Mission Log 3 - Ended Stardate 21310.20 "Marooned"

Mission Logs for Avenger/James Madison mission, “Marooned”.

Mission Summary

Mission dates: 21304.25 through 21310.20.

Avenger

Avenger was assigned to patrol the Tholian border region, a heavily-disputed area in a remote region.

During that mission a distress message from a very old Federation probe was detected. James Madison was dispatched to get it.

Avenger ended up returning after losing contact with the James Madison, encountered and destroyed a modified Tholian vessel, and then rescued her crew and got out of dodge before the Tholians arrived to lay claim to the Halless system.

James Madison

James Madison was dispatched to Halless I to retrieve a damaged probe. Upon attempt to land the ship lost all power and crashed, marooning the crew until Avenger could rescue them.

Encounters with nightmarish aliens, destruction of James Madison, and an utter lack of working technology made their survival challenging, and their rescue nearly impossible.

Logs

Captain’s Logs

Captain Derrick Grant

21304.25

Captain's Log, Star Date 21304.25.

After a relatively uneventful shore leave, the USS Avenger has been assigned a patrol mission along the Tholian border. To make some utilization of this time, we have scheduled a set of relatively random drills of possible threat scenarios both from the Krynar and the other forces in the region.

Now, three days into our patrol, a distress signal has been received from a probe. The probe is orbiting Halless I, and it comes from an an unmanned exploration program abandoned by the Federation several years ago. We weren't even aware there was a probe in this sector.

Could it be a trap? Perhaps the Krynar found the probe and dumped it here to attract us away from a more valuable target? Could it be a trick of the Tholians?

Time will tell...

End log.

21306.15

Captain's Log, Star Date 21306.15.

Counting the number of stitches in the command chair's leather padding would be more exciting than this mission.

3 days on patrol, and nothing at all. The Tholians are behaving, we're behaving, the James Madison is presumably having a boring time of going after that probe.

I hope Katie is doing well, speaking of that. I was a bit nervous sending her off like that, but I felt it would be good experience for her. And the rest of the senior crew--making them work together in close quarters. It will be good for them, build some team synergy. I'd have gone but it looked like both Crawford and Azernal were going to filet me if I pushed on that one, so I backed off.

We are one of the most capable combat ships in the fleet. We arguably have the most experience with the Krynar. And yet we are here, well away from any sort of front, patrolling the Tholian border. A waste. They could have sent someone else to do this--someone who was less combat-worthy like that little ship the Yeager. They're probably on the front lines defending the Federation and gaining great experience while we're out here muddling along.

Looking out at the border, dark space, and a few Tholian patrols well on their side of the border, I am tempted. I am tempted to order a 'navigational error' just to see what the Tholians will do with it... tempted...

If nothing happens soon, I'm going to order an emergency of some sort and get us back to where the action is.

End log.

21307.11

Captain's log, Star Date 21307.11. Captain Derrick Grant recording.

Begin log.

We were less than an hour into our trip back to Halless I at the urging of Mr O’Malley when we received a distress call. The call appeared to be coming from a Federation pleasure yacht, a private vessel, registered to a prominent Andorian engineering firm—the one that made much of the sensor array used on this very vessel.

Records indicate it left Andoria 7 months ago on its way to the Tholian homeworld, to negotiate with the Tholians for a resource available on one of their planets.

The location of the distress call is coming from a location in deep space just over the border in Tholian space. It is a generic distress call, and does not tell us the nature of their difficult.

I have sent a message to the Tholian leadership and to Star Base Delta, both informing them of the distress and I have ordered course be set for the location of the ship at maximum warp. I have yet to receive a response from either, but it will take several days at least for a message to and from Delta, as the communications relay stations in this sector have all been destroyed by Krynar during their initial invasion from Bajor.

This will delay the trip to Halless I, and I have asked Mr O’Malley to explain to me the urgency he expressed for us to return there previously, but he continues to simply say that he cannot divulge details without great risk.

I’m thinking of telling him I’ll take that risk and forcing the information out of him. I have a few things in my kit in my quarters that would certainly help loosen his tongue—things I haven’t touched in years that I keep in a locked case in my bedroom closet.

For now, I’ll wait. But with Katie possibly in danger, it is difficult.

End log.

21310.06

Captain’s log, Star Date 21310.06.

It appears we have rescued our lost away team, although several have perished. I have ordered our people to start figuring out how we can either retrieve or completely destroy any technology that may have been left behind to minimize any cultural corruption. Personally I don’t care about the Prime Directive, but orders are orders, and I’d hate for these things to figure out how to make a phaser cannon in case we ever return here.

Katie seems fine, and the away team seem to have come through mostly okay, with the exception of Mister Shelmer who I’m told has a creature attached to his body; and Midshipman Schwartz whom we have trouble locking onto due to electromagnetic interference. We may need to send someone down to physically retrieve him.

I plan a crew debriefing as soon as we can leave orbit, which hopefully will be within a day or so.

End log.

21310.15

Begin log.

We have set course for home. ETA is 16 days at our maximum warp. The crew are rescued and we have destroyed the James Madison, the torpedo, and the two probes. We have left nothing for the Tholians to exploit.

Avenger is damaged heavily, and we are looking forward to a bit of rest while she is repaired.

End log.

Crew Logs

Commander Tyra Crawford

Stardate 21304.15

First Officer's Log Commander Tyra Crawford Stardate 21304.15

Well, the Avenger has launched once again. For all intents and purposes, it looks like we're being assigned to a simple patrol along the Tholian border. Unless the Tholians begin acting up, it should be a very quiet assignment, which I think is what this crew needs. We still haven't really had a chance to mesh as a crew, and at least for me, my last few assignments have been far too eventful.

Personally, I'm not certain I believe the patrol will be so uneventful. It seems like things appear when we least expect it, but after the rather chaotic shore leave I had, I'll take any peace and quiet I can find. I just hope the two new department heads we acquired adjust to the roles easily with minimal trouble.

Personal Log, Supplemental

Since I broached the topic of shore leave, I should probably mention that it ushered it a rather big change in my personal life, though not entirely unexpected. Thomas and I got married over shore leave, which I actually feel quiet happy about.

We originally had planned to wait until the war ended, but that end is looking to be farther and farther away. Thomas' mother probably had a good hand in applying some pressure, not that anyone is willing to admit that, but I think my own impatience added to the situation. Patience never was my best quality… or even in the top ten.

Still, the ceremony was perfect for being planned in a day, and I think we'll be better for this. At least, I can stop worrying about the what-ifs and the uncertainties. I just wish I had been able to stay on Delta longer, but hopefully, this patrol will be as boring as it appears and won't get extended.

End Log.

Stardate 21305.15

First Officer's Log Commander Tyra Crawford Stardate 21305.15

So far, the patrol has gone exactly as expected with one small… event. I wouldn't even call it a hiccup as it has caused no real problems... yet, and might actually offer a distraction for the officers that will be going on the James Madison to investigate.

The Avenger detected a probe's distress call from within the Halless system , orbiting Halless I to be exact, and Grant has decided that the James Madison will go to retrieve it. Originally, he wanted all the senior officers, himself, Az and myself to go, but I was able to convince him that it was a bad idea, partially. While he agreed not to go himself, he didn't change his mind on every other senior officer going, even though there really isn't much for them to do while the science and engineering types wet themselves over the probe.

