassed their status in life as the indentured slaves to the Romulan Empire. Yet despite their ever-present overwatch, Remans had developed a culture built upon self-reliance and adaptability. To a Reman, their life could be upended at anytime and they must always be ready for what may come.

At the age of 5 years, all Remans were tested on their strength and coordination as well as their problem solving. After they passed, they were presented with their first shiv. If a child failed this test three times, they were cast into the mines to survive on their own. Some were adopted by other Remans but most perished in the depths. It was an extraordinary Reman to survive from that age in the Dilithium mines alone.

In each Dilithium mine, far from the light of the stars or the sounds of other Remans, was a pit. Here, condemned Remans were sent for punishment; working 10-hour shifts with only a single hour's rest in between. Any pause in their work was answered by a Romulan's lash. Few survived even 50 hours in the pit before dying of exhaustion.

A Reman's greatest possession, was his knife. It signified not only his survival of youth and but also his elevation above a common miner to a shock trooper. This knife could often be found passed down through the family line. The more times the knife had passed down through generations, the more prestige it and its owner's family gained. To lose the knife and not perish with it would bring great shame to the family member who lost it. Such shame was only removed by the penance walk into the light (walking across the terminus to the other side of Remus) by the family member who lost the knife.

History

Image: Armed Reman with protective eyeglasses.

The history of Remus was steeped in the bloodshed and death of its inhabitants Whether from their Romulan enslavers or from the weapons of their master's enemies, Reman history was one of suffering and conflict.

Knowledge of what Remus was like before the arrival of the Romulans had been lost to time. Some have suggested that the Remans were an organised but pre-industrial society. Others claimed a higher developmental and organisational level that the Romulans systematically destroyed during their subjugation of the planet. But the facts will almost assuredly never be known; thanks to the efficiency of the Romulans. The only knowledge the Remans themselves have of that period in their history came from a story told to each and every child born on Remus; a story of the arrival of the Romulans.

It was a peaceful night, with clear skies and bright stars. The adults were working while the children played when a cloudless thunder shook the sky. Everyone gathered together at this unprecedented and strange event. Soon, ships descended from the stars and stopped on the land near the villages. Strange folk with pointed ears and ridged foreheads came from them and the leaders of the Remans went out to speak with them.

A bargain was struck. Their world had resources that the Romulans wanted but that the Remans didn't need. But the Romulans were few and the Remans many. So, the Remans would gather these resources under the guidance of the Romulans and in turn, the Romulans would share their knowledge to allow the Remans to make life better for themselves. But the Remans were betrayed.

When the quotas began to increase without reason and the Remans couldn't meet them, the Romulans brought weapons that hurled light. They forced the Remans into the mines, leaving only enough to work the farms to feed them. They brought their criminals and left them among the Remans, despite having said they wouldn't. And when the Remans rebelled, the Romulans executed one out of every five Remans at random; regardless of age or gender.

From that day forward, the Remans were the slaves of the Romulans. They did as they were told without complaint or they faced the lash or worse, a disruptor. There were other rebellions throughout their history, each one of them ended with their population being culled at random.

It wasn't until after the Romulans tried to harness the strength and savagery of their slaves that the Remans learned to bide their time. They studied the history of other races under the guise of learning to fight them, to determine ways of freeing themselves from their oppressors. They began to work slowly, in secret, to prepare for the day when they would finally rise up against their Romulan masters and take their freedom by force. Because the Romulans would never give it to them.

Government & Technology

Image: Scimitar-class warbird. Image from Paramount.

Reman Governance, as an organisation, did not exist. Practically the entire species was subservient to the Romulan Empire. However, there were rogue groups of Remans that had gained freedom, either through force or subterfuge, who operated independently of the Empire. They limited communication between each other so that if one group was exposed, others did not share their fate.

Reman technology was mostly stolen from the other powers of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants and modified for their use. One of their few original technologies was a cloaking device that was 'perfect'. It emitted no tachyons and left no residual anti-protons; the two ways that a cloaked ship could normally be tracked and located. This cloak, if sufficiently powered (as by the Scimitar-class warbird), could allow a ship to use shields and weapons while cloaked with no detriment to its combat capabilities. It could also allow travel at high warp factors without compromising the vessel's stealth.

Military

Remans, for more than a millennium, had been a part of the Romulan Empire's military forces. However, their status as a slave caste had relegated them to the role of shock troopers. They entered combat first, often against numerically superior forces, to do as much damage as they could, all while sustaining heavy losses. And the Romulans do not care.

In the independent factions, their military abilities were varied in capability but similar in design. Most operated numerous Kestral-class shuttles or newer, Reman-designed, Hawk-class runabouts. Stolen Mogai-class ships had also begun to appear; though at great cost. The crown jewel of their military power was the Scimitar-class warbird. Three were built in a secret base on Bacury III. The Scimitar was destroyed by the Enterprise-E in the Bassen Rift. The status of the other two was unknown following the Romulan attack on the base. Ships from other powers (Eg. Klingons) were not unheard of but were considered extremely rare.

All Reman vessels were either designed with or retrofitted for a Reman Cloaking Device.

Training of Reman shock troopers was carried out by their most experienced warriors; either under the noses of Romulans or by the individual factions. Each trooper was highly trained in marksmanship, knifework and combat tactics. They also spent time learning the Remanised form of Kormerek; the Romulan martial art known for its brutality.

Mythology

Whether Remus had a religion before the Romulans arrived was a matter of debate among many of the educational and scientific institutions of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants. Some said that they would absolutely have had one while others were more cautious and said that it was not a sure thing. But one thing they all agreed on, was that after so much time as slaves to the Romulans, it was unlikely that their masters would have allowed a religion of any kind to develop and sustain itself. To do so could ultimately lead to a religious uprising.

Special Notes

Whether due to their interbreeding with Romulans or through their own evolution, approximately 25% of the Reman population developed telepathic abilities. However, less than 5% of this number lived to adulthood as the Romulans were well-known to execute any telepaths they discovered.