Battle of New Romulus

The first **Battle of New Romulus** during the Iconian War occurred on the first day of direct hostilities between the Alliance and the Iconian Empire, also known as the *Day of Air and Darkness*, in which nearly a quarter of the combined Alliance fleet was destroyed, a significant portion of which were lost in this battle. It was one of the largest battles of the entire war, and one of the largest battles in Federation history, displaced only by the Battle at the Herald Sphere and the Battle at Midnight later that same year.

# Background

The Iconian invasion was launched at Stardate 92947.82 across most of the known galaxy. The first major priority target was New Romulus, an attack which began with the Battle of Starbase 234, in which allied forces were forced to retreat after the Federation Starbase was destroyed. Alliance forces were prepared for the invasion, but as feared by Fleet Admiral Quinn, the Iconian Gateways allowed them to pick and choose their battles before the Allied fleet could properly respond. Despite this, the primary defense plan was put in motion. Assuming that either Earth, Qo'noS, or New Romulus would be the priority target, Fleet Admiral Michael Jonas was deployed to the Japori Sector to gather a massive fleet and launch a counter attack once the primary target was known.

Among the forces gathered was Task Force Avalon of The 26th Fleet, who were initially assigned to defend The Outback. When it became clear that the Iconians at the time held little interest in the dwarf galaxy, Task Force Avalon had entered the Beta Quadrant through the wormhole to assist in the defense.

# Assault on New Romulus Orbit

The Herald fleet arrived in overwhelming force in orbit of New Romulus, with only a reinforced Republic Home Flotilla and planetary defenses present for defense, a force of 371 warbirds. Under the direction of T'Ket and M'Tara, the Herald were highly aggressive, and were threatening New Romulus directly within minutes. Seeing that he did not have near the force necessary to properly defend, Admiral tr'Vona ordered all of his remaining warbirds to disengage and cloak. In order to protect the homeworld as best as possible, he began to use guerilla tactics against the Herald fleet, attacking isolated groups performing hit and runs using their cloaking devices to hamper the Herald invasion of New Romulus until reinforcements could arrive, and gradually reinforcements did, including the Federation Delta Flight, led by Captain Tom Paris, and other nearby warbirds.

Unfortunately, this was not enough to stop the attack on New Romulus. Main defenses were destroyed from orbit, followed by a ground incursion in the Dewan ruins. Smoke from the fires near and in the capital city could be seen from space. Though reinforcements arrived, the sheer size of the Herald force made it impossible to uproot them, though tr'Vona was fully aware of the Alliance defense plan, and thus knew that a major fleet would be en route to defend New Romulus.

## Herald Redeployment

Admiral tr'Vona was unable to contact Alliance Command due to the battle, and thus did not know exactly when the Alliance fleet would arrive, nor could he inform them of the current situation. Eight hours after initial engagement, the vast majority of the Herald fleet disengaged from New Romulus and moved to the edge of the system toward the New Romulus system's powerful bowshock from its orbit around the galactic core. Although the bowshock had sensor masking properties which preventing tr'Vona from being aware of what was beyond its veil, he accurately deduced that the Alliance fleet must be approaching from that angle, hoping to catch the Herald fleet off guard by traveling at maximum warp through the bowshock and arriving at New Romulus less than a minute after.

The fact that the Herald were moving in that direction implied that the ambush was about to be reversed, as the Alliance fleet would not detect the Herald fleet there until it was too late. Admiral tr'Vona immediately dispatch a warbird to get out of the system and warn the alliance fleet, but they established contact too late to prevent the Herald ambush. Although greatly concerned for the Alliance fleet, civilian casualties and other interests on New Romulus compelled him to remain in the inner system to lift the siege and secure the ruins with the help of survivors from the Battle of Starbase 234. In addition, he could not be immediately certain if the Alliance fleet had yet arrived or if this movement was unrelated. It is unknown if tr'Vona would have committed his forces to reinforce the Alliance fleet once the battle began, as unfortunately he was killed in action only minutes after these commands were given when his flagship was destroyed by T'Ket's dreadnought.

# The Battle at the Bowshock

The bulk of the Alliance fleet, consisting of almost 3,000 ships under the command of Fleet Admiral Michael Jonas. He divided the fleet into three primary groups, designated the vanguard commanded by Vice Admiral zh'Elshara, the main fleet commanded by Jonas himself, and rearguard commanded by Admiral Relsyn t'Valasia. The main fleet then had three detached groups deployed to cover the flanks, one of which consisted of Task Force Avalon and Task Force Theirr, and another consisted of most of the Klingon forces under Captain Ch'Tal Korath.

