Star Trek Constellation: Testimony

Captain’s Log 

“Testimony” 

Time is a blur to me now, as I stand in my dress uniform, in front of a tribunal of Admirals whose steely stare is a match for my own. Alynna- no, Admiral Nechayev, is collected and distant. She seems far from our days of former camaraderie. When I served under then Commander Nechayev, in my early career, there was a feeling of accomplishment and the thrill of purpose. The missions that we took were daring and required the utmost in skill and dedication. It would not be far to say that the shape of the Officer I am today is in great part to that era. However we did not part on graceful terms. It was under her order that I found the line I would not cross, and crossed it anyway. The taste of field work, a neutral term applied to missions that were anything but, turned sour and I withdrew from the business of shadows. It is said that once you are in, you can never get out. For a time I believed I was the exception to this. Seeing Nechayev before me now, tells me that the axiom is more truth than I care for. 

Is this a test of some sort? I cannot believe it a coincidence. She would only face me now if there was a purpose that served her interests here. In the trappings of a court drama, the real mystery is not the question of whether I am guilty. I have always been so. But whether I am still useful enough to be reclaimed as a tool for her purpose, or whether I have gathered too much rust to be useful and can be thrown away. Through the recollection of the Jemison’s crew… my crew.. My leadership has once again been put to the test. The difference is that this time, I am certain that I have made the right choice, if not the correct one.  

It is Lt Conner Helmsworth who is called first to the stand, the friendly face of a young Donobulan pilot, and in fact the Officer who took command of the ship in my extended absence. He testified that I seemed rational and calm, to all appearances my normal self when I returned from the supposedly 11 days of captivity in our own holodeck. His words described the condition of the USS Takal as we answered the distress signal, and the information that we suspected a Cardassian ship involvement from the data we gathered at the site of the incident. 

After him, Lt Kehla then took the stand. There was an initial protest due to her Klingon allegiance, but was overridden by the Admirals. Our exchange doctor took us through the discovery of a missing shuttle from the Takal, and the away party that went to the Quelka home planet in order to find it. Though it is the understanding that all missions are dangerous, I have had a surplus of luck in regards to the mortality of my crew. Unfortunately for my Science Officer, Lt JG Livingston, his life was put in danger when the Cardassians that we suspected proved to be fact, they surrounded us on the planet during our search for Admiral Garve. 

Captain’s Log Supplemental

Stardate: 47513.9 

Through the superior healing skills of Lt Kehla, our science officer did not suffer a fatal injury. In fact, Kehla was able to keep Livingston alive in such dire circumstances that the Cardassians had to take note of the potential for her to help them with their own wounded. I negotiated a brief cease fire using that as leverage. To my pleasant surprise, Gul Daro was the senior officer in charge when the Cardassians took us to their place of refuge. An ancient Quelka laboratory in need of exploration. I pity my poor ship, full to the brim with survivors from the Takal and now also the Trager, as I offered the opportunity to take the Cardassians off the planet. Preventing further conflict between them and the native Quelka population. We did have a moment of tension when Admiral Garve found us in the laboratory and fired a shot toward the Cardassian that was assisting Storyteller in puzzling out the information from the Ancient Quelka. The old Telerite seemed to have been through quite a bit of stress, with the shuttle crash and all. I had him sent to the medical bay upon returning to the Jemison to be treated for the effects of radiation that the planet was inflicting on those without environmental suits.

When I returned to the ship, it seems that Commander Faren had his own bit of excitement as a creature similar to the previous one we encountered in the Helaspont Nebula, was using the Trager to fire at us, while phasing in and out of time and space here. It explained the blasts of chronoton weaponry that we had experienced prior to this encounter. The creature seemed to be somewhat augmented, in that it was designed to function as a partially biological and partially mechanical being with potential for a crew. 

