Oumoren system
Overview
The Oumoren system is an important if relatively isolated star system in the Velorum sector. With a population in the millions, a functional shipyard, small local starbase, and complex mining industry, it has nevertheless failed to grow into a major center of trade or new-wave colonization. During the 2400 Velorum uprising, the Oumoren system underwent a widespread revolt fomented by a combined Romulan-Reman revolutionary body.
History
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Pre-Colonial (21st-Century)
The Romulan Star Empire’s slow expansion during its first phase of isolation saw a consistent push into the Velorum sector’s farthest limits, an expansion which continued even after the mid-2260s and their reemergence into the galactic political sphere. Early efforts at colonizing the Velorum sector had proven extremely valuable to the resource-hungry Empire. While the earliest colonies were little more than underground mining cities built for the use of Reman slave labor, and the core of the Velorum sector had become a prosperous cluster of well-developed systems, the farther reaches of the sector were ripe for new frontier colonies.
The Oumoren system was fully charted by 2040, and the first crewed exploration took place in 2078. With at least two planets deemed immediately habitable, and others prime candidates for self-sufficient colonies, an official mission was established to settle the system and stake a proper claim for the Empire.
22nd-Century
On 2105, the first Romulan colony ships entered the system and established their main colony on Oumoren V, which they named “Ahiuan” (Wilderness). These colony ships were shortly followed by barges bearing tens of thousands of Reman workers, imported from failing mines in other regions, to work the new riches of the Oumoren system.
A second colony was soon established on Oumoren IV, and construction of local shipyards began in orbit of the two planets. Plans were likewise drawn up for colonization of Oumoren V’s two moons, and of the planet Oumoren VI which boasted high mineral content, large quantities of frozen water, and a gravitational well strong enough to easily support a good population within a mixture of shielded surface domes and underground complexes.
23rd-Century
During the period of the Romulan Empire’s second isolation, the colonies in the Oumoren system prospered and grew at an incredible rate, and it seemed likely that it would become a jewel in the region. A massive worker uprising on the planet in 2218, however, changed everything.
The first Oumoren Revolt
Led by a Reman named Stalx, ten-thousand Reman workers rebelled against their Romulan guards. Easily overpowering their complaisant masters, the Remans proceeded to cut a bloody and vengeful swath through the Romulan population centers. Stalx’s gift for strategy saw Oumoren V fall completely to Reman control in just fifteen days. With the Romulan population subjugated and brutalized in retribution for centuries of violence against his own people, Stalx then proceeded to enact a series of pogroms to remove all trace of the Romulan military, whilst simultaneously leading a takeover the the starbase in orbit, the shipyards, and the half-dozen Romulan starships in the system.
The plan succeeded in the short term, and for nearly a month the Oumoren system was under militant Reman control. But the Empire, fearful of what would happen if Stalx’s lead were followed elsewhere, came down on Oumoren with blindingly overwhelming force. A fleet of 13 Bird-of-Prey warships attacked the Reman forces, destroyed all space-capable vehicles and the Oumoren V starbase, and proceeded to bomb the planet’s surface from orbit until the Remans surrendered.
In the decades that followed, Oumoren never quite recovered. Romulan lives had not been spared in the Empire’s recovery of the system, and this led to a rare and surprisingly anti-Imperial strain of sentiment among many of the survivors, who would slowly grow to see more in common with the Reman slaves than the Romulan high-caste elite.
24th-Century
As the Romulan Star Empire began to slowly move toward full re-emergence on the galactic scene in the mid-2300s, production quotas from the Oumoren system were tripled. During this time, the system also became host to several prison colonies that were designed to house both political prisoners and Romulan dissenters from the civilian population throughout Romulan space.
Considered once more to be an important system in the Velorum sector’s border, Oumoren was handed over to Governor Sulleen, a pompous and vicious political climber who had gained particular favor within certain arms of the Romulan government and military.
Throughout the Dominion War, the Oumoren system provided a staging and training ground for Reman shock troopers sent to the front lines. Two Dominion raids on the sytem during this time caused minor infrastructure damage, but with relatively small loss of life.
