Captain's Log

[Cptn Elias Moore 0]

"So much has happened, so fast. I wasn't made aware, even as I was being briefed on this mission, just how many changes were being made to the ship.

 

"I recall Admiral Gardner pointing out how difficult a major combat refit of Challenger would be given the initial design modifications requested by the Commodore. He certainly made his best attempt, though. The engine modifications will offer improved tactical maneuverability, to an extent. Two additional pulse cannons and an extra torpedo launch tube have been installed... handy in a pinch, I'm sure, but I always liked the Commodore's idea of potentially hostile vessels viewing us as less of a threat. The weapon upgrade is complemented by sensory modifications that will supposedly allow for more efficient target acquisition. From reports I'm seeing, the cargo assigned to the armory could allow the security department to take on a small army.

 

"And we're taking all of this to the Romulan border. Not only getting close to the fire, but bringing along ample fuel to feed it. The Commodore wanted to approach these people and establish a dialogue. The new first officer thinks the construction of this base will serve as a show of resolve. Am I the only one that thinks it's best to just give them what they want... to leave them alone behind their mined borders? I don't know what truth there is to the rumors that they've been manipulating events on our side of the border for years. We know next to nothing about them, and that sort of knowledge gap always leads the way to dangerous speculation. Admiral Gardner isn't the sort whose word I'd take for it... no, he's just the sort who would promote the dangerous speculation. But I can hear it even from the crew... the rumors of murders, kidnappings, espionage. What do we really have to back those rumors up? Shouldn't these people be given the benefit of the doubt? I suppose we're going to find out. If all of it, the attempts to disrupt alliances, the influence of the Challenger Project threats last year, the Khitomer charade... if it's all their dirty work, they'll surely have a response to our presence so close to the border. If solitude is what really floats their boats, they won't give us any trouble, and I'll be more than content showing them the same courtesy. I just hope none of all this fuel we're hauling spills..."

 

A plate of jambalaya was placed next to the personal log that Elias was reviewing. He was too absorbed in his thoughts to realize that the serving crewman was standing beside his table tentatively, watching him. His attention was immediately snapped back to the mess hall by a voice he hadn't heard in eight years...

 

"Still like that spicy food, Eli?"

 

A stunned Elias looked up not at a crewman but at a plain-clothed Julie Wagner, his former would-be fiancee...