Many things happened in rapid succession after this. I spoke with the shadowy figure on the holodeck, disinclined to give Section 31 the satisfaction of having my aid once more, I may have done more to injure my son’s future in Starfleet there. However I think he would approve of my actions afterward. When Admiral Garve ordered me to stand down, so that he could assume command of the Jemison, I refused. It warmed me to see Commander Faren and the rest of the crew stand behind me in this mutinous decision. Though Garve’s warning about risking the lives of my people did sit heavily on me. It led me to sending the ship away, and only having a small shuttle board the Creature in an effort to shut down the time travel ability that this creature possessed. We were successful to some degree, though it required Storyteller, and also the Cardassian spy, Nijal to remain behind in the creature to pilot it back to it’s time of origin...  

...The review of the incident during my courts martial did lead to an exoneration of the charges, however it became clear that my time to move on from the Captain’s chair had come. In spite of my promise to retire, I find myself accepting Admiral Nechayev’s offer of a position in Starfleet Intelligence, above board, this time. When I passed on good wishes to Faren, he startled me by grasping my ear in the Bajoran tradition. His new ship, the USS Pioneer should be well served by the majority of the Jemison’s crew as it has been scheduled for decommission.  

Star Trek Constellation: No Win Scenario Part II

Captain’s Log Supplemental

Stardate: 47510.7 (July 6th, 2370)

The infamous Kobayashi Maru test has given our doctor quite an interesting experience. I would stand by my offer to recommend her to Starfleet, if that is a path that she is willing to take.

Coming out of the Holodeck after what has reportedly been 11 days of captivity, Lt Kehla, Commander Faren, Storyteller, Commander T’lir and myself are all understandably confused by the event. We have lost a number of precious days, if the date of the chronoton event revealed by our research into the subject proves accurate. Storyteller, in particular, has had a bad run of luck. Sustaining several injuries as her petite frame was thrown about from the dangers of the uncontrolled environment.

The range of programs that we marathoned through included my own Lake Vioria recreational file, a small sailing ship on the calm waters of my home planet. The Priceless, a ship named in honor of my son, was only a temporary comfort. The waves of the lake overturned the vessel and lead to a separation of the crew. As mentioned previously, we needed to find a way to communicate with the other half when we received the news that we should not turn off the holodeck. Utilizing and tinkering with a combadge, Faren was able to connect through to Kehla and Storyteller. A small side note, the program that Storyteller is creating for her own personal efforts is quite an interesting experience. I am not sure of the reason she included a humanoid creature dying of an untreatable poison, however I was not able to shake the compulsion to stay with the hologram until it expired.

One more noteworthy event to mention, a shadowed figure that was not a program, but some holographic imposition into the ship, confronted us and cautioned me to move quickly in my ‘mission’. Instincts tell me that this individual is an agent of my former career path, and that the chronoton radiation has displaced the encounter. What I mean is that I have been contacted by a future Section 31 agent, and they have a concern for the security of the Federation. In the spirit of mending the tensions between myself and Commander Faren, I later shared this information with him. It is my hope that we have finally managed to earn each other’s trust and that we will face this threat, and the dealings with Section 31, together as Starfleet Officers.

Star Trek Constellation: No Win Scenario Part I

Captain’s Log

Stardate: 47480.8 (June 25 2370)

“No Win Scenario”

My hacking skills have gotten rusty. With a wounded pride I have to admit that Lt Kehla was able to complete her research into the Chronoton radiation before I have finished cracking the Preserver database. Whether she was aware of this friendly competition is of no consequence, I am beginning to feel my age. The sting was a little lessened when I invited our Klingon Doctor for hand to hand combat exercise with her D’k tahg. Playing somewhat dirty, I swept her off balance and won the match, to both of our surprise. Naivety set aside, she was interested in learning that particular move so we spent more time together and I had a bit of an opportunity to tease her about the romantic developments with our Helmsman.

