Gettysburg Mission 04: "A Bad Case of Asteroids"

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The Gettysburg was dispatched on a standard patrol mission. Her job was to patrol a section of the Romulan Neutral Zone to as a show of force and to demonstrate Star Fleet's presence and determination in protecting our borders with our neighbor; as well as to show indirect support for Romulan Democratic Republic (DRR) forces in the region.

Captain's Logs

Captain Torgh

Stardate 20709.30

Begin log.

Following Star Fleet assigning me command of the battle cruiser USS Gettysburg, I was required to attend more meetings and briefings than any officer should endure in his entire career! It seemed like they might have been trying to kill me with boredom! Regardless of this fact, I am certain that some of the information I was provided with will prove useful—I just hope it can be used before my retirement.

Following this, I went to meet my First Officer, Commander Aloysia Yvette as her personal estate on Earth. Apart from what appeared to be a somewhat odd invitation early on in the visit, she seems a capable officer. Perhaps she was just testing to see what methods of promotion were available to her. I have decided to file the incident away and not revisit it unless it comes back up in the future. I also met several of the junior officers during the visit, shared a meal with them, and then left to finally board the Gettysburg following a major refit which included installation of several specialized compartments.

I have yet to formally meet with Commander Grant, leader of the Star Fleet Special Intelligence Services team that has been placed aboard my vessel, however as I have known the man for almost two years now, I know what to expect. Derrick is a stable, rational, calm, mild-mannered, and very good officer. He always acts in the best interests of security and mission performance, and I can rely on him to be cool-headed and address his new position with complete objectivity. He is, and will be, an asset to this team and our mission.

The SFSIS team itself is, of course classified. I am not even permitted to share with my own First Officer anything but the barest of details. The sections that they use, when on SIS tasks are restricted, and only the core team and myself have access, with security provided by a separate and non-integrated computer core in that section. It is virtually impervious by outside means. I have been informed that one other member of the crew is cleared from my superiors; however it is left at my discretion when—and whether—to formally grant this access. Due to this individual’s position it may be necessary but until that time, I am inclined to reduce the number of personnel with access.

We had a very brief senior officers’ briefing, where I introduced myself and announced some changes. LCdr Sadie Hunter made a suggestion which I found to be a very good one—that of cross-training department members in at least the basic skills of other departments. This was met with some skepticism by certain members of the senior staff, most notably LCdr Lorien, and LCdr New—and my First Officer, Cdr Yvette. I have ordered them to come up with a suitable plan, which ensures that it gets done… it is imperative that everyone on this ship can perform basic functions of others to provide cover when there is an emergency. We are a battle cruiser, and everyone needs to be able to handle themselves when we go to war!

The meeting was interrupted by an inappropriate message flashing on all screens in the room—a message addressed to Lieutenant Junior Grade Isaac Bohr. Bohr appeared to be unaware of the origin of the message at the time, and I advised him to find out and inform me in one hour. The meeting adjourned shortly afterwards.

Following a flawless launch and exit from Spacedock by Ensign Christine Robinson, a young officer who I believe has much potential, although either she or I need to be more careful about our measurements. I am CERTAIN I ordered her to take the ship to 100,000 km from the base before going to warp, and she went only 100 km. I suspect I’ll hear about this if we ever return to Alpha.

Commander Yvette, Lieutenant Bohr, and I met regarding the ‘phantom message’. He informed me that an engineer, Ensign Kiron Hunter, was responsible. After a suitable dressing down and an incident which I doubt the Ensign—or Mr. Bohr or Cdr Yvette—will forget soon, I hope that this discipline problem has been at least mostly eliminated. If not, then I shall resort to more extreme measures.

Ensign Bohr has devised a suitable plan to ‘re-educate’ Ensign Hunter and his accomplice, an Ensign Garis whom I have yet to meet. I look forward to his success.

I am due to promote Mr. Bohr to full Lieutenant, and I can find no reason not to do so, based on his record. He will be promoted, and given the extra privileges and responsibilities of a full Lieutenant. He will not, however, be granted the position of permanent Chief Engineering Officer aboard this battle cruiser at this time. I had originally planned to do this as part of his rank promotion, however following the aforementioned incident; I have determined that he needs to be a leader to his people more before I am willing to permanently install him as a senior member of the staff. He shall remain as ‘Acting’ Chief Engineer until that time.

I would also note that the previously mentioned Ensign Kiron Hunter was due to gain a hollow rank pip and be promoted to Lieutenant Junior Grade, however I am also holding this promotion pending three consecutive reports from Lieutenant Bohr indicating satisfactory performance. If the Ensign wants his promotion, he will earn it, just like the rest of us.

I am learning on this ship, more than in the previous three years I spent with Star Fleet, that command and discipline on a Star Fleet vessel varies greatly from how I learned it in the Empire. People here behave most unpredictably, and their training is significantly different. It will take time to adapt, however I am confident that I can do so adequately, so long as the crew is also adaptable to some degree. I have explained this to the First Officer, and appointed her to be the ‘middle person’ in this and ensure that both the crew and I are reasonable in our expectations. Of course I expect the crew to be more ‘flexible’ than I am—after all I am the one in command!

End log.

Stardate 20710.22

Begin log.

While en route to our ‘routine patrol’ of the Romulan neutral zone perimeter, I was contacted by Admiral Luhan and ordered to take on a ‘Romulan Advisor’. I was not pleased.

The advisor turned out to be on Lieutenant Commander Vaebn Tei, formerly Captain Tei, First Officer of the USS Comet. He went AWOL and was charged with a handful of crimes, however managed to get out of a correctional institution early for some undocumented reason, and had his Star Fleet commission restored at the rank of Lieutenant Commander. And THEN he was assigned as the Chief Tactical Officer aboard the USS Titan, under the command of Commodore Daher. While his record in this position wasn’t bad, it also lacked anything resembling distinction with one exception. Daher claims that Tei attempted to assist in putting down a mutiny on the bridge of the Titan. Also of interest is the fact that Tei had served on the Titan for the better part of his career, prior to being brought to the Comet.

We had arranged for a rendezvous near the border, and continued our journey. During the ensuing 33 days, I conducted eighteen battle drills of varying type and complexity, and for the most part am pleased with the results. I would give this crew a rating of 87% based on my observations—much higher than I would have expected of them; however still lower than I would like to ultimately achieve. At least I know that they can be trained, as the rating was a mere 82% on the first drill I ran.

We arrived at the rendezvous coordinates and came to a full stop. Still well within Federation territory by over 18 light years I left us at condition GREEN and conducted scans for a warp pod or shuttle. Nothing was detected. I was nearly ready to order we continue on our mission, and planned to send a report to Admiral Luhan telling her that her ‘pet’ had not arrived at the rendezvous and I was declaring him AWOL once again; and then some fool in a Romulan shuttlecraft de-cloaked one meter from my hull!

Of course the ship immediately went to Red Alert, and I ordered our helm officer to back us off appropriately, and ordered tactical to lock weapons and prepare to destroy the flea; when the identity came through from the vessel’s transponder. It was a private vessel registered to LCdr Tei himself—a vessel that had been listed as status ‘unknown’ in his file. There were two lifeforms aboard.

I ordered Tei beamed to the brig—a place he should find familiarity with in my opinion—and his companion beamed there as well. And then I ordered the shuttle tractored into our empty hangar bay and quarantined pending a full investigation. I was alarmed to hear that only ONE prisoner had been recovered!

After a meeting with the First Officer, and Chief of Security, and then with myself, Tei was released. I have ordered his movements and communications be monitored.

Upon returning to the bridge, I was alarmed to find that two situations were occurring. Firstly, LCdr New had called me to the bridge, as there was apparently an asteroid moving toward Outpost 10 at .25c, a speed which no object of that size could achieve without significant power output. It makes me wonder if maybe we are too late… if the Romulans HAVE managed to build a new weapon as we heard—and was this it?

In any event, this will work out well for our plans. I will deploy the three SIS teams while the rest of the ship is busy with this asteroid matter.

Secondly, apparently there was an explosion in a Science lab. While some would call me paranoid, the timing is just too much for me to accept as coincidence. I have ordered a full investigation to determine the cause as well as probability that sabotage is involved.

I was once taught by one of my mentors that the best time to run the most intense of battle drills is at the worst possible time for everyone on the ship. Captain Kuch had stressed that when other shipboard emergencies were occurring was the perfect time, because the enemy would not wait for a ‘convenient’ time to attack if they did. They would always attack when they thought they could have the easiest win.

So in the midst of all of this, I have initiated a level one battle drill, including a high number of boarding parties. In the simulation, the Gettysburg is now surrounded by four Romulan battle cruisers who have sent several armed parties aboard to take the ship.

