Star Trek Online - A History
To be honest with you, a few weeks ago I was all set to rip into Star Trek Online. I’ve been in game since closed beta, and I thought the chances of Cryptic ever managing to get STO into a decent playable state in time for launch were slimmer than convincing a Klingon to take up vegetarianism. However I’m happy to report, thanks to some around the clock work by the development teams, they really managed to pull it out of the bag.
We’ll have a full review up soon, but in preparation for that, I wanted to post a bit about the extensive work Cyrptic have done weaving STO into the Star Trek canon.
When is Star Trek Online Set?
Star Trek Online in the original Shatner/Kirk timeline (as opposed to the new JJ Abrams Pine/Kirk alternative movie timeline). Events take place in 2409, about 30 years after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis (putting it about 145 years after Star Trek: The Original Series). Cryptic have neatly timelined the history of the Star Trek universe from Nemesis, through the events of Abrams movie which lead to the current state of the galaxy.
Star Trek Online: A Brief History
In 2379 following the death of Praetor Shinzon (during the events of ST:Nemesis), Romulus and Remus are plunged into an all out civil war. Never ones to stay out of a good rumble, the Klingon Empire decides take advantage of the chaos and wade into Romulan territory, much to the disapproval of the Federation. On an opposing front, old Klingon rivalries with the Gorn Hegemony (later backed by the Norsicans) flair up into full blow war.
Ambassador Spock
In 2387 the galaxy is threatened by the Hobus star going supernova. Federation ambassador to the Romulans, Spock, proposes that the Romulans transport the precious mineral Decalithium to Vulcan, where they can convert it into ‘red matter’ capable of turning the star into a black hole, negating its threat. The Romulan senate refuse, however Spock finds an ally in Nero, the leader of the Romulan miners who agrees to secretly transport the Decalithium. On Vulcan, things don’t quite go as planned when the Vulcan Council vote against Romulan’s having access to red matter, infuriating Nero.
Returning to Romulus, Nero discovers Hobus has gone supernova (far faster than anyone thought possible) destroying Romulus, killing his wife and child. Driven mad with grief, he has his ship (the Narada) refitted with Borg technology, and goes to take revenge on the Vulcans, who he blames for failing to stop the supernova.
Spock takes a ship (known as the Jellyfish) which has now been fitted with the red matter weapon and destroys the supernova, only to be chased down by Nero. The Narada appears to attack Spock just as the black hole resulting from the supernova’s destruction appears to swallow both the Jellyfish, and the Narada… (see the 2009 Star Trek movie to see what happened to them!)
In 2391 what remains of the Romulan Empire finally manage to halt the invading Klingon forces at Zeta Pectoris.
In 2395, Ja’rod, lead of the Klingon house of Duras, is attacked by the 3 shapeshifting Undine (ST: Voyager’s Species 8472). Capturing and torturing one of his attackers, Ja’rod discovers the Undine’s planned to replace him on the Klingon High Command. This leads the Klingon’s to become even more aggressive and mistrusting of other races.
Orion
In 2402 the Klingon (now teamed up with the Orions) win a decisive victory over the Gorns/Norsicans, taking control of the Gorn homeworld. It’s only then do they discover that the Gorn Council had fallen foul of the Undine, who had been manipulating the Gorn’s into conflict with the Klingons. This results into the Klingon, Gorn, Norsicans and Orions all joining forces under the Klingon banner.
In 2404, the Klingons finding themselves emboldened by this new alliance decide to turn their attention to the Federation, invading the Hiromi Cluster, followed by invading the Archanis Sector in 2406… The Federation have no choice but to retaliate plunging the Klingons and Federation into a full blow war once again…
2409 – What happens next? You decide!
