Terran Empire

Star Trek race|if=
bgcolor=##ffffff
Name=Terran Empire
other_names=


Size=100px
Caption=The official emblem of the Terran Empire.
Founded= Circa mid-20th century
Founder=
Form of Government=Military dictatorship disguised as an absolute monarchy
Currency=Credit
Leader=Empress Hoshi Sato, Spock (Mirror Universe)
Dominant Race=Humans
Planet=Earth
Affiliation=None

In the fictional universe of "Star Trek", the Terran Empire is the Mirror Universe counterpart of the United Federation of Planets, and differs from the Federation in aspects of philosophy and ethics. Where the Federation has strict rules protecting less-advanced societies, the Prime Order of the Empire is to allow no resistance to its wishes to go unpunished. Punishment on Imperial Starfleet vessels is administered by the use of hand-held agonizer or, for serious offenses, such as an unsuccessful assassination of a superior, the agony booth. Both of these devices work by direct stimulus of the brain's pain centers. Aliens are experimented on in painful ways as a matter of routine.

Description

The uniforms and heraldry of the Empire reflect its very violent nature. Uniforms are more flamboyant than those of the UFP, and always incorporate weapons — daggers and phasers.

The symbol of the Empire is a stylized Earth (Centered on the Americas) with a sword behind it, the hilt appearing to protrude from the North Pole and the point coming out behind the South Pole. The flag of the Terran Empire displays the imperial symbol rendered in gold on a field of crimson. [Berman, Rick and Braga, Brannan (Creators of ') editors "Glass Empires" (Three Tales of the Mirror Universe)--"Age of the Empress" by Dayton Ward and Kevin Dilmore [ Story by Mike Sussman ] ; "Sorrows of Empire" by David Mack; "The Worst of Both Worlds" by Greg Cox) New York:2007 Pocket Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. (Trade Paperback) Page 230] (In the ' episode "In a Mirror, Darkly", in the introduction, this flag can be seen being planted on Earth's Moon. One opinion is that this is a Mirror Universe Neil Armstrong, but the space suit shown clearly indicates the Terran flag is from a second, later trip; possibly after the discovery of warp flight.) Assassination of disobedient officers by their subordinates is encouraged as a means of maintaining discipline or career advancement for those who are successful. As such, high-ranking officers are often shown with bodyguards to counter such attempts. Starship commanders are seen keeping one, or even several, consorts from among the crew, although these relationships have tended to be brief. Corruption and profiteering are endemic to the entire imperial system, as evidenced by Spock's statements to Kirk that their past missions together have been successful and profitable. However, life in the Empire is not wholly corrupt, as characters from the Empire have been occasionally depicted with redeeming qualities, such as loyalty. For example, as the ISS "Enterprise" is being bombarded by Tholians, Captain Maximilian Forrest heroically stays behind in order to get his crew into lifeboats and safely off the ship.

Vulcans are depicted as transitioning from a second-class race of the Empire (as seen in the "" episode "In a Mirror, Darkly") to becoming one of the more influential member-races — nearly as ruthless as Humans, as typified by the mirror Spock.

The Empire is stated to be unstable in the first episode in which it appears ("Mirror Mirror"), and the mirror-universe Spock estimates that it will be violently overthrown in the next few centuries. In the "" episode "Crossover", it is shown that the Empire fell to an alliance of Klingons and Cardassians, and Humans and Vulcans were enslaved. What happened to Earth or the planet Vulcan in this universe was left unexplored in canon.

Novels

The books written by William Shatner indicate that the Empire fell to the Alliance at the Battle of Wolf 359. In the aftermath, the Alliance proceeds to Earth and boils the Great Lakes. The surviving Terrans are either slaves, or second-class citizens at best.

Tiberius

Following the events of (TOS: Mirror, Mirror), Spock became Captain of the Enterprise, and later, the leader of the Terran Empire (by silently deposing Emperor Tiberius, according to the Shatner Novels). Seeking political asylum, Tiberius runs straight into the arms of the "oppressed" Klingons. It is indicated that he was responsible for opening negotiations between the Klingons and Cardassians, which ultimately led to the formation of the Alliance. Shortly after these initial negotiations, Tiberius disappeared in a mysterious accident, roughly the same time that his Federation counterpart was sucked into the Nexus and presumed dead for the greater part of a century.

Government

"" established that the Terran Empire is an absolute monarchy headed by an Emperor. In the episode "In a Mirror, Darkly", Hoshi Sato assassinates Jonathan Archer (who had been attempting to declare himself Emperor) and, using the firepower of the captured USS "Defiant", installs herself as Empress. A sequel to this episode was planned, but the cancellation of the show prevented it from being made, thus the fate of Sato remains a mystery.

Subject states were required to pay a tribute called the imperial tithe.

Collapse

The "" episode "Crossover" depicts the Terran Empire as having fallen to the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance with Humans and Vulcans enslaved. It is the stated belief of some of the Mirror Universe characters that this was due to reforms in the Empire promoted by Mirror Spock. However, it is has never been established in official canon when and how the Empire met its end, or what happened to the counterpart "Enterprise" crew.

References

External links