I guess we’ll see what the rating is for my crew after this simulation…

End log.

Stardate 20711.13

Begin log.

The Gettysburg has arrived at Outpost 10 where we will attempt to divert an asteroid which is on a collision course to hit it. Away teams have been prepared and deployed to both the outpost—which had been abandoned by her crew prior to our arrival—and to the asteroid itself. While I question the wisdom of this second, it seemed important to LCdr Tei and Cdr Yvette who are in charge of this operation, so I allowed it.

Our position is very close to the Romulan border… in fact our shuttle heading to the asteroid will enter the neutral zone, and the Gettysburg might end up doing so as well during this mission. While I understand that the Romulans might interpret this as a provocative act—I really don’t care. We have a job to do, which is to save Outpost 10, and I will do whatever must be done to accomplish this. If the Romulans do not like it, then they can send someone to stop us.

I would look forward to destroying them in battle.

My crew seems to be adapting well to the changes in command style. There have been some tensions, and some who are slightly lax by my standards, but I am confident that with time we will all learn to work together efficiently and productively. I have also come to the conclusion that Vulcan blood is very possibly composed primarily of a coolant of some sort, if the personality of my CMO is any indicator.

I have come to realize, that while my security department seems adequate to handle day-to-day tasks, however I have my doubts about them were the ship boarded by clearly superior forces. They not only failed to effectively stop or slow down the invaders in our latest simulation, they failed to coordinate their actions with the bridge or any other department. Sickbay attempted to abort the simulation. Science fought them well, and Engineering did fairly well. On the bridge, we had our own situation, but it worked out well. In the end, I believe that the simulation was probably too much—however I would never admit this to my crew. I have also concluded that should we need to use our forces offensively on another vessel or facility, what we have is inadequate. I have requested a full complement of Marines be restored to the battle cruiser before our next mission. I am still waiting on an answer from Star Fleet on this.

End log.

Stardate 20712.02

Begin log.

Things have degraded from bad to much worse.

We sent engineering and science teams to the outpost to download data and begin reinforcing the facility so we can attempt to move it. Initial simulations are not promising; however I am awaiting a new set of results before making any grand decisions. I am certain that there must be a better way than the way we are doing it—however as I am no scientist or engineer, I have no way of knowing… I must trust my officers.

The shuttles Aeion and Olympus were launched under the command of new Lieutenant Junior Grade Christine Robinson to assist in the reinforcement efforts.

Additionally, the Drake was launched to approach what we believed to be a very large asteroid. They arrived to find that the asteroid was artificial. In one of his typical buckaroo moves, it appears that Lieutenant Commander Tei again engaged in reckless and dangerous piloting, and now, possibly as a result of this, the Drake sits severely damaged on the surface of this artificial asteroid ship.

I dispatched the runabout Merrimack with my First Officer and Chief of Security—originally on a mission to retrieve Tei so that the mission could continue. After the Drake’s crash, their profile was updated to one of rescue and recovery; and now they appear to have landed on the surface as well! Just as I was beginning to think that there may need to be a round of court martials following this mission; an entity of some sort calling itself KR-39 contacted me. It appears to be an artificial lifeform and is, I believe, the cause of the two ‘landed’ shuttles. I do not know it’s intentions fully yet, however it has advised we do not move close to the asteroid lest we be damaged or destroyed; and it has yet to make a hostile move. Its language is somewhat cryptic and confusing.

A Romulan runabout has been detected close by, we have entered pursuit. There wasn’t much for my battle cruiser to do right now at the Outpost or asteroid anyway, and we can return within a few minutes if necessary. The runabout has evaded all hails and is trying to run for the neutral zone. It is my intent to capture or stop them before they get there.

I just received notification that Operation Raven Indigo Major is in effect; which just adds another complication to matters… however it may make certain aspects of our mission much easier. Commander Grant has been invaluable in feeding me information thus far, and I value him. The man deserves a promotion, however I am reluctant to recommend as much to Star Fleet as then I’d lose him from my vessel—and I value him too much.

End log.

Stardate 20712.09

Begin Log.

I had thought that the situation had reached the bottom of a bowl of dead gagh. How wrong I was.

This KR-39 entity has apparently trapped my away teams, and I am unable to communicate with them! The situation on the outpost has worsened. I have yet to hear from the on-board teams since they began tracking an odd set of signals; and the Aeion has been hit by meteoric debris and is severely damaged. The outpost away team is attempting a rescue, as WE are pursuing this romuluSngan toDSaH!

Lieutenant Brak has been relieved of duty for failure to follow very clear orders. I ordered we micro-jump ahead of the garbage scow and lock a tractor on to it and use phasers to take out its engines. That fool fires two torpedoes at it, which of course miss because they were able to evade them. This might have been a blessing as if they had hit, they surely would have vaporized it.

We now are in pursuit at warp speed and will likely ENTER the neutral zone soon… which will put us in violation of a treaty which legally went out of authority over five years ago. People around here seem to forget that technically we are STILL at war with Romulus and I bet the Romulans haven’t!

If war is what the Romulans want, then they have picked the right Star Fleet Captain to provoke.

I suspect that this asteroid is a secret Romulan weapon. And that Outpost Ten is just a place to test it.

Grant has reported to the bridge, where he is required to monitor all activities in person until this crisis passes. Thus far he has stayed mostly out of the way, however he and I both know that if my orders should conflict with the interests of the service at some critical moment—he may be required to ‘advise’ me—and I will be required to obey or risk the end of my career, and perhaps my life!

End log.

Stardate 20712.19

Begin Log.

Battle… finally.

I can feel the burning of my Klingon blood as we prepare for battle against a Romulan task force, even though the doctors have told me not to lead the mission to defend Outpost 10, I have disregarded their suggestion and decided to do it anyway.

A little over a day ago, while coordinating our actions, I suffered what the medics are classifying as a minor heart attack. They repaired damage and have allowed me to go back to light duty. I have decided instead to lead the away mission to defend Outpost 10, leaving the ship in the capable hands of the android, LCdr New.

Commander Yvette and the rest of the away team into the interior of the asteroid have not been heard from in nearly a day. While I have some concern, there is no evidence that they have been incapacitated; and the approaching Romulan fleet is of greater concern. Once we have dispatched the Romulans, we will work on rescuing the Commander and the away team. Otherwise I may be forced to find a new First Officer.

Lieutenant Commander Crawford has joined me on the station, and is working diligently to deploy her forces for the upcoming defense. I have also been informed, much to my dismay, that Commander Grant has informed Crawford and the CMO, LCdr Lorien, of some of the aspects of our little on-board secret. This bothers me; however Grant seems to have covered our true nature adequately. If he has not, then I am certain he will be dealt with appropriately by our superiors.

I stand here, in the abandoned station, in the middle of the command center, eagerly anticipating the upcoming battle. It has been much too long…

End log.

Commander Derrick Grant

Stardate 20712.28

Begin log.

[Computer notation: Log amended to formal log following official change-of-command.]

Well I don’t know what the hell Torgh is doing, but he’s brought the ship into a battle with a Romulan force that seems to have more firepower than us and then the damned fool ran off to defend the outpost personally. Sometimes I’d like to throttle that Klingon bastard.

He runs off, without a solid battle plan, and NO contingency. If he’s lucky he won’t get himself and the rest of them killed.

And what’s worse? Well the ••••••• didn’t even consider the fact that there is NO intel indicating that the Romulans will actually attack the outpost. I might have to kick his ••• when he gets back.

Anyway, so no sooner does he leave, then of course all COMMs are jammed, we lose contact with the FO, and then we’re attacked.

And now, here I am, making my way onto a bridge which is not secured, with intruders present.

It’s days like this I wonder why I didn’t say as Chief of Security back at Alpha… the Satarran terrorist attacks seem like a vacation compared to this ••••.

End log.

Stardate 20801.06

Begin log.

[Computer notation: Log amended to formal log following official change-of-command.]

We got our asses kicked. Three Romulan warships used their cloaking technology very effectively in making runs at the Gettysburg and beat the •••• out of us. Combine this with the fact that it appears our shields, hull plating, and who-knows-what-else were operating well below normal, and it ends with us having much more than our noses bloodied. I am currently heading up an investigation into possible sabotage of the ship or the refit. I am working with Engineering and Security on this.

Oh, and to make matters worse, not only did Torgh get himself killed over there, he managed to get the Chief Engineer killed as well. It would appear that the damned fool… [Log content edited] …and then after it exploded they were both killed.

I have submitted the sensor logs, showing clearly the Romulan involvement, and these logs have also been shared with the senior crew, such that all reports on the incident are accurate. A discrepancy on this could make an officer look very bad in the eyes of Star Fleet.

