The V’Ger Incident: What Would the Romulans Have Done?

[Captain Clark Terrell]

I thought about this while re-watching “Balance of Terror.” Had V’Ger passed more closely to Romulan space, how would the Romulans have reacted? Would they have opted for a frontal assault, as the Klingons did, or would they have used more caution, as did Kirk and company?

My impression is that they’d have used their cloaking technology to circumvent some of V’Ger’s defenses and would thus have avoided being digitized, but I’m not sure how they would have addressed the problem of V’Ger itself, as the Voyager probe wasn’t developed by Romulans. Maybe they’d have opted to self-destruct, as Mark Lenard’s character did.

Other thoughts?

 

[StarCruiser]

I very much doubt that the cloaking device would work against V'Ger's advanced technology. They'd be spotted light years away...

 

[Maurice]

Perhaps they would have noticed this impossiby huge thing was headed for Earth and shrugged.

The Klingons firing never made any sense. Why shoot at this thing? They have sensors, they must have detected the "12th power energy field" and realized their puny weapons would be like hitting a mountain with amoebas. What did they possibly hope to accomplish, other than draw attention to themselves?

 

[jaime]

Perhaps they would have noticed this impossiby huge thing was headed for Earth and shrugged.

The Klingons firing never made any sense. Why shoot at this thing? They have sensors, they must have detected the "12th power energy field" and realized their puny weapons would be like hitting a mountain with amoebas. What did they possibly hope to accomplish, other than draw attention to themselves?

Those three ships were on token ‘fire at anything that invades our space, even if we can’t possibly win’ detail.
Defends the honour of the empire, gives them something to brag about if they survive, and if they don’t...well, no real loss, how do you think they got the job?

 

[Damian]

Those three ships were on token ‘fire at anything that invades our space, even if we can’t possibly win’ detail.
Defends the honour of the empire, gives them something to brag about if they survive, and if they don’t...well, no real loss, how do you think they got the job?

Yeah, I agree. It seems futile but at that time Klingons were much more aggressive and I can see them attacking anything that violated their space.

Also, I wouldn't assume they would find the same things the Enterprise did in their scans. Starfleet sensors were more advanced then Klingons by that time, Klingons were more interested in weaponry and offensive systems that scientific systems.

I very much doubt that the cloaking device would work against V'Ger's advanced technology. They'd be spotted light years away...

Yeah, I have to think that wouldn't be an issue for V'Ger. The Klingons also had cloaking technology, and they didn't bother using theirs.

I think the Romulans would have been a bit more reserved. They've always been more calculating. My guess is if they learned it was heading for Earth and as long as it didn't threaten any Romulan installations they probably would not have interfered. Though I'm sure they would keep an eye on it until it exited Romulan space.

Now substitution the Romulans for the Enterprise, I'm not sure a Romulan ship would have been allowed in. Don't forget the Enterprise barely made it in at the last moment. V'Ger was ready to destroy them until they finally learned how to send a friendship message. They had to go to a good deal of trouble to get that message across. I'm not sure the Romulans would have went to the trouble, or even been aware of V'Ger's communication. It took Spock to figure out how V'Ger was communicating with them after all. Any Romulan ship probably would have been destroyed without ever entering the cloud. But if by some miracle they did make it in, then yeah, I'd think a Romulan would self destruct and try to take the alien with them. While not as overtly aggressive as Klingons, they still wouldn't go to a great deal of trouble to learn about them. They would see if they could turn anything of V'Ger to their advantage and failing that, would attempt to destroy it.

 

[Kor]

The Rommie bridge officers would be arguing about whose judgement prevails, with much chest puffing as well as warnings to be cautious about powerful friends.

Kor

 

[Captain Clark Terrell]

I'm not sure the Romulans would have went to the trouble, or even been aware of V'Ger's communication. It took Spock to figure out how V'Ger was communicating with them after all.

But Spock was already somewhat plugged into V’Ger because of the thought patterns he sensed while still on Vulcan. Given the physiologic similarities between Vulcans and Romulans, it’s possible that someone else would’ve sensed V’Ger’s intentions, realized that V’Ger was attempting to communicate and then sent a response

Any Romulan ship probably would have been destroyed without ever entering the cloud. But if by some miracle they did make it in, then yeah, I'd think a Romulan would self destruct and try to take the alien with them.