He also wanted his oldest daughter, Katie, to come with us. I agreed, though I know I'll probably come to regret that should anything go wrong. Of course, I'm probably just being overly paranoid, but I can't help but be concerned about either the probe being more than it seems or some damn Krynar appearing and blowing us out of the water.

To add to that concern, Azernal had a freak out prior to our launch when he encountered the alternate version of Cooper. I vaguely remembered seeing his name and profile in the personnel reports, but I really thought very little of it. After all, of all the things that have gone wrong in my career, Cooper's death isn't even in the top three of biggest guilt causing events. However, the same definitely cannot be said for Azernal and while he is technically, by rank, the first officer for this mission, I can't help but wonder if he's really up to it. And if last mission did anything, it was shake my belief in being able to come out of situations completely unscathed -- maybe being a security officer came with immortality because I certainly never got my *** kicked by an allergic reaction like that before putting on this hideous command uniform.

It's definitely not a vote of confidence when it appears he's ignoring an order to come see me upon boarding. Until this break, he seemed like he'd dealt with his demons, but I also have a very clear memory of how distraught he was after the incident. Then again, it's only been about thirty minutes since he fled the ready room so maybe he's dragging his head out of his ass and actually dealing with his problem.

Right…I could only be so lucky.

End Log

Stardate 21306.16

First Officer's Log Commander Tyra Crawford Stardate 21306.16

I greatly underestimated the possibility of this mission to go into 'cluster' mode and do it so quickly that there was no stopping it.

For as much as I had told everyone that this mission would be routine at best, I had my concerns about Krynar or even Tholian interventions. Heck, I even anticipated a possible problem acquiring the probe, but never in all the scenarios that I manage to concoct when I can't sleep did I ever imagine that the ship would break during re-entry and plummet us to the planet's surface…

The bright side is that I insisted on Paul Braggins' daughter coming along with the hope that she was as good of a pilot as her old man. She is every bit the pilot that she's advertised to be, and somehow managed to turn a complete freefall into a relatively controlled crash landing.

However, the key to that statement is "crash landing". Everyone on the bridge seemed to have survived the crash landing, even though some are exceptionally battered, but the ship landed aft-first so I'm expecting much worse injuries and fatalities coming out of engineering and the barracks.

I'm on my way to the engine room at the moment, but with the damage I'm seeing so far, I'm not holding high hopes for what I'll find. I left Rurik to evacuate the bridge and then, begin searching the rest of the ship.

Unfortunately, I think we're going to have to evacuate the ship because without power, and we have no power on anything, we can't assess the structural integrity of the ship or have an assurance of safety from the possibility of explosions.

We'll make do. We have to.

Personal Log, Supplemental

We are so screwed. Help from the Avenger is days, if not weeks, away at best. From what I remember of Judith's description of this damn planet, it's not exactly hospitable, and we need to avoid the native population, if at all possible.

Oh, and if general survival isn't enough, we have a freakin' fifteen year old to drag around. If Derrick ever, EVER asks that one of his kids come along on another of these trips, I swear to God I am shutting that idea down as fast as possible. I still don't quite get it… he keeps that kid as far away from his job as possible and then, decides it’s a great job to drop her into a small atmosphere that she knows absolutely nothing about. I hope he at least taught her basic common sense survival skills… though I won't be holding my breath on that matter.

End Log.

Stardate 21307.05

First Officer's Log Commander Tyra Crawford Stardate 21307.05

Engineering was a disaster as expected since it took the brunt of the impact. Somehow, there was only one casualty there, but it was our senior, but still way too young, engineering officer. Engineering is now in the hands of a midshipman, a first mission middie at that. He seems capable but very shaken up by the death of his friend. I hate to put so much on his plate at the moment, but if we can't some form of power online for the beacon, we're going to have a hard time getting off this planet anytime soon, much less surviving in the long run.

We have managed to evacuate the ship with as many supplies as possible. In all, we've got somewhere between 6 and 7 dead and numerous injuries. We really need to hide the Madison and move as far as possible away to prevent an encounter with armed or hostile natives. Normally, a confrontation would be of little concern to me but with the majority of the survivors battered and only three working rifles, it's not a good idea to tempt fate more than we already will be.

We need to get out of here...

Stardate 21308.05

First Officer's Log Commander Tyra Crawford Stardate 21308.05

God, my head hurts… I feel like I went 8 rounds with Jack and Jim.

Except I'm 100% positive that I didn't. One minute, I was by the Madison, trying to organize a retreat, and the next, I'm waking up 300 meters up the side of a cliff next to a bunch of child-sized eggs. I vaguely remember a … uh, something grabbing me. I don't have my rifle anymore but I have a canteen and a few mags.

Somehow, I managed to climb down with no protective gear and an immense feeling that if God really wanted to smite me, he'd have let me tumble down the cliff and survive with extensive injuries. Or maybe, he prefers slow starvation… that's still on the menu.

I've got lots of cuts and scraps from the climb, but that's a lot better than what would have happened had I stayed put. I still don’t feel okay -- I'm shaking, my head is killing me and my limbs feel heavy. I don't have enough water to flush whatever this is out of my system, and I can't find a place to curl up and sleep it off, not when I'm still so close to that nest.

I've managed to keep moving, though it's more of a stumble than a walk. I saw a stream of water from the nest that I'm heading towards. Getting my hands on more water will be a huge relief, but with only a knife to defend myself, it's hardly the only concern I have on my plate. I'll need to worry about food soon; I've got one ration pack on me. Once that runs out, I'll need to find something… maybe those crab-things taste like Terran crabs?

I could only be so lucky…

End Log.

Stardate 21310.14

First Officer's Log Commander Tyra Crawford Stardate 21310.14

I was able to find the stream I saw from the nest. It wasn't a long walk fortunately. It seemed to be clean water, and tasted fine, better than fine actually. It seemed have some sort of healing properties; I used it to clean out my wounds and they somehow healed themselves. It's a little eerie, but I'll take having working hands again.

From the stream, I headed towards a plume of smoke that could been seen in the distance. I remembered that the planet had a railway system, which was likely to lead me towards supplies of some kind. It was risky but without supplies, it was better than starving in the desert.

I made it to the village without problem, other than being exhausted. The smoke turned out to be from a train that was derailed -- I know suspect that it was done by my own security officers. The village reminded me of some of the really small towns you can still find in the panhandle, tiny settlements of the ultra traditionalists. They put parts of my family to shame on the limited technology front.

I decided to try to make my way towards one of the outer farms with the hop of hiding out until nightfall. That's about where my luck ran out. Part away across the farm, I ran into a native, probably the farmer belonging to the farm. He had a bulky backpack device that turned out to be a weapon. There was definitely a language barrier, which I'll blame for him firing off his weapon at my feet when I couldn't understand what was happening.

I probably would have a good sized hole in me if Jack Ristone hadn't gotten the drop on him and injected him with something, a sedative I'm sure. It turns out the Madison survivors were also approaching the farm to hide with the exception of a few more that were lost during the attack that separated me from them.

I had Jack help me move our new friend behind one of the bars before we were seen while Az made sure the rest of the crew was staying hidden. We were far too close to the village for my liking, especially when we only had one weapon, but we needed the supplies.

While we waited for the chance to gather supplies, Doctor Ohmsford examined our new friend and Midshipman Schwartz attempted to disassemble his weapon with the hopes of being able to get a communication device working. I'm not sure what the doctor found but Schwartz had promising results.