So the ship is slowly being put back together, the investigation continues, and I am now the highest-ranking member of this crew presently aboard the ship. Despite this (thankfully!), Lieutenant Commander New remains in command of the Gettysburg, as we still have yet to get contact with the Away Team led by Commander Yvette inside the ‘asteroid’.

I suspect that I’ll get a message from HQ in the next hour or two indicating what my role here is to be, and telling me to shelf my already-sent complaint for a later time. They know what they want from me, and I’m going to just have to deal with it. I’ll make the best of it… there are worse places and worse crews to work with.

There was a time when I wanted to be in the forefront of things like this. I wanted to be out here, on the front lines, fighting for our way of life. I still do—but in a different way! I was happy at Alpha, protecting our home, and working the occasional operation in the field. I didn’t want it to be a full-time job! Smith, when you read this remember one thing: I’m going to choke the living •••• out of you the next time we meet—sir.

I need to get on this possible sabotage situation immediately and get it resolved. I swear that if the culprit of this mess is aboard the ship still, I’ll personally shove him out the nearest torpedo launcher—that is if we have any that actually work…

End log.

Supplemental 1

Our investigation into the sabotage continues without any notable progress.

The ship's repairs are under way, and we are preparing to move the outpost once the ship and outpost are ready. I can only hope that we are successful, lord knows this ship has seen enough failure this mission.

Another away team has been launched, under the command of LCdr Tei and using his private shuttle, to the Asteroid. With limited contact with Yvette and the others, I am hoping that they can do better with a bigger team. She's also been informed, according to comm-logs, of the death of Torgh and Bohr. I wonder how that'll affect her mission success.

End log.

Supplemental 2

Commander Trenton, the base commander came aboard. I don't trust him. We will investigate his knowledge of the situation and see if anything turns up—it may just be that he's an arrogant prick, or it may turn out that he is hiding something.

Meanwhile, I still worry about this possible saboteur aboard. What is their mission? Who are they? Tal Shiar? Something else?

And the away team—at least now we have limited contact, and another team has gone down. Although I question the person we let lead it, and the fact that we may now lose more officers... we are supposed to be interacting with new lifeforms, and this certainly qualifies—in one way or another.

Repairs are progressing, and I have been assured that we will shortly be able to move the outpost. If things go well following that, maybe we can collect our away teams and make our way back to base for repairs and crew rotation... and then find out what Fleet has planned for me. I strongly doubt that after the way this mission went, my orders will involve this ship; and without Torgh present to guide the special team, I doubt they'll stay aboard.

Now I'm off to the bridge... which might very well be the most dreadfully boring job I could have.

End log.

Stardate 20802.23

Finally we are ready to move the outpost! The ship is semi-repaired and the outpost is ready. That bastard Trenton is back on the base, wher he belongs and off my fracking ship.

Both away teams are on the asteroid, and although we haven't had a recent activity report from them, I believe progressing well.

I, on the other hand, am not so well. I'm dead to the ship and crew, and am in a medical stasis chamber. An imposter of me tried to take over the ship, and now my security forces are hunting him.

I can only hope that they find him and find an antidote to the poison which is affecting me at the same time.

End log.

Star Date 20308.10

[This log has been declared classified by Star Fleet Intelligence. Only persons with Level 7 or higher security clearance may access.]

Begin log.

I’m dead.

At least legally… at the moment.

I ordered the CMO to declare my death a few hours ago, in an effort to throw off whoever these imposters are. So far the ploy seems to have somewhat worked. It appears that two of the imposters have been eliminated; we have one in custody; and another is being pursued on the lower decks.

Meanwhile, I sit here in sickbay while the doctors do their magic to return me to normal; at which time we’ll announce my ‘resurrection’.

Ship computer tells me that the FO has returned, and I await her arrival for a mutual debriefing.

LCdr Crawford and Lt Eaglestone are working hard to secure the situation, and we have modified internal sensors to detect the Satarrans, and hopefully we get them before they do more damage.

The ship, physically, has many scars and a lot of damage to be repaired; and the crew has a lot of physical and emotional healing before they will be ready to launch again. I have no idea as to my fate following all of this, but I suspect that Cdr Yvette will be appointed as the new Commanding Officer upon our return to base.

Due to the sensitive nature of this ship’s equipment and personnel, we are returning to SBA for repair and refit. I suspect this will take at least several weeks.

End log.

Crew Logs

Commander Aloysia Yvette

Stardate 20803.18-End Mission Report

This mission has been eventful, to say the least. I think it even beat out last mission, and that’s saying a lot.

It started much like last mission: with a patrol. But of course, there is always something to do on patrol!

We received a distress call from Outpost 10, a listening post along the Federation/Romulan Neutral Zone. It reported that a large asteroid was heading directly for the outpost. The outpost’s occupants were evacuating because the asteroid would surely hit the station.

So, we investigated of course, and found the situation just as they said. What’s more, the asteroid seemed to have originated in Romulan space. So, we found ourselves with two missions: priority one was to find a way to move the outpost so that a valuable piece of Federation property wasn’t destroyed, and second was to investigate the asteroid.

The outpost presented a problem. It couldn’t move on its own in time, and if we tried to tow it fast enough it would break apart. So, one engineering team was sent to retrieve any valuable information from the outpost, and to reinforce it as much as possible. Another team, lead by Commander Syntranos and piloted by Commander Tei, was sent to the asteroid.

It is the latter team that I was most involved with. This is because while they were investigating the outer part of the asteroid, the ship went down. At first we thought it was because of some “creative” flying on the part of Commander Tei. Captain Torgh ordered me to bring a security team to pick him up and bring him back to the Gettysburg. We also took along a replacement pilot.

However, when we got to the asteroid in the Merrimack, something took control of our runabout and landed us on the surface of the asteroid, within walking distance of the shuttle, the Drake. We were contacted by an alien entity who called itself KR-39. We met with it in a cave on the asteroid. It turned out to be an android, and it explained to us that it and the asteroid were from outside our galaxy. KR also told us that it was responsible for crashing the Drake and landing the Merrimack, and that it was simply suspicious of our intentions.

We learned that KR had been caught by the asteroid as well, and hadn’t originated there. However, he did have more detailed scans that we were able to conduct of the asteroids interior. It turned out that there were people living inside the asteroid on some kind of earthen surface. There was also a sort of “engineering” section that presumably controlled the asteroid.

Since our secondary objective was to investigate the asteroid, we decided to team up with KR and transport to the asteroid’s interior. First, though, we sent Commander Tei back to the Gettysburg, as ordered, on the Merrimack.

We transported into the asteroid. We were unable to transport into the “engineering” section, so we decided to check out the earthen surface first. We discovered that it had been created to be a natural environment with a holographic sky.

We entered far away from the civilization, but our scans detected that in order to enter the “engineering” section, we would have to pass within a kilometer of the civilization. I was unwilling to do this because of the Prime Directive, but we soon discovered that we were unable to transport back to the Drake. We still had communication, but something was blocking the transporter from being able to lock on to us.

So, our only option was to try to covertly make it to the entrance to the “engineering” section. But, of course, fate wasn’t on our side. Despite our efforts, we were discovered by the natives of the asteroid. They thought we were the prophets of their gods, or something, so they began to have a worshipful attitude towards us. I tried to discourage it, to no avail.

The natives convinced us to go with them to their city. Before we got there, we were ambushed by another group of natives and we discovered that they were at war because of some kind of radiation sickness. Our mission suddenly became three-fold: explore the asteroid, get off the asteroid, and help the natives with their radiation sickness.

Thankfully, the entire away team survived the battle, mostly due to the efforts of the android KR. Ensign Stone received a serious injury to her shoulder, but I was able to repair it. We met with the natives’ religious elders, which didn’t have a big effect on anything that happened. But then we met with the leader of the warriors, Uraan. He seemed eager to help us, and indicated that he knew about the “engineering” section, which he called the catacombs.

Uraan led us to the cave entrance along with a group of his warriors that were there to protect us from the rival faction. We left him on the earthen surface, and descended via a lift to the catacombs.

That was when Commander Tei and his team arrived. We had been in communication with the Gettysburg, and they knew of our problem with transporting. They sent a team with additional security officers and engineers to help us. I don’t know why they brought additional security officers, as we already had plenty, but the engineers were much needed.

Most of Commander Tei’s team beamed to our location, against my wishes. There was apparently some kind of failure with the communications between Tei’s shuttle and our team, but that is another report in and of itself.

