Destruction of Romulus

In the early 2380s, scientists warned that the star of the Romulan system was approaching a supernova that would destroy both Romulus and Remus. The Federation, led by Admiral Jean-Luc Picard, prepared a huge evacuation, but after the attack on Mars in 2385 it abandoned the plan, leaving the Romulans to rescue as many of their own people as they could.

When the star exploded in 2387, the shockwave annihilated the Romulan homeworld and its sister planet, along with countless lives. Ambassador Spock had set out with red matter to create a black hole that would absorb the blast, but he arrived too late. Nero, a Romulan miner who had lost his family, blamed Spock and the Federation.

The black hole pulled both Spock's ship and Nero's Narada back in time, creating the Kelvin timeline. In the prime reality, the disaster scattered the Romulan people and plunged the region into lawlessness and resentment.