Of course, while that was occurring, we were approached by 3 more natives. I took Ohmsford with me in hopes that we could negotiate with them, or at least, prevent an all out confrontation.

Boy, did that not work. I don't exactly know what happened but the leader of the natives essentially plunged his hand into Ohmsford's gut. I haven't gotten a complete explanation but from what I gathered, it was a form of communication, though I don't think we can be faulted for not reacting well to it.

The leader was shot by Feng, who was posted up on higher ground a good half kilo from our position. The doctor and I were cut off from making a retreat by the remaining two, who I was forced to shoot. We were able to get Ohmsford back to the barn so Jack could treat him, but not before seeing that we were about to be rushed by more than a dozen natives, all armed. At least Feng was present with another weapon but still two guns to 18 or so were horrible odds.

During that time period, Schwartz came to the conclusion that he needed a larger magnet to get any sort of communication out. Considering it seemed like most of the village's able bodied people were headed our way, I decided to send him, Shelmer and Az towards the village and the train workshop I saw there. At that point, we had to send the message out to survive, and that was three less people to worry about.

Shortly after sending them off, Feng yelled that we needed to get everyone to his location for a beam out. It turned out the Avenger had come back for us after all, but getting everyone to safety with the approaching natives was no easy task. I don't know how many natives Feng and I had to shoot while providing cover, and it still wouldn't have been enough. We were surrounded when the Avenger beamed us up. I can't say I'm proud of having to do that but we're alive -- or mostly --, and that was my main goal.

The Avenger beamed everyone up including a creature that's attached itself to Shelmer. I'm leaving that in Ohmsford's capable hands -- he's made a remarkable recovery from his own encounter -- and will be heading to the bridge as soon as Jack's satisfied that I'm not dying from ingesting the planet's water source.

End log.

Lieutenant Commander Adam Shelmer

Stardate 21304.17

Mission Log Stardate 21304.17 LtCdr Adam Shelmer recording: I start out our trip home heading for the Common Room for a bite to eat when I pop my head into sickbay to check on the CO. I’m in a light hearted mood, glad the ship was out of harm’s way. Well that doesn’t last… First I find out the Common Room is locked down and the replicators were off line, meaning nothing but rations for my growling stomach. Second, Ens Feng was giving me the evil eye and I didn’t know what that was all about. Third, I found that though the away team was successful in obtaining KW, we lost 3 Jem’Hadar and Private Kripki. I was devastated, learning that an order I gave caused the death of a fellow crewmate. I spent most of the rest of the journey back to the wormhole contemplating my part in Kripki’s death and how I could have done anything differently. Upon arrival, we were faced with not knowing if the ship we were to meet, the Avenger, was in fact the one we had separated from or a Krynar doppleganger. Once we verified that the ship was the Avenger, the Madison docked aboard and I stayed behind to contemplate the meaning of command and shut down the bridge.

After arrival at our assigned Starbase, a successful Promotion Ceremony was arranged and I attended. I met a pretty young girl named, Katie, and chatted her up before receiving the Starfleet Achievement award, Command Certification ribbon and that my temporary promotion to Lt Commander was being made permanent.

End log.

Stardate 21305.16

Mission Log Stardate 21305.16 LtCdr Adam Shelmer recording:

The Promotion Ceremony was pleasant enough, but when I found out that the pretty young girl I was chatting up was the Captain's daughter, I was on my best behavior.

After not enough down time, the Avenger crew was ordered back to the ship for what sounded like light duty: a 100-day patrol of the Tholian border, starting in sector 181. Soon the ship went into warp and everyone relaxed as all seemed routine.

Several days out, I was daydreaming when my program signaled and 3 Tholian light cruisers appeared on an intercept course. Turns out the Tholian cruisers were a simulation exercise to stimulate the crew, as a distress signal was detected from within the Halless system.

Our science officer wanted to take a look so Grant ordered the James Madison out to pick up the probe, orbiting Halless I, leaving behind a skeleton crew on the Avenger and all senior crew on the Madison.

We are now 3 days out from picking up the probe and all seems to be routine.

End log.

Stardate 21306.15

Mission Log Stardate 21306.15 LtCdr Adam Shelmer recording:

Routine went out the window when my long-range scans showed that the probe, orbiting Halless I, was in a decaying orbit,suggesting it needed to be picked up in the next 61 hours.

As Crawford ordered we speed up, I sent calculations to our helms officer. I was sure we'd be there in plenty of time, but fate had other ideas.

Upon dropping out of warp, I was the first to realize that the probe wasn't where it was supposed to be. I rechecked my calculations, but their accuracy didn't explain what had happened to the probe.

We began checking the surface, I located the probe, obviously crashed on the surface. Braggins, our helms officer, received the order to decend as I tried to come up with a possible replacement for the probe. Before I could suggest we pick up a space rock to put in it's place, the Madison experienced instrument failure.

Then without further warning, the ship trembled and began shaking violently. Then everything went black. All electrical function was lost. I distinctly remember getting up from my station to help someone, but now my head just hurts and I can't remember much more.

Somehow I was moved to the lower deck and given something that woke me up by someone I had never seen before. It was suggested we exit the ship. That's all I can remember for now...

End log.

Stardate 21307.17

Mission Log Stardate 21307.16 LtCdr Adam Shelmer recording:

My head still hurts and has been fuzzy ever since the crash... at least I think we crashed but somehow we are now on Earth on my mother's ranch and I can't seem to find my horse, Sweet thing.

I am very confused...

End log.

Stardate 21308.16

Mission Log Stardate 21308.16 LtCdr Adam Shelmer recording:

We have stopped to rest in the shade of a large branching cactus. It seems to be the only shade for miles in any direction. There are rows and rows of them, like a farm.

I am getting less confused and more focused. My handler or babysitter, whatever I may call him, has explained to me that since the Madison crashed, those who could get out have, our Captain was captured by some large flying creature and carried off, a small group has headed out to look for her, several members of those who survived the crash have been killed by indigenous creatures, and it appears as if our ship landed on a nest and is lost.

So off we go looking for shelter either in nearby rolling hills or a farm I remember seeing when I was scanning the planet for the missing prob.

At some point in our trek to find shelter and escape the bug creatures swarming over the JM, we heard an explosion and saw white smoke raising into the sky. I'm told it came from the direction the Captain was carried and, thus the direction her rescue party had headed. I hope they are alright.

End log

Stardate 21309.16

Mission Log Stardate 21309.16 LtCdr Adam Shelmer recording:

After some worry, carrying and grumbling the small group under my responsibility was able to move closer to civilization on this strange and sandy planet. Upon getting close enough to a supposed barn on the farm we were trekking through, I saw Commander Crawford. She had apparently gotten away from the creature that had swooped down and carried her off and was now confronting or being confronted by a four legged, four armed creature with some sort of weapon.

Though the creature fired at her, it didn't seem to want to hurt her and the Doctor was able to incapacitate it, so no harm was done, except maybe to the creature as it was lying on the sand.

I wasn't close enough to hear what was being said, but I thought I heard her say, "Take cover." so I decided to take the only cover available, under the sand, which happens to be in abundant supply.

I later learned that she didn't mean dig a hole and take cover, but wasn't given any different orders except to stop digging. Shortly after that Commander Rin ordered my group to settle in with those making camp over the hill and I was to follow him and back up Crawford, who was now being closed upon by another group of creatures.

