I had an idea for a redone Nemesis that involved the Romulan/Vulcan reunion movement and featured Sela Yar as the villain and 'Empress' of the Romulan empire after leading a 'slave' revolt. The backstory would have been Sela being sent to Remus (which would have essentially been a gulag/work camp for the Romulan Empire) in disgrace following the events of the TNG episodes featuring Spock on Romulus. She blames her failure and disgrace on "the weak human blood contaminating her Romulan soul" or some other such metaphysical bullshit. But this provides motivation.
The 'Remans' would just be the prisoners sent to Remus, rather than some gay vampire species. The Romulans would have utilized this slave labor during the Dominion war, and the more technologically knowledgable prisoners, including Sela, would have been used to help construct starships in orbit over the barren prison colony world. Towards the end of the war, the Romulans designed and began construction of a "Super-Warbird" (commence
) and after its completion well after the end of the war, Sela and a loyal group of experienced ex-Romulan Star Navy officers take control of the ship and essentially lead a massive prison break on Remus. The prisoners gain control of the planet and the warbirds in orbit and start a revolution that eventually is successful in toppling the Romulan Senate and putting Sela in as Empress. Then, as a few times before, the Romulans close their borders and appear to go into seclusion. But in reality Sela is consolidating power and preparing to get her revenge.
After that prologue of sorts, the movie picks up about a year and a half later on DS9, during the celebration after the signing ceremony where Bajor finally joined the Federation. At the party on the DS9 lounge are the familiar faces of now Starfleet Commander (and station commander) Kira Nerys, Lieutenant Commander Dr. Julian Bashir, Lieutenant Ezri Dax-Bashir, Ambassador Worf, Captain Jean Luc Picard, Commander (and new USS Enterprise XO) Data, Dr. Beverly Crusher, Lieutenant Commander Geordie LaForge, and Captain William Riker of the Galaxy class USS Titan along with his XO (really bad fucking idea, BTW) Commander Deanna Troi.
We'll do the standard getting to know you again BS, and then cut to Picard in his ready room on the USS Enterprise NCC 1701-E which is docked with DS9, getting an urgent and heavily encrypted communication from Starfleet command. Admiral Jellico (not that dumb twat Janeway, who would have to spend years catching up on and familiarizing herself with current events in the Alpha uqadrant before actually being able to function as a goddamned Admiral doing anything other than taking up a desk at Starfleet command) informs Picard that the rumors are true, the Romulan Senate has in fact been overthrown and there is a new power on Romulus. An "Empress" as it were. And now that they've apparently gotten their house in order, they want want to talk to the Federation. The new Romulan government has specifically requested that the Enterprise be sent to the Neutral zone to rendesvous with the Romulan flagship so the new Empirial government can begin official relations with the UFP.
So we go through the "nice to have seen you again
Captain Riker, that's a fine ship!", and "thanks for hosting us here Commander Kira, you would have made Captain Sisko proud and it's too bad he's not around to see this day" required to move this pig forward. And to get Worf on the bridge of the Enterprise? Well, chancellor Martok requested that Starfleet grant him passage on the Federation flagship to represent the Klingon Empire and Picard is only too happy to drag him along! So several days later the Enterprise approaches the Romulan Neutral Zone right where the rendevouse is to take place, and a lone D'Deridex Warbird decloaks and hails the Enterprise. This is supposedly the Romulan flagship, and Supreme Commander Tomalok requests the Enterprise follow them to the Romulan controlled Vorenus system (you like that?
) for official proceedings, which of course Picard agrees to do.
Enterprise and Warbird drop out of warp over a planet in the Binary Vorenus system. The operations officer reports that oddly, there are no habitable plantes in the system, and due to some lame treknobabble explanation involving radiation from the twin suns and the makeup of the planets in the system affecting subspace, they are having a hard time getting sensor readings and sending communications. Picard suggests that maybe the Romulans are trying to keep them on their toes as a negotiating tactic, Data says something stupid, and as Picard makes some quip the Romulan flagship suddenly cloaks and the Enterprise seems to be all alone. Worf (who is not at tactical, he's just an observer) suggests that maybe they should raise shields and power up their weapons. Picard says that wouldn't be very beneficial if we are to have peaceful relations with this new Romulan government, and then dematerializes in a Romulan transporter beam.