One I wonder about is whether the Romulans would have used the quantum singularity powering their warp drive to take out V’Ger as opposed to the nuclear device seen in BoT.

While not as overtly aggressive as Klingons, they still wouldn't go to a great deal of trouble to learn about them. They would see if they could turn anything of V'Ger to their advantage and failing that, would attempt to destroy it.

I don’t know. The TOS-era Romulans seemed to be the Federation’s intellectual equal, so I could see them taking a more thoughtful approach to V’Ger, though I agree they’d also have tried to exploit its technology to gain an advantage over the Federation.

 

[Damian]

But Spock was already somewhat plugged into V’Ger because of the thought patterns he sensed while still on Vulcan. Given the physiologic similarities between Vulcans and Romulans, it’s possible that someone else would’ve sensed V’Ger’s intentions, realized that V’Ger was attempting to communicate and then sent a response



One I wonder about is whether the Romulans would have used the quantum singularity powering their warp drive to take out V’Ger as opposed to the nuclear device seen in BoT.



I don’t know. The TOS-era Romulans seemed to be the Federation’s intellectual equal, so I could see them taking a more thoughtful approach to V’Ger, though I agree they’d also have tried to exploit it’s technology to gain an advantage over the Federation.

I don't think the Romulans had any mind melding abilities though. V'Ger somehow attracted Spock's attention through that ability I thought. Also I'm not sure if the Romulans were using their quantum singularity drive at that point in time. I don't recall them having the technology yet. I agree they may have taken a more thoughtful approach, certainly compared to Klingons of the time, but I think it would all have been geared toward how it would gain them an advantage, as opposed to any purely scientific reasons. If the same thing happened to Romulus and V'Ger deployed it's weapons and a Romulan vessel was inside the alien instead of the Enterprise...I think once they realized they couldn't gain an advantage they'd blow up the ship in the hopes of taking out V'Ger. I think that's where any similarity to how Starfleet approached the problem would end.

 

[Captain Clark Terrell]

I don't think the Romulans had any mind melding abilities though.

I’ve never bought into this idea, as Romulans and Vulcans diverged only two thousand years before TOS. Romulans might not use their mind-melding abilities, but it’s hard to believe they don’t have them.

 

[Maurice]

Some of you guys are retconning. When TMP came out it had not been established that the Klingons were all into "honor" etc. in the way cited. "Only a fool fights in a burning house" is where we with them at the end of the original series, and it had not been established that they had cloaks until ST3 with the Bird of Prey specifically.

 

[Captain Clark Terrell]

Some of you guys are retconning. When TMP came out it had not been established that the Klingons were all into "honor" etc. in the way cited. "Only a fool rights in a burning house" is where we with them at the end of the original series, and it had not been established that they had cloaks until ST3 with the Bird of Prey specifically.

If anything, it was the Romulans who were portrayed as the more honorable race in TOS, with Mark Lenard’s character sacrificing himself in the name of duty and Joanne Linville’s character developing a grudging respect for Kirk (though her relationship with Spock was much more complicated). The Klingons, on the other hand, were busy sneaking around poisoning grain shipments to gain an advantage over the Federation.

 

[ConRefit79]

I think the Romulans would have sent one ship to make contact. Probably cloaked. But would have died anyway.
Hate to hijack, but I wonder how they retcon to explain V-Ger making it through Borg space. I can’t see the Borg giving up on such advanced tech. Klingon and Romulans are in the Beta Quadrant. And the movie said it emerged from a black hole on the far side of the galaxy. So it likely traveled through the Delta quadrant.

 

[Markonian]

In the Star Trek: Nero comics, the Romulan Nero apprehends V’ger early, at the border to the Delta Quadrant. He uses his reawakened telepathy and sacrifices a Human to strike a deal with V’ger. The probe then continues on its course, presumably bothering Kelvin-Earth in 2273, too.

 

[Captain Clark Terrell]

And the movie said it emerged from a black hole on the far side of the galaxy. So it likely traveled through the Delta quadrant.

