Lt JG Dazra Kol - Interesting Perspectives

[Ashley Aurrefor]

Personal Log, Stardate 240209.16.

I can't help but be particularly blunt about this; I don't trust the humans on these planets.

Since my previous entry, the Thor has endured a blast from a subspace weapon, a nuclear reactor detonation, and probably scratched the fresh paint. While I'm not particularly pleased about all of that, she's a tough ship and she's meant to go through these things.

My crewmates are not.

Apparently of the three away teams, not one of them managed to conduct their missions without having weapons drawn on them. Our chief engineer was injured, and now it seems there's a plot to ignite a war between the planets. I'd say I'm understandably concerned by the prospect given the threat it poses to our crew and our proximity up to now. 

Captain Promontory has managed to organize a peace summit aboard our ship. Of the actions he's taken, this may be one of the more questionable decisions, but it makes a certain amount of sense. Either the leaders come to an agreement in neutral space and the conflict finds a peaceful resolution, or whatever party is instigating this conflict will rear its head to attack the Thor again. 

Not that we're in any particular danger from that prospect, but... I'll keep my head up and my eyes open anyway. I don't particularly intend to become a casualty, and I certainly don't intend to let anyone else aboard become one either.

End log.

((Holodeck 1, Deck 5, USS Thor))

The small group had cycled through several different locales of modern Earth at the request of the Chief Minister, including Beijing, Sydney, Nairobi, and Toronto. Dazra wasn't particularly interested in the various locales, mainly because she'd seen them all before, but she could appreciate the variety even within the broad cultures of Humankind on Earth.

Presently, they were walking through a simulation of Toronto, but Dazra maintained as much of her attention on their honored guest as she could manage without seeming rude.

Herrick: Nuclear fell out of fashion some time ago; we now primarily rely on fusion generations to harness the bulk of the planet’s power.

Kol: ::nodding:: That's what most of the galaxy today uses as well, I think.

Thornman:  Our scientists are just now perfecting fusion reactors. That’s why our space program is still rather fledgling.  Nuclear power has been the simplest and most sustainable form of power for the planet to this point.  We hope to move beyond it in the coming decades. ::She paused and turned toward Herrick.:: But as I’m sure you can guess, progress can be slower and more painful than we’d like… What do you see as your greatest progress in the last … almost four hundred years, Commander?

A flock of birds interrupted the conversation briefly, and all eyes turned to watch them fly away for a moment before the conversation resumed.

Herrick: I’ll let our lieutenant answer that question.

Thornman turned to wait for Dazra's answer, and she couldn't help but feel a bit put on the spot. Sometimes she wondered if people forgot that she wasn't human, and was not as familiar with human history as she may have been if she had been raised among them.

Not that growing up the way she did helped her at all...

Kol: I'm not as familiar with human history as the commander seems to believe, but I think the greatest progress would have to be when the United Federation of Planets was formed in 2161- and Starfleet, the space force of the Federation, was created. The reason I say this is the greatest progress is because while humans had been peaceful among themselves for some time, this is largely considered to be when they began actively seeking peace with other species as well, like the Vulcans, the Klingons, and even my own species, the Trill.

Thornman:  That’s an interesting perspective.  Thank you for sharing it, Lieutenant. 

Dazra deflated a bit at what appeared to be a very dismissive acknowledgement. oO Way to make me feel like nothing I just said mattered, you as- Oo

Thornman: ::Turning back to Herrick:: So, Commander, tell me more about this marvelous room that we’re in.  I’m sure you don’t use it solely to host dignitaries.

Herrick: The holodeck has a number of uses, ranging from professional to personal. In the absence of a pool aboard, quite a bit of time has been logged for swim practice. We’ve also been logging quite a bit of flight time to practice navigating the rougher patches of The Tangle to sharpen the skills of our helmspeople.

Thornman:  ::Nodding to Herrick:: Like Lieutenant Kreshkova.

Kol: There are more than just Lieutenant Kreshkova aboard that fly, but yes.

With the continued dismissals from Thornman, Dazra didn't know if she should be spiteful and  keep inserting herself, or fume quietly until prompted to contribute, but she certainly wasn't enjoying the conversation.

Herrick:  Response

Thornman dropped her hands to her sides and turned around slowly, her eyes darting to various details.  When she stopped, she placed her hand on the nearest building in a strangely nostalgic way.

Thornman:  This would make a marvelous training facility.  

Kol: Yes it is. It safely exposes people to just about any scenario we can think of, and allows us to better hone our skills.

Herrick: Response

Thornman:  ::Turning only her head toward Kol::  Earlier, you said this was made up of photons and force fields, correct?  What are the room’s limitations?

Dazra sputtered for a moment. She was a pilot, dammit, not an engineer! 

Kol:  There are safety parameters and protocols that are dictated by various people, and those mainly prevent anything out of line being simulated, but the technical limitations are beyond my knowledge. I know that it works by using holograms, photons and force fields, but that's about as much as I know.

Herrick/Thornman: Response

Dazra hummed a bit as she considered something.

Kol:  If you don't mind, Minister, I have a question.

Herrick/Thornman: Response

Kol: Why are your people so wary of offworlders? As I understand it, the people of United New Earth collaborated for their defense approach, but what prompted you to be so defensive?

Herrick/Thornman: Response

[TBC/TAG]

--

Lieutenant JG Dazra Kol

Security Officer

USS Thor, NCC-85852

 A240105KF3