USS Ain Jalut - Captain's Log

Stardate:
100700.6
User Name:
CPT Detuggo, G
FILE:
USS Ain Jalut Captain's Log
CAPTAIN'S LOG ACCESS GRANTED

The Ain Jalut has been rushed out of Spacedock to carry out a reconnaissance mission in the Rembrandt cluster. The sudden rush left us without a fair number of supplies we would ordinarily have been equipped with but given the short timetable of the job itself it has proven to be of little consequence.

We now find ourselves towing a decades old Excelsior II thought lost 22 years ago and has since been converted to a Gorn nursery. I do not recall ever hearing of the Gorn converting living sapients into breeding sacks, but a review of the historical records does show this was once common practice during the 23rd century. I find the revelation that a faction has returned to this practice troubling - my own personal experiences with the species, though rare, have often been more than positive and Iā€™d hate to see old stigmas and prejudices reassert themselves. I fear my security officer may have already given in briefly to fear - that the colony that now inhabits (I confess to having to avoid using the word ā€˜infestā€™ even in this personal log) the Hydra is incredibly dangerous is beyond any shadow of doubt. However, despite the danger, we do have to remember they are still sapient beings - children specifically.

Children that if reports are to be believed are able and willing to rip open a manā€™s belly and feast on what they find within.

Even more challenging however is being paired with CPT Mirazuni for this mission. Her interpersonal skills are, to put it mildly, lacking. It was a relief to discover that her disdain for contact with anybody extends beyond myself. I find it unfortunate that her own skills and way of thinking neatly covers my own personal blindspots - unfortunate because I find interacting with her loathesome in general and fear that if command thinks we work well together they may assign us to work together on future operations. Itā€™d be much easier to sidestep this if I had a professional objection to working with her - but alas, the best I can do is say ā€œI donā€™t much care for her as a personā€ - an objection I wouldnā€™t accept from my own crew and certainly not one Iā€™d put to an Admiral.

I can only hope that after we drop off the Hydra Iā€™ll be able to put this business aside. Weā€™re still scheduled for refugee transport even if our departure date is now delayed - barring any new crisis that redirects my ship this will soon all be in the past.

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Stardate:
100714.1
User Name:
CPT Detuggo, G
FILE:
USS Ain Jalut Captain's Log
CAPTAIN'S LOG ACCESS GRANTED

Today we set out for the Waydis System - a journey expected to take us the better part of a week to get there. Our job is to relocate refugees in the area that have fled from the territories of the former Azedi Confederacy (though technically it still exists in a much smaller form). While hospitable enough the people of that system naturally emit a low level telepathic field that can cause nausea and headaches in other lifeforms - those that travel are required to wear inhibitors. This means that the star system is a poor place for permanent residency, but its proximity to the troubled region makes it a good mustering point.

My operations officer known simply as zero (formally 000 though we all simply call them zero) has been tasked with organizing the transportation effort. Weā€™re going through the various decks and cargo bays and converting what space we can into living quarters though itā€™s worth noting the Sovereign class was not designed for long-term habitation by nearly 5000 passengers. This means space is going to be at a premium once we start loading passengers. To further compound matters are concerns that the engineering team wonā€™t have access to as many critical maintenance points as they would during normal operation, necessitating our trip from pickup to drop off be handled at a glacial warp factor 6. Hopefully weā€™ll find ways to work around the large civilian population weā€™ll be hosting to allow us to get to our destination a little faster - though Iā€™ll have to lean on LTCMDR Dimadā€™s final recommendation once we know what weā€™re dealing with.

My mind keeps returning to what we discovered in the Rembrandt cluster, and Iā€™ve been doing my best to follow the addendums and additional mission reports tied to that incident. I was pleased to discover at least that the Gorn hatchlings have been safely removed from the Hydra, but knowing about a criminal syndicate playing Empire in the region does have me concerned. I keep expecting to be reassigned - hopefully the ongoing situation can be resolved peacefully but given the discoveries in the region Iā€™m skeptical of that.

On a personal note - Iā€™ll be taking the Captainā€™s Yacht out in the next couple of days. A briefing to update us on the Azedi situation is scheduled and I intend to make it given how it relates to our current assignment.

I REALLY donā€™t want to have to vaporize yet more idiotsā€¦

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Stardate:
100736.1
User Name:
CPT Detuggo, G
FILE:
USS Ain Jalut Captain's Log
CAPTAIN'S LOG ACCESS GRANTED

Weā€™ve picked up our passengers and are on our way to drop them off. Thanks to assistance rendered by CAPT Carter and the USS Opportunity we had much greater transporter and carrying capacity than initially planned for, and by coordinating with their ops department we were able to conduct what was expected to be a multi-day operation within 8 hours. Even better, with the added passenger space, engineering didnā€™t need to work around civilian passengers allowing us to maintain high warp and cut the projected 3 week cruise down to a mere 8 days.

As current operations are routine, my mind keeps turning to the meeting on the Azedi situation. It preoccupies my thoughts just how poorly organized our handling of it seems to be. The greatest sin in any military organization is to fail to communicate objectives to your subordinates, and as I read updates on the situation, think back on proposals then and new proposals now, I shudder at our future. Many plans, few of which Iā€™d call bad, but all attempting to meet different ends. When I tried to bring it forward all I got was scoffing ā€˜make them not want to shoot at usā€™ and the proceeded to feel the room glower at me as I make a proposal to do just that.

Ordinarily, the overarching foreign policy on the Azedi would be set by the Office of the President, who passes it onto Starfleet who then decides how to execute on that within the bounds of established law. Instead we have no direction, no policy, and no clear objective. This means that when conflicts arise between Azedi forces and Starfleet Captains, those captains will be making decisions based upon the moment with thought only to what they believe the best ideals of Starfleet demand of them. As individuals, each Captain will interpret a situation differently and thus act differently, leading to confused, messy, and contradictory responses that make war more likely if not inevitable.

The unwillingness of the 38thā€™s Admiralty to hand down a clear objective before asking for plans of action is simply baffling. It points to confusion within the upper echelons of command and I confess at this point I have zero faith in my commanders to handle this situation with competence, and my crew will pay the price for that. Whatā€™s more, I fear that as somebody who is new to the fleet, bringing it up may simply see me branded a trouble-maker, and so I keep silent. I even bother to write my fears in the Captainā€™s Log so it might be known that if the worst should come to passā€¦

No, that is not what I want my legacy to be. I will not hold my silence on this matter even if I should be branded a problem. I owe it to my crew to call it out - there are procedures by which one can question the judgement of their superiors without passing into insubordination. There is an open forum and I will wait to see what comes to pass there, if I see no sign of a clear objective emerging from that then I will request a meeting to address my fears soon after.

My career is secondary to this. Iā€™ve always regretted not at least voicing my fears to my Captain about that idiot Kagranā€™s suicide charge in the Iconian War, and I wonā€™t make that mistake again.