ALERT: Blog Name Change

FYI:  I changed the name of this blog from "Lord Edzo Explains It All" to "Star Trek & Star Wars & Sci-Fi & Stuff," which better targets my areas of interest.

Romulan Ranks

Unlike the Klingon Defense Force, which seems to be an all-in-one military branch, the Romulan Star Empire appears to have navy and army branches.

Most fans are familiar with the naval ranks (listed from low to high) from the original Star Trek series (TOS).

• Centurion
• Subcommander (e.g., Tal, TOS's "The Enterprise Incident")
• Commander

When Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) came along, it added a fairly uncreative rank to the list of canon:

• Admiral (e.g., Alidar Jarok, TNG's "The Defector")
  

Four grades isn't much to speak of in a military organization, particularly when there's the example of the Romulan Commander (from TOS's "Balance of Terror") reducing his man Decius a whole "two steps in rank." How do we figure this from a list of four ranks, most of which belong to senior officers?

Pocket Books' original Star Trek novels, although not canon, have helped flesh out the Romulan naval grades by adding a new rank, "decurion" (a bona fide Roman rank), which, based on its Webster's definition, would be subordinate to a centurion.

Here, then, is my initial list (from low to high):

• Decurion
• Centurion (e.g., Bochra, TNG's "The Enemy")
• Subcommander
• Commander (e.g., Tebok, TNG's "The Neutral Zone")
• Admiral

Now, given these five grades, we can infer a few others by using the prefix "sub-," which the Romulans favor, and thereby expand the ranks of the navy:

• Subdecurion
• Decurion
• Subcenturion
• Centurion
• Subcommander
• Commander (prod, as per the 2009 Star Trek movie)
• Subadmiral
• Admiral

The great Diane Duane, who authored many pre-TNG novels at Pocket Books, and is generally considered by fans to have laid out working versions of the Romulan military and the government, first postulated the "subcenturion" rank, but also had another — "antecenturion" — which is not included here because the prefixes "ante-" and "sub-" basically infer the same thing (i.e., "before" and "below," respectively).

TNG and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (DS9), whether knowingly or not, also initiated an army branch to the Romulan military (ranks are low to high):

• Sublieutenant (e.g., Setal, TNG's "The Defector")
• Major (e.g., Rakal, TNG's "Face of the Enemy")
• Colonel (e.g., Lovok, DS9's "The Die Is Cast")
• General (e.g., Velal, DS9's "When It Rains …")

Again, four grades isn't much to speak of; however, we can infer a few others by using the prefix "sub-" and thereby expand the ranks of the army. Thus, the final list (from low to high) would be:

• Sublieutenant
• Lieutenant
• Submajor
• Major
• Subcolonel
• Colonel
• Subgeneral
• General

Conjecture: Two of these ranks have been held by Tal Shiar officers (i.e., Rakal and Lovok), which may infer that they are only used by Romulan intelligence, not an army.

As you can see, both branches have eight ranks apiece, which also means they are corresponding ranks (i.e., "admiral" = "general," "commander" = "colonel," etc.).

(Note: There is no Romulan military rank of "captain." However, in the 2009 Star Trek movie, Nero, a civilian miner, used it to denote himself as commanding officer of the Narada.)

If you're a Star Trek writer, then please share these lists with your friends and colleagues, and consider standardizing them (especially at Pocket Books).

Klingon Ranks

The ever-succinct Klingons keep it relatively simple when it comes to the rank hierarchy of the Klingon Defense Force (KDF). Here is the list (all canon) from low to high. Where possible, I've included the Klingonese (tlhIngan Hol) translation.

• Crewman (bekk) – e.g., Alexander Rozhenko (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's [DS9's] "Sons and Daughters")
• Lieutenant (Sogh) – e.g., Klag (Star Trek: The Next Generation's "A Matter of Honor")
• Commander (la') – e.g., Kor (Star Trek: The Original Series' [TOS's] "Errand of Mercy"), Kang (TOS's "Day of the Dove") and Kruge (Star Trek III: The Search for Spock)
• Captain (HoD) – e.g., Koloth (TOS's "The Trouble With Tribbles") and Klaa (Star Trek V: The Final Frontier [TFF])
• Colonel – e.g., Worf (Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country [TUC])
• Brigadier ('ech) – e.g., Kerla (TUC)
• General (Sa') – e.g., Martok (DS9), Koord (TFF) and Chang (TUC)
• Admiral ('aj) – e.g., Krell (Star Trek: Enterprise's "Divergence")

Only two entries on this list bear further commentary:

"Admiral," used only once, appears to have been discontinued after the mid-22nd century.

