Spoilers Enterprise, Romulan War... Two Questions...

[Shikarnov]

At the behest of some posters in the Enterprise forum, I decided to start reading Enterprise novels surrounding the war. Unfortunately, although I thought I was starting in the right place, I appear to have picked up the series in the middle with Romulan War: Beneath the Raptor's Wing... So my first question is:

What book should I really get to begin the story arc? Does Kobayashi Maru kick it off, even though it's unlabeled as part of the Romulan War series?

My second question is more about a detail -- hence the Spoiler tag...

In reading a few chapters into Beneath the Raptor's Wing, I learned that Trip had been sent into Romulan territory as a spy. He had medicine to change his blood green, and had forehead ridges and pointed ears... The whole nine yards...

Anyway, if, as according to Balance of Terror, "no human, Romulan, or ally has ever seen the other," (a plot point the producers of Enterprise seemed to try to respect), how did the doctors know how to alter Trip's appearance? Does everybody know that the Romulans are Vulcanoid in the novels?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Christopher]

At the behest of some posters in the Enterprise forum, I decided to start reading Enterprise novels surrounding the war. Unfortunately, although I thought I was starting in the right place, I appear to have picked up the series in the middle with Romulan War: Beneath the Raptor's Wing... So my first question is:

What book should I really get to begin the story arc? Does Kobayashi Maru kick it off, even though it's unlabeled as part of the Romulan War series?

The Romulan War arc in the novels includes The Good That Men Do, Kobayashi Maru, The Romulan War: Beneath the Raptor's Wing, and The Romulan War: To Brave the Storm, in that order.

Anyway, if, as according to Balance of Terror, "no human, Romulan, or ally has ever seen the other," (a plot point the producers of Enterprise seemed to try to respect), how did the doctors know how to alter Trip's appearance? Does everybody know that the Romulans are Vulcanoid in the novels?

This is explained in The Good That Men Do. Spock believed that no human or ally had seen a Romulan, because that's what history records, but the books' premise is that there were spies and infiltrators on both sides, with their actions not being recorded by later history. (In fact, the end of the episode "Kir'Shara" revealed that there was at least one Romulan agent undercover on Vulcan, and the Babel One trilogy shows that the Romulans had abducted an Aenar, so it's canonical that some Romulans encountered allies of humans.) So it's a rare instance where Spock was wrong.

 

[Idran]

It's a little more than that, even, when it comes specifically to Trip's plastic surgery. Trip was sent by Section 31 to Adigeon Prime (a neutral intermediary with high expertise in genetic modification and medicine) to be altered to resemble a Romulan, and I believe it was a surprise to both him and his partner after they got out of surgery that Romulans were Vulcanoid? I know it was a surprise to Harris when Trip revealed that to him.

(You are still right, Christopher, but since they asked specifically about Trip's doctors I thought I'd fill them in on that specifically.)

 

[Shikarnov]

Thanks @Christopher for the detailed answer. And to @Idran for expanding on it. I'll start on The Good That Men Do tonight.