Posted on March 15th, 2017 by Velina Tailor
Ensign Velina Tailor, Zero Log. 11702.22
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“Computer, begin recording…
“Velina Tailor, Medical Officers’ Personal Log. Stardate 11702.22
“I remember being in the crowd at Vinland station that cheered for Atlantis when she limped in under her own power, even though her hull had been torn apart during her final battle of the Tzenkethi war. It was an impressive moment. It gave a lot of us hope and strength to get through the end of the war.”
“And when the war ended, there were many patients who had been wounded in the battles, brought into Vinland’s infirmary from ships from all over the fleet. I remember in particular, one patient who came in from the Sentinel. She was a young diplomatic officer. She had a bad head wound and she was unconscious for a few days after she came in. When she woke up, and we told her the war was over she was relieved, like most of us, but she also seemed so sad.”
“I asked why, and …no, she hadn’t lost anyone, like a lot of people had… it was different than that. She said that she was an ambassador for the Federation, and this wasn’t the same Federation that she’d joined. Something about it had fundamentally changed.. Even when the peace had been declared, it wasn’t going to be the same. How could it? The federation had been threatened, and now it would close itself off from its ideals of exploration and peace, learning and discovery. She said, it’s been the same throughout history… Whenever there are wars, societies focus on defense and become more suspicious of outsiders. The Federation has been no different.. and change is coming. She made me think, that one. I’ve never forgotten her. I hope she was able to find peace..”
“It’s been a year now, and I’ve left Vinland — I’ve been assigned here, on Atlantis. I was proud to be assigned here .. and I still am. Atlantis is a legend in Starfleet, you know. But almost immediately after I got here, we were declared rogue. In the first week I was aboard. That’s a helluva way to start your career..”
“So… I’m pretty sure we’ve done the right thing, defying Starfleet. How can it be wrong to rescue a pair of officers from a lifetime of imprisonment? Officers, I might add, who spent their lives serving Starfleet… and deserved better than that. And they were imprisoned for what? Not killing a group of romulan refugees?” She harrumphed.
“And, it turns out she was right, that ambassador. Starfleet not only isn’t the same anymore, it’s not on our side anymore. The instant we became inconvenient, did something that was against their plans — and by their, I mean section 31 — they threw us under the bus. What they did was wrong. And not only was it wrong, it was evil.“
“Doesn’t matter to me, really. Being declared rogue, that is. It’s not going to change my job much. I’ll still be needed as a doctor here whether we’re legitimate Starfleet officers or not. And I’m not going to abandon my new crew.”
“But I have to wonder, who’s going to cheer for us now? I’d like to think someone is…”
2 Comments
A unique perspective of a junior officer coming aboard right at this time. She began seeing it from the Vinland side, and the musings end with her loyal to her crew from the Atlantis side. What an adventure awaits her!
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I’ve enjoyed seeing the effects of the Wide on our characters. This is an important moment of introspection and I like the tie back to Vinland and those events. Good one!