Data immediately orders shields raised, but before they can be fully activated the ship rocks and sparks fly all over the place as the
real Romulan flagship decloaks and proceeds to kick the everloving shit out of the Enterprise. Empress Sela's massive Warbird looks like a D'Deridex on steroids (well, more like just the top half, as there isn't an underside that creates that cavity in the middle and it's more solidly built, as well as much larger due to it's being designed to rival Dominion battleships) and weapons fire rains down on the Enterprise. Data orders the ship into a nearby asteroid field (the sci-fi cliche savior dejure) as more than a dozen D'deridex class ships begin decloaking and and moving to intercept the Enterprise. Sela chose this system for a reason. The <insert previousely mentioned lame technobabble here> unique to this system allows cloaked ships to mass in fleets without the Federations tachyon sensor monitoring stations along the Neutral zone to detect them. It's the perfect spot for a Romulan fleet to launch an attack upon the heart of the Federation itself: Earth.
Meanwhile, on the Wanktastic Warbird, Picard has materialized within a cell on the ships brig. He's all alone. He tries using his comm badge, but it doesn't work. He reaches his hand out and recoils as the forcefield activates. He damands to know the meaning of this! A voice from a cell across the hall (whose occupant is in shadow) tells Picard that becoming agitated, while understandible, will not likely get him answers any sooner. Picard gets a look of familiarity on his face after hearing the voice, but before he can react the figure in the cell across from him stands into the light and it's... Spock!
The Enterprise moves into the unrealistically dense asteroid field and manages to find a spot to hide in. That's right, a big assed crater. Data orders the helmsman to position the ship within the crater, and then orders Geordie to power down everything he can, including life support. All that's left is the gravity generators and the air circulating system, but oxygen generation has been switched off, so the crew are forced to don emergency rebreathers and to activate emergeny heat sources. Worf is pissed at Data for seemingly abandoning Picard and fleeing from battle like a little bitch. Data proceeds to smack Worf down much like that whiny bitch on the Sutherland during the TNG episodes where he commanded a ship in that Starfleet blockade preventing the Romulans from supplying the Duras sisters in the Klingon Civil War. Worf isn't happy, but he shuts his fucking mouth in recognition of Datas authority. Now they wait.
Back on the Wankbird, Picard and Spock are conversing. Spock informs Picard of what he's been doing in the years since they last met. He's been furthering the Romulan/Vulcan reunification movement. He tells Picard that larger galactic events (being the Dominion war, of course) have made it readily apparent that an actual political reunification is, of cousrse, unlikely in the extreme. But he has been instead moving for a cultural reunification. After all, at once point before the nuclear wars and the exodus, the Romulans and Vulcans were the same people! Suffice it to say, after the new regime took control, the Reunification movement and its members were hunted down, imprisoned, and in most cases killed. Picard asks just who this new Empress is, but before Spock can answer, Sela Yar walks into the brig with a contingent of intimidating bodyguards. She is in full military regalia and looks much the worse for wear, but then a decade of slave labor will do that. Her face is scarred in several places, and she has an ocular implant in her right eye (much like the ones Geordie has). As Picard looks at her in pity and shock, she says something along the lines of "Well, I'm glad to see you remember me Jean Luc, suffice it to say I remember
you."
