The following material is derived from The Way of D'era. I'm just summarizing what I remember from memory, so there will be some facts that are wrong. But the basic themes are the same as in The Way of De'ra and will be useful if you don't have that supplement. The sections on Phobos are brand new additions.

The Romulan-Taurhai War

Many in the Federation wonder why the Romulans isolated themselves for eighty years, only recently having come out of their galactic hibernation. The Romulans don't speak of this, but they encountered a star-faring civilization that was more of a threat to them than the Federation, the Klingon Empire, even the Borg. That civilization is the Taurhai Union. Much like the Federation, the Taurhai believe in individual rights and freedoms, a society ruled as much by its humanity as by its laws. Unlike the Federation, the Taurhai believe that they are destined to spread their culture and morals throughout the galaxy, forcibly if need be.

The Taurhai are technology more advanced than the Federation and perhaps on par with the Borg. Their serpentine "Space Dragon" ships manipulate gravity to move around at sublight speeds. For interstellar travel they can create wormholes to get from place to place -- almost instantaneous travel and nearly impossible to detect. The Taurhai pulsar cannons cut through Romulan shields like tissue paper. Most fearsomely, the Taurhai themselves have greatly expanded psionic powers, enhanced by various technological amplifiers, making the Taurhai fearsome at close range.

To the Taurhai, the Romulans are savage and repressive barbarians who must be enlightened and civilized for their own good, even if they want it. The Romulans recognized that the Taurhai didn't have the touchy-feely Federation morals against starting a war of conquest. It was inevitable that the two nations would engage in war. Unfortunately for the Romulans, Taurhai technological superiority quickly turned space battles into one-sided affairs. Star system after star system fell to the Taurhai fleets whilst the Romulan Star Navy valiantly fought on, sometimes succeeding, usually not.

The only Romulan advantage was their cloaking device (and arguably their fanatical devotion to The Way of D'era). While the Star Navy stubbornly held the line, the Tal Diann went hunting for the Taurhai homeworld and the Tal Shiar continuously conducted hit-and-run raids on Taurhai-held worlds. Finally, a Tal Diann ship found Chi'tan, the Taurhai homeworld. In a desperate attack, a Tal Diann task force attacked Chi'tan, doing significant damage at the cost of crippling the Tal Diann space forces.

But the Taurhai immediately requested an armistice, to which the Romulans gladly agreed. In the intervening years the Romulan-Taurhai border has been as tense as the Federation-Romulan border. The Tal Diann is still recovering from the losses it suffered during the war and in its weakend state has been unable to check the Tal Shiar increasing its power in the Empire. Meanwhile Tal Shiar ships continue the dangerous task of covertly scouting Taurhai worlds, trying to capture advanced technologies and hopefully find a weakness in the Taurhai armor.

Romulan Politics

The Romulan Senate is the real power in the Star Empire. Various Emperors have had the talent and political support to stand up to the Senate, though the present Emperor is not one of them. In the Senate, the two major factions vie over political control of the Empire. The Jaridan Coalition is the most prominent, headed by Senator Kassus. Their aims are to strengthen the Star Navy and expand the Empire through conquest. The Nej'ahar Coalition, headed by Senator Merek, has of late risen up to challenge the Jaridans. The Nej'ahar believe that slow growth is best. Develop the conquered fringe worlds. War is not the best way to expand the Empire, just the fastest.

The Phyrox Plague that broke out in the Tiber Sector was a fortunate occurance for the Jaridans. The Tiber Sector is Senator Merek's home sector and one of the Nej'ahar strongholds. Although their suffering is regretable, the Jaridans have blocked Nej'ahar attempts to request for aid from other powers, notably the Federation. Senator Merek has tried to use his adopted son, Telan, to try to secretly establish communication with open-minded Federation groups, such as the Vulcan Reunification Movement. Senator Kassus has in turn used Major Sela and her Tal Shiar connections to check Telan's attempts.

Matters are rapidly coming to a head. The Tiber Sector is only a month or two away from falling into chaos, and with it goes the fortunes of the Nej'ahar. Telan has been sent in a last, desperate attempt to get the cure. This is the opportunity that Senator Kassus has been looking for. If he can intercept Telan and get the cure himself, he will be seen as a hero by the Tiberans. Even if the Jaridans can't wrest political control of the sector from the Nej'ahar, it will nullify the sector as a political power, which will help the Jaridans. And so Major Sela waits for Telan to return from the Federation. Ready to capture the traitor for her master.