There is no such thing as a casual mission. Starfleet does not send any crew out on a simple task. Be your best self, on duty and off… This is what I should have told the cadet bridge crew that took over the Jemison for a survey mission as part of the training program that our ship is used for. Instead I thought it fitting to let Commander Faren take on the task of seeing the fresh faces of the young crew at the beginning of their journey. Perhaps the reminder of that hope and idealism will be a prompt for his own internal reflections. I have resolved not to test the boundaries of his mind since the incident of the last mission, but the broken trust between us is making a mark in many small ways.

Expecting respite from the active role of the bridge, Commander T’lir requested that some senior staff meet at the Holodeck in order to review the programs that our civilian specialist, Storyteller, has created for the cadet training course. T’lir has a very mild presence for a Vulcan, her mind is not so much walled off from stray thoughts as it is so quietly controlled that I never pick up the words or notice they are there. The exception to this is when she is confronted with Storyteller’s holographic works. I have come to respect and enjoy this contrast in the cadet’s head Instructor, maybe Commander T’lir would enjoy the latest brew of Cyndriel kelp tea.

Regardless of the difference of opinion, we should test the training program in order to understand why such a great percentage of cadets are having difficulty. Things didn’t go as expected, another illustration of the lesson that I wished to impart upon the children taking over my bridge this morning. Some exotic substance related to the Chronoton radiation leaked into the holodeck circuits. Programs are mixing together with the safety setting disabled. More importantly, we received a message from the crew outside of the holodeck who are attempting to free us from this situation, warning us not to turn off the holodeck manually until they can fix the settings. Otherwise we would be dematerialized along with the currently mangled programs. Further still, Lt Kehla and Storyteller have been separated from T’lir, Faren and myself. It is imperative that we are able to pass along the warning that we have received.  

Star Trek Constellation: A Tangled Web Part II

Captain’s Log Supplemental

Stardate: 47439.8 (June 10, 2370)

Gul Daro of the Cardassian ship, Trager, is a surprisingly reasonable young man. I do not know if Commander T’lir understood my intentions in humoring the situation, but in light of my review I thought it best to try and explain in advance. The Trager was sent after the Maquis lead by Kellin Voll, just as we have been. Their people have suffered significant losses because of this terrorist cell, and the Cardassians are far less likely to give them any measure of leniency or mercy. Judging it best to cooperate and follow the wisdom of ‘keeping your enemies closer’ I authorized an exchange of information with Gul Daro. He seemed particularly surprised that I did not push back on his suggestion to be the lead investigator of the mission. Federation belligerence has a reputation well deserved.

In the end of course, compromising personal integrity does have a price to pay. My account balance on this score is so far ‘in the red’ as they say, that I fear I will never atone for the full measure. May the Gods, or the Prophets, be with Commander Faren in finding a way more true to himself than I have been.

Can I forgive him? In some ways I have not been the leader that he hoped for, resentment lingers between myself and my first officer like a line of decay on unripened fruit. Careful removal of the distrust and suspicion may yet salvage the careers that we both cling to but it will not be an easy relationship to rebuild. Let me record the mission’s events in their entirety now…

The ground mission to Sigen III was successfully lead by Commander Faren Edon. He contacted a former friend and fellow Bajoran with ties to the Maquis. Whatever personal conflicts that the Commander experienced during this time, I am not privy to, however it seemed to leave a lasting impression of confusion. Additionally the relationship of our Chief Medical Officer, Lt Kehla and our Helmsman, Connor Helmsworth; has taken on interesting courtship tensions. I look forward to seeing what may come of this in the future. During the mission, there was a physical altercation between the away team and members of the Maquis. We captured two of the three and after communicating a subspace message regarding the pursuits of the Cardassian ship, the away team returned to the Jemison with their prisoners.

Broku Doa, a friend of Commander Faren. And Rilurr, a Caitian scrubbed out of Starfleet Academy due to his uncontrolled violent outbursts. Storyteller seemed to take a particular interest in the Caitian, exchanging many insults while trying to assist in gaining information. I believe this may be Storyteller’s own particular form of courtship ritual, however the romance was ill fated, as I intended to bargain the Maquis back to Kellin Voll in exchange for the true mission goal, the Tholian Web technologies.  

