Personal Log, Stardate 41125.69

Posted on 27 Oct 2020 @ 7:23pm by Lieutenant T'Char Le'el

The door opens to her quarters and T’Char walks in drudging her feet. There’s a short blur of brownish, sandy colored hair as Little Cloud rushes up to greet her at the opening, jumping up against the Vulcans leg. T’Char barely pats the head of her Sehlat before she strides the rest of the way inside, slapping the panel behind her to close and lock the entrance.

Little Cloud mirrors her mother's energy with boundless enthusiasm upon her return, taking it upon herself to run in circles around the length of the quarters at a breakneck pace. T’Char finds barely enough energy to smile faintly at her pet, but it quickly fades as she notices a small, wrapped package on her end table. Leaning over to pick it up, she lays it on her lap and begins to unfold the paper delicately, but hesitates after a moment. The Sehlat hears the tantalizing prospect of paper to antagonize, and in a flash the animal is shoving her fuzzy head through T’Char’s arm to get a good sniff of her package. The Vulcan exhales and pushes Little Cloud away with some resistance, as the cub reaches out an experimental paw to swipe at the crinkly, addictive wrapping.

“Pehkaya.. Pehkaya’!!” T’Char is finally forced to set the present aside in order to pick up and place the Sehlat on the floor, met with a series of grunts and yowls in complaint. Little Cloud seems to get the idea however, and she settles for chewing on a stuffed toy in the shape of shuttlecraft. The Vulcan lists back into the cushions of her cot, and turns to stare at the box she set aside. Part of her doesn’t want to open it at all, given her previous history with gifts, but to avoid doing so is to risk further conflict. Which is the last thing she needs at this moment.

She rubs her sore shoulder slightly, still mildly itchy from the dermal graft applied yesterday after her sudden and violent encounter with an energized molecular disruption beam aboard the stolen USS Atlantis. She can still feel a slight tingling in her fingertips from where the highly sensitive Vulcan nerve endings were suddenly disrupted, and she thinks the numb feeling will probably last a few days. How tragic.

She glares at the box again before picking it up and sliding the gift from the paper it’s enclosed in.

~

“Personal Log, Stardate 41125.69. We are now finally on our way out of Tathi space, having resolved the situation that nearly ended the relations between our peoples.”

T’Char sits in front of her desk in a sweater-hoodie that’s clearly just a little too big for her, embellished with the Starfleet academy logo. Her fingers barely poke out of sleeves as she reaches forwards to pick up a mug of tea, taking a small sip before speaking again.

“In review of the evidence available linking the Cardassians to the attacks on Tathi Accord vessels, I am forced to conclude that the Artificial Intelligence that seems to organize Tathi society is not a subversive entity. However, being that it was the Cardassians who were responsible for this affair, it has left me to consider the elements involved in enacting this scenario.”

She takes another sip of her tea as a small jangling noise catches her attention, and she spins her chair around to look at Little Cloud. The Sehlat is using her hind leg to scratch at an itch under her new collar, a braided, adjustable leather cloth engraved with the Kol-Ut-Shan on one side. The Vulcan mentally notes that the bright mix of colors stand out well against the dusty-toned hair of the animal. She reminds herself to thank Drakkar later.

“I should explain my meaning, perhaps.” T’Char turns back to her desk and shifts slightly in her seat, holding her mug in both hands and using her cuffs as a heat sleeve.

“The Cardassian Union is not comprised of fools. They are a relentless and oppressive force with powers not unlike the Federation, and more or less an equal on many terms to Starfleet. They are not easily taken by half-thought ideas, nor will they pursue a course without the certainty of success in some measurable quantity.”

The mug is placed gently back on the desk as she leans forwards to speak slightly quieter into the console, marring her face with a rather un-Vulcanly expressive frown.

“Which is why it seems odd that a scenario such as this one was undertaken at all. It is a simple matter for the Tathi Accord to discover the true culprits of the attacks. Within the first week of our arrival we discovered concrete evidence that the Cardassians were at fault, information which was immediately shared with the Accord and thus undermined the entire premise on which the Cardassian Union was operating.”

She sits back in her chair to look out her window at the starfield surrounding the ship. It makes her a little dizzy, but that could also be the residual irritation in her shoulder playing havoc on her nerves. Either way, T’Char ends up staring back down at her desk.

“I had considered that perhaps it was only a minority of independent individuals not sanctioned by the Cardassian Government that were responsible, but that assumption is illogical. The resources needed to not only capture and re-outfit Starfleet vessels, but to deploy them against an enemy force is… significant. It requires material and personnel not readily available to civilians or minor military officers.”

The Vulcan picks up her tea again to take a long sip, thinking for a moment.

“Not to mention that the presence of two Type-3 Galor class battlecruisers present during our recapture of the Atlantis confirms a higher presence of Cardassian military involvement. Which only increases the problematic nature of the situation, in retrospect.”

T’Char inhales slowly, trying to force herself to slow down for a moment. She moves to take another sip of tea and discovers that she finished it all a few moments ago without realizing it. The mug is placed back onto her desk and pushed away disdainfully.

“If we can confirm the presence of the Cardassian Union military authority, what purpose does the operation serve to them? To what end does such a deeply flawed plan reach for the glory of the Union? I repeat that the Cardassians are not fools. They would not embark upon any endeavour without the assurance that even in the case of a total failure, there is something to be gained. It.. does not make sense!”

The Vulcan finally raises her voice to her emotions, but the effort takes the wind from her body altogether. She slumps into her seat with a half-voiced moan of discomfort. It’s a minute or two before she speaks again.

“I will be.. pleased to put this system and these Cardassian interlopers behind me. The past month has been a detriment to my physical and emotional wellbeing, in many aspects. I desire... a chance to practice floriculture again, it is a very intimate aspect of how I maintain balance. I have not had much time or opportunity to do so since my posting to this vessel.”

T’Char leans forwards again to stare directly into her screen. The bags under her eyes betray just how tired she really is.

“Perhaps I will have a chance to practice botany at all. It would be agreeable of Starfleet to regulate the Boston's activities to planetary surveys and research missions. I feel as though my talents as a scientist have been wasted on tactical scenarios and diplomatic incidents. End Log.”

The computer blips a short reply and cuts the recording short. The Vulcan lets her head collide with the desk as she exhales, releasing the tension in her neck and shoulders. It’s been a long day.