5/22/23:
I found that pic of the Earth-Romulan War in an image search! Image Credit (Earth-Romulan War): The Battle of Cheron by davemetlesits.

Comments from the Tagboard:

---

06/05/23 12:45 PM
BrickVoid: @DaniGeek: I was not implying that you had a death in your family. I'm aware of the fact that US memorial day exists is all.
05/29/23 02:37 PM
DaniGeek: @Brickvoid: You have our condolences. But we did not have a death in the family, it's the U.S's memorial day in honor of our soldiers who are no longer with us. Summer starts when Memorial Day happens. Swiftbow had a big project he wanted to start on since it's the start of our summer here. So yeah, nothing serious, just summer projects.
05/29/23 11:54 AM
BrickVoid: No worries! Had a death in my own family, kinda occupied anyway :D I sincerely wish your Memorial Day goes as planned!
05/29/23 02:48 AM
Swiftbow: Hey, big projects kept me hopping for Memorial Day, so no comic this week. We'll be back next weekend!
05/22/23 11:45 AM
BrickVoid: As for the Spoogians, looks like they were definitely enslaved, all Dale needs now is proof and a way to save them and their loved ones!
05/22/23 11:44 AM
BrickVoid: What is that grey and blue arch in panel 8 from? It looks impressive! :D

Transcript
Panel 1:
Commander Dale Zurkett: Anyway... the Romulan Empire is about as powerful as the Federation. So to avoid all-out war, we try to negotiate treaties when we can.
    That's why I'm... we're here.
Stickleback: And you are this Federation leader?

Panel 2:
Dale: Ha! Far from it. I'm just the first officer of a ship that my leaders sent here.
Stickleback: But you say you can help us?
Dale: As much as I'm able.
    Now you said you're enslaved... but that's the LEAST of their crimes? Stickleback: You must understand... it was not always like this.
    Spoogians have known of the point-ears for a long time.

Panel 3:
Stickleback: In the long ago, they would come and trade for spice. For many years they came.
    Because of the sky fires, Spoogians only came to the surface to forage.
    But then came the great star flashing.... no traders came for months.

Panel 4:
Dale: Star flashing? Do you mean the Earth-Romulan War?
    That was our ships fighting in space above your planet.

Panel 5:
Stickelback: We know little of your sky science, human. But likely it was so. For when the brightest star flashing ceased, many point-ears came to Spoogie.

Panel 6:
Stickleback: Humans came too... and they battled each other.
    The Spoogians feared their terrible weapons and begged them to stop.

Panel 7:
Stickleback: And they did! The star people made peace. And the Spoogians rejoiced.

Panel 8:
Stickleback: Together they built great machines to hold back the sky fire. And some of the old enemies became close.
    And with the sky fire gone, we Spoogians could live on the surface.
    A golden age came to Sping-Spang-Spoogie.

Panel 9:
Dale: Well, we call the "sky fire" a particle shower. But what you said matches our data records.
Stickleback: After a time, the great ones left. Spoogians alone again.
    So we learned to fix and run the big machines.
Dale: But then the Romulans came back.

Panel 10:
Stickleback: Yes! But not like in the stories of before. This time they did not lay down their weapons.
    And they make us build more machines filled with the terrible weapons.
    They take our food, give us back a pittance, and call it "equity."
    They take our spice and pay us nothing. They take our men and women as slaves to dote upon their leaders.
    And they take...

Panel 11:
Stickleback: They take our children.