General's Log 001

Posted on 21 Mar 2017 @ 4:31pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm

345 words; about a 2 minute read

Admir...General's Log, Stardate 68056.6

I fear the spirits will judge me for what I've just done... I know Starfleet certainly will. No less than two hours ago, I gave the order to fire on USS Sentinel. Let the record state that it was my decision and mine alone, and should this log be recovered, my crew's actions were a result of my commands for which I take full responsibility.

I suppose my attempts to minimize casualties will be a tiny cliffnote at my court-martial. And I can only hope Captain Matis will be able to forgive me in time. I've...come to terms with my decision -- not only to help Kreanus, but also to do what I must to return my crew to the Federation alive and well. In the process of it all, I want to think I've done the right thing and stood by my convictions as a captain and member of the Federation. I'm not blind to the rumors from the Klingons and the Galileo survivors; many of them have doubts about me, the mission, and my plans. But a sovereign world asked for my crew's help to not only ensure their survival, but also preserve the political balance of the Quadrant. Would I be a fool to refuse their request?

I'm reminded of my teachings about Earth history at the Academy. In the early years of the world's founding, a famous former-enslaved man by the name of Frederick Douglass once said:

"If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom, and deprecate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground, they want rain without the thunder and lightning."

And so this is Kreanus' struggle, and now ours. In the end, the circumstances of our involvement don't matter. My crew and I are good people -- scientists. Yet we would be doing the unthinkable if we turned our heads and buried them in the soft, crystal sands of Vajripam.

Computer, end log

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