End log.

Stardate 21310.17

Mission Log Stardate 21310.17 LtCdr Adam Shelmer recording:

Commander Rin and I joined Engineer Jack Schwartz and headed, stealthily, toward a train warehouse where presumably, Jack could get a message out.

Turns out the warehouse was occupied and I volunteered to be bait to get the alien's attention and pull it away while Jack did his thing.

I was able to exit the warehouse. I ran like a banshee and found myself in a body of water. I thought I could evade my pursuer by holding my breath and staying underwater, but this did not work and I was impaled by the creature.

This was apparently how the planet's inhabitants communicated. He was angry, thought we were the ones destroying his fellow villagers. But all this got out of hand when we were transported aboard a shuttle, then the Avenger... right into Sickbay.

Apparently Dr Ohmsford had gone through a similar experience and was trying to help me, when MCapt Braggins wanted to shoot the thing off me. I was then transported to the ship's brig, where eventually I was able to convince the creature that we were not the evil aliens he thought we were. Turns out the Tholians were trying to wipe their planet.

The creature released me and Dr Ohmsford arrived to send me to Sickbay for evaluation.

End log.

Lieutenant Samantha Dramar

Stardate 21305.21

Chief Engineer’s Log Stardate 021305.21 Lieutenant Commander Samantha Dramar Recording

I’m currently aboard the James Madison. We’ve disembarked from the Avenger to collect a probe transmitting a distress signal. We're three days out from the probe. Three days there, three days back. This is my first time out aboard the JM and so far I have to say that I’m pressed with her. She’s a sturdy little ship.

As for the reason we’re out here, I’m pretty sure it has to do with the Captain’s desire to have the crew integrated, at least the senior staff. After all, Grant has assigned the entire senior staff to the boat... all to go get a probe. One thing is for sure, we’re definitely going to get to know each other better during this trip.

The Captain even sent Katie along. I imagine it will be a good experience for her. Assuming she gets used to the common room. Wow… I haven’t slept in a common room since the academy. Maybe I’m the one in for a bit of a shock.

End Log

Midshipman Jake Schwartz

Stardate 21306.18

Personal Log Midshipman Jake Schwartz Stardate 21305.21

Well, this is it. Made it to my first ship. Funny... always figured that when I graduated from the Academy and actually made it past Cadet, I'd know what I was doing. Turns out that there's almost no difference between being an Academy cadet and being a Middy on your first cruise, except that with no additional training I'm expected to know what to do now. Ain't that a hoot.

EIther way, the Avenger isn't too bad a deal. Two out of three top choices on ship selection isn't bad - still at least a little out there, and still got a cruiser. Woudl've preferred someone truly independent instead of someone tied into a battle group, but it looks like that 'battle group' is more administrative than operational.

Either way, we're underway, and its everything the instructors warned me it would be. I've barely got time to sleep, and there's way too much to learn. 'Drinking from the fire hose' indeed... thank God for Fi. That's Ensign Fiona Duvall, another recent transfer in who's taken me under her wing and helped show me the ropes of being a good officer.

Well, I guess I should get going. Unlike most ships, the Avenger has a full-scale midrange parasite ship in the Madison aboard, and I've been assigned to her for a milk run. Just gotta go grab a probe from some system out there. Thankfully the Madison's engineering controls are the same as the Avenger's or all I'd be able to do is stand there with a dumb look on my face. Fi's going too, so I won't be *totally* without top cover. It'll be weird, though... here I am just getting used to my own quarters, and now its right back into the jungle of a bunkroom. Either way, shoudl eb a good chance to get away from the powers-that-be here and learn something. Can't wait!

End log and save.

Stardate 21310.19

Personal Log Stardate 21310.19 Midshipman Jake Schwartz recording

I...

• sighs*

Its been a... bad week. That milk run I was so excited about on the Madison? Yeah... that went south. Fast. There was some kind of a duonetic field. Planet had crazy high levels of farantine that shorted out every single piece of electrical gear onboard. Ship crashed at a few hundred kilometers and hour. That has a tendency to do Bad Things to everything onboard, and we were lucky that the emergency antimatter containment held. I was lucky, too, after a fashion - got away with nothing more than a couple cuts and a light concussion.

The others were... not so lucky. Fi... she died in the crash. Bled out right in front of me....

(sound of a faint sob)

She was barely thirty. This was a milk run, and she died right on it because of something stupid. And she wasn't the only one... all our survival gear was out of commission too, thanks to that field. Meant we couldn't do much of anything. Saw Oskar - one of the Ensigns from Science - get snatched up by some kind of unholy cross between a gargoyle and a scorpion that tore him in half. Some other poor bastard got eaten by a swarm of insects in a scene right out of an old horror vid. That was... bad.

Once we got moving, the senior staff made a few 'interesting' decisions. From what I heard some crazy Marine kid tried to hold up one of the trains. Saw her... wonder how the Chief of Security let some teenaged noncom railroad him into thinking that was a good idea.

That was when we had our own encounter with the natives. They were rather... interesting. Turns out that they could somehow merge with other organics. They did it to Ohmsford - that's the Chief Doc. After that... yeah. One of the knuckle draggers from Security panicked and started shooting. So much for 'we come in peace' from our illustrious comrades in orange and green uniforms...

But I digress. I figured out a way to block the duonetic field using magnetic ones. It worked out, and the First Officer put me in charge of a three man team. Me, the Chief Tactical Officer, and the Strategic Ops Director. Yeah... that sounds even stranger than it was at the time. Got us in, got a signal off to the ship, which as it turns out was already in orbit and had figured out how to cut through the interference. My reward for figuring it out was to be the last man beamed off that God-awful rock.

Now I'm back on the ship... and we just left the planet to be glassed by the Tholians. So much for Starfleet's mission to protect... some bullshit about the 'political expediency of not pissing off an ally against the Krynar' meant we had to sit back and watch the Tholians murder a few million sentients.

Yeah. Its been a bad week.

I've been coping as best I can. Burying myself down in the plant, trying to avoid most people. Commander Crawford, of all people, came down to 'check up on me'. I think I managed to get her to stop worrying. Shifted hangouts too. Been ducking her and a few of the other senior officers by hanging out in Marine country's gym.. Best setup for solo hand to hand training on the ship, and nothing helps burn stress like that. Except the other pasttime I seem to have picked up... *sighs* been spending an awful lot of my off-duty time in Ten Forward. It just... helps take the edge off to have a round or two off duty. Helps numb it it a little. I don't know...

I joined up because I thought Starfleet actually stood for something. Mom sure as hell believed in it, and she went out for what the Fleet means. Instead of standing up for what's right, though, I got to watch my friends die in a stupid accident, and our chickenshit CO sat back and let the Tholians murder a few million people. I don't even know what the hell we're doing here anymore... maybe this was a mistake. I don't know...

• sound of ice clinking in a glass*

End recording

OOC note: Jake is still unaware that Jenny is a Captain, and made the natural assumption that someone her age is a very junior enlisted Marine

Midshipman Ethan Harkness

Stardate 21310.07

Personal Log Midshipman Ethan Harkness Stardate 21310.07

So...quite the day.