## Approach to New Romulus

Per the plan of Fleet Admiral Jonas, the fleet was to proceed at New Romulus, angling through the bowshock, at maximum warp. Some objected due to the at best two-way nature of the bowshock, and at worst it did not affect the Herald ships the same way, and they had no idea of knowing which it was due to a general lack of knowledge of the Herald fleet's capabilities, having only just engaged it within only just the past few hours. In addition, they had no contact with the ships currently at New Romulus to know the Herald fleet's disposition.

Jonas made an assumption that they would remain in orbit of New Romulus as the last report indicated, barring a change in situation. The New Romulus gravity well, as well as the planet itself, could be used as an advantage, thus to Jonas it was most advantageous to try to set the engagement there, rather than approach differently and let the Herald set up for a direct battle on a level battlefield and force a battle of attrition. In addition, Jonas had full knowledge of highly classified files regarding what was at the Dewan ruins, and reasoned out from the reports of a heavy focus on the ruins that this was most likely a critical objective for the Iconians. Without a decisive move, the fleet would be caught in a prolonged battle, unable to lift the siege of New Romulus until the Herald had likely completed their objective there. Because of this, Jonas maintained his orders in full knowledge of the risks, though not all group commanders were made aware of his full reasons.

Roughly one minute from the bowshock, two minutes from New Romulus, some ships of the fleet began reporting anomalies within the bowshock itself. These were brought up to the fleet command level, but gave no definitive indication of Herald activity. Jonas elected to continue forward. Only seconds from crossing the threshold, a few ships gained solid readings of a significant mass signature located just beyond the bowshock itself which could only be interpreted as a massive fleet, word of which reached Captain T'Molina in command of Task Force Avalon. With no time to explain, T'Molina attempted to issue an emergency drop to impulse power to the entire fleet, an order which was immediately and angrily countermanded by Fleet Admiral Jonas. Only Task Force Avalon followed the order. Jonas demanded an explanation, but was cut short by warp core breaches directly ahead when the vanguard force ran directly into the Herald fleet.

## Herald Ambush

The Herald's opening volley destroyed nearly 100 starships instantly, including Vice Admiral zh'Elshara's flagship, the USS *Antila*. Jonas ordered an all stop. The forerunners of the Herald fleet formed a wedge and drove through the broken vanguard formation directly into the main fleet, aiming for Jonas' own flagship, the USS *Lexington*. The rest of the Herald fleet engaged the remnants of the scattered vanguard. Of the Alliance fleet, only the rearguard and Task Force Avalon were not immediately engaged by Herald forces, while the rest, approximately 2,300 ships, were engaged at distances of less than 1,000 kilometers, for all intents point-blank.

On the Iconian side, the number of ships and the tenacity of their opponent proved surprising. This maneuver was expected to quickly rout the allied fleet, but instead the allied fleet retaliated in response, and with so much firepower within so short a range, the result was chaos and carnage.

*"In an environment that rich in targets all visible out the windows to the naked eye, tactical thinking almost goes out the airlock. All you can do is order fire at will and pray."*

*- Michael Jonas*

After the initial trades of fire, some measure of respite formed as the masses of proximity torpedo detonations and warp core breaches blinded sensors. Dust and debris created further obscured against long range fire, as well as an intense environment of electronic countermeasures deployed by the surviving ships, particularly the Starfleet science ships. Communications were similarly obscured, not only by the battle itself, but by a continuous stream of confused shouting of orders and requests for orders. Captain T'Molina responded by informing the fleet that Task Force Avalon was moving to flank the charging Herald force. The rest of the fleet responded with similar aggression.

## Task Force Avalon Flanking Action

The flank committed by Task Force Avalon proved reasonably effective. Though it did little to dissuade the Herald forces, Task Force Avalon was able to pick off dozens of Herald ships while taking minimal damage, at times their force of 73 ships was engaged by as little as 10 Herald ships at a time. The communications jamming left the Herald late to respond to the flank, their flagships focused instead on other areas. L'Val's flagship was focusing on other leaders based on prior observations, engaging in a headhunting operation to systematically remove allied fleet commanders down the chain of command, during this time killing Admiral Enlin Kavras and Relsyn t'Valasia. Meanwhile, the USS *Lexington* was heavily damaged and had lost all escorts. Fleet Admiral Jonas was being targeted next.