"Colonel," also used only once, is anomalous. In the rank systems used by the U.S. Army/Air Force/Marine Corps and the U.S. Navy, "colonel" and "captain," respectively, are equivalent. Since both appear in the Klingons' one-branch KDF, but "captain" is used more often, we will assume that "colonel" is either a one-off or an honorific given to officers of the court. At any rate, it appears to have been discontinued after the late-23rd century.

If you're a Star Trek writer, then please share this list with your friends and colleagues, and consider standardizing it (especially at Pocket Books).

Klingon Warships Suffer Ignominious Acronym

Star Trek fanatics, such as I, know that Federation starship names are preceded by the acronym "U.S.S.," which stands for "United Space Ship." It was undoubtedly adapted from the U.S. Navy's acronym, which stands for "United States Ship."

In the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Trials and Tribble-ations," Klingon warships finally got their own prefix: "I.K.S." It's never been translated, but we may assume that it stands for "Imperial Klingon Ship."

I beg to differ with this prefix acronym altogether because it does not follow precedent. In the original cinematic, VHS and DVD versions of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, the Epsilon-9 station computer referred to one of the enemy ships fighting V'ger as the "Imperial Klingon Cruiser Amar." Thus, the prefix for Klingon warships should be "I.K.C.," which, IMHO, translates as a much more powerful "introduction" to the fearsome starships of the Klingon Defense Force.

Constitution-Class Canon

"There are only 12 like it in the fleet."

Thus spoke Captain James T. Kirk in the Star Trek: The Original Series (TOS) episode "Tomorrow Is Yesterday." "It," of course, refers to his starship, the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701.

Over the years, there's been mild controversy and conjecture among fans as to the definitive identities of Enterprise's 12 sister ships of the Constitution class. In their reference tome, "The Star Trek Encyclopedia" (TSTE), Mike and Denise Okuda listed the names of the starships we actually saw in TOS, plus other names based on Gene Roddenberry's memoranda and on assumption.

When it comes to Star Trek "canon," however, if it ain't on the screen, then it ain't part of the scene. Here's Lord Edzo's definitive list of Star Trek's Constitution-class starships:

U.S.S. Constellation NCC-1017: Appeared in "The Doomsday Machine" as utterly wrecked, and later destroyed.


U.S.S. Defiant NCC-1864: Appeared in "The Tholian Web" as a "shimmering starship" on the verge of being swallowed up in a spatial interphase. It reappeared in the alternate universe of Star Trek: Enterprise, in the two-part episode "In a Mirror, Darkly."


U.S.S. Excalibur NCC-1664: Appeared in "The Ultimate Computer" and was wrecked during a war games "simulation" gone awry. The naval construction contract (NCC) number is conjecture, posited first in TSTE and then presumably "incorporated" into the "remastered" version of "The Ultimate Computer," but not seen clearly onscreen.


U.S.S. Exeter NCC-1672: Appeared in "The Omega Glory," abandoned in orbit of planet Omega-4. The NCC number became canon in the remastered version of this episode.


U.S.S. Hood NCC-1703: Appeared in "The Ultimate Computer" war games disaster. The NCC number is conjecture, posited first in TSTE and then presumably incorporated into the remastered version of the episode, but not seen clearly onscreen.


U.S.S. Intrepid NCC-1631: Previously only mentioned in "Court-Martial" and "The Immunity Syndrome." In the remastered version of the former, the starship appears in orbit of Starbase 11 and its NCC number is clearly identifiable.


U.S.S. Lexington NCC-1709: Appeared in "The Ultimate Computer" war games disaster. The NCC number is conjecture, posited first in TSTE and then presumably incorporated into the remastered version of the episode, but not seen clearly onscreen.