I finally got to leave Main Engineering on a duty-related piece of business today. Ok, well I didn't do it for specific duty business, but I did run out of Main Engineering and barge on to the Bridge with a problem solution. Well, it wasn't the correct solution, but it was on the right path. Good news was that I eventually did find the correct answer and the Captain didn't do anything drastic! Gods knows with the reputation he has....I had the potential to be beamed off the Bridge in to space. Captains can't do that anymore...right?

Anyway, the crew of the USS James Madison had crashed on this desolate rock known as Halless I and no attempt to retrieve or find them had been successful thus far. It was like the planet itself had a self-sustaining duonetic field! I couldn't believe my luck, as I had done a paper on such a field in the Academy. Thinking the presence of such a field to be ludicrous, I studied it. Finding that the majority of known duonetic fields were caused by a radioactive element, astatine. Working from that theory, I explained my idea to Captain Grant, only to have my probe hit the duonetic field and fail horribly! Back to the drawing board, we were interrupted by a Tholian battle cruiser, and I had to take my idea on the road, metaphorically speaking, of course.

Taking command of the shuttles Sloan and Garak I led a team of engineers and scientists to find the problem and begin the process of rescuing survivors. We had no idea how communications and diplomatic relations were with the Tholians, so the tension was palpable. We discovered the field was actually caused by a compound known as farantine, something I have had no experience with, which had similar effects to the of astatine. It looks like there may be another academic paper in my future if I can find the lab time in between shifts. Either way, it showed remarkable magnetic properties, and the particles in the air were moved with a similarly polarized beam of energy, even if just for a short time. We began rescuing survivors slowly, but the Avenger finally arrived, cleaning up the ones we missed and didn't have time for due to limited power and time.

I can't wait to tell Zephyr about this, she will flip her lid! I hope she is doing well on the Intrepid, I know our goodbye on Starbase Alpha wasn't something we really wanted to deal with after spending so much time together at the Academy. I should call her tonight...I hope she's ok. I love the woman, but she's more of a threat to herself than anything else, poor clumsy girl.

Anyway, it was a ridiculous day of adventure, more so than I could ever imagine! Working through the rest of our tour should bring some fantastic trials and challenges!

End Log.

Stardate 21310.20

Engineering Log Stardate 21310.20 Midshipman Ethan Harkness recording

Engineering-wise, the ship is a bit of a mess. Once we cleared out of the now Tholian system known as Halless I, the real work began. Section 12 is basically one big hole of death and destruction. Forcefields have been a constant drain on power resources, and its been hell getting the system to cooperate with a large shuttle size gash in the port nacelle pylon. Keeping power running has been priority for the last six days since leaving Halless. Damage and casualty reports have come in and been finalized...so much unnecessary death. I could really use Ensign Duvall to help with the engines...but that just isn't gonna happen. Either way, I've kept to the core to do the best I can with what I know. Engines are just understandable, with feelings and emotions like any other entity. Superstition or not, its something I believe, and belief in something is something we all could use.

In total, it took three damage control teams nearly sixteen hours to fix all the plasma leaks and relay shorts in the nacelle. On average, we've been able to give the Captain increases in maximum sustainable warp at an average of 0.1 per every two to three hours or so. The task is slow-going. Its almost like when we've contained one problem, something explodes. Thankfully, we have only needed to drop out of warp once for about an hour due to another plasma fire. I don't think the firefighting teams have had a true shift off in nearly a week. We need to get to Delta for some replacement parts and some bodies to give us time to sleep. I've already recommended to Lieutenant Lovak that we just get the entire nacelle replaced, as it would save time. Repairs could add weeks to the time frame rather than a simple swap. Who knows what they have at Delta given the state of war the Federation is in.

Spoke to Zephyr on the vid network last night, where she told me about the Krynar attack when they went to retrieve the Federation Vice President. It got me worried sick, her talking about being in combat and staring down a live Krynar while it attacked her mind when she used tried using her empath abilities. Its hard to think that you'll get involved in Federation problems before you stand on the deck plating and see the fighting, the death, for yourself. That is easily the worst part, seeing the names. People you kinda knew, never to be seen again.

• pause, followed by a readjustment*

I'm just worried that this deep feeling of fear and worry and sadness gets worse. Compared to what we are facing, this mission was simple. I know not everyone feels that way though. Schwartz hasn't been the same since he came back from Halless. We all worry about him, not that we can ever find him anymore. Its like he just goes off and hides in the cavernous tombs that is engineering. Either way, the work gets done...that's all that matters at the moment. I'm just looking forward to some shore leave while this old girl gets herself a bit of a make-over.

Captain Grant called a meeting in the Ready Room in about an hour, probably a serious debrief over Halless and the Madison. I better go shower, I'm still covered in fatigue, grease, and plasma residue.

End Log.

Lieutenant Keith Munroe

Stardate 21305.21

Chief of Security's log Lieutenant Keith Munroe Stardate: 21305.21

I know it's been a while since I actually sat down and made on of these logs but I will try to catch up on everything that has happened. On the Ticonderoga, we were sent on a mission to find Commodore Braggins who had apparently taken off on some secret mission and been shot down. Finally my team and I found ourselves on the planet's surface. We immediately made a perimeter around the ship followed by me giving orders, in the middle of my briefing a sniper shot came out of nowhere and struck one of the Midshipmen standing next to me. The new medical officer did everything she could but it was too late them. My, now former boss, and I made our way out into the field trying to locate the sniper. While we were trying to scan the treeline for hostiles I was hit, which rendered my arm completely useless. Theo carried me back to the ship on his back, risking the sniper again. I will never forget that man as long as I live. They finally brought me on board the ship and fixed up my arm. The new Doctor was a vulcan but surprisingly human at the same time. It wasn't long that I caught myself flirting with her at the promotion party.

On shore leave T'Ara and I took some time to ourselves to get to know one another. Then things ended up in my quarters one night to show her something long, hard and potentially deadly, yep you guessed it, my combat knife. I returned my girlfriends call only to have a man answer, with her making noises that only I had made her make in the past in the background. I immediately hung up and couldn't believe my ears, I'm glad that T'Ara was there to comfort me. Although, when I showed her my shoulder and she started massaging it, well lets just say she turned out to be one hell of a nurse.

The next day I received notice that I was to come on board the Avenger to take the Chief of Security position. I couldn't believe what I was reading, I get a fellow officer killed in action, manage to get shot by a sniper and still get a gold star, a promotion AND a position as Chief of Security. I didn't feel like I had earned it though, I had never lost an officer before. But now here I am bored out of my mind, I mean seriously people get into a fight for God's sake!

End log

Stardate 21306.22

Chief of Security's log Lieutenant Keith Munroe stardate: 21306.22

(The following is heard and it appears that Keith Munroe is telling what he would really like to say before his log is actually made. Little does he know that he is currently being recorded.)

Well the past few days have been slow. We haven't really done anything, no fights have broken out, no boarding parties, no nothing. I mean you'd think that someone on this godforsaken ship would at least throw out a racial slur or something. But apparently I have signed on with a bunch of little friggin' angels! On top of that my department has been forced to play babysitter to the Captain's little brat of a daughter! This is just like Regina's little girl, oh my god this little demon child wouldn't stop screaming. I couldn't take any time for myself for this little human barf bag! I mean, it wouldn't stop peeing and pooping all over the place for god's sake what do you feed this thing?! I swear to god I'm not having kids... ever! She's a teenager, almost a woman, she doesn't need a constant babysitter! Just because you can't find the time to make your family work doesn't mean that it should be my job to powder her ***! I signed onto this ship to insure the safety and well being of its crew, not to wipe some little snooty *****'s a... Oh my god it's recording isn't it?