Again, Task Force Avalon responded, with a full impulse order spearing ahead of the Herald's main force to place a screen between the *Lexington* and the heavier Herald ships. Fast escort elements from the task force, led by the USS *Tavistock* and USS *Axalon*, moved to provide close support to the *Lexington* and clear a number of Herald Frigates from her vicinity. Their actions ultimately saved the *Lexington* and Fleet Admiral Michael Jonas. Unfortunately, the Fleet Admiral was injured during the battle, and lay unconscious as medical teams tended him. With no other clear commander on scene, Captain T'Molina declared that she was taking command of the fleet only to immediately be fired upon by L'Val's arriving flagship.

## USS *Destiny*

It was at this stage that the Iconians made full use of their ultimate weapon: the gateways themselves. By opening gateways in the interior of a star, the intense pressure differential would force a gout of high speed plasma through the aperture to a target location, in essence creating a weaponized solar flare. Gateways were opened across the battlefield to fire on many ships. One of these solar gateways were opened to fire at the USS *Destiny*, specifically targeted by L'Val, crippling the ship's shields and main power. L'Val's flagship immediately bore down on *Destiny* to finish her off. At the same time, multiple gateways were opened onto the disabled ship to start a boarding operation.

Internally, 49 Herald had boarded *Destiny* with a focus on the bridge, their primary objective being to ensure Captain T'Molina's death. Having been briefed on the gateway boarding that occurred on Starbase 234, T'Molina already had security teams in full tactical gear ready to repel boarders, and deployed in an unusual pattern based on the most likely gateway points observed during the attack on Starbase 234. Security was doubled on the bridge, with another security team on standby in the captain's ready room. The ship was thus unusually well defended, even against the Iconian gateways. This defense gave the crew enough time to perform repairs in the field, though the Dreadnought was easily in position to finish off *Destiny*. Captain T'Molina knew this, but was immediately pressed by Herald attackers on her ship's bridge, and opted instead to fight it out rather than abandon ship, noting the status of the fleet and the low odds of survival even by abandoning ship in this environment, where even a proximity torpedo detonation was capable of vaporizing an escape pod.

Externally, Task Force Avalon rallied under Riov Ineania t'Latta to defend *Destiny*, turning into and engaging the dreadnought and its escorts. The Riov's flagship, the RRW *Bhaaenin Rhehhai*, further placed itself between the Dreadnought and *Destiny* to block any firing solution and took heavy fire herself as a result. By this stage of the battle, a small nebula had formed from the destruction caused. Task Force Avalon and Theirr retaliated with extreme aggression, destroying several escorts. The USS *Montenegro*, literally falling apart from damage suffered, was even abandoned and rammed into L'Val's flagship just to slow her down, resulting in the *Montenegro'*s destruction.

Although slowed, the *Bhaaenin Rhehhai* 's shields were weakening from the Dreadnought's barrage, forced not to maneuver in order to cover *Destiny*. Riov t'Latta's communications indicated she was close to forcing an evacuation of *Destiny* and pulling out. Fortunately, the time bought by the allied fleet allowed for *Destiny'*s crew to restore main power and shields. T'Molina was able to restore contact with the rest of the fleet and rally.

*"In my opinion, Ineania t'Latta and her crew made the most notable contribution. Had her ship not used itself as a shield against that Iconian Dreadnought, I am convinced that I would not have survived to rally the fleet, and the task would have fallen to another, most likely t'Latta herself."*

*- T'Molina*

## Final Moments

Forces from the rest of the fleet were quickly brought in, with cruisers forcing gaps open for escorts to penetrate into the core of the battle where Task Force Avalon and the *Lexington* were now in pursuit of L'Val's flagship. Much of the Herald fleet which had charged were now being systematically destroyed by the allied rear guard fleet. *Destiny* rejoined the battle. In addition, unknown to the allied fleet at the time, M'Tara had pulled the bulk of her forces out of the battle early in response to intelligence discovered by the ground assault at the Dewan ruins with a shift of priorities. Her own ship was taking serious damage. The tide of battle was turning rapidly. L'Val chose to withdraw.

Between the movement of M'Tara's forces, T'Ket still being occupied with New Romulus itself, and skirmishes still occurring throughout the galaxy, the Iconian gateway network was tasked to its maximum capacity. L'Val wished to keep this information as obscure as possible for the purposes of demoralizing an opponent who so far as she knew had no reason to believe that their gateway technology had limited capacity.

