Personnel log; Ensign Nitaar

mickel775

Recording Name: Reflection of the first week here at Starbase 72
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Personal log Ensign nitaar. 
I arrived 1 week ago by shuttlecraft to Starbase 72. The other Ensigns I arrived with were all human and they seemed to make idle conversation about Bajor and the infamous Deep Space 9 starbase. I had heard about the Cardassians and the Bajorans but I had never paid too much attention to politics. I had in truth, wished to have been assigned to a starship exploring the furthest corners of the galaxies but, I should be grateful for this chance to refine my skills. When the shuttle landed at Starbase 72 I was assigned to lower deck duties, after finding my lodgings which were relocated at the end of one of the many decks. I made myself known to my colleagues, one, in particular, stood out as I was assigned similar tasks to him. Ensign Milo, a human with no interest in bettering themselves for they had been an ensign for 2 years onboard this starbase. But his company was appreciated for showing me the ropes of how day to day tasks is performed here. 
One of the first tasks I was assigned, was to calibrate terminals located within the Engineering section. Milo accompanied me there and I learned about what Milo called 'buffer time'. There had been no mention of this at the academy but, none the less, I could see the logic of it to not overstrain oneself. Ensign Milo had made small talk while I performed my task to calibrate the engineering consoles. To be honest, this was far from my aspiration of serving aboard a starship but, mayhap I could outperform my fellow ensigns and stand out. Eventually, both of us had finished our tasks within engineering and we decided to spend some downtime at the bar. The bar was nothing to write home about but had a pleasant view of the stars. I found myself looking out as Milo brought a Romulan Ale. I had never had it personally, but the drink was pleasant enough, Milo introduced me to two other Ensigns with who Milo had become close to over their time here.  One of the bar staff came over and handed Milo a bottle with some glasses before mentioning that she and Milo were now even. I asked what that was about, and Milo explained that he had once retrieved a drink for her which has a reputation for not being replicated terribly well. Intriguing, it then occurred to me that I had always synthesized food and drink. The drink had a strong bitter taste with a burning sensation which was highly unpleasant. Milo and the other Ensigns seemed to enjoy the real drink. I enquired about the drink and Milo informed me that it was Vodka from Earth.  Interesting Humans have been drinking this vile substance for centuries. 
The rest of the week was rather uneventful as I performed my assigned tasks which familiarised me with the layout of the starbase. Milo and I seem to be