When Star Trek Online made its debut, the Alpha and Beta quadrants were places of conflict, mystery, and danger. The United Federation of Planets was locked in a deadly war with their former allies in the Klingon Empire, clashing throughout space and on the surface of many a world. In the midst of such galactic turmoil, the Borg made their return. The Collective took no side in the war save their own, and the two governments eventually arranged a cease-fire to deal with the deadly invaders. After putting their issues aside, they were able to repel the Borg… for the time being.

The threat of the returning Borg was but one of many challenges awaiting the Federation and the Klingons in the year 2409. Forces of the Cardassian True Way wreaked havoc in the Alpha Quadrant. Dominion forces returned to occupy station Deep Space Nine. The Breen Confederacy launched attacks on the planet Defera. Legions of the deadly Fek’ihri invaded the Klingon Empire, and the treacherous Terran Empire from the Mirror Universe made its deadly presence felt again throughout the quadrant.

While the Klingons and the Federation dealt with the threat of numerous enemies, the remnants of the Romulan Star Empire began to reach a breaking point. Devastated by the loss of their capitol and homeworld in 2387, the Romulans ruled what remained of their empire with an iron fist. After decades of tyranny and suffering, Reman and Romulan forces within the empire launched an insurgency against Empress Sela and the sinister Tal Shiar. Aided by both the Federation and the Klingons, the rebels were able to foment a state of civil war.

As conflict raged throughout the remnants of the former Romulan Empire, the fledgling Romulan Republic established a new colony and homeworld on planet Dewa III, later to be known as New Romulus. Ultimately, the Romulan Civil War was a short one, culminating in the fall of the Star Empire and the rise of the Romulan Republic. 

And behind it all, in shadows and faraway places, a long-forgotten species waited… watching… preparing to strike the unsuspecting inhabitants of the Milky Way galaxy with deadly effect.