Anyway, Tei’s team had a theory on how to transport back to Tei’s shuttle. I sent Commander Tei with a team back to the earthen surface to investigate this, and led my own team further into the catacombs. KR stayed with my team. I also had Doctor Yamazaki, who arrived with Tei, work on obtaining a medication that would protect the teams from the radiation poison.

We moved through the corridors of the catacombs and found ourselves in an engineering room that was similar to any starship engine room I have seen. The engineering and scientists got to work scanning the equipment. We found that the reactor was using unknown substances, but that it was similar to a matter-antimatter reactor.

While we were still scanning the equipment and waiting for the results from Tei’s team, a holographic entity appeared. It seemed to be an artificial intelligence that was responsible for maintaining the equipment that kept the asteroid running. We discussed the problems with the radiation leak with it. At first it did not believe us, but then KR showed it the scans and it realized the problem.

Tei’s group arrived during this time, with the warrior Uraan, and informed us that they had been successful in finding a way to transport off the asteroid using transport enhancers. Doctor Yamazaki also injected us all with the medication that would protect us from any harm the radiation would bring us.

In the end, we came to an agreement with the holographic AI that we would help it find a suitable planet for the asteroid’s inhabitants. There was no way to fix the radiation leak, and the natives were slowly dying from the radiation, so this was the only way.

I was anxious to return to the Gettysburg because of the events of the Romulan attack, so I decided to take KR-39 back to the ship. I assigned him to work with the science team to find a planet for the asteroid’s natives.

We returned to the Gettysburg on Tei’s shuttle, and towed the disabled Drake home with us. In the end, KR and Commander Syntranos found Nimbus III for the asteroid’s natives. Again, that is another report in and of itself. KR decided to join the natives at their new colony as he had nowhere else to go.

All in all, it was a very successful mission. We were able to get a lot of scans of the asteroid which I’m sure the Science Institute and Engineering Corps will have a field day with.

End log.

Lieutenant Commander New

Stardate 20712.18

Despite the away team's best efforts, Outpost 10 is still in danger of being destroyed by the asteroid-ship. Simulations show that the stresses caused by the ship's tractor beams on the station's extremities will still cause critical structural failure and irreparable damage to the station. I will be discussing options with the Chief Engineer upon his return to the ship.

The tachyon grid has been completed and deployed around the area. Any cloaked Romulan vessels encroaching into local space will be detected. I still have some doubt that they intend to intercept the Gettysburg, but intend to be prepared for any eventuality.

There is still no contact with the away team sent to investigate the asteroid-ship. Previous attempts to find the away team have failed, but I cannot send another search party at this time.

Captain Torgh has passed through surgery without incident and is recovering. Should the Romulans arrive in an aggressive posture, then the captain intends to lead the defense of Outpost 10. I do not know how wise a decision this is, based on his recent surgery, but he is adamant and unwilling to hear any arguments. He believes there will be a battle, in fact, I believe he wants one.

The first of the Romulan vessels suspected to arrive will do so in an hour. We shall see what happens.

End Log

Stardate 20801.07

The Romulans did attack us and the Starbase. Two older model Warbirds and one top of the line model were involved, with several runabout equivalent ships carrying an invading force. [See sensor logs for full details of the battle.]

The Gettysburg was severely damaged during the battle, but managed to destroy two of the attacking Warbirds. The third departed, while sending a message indicating that for whatever reason they attacked, they had achieved their goal.

During the battle I suffered damage resulting in a brief shutdown and immobility. Lieutenant Kiron Hunter has made some temporary repairs so that I may resume command unhindered, but I am unable to walk until more extensive repairs can be made.

Sometime during the battle, Captain Torgh and Lieutenant Bohr were killed in action aboard Outpost 10. I am unaware of all the details, but they appeared to have been caught in an explosion. They were both competent officers and I am sure they will be missed.

Despite Commander Derrick Grants' present status as senior officer aboard, he has not yet shown a desire to take command of the Gettysburg. I am satisfied with this, as I feel I am completely capable of resuming command until Commander Yvette returns. Star Fleet Command, however, apparently feels differently, as they have sent orders transferring command to Commander Grant.

I cannot go against the orders of Command, but once again it appears that Star Fleet does not trust my command abilities.

End Log.

Stardate 20802.23

My time of the Gettysburg being what it is, this is not my first time in command. This is, however, the first time of note where decisions I have made have led to the situation aboard ship proceed from unsuccessful to near disaster. In an action that will never leave my memory engrams, I allowed a impostor to take over the bridge, and worse yet, take a hostage.

The illogical and unpredictable behaviors of humanoids is their one true weakness but, at the same time, manage to use it to their advantage. Such contradictions are beyond my ability to comprehend, and thus lead to errors in my calculations.

This is how the impostor was able to convince me to leave the bridge in the first place. Though, as Commander Grant, his behavior was out of character given my previous observations, his argument for relieving me of duty was convincing.

Once I discovered the true nature of the situation, I took appropriate actions.

Humanoids' contradictory nature also has its drawback when predicting behaviors. How I believe a person will react to a situation, given what I have previously observed, often differs from their true reaction. This became evident with the responses I received when I tries to apprehend the impostor.

The bridge crew, rather than try to inquire as to the purpose of my abrupt return to the bridge, armed and ready to fire, attempted to...I believe the term is "talk me down." This allowed the impostor to take a hostage, which led to a confrontation between himself and security. No one was harmed, but the impostor escaped.

I trust this log explains why I made the decisions that I did, should any disciplinary action result once this ship returns to base.

End Log.

Stardate 20803.18

Lieutenant Commander New reporting.

Sickbay reported that Commander Grant had died from an attack by a Satarran impostor, which later turned out to be a falsehood for security purposes. The impostor was eventually found dead along with yet another crewman. No explosive devices were found, proving the impostor's threat false.

Sufficient repairs have been made to return home, and we have set course for Starbase Alpha.

My own repairs are proceeding. The circuit Ensign Marquez appears to be functional, but I will not know how well it will interact with my other systems until I run tests.

Eng Log.

Lieutenant Junior Grade Christine Robinson

Stardate 20803.07

I normally don't do personal logs. I'm not that comfortable with them and I don't really have a use for them most of the time. But... back in psych eval, they encouraged me to open up to myself in logs and diaries, so I guess I should do this just to get some of the weight off my shoulders.

I was given the chance to command today. Something that I have never done and I was looking forward to it. Yet even as I sit here entering notes in my log, I feel like I'm being crushed by a weight. I haven't felt this way since... since my third year at the academy. I'm not really that eager to go into details but sufficed to say, I'm feeling the same way. Suicidal.

I don't like the thought of death. I'm scared of death like everyone else on the ship, but I just feel like I'm the one to blame. Something I did somewhere down the line. Did I make a mistake piloting out of Spacedock that somehow affected the mission? Did I say something wrong to the wrong person? Did I fire at the wrong target? Something isn't right.

All I really know is now I feel like I have a big hole where my heart should be. I'm scared because... I'm afraid I might lose control. I worked closely with the docs here on the Getty and I'm supposed to be making progress... but now I feel like at any moment I'll just... I'll just...

[A soft sobbing can be heard on the audio pick-ups, which had been running in tandem with the text-only log.]

[Log ends after two minutes of no entry.]

Stardate 20308.18

I have trouble with logs. Sure they're like diaries and such, and they're great for putting your feelings into words. But... I guess I have enough issues that if I put them all into words I'd have a library. And I know New wouldn't like me taking all the time just writing when I could be doing paperwork.

I guess since it's the end of mission I should be happy but... I think I want to stay aboard the ship this time. I'm not sure I'm up to dealing with any of the crew right now. Two people I kind of had by eye on hooked up so... I'm not going to get in the way of that. I thought I had someone for the party the other night too, but he disappeared. I guess I'm plauged with bad relationships.

I'm just glad I don't have all the issues I had before I went into the Academy. Last thing I need is to be moping around my quarters with a knife trying to decide where I can cut and not get noticed. *sigh*

End Log.

Midshipman Laxius

Stardate 20803.08

Humans have a saying that they seem to use quite often. How does it go? Oh yes: "Been a hell of a day."

I doubt anyone but my parents would read this, but it HAS been a rough ride. And I'm still alive. I think if I can survive this day, I can survive anything. I've never come this close to dying so many times in a 24 hour period. But, with each time, I seem to become desensitized to the fact that my next shift could become my last. I'll have to talk to the counselor about that.

Of course I was a little scared, only a fool wouldn't be, but not once did it stop me from performing my duty. Star Fleet trained me well I must admit. I just didn't have time to dwell on my own mortality.

But, enough of that. The Gettysburg is a fine ship, with a fine crew, and I'm lucky to be a part of it. One thing is for sure: it will never be boring. At least, not for long.