Back on the Enterprise, the power is still offline, and Data appears deep in thought (well, for him). The ship begins rocking as the Romulan Warbirds begin randomly firing at asteroids (yeah, it's still in cliche mode, but at least they aren't in a fucking nebula). Data suddenly comes back to attention and explains that he's calculated a way for the Enterprise to get a message back to Starfleet about the massed Romulan fleet. But no offense to the new tactical douche, he needs a more experienced person to get this just right. He needs Worf at tactical. After some lame "mutual understanding and respect" bullfuckery, we get down to action. The Enterprise needs to clear the asteroid field and get to warp with enough of a lead that any following Warbirds won't be in weapons range before the Enterprise can get far enough out of the system to transmit subspace radio signals. To do this, they needs to use torpeadoes to prevent the Warbirds from erecting a warp field until the Enterprise gains precious seconds of FTL travel ahead of them. They pull it off, and manage to get out of the system with enough of a lead to contact Starfleet. But the Warbirds are getting within weapons range and the Enterprise is forced to hide again, this time in the corona of a red giant. They have to keep radio silence to avoid detection and destruction, so now they wait for an answer from Starfleet.
Back in the Vorenus system onboard the bridge of the Wankbird, Picard and and Spock are flanked by guards as Sela explains her life after the Romulan conquest of Vulcan was thwarted, how she came to power, and what her dastardly plans are in true Bond villain fashion. She is going to take her Fleet of Romulan Warbids on a beeline to Earth and destroy all life on the Federation capital once and for all. She claims to be doing this for the Romulan Empire as a way to finally weaken the Federation enough for the conquest of Vulcan and true unification. Picard insists that she simply wants revenge on him, and offers his life if it will deter her from carrying out her genocidal ambitions. But Sela simply laughs and tells him that if she wanted him dead she'd have beamed him out into space rather than into her brig and "anyway, it was that ridiculous android that caused my mission to fail". No, Picard and Spock will be kept alive quite a long time, having witnessed the destruction of Earth and the conquest of Vulcan. She will destroy everything that matters most to them and they will have to live knowing they brought it upon themselves and there is nothing they can do to stop it. maybe, when they become so old and feable that they no longer have the capacity to feel that pain she will toss them out an airlock like refuse.
Then they are taken back to the brig, and Spock explains to Picard that he believes he has surmised Selas real motivation. Sela's fleet is more than capable of making to Earth, and with luck can in fact destroy the entire surface of that world before finally being overwhelmed and obliterated. But the Federation is vast, and comprised of much more than just Earth, or even Earth and Vulcan. The path she is taking will scar the psyche of the Federation for hundreds of years or more, but it would survive. Humanity would survive. But the Romulan Empire would be ruined. Starfleet would take vengeance on them with their Klingon allies and it would be carved up afterwards never to be soveriegn again. Selas motivation is simply to die causing as much damage to both of the things she feels have betrayed her. Her humanity for making her weak, and the Empire for casting her out. Picard thinks there may be a way to use that against her. After all, she couldn't have come to power without support from the Romulan navy. If they could somehow get Romulan patriots to realize what this path will lead them to, then maybe it could be averted. But that could very well be impossible as the Wankbird seems to be crewed almost entirely by those Sela freed from the Reman prison camps.
On the Enterprise bridge, a communique from Starfleet finally arrives. They are sending every ship in the area to the Neutral zone in a taskforce lead by the USS Titan. If the Enterprise cannot get to the area, then it is to stay put and wait, only to break radio silence if it's passive sensors detect a cloaked Romulan fleet.
At the Neutral zone an armada of 7 ships, including the USS Titan, and the USS Defiant wait in battle formation. On the Titan bridge, Riker finishes a Viewscreen conversation with Commander Kira and the Defiant, then turns to Troi and gives orders to be relayed to straggling ships joining the armada as they come within range. Until a Romulan fleet shows up or Starfleet Command gives the order to cross the border, they wait.
Onboard the Enterprise bridge, an officer tells Data that they are now detecting a a mass of spacial distortions on the far side of the system moving towards the Neutral zone at warp. It can only be the Romulan fleet. Data gives the order to send a message to the Starfleet armada that the Romulans are coming, then orders the helm to set a course for the Neutral zone at the best speed they can get with their damaged engines. The Enterprise emerges from the red giant to find the warbirds that had been pursuing them since their flight from the Vorenus system waiting, but it jumps to warp as weapons fire inundates the area they just vacated. The Enterprise makes a beeline for the armada with the cloaked Romulan fleet close behind.
I'll finish this up tomorrow if anyone is interested.