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Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow: The following content contains spoilers!

Keras was a male Romulan who served in the Romulan Star Empire's fleet during the 23rd century.

History[]

Keras held the rank of Commander and served as the commanding officer of the Gal Gath'thong, a Romulan Bird-of-Prey. Keras was somewhat atypical, having tired of war and conquest as a way of life for the Romulan people. He was a member of the Chironsala house, one of the oldest on Romulus. (CCG set: The Trouble with Tribbles; TOS novel: The Return)

In 2266, the Praetor ordered the vessel commanded by Keras to cross the Neutral Zone and enter United Federation of Planets space. Keras was ordered to attack the Federation's defenses along the border, and gauge the response of Starfleet to this attack. Keras proceeded to attack and destroy several outposts in the area, attracting the attention of the USS Enterprise.

Captain James T. Kirk tracked down the Bird-of-Prey, and eventually managed to disable the Romulan vessel. Hailing the Romulan ship, Kirk and Keras spoke to each other briefly - the first time in history that a Human and Romulan had openly spoken to each other. While Kirk was willing to take on survivors from the Romulan ship, Keras refused, stating it was not the Romulan way. Keras committed suicide by activating his ship's auto-destruct systems. (TOS episode: "Balance of Terror") This was remembered by all Romulans as the Battle of Icarus IV. (TOS novel: The Return) Enterprise second-in-command Spock later told his father how much a striking resemblance the two men shared, giving more credence to the long standing theory about the Vulcan/Romulan genetic relationship. (ST novel: Sarek)

Alternate timeline[]

In an alternate timeline where the United Earth never joined the Coalition of Planets, Keras was dispatched by the Romulan Star Empire to prevent the Earth government from joining the interstellar government. To accomplish this, he infiltrated Babel and pretended to be Vulcan ambassador Sarek in order to capture Lady T'Pol who was seen as a vital symbol of Earth joining the Coalition. When asked why he went to great lengths to appear as Sarek, Keras revealed that his features were normal and believed that he and Sarek shared an ancestor from the time of the Sundering. (TOS - Myriad Universes novel: A Less Perfect Union)

In an alternate timeline created by Christopher Pike when he avoided his own exposure to delta radiation in 2266, he retained command of the Enterprise by the time the Gal Gath'thong attacked the Earth outposts. Though the Gal Gath'thong managed to cripple the Enterprise and destroy the USS Farragut, her own engines and weapons were disabled in the process. While Keras agreed to a two-hour ceasefire, ordering the repairs of the engines above all else, his sub-commander saw the Federation as easy prey and summoned the Romulan fleet. When the Praetor of the Romulan Star Empire was shown that Starfleet had witnessed the Gal Gath'thong decloaking and attacking Outpost 4, she ordered it destroyed. Keras exchanged a final word with Pike before his ship was destroyed. (SNW episode: "A Quality of Mercy")

Though Keras took part in the above chain of events, he was not named in either story.

Legacy[]

Keras had a statue built in his honor, though he would have felt disgusted with this. His son Gaius, after becoming Praetor, then named the Gal Gath'thong's sister ship the Keras after him. (TOS comic: "Romulans: Pawns of War")

Family[]

In the aftermath of the defeat, Keras' family was disgraced. They, under the command of his grand daughter Salatrel, would later seek revenge against Captain James T. Kirk and the Federation, and were one of the forces behind the Romulan alliance with the Borg. (TOS novel: The Return)

Keras' son, Jannek, would become a diplomat who went to Deep Space 9. (DS9 comic: "Blood and Honor") His other son Gaius would become Praetor of the Romulan Empire.(TOS - Romulans: Pawns of War comic: "The Hollow Crown, Issue 2")

The name Keras comes from the Star Trek Customizable Card Game and is an anagram of Sarek, as both characters were portrayed by Mark Lenard. This is similar to the way Krase was named.

Appendices[]

Connections[]

ChR Gal Gath'thong personnel
DeciusKerasPraxusT'Auethn Seal of the Romulan Star Empire.

External link[]

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