End log

Stardate 21310.16

Chief of Security's Log Lieutenant Keith Munroe Stardate: 21310.16 (Audio only)

This has been the worst mission of my career thus far. I was told by Commander Rin to take Marine Captain Braggins and secure a base camp after the crash. After about twenty minutes of searching, and after being yelled at to keep my black blade out of the sunlight so it wouldn't glare, we came across some sort of railway. Braggins suggested that we try to stop the train and take it for ourselves, I agreed. We placed a large cactus over the tracks with hopes that the locomotive would either stop all together to clear the railway or at least be slowed down enough as it plowed through it so that we could jump on and systematically take the locomotive. But we didn't count on the cacti on this planet being magnetic, the locomotive launched up over the cactus and jumped off the track. Once I could hear and see again I saw what appeared to be the engine car strone about all over the place and a passenger car had landed on its nose end with it stuck into the tracks. After a few moments about 24 or 25 natives emerged from the passenger car COMPLETELY UNHARMED! Needless to say that Braggins and I got the hell out of dodge. Feng and Embry were positioned across the tracks from us and took off the opposite direction.

Once Jenny and I had run for about two minutes or so, we stopped to catch our breath. I drank the last bit of water that I had in my canteen and then took off my jacket. I'm still not sure how I survived that long in that heat. We were just about to find head out to find more water when something crashed down not very far from us. Obviously we went to investigate, we arrived to find the probe that we were sent after. It was clear that there wasn't getting any information off of it so I let Jenny blow it up with some of our grenades. Something else fell from the sky and we were off to check it out, which only took a couple of minutes to get there. When we got to the crash site we found a torpedo casing Jenny saw that I wasn't making a move to dispose of the torpedo and took the liberty of attempting to do so herself. I stopped the woman, who had clearly lost her mind, yes I actually had to remind her that she was throwing a grenade at something that could have potentially destroyed 1/4 of the planet that we used to be on! Of course who does she blame it on? I knew that we didn't have any tools to disarm a torpedo but I made due with what I had. I removed my jacket and pants, for the record, no, I wasn't stripping for the Commodore's daughter I was trying to fashion some sort of heat protection because the casing was still hot from re-entry. I managed to get the panel off of the casing but only found survival gear inside it, most of which was completely useless. Jenny suggested that I go to find the rest of the crew and bring them back here to get her so we could haul all the survival gear to some secure place to set up camp. But before I could even make it out of ear shot of the fire fight that she had gotten into with the natives, we were both beamed to the Avenger.

I found myself in Sickbay but only to find Jenny pointing her pistol at Shelmer and one of the natives. This woman was truly outside her mind. Should couldn't see that the creature was terrified, and quite frankly didn't care that it was fearing for its life, even though she herself, along with myself, were literally in the same situation not a full minute before. Pheral ordered her to stand down as I stepped in and told her to do the same thing. I'm not sure who she was listening to me or him but that didn't matter at the moment. The creature and Shelmer had been beamed to the brig and I was on my way to try to figure out what to tell my staff. I told Jenny to clean herself up, meaning her act before she got someone killed, as I left the Sickbay and head to my office. I know she is a Commodore's daughter and isn't a Security Officer but godammit woman have some sense! Perhaps she isn't used to thinking while up in her fighter, which should scare the living hell out of any Admiral that actually gave a damn! I would have rather had Bonnie Parker at my side!

End Log

Lieutenant (JG) Rurik Feng

Stardate 21306.20

Personal Log Rurik Feng Stardate 21306.20

Begin Log:

Wonderful. Got a patrol mission, this time out. Along the Tholian border. It's like Starfleet doesn't trust us with anything important anymore. Cocksuckers. Even worse, Captain Grant decided to send the James Madison out to retrieve a probe. And he assigned the entire Senior Staff to the misson. Of course, he couldn't just send them out on this little bonding trip. No, he had to send a few junior officers as well. Lucky us. Bastards better pull their weight.

Should be a cake walk. I'm brining along Bryling, cause he's a damned good card player, and Embry, cause she needs her eval signed off on for her promotion. Figure this is better than watching patrol the Avenger.

Of course, here the Tholian border is on the otherside of Krynar controlled space, so things could interesting real quick. Since Munroe left those details to me, I loaded us up for war. As long as Shelmar doesn't get us killed, we should be alright.

Eng Log.

Addendumn--added from pen and paper notes

The fraking ship crashed on some gods-forsaken world. Amazingly, it wasn't even Shelmar's fault! Red's got me pulling people off the Bridge, getting 'em settled in the Common Room, and then searching for more survivors and suppplies. All our power's out, so we're pretty much screwed. Bridge crew made it out alive, so that's something. Not entirely sure what we have ration-wise, but we'll have less crew to feed, so what he do have should last longer. Heading to Security now, to collect some more weapons. Got a feeling I'll find Braggins there. Marines are predictable like that.

End Log.

Stardate 21310.16

Security Log Stardate 21310.16 Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Rurik Feng recording:

Begin log:

The mission to recover the probe was a disaster. It had crashed onto the planet, due to some sort of dampening field in the atmosphere. Unfortunately, we discovered said dampening field only after the James Madison fell prey to it, and dropped out of the sky. We lost a third of the crew in the crash. Rollins and Bryling were killed by indigenous wildlife. Commander Crawford was carried off by a flying beast, leaving Commander Azernal in command. Azernal was content to remain at the crash site, despite the fact that the crew was ready to move out and the danger of remaining at the crash site.. He was also content to abandon Commander Crawford to her fate, and wished to wait for a scouting party to find a suitable basecamp before moving the crew out. As I understand it, Bryling's death occured at the crash site, while the crew was sitting idle.

Captain Braggins, Lieutenant Munroe, myself, and Crewman Embry were sent out as the scouting party. With two of the three functioning weapons. Shortly after leaving the main group, we encountered a rail line. We then were forced to take cover due to the appearance of an approaching train. The train derailed near our position. The natives aboard were unharmed by the derailment, and some two dozen armed natives fanned out to stablish a security perimeter around the derailment site. They discovered Braggins and Munroe, and opened fire on them. Braggins and Munroe used smoke grandes to slip away, while Embry and I made our back to the main group to warn them that the natives were hostile.

We discovered that the crew had left crash site, and were able to track them to a nearby farming village. It would seem that Commander Azernal decided to make First Contact with the natives, not knowing that they were hostile to outsiders. Fortunately, Commander Crawford, having escaped the beast that had carried her off, had also stumbled upon this village. Unfortunately, the crew was discovered and their contact with the natives ended in hostilities.

Fortunately for us, the Avenger's shuttles had arrived with a means of beaming us off the planet. I provided cover fire for the crew as they made it to the relative safety of the ridge near my position. Once again, fortunately for us, the Avenger arrived just as group of natives encircled our position, and beamed us to safety.

I lost my right eye during the crash, as well as sustaining other minor injuries.

End Log.

Ensign Oskar Scar Rollins

Stardate 21305.19

Science Officer Log. Ensign Oskar Scar Rollins reporting. Stardate: 21305.19

Well, things have been pretty exciting. Shortly after arriving on Star Base Delta, I reported to First Officer Tyra Crawford. Then she bought me lunch. I was shocked. That was very kind of her. Shortly after that the rest of the crew and I were recalled from leave.