Kirk hypothesized that V’Ger emerged on the far side of the galaxy, but this was never definitively proven.

 

[Discofan]

I thought about this while re-watching “Balance of Terror.” Had V’Ger passed more closely to Romulan space, how would the Romulans have reacted? Would they have opted for a frontal assault, as the Klingons did, or would they have used more caution, as did Kirk and company?

My impression is that they’d have used their cloaking technology to circumvent some of V’Ger’s defenses and would thus have avoided being digitized, but I’m not sure how they would have addressed the problem of V’Ger itself, as the Voyager probe wasn’t developed by Romulans. Maybe they’d have opted to self-destruct, as Mark Lenard’s character did.

Other thoughts?

I doubt anything else than psychology would have worked against V'ger as it had more advanced technology than anything else in the quadrant. If the Romulans had tried to circumvent its defenses with any of their usual ruses, it would have failed lamentably and V'ger would have volatilized them as easily as he did the Klingons.

 

[Nerys Myk]

If anything, it was the Romulans who were portrayed as the more honorable race in TOS, with Mark Lenard’s character sacrificing himself in the name of duty and Joanne Linville’s character developing a grudging respect for Kirk (though her relationship with Spock was much more complicated). The Klingons, on the other hand, were busy sneaking around poisoning grain shipments to gain an advantage over the Federation.

They still snuck across the border to test a new weapon and reignite a war. One guy choosing to die with his ship rather than be rescued and imprisoned doesn't make the whole race honorable. Admitting someone out smarted you doesn't translate into honor either.

 

[Maurice]

Borg shmorg.

They still snuck across the border to test a new weapon and reignite a war. One guy choosing to die with his ship rather than be rescued and imprisoned doesn't make the whole race honorable. Admitting someone out smarted you doesn't translate into honor either.

Exactly. And if you watch The Enemy Below from which BOT was baldly ripped off you realize that the Commander is an old Reichsmariner forced to undertake actions dictated by a ruling party/ruler/Praetor/Führer he does not agree with. How many Romulans are sympathetic to his view we simply have no idea.

 

[Captain Clark Terrell]

One guy choosing to die with his ship rather than be rescued and imprisoned doesn't make the whole race honorable.

Perhaps not, but it does illustrate that Romulans are willing to give their lives in service to their government, which is honorable in its own way. We may not agree with their empire’s goals, but that doesn’t invalidate the Romulans’ commitment to them. I suspect I’m in the minority, but I found the TOS Romulans much more relatable than any era’s Klingons. For all their talk about honor, the Klingons seemed to actually have very little.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Perhaps not, but it does illustrate that Romulans are willing to give their lives in service to their government, which is honorable in its own way. We may not agree with their empire’s goals, but that doesn’t invalidate the Romulans’ commitment to them. I suspect I’m in the minority, but I found the TOS Romulans much more relatable than any era’s Klingons. For all their talk about honor, the Klingons seemed to actually have very little.

I don't see much honor in serving and dying for a government who's actions you don't respect or approve of. He's not willing to stand.
You're suppose to feel for the BOT Commander, with his war weariness and talk of being friends in a different world. He's the tragic/sympathetic villain trope.

 

[Timo]

The Commander in "BoT" does not die for his government. He knowingly betrays his government by choosing to die.

Living would have best served his duty of igniting the projected war. Dying defused that war and collapsed the plans of the Praetor. Which was the Commander's stated aim from early on: he wanted to betray his bosses in order to avoid war.

Is this honorable or not? The answer is as vague as the question, as vague as anything relating to the ill-defined word. But all of "BoT" consists of betrayal: sneak attacks, infighting, contradictory aims, unwillingness to perform one's assigned duty or to bend to the command hierarchy. Every Romulan character is principally defined by this. Loyalties are split and hardly appear virtuous. At the very best, we could grant that the Centurion character lacks the screen time to reveal his lack of honor.

Frankly, I can't see how this "Romulans and Klingons flipped traits" thing ever got started. It's this "Klingons gradually develop an honor code which they then have always had" thing instead. Which is pretty much how honor codes ITRW come to being, too, "having always been there" in creatively written retrospect.

Timo Saloniemi