Liviana Charvanek (also known as Di'on Charvon, Thea, and Nevesa) was a female Romulan military officer in the 23rd and 24th centuries. She was the niece of the famed commander Ael t'Rllaillieu and of Emperor Shiarkiek, although on different sides of the family. She had a sister, who was also a commander in the Romulan Grand Fleet: Mirek. She was also the cousin of Tafv, and through Shiarkiek was distantly related to her eventual husband, Narviat.
Biography[]
As of 2268, Charvanek was a fleet commander, in command of three Romulan Star Empire vessels, which intercepted the USS Enterprise as it illegally crossed the Romulan Neutral Zone. She hoped to bring the Federation's flagship to Romulus as a trophy, and attempted to seduce the ship's Vulcan science officer, Spock, in order to gain control of the vessel. However, she herself was captured, as well as the prototype cloaking device aboard her ship, the ChR Memenda. (TOS episode: "The Enterprise Incident"; CCG set: Captain's Log, card: "Charvanek", TOS video game: Timelines)
While aboard the Enterprise, the commander willingly answered non-military questions, allowing ship's crew to learn more about Romulan culture and cuisine. (TOS reference: Official Cooking Manual)
Although she was not actually a prisoner of the Federation, after her capture Charvanek was held on Starbase 23 for a short time while an exchange was arranged with the Romulan Empire. They would release an ambassadorial aide that they had planned on releasing anyway, but the Romulans were able to use the exchange to avoid appearing weak.
While at Starbase 23, Charvanek was visited by Spock who wished to ask her about Romulan cloaking technology. She mind-melded with Spock in order to ensure that he was being truthful when he said that he would only use her information for his current investigation. When she knew that he was being truthful, she was willing to answer his questions. (TOS - Section 31 novel: Cloak)
An exchange for Sarek
According to another account, she was exchanged in the end for Ambassador Sarek, who was lured into a trap by the Praetor of the Romulan Empire, as the commander had been by Spock. (TOS - Year Four comic: "The Enterprise Experiment")
After the release, she could wash her name clean so as to be placed once again in the command seat of a starship. At this time she was participating in the Phoenix incident, which was a rush after an illegal transporter technology, which could duplicate people, sometimes practically resurrecting them after their deaths. She tried to take revenge for her shame on the Enterprise crew. (TOS novels: The Price of the Phoenix, The Fate of the Phoenix)
When the Enterprise tried to test the new cloaking technology in the field, there was an incident which crippled the ship. Charvanek and her crew were on the spot. Charvanek's first officer, Che'srik Tal, tried to impress his commander (in the hope of engaging her later) by boarding and trying to capture the Enterprise, but instead he was captured by Kirk's crew. He was later released by Starfleet officers working for an obscure intelligence operation, probably Section 31. After his release, he made contact with Charvanek, who intervened as a double agent working for both the Praetor of the Romulan Empire and the Federation against the Klingons working in the Romulan alliance. (TOS - Year Four comic: "The Enterprise Experiment")
Charvanek's sister, Mirek, was commanding a ship at the time, when the secondary hull of the USS Confederate was captured by a Romulan fleet. Montgomery Scott and a team of intelligence agents stole back the experimental Starfleet ship, which fell into a dimensional rift in the process. (TOS comic: "None But the Brave")
After a scandal, she was sentenced into exile, in spite of efforts by Commander Ael to save her. This incident would forever scar her, though she managed to return to her own people in time. The fact that she was a blood relation to the Emperor protected her from simple execution. According to one account, though she retained her commission, Charvanek was sentenced to a punishment detail on Remus, and it was only through Narviat's intervention that she was permitted to live. (TOS novel: My Enemy, My Ally; TOS - Vulcan's Soul novel: Epiphany)
In 2276, Ael t'Rllaillieu took the throne in a coup and released Charvanek from exile. (TOS novel: The Empty Chair)
She participated in the incident relating to the hostage taking by the Romulans of the Warrantors of Peace. Charvanek was the officer who delivered the hostages back to the Federation. (TOS novel: Dwellers in the Crucible)
She then lived a quiet existence on Romulus but still kept command of her old ship, the IRW Honor Blade, in reserve. She was closely watched by Ambassador Spock, whom she contacted about the troubling Praetorship of the mad Dralath, whom she feared would start an unwanted war with the Federation. Spock came to Romulus himself in disguise to avert war. Charvanek took the Honor Blade to Narendra III to assist Federation forces, a seemingly traitorous act. She was captured and sent to Romulus but was helped by her old first officer, Tal, who informed Spock. The Vulcan rescued her, and Narviat arrested the Praetor. Having revealed her feelings she married Narviat, who became Praetor. However, her consort was assassinated by elements of Romulan society that opposed his drastic changes for the empire. (TOS novel: Vulcan's Heart)
By 2377, she had become the head of Romulan Security and was situated in the Office of Homeland Peace. At the time of the Watraii conflict, she abandoned her post and took a squadron of ships to fight that new enemy of the Romulan Empire. (TOS - Vulcan's Soul novel: Exodus)
Sometime after the Watraii affair, and before his assassination, Praetor Neral had Charvanek taken into the "protective custody" of priests near the shrine at Gal Gath'thong. In foreseeing his death, Neral sought to protect her from Hiren, and though she was in essence a prisoner of the state, her life was spared. In 2380, not long after the fall of Shinzon, Charvanek escaped from the priests' "care," and left to join Spock on Remus, vowing to atone for the Empire's wrongs against both the Remans and the Watraii. (TOS - Vulcan's Soul novel: Epiphany)
- The Romulan Commander played by Joanne LinvilleMA was never given a name on screen. The novel Killing Time gives her the name Thea, while the Bantam novel The Fate of the Phoenix gives her name as Di'on Charvon, to which "Charvanek" is an homage. The video game Star Trek Timelines uses the name Nevesa.
Personal Information[]
Charvanek had various skills, mainly in archaeology and physics; she was also skilled in diplomacy. (CCG set: Captain's Log, card: "Charvanek")
Quotes[]
- "You're being clever, Commander; that is unworthy of a Romulan." -- Spock
Appendices[]
Appearances and references[]
Appearances in chronological order[]
- "The Enterprise Incident"
- Cloak
- Killing Time
- The Price of the Phoenix
- The Fate of the Phoenix
- Black Fire
- Dwellers in the Crucible
- Vulcan's Heart
- Vulcan's Soul trilogy:
External link[]
- Liviana Charvanek article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.
- Nevesa article at the Star Trek Timelines Wiki.