Not Quite What I Was Expecting...

[Samantha_Kent 0]

"Computer, begin personal log -- Ensign Samantha Jarel Turis-Kent, authorization 0-5-delta-sigma-8."

 

BEEP.

 

"Prophets...what a day...what a mission to start out with. In theory it sounded so simple...a little bit of quiet snooping around while the senior officers made our official appearance. Well...this is the last time I assume anything in Starfleet is going to be simple. Clearly I was spoiled on that starbase -- science on board ship seems to carry a lot more surprises.

 

Things were nice and calm right up until Katherine Swan and I picked up a single organic signal among a war-torn, desolate, abandoned city. This fellow took Swan and Lt. Eagle off somewhere and the rest of us...well, we stood around trying to find them for a while. He was a revolutionary of some sort -- I have to admit I'm not quite clear on all the political elements of this whole situation; I would have liked to find out more about it, but I have to keep reminding myself that the diplomacy is not my responsibility. I'm a scientist, now, that's why I joined up...not to just be my father all over again.

 

Anyway, we started to get out of there with the rebel...Ken was his name. And right about then was when the government people picked us up. How they found us -- through a cloaking device, no less, once we lifted off...I have no idea. All I know is that they spooked Ken, and he ran. We tried to beam him aboard but they hit the beam with some kind of weapon...and he arrived dead. Bleeding from the ears. It was...I don't know what I was expecting from this mission but I didn't expect to see that kind of thing. I'd like to hope I never see it again...

 

That wasn't the end of it, though. They caught us. We tried to head for Arcadia but they tractored us in -- still sighting us through the cloak. We escaped...I don't know if it was the best choice and it certainly wasn't the most diplomatic, but we blasted our way out of the shuttlebay...if we hadn't beamed off in time it would have been a fireball death for all of us...

 

But we made it...we made it...we got back aboard Arcadia and I've never been more relieved to see a place in my life. I went with Swan to sickbay; she got Eagle patched up and then she pulled a tiny transponder implant out of Ken's head. Some of the most impressive technology I've ever seen, at least in terms of getting a lot into a very small space. Eagle had me run an analysis on it and, if my data is correct, it is certainly not Axrekravian in design. The evidence seems to point to either Romulan or Ferengi influences, perhaps both. The possible diplomatic significance of this is staggering...I don't know what we plan to do about it yet. Whatever we choose to do, though, we'll have to do it soon. The Axrekravian government is holding the entire away team responsible for charges ranging from espionage to murder...and I guess that includes me.

 

Prophets...Starfleet isn't all fun and games, is it?

 

End log."

 

BEEP.