The elite Romulan intelligence agency, the Tal Shiar, is a highly respected and feared organization whose main objective is to enforce loyalty of Romulan citizens to the government and obtain enemy secrets, most notably from the Federation and the Klingon Empire. Their presence is often undetectable and their methods covert. At times, the operations of the Tal Shiar goes above the control of the government itself, as the agents themselves have the power to overrule the direct authority of most military commanders, which they utilize with little fear of reprisal. Some elements of the Romulan society feel the tactics of the Tal Shiar to be unnecessarily brutal. Yet the undercurrent of dissent never surfaces, since such ideas would provoke swift retribution and the disappearance of family members. The Tal Shiar works independent of other branches of the government, and are at times the de facto supreme power of the Romulan worlds. Operatives within the agency are quick to react to outside threats to the Romulan Empire, as seen in the forming of a coalition with the Obsidian Order to carry out a preemptive strike on the Founders. A combined fleet of some 50 Romulan and Cardassian vessels carried out the cooperative military strike in 2372. Their presence was detected by Deep Space Nine sensors when they decloaked and sailed past the Bajoran Wormhole to the Gamma Quadrant. When informed about the situation, the governments of both the Cardassian Union and Romulan Empire denied any knowledge of the joint venture. Yet, they refused to recall their vessels, choosing rather to sit back and await the results. The campaign proved to be disastrous, and ended with the obliteration of the fleet. 150 Jem'Hadar ships ambushed the unwary warbirds and overwhelmed the attackers within minutes. The best agents of both sides died in this battle, terminating the existence of the Tal Shiar and the Obsidian Order. It is believed that the Romulan Empire is rebuilding its once proud Tal Shiar. Ever since the end of the agency, the Romulans have refrained from joining in the warfare between the Dominion and the Federation/Klingon alliance. The apparent death of their Ambassador Vreenak at the hands of Cardassian operatives, however, have the Romulan pride seething. Romulan warbirds attacked nearby Cardassian outposts in retaliation, and will likely declare war against the Dominion. In the forseeable future, the Tal Shiar will return as a force to reckon with. Heads of the Cardassian and Romulan intelligence agencies Romulan Warbird entering wormhole Obsidian Order and Tal Shiar attacking Founder Homeworld The Neutral Zone

[Romulan]   [Romulan Star Empire]   [Cardassian Union] [Obsidian Order]   [Dominion]   [Klingon Empire]   [Federation]

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