Logs: First contact
Posted on Sat Jan 10th, 2026 @ 1:59pm by Lieutenant Commander Gulati & Captain Tyler Driskill
Edited on on Sat Jan 10th, 2026 @ 9:00pm
1,101 words; about a 6 minute read
Mission:
Mission 4 - Siphoning of Stars
Location: Various | USS Concord
Timeline: 6 weeks from their last mission
Captain Driskill had been going over supply request for the past half hour. A request from almost every department needing one if not several necessary supplies to run the ship properly. Tyler put his PaDD down and closed his desk top terminal. Sitting back in his chair and getting comfortable the Captain spoke out loud to the ships computer “computer record Captains log” the computer gave it’s normal tone to let the officer know they could go ahead with their log entry.
“This is the log of Captain Tyler Driskill, Commanding Officer of the USS Concord. I’d like to say that our time in the Delta Quadrant this far had been pleasant, but that would be a lie. We might be half way to Voyager by now if our drive hadn’t been sabotaged. But the crew adjusted well and completed most of the repairs. However we needed parts and other resources to make the necessary repairs to the enhances warp drive.
“It wasn’t long after our arrival that we came across an asteroid field that could be mined for a few of the minerals that we needed. As the Concord entered the asteroid field we picked up an inactive Borg Ship, one of the smaller Borg vessels. I sent an away team over to gather parts we needed to mad most of the repairs to the enhanced earl drive. While the Concord dealt with a Hirogen ship, who used a type of beam on the Concord and disabled it momentarily. Needless to say the Hirogen high tailed it out of the system when the Borg drones and the ship became active. I ordered the away team to get what they could and retreat immediately. Sadly Lieutenant Chaika didn’t return from the away mission. The crew continue to mourn a colleague and friend.
Captain Driskill made his way to the replicator and punched in the command for a hot coffee. As he took his first sip he looked out the view at a Khelvari vessel. “We have encountered an alien species that we could find no information on in the archives that Starfleet had received from the USS Voyager.” Tyler took another sip of his coffee “so far the Khelvari have remained peaceful and we are to meet with the appropriate leadership. Our plan is to discuss trade of supplies and possible technology. My crew is very interested in studying their technology, more so this siphoning tech we have witnessed their vessel use.”
“I am very hopeful that the Khelvari are willing to trade as we are in desperate need of several resources they can easily supply” Tyler took another sip of his coffee after taking a seat back at his desk. The Khelvari envoy was scheduled to arrive within the next four hours.
Lieutenant Commander Gulati had returned to her quarters, and had looked as through she had been through a year of hell. Her uniform was tattered, grease stained, and dingy. Better days would undoubtedly be ahead for Gulati and the crew of the USS Concord, but their arrival in the Delta Quadrant had been anything but smooth. A saboteur had caused serious issues and cut their trip short of its intended coordinates. To make matters worse, she and Lieutenant Rehman had determined the saboteur was a changeling, and though they have not been any recent deaths aboard, they still believed it to be lurking aboard.
Deaths. As in plural fatalities. There were a list of individuals who it had taken, and to add onto that list was deaths from other circumstances such as the botched away mission aboard the wreckage of a Borg sphere. Gulati had to take responsibility for that one. Not only had she been leading the away team, but she had to shoot and kill one of her crewmates. Moral debate still weighed heavily on her mind. He had already begun to be assimilated. What she provided him was to take his life before he entirely lost his humanity. It was a mercy killing, but it did not make it any easier on her.
Fortunately, not everything in the Delta Quadrant was out to assimilate, kill them, or organ harvest. I had better never see a Vidiian she thought to herself as she took off the jacket of her uniform, leaving her shoulders exposed in the gray undershirt, a tank. She walked towards to bathroom area of her quarters and activated the sonic shower.
"Computer, begin recording," she said and paused a moment. She took a deep breath and composed herself. "Lieutenant Commander Gulati, First Officer. USS Concord official log." Gulati sighed slightly. "I just pulled a shift from the bowels of hell, or rather I should say I just completed a shift crawling through the jefferies tube system with Lieutenant Commander Sledge. I am currently handling the duties of Chief Engineer with his assistance until we can find some stability within the department after recent losses."
"Not all things are bad though," she added. "We've recently encountered the Khelvari, and I have to say their technology is impressive. Sledge and I were looking how compatible their technology was with our own, software and hardware. Unfortunately, not perfect, but nothing a little elbow grease and a stick of gum can't fix after several days of hard work and prayer. I am particularly fascinated with their 'siphoning' ability, using the energy from suns... from stars that are dying and converting it in ways that can power systems including propulsion. They seem willing to share their technology with us in exchange for some intel on the quadrant. This collaboration if successful could change the course of our mission, and get us back home if need be, but out mission was clear....bring Voyager back with us."
Gulati wrestled her tank top off. "We're going to find them. It may take some time, but we will find Voyager, and we will get us both home. I believe in this crew" she said without any hesitation. "Captain Driskill and I are working through a bit of a rough patch professionally speaking of course. We have differing perspectives on how to go about things, and sometimes, I struggle to articulate the necessity of some of the things that I prioritize. I fully support him on these upcoming talks with the Khelvari. We need to learn more about their technology and ideally implement it aboard the Concord."
Lieutenant Commander Gulati stepped into the sonic shower. "Computer, pause recording" she said as she felt the pulsations against her bare skin.
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