TyrWaltas

Stylin'.

Congratulations everyone who received a longevity award. I have to ask..what do they give you at 14 years? A wooden box and shovel? 😜

Captain's log, personal. Filed under security lockout. It's rare that I don't make my log entries available for public view, and I realize that, like all Captains' logs they've become almost required reading at Starfleet Academy to train the new cadets, but there are some things a Captain must keep to himself. I just finished writing the last of the letters that will be delivered to the families of the fallen. This mission was, to say the least, highly demanding in both blood and treasure. A lost ship, a bioweapon, and dozens of lives lost. As Captain, I'm expected to write the letters, say the appropriate things, and move on. As a senior Captain in Starfleet the demands become even more absurd-I'm expected to get used to it. I'm expected to set my jaw as I look at the young Vulcan burned beyond recognition while fighting a fire in Engineering. I'm expected to keep a..I believe the humans call it, a "stiff upper lip" as I pass by the now-still body of a friend who was killed in a firefight. I'm even expected to keep my emotions under control when a killer who has haunted my family for a decade is freed from prison and allowed to roam free on my ship. And I somehow managed to do all of these things. But these four walls will tell no tales. This terminal will lock the entry away so that only I can retrieve it. And here I can truly say how I feel and let those emotions out for a long-deserved walk around my soul; for I am haunted. Haunted by ghosts from my past-all of those poor people that I'm expected to go on without. All of the flag-draped coffins and, even worse, empty graves, that are supposed to symbolize and epitomize the person. If I were to let the cynic in me run wild, I would snort in derision at the notion that they died for a noble cause. My Ba'ku upbringing demands that I believe every life is precious and needed in this universe; that the loss of even one soul diminishes us all. And somewhere I believe that. But there's something else I believe as well. These people died fighting to keep what is precious to them from perishing. Each and every soul that I have laid to rest, each letter I've written to grieving parents, DOES have a meaning. It MUST, or I dishonor not only the person who has died but the cause they died for. I and everyone else sleep under the blanket of protection that they helped provide. Our way of life, our government, and our freedom is regularly cleansed and washed in the blood of patriots. Their sacrifice gives me the freedom to make this log entry. The freedom to raise my children as I see fit, in a society where I control who my leaders are and the laws that are made. They even allow those who want to destroy that society to have a voice, because freedom isn't freedom without it. Their sacrifice allows any race, creed, color, sexual orientation and intelligence to have an equal voice in their society and how it functions. By no means are we perfect, and by no means were their deaths somehow more or less effective than in the past-all life is significant, just as all freedom is precious. As I sit here tonight, in my comfortable chair, gazing out the window of a starship that represents that society and defends her, I pray that they shall not have died in vain, and that their sacrifice is remembered by those who knew them, and respected by those who live in freedom because of them. Computer, end log. ============================== Captain Tyr Waltas Commanding Officer USS Discovery

((Captain's Ready Room, USS Discovery)) ::The graying Ba'ku gazed out the blackened window, watching the stars streak past as the Ronin-class traveled at high warp to her next destination. It was a mundane mission that would consist mainly of playing referee between two squabbling diplomats over a moon no larger than that of Earth's. He sighed, his mind wandering as it always did at moments like this. After a few moments of quiet reflection, he spoke.:: WALTAS: Computer, begin Captain's log. COMPUTER: Recording. WALTAS: Captain's log, stardate 238601.15. We are continuing on to our diplomatic mission in the Avalon sector. The ship and crew are functioning well, and, without much more than the boring drivel that comes with diplomatic talks to ponder, my thoughts turn to the history of this vessel. For over two years now I have been the Captain of this ship, bearing a proud name that stretches back over 700 years in time. I am honored to add my name to the list that includes names such as McCall and Nekkar, and the more ancient ones of Hudson. So much history comes when one utters the name...Discovery. She was a wooden sailing vessel, barely able to keep afloat, laden as she was with supplies to survive the journey from her home far to the east. They sought the northwest passage, a route through the arctic north that would allow traders to take a shortcut if they dared brave the icy flows of what would become the Canadian north. ::Sipping his ice water, the Ba'ku Captain leaned back in his chair and smiled thoughtfully.:: WALTAS: Nothing but the stars to guide you...it's hard to imagine. Rickety floorboards beneath your feet, the icy wind tearing at you, like the touch of a ghost beneath your clothes. Rats, disease, mutiny. Not the comfortable, spartan life that we enjoy these days. But it has a majesty to it that these cold deckplates just can't match. Things we leave in the past we seldom recapture, and that innocence, before we knew all the wonderful and terrible things that awaited us in the future, is one of the things that was lost. ::His eyes, still keen even in his 240 years of life, returned to the stars.:: WALTAS: The Discovery's lineage could have stopped there and still held an honored place in the history books, but its name had a long way yet to go. She and her sister ships Endeavor, Enterprise, Challenger and Columbia became space shuttles, carrying mankind into space for extended lengths of time. The accomplishments of that era-the Hubble telescope, the first manned space station-still echo through history to this day. When disaster struck with the loss of both the Challenger and the Columbia, Discovery was the first to return mankind to space. The crew was fearless; braving their own doubts as well as that of their critics, and carried the name forward for many years to come. ::He paused again, his thoughts turning inward. The smile darkened a bit as the memories flooded back to him.:: WALTAS: Then came the Akiras..the brave ships that carried the name of Discovery into the 24th century. I have had the honor of serving on each ship since that day, and though one was lost to a saboteur, the other fell valiantly defending the Starbase itself from a Romulan attack. It was a sad day when we decommissioned her..the Discovery-A..to the darkness of history. Now, this log has come full circle, and I sit as master of the Discovery-B, a Ronin-class vessel with a name larger and more meaningful than any one man who sits in the Captain's chair. I have inherited a legacy that stretches beyond Starfleet, beyond space, even beyond the existence of any members of my race. And I am proud of that inheritance. It is a sacred trust that has been placed in my hands. I feel honored by the simple fact that my name will accompany hers..at least for a little while. End log. ::Smiling, Tyr returned his gaze to the stars as the Discovery dropped out of warp. Walking from the ready room he made his way to the center of the bridge and the empty chair that awaited him there. He rested a hand on it for a moment, then smiled and sat down.:: Captain Tyr Waltas Commanding Officer USS Discovery

"Kelly's Wish" by Lt. Commander Ventu This is an interesting tale that takes the reader well into the story to figure out exactly what happened. Keeping the reader in suspense is an excellent method to generate interest and keep them reading. The characters are well-developed and the author takes care not to over-state their descriptions, allowing the reader to develop their own feelings toward all involved. The only weak point I can think of is that it's difficult to tell exactly what went on, but subtlety has its own attractiveness in some stories. The author does an excellent job of drawing you in and keeping you there. Very well-written. Reviewed by: Captain Tyr Waltas Commanding Officer USS Discovery

One word popped into my head when I saw this forum..to quote James T. Kirk..ahem.. "KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!" There was never a more cunning and ruthless villain in all the history of Trek.

I just had a disturbing vision of Keanu Reeves in a Starfleet uniform. Wonder how long it would take him before he said.. "Woah."