Computer, End log and save.

Lieutenant Chris Eaglestone

Stardate 20712.28

After being on the Gettysburg a while now I still haven't made much headway in the progress of my career. A few of the engineers know my first name and even fewer talk to me on a regular basis. Maybe it is because of my closed of nature or maybe it's because I refused to support them in their campaign of "terror" against our new chief engineer. Needless to say he wasn't very popular with me either, a science officer coming into engineering was a mistake...

[LOG PAUSED, PRIVACY COMPROMISED]

... Where was I? Oh yes Bohr. Whilst yes he is a good officer and yes a good engineer he lacks the experience necessary to lead the engineering department effectively, I can't think why he landed the job. Surely I could have done a better job than him... Maybe Blair just didn't like me. Anyway To work I go, I hate night shifts.

Supplemental

After a while action has come to me. Working on just random assignments the Gettysburg came under attack. With Isaac gone and a Junior Grade that thinks he is superman in charge we were doomed. I jumped in and ordered the shield grid recharged and asked Hunter to go to the bridge to help up there. Now he is gone and we are under attack by a Romulan boarding party. For my daughter in the event of my death:

I leave everything to you my angel. Please live out your life the best you can and be good. I love you sweet heart.

Stardate 20801.28

I haven't slept for over a day now, I am exhausted but still work needs performing. Everyone, well, nearly everyone have their attentions fixed on the deflector dish for the insane attempt at moving outpost ten. Fixing it up just to burn it out again if you ask me, might as well replace the damned outpost anyway. This close to the neutral zone with minimal defenses is BS, the people who decided that should be strung up.

Well onto politics I am worried about the recent Romulan aggression, it isn't like them to be so vocal on their borders without something behind it. Is it a possible prelude to war? Who knows but them, and maybe a Star Fleet Intelligence somewhere. If it comes to war as part of the second battle group the Gettysburg would be on the front line, I couldn't have my Hannah aboard during that time. But would she accept staying with her grand parents, so close to where she lost her mother. Maybe she could stay with Casey... Or Mark maybe, when this is over I will have to contact them and make arrangements just in case the worse happens. I have been thinking allot about Leanne lately, about our time together and the times we have missed. I found myself today wondering that, if she were still alive would I be here now. Acting Chief engineer of a starship or would I still be on Star base Alpha fixing plasma conduits and replicator systems.

After four years I find myself wondering if I prefer life now or how it used to be as I am happy now but have a huge hole in my life, I guess if I got to be Chief Engineer of the Gettysburg I would be happier but I feel like I am betraying Leanne who wanted to stay on Earth, but then again she wanted our daughter to be happy and as far as I can tell she is, well sort of anyway. Happier than she would be on Earth. Anyway, thats my coffee gone and back to work I go.

End log.

Lieutenant Junior Grade Kiron Hunter

Stardate 20711.16

It's not that I hate change or anything, because I don't, but this ship has changed, boy it sure has. Captain Torgh is well erratic. From the times that I have seen and interacted with him to what I have heard, you don’t really know which Captain you are going to get—the one who throws daggers at your head, or the one who gets you a drink in ten forward. He is capable though, and although I have had some problems adapting to his ‘style’ of command, he is quite competent. While I’m on this little digression, I might as well talk about Lt. Bohr. Apart from our little tiff at the beginning of the mission, we have gotten along well enough. He doesn’t give enough leeway to some of his engineers to advance the ship, but I did get command of a group team—which if I do say so myself is not unwarranted.

Anyway, the events that culminated in my first mission with Beta team were not that propitious—for my command of Beta at least. That Romulan made me look like a fool. Luckily I escaped with not much more than a few minor wounds an no one really got hurt in the long run. Bohr didn’t seem to happy, but there wasn’t much he could really do about it. Oh, and the whole thing was made ten fold better because when I was stuck in the insane craft spouting neurozine gas, the insane Captain decided that it was time to hold a combat readiness test. So while I was getting poisoned, I had to deal with holographic people banging on the door of the craft.

Computer end log

Stardate 20712.19

We've failed. Despite everything that we did on that hell hole we did not make it structurally sound. Really that's not that suprising though, the initial readings didn't look good. Really though the most interesting part of my first away mission was that we found a crew member. He was injured by a rogue member on the station. We tried to take him to sickbay so that the EMH could have a look at him, considering that we are all more comfortable with machines anyway.

Needless to say, it didn't work out either. The EMH turned out to be a mindless minion of Lt. Harret. When we entered the room, he attacked us. I tried to disable him, but he ended up capturing me with a forcefield.

Eventually Harret stormed in and demanded to fight a person known as Kang. The only way I escaped at all was that Kang happend to be a Klingon and I can speak passable Klingon.

It all worked out, and we only lost a member or two to Harret.

So that's the end of that, I guess...

Lieutenant Commander Tyra Crawford

Stardate 20803.21

With things nearly returning to normal speed, I have finally found time away from scurrying around the office trying to keep things together to record this.

This last mission was something that I wouldn't even wish on my worst enemy. It stretched my department to the extremes and further. While my officers certainly proved themselves and made me extremely proud, I think it's wise if we try to avoid the combination of disasters we managed to concoct this time around.

It probably should've been a warning from the start of the mission when my department somehow managed to fail a drill, which is unheard of for me, but that was only the start of it all. It was suppose to be a mission centered around moving Outpost 10 and investigating the asteroid that was on a collision course with it. In other words, it was one of those missions where Security is relegated to body guard duty, or theoretically at least.

Everything went relatively smoothly until I had to go detain Tei on Captain Torgh's orders for the second time since his arrival - I think Tei may have been less trouble the first time I met him; then again, he spent most of that time threatening me for having a smart mouth. Regardless, I returned to my department to find my office taken over and Sickbay locked down…that did not brighten my day at all, and the identity of the perpetrator or his reasons didn't help any. Safe to say, it wasn't the last time I saw Grant that day, and none of the visits brought what I would consider cheerful news.

After that, I and who I thought at the time was Captain Torgh assembled a team to defend Outpost 10. Even now, I find the idea of protecting an empty and fairly unimportant outpost a waste of the lives lost during the battle, and given that I lost a good number of able officers, not to mention Lieutenant Bohr, I think it was negligent, but it can only be blamed on an imposter, not the real Torgh. While we did manage to defend the outpost, it came with a high price.

The only good thing that came of the battle for the outpost was the Romulan prisoners we acquired. Admittedly, most of them are only foot soldiers, and most of the higher ranking officers committed suicide before the proper security protocols could be put into place, but prisoners are prisoners. However, none of those prisoners were the ones that I found myself interrogating.

I have to admit, I never expected to find myself interrogating another Star Fleet officer, much less one outranking me, who'd done no discernable crime. Commander Trenton, while he did seem to be hiding something, was not threatening. He took no time to break, even though now I wish I had pushed a little harder in the area of Lieutenant Harret. Even without that, he'll be standing trial for negligence in the case of the instable Mr. Harret. After a talk with Counselor Evans regarding Harret, I don't think I can think of Trenton without a feeling of disgust. He's the type of Commanding Officer that makes you think twice before trusting him with anything.

Amazingly –or not- it wasn't long before another crisis evolved, this one taking the form of an attack on the Acting Captain, Commander Grant. This set off a chain of alarming events involving imposters planted on the ship. They took the form ranging from Commander Grant himself on the bridge, who took a hostage when approached, to Brooke Avery, my brig guard, who we apprehended and detained. She turned out to be a low level agent with little to no knowledge of the activities of the other imposters. By that time, we'd already found a way to track them through the ship, and ended up finding the last of the intruders dead in the lower decks, killed from a force field shock. This set of events are enough to set me very much on edge, even more so than my job normally requires.

Safe to say, I'm very happy to leave this mission and its carnage behind. That's not to say I'll be forgetting those lost anytime soon, but some amount of closure must be found before any future progress can be made.

Personal Log, Supplementary

This last mission was nothing short of Hell personally. I just spent 4 hours with Lalaine, and all she could do was sob, which is completely understandable. All I could do was hug her, while my mind replayed that horrible scene of the burnt Command Center. I didn't know what to tell her or how to make it better. It may have been even more torturous than the Command Center and the stench of burnt flesh that went along with it.

…she said she's transferring to HQ in San Francisco at the first opportunity, and honestly, I had to agree with her. Isaac's death rattled her more than I think either of us expected, but I have to keep reminding myself that she's not me, and she doesn't react like I do. She's slow to let people in, and when she does, she expects them to stay. However, Isaac didn't have a choice in that matter, and I think a change of scenery may be the only thing that will allow her to get over this properly. I'm going to miss her, but I know we'll be in touch. After all, she's like a sister; you don't generally lose touch with one of those.