During this interrogation, Commander Faren had the bridge. It was his response that took us to the site of the conflict between the Trager and the small squad of Maquis ships. Unable to bring himself to fire on the Maquis, I made the call myself when I returned to the bridge. We were so nearly successful at destroying the Tholian Web deployment fixture. That is what makes the rest of the mission all the more painful to recollect. I convinced Gul Daro to stand down temporarily while we made the exchange of prisoners for technology, it was a delicate situation that turned sour. Not because of the Cardassians, but because Kellin Voll instead sent a false piece of machinery in the Tholian Web device’s place. It was a flash of superiority and smugness as he warped away that triggered my suspicions, however we could not capture him in a tractor beam quickly enough to recover the mission objective.

The larger failure in this was that while escorting the prisoners to the transporter room, Commander Faren had access to the equipment received from the Maquis, and did not contact me as soon as the ruse was discovered. There is a reasonable argument to be made that he did not realize the deception in time, but I believe it was his internal conflict that lead to the delay. The failure however, ultimately, is mine.

As Captain of the USS Jemison, it is my duty to carry all repercussions of negligence of duty. Whatever the results of Commander T’lir’s report on my command ability, I have the responsibility to ensure the functioning dynamics of this crew. Somewhere I have gone wrong, and with great regret I have withdrawn my recommendation that Commander Faren Edon serve as my replacement in command.  

Star Trek Constellation: A Tangled Web Part I

Captain’s Log

Stardate: 47439.8 (June 10, 2370)

“A Tangled Web”

Work on both the Preserver Database and the Chronoton Radiation continues to yield breakthroughs. In particular, Commander Faren was able to make significant progress getting a handle on the shielding and possible defensive algorithms to mitigate damage from further Chronoton weapons hits. In my efforts with the Database, we unlocked the oldest files, which dated up to 200 years ago. All reports of these works are documented and sent to the respective Starfleet departments as appropriate.

Six days have passed since the incident at the Mirai Station. I have a not heard from any Starfleet Council representative, until today. Perhaps I am losing my touch, but I didn’t suspect what was to come when our orders were to rendezvous with Admiral Garve at the location of the USS Takal. I must say that I have a particular fondness for this Tellerite, although I would not call our relationship close. It is in his nature to make jokes of uncomfortable situations and so he did pay a comment to my recent experience. Were our positions reversed, I may have done the same.

That aside, I do take exception with the orders that have been issued in regards to my command. Some, and I have my guess as to who, in Starfleet Command have decided that the incident at the Mirai Station highlights an oversight on my part. My command is being questioned and monitored voluntarily by Commander T’lir. Who will then report to Commander Faren, should it be determined that I am unfit. It is a petty suspicion, but I doubt these measures would have been enacted had my Chief Medical Officer not gone so far as to call out a Regulation 121A during the whole transporter split incident. Lieutenant Kehla and I have yet to discuss this matter.

Yet, in spite of their obvious doubts, the Jemison has been personally requested to undertake a new mission. The most sensitive objective we have been given with a crew of cadets. We are to track a leader of a group of Maquis, Kellin Voll, who has somehow acquired the ability to deploy a Tholian Web. The Tholian ambassador insists this matter be dealt with quickly and by the USS Jemison. Due to the particular associations that this ship had during the Tholian war, it is of a somewhat legendary status among them.

I made it a point to clarify our primary objective with Admiral Garve, the technology of the Tholian Web is to be recovered or neutralized, the matter of the Maquis is secondary to the mission. In light of the monitoring of my command, and the personal connections that my first officer must be dealing with, it seemed a prudent point to leave my options open. I have no love for the Maquis and their actions, however I cannot in good conscious condone some of the methods of upholding their ideals, many things that I have done myself in years past. Whatever my classified history might imply, there are certainly some lines not to be crossed, we will soon discover what kind of person this Kelin Vol is.