Upon my entering of the ship, I made my way straight to the science labs. It had been time to report to my department head. Soon after that our department picked up a distress signal from a probe, that had been missing for fifteen years. Captain Grant thought it best to send a rather large away team, on the James Madison, to go recover this probe. Being a science officer I was told to report aboard the James Madison for this little excursion.

Currently we are still enroute to the probe. I have met a few other crew members. I am doing my best to remember names, ranks. This is all happening so fast, I love it. By the time this little mission is done I should at least remember everyones names.

So far nothing else to really report yet. I will log more as it happens.

End Log.

Stardate 21306.19

Science officer's Log, Ensign Oskar Scar Rollins Reporting, Stardate:21306.19

I'm not sure what the hell is going on. We made it to Halless I. My department head Judith Tucker, had sent a comm, to myself and Jon Edwards, telling us to go to the common room and make preparations for the probe. So Edwards and I were doing that, when Tucker sent us another comm. This time she sent me to the Transporter room. She said that I needed to beam the probe aboard at the right moment, and if anything un expected happend with the transporting of the probe, I was to let Commander Crawford know immediately. However I was unable to follow that order. As I was entering the Transporter room, everything went to hell! I started to roll around like a tennis ball. I have no clue what happend or why, but common sense told me by this point, we have crashed on this pontentially hostile planet. All the lights were out as well as anything else the was electrically powered, including my Comm badge. I seemed to be pretty banged up but nothing serious, I can tell I have a few pretty deep cuts, and I may need a stitch or two but I think I will live. Right now I am making my way, in the dark, back to the common room. That is all for now.

End Log.

Lieutenant Pheral Ohmsford

Stardate 21305.19

Chief Medical Officer's log. Stardate 21305.19. Lieutenant Pheral Ohmsford recording.

Mission log. Begin recording.

I must admit I was a little anxious about applying for this position. But a few weeks into it, those feelings have subsided. I have been ordered to accompany Commander Crawford, Doctor Ristone, and about twenty others on a mission aboard the Avenger's auxiliary ship, the James Madison. Apparently we are to retrieve some kind of probe, but, although I doubt this will be an easy trip as Captain Grant suggests, my experience has taught me better than that.

But at least I can use the time to concentrate on learning protocols and everyone's name. I do have an experiment I can run to pass the time, assuming I can acquire the proper scheduling from the chief science officer. It is rare that I get to indulge my scientific pursuits. I plan on making the most of this trip.

I have faith that Sickbay will still be intact when I return. I just hope the mission goes as well as expected. Jack Ristone has been invaluable to me during my transition. I must put in a good word for him with the Captain.

There is nothing to do now but wait for the inevitable.

Personal Log

I am ecstatic. There's just no other word for it. I am Chief Medical Officer aboard the Avenger. A battle cruiser! If ever a place needed my services, this would be it.

Father is excited for me as well. My sisters sent me a very useful doctor's coat. Pockets for just about everything. I have to admit, it is quite useful. But I think they were just trying to get me into trouble as they always do when they get together. Why Phenna couldn't go into science like the rest of us I'll never understand. But she makes a good living so I can't be mad at her.

I've gotten to meet a majority of the crew of the Avenger. Most seem to be typical Starfleet officers, despite their obvious differences. I believe I can work well with them, but I feel as if I might need to watch myself around the Captain. Especially where his daughter is concerned. But, that's to be expected with overprotective fathers. I feel fortunate that mine is not.

Of course, I can't blame him. A battleship is a hard life for a child. I only hope I am half as good a father when I have children of my own.

When we return to base, I expect to meet up with Doctor Alexa Rydell again. I certainly hope our leaves coincide as I'd hate to have a strictly sub-space relationship with her. I will also have to endure a family reunion. but, at least they will know I survived another mission.

Assuming of course, I do.

Computer, end log and save.

Stardate 21306.18

Personal log. Stardate 21306.18 Lieutenant Pheral Ohmsford recording.

It's happened again. I don't put any stock in faith or curses, but I'm sure there is no coincidence between the postings I have been given and their eventual destruction. First, it was Starbase Sierra 18, then the U.S.S. Yeager, and now, the James Madison. At least the Avenger is still intact. Is there some omnipotent being who...has it in for me?

The James Madison has crashed. And not just crashed, but all electronics are non-functional, even handhelds. I will have to resort to more primitive methods if I am to continue my duties. It was good thinking on my father's part when he encouraged me to take all of those primitive medical courses. Of course, I cannot save as many lives without the use of current technology, but at least I will not be so helpless.

At least I will get to enjoy some time on another world, one that I haven't seen before. To think all of the life forms I can discover! That is of course, if this world even has life.

End log and save.

Stardate 21309.17

Chief Medical Officer's log. Stardate 21309.17 Lieutenant Pheral Ohmsford recording.

Begin recording.

Well, it's happened again. I have always been a proponent of the Prime Directive, but I am afraid that is no longer in play. Does anyone even know what the Prime Directive is anymore?

We have encountered several creatures indigenous to the planet, so I assume. They have eight limbs and a very unique language that is very difficult, possibly impossible to decipher. I will have to remind myself to take more linguistics classes to compensate for my lack of expertise.

I will continue to work with the creature that Jack Ristone has incapacitated, though it will be difficult given our current situation.

End log and save

Supplemental

Chief Medical Officer's log. Stardate: Supplemental Lieutenant Pheral Ohmsford recording.

In an attempt to communicate with the indigenous life forms that have decided to...initiate their own form of first contact, I decided to take a chance that they are more intelligent than violent. If they wanted to kill us, I do not believe they would have stopped where they did. During the attempt, I made significant progress when a few of the creatures began to coo, rather than hiss and screech. Unfortunately, their leader became somewhat impatient with me as I tried to study the symbols it had drawn in the dirt.

I had thought my first assumptions were wrong, but then their leader dug his claw near my abdomen just below the skin, which I quickly discerned was their way of establishing a telepathic connection. Their claws then secreted something in the form of an anesthetic, which quickly numbed the pain from the ordeal and allowed me to focus, or rather, allowed them to force me to focus.

What I learned from them I will never forget, but I had little time to understand much, only that they were scared and angry and wondered why we were killing their kind.

Unfortunately, someone had shot and killed the creature, leaving me confused and profusely bleeding. Yet, somehow, I am now completely healed, at least physically. So far I have not experienced any side effects. Regulations state that I must see a counselor after such events, which I should be used to by now. I probably will, but not until I have had a chance to examine myself for any further problems.

For some odd reason, I don't expect I will experience any.

Computer, end log and save.

Stardate 21310.10

Chief Medical Officer's log. Stardate 21309.10 Lieutenant Pheral Ohmsford recording.

Well, when it rains it pours, as the humans say. Not five minutes after I have been rescued, I'm called to the bridge for the Captain to point out the painfully obvious. I had a feeling he'd deny my request to return to aid in the rescue of the others, which he did. It was just as well, Lieutenant Commander Shelmer had been beamed into Triage with one of my new friends attached to his abdomen, in much the same manner as I had been.

