Maga Roma

Created by: Gene L. Coon, Gene Roddenberry, Garry Stahl, with a nod to Joe Manno.
Appearance: "Bread & Circuses" No appearance in Epiphany Trek yet.
Number of Members: 3 billion
Nature of Members: Humans to ten places.
Organization: Single World Empire
Game Role: People to pitch a fuss over.
World Role: Be themselves.
Relative Influence: Minor, a single world state with its technology artificially raised to warp drive level.
Public or Secret?: Hard to hide a planet.
Publicly Stated Goal: Rome is the the greatest thing that has ever happened, and don't you forget it.
Relative Wealth: Minor on the Galactic scale. A single planet.
Group advantages: A high opinion of themselves and willingness to endure what must be endured to make a stronger Roma.
Special Abilities: None
Group disadvantages: A high opinion of themselves combined with 22nd century warp ships and a 21st century information infrastructure on a 19th century industrial base.
Those who favor them: Themselves, Several Orion families rich off the trade. The League of Unaligned Worlds, for now.
Those opposed to them: The Federation, anyone opposed to being conquered, anyone against slave holding.
Location: -2/-0.55
Headquarters Location: New Rome, Magna Roma 
Public Face: The Roman Empire with Warp Drives
Notable Members: First Emperor Cassius Caesar: The former commander of the Pompeii military garrison. Legate Cassius Salaco had the most support (people with swords) when it came to choosing the new ruler.
*Senator Marcus Horulanus, later Emperor Marcus XIII: Founder of the law of succession.<BR>
*'Emperor Flavian XXIV: Founder of the warp drive project. He did not live to see it completed.<BR>
*Emperor Cassius XXXVII: Current Emperor and architect of the Empire. He hopes within his own lifetime to see another world added to the conquest of Roma.
History of the Organization: Magna Roma is a Preserver transplant. That much is understood. The point of transplant can even be extrapolated back to the Vesuvian eruption of 79 AD by the study of genetic drift. 
Citizens of Herculaneum, Pompeii and the surrounding area that would have died in the cataclysm found themselves waking from a drugged stupor in a replica of their cities and villages on a world far away.
Exploration soon proved that all roads no longer lead to Rome, indeed they ended shortly outside the immediate area. Imperial officials forestalling panic consulted quickly with priests and announced that the gods had saved them from death, and the city would henceforth be called Roma. After a brief period of political push and shove an Imperial official (with the most military support) was declared the New Emperor.
With a few thousand Humans on the whole planet the progress of Empire was greatly slowed. In the course of years slaves revolted and fled into the wilderness. The civilized area of Rome grew slowly at first and later with speed. They encountered the barbarian nations of their own making, and reconquered them.
In the 5th century after the transplant, and after the third bloody change in power of the year, Senator Marcus Horulanus proposed a new method of selecting the Emperor. They should vote on it as did the Athenians. No longer would the position be hereditary, but the vacancy should be filled from the members of the Senate, by vote of the Senators. After much debate and the threat of a military revolt, the resolution was passed and an oath taken by all to abide by it.
With time and new stability the world was slowly covered with Rome. New inventions slowly turned Rome into a technological society. Electrical power, mass communication, fast transportation, all these came into being.
Then came the USS Beagle. Proconsul Claudus Marcus attempted to keep the secret to himself, but Emperor Flavian XXIV has his own spies. After the USS Enterprise made it's brief visit Claudius Marcus met a slow, but informative end at the hands of Flavian's inquisitors.
The Federation placed Magna Roma under Prime Directive quarantine. A quarantine that the Orions broke as soon as they learned about it. At first the Orions thought they had found kindred souls. Rome looks and acts ever so much like Botchok.
However, they are wrong. The monkeys in this barrel while they will contend with each other have a greater goal, the supremacy of Rome. They tease, bribe, buy, and steal from the Orions, never giving as much as the Orions want, always taking all they can. Within 60 years of the Enterprise leaving Magna Roma has warp drives of local manufacture.
The Romans are a little put off, but not terribly surprised to learn they are the small dogs on the block. They knew the Orions and the Federation were out there, but not how big they really were.
In part as a reaction, and more as a cover, Magna Roma joined the League of Unaligned Worlds. While they believe this organization, if it can be called that, is pointless. After all if the Federation is a worthy Empire they will squash the League flat as is their right of might. No rabble of whiners will stop it. And you have to admire that even if you are getting squashed. However, for a minimum investment they get the maximum distraction from their real goal, which is to assimilate the other members.
Category:PlanetsCategory:LUWCategory:Epiphany TrekCategory:ST-OM