On that note, there are going to be a lot of changes personnel wise. My department is getting a whole new set of officers to replace the losses and transfers from this mission. That's going to require a lot of paperwork, and an equal amount of evaluations. But while I was sitting here going over my report, I realized that at the start of the next mission, there'll only be two Department Heads from the previous mission, New and I, with Isaac being no longer with us, and Val and Sadie both leaving us. It's going to be really weird to see different people in staff meetings, and I'm certainly going to miss them all seeing as we learned to trust each other. However, I've always known this would happen, no senior staff stays together for long periods of time. I guess we'll just have to see how the changes affect the dynamics of the senior staff. I'm sure it'll be interesting regardless…

My only request for this upcoming shore leave is that it be enough to banish all of last mission from my thoughts…at least until I have to put the uniform back on again.

End Log

Lieutenant Commander Valeria Lorien

Stardate 20801.21

I take a brief moment from the chaos of my department to record this log. The recent battle with the Romulans has overwhelmed Sickbay with injured, and only now are we beginning to dig ourselves out from under the deluge. All told, at this time, 436 crewmembers were injured during the conflict and 46 were killed. The death toll could rise, as some crewmembers are still unaccounted for. With the damage that the ship sustained, it’s impossible to get an accurate count at this time. We haven’t yet had a chance to ascertain if anyone was lost in the various hull breeches.

Among those killed in the battle were Captain Torgh, the ship’s Commanding Officer, and Lieutenant Isaac Bohr, the Chief Engineer. Official causes of death are unknown at this moment, as I haven’t had time to review the details. Both presumably died in the fighting on Outpost 10. Lieutenant Commander New was injured on the Bridge of the Gettysburg, however his injuries required engineering intervention. No other senior officers were hurt.

Several Romulans were taken prisoner in the conflict, and some require medical attention. A full summary of their injuries is currently unavailable. Doctor Macleod is in charge of their examination. Doctor Otensen is assisting. Otensen has just completed his internship and this is his first assignment. Macleod has proven herself a welcomed addition to the staff. She learns fast and thinks quickly on her feet. Though she’s only barely made ensign, I feel I can trust her with the most important tasks without the need for supervision.

Sickbay itself suffered no serious damage during the battle, and all systems are operational. Staff members are currently on 24-hour shifts until patients have been cleared out sufficiently enough to allow for rotational shifts again. We’re short staffed at the moment though as it is. Three doctors were injured and are unavailable to work. Doctor Yamazaki has been assigned to an away team, and Doctor Natilique is on detached duty. We’re down to 15 working doctors. If we have any more surprises coming our way, we may have to promote a few orderlies.

Personal Log, Supplementary

I’m unsure about my reaction to Captain Torgh’s death and the appointment of Commander Grant as acting CO. I honestly don’t believe the story that Torgh died bravely defending the station. It doesn’t add up, not from what I know of Torgh in my personal dealings with him, and not from what I know after seeing his classified medical record. Perhaps if it had been anyone but Grant who’d made the announcement, I might have found more truth to what was said, but Grant is a man who’s hiding many things. Though he’s told me more than what I should know about certain operations on this ship, he hasn’t told me everything. I realize that he may not be able to share certain details with me, but that simple fact causes me trepidation. How can one have loyalty to a commanding officer who can’t be honest with his crew. I do think he at least has the crew’s best interests in mind, though whether his own loyalties lie here or to his superiors is a matter on which I’ll reserve my opinion.

Maybe I’ve become too cynical lately though. I know that after having spent time with Silaran again during my last shore leave and having experienced my father’s world, I have much less of an idealized view of the universe. Any hint of naïveté that I once had is now gone, and I’m not apt to give my trust to anyone without good reason. I know that not everyone has a private agenda, but it’s often hard to tell who does and who doesn’t. Sometimes I’m not even sure of myself.

Torgh was a dangerous man though, and I knew that from the first time I met him. He seemed to enjoy taking unnecessary risks, and he always struck me as someone who didn’t care how many others he destroyed in the process of fulfilling his own needs. Whatever happened on the station, I’m sure it was less than bravery, though I’ll probably never know the true story.

As for myself, personally, the flood of injured hasn’t left me much time to deal with anything other than my duties. I truly wish I could go pick up Tee and bring her here. After what happened, I’d feel better with her close, but I know she’s okay and that daycare will provide for her needs right now. I don’t even know if we have a home to go to once this is over. I know there was a hull breach on our deck, but I don’t know if it was in our quarters or not. I haven’t had a chance to check. Hopefully we’ll get the patient load cleared out soon, and we can all take a much-needed break to gather ourselves. I’m sure others on my staff are as equally concerned about family and friends.

End Log

Stardate 20803.19

After much work, Sickbay has been restored to near normal. Only an issue with the replicators has kept us from being at 100 percent. All replicators are offline, and we've been relying on supplies taken from Outpost 10 to keep us in working order. Otherwise, we're in good shape, and the staff has earned a well-deserved rest.

Soon after the influx of injured from the battle had subsided, another short crisis emerged. A group of imposters infiltrated the ship, and one of them attempted to assassinate Commander Grant. Thankfully, he managed to contact me in time, and I transported him to Sickbay for treatment. He'd been stabbed and poisoned by a substance that was unknown to us. Ensign Macleod and I were able to take care of his injuries, however, and he made a remarkable recovery.

All in all, I'm impressed by my staff's performance during the battle and the subsequent chaos that enveloped the ship. I couldn't ask for a better department, and I have requested citations for several members of the crew for their extraordinary effort in taking care of the injured. I'm especially impressed with the work of Ensign Laura Macleod. She continues to excel in her performance, and she continues to be a valuable asset to this ship.

This will be my final log entry as CMO of this ship.

Personal Log, Supplementary

I have chosen to resign from Star Fleet effective upon the return of the Gettysburg to base. After the near destruction of this ship and the large loss of life in the battle, I've decided that it's best for my daughter if I raise her in a less dangerous environment. I regret having to leave Star Fleet, but I must put T'Lara first. It's the most logical decision. I also wouldn't be able to live with myself if something happened to her.

It's also time to settle down with my husband and for the three of us to be a true family. It's difficult to be separated most of the time and to only spend a few weeks of the year together. It's strained our marriage, and Tee misses her father. Though I don't wish to resign, I must put my family first. I will miss the Gettysburg and the people on it. It's been my home for two years, and it will always feel that way to me.

End Log

Ensign Laura Macleod

Stardate 20712.08

After weeks of routine, today was definitely a shock to the system. I can hardly believe it, so much has happened, but I know for sure that I made the right decision now. Magda was right, I was meant to help people.

First there was an explosion in the science lab involving a highly toxic chemical. Three officers were seriously injured. Dr Lorien, Dr Phoenix and myself attended, and thankfully they are all still alive, though one of them has temporary paralysis and will take some time to recover. The patient I treated, Midshipman Tucker, was badly beaten up and has some lung damage. She is going to cause me trouble. I just know it. She has already gone for a wander whilst I was away dealing with another emergency. I've kept her in over night, mainly to keep her out of trouble. The Captain ran another drill just after the emergency and I swear she was all ready to jump into action, even if it killed her. She made me feel old, though I think we are about the same age, a bit of responsibility would do her good.

The second emergency was in the shuttle bay, fortunately there were no fatalities and I should be able to release my remaining patient in the morning, but I really think the drills are beginning to go too far. I think it was as a result of the drill but for some reason, one of the shuttles was rigged with a gas, something to do with a Lieutenant Commander Tei. I don't know much about him yet though I got the impression from a couple of people he isn't well liked. Maybe I had better study-up on Romulan physiology. The Captain called him a traitor, but he didn’t say why, I’ll have to remember to ask him. I can’t help wondering if they are being a bit unfair to him, I mean if he is in Star Fleet he must have done something to earn it, we aren’t exactly on good terms with his people after all. But then if he goes around rigging death traps… I guess I will have to wait and see for myself.

That brings me to the third, erm, event? After the day I'd had I felt the need to unwind. I was also feeling a bit isolated because when I couldn't remember the names of my patients I realised that I haven't really been socialising much. In fact, if it wasn’t for Ai, I’m not sure I would have made any friends here at all. I still don’t know many people outside of Sickbay, and so, I went to ten forward. When did it get so hard to talk to people? I've spent so much time with my nose in a PADD that when I got there I just found a quiet table by myself. Thankfully I wasn't alone for long.

