It's Not Over, Ever

[Tachyon 0]

Personal Log

Midshipman Arthur Dent

Stardate 0407.16

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After my conversation with Ensign Zhu, I returned to my quarters. I put on a fresh Starfleet-issue uniform, tacked on my Starfleet-issue combadge, and sat on the edge of my Starfleet-issue bed.

 

What have you gotten yourself into, Arthur? I thought. Indeed, what sort of game had I become embroiled in? Aegis was far from just another assignment, it was deeply ingrained in the politics of this sector. Without realizing it, I had suddenly thrown myself headlong into a delicate situation. It was going to take more than time to adapt, I determined that I’d take more of an interest in what is going on around the station, and on Cardassia.

 

I had seen some Cardassian news reports, and of course I read the briefings, but most of it seemed so surreal until I actually experienced it. That distance between us and the planet made it seem so much further away, when in reality all of this tension was right on our doorstep.

 

Another thought (ooh, two in one day!) occurred to me. I wasn’t in Kansas anymore. Up until now, even with my attempts to assimilate into the station’s daily routine, I treated this as a regular extension to my academy training. Maybe that’s the wrong approach. With the kind of things that I will be facing during my stay on Aegis, the academy was not my training. This was my training.

 

And it wasn’t over until it was over.