These creatures are scared out of their minds. They think we are sky-demons sent to destroy them. Nothing could be further from the truth, but something is killing them off that's for sure. I will have to talk with Captain Grant to see if he can shed any light on this. I know I can't do much since I am only a doctor, but Grant can. I don't know why I am so compelled to help these creatures. I don't like seeing people in pain. But I can't find anyway to help them either. Their thoughts, their emotions are still fresh, and I sincerely hope we don't leave without at least finding out what is happening to them.

The creature that had attached itself to Shelmer seemed much more agitated, but only Shelmer can tell me what it said to him. At least I will have someone to talk to about this experience. I know that sounds selfish, but no one else can truly understand what we had experienced.

I'm just glad I survived. And I hope that I can say the same for the CTO.

I do hope I get the chance to study the creature.

End log and save.

Lieutenant Jack Ristone

Stardate 21305.16

Medical Officer's Log Stardate 21305.16 Lieutenant Jack Ristone recording

The crew has been recalled to the USS Avenger after a few week shoreleave. Shoreleave went exactly as I dream of every leave going. It was relaxing, uncomplicated, and I was able to spent the vast majority of my time in the labs working on the K-W project that Captain Grant assigned to me nearly six months ago. This project is not as time pressing as it once was. Our previous mission wiped out nearly all of our Jem Hadar soldiers and we have supply that could last for years given that only one Jem Hadar soldier remains.

Still, this project has become a personal challenge and goal for me now. It has proven to be an excellent way for me to pass time, unwind, and stay sharp on the science side of medicine. For far too long while back home we never had a chance for research. There was simply too much medical work to be completed to find spare time in the lab. I am therefore utilized every spare moment of shoreleave and will continue my work on the Avenger as I've been given permission to use one of the science labs for my research.

I have thus far met three new crewmemebrs of the Avenger. The first I actually met on Delta; a new psychologist named Tey who seemed rather flirtatious. The other two I met on the Avenger itself. One of these crewmembers was a new Midshipman named Rollins who is serving in the Science Department. He seems likable enough. The other is the new Chief Medical Officer, a Denobulan named Ohmsford. For some reason Denobulans have always given me the creeps. I think it is because their smiles reminds me of a clown smile. Ohmsford however seems likeable enough when he manages to not get under my skin. I will certainly miss Viper and the relationship I had with him but I am hopeful that at the very least Pheral and I will have a "live and let live" relationship.

Eng log.

Stardate 21306.16

Medical Officer's Log Stardate 21306.16 Lieutenant Jack Ristone recording

I once again have found myself assigned to the James Madison as the small ship is being sent on a mission. After spending so much time on the Madison during the previous mission coming back onboard is almost like coming home. I fear however that this mini-mission of probe retrieval will not feel the same as the previous Madison mission did. Last time it was a small group on the Madison and we were mostly informal. This time every senior officer except for Grant is onboard and that included Ohmsford. Don't get me wrong, I like the idea of having more than one doctor onboard but this sickbay really is designed for only one. Also, I must selfishly admit that I liked being Crawford's 'go-to-doctor' last mission. Looks like that is over now.

In addition to cramming the undersized Madison with Senior Officer we have also taken non-commissioned teenagers with us. Katie Grant is also onboard and I've been delegated the task of teaching her first aide and triage techniques. I suppose that will help pass the three day trip quickly but I would have much rather spent that time reading through the research notes I had taken along with me.

I had to find a new place to sleep this time around. During the previous mission I set up a cot in the doctor's office and slept in there. That office however now belongs to Ohmsford. I therefore placed a sleeping bag on one of the biobeds and am crashing there. Anything is better than the crew barracks with the snoring Mirak.

End Log.

Stardate 21310.12

Medical Officer's Log Stardate 21310.12 Lieutenant Jack Ristone recording

(This log shows Ristone sitting at a console reading from a piece of paper.)

This log was hand written on the Halless I and is being digitally recorded after the fact for Star Fleets sake.

It appears that the USS James Madison is a cursed ship. On our way to retrieve the probe orbiting the planet the vessel somehow lost control and crashed on the surface of a hot and desert like planet. I am unsure of what caused the wreck as I was down in Sickbay at the time. There was no advanced warning for the power and gravitational loss which caused me and pretty much everyone else on the ship, to be tossed around like rag dolls. I took pretty moderate damage to my left shoulder and have lacerations all down my left side. I thankfully however managed to avoid any cranial trauma.

Once the James Madison settled I managed to discover an emergency kit which contained a chem-light. Using the chem-light I made my way to the Madison's mess hall. Along the way I discovered a crew member with a snapped neck and brought his body to the mess hall as well. I knew we needed to centralize everything and on the Madison the mess is the go-to place for that.

In a short manner of time others made it to the mess as well. Many of them, as I expected, were caught off guard by the crash and thus sustained collision injuries. The most common injuries were concussions, broken bones, and lacerations. None of these injuries are difficult to treat given the advance state of Star Fleet medicine. However, something caused all of our equipment to malfunction. Nothing would power up and thus I was left with just non-technological equipment to treat the injuries. Thankfully medkits contains pop-up casts which allowed most brakes to be properly set.

I am worried about some of the compound fractures as the chance for infection is extremely high. I have therefore loaded everyone up on antibiotics and am hoping that a rescue is not far off.

I have not seen Doctor Ohmsford yet. He is likely treating injuries in another area of the ship. Mostly I just hope he was not a casualty. After all, I could use another medical officer to help treat all of the wounded.

End log.

Stardate 21310.13

Medical Officer's Log Stardate 21310.13 Lieutenant Jack Ristone recording

(This log shows Ristone sitting at a console reading from a piece of paper.)

I am now continuing with my hand written log entries from Hell planet ...

The James Madison has proven to be on unstable ground. We started to experience some shifts that make it clear that staying on board is no longer a safe option. We therefore started moving everyone to the airlock to get them off of the ship. This was a delicate process because power is still out on the ship and most of the crew have at least minor to moderate injuries.

Once the evacuation was underway I realized that I left one of the medkits back in the mess hall. Given the fact that the medication in those kits are the few working supplies we have I decided I could not risk leaving it behind. If for some reason we are stuck on this planet for a while I will need as much antibiotic medicine as I can possibly get.

It was however a very good thing that I went back for the medicine. While grabbing the medkit I caught sight of Commander Azernal who had sunk out of the way and had fallen into a sleeping/unconscious state due to his head injury. With the room filling with gas from the stoves I knew time was not on our side.

Thankfully however I got Azernal to the airlock and off of the ship before anything unfortunate could occur.

The planet, as expected was rather warm and really just made the infection rate for all of these open wounds increase substantially. On the bright side I did manage to catch up with Doctor Ohmsford. As I expected he was in another part of the vessel tending to the wounded and injured.

Sadly the list of injured was about to increase. Some, what I believe to be wild-life, from the planet attacked our landing site and killed Ensign Rollins the large science officer. The creatures, which can fly, also carried off Commander Crawford. Seeing what they did to Rollins I fear that we will never see Crawford again alive.

To complicate matters more it seems that airborne creatures are not our only worry. Insect like creatures from the ground have also surfaced which not only claimed the life of another crewmember but also caused the James Madison to shift further and completely go underground. It makes me glad that I got as much medical equipment off of the vessel as possible before that happened.

We are however now forced to go mobile. Our current location is unsafe and we have no real way of knowing which direction to head next. Some of the crew want to look for Crawford. Others want to head towards higher ground and find civilization. I am just glad that I don't have to make such a decision.

End log.