U.S.S. Potemkin NCC-1657: Appeared in "The Ultimate Computer" war games disaster. The NCC number is conjecture, posited first in TSTE and then presumably incorporated into the remastered version of the episode, but not seen clearly onscreen.

Thus, we have eight confirmed "sightings" of Constitution-class starships in TOS, for a total of nine when you include the Enterprise. So what are the names of the last four ships?

U.S.S. Constitution NCC-1700: Although she never appeared onscreen, she's an accepted "given" because the entire starship class was named for her. The NCC number, however, is conjecture, never having appeared clearly onscreen.

U.S.S. Farragut NCC-1647: Mentioned in "Obsession" but never seen onscreen. The NCC number is conjecture. Kirk served on this ship as a lieutenant.

U.S.S. Republic NCC-1371: Mentioned in "Court-Martial" but never seen onscreen. The NCC number, however, is canon because it was named in dialogue by Kirk, who served on the ship as an ensign. However, Kirk recalled that his friend, Benjamin Finney, had once left open the circuit to the Republic's atomic energy pile, which could have destroyed the ship. Something similar happened aboard the U.S.S. Antares in "Charlie X." Charles Evans made a warped baffle plate on its energy pile disappear, resulting in that ship's destruction. The Republic may have been of the same class as the Antares, given their similar engineering technology. In addition, in the remastered version of "Charlie X," the Antares finally appeared onscreen, but not as a Constitution-class starship.

U.S.S. Yorktown NCC-1717: Mentioned in "Obsession" and in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, but never seen. The NCC number is conjecture.

So, when we include the U.S.S. Constitution, we have a total of 10 Federation starships of that class. The three final names are unknown. That's just the way it is.

NECA's Neat "New Moon" Edward (Plus "Twilight" Bella & Edward)

I bought NECA's 2009 "Edward & Bella" 2-pack only because this Edward is different (enough) from the single-pack 2008 version. The body is the same, but he has a new head with molded shades, and, on closer inspection, his hands are different. Not sure why this was done, since there are no accessories for him to hold. It's possible, however, that the change enables this Edward to hold Bella's hand. (How sweet!)



The detailing on Bella is extraordinary. She's wearing a ring on her right forefinger, and if you check out her shoes, they're brown and black with white shoelaces. Bella's face and hair are amazing likenesses of Kristen Stewart; however, even though she's wearing a jacket, I think NECA could have pronounced her bust line a little more. Overall, this is a splendid Bella figurine.


The 2-pack also comes with the same Cullen crest as the Edward 1-pack. Finally, NECA got the spelling right on Edward's original surname, "Masen."

The New Moon 1-pack of Edward is quite dashing. The head is all-new, but the hair is solid brown, minus the frosted highlights of the Twilight versions. The purple dress shirt goes nicely with the grayish-black sport coat and slacks, but you've gotta check out the shoes: The brown/almost orange coloring is such a stark contrast to the suit that … well … it works. Grandly, even! This is one handsome figurine and a must-own for all Edward fans. Great job, NECA!

Klassic Klingon Kharacters to Kollect

I consider Kor (John Colicos) and Kang (Michael Ansara) to be my favorite Klingon commanders from TOS. The reason why is simple: I loved their gold sashes. They're the only Klingons to have been so decorated in TOS (and, in the first season of TNG, Worf was given the same sash to wear, only over his right shoulder).

Art Asylum created "Klingon Warrior Kor" in 2004. In 2009, Diamond Select Toys reused the Kor body and added a new head, thus creating "Kang." Each Klingon was packaged with a disruptor and a d'k tahg.

Art Asylum's Kor is the first such rendering of this character as an action figure, and it's perfect, just as he appeared in "Errand of Mercy."

In 1998, Playmates created the first Kang figure, the elder, as he appeared in the DS9 episode "Blood Oath."

Diamond Select created the first TOS Kang, as he appeared in "Day of the Dove," and he's almost perfect … but for a bit of unique decoration that's missing from the right breast of the tunic (see below).

Unfortunately, Diamond Select is notorious for striking out on many of the details of its Star Trek figures.

Regardless, these two figures are must-owns for any self-respecting collector of Klingon action figures. Qapla'!