Helvia on Wheels

Helvia is an original character to Star Trek Fleet Command. She’s one of the officers that you’ll want to know where she is at all times, as she can greatly increase the warp speed of your ships.

The Basics

Helvia’s expertise in Parsteel refinement has made a good career for her, but her general antipathy towards the maneuvering and politicking inherent in the Romulan Merchant Marine has prevented her from rising particularly high. She’s actually quite comfortable with this; she’d rather have satisfying work than a fancy title.

Helvia is a command officer in the Surveyors and Miners crew, and her stats are highest in defense and health. She’s a common officer, who doesn’t require any officer badges to max out.

Captain Maneuver

Parsteel Miner – Helvia increases the Mining Rate of the ship by 20% when mining Parsteel. 

This will be useful to you early in the game when you’re going to be mining Parsteel, it will also come in handy later on in the game when you get missions the require you to mine millions in Parsteel. Other than that, you won’t use her as a captain all that often.

Officer Ability

Gold Rush – As long as the Cargo of the ship is empty, Helvia increases its Warp Speed.

This is one of the more practical officer abilities in the game. It’s great to get to mines quickly, it’s also useful for a number of missions that involve long-distance travel.

But it’s even better for long-distance base-raiding.  Teaming her with Stonn‘s cargo capacity bonus, and Domitia’s return speed bonus, and you’ll be able to loot distant bases much quicker.

Pike does not increase this ability.

Trivia

When writers in Star Trek need a Romulan name, they go straight for Ancient Rome. They’ve done so here. Helvia was a plebian family name in Rome.

Famous members of the family include (from Wikipedia):

• Gnaeus Helvius, a military tribune who was slain in battle against the Gauls and Carthaginians near Mediolanum in 203 BC.^[2][3]
• Gaius Helvius, praetor in BC 198, with Cato the Elder, his colleague as plebeian aedile the previous year. He accompanied the consul Sextus Aelius Paetus into Cisalpine Gaul, and received command of one of the consul’s armies. Nine years later, in 189, he was legate to the consul Gnaeus Manlius Vulso in Galatia.^[4][5][6]
• Marcus Helvius Blasio, plebeian aedile in BC 198, and praetor in 197, assigned the province of Hispania Ulterior. On his return home in 195, he was attacked by an army of 20,000 Celtiberi near the town of Illiturgi in Hispania Citerior; his guard of 6,000 defeated the Celtiberi and took the town. He was awarded an ovation, and in 194 was one of the commissioners for founding the colony of Sipontum in Apulia.^[7][8][9]
• Helvius Mancia, an orator of some cleverness, whose poor appearance was mocked by either Gaius Julius Caesar Strabo, with whom he was engaged in a lawsuit, or (according to Pliny), by Lucius Licinius Crassus, the orator, about BC 90.^[10][11][12]
• Helvius Blasio, a friend of Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus, for whom he tried to set an example by taking his own life, when Brutus was captured by his enemies.^[13]
• Gaius Helvius Cinna, a celebrated poet, friend of Catullus,^[14] and tribune of the plebs in 44 BC. He was lynched at Julius Caesar‘s funeral after being mistaken, on account of his name, for the praetor Lucius Cornelius Cinna, who had just delivered an incendiary speech in support of the dictator’s assassins.^{[15][16][17][18][19][20][21]}
• Marcus Helvius Rufus, a soldier who was recognized for his bravery in battle against Tacfarinas. He might be the same person as Marcus Helvius Rufus Civica.^[22]
• Marcus Helvius M. f. Rufus Civica, a centurion Primus Pilus, named in a dedicatory inscription from Varia in Latium, dating from the reign of Tiberius.^[23]
• Helvia, the wife of Seneca the Elder, and mother of Seneca the Younger.^[24]
• Marcus Helvius Geminus, raised to the patriciate by Claudius, was governor of Macedonia, and proconsular legate of Asia.^[25]
• Lucius Helvius Agrippa, proconsular governor of Sardinia from AD 68 to 69.^[26][27]
• Helvia Procula, the wife of Gaius Dillius Vocula, commander of the twenty-second legion. When her husband was slain during the Batavian rebellion in AD 70, Helvia dedicated a monument at Rome commemorating his military and political career.^[28]
• Gnaeus Helvius Sabinus, a candidate for aedile of Pompeii shortly before the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. ^[29]
• Helvius Successus, father of the emperor Pertinax, was a freedman, who worked as a wool merchant and charcoal-burner at Alba Pompeia.^[30]
• Marcus Helvius Clemens Dextrianus, equestrian governor of Raetia during the reign of Commodus.^[31]
• Publius Helvius Pertinax, emperor from January to March, AD 193. After an illustrious military and political career, he was proclaimed emperor following the murder of Commodus, and embarked upon a series of reforms; but in his haste he quickly made enemies, and was soon dispatched by the Praetorian Guard.^[3