Following the destruction of the Romulan sun, and the subsequent collapse of the Empire, Governor Sulleen’s grip on the system tightened, aided by his own personal warship and large body of heavily armed guards. His ham-fisted and brutal nature proved his undoing, however, as the long tendrils of the first Oumoren revolt worked their way into a new generation’s hearts. A group of Romulans, angry with their lot in life, uncomfortable with the idea of being slave-owners when no other major power condoned such behavior, and opposed to various other philosophical elements of the old Empire, planned a new rebellion. They soon found themselves contacted by a Reman who, as part of a century-long Reman plan to revolt, needed their support. Together, over the next decade, the two groups coalesced and built a powerful movement that would go on to overthrow the Governor and the last vestiges of the old Imperial order.
Independence (2400)
The Oumoren system declared its independence in 2400, during a region-wide uprising by Reman workers and various anarchistic Romulan groups and individuals. But the new Oumoren Governing Council, headed by a Reman named Hartresk who boasted experience as a soldier during the Dominion war, could not decide on the future of the system. While the rest of the Velorum sector reached out to the Federation and the Star Republic for aid, Oumoren wanted true independence: complete and total self-rule.
The Oumoren flag
The flag chosen by the leaders of the Revolution in the Oumoren System, after the successful overthrow of their Imperial Governor, bears special meaning for the revolution, for Reman heritage, and for the Oumoren System’s hope as a truly independent system with its own government, laws, and respected territory.
The Oumoren flag consists of highly traditional Romulan colors, but with a pronounced gold bordering that differentiates from the Romulan Imperial silver-tone aesthetic. This gold bordering is composed of intersecting gold lines and nine stars: two top-middle, two lower-middle, one at center-fly, and one at center-hoist, as well as three unique corners. The two fly-side corners, and the lower hoist-side corner, feature different star designs. The nine stars refer to the nine planets in the Oumoren system, and the three unique stars refer to the three inhabited planets in the Oumoren system.
On the flag’s gradated teal-green field is the device of a Reman bird of prey sporting one unique wing-feather. The bird of prey is reminiscent of Romulan style, and is considered a depiction of strength and power. The singular feather is a reminder of the Oumoren system’s dream of existing as a fully independent State, with its own laws, borders, and government.
The flag’s canton is framed by two intersecting gold lines. In the canton’s center are three elements: a circle surrounded by 67 stars, a sword and a pick, crossed at the hafts, and a pair of white spread wings beneath. The 67 stars represent the average number of Reman workers who died each year on each inhabited mining colony due to the appalling working conditions. The sword and pick describe the worker’s rebellion, which included many of the low-class Romulans who were treated almost as poorly as the Reman slaves, and who joined with the Reman miners in rebellion. The spread wings are both a symbol of peace, and a reminder of the Reman and Romulan shared heritage as distant descendants of Vulcan.
In Play
Oumoren is positioned well away from normal trade lanes, at the farthest edge of the Velorum sector. It has a reasonable population composed mostly of Remans and Romulans, and, as of 2400, was under the control of the Revolutionary Council—a body of 18 people (10 Reman and 8 Romulan) responsible for crafting the new Oumoren government.
- Oumoren features a fraught history, having once been the site of a major Reman uprising supported by low-caste Romulans. As such, while there are deep tensions between Remans and Romulans in the system, there are also intriguing lines of camaraderie and shared history.
- The general sentiment in Oumoren is a fiercely independent one. The people there are wary of any outside political entities, fearing the loss of their newly-discovered sovereignty.
- The Oumoren system has a surprising military arm in the form of a first-run D'deridex class warbird. While the ship is old, it's still dangerous, and this makes their claim to independence all the more potent.
Visits to the Oumoren system might see a burgeoning attempt at trade with outside regions, deep class conflicts, complex relationships between Remans and Romulans, and a fraught political post-Revolution landscape. Oumoren wants to become its own fully-autonomous and recognized entity, and will be seeking support for this through trade, military supplies, diplomatic lines, and cultural exchange.