While the conference would be a diplomatic triumph for the Romulans, securing economic support and basing rights for the fleet (and tweaking the nose of chancellor Gowron in the process) it also committed them to the allies “Cardassia First” policy, which would cause massive fleet losses

At the conference Praetor Neral presented President Min Zife with a trophy, a piece of hull from a Jem’Hadar attack ship fused into rock from the planets Third Moon, decorated with Benzite, Romulan and Federation Emblems.

The Deneva conference was the first meeting of the “Big Three” of the alliance, held only a few months after the Romulan entry into the war. Prior to it the Star Navy’s 7th and 9th Expeditionary Fleet Groups had launched an offensive to liberate the planet Benzar from Dominion occupation

”Gentle-Beings I give you liberated Benzar…and damnation to the Dominion!” - Praetor Neral tr’Vatoth’s toast at the Deneva conference, december 2374. (Artwork by the sublimely skilled @crowlls.bsky.social)

Her half sisters lost to other causes, the massive ships would be sorely missed in the 2380 when the Hobus disaster befell the empire.

Following an engine breakdown in 2325 the Tyrava would remain stationary in the orbit of Garid, serving as the nerve center for Romulan operations throughout the Avvrhi’afvu. It was in that system the ship would meet its end, carrying Praetor Dralath on his final death ride against the Borg in 2349

Rather than its inteded mission the Tyrava would form the spearhead of the rebel forces that ended the Second Republic and created the Second Empire under the rule of Ael t'Rllaillieu. Heavily armed and capable of carrying ground troops, she and her half sister the Kaveth were key to success.

The Tyrava was a Romulan generation ship lanuched in 2276 by dissident Rihannsu seeking to escape the oppressive rule of the Second Republic. Carrying over 380000 people, the ship was consciously modelled on the great ships that left Vulcan 2000 years earlier (artwork by @ncc-60205.bsky.social )

Destruction of Tal Shiar archives after the fall of empress Sela means we may never have an answer. Most historians either respect the official version or acknowledge that one of history's most famous cold cases will never be solved.

Who had all the reasons to both kill Vreenak and incite a war with the Dominion? Who had control over the investigation into his death? Who could have gotten their hands onto a rare Cardassian storage device? That trail end at one door only.

The most popular suspects, then and now, were the members of the organisation of whom Vreenak was the deputy head, the Tal Shiar themselves. Vary of the Dominion and still smarting from their humiliation at the Omarion Nebula three years prior, the organisation was not aboard with Vreenak's policy.

But if not them who? The Cardassian liberation front was not yet formed, Klingon intelligence would not have had access and other more far fetched ideas like conspiracies of Starflet officers can be dismissed out of hand, even if the allies were those who benefited the most.

Even after interviewing numerous Dominion personal after the end of the war allied interrogators could find no satisfactory answer, nor could sifting through the remains of Soukara base. And while the Dominion are not averse to underhanded tactics they historically have shown to keep their treaties.

Given said evidence the obvious culprit would be the Dominion. However the question ahs to be asked: why go to the trouble of planting a bomb on Vreenak's shuttle? If they knew of the recording before he left Soukara why not detain him? If they didn't know, why assassinate an ally?

Vreenak was the leader of the peace party, vice chairman of the Tal Shiar and one of the rising stars of Romulan politics. His death by bombing returning from Soukara meeting with Dominion leadership, returning as it turned out with evidence of a Dominion sneak attack, brought Romulus into the war

Cold Case: Who killed senator Vreenak tr’Merken?* The death of the celebrated senator and author of the Dominion-Romulan detente was a political shock whose ramifications were quadrant wide, yet the perpetrators are still speculated about. *Yes I know who actually killed him, this is in-universe

He would lose his position with the downfall of the Neral Committe in 2377 and retire off-world after an assassination attempt in 2378. This would inadvertently save his life. Moving to Mol'Rihan in 2411, his subsequently published memoirs remains an important source for this period of history.

In the following reshuffling of the Continuing Committee Letant became Chairman of the War plans Council, effectivly minister of defence: de would remain so throughout the war. While effective in this position his agreement with allied demands of a "Cardassia First" strategy made him unpopular.

Letant tr’Arhee, senator for the A'vat segment 2328-2378, proconsul 2346-2350, chairman of the War plans Council 2374-2377.

Only with empress Sela and later with the Fourth Republic would the d’Rhaaih be recreated and become the standard currency of post-Hobus Romulan space.

Post Hobus the d’Rhaaih would collapse as the fractured emprie lacke dthe institutions to uphold trust in it. Instead Federation credits, Orion Energy Orbs, gold pressed latinum and even Klingon Darseks would enter into standard use.

Restoring trust in the currency and strenghtening the empire's latinum reserves was one of the primary policies of Nerals post-war successor Hiren, with little effect but huge unpopularity.

The empire's perennial isolation allowed the senate to manipulate this essentially at will. However when the empire's markets were opened during the Dominion war it would spark a currency crisis forcing praetor Neral to tie its value to the Ferenginar Gold Pressed Latinum standard.

Semi electronic systems like a the Prime Transfer Authority also existed but during the Second Empire empress Ael would institute a major currency reform, creating an electronic currency based on the Federation Credit, the d’Rhaaih (Great chain). This would also be the currency of the Third Republic

When a monetary economy returned it did so in the form of plates of rare metals. These could be round or square and were usually carried on a string or chain. By the time of the Second Republic these chains had become the actual currency, with chains or quarter chains of cash used colloquially.

Rihan does not have a sepate word for money. The word most commonally used, iæhhs, most clearly translates as wealth or asset and is the root for various adjectives such as wealthy (iæhhsemh). Early post-settlement Romulus had little use for a monetary economy and largely operated on barter/credit.

A From the Ashes short story: Excerpt from “From the Remus Mines to the Senate floor: the memoirs of Varak c’Tivu” fallofromulus.weebly.com/the-recruitm...

Ultimately Dralath's death in battle rather than losing a no confidence vote in the senate would make him a martyr and hinder attempts to roll back his centralising and politically limiting "reforms". The political climate of the late years of the Third Republic was very much Dralaths legacy.

Attempting to shore up his position Dralath would take personal command of the fleet and leading it in the disastrous battle of Metobos. Presumed dead after the destruction of his flagship though no body was recovered: rumours of encountering a drone of the Praetor would circulate in the fleet

But it was in foreign policy that Dralath's influence would be the greatest, and arguably the most disastrous. In 2344 he authorised the strike on the Klingon colony of Narendra III, a tactical success that would drive the empire's two oldest enemies into an alliance.