Captain Torgh is a very unusual individual. On the one hand he is very Klingon, on the other he makes more of an effort to be friendly than any other Captain I've met. Admittedly no Star Fleet Officer likes having to be nice to the adolescent daughter of a diplomat but from what I've seen, they don't often fraternise with the lower ranks either. It was a crazy evening; eating Klingon food, Torgh made this daft bet over a chess match and lost, an aborted attempt at a holodeck program and a quiet chat in Torgh's quarters.

I must say, I hope he wants to continue our friendship, there is so much about him I like, and... Despite not knowing what he was going to do or say next, it was comfortable. Fun, but comfortable, even though some of the things we discussed were very personal. He made it clear that I was to treat him as an equal when we are off duty and that I could say what I wished, and… that’s how it should be I think. It's certainly not an evening I will forget in a hurry.

End Log

Stardate 20801.13

Another crazy day!

Torgh was taken ill and I had to operate on him. Thankfully the operation was a success and he should be back on duty tomorrow.

It was strange though, the whole of sickbay was quarantined because of it. I know the Captain is the heart of a star ship, but I still think that… Mr Grant? was over-reacting, like there was something else going on. It certainly put everyone on edge.

I made a new friend too! At least I think I did… this small squirrel-like creature sort of latched on to me. No-one seems to know where he came from or how he got on board. There is something strange about his physiology too, but I didn’t get a chance to finish my investigation before I was called to look at the Captain, and the little fuzz-ball ran off. Hopefully he will turn up again, he was so cute! And starving the poor thing. I’m not sure Shadow will be too pleased about it though!

End Log

Stardate 20803.21

Doctor Laura Macleod, Personal Log

We’re nearly home now. I can’t believe it, graduation seems like a lifetime ago, so much has happened.

We were attacked by Romulans, whilst trying to save Outpost 10 from an oncoming asteroid. So many people died, including Torgh. Losing the Captain came as a shock to everyone. I’ve never lost a friend before either, that’s the downside of working on a Starship I guess, the likelihood of knowing your patients, of being friends with them, is much larger than in a big city hospital. I couldn’t leave though, I feel like I belong here now, and they need good doctors.

We have a new Captain, at least temporarily, Commander Derrick Grant. I’m not sure exactly why he was put in charge instead of Commander Yvette, I didn’t have time to think about it at the time, I was in the brig treating Romulan prisoners. He’s a good Captain, he always gives the impression that he is in control of everything, which is important, it makes people feel more at ease. I’ve gotten to know him a little since he was injured in an incident, but only a little. He lets you see just as much as he wants you to, but that’s okay because you can’t help liking him anyway. Commander Yvette would make a good Captain too, but I guess we wont know our fate until we come back from shore leave.

The asteroid turned out to be a hollow world, Ai told me about some of it. Commander Yvette arranged to have the inhabitants re-located as their habitat was no longer stable and they were getting sick. It some how involved an alien android, but I’m not really very clear on who he was or why he was there. We moved the Outpost too, so our mission was a success, it’s just a shame the cost was so high.

Amidst all of this, we had intruders on board, another race with their own agenda, and I don’t think we’ve seen the last of them either. One of them impersonated Commander Grant, which really messed up Ensign Tucker for a while, since he decided to use her as a hostage. She’ll be okay though.

It’s going to be very different when we come back. In addition to the Captain changing, Doctor Lorien is leaving us. I understand her reasons, this isn’t the place for children, but a new CMO is going to mean changes and that makes me uneasy. Besides, I’ll miss her.

End Log

Lieutenant Commander Mercedes “Sadie” Syntranos

Stardate 20712.03

Begin Log...

Dars is no longer the Captain of the Getty. He was reassigned to headquarters. I found that out just after our wedding. It was a beautiful ceremony. We had it on the Galileo with close friends and of course family. Then spent a month roaming around the stars and playing in Jacen's holodeck. It was wonderful.

I miss Dars every day and wish he was still here. Though I have to admit I rather like the new CO. His name is, Captain, Torgh and he's a Klingon. He's rough and definitely unpolished, but he's smart and he seems fair. He's a bit bonkers but then so are we so he'll fit right in. I think I turned him on when I told him off. Trust a Klingon to get a woody because you yell at him....odd species.

One thing I have noticed is he's friendly. I often see him in ten forward with the crew, choosing to eat there rather then in his own dining room. He plays Stratagem with our Mirak janitor. I find the fact they are friends to be wonderful. The history of war between the tow neighboring planets is so violent and sad. It's nice to see them as friends. Plus it helps knowing Captain Torgh isn't too egotistical to mingle and mix with the lowest of the crew. Not that the janitor is low. He's very very tall. But very few people would think cleaning toilets as a high career. But everyone should have the chance to travel the stars and I bet he's one of those who has the need so he fills the position available. I've spoken to him twice and he's very nice, for an enormous cat. He's a little scary to be honest.

We picked up several new scientists while at SBA. Midshipman Tucker and Ensign Jackson have proved themselves to excel. I am very proud of both of them. Jackson and I got off to a very rocky start. He put together a life sized replica of a Borg Drone and placed it outside my office. Needless to say I was very shocked. The First Officer Cdr. Yvette was with me at the time. Since then, Jackson has proven himself so much better then my initial impression of him.

Tucker is fast becoming my favorite scientist. I think part of that is she's so much like me. We share a passion for the natural sciences and her botany abilities are really something to be impressed by. She's a wonderful girl too. She can be a bit eager at times but overall I think she will do extremely well on the Getty and as she gains more experience and learns to control herself a bit better she could well become a department head. Personally, I hope she'll be on the Getty for a good long time to come. I'd hate to lose her.

I can't get a grasp on Yvette. She tries to be friendly and then just when you begin to relax around her she pulls uber witch out and starts ordering and demanding. I'd like to like her, but she makes it near impossible to do so. For now it's a formal situation being around her. Perhaps if she pulls the stick out her backside she'll learn to relax more and accept people as they are instead of just being a demanding cow. Time will tell I suppose.

Tee is growing up so damn fast I can hardly keep up. Val is missing Jacen so bad she's thrown herself into work. That, of course, means she's pulled out her strict Vulcan. I can't blame her though. She and Jace went through hell this past shore leave. While I was there, I didn't go through half the crap they did. Silarian didn't make it any easier. His love for Val was a major sticky point. But all in all we survived it and Val found her answers about her father, and she and Jacen became so much closer as a result. Tee seems to be less challenging as well.

I find myself looking forward to being a mother. While I am not pregnant I wouldn't mind at all if Dars and I did make a baby. With him being on a base and me among the stars it's so hard. Gawd, I miss him. I miss his smile and his corny jokes and most of all I miss our life together. While he was Captain we had lots of time together and I look back and have to laugh at how silly we were at times.

We've detected a huge Asteroid heading to one of our listening outposts in the Romulan Neutral Zone. We'll be exploring it and the thoughts I have of my husband must be put aside. I'm leaving for the asteroid with Commander Tei in a few minutes and I pray to the Gods above that we come out of it alive. I feel it's not a natural asteroid at all and I fear the consequences of our being there.

If I survive this and when I return I'm going to hug my family close and tell them just how much I love them. Time to go and may the Gods be with us.

End Log....

Ensign Judith Tucker

Stardate 20711.18

After graduation from the academy, I received my orders to report to the USS Gettysburg, BC-1863! My first commission was aboard a battlecruiser and my nerves shot through the roof! I began to study about the ship and found that it was being repaired and modified, and that the crew was on shoreleave.

I had the chance to meet some of my crewmembers at Commander Yvette's estate during this time. I was rather nervous to attend, but am glad I did, as I had a lot of fun. Her estate is incredible. I loved everything about it, especially the gardens, to which I spent a lot of time. I did a lot of socializing with other crew by the pool, including meeting Captain Torgh for the first time. I don't know if I'll ever lose the image of the captain in a blue speedo! Those who attended were a lot of fun and it was good to be able to relax and enjoy some time with them before arriving on the ship.

Working on the ship has seemed little like work and more like fun. I get to do what I love every day. Captain Torgh has put us through many drills, which I suppose are good, but they can get tiring. Hopefully we'll be ready for anything the way he pops them on us. My CSO, Commander Syntranos, is a good leader, but also a friend. She shares my love for botany and has worked with me on several experiments. Most of the experiments I work on are proceeding with little difficulty, except for my last experiment. It ended up exploding me across the room, along with two other officers. It bothers me that I don't know what happened and I suppose I won't for a while, as I've been assigned to an away mission. I can't help but be nervous, as it deals with a freaking huge asteroid that's travelling at a unusual rate of speed and unfortunately, its path goes right through Outpost 10. The sheer size of it and the fact that it's from somewhere inside Romulan territory has made some of us quite wary. Its been determined to try and move the outpost out of the asteroid's path. Due to the complexity of this task, I have been assigned to retrieve data from the outpost, in case our plans don't pan out and the outpost is hit.