She opted for a more controlled withdrawal, using the dust cloud created by the combat to cover their withdrawal. As forces withdrew from observation in the chaos, they entered Gateways back to the Herald Sphere, leaving the allied fleet largely unaware that they now had a large numeric advantage. It did not come without cost however, as dozens of Herald ships were likely lost due to the decision to withdraw disengaged forces first. L'Val's flagship itself was also severely damaged as it held off a large portion of the fleet before disappearing into a dust cloud to make good L'Val's escape. Her flagship spent months in repair after the battle.

The strategy was, however, a success for what it intended to do. As far as the allied fleet knew, the entire Herald fleet had suddenly disappeared, leading intelligence analysts after the battle to conclude that the Iconian gateway capacity was much greater than it actually was.

Captain T'Molina ordered the bulk of the allied fleet to New Romulus to claim orbit, leaving the rest to perform search and rescue. The allied fleet arrived to find that New Romulus orbit was similarly abandoned. Away teams to the surface found the landing parties also gone, and the Dewan ruins, a primary objective of the Herald attack, severely damaged, but New Romulus was held.

# Aftermath and Analysis

The side with the most favorable outcome is the subject of much debate. It is known today that the original Iconian objective was the conquest of New Romulus in the belief that they would be the weak link after the destruction of Romulus. However, the discovery of a Preserver archive in the Lae'nas system in the course of the battle led M'Tara to change their objective, shifting their priority target to the Lae'nas system. Their new objective, the destruction of the archive, was completed despite some interference, but at the cost of the New Romulus siege being abandoned.

In terms of losses, both sides lost about an even number of ships in attrition. A slight edge is argued for the Iconian Empire due to their superior inherent numbers. A counter argument suggests that the will demonstrated by the allied forces here and later at Qo'noS gave the Iconians some pause, prolonging the war, and the fact that the attrition was largely even despite the superior technology of the Iconians could be seen as an advantage.

Fleet Admiral Jonas was criticized for his tactical decisions and general lack of command and control over the large allied fleet which led to relevant information not being shared quickly enough to react. A fleet of this size, however, was unprecedented. Jonas would later state that he wished he had had more time to prepare for this mission than he did, citing many of the issues he faced, and that lessons were learned which would later prove useful in the Battle at the Herald Sphere and the Battle at Midnight. The decision to approach through the bowshock was also criticized as very risk and overly aggressive, where approaching openly would have likely achieved his objective with fewer losses. Jonas countered that in this war risk was necessary if it was going to be won, and had his plan worked he believes it would have created a decisive allied victory at New Romulus to start the war.

The success of L'Val's withdrawal meant that the allies vastly overestimated the capacity of the Iconian gateway network, and it would not be until the Herald Sphere raids that the allies would start to realize this. Allied command used this overestimated information from this initial battle to plan the opening weeks of the war, and it forced them onto a highly defensive footing, and contributed in the decision to execute the disastrous assault on the Herald Sphere directly later in the war.

Proof that the Iconians could not defeat cloaking device technology was crucial to the strategic deployment of forces. The Klingon Empire and Romulan Republic was able to move relatively freely without risk of being ambushed by gateway as long as their ships were equipped with a functioning cloaking device. The Federation, with much more limited cloaking device deployment in conjunction with the overestimation of Iconian gateway network capacity, was largely invalidated for all but defensive operations in their own widespread space through the use of the transwarp gate network.

The survival of USS *Destiny* contributed detailed information on the Iconian Gateways, and confirmed that their gateways relied on having extremely accurate target coordinates and trajectory which the Gateways themselves could not idly acquire. The Herald used the sensors on their ships to relay exact coordinate information, and unpredictable movements prevent such locks.

Captain T'Molina, who was awarded the Silver Star for her part in the battle, was praised for her leadership though criticized for her decision to disobey orders from a superior officer. Fleet Admiral Jonas was particularly harsh of her decision to disobey orders, stating that it contributed to the state of confusion the allied fleet was in when the battle started, as well as leaving the flank open, even though the Herald turned out not to be in position to adequately exploit it. He agreed, however, that if he had the same information she did that he would have ordered the all stop just as she had.

Most historians agree that this was a narrow victory, though the loss of the Preserver Archive was a major and unexpected blow. In the end it left the allies with hope that a victory could be achieved, and proved that their ships were capable of competing with Herald ships directly.