The opportunity to issue Commander Faren an away mission with his own choice of crew has finally arrived. I do not doubt that he will show himself to be a capable leader. Should I be judged unfit for command of the Jemison, this will put him in a better position to take my place. I would much rather Faren inherit her, than any other Starfleet might issue. For his part, I do sense some personal conflict, given the subject of our mission however, that is not unexpected. His choice of team consists of Lt Kehla, Ensign Domara Ekhot, and Lt Connor Helmsworth. The last of which is an interesting young man, Denobulan and yet so eager to explore the universe that he is willing to adopt a nickname given to him in the academy as his official name. I look forward to hearing the mission report from this team. More and more I realize that the crew of the USS Jemison is an odd and unique one. It will be a bitter time when I part from her, whether that time is soon or comes later.

Star Trek Constellation: A House Divided Part II

Captain’s Log Supplemental

Stardate: 47423.1 (June 4, 2370)

The party was very lovely, before Storyteller came in and turned the hologram off. Of course a part of me realized that this was all some sort of facade, how could I not? There were no emotions or mental presence from these people, from the moment I stepped off of the transporter deck. It seemed like something to just go along with. Even if nothing that peaceful can last forever.

Being stunned by Commander Faren was certainly an uncomfortable experience. Although from what I gather, he believed that I had shot him in the back with a phaser previously. Quite curious...

The situation turned out to be even more strange than expected. Apparently having been split into two from a sabotaged transporter incident, my other self had run rampant aboard the station and made a bit of a mess with the crew and civilians. When we confronted her, I could sense immediately that the pieces were missing from each of us. With no other options, she gave in to my influence and we were taken back to the ship to be reunited.

Star Trek Constellation: A House Divided Part I

Captain’s Log

Stardate: 47423.1 (June 4, 2370)

“A House Divided”

While Commander Faren is taking a well deserved vacation on Risa. The rest of us are stocking up on supplies and handling a few housekeeping tasks around the ship. We continue to work on cracking the Preserver database, though make little progress and nothing of significance to tell of this ongoing project yet, other than the teamwork between myself and Storyteller has reached something of a comfortable understanding. The Naoian is not a subtle creature. I find this directness a refreshing change after my particular career history.

The Exchange Doctor and Lt. Livingston are considerably more productive on their investigation into the chronoton radiation event, they propose that we were hit with a weapons grade blast, especially effective at bypassing traditional shielding. I had a hunch that perhaps the shot was aimed at the Preserver ship that we first encountered in the Alkaid system, however computer projections negated this theory. In any event, neither of our long term goals have been resolved as of yet.

The latest mission is a simple resupply run. We heading toward the Mirai Station, a civil scientific research outpost near the Cardassian Demilitarized Zone. A joke running among the crew is that we should jettison the supplies toward the station and warp out to prevents ourselves from being involved in any unexpected shenanigans. I may have followed this course of action in the spirit of allowing myself some leeway to surprise the crew, however a request for introductions was made by the station's holodeck specialist, it seems that Storyteller has a fan.

Leaving the ship in Ensign Ekot’s capable hands, a selection of crew and myself left to stretch our legs on the station. While it is true that I picked the same people that have had a number of recent away missions, I intended to task Commander Faren with the oversight of the supply transfer, and the rest of us to get a day’s relaxation. Lt Kehla in particular seems to need some time away from the overly Federation environment that she resides in. And I am just looking forward to possibly picking up a new outfit at the station, it is always interesting to see what trendy fashion springs up on these places of cultural mixing.

...after arriving at the station, I am afraid that not all is as it should be. The scientists here are up to something, there are signs of Romulan and Cardassian alliance that can only mean an attempt to use this place as a foothold into the Federation territory. I am investigating this matter with considerable urgency. Although some of my own crew has failed to rise to the expectations that I have for them, the disappointment must be put aside for the greater purpose. I will deal with those who have mutinied against me once I have stabilized the situation.