Taking a Step Back

[Brian Graham 0]

Chief of Security’s Duty Log

Lt. Cmdr. Brian Graham recording

USS Morningstar (Currently on the surface of Surmac)

Stardate 200509.21

 

Brian had found the past three days extremely enlightening. Touring the defensive capabilities of Surmac correlated well with his field of specialization so this aided in him keeping his attention on the information. Not only was this a new civilization, new world, new people, he also got to see systems and materials that interested him personally.

 

Most of the places though had been a swarm of activity. Brian wanted to complement the Defense Minister on the diligence of the workers as they went about their tasks. The reality of Surmac entering a more broad arena (a galaxy instead of just the planet), the entire defense network had to be redesigned and rebuilt to deal with planetary and orbital defense, and it appeared that this was well underway. The Minister had been a bit disappointed over a few setbacks; however, for a project on this scale and so all-encompassing, such a thing could not be expected to run 100% smoothly. Brian reflected on the multitude of setbacks that had gone along with just developing a starship (the Sovereign-class for example, heck, even the small Defiant-class had its share) and broadening construction to a planetwide scale, problems were highly likely to occur. Nothing that time could not cure.

 

The sophistication of the technology was about what Brian had expected, especially for a planet just stepping onto the galactic stage. No transporters, no tractor beams, no real starships even, but this was to be expected. The Federation wasn’t built in a day, in fact, in some ways, it was always under construction, continually having to be updated as new technology was discovered, as new member worlds joined, and just as time continued forward. But it was almost like living history all over again. Seeing a new civilization accomplish space travel, learning they are not the only house on the street with people in it, and finding new partners to aid them in the grand adventure the galaxy holds for one to explore and take part in, like Vulcans landing on earth again. And Brian was so thankful for these things. If it had been a hostile species that showed up first or if humans had just destroyed themselves before going “out there,” Brian wouldn’t be here today, seeing these people, associating with them, learning about them and in turn teaching them some things about himself and the literal multitudes of the Federation he was representing. And for that one fraction of a second, it had all made sense. Sometimes you have to be the follower, and sometimes you have to be the guide.

 

And the mission continued. It was going on day three now, and it felt like Brian had walked the whole planet. The main defense coordination center at the capital, Defense Center #3A on the southern continent, the training academy with all its representative facilities for instructions and training for security personnel (they got to run one of the courses, which was fun), maintenance bays, and air control stations and though it all the Defense Minister was able to describe almost everything in the most minute detail. Some things he left out, security reasons, and Brian had understood completely, he would do the same in his position. Not even he would tell a dignitary what the current shield-frequency of the Morningstar was without proper authorization and then reporting the inquiry as per procedure. They had gotten to stay on the planet the whole time, accommodations had been arranged, they had even tried some of the food (some good, some not so good, which Brian had filed away in permanent memory). Three days immersed in a culture did a lot for one’s thinking. Brian had really only seen a small fraction to evaluate and report on, but that would be included in the cumulative report that would be part of determining the future of this planet with the Federation. The other teams were seeing their own fractions, and the wisdom in this was unassailable. Just focusing on the small sections allowed for a more comprehensive report, instead on one person seeing everything quickly and just getting only a small taste of a world, and the conference of these teams at the end would give a better picture.

 

Brian, McKnight, Pickett, and the Minister currently were talking right now as they went to the last stop on the Surmac World Tour. A magnetized monorail provided transportation to a facility devoted to the construction, evaluation, testing, and staging of small atmosphere/space travel capable vehicles, in a word: shuttlecraft. Seeing this was something Brian had keenly anticipated, and almost annoyed that it was the last stop, meaning he had to wait three days to get to it.