Captain's Personal Log, Stardate 116187.2

Posted on Fri Nov 29th, 2024 @ 4:16pm by Commodore Wilkan Targaryen

285 words; about a 1 minute read

After assisting Odo and the Dominion in locating the Progenitor, the oldest Changeling ever before encountered, the Federation has received an alliance proposal welcoming Starfleet back to the Gamma Quadrant. This should be a time of celebration for the Federation, and many are, but for me I'm uneasy. An ancestor of mine once said that it's always like a chess game with the Romulans. Move and counter-move, guile and deceit. My experience has been that the same is true of the Dominion. I should be happier, but I'm really not.

Though, I suppose this is normal. Being El-Aurian I have served within Starfleet for a long time, and I've seen many things, including the Dominion War. I nearly died during the Battle of Goralis and my ship, the Armstrong, was nearly destroyed in the fighting. While I survived, a lot of good people didn't, and Starfleet didn't feel the same to me for years after. The counselors called it survivor's guilt and that it was a perfectly normal reaction, but it never felt that way. It eventually led me to leave Starfleet and return to the Diplomatic Corps for a long time, but perhaps it wasn't long enough.

Especially since I'm going back there, leading Starfleet's forces on their mission of exploration of the Gamma Quadrant. The Enterprise is new, but she and her crew are proving themselves to be capable. I shouldn't be worried, but I am. I'm worried that we aren't prepared for what's coming and, worse, I'm worried that the Dominion are being their normal duplicitous selves. I've lived too many times through war and I'm afraid that this is the start of another one, one that none can be ready for.

 

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