CAPTAIN'S LOG Stardate 101068.6
Reyga is en route to the Malrion-6e System, with two separate investigations ongoing. Buckle up, this’s a long one.
But first, a note on a staffing change. I’ve reassigned Ensign Sadaann from Ops to Engineering. He … originally requested a transfer to Tactical, but he seemed to be just taking a shot in the dark - anything but his current job. I’m still struggling to get a handle on the Ensign. He’s a bright kid, but constantly tripping over his own feet. He says he feels like Ops was too overwhelming and – I mean, of course I understand that, it’s a tough job, but I was hoping the responsibility of being a bridge officer would push him to succeed, rather than drown.
I’m hoping maybe he’ll thrive in Engineering, following a more regimented career path, without changing work fields entirely. I’d like to think Reyga isn’t exactly a high-stress posting for most officers, but we’re not an academy annex either. If it doesn’t work out in Engineering and he’s intent on a division change, I’m afraid I might have to recommend a transfer for him. I’d hate to do it, but I feel like I have an obligation to try to give him the best chance at success, in whatever he decides he wants to do with his life.
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Our primary mission for the past few weeks has been a study of a colony of insectoid creatures living on a derelict space station, which are blocking access to the station’s databanks. Our results indicate that the creatures are unlikely to be sentient - which means the original plan of relocating them to allow use of the station is going to be back on the table. Though the creatures have been non-aggressive with us during our study, they have previously had hostile reactions to certain actions taken by away teams from other vessels.
Admiral Bishop’s last message on the matter implied the use of force, which I believe to be unwarranted. As a result, I’ve decided to push the envelope of our mission parameters a bit and investigate a method of safely and nonviolently relocating the colony, before reporting back to command. The biggest hurdle we face is also the most promising potential solution: the strange crystal structure present on the station, which interferes with the functioning of our technology while having some sort of effect on the creatures’ behavior. We believe it may be possible to use the crystal, or another like it, to effect their relocation.
Thus, our destination of Malrion-6e. That’s where another of these crystal structures was first discovered, this one on a planet surface. Commander Kuvak’s going to lead a study of it with the aim of figuring out how we can work around its effects to potentially move it or bring it aboard. Relocating the planetbound crystal to the station was my first idea, but it seems wiser to simply use it to gain experience in a safe environment and then return and utilize the one already on the station.
Meanwhile, we sent out some probes - and then recon shuttles - to survey the area around the derelict station. The most significant discovery was a colony of similar insects living inside an asteroid. This confirms their ability to live and potentially travel through space on their own, and also that they do not rely on the crystal structure to survive. While we’re working on the crystal project, we’ll also be choosing a suitable relocation candidate so that’ll be prepared by the time we’re ready to attempt it.
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Meanwhile MEANWHILE, Lieutenant Sono’s investigation into the … strange circumstances regarding our biomimetic gel shipment has continued. She took an away team to follow a lead and returned with three suspects in custody. Along with their ship, which was towed into our shuttle bay. I’m told one of them offered to cooperate with the investigation, so I’m hopeful they’ll have some answers for me soon.
(( Event: Something Doesn’t Gel • Transcripts: Event, Follow-up, Sickbay, Manun, Karl ))
(( Event: A Bug’s Life? • AAR • Transcripts: Event, Follow-up ))