Good questions. I don't know enough of Romulan culture to give you an answer. People I've talked with more familiar with their military would argue that Sela's ascension to commander wasn't realistic. We're later shown officers like N'Vek and Donatra who reach sub-commander and commander at later ages than she did. N'Vek's exact age isn't known, but Donatra was in her early fifties by the time she commanded the Valdore. The Romulan Commander from "Balance of Terror" seemed to be fairly old, having commanded "a hundred campaigns" by the time he faced-off against Kirk and the Enterprise. The irony is that he finally got to sit in the captain's chair as a leader in the Maquis, only to see his people slaughtered by the Dominion, something Sisko didn't hesitate to throw in his face during an argument: "Michael Eddington gets to take off his gold uniform and play hero. Well, you had your chance. And look where you led them, right into their graves!" I'm not sure if the writing was meant to tie in with their prior conversations, but it fits perfectly. If the writers took the time match up the dialogue, kudos to them for exemplary attention to detail! --Sran