I can't help but have so many questions about the outpost's command decision to leave, but am fearful to say, as I am only a midshipman. Questioning a superior officer is not appropriate, is it? I hope that my trip to the outpost will answer some of my questions; If the outpost has the capacity to move, albeit slowly, why wasn't this begun? Wouldn't a commander want to save it or at least try? With everyone vacating the outpost, the federation's technology and data is at risk, isn't it? Why would they just up and leave?

End log.

Stardate 20803.19

So much has happened during my first mission. I've seen a doctor or been in sickbay more times than I'd like to admit. After the explosion in the science labs, Commander Syntranos sent me to Outpost 10 for computer data retrieval. I didn't say anything about Dr. Macleod putting me on light duty, as it sounded like pretty light duty.....boy, was I wrong!

We transported to a vacant outpost and while there, we encountered the outpost's chief engineer, Lt. Harret, or atleast tricks that he was performing to get us to leave. After researching his background, I found out that his family had died and he was never dismissed for their passing. His mental state by then was not good and he tried to kill us by several ways. Trying to find him, I took off in a jeffries tube from the engineering department. What I found was a device with a timer. Lieutenant Bohr tried to shut it down but I grew impatient with the time dwindling and had it transported outside of the outpost just before it exploded. Lieutenant Bohr never did reprimand me for my actions......before he was killed later on the outpost from a Romulan attack. I never could find the Chief Engineer. I still have my concerns about the outpost's commander. Why would he leave the outpost with no one left...except leaving an individual with a questioned mental state????? He was finally transported to the brig on the Gettysburg. Last I've heard our counselor was speaking with him.

After the outpost away team had made some repairs and the computer data was uploaded, I returned to the Gettysburg's bridge. While there, we were bombarded by three Romulan ships... They boarded both the outpost and our ship. We did manage to fend off the Romulans, despite being outnumbered three ships to one. We lost a lot of crew during this attack and our ship was severely damaged as well as the outpost. Again, Dr. Macleod stitched me up after the attack and we found out that we had lost Captain Torgh and Lieutenant Bohr while protecting the outpost.

After getting the ship somewhat repaired, we turned our attention to moving the outpost, our original mission, was slowly achieved as well as finding a new home for the inhabitants of the incoming asteroid...

In the midst of all that, we had an impostor on our ship pretending to be Commander Grant. When he was on the bridge, security came to put him in custody...... I didn't realize that he was an impostor, and I jumped in the way, to protect who I thought was our commander. I left my phaser on my belt unprotected, to which he saw and grabbed it. He managed to keep me with him at all times, make a contact, and then transport away.... After the outpost was moved, Commander New sent me for rest and then to speak to sickbay...... I

I'm curious about the asteroid. I will have to ask Commander Syntranos about it.

END LOG

Lieutenant Commander Vaebn Tei

Stardate 20711.05

Star Fleet, in its infinite wisdom, has seen fit to remove me from my post as the Chief Tactical Officer of the Titan and reassign me as an Advisor to Captain Torgh aboard the Gettysburg. Why they would remove me from a post where my skill set can be of some use and assign met to a position that any number of desk bound Intelligence officers could easily fulfill I don’t know and since any protest on my part would fall on deaf ears it looks like I’m stuck in this position of uselessness for an indeterminate amount of time.

My little prank upon my arrival was met with something decidedly less than enthusiasm. I was transported off of my shuttle directly into a holding cell though strangely enough O’Malley has up and disappeared. Given the strange claims he made, I’m not so certain that his disappearance is a wholly bad event. As for my punishment, while I’d expected a slap on the wrist, I didn’t expect to end up in the brig though maybe I should have considering the fact that my new CO is a Klingon. At least they’ve finally released me, if I’d stayed in there any longer I think I might have needed a straight jacket.

I’m not sure what to do about the new boss; I just can’t seem to get a bearing on him. One minute he’s the typical obstinate Klingon prick and the next he’s a reasonable sapient being. His actions are just as unpredictable as his mood swings, during our meeting this morning he went from suspicious to magnanimous. Not only did he order the damage his engineers caused to my shuttle repaired, he also granted me nearly unrestricted access to the ships computer core. Apparently I have even higher access permissions than the ship’s First Officer Commander Yvette.

Now there may be the one reason this assignment isn’t a complete tragedy. Aloysia is, to be perfectly honest, one of the most attractive women I’ve ever come across. I find myself drawn to her and not just because she has a great body, though that is certainly a factor. Something about her just captivates me and I can’t figure out what it is, I just know it’s there. Her species biological imperative to mate for life does cause a problem though. I know I’m interested in her, but if I pursue this interest and it evolved into a relationship we’d be together for the rest of our natural lives. At least as far as she’s concerned we would be. As for myself I don’t know that I’m capable of that. Knowing that I should probably just give up and put it out of my mind, but I can’t. Whether that’s a good or bad thing remains to be seen. When that problem is coupled with the fact that she’s my direct superior here on the Getty means that it probably won’t work out anyway; Star Fleet frowns on such things.

End Log.

Stardate 20801.08

Where to begin? So much has happened since the last time I actually had a chance to sit down and put all of my thoughts in order.

We’ve been informed of our mission, to save one of the Federation’s listening posts from being destroyed by a rogue asteroid that’s hurtling through space. I guess Command was suspicious because the asteroid’s course has it originating from the Romulan side of the Neutral Zone, but that’s gone right out the window as far as I’m concerned.

Captain Torgh suspected the asteroid might have been part of a Romulan plot and dispatched an away team in a shuttle to complete a survey of it. I was tasked with piloting the mission, and once again landed myself in trouble with Torgh. It wasn’t my fault this time! The silly Chief Science Officer had to go and push and push until I did some fancy flying, and let me just say that when I finally relented, my flying was spectacular. But then, when is it not?

Of course Torgh found out, overrode the controls from the bridge, and promptly proceeded to crash the shuttle into the asteroid. For the record it was completely his fault, if I’d had control the Drake would still be in one piece instead of several. Surprise surprise though he turned the blame around on me; called it reckless flying, cited me for endangering the away team, and then to top it all off he revoked my flight status! Officially! I’m no longer certified to pilot any craft in Federation space, including my own, until I report to Star Fleet Academy on Earth and pass a flight exam. It’s absolutely galling considering I can fly circles around those doddering old instructors.

The Captain then dispatched a runabout to return me to the Gettysburg while the away team continued to study the asteroid, along with a mysterious android called KR. Since then communications with them have been completely cut off and the Romulans, apparently alerted to our presence by Torgh’s destruction of a Romulan runabout, attacked us with three ships. I was running the OPS station, but a direct hit short circuited Lieutenant Commander Toasteroven [redirect to personnel file: Lieutenant Commander New] and I found myself in command.

That was something I was not expecting, nor was I prepared for it. I mean honestly it’s been over three years since I commanded anything larger than a one man shuttle. I never again expected to be in command of a starship, even on a temporary basis, but I guess the universe enjoys messing with people’s expectations. If anyone had asked me before hand how I would have felt about being in command I wouldn’t have been able to answer. The old doubts about my choices, worrying about losing crew, all the things that plagued me previously would have risen into my mind and kept me from saying that I’d be terrified to be in command again. Now, after the battle, I know better. None of those specters from the past rose up to plague me. I reacted with confidence, without second thought, and knew, absolutely knew, that I was making the correct choices even before I’d finished making them.

During the ensuing battle Captain Torgh was killed on an away mission though the Gettysburg emerged from the battle triumphant, thanks in no small part to my brilliant tactics and strategy, having destroyed two of the three attacking warbirds while the third retreated grievously damaged. Now we’re back to our original problem, saving the outpost, with the added problem of finding the lost away team on the asteroid.

Of the two I place retrieving the away team as the higher priority, but I can admit that my preference is not entirely without bias. Commander Yvette is in charge of the away team and since we met I’ve felt this…’connection’…for lack of a better word. I want to see where it might go, and I can’t very well do that if she’s dead can I? On a more professional note I’d rather have her back and in command of the ship than have the mysterious Grant in command. Why would command place him in charge? A security advisor? Then again, why put me aboard as an advisor on the Romulans? Some things just don’t add up and I mean to find out more as soon as possible.

Until then I wait. I’m leading a team to retrieve the people stranded on the asteroid, I even talked Grant and New into letting me pilot my ship, though I have to have a co-pilot some snot-nosed upstart Ensign. I really can’t say ‘snot-nosed’ he looks to be close to the same age as me, but the rank says it all.

End Log.