Lt Cmdr. Avander Promontory: First Exhaustifer
Avander Promontory
(( First Officer’s Quarters, Cabin 0101, Deck 3, USS Octavia E. Butler ))
Avander walked through his quarters and into his bedroom. He undid his top and pulled off his outer uniform shell with one hand and tossed it on the floor. Without peeling off the duvet, he flopped down on the bed.
Three hours later, Avander stirred. Wiping the drool from his face, he staggered to the bathroom and ran a bath.
A half hour after that, feeling clean and somewhat refreshed, Avander fed Meander, recycled his uniform, put on some silk pajamas, and went to his workstation to record his logs.
First Officer’s Log, Stardate 240109.04
We have completed our assignment to investigate the strange happenings surrounding the USS Unity Dow. A sister ship to the Butler and likewise named for a 20th century Earth author and activist, the Dow was… is... a top-of-the line vessel, Constitution III class. Its lack of communication was disturbing, but not as disturbing as what we found exploring the OVIV system. Initially there was no sign of the crew. We now believe that the majority of them had been phase-shifted since their disappearance. Apparently they subsisted on some sort of yellow fruit native to earth that had become corruptly intertwined with Starfleet transporters in the sector…
Avander paused, trying to remember the specific details in the technical report. He decided to leave that to the engineering and ops reports.
At any rate, Chief Herrick assures me that that situation and other issues we’ve been having with the transporters have been completely resolved.
He gave an involuntary shutter recalling one particularly disturbing report of a potential transporter error leading to an assault in the science labs, to say nothing of its uses during Frontier Day.
More to the point, we determined that the cause of the issues in the system was sourced with an entity on the second planet. Despite psionic and physical assaults, we made contact with the being who proved extremely hostile. It bore some passing resemblance to a changeling founder but with abilities greater and more disturbing than any previously reported. Additionally, the Dominion’s successor state, the UDP, also repeated a long-standing prohibition against visiting this planet. Whatever happened to cause the confluence of circumstances leading to the present state, it seems to have been too long ago to have survived the Quadrant’s collective memories. As this threat was not neutralized, we have recommended that the Federation place OVIV with Talos IV under General Order 7.
Through the ingenuity and daring of our officers, we were able to recover a number of the Dow crew as well as their ship. Unfortunately, many of the senior officers have been lost. The crew who have been recovered have inconsistent reports. At a minimum, it seems prolonged exposure to OVIV results in mania, paranoia, phase-shifting, and eventually death. Given the varieties of hallucinations experienced by our own staff in our short visit, I can only imagine what those who have been here longer experienced. I anticipate we’ll need the full services of the counseling staff for some time.
We are on final approach to a new system, the neutral I’Kiyo, where we will rendezvous with other Federation ships that will help with the Dow.
While little is directly known about the I’Kiyo, I am hopeful that we may find another ally in the quadrant. Apparently, they have already requested the assistance of one of our Engineers, which I was happy to see and encourage. Hopefully the rest of our crew can also make a good impression.
While this last mission was intense, I hope to be able to use our upcoming leave time to catch up on a few XO tasks.
Promontory: Computer, end log and save.
A brief tone indicated compliance. Letting out a sigh, Avander pulled up his ‘to-do’ list. He had started keeping track of his tasks when he started in his current role. Partly because there were so many little aspects of his job that he would surely leave some undone without a reminder and partly because there seemed to be so much satisfaction in crossing an item off. And so, with a relish, he crossed off ‘official log.’ oO Oh! And that nap counts too! Oo
To-Do List
·
Follow-up on transporter malfunctions
·
Record Official FO log
· Record Personal log
· Sign off on Margaret Walker’s transfer
· Figure out Intel role going forward
· Conduct monthly check-ins with department heads
·
Feed Meander
·
Get some rest!
· Schedule a welcome dinner with new ensigns
· FO w/fam re: Frontier Day
Avander looked over the rest of his list. He didn’t want to record a personal log. Mostly because he hadn’t had a full night’s sleep since the last mission without disturbing nightmares and he didn’t really feel like getting into it at the moment. He was exhausted. The nap had helped, but there was still a lot to be done.
Maybe he would get going on those Department Head check-ins. It was something he had intended to do before the current mission, but then things came up and now they were overdue.
Promontory: Sherlock, I wish you hadn’t left!
Wishes aside, Avander was glad for her and reports were that she was excelling as a first officer in her own right. But it did leave more on his plate.
He looked down at his outfit. He should probably change back into his uniform before his staff visits.
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