The view focuses on a blonde Bajoran woman wearing a plain grey t-shirt. Her hand runs through her slightly muffled hair, trying to straighten it out a little.
"Personal log, stardate 74890.6. I actually slept better last night for the first time in what seems to be a month. The ship came out of drydock finally and we were resupplied by MSS. Now we're just waiting. Waiting, wondering, watching..."
She takes a deep breath and lets it out, "There are so many questions that're left unanswered. With the borg cloak, their tactics... letting us go like they did. I'm not going to look ill on it, mind you, but... why?
"It seems like they're testing us. Like they're trying to poke holes in our defenses to see what the weakest spot is. It almost seems like this ship is it, honestly. There are so many others that're out there, more powerful. Bigger, harder. But... not more determined. No, definitely not." The muscles in her face tighten a little as she continues, eyes looking like they'll pierce whatever's looking back at her. "I'm just waiting for our next encounter so I can get a better look at that cube. Or Sphere. Or dodecahedron. Or trapezoid... whatever the hell they send at us, we'll be there to face it. There's no standing down, there's no excuse. We will be the ones left standing. There are too many lives at stake, too many already lost. We know what they want... they _can't_ prevail. There's something we're missing, some big piece that's just beyond our grasp..."
The Bajoran woman just stares at the screen a few moments, unmoving save for the rise and fall of her chest. Her eyes close a brief few moments before they open again as she takes one last deep breath. "I got word from my parents back on Bajor... they're worried. I haven't keep up my communications like I normally do, for obvious reasons. I don't want to tell them everything that's happened. I know they'll give me that whole ' you should've never joined Starfleet' speech. Such things won't do any good now. I'm here, where I need to be, where they need me to be. Keeping things moving. Though I think I do need to take some time out for meditation later... I need to be centered. It will really help with so many distractions.
"Actually..." Her head looks left, then right. "Where are those candles? Computer end log."
Stamped,
Larel Neala
Lieutenant, Starfleet Border Patrol
Chief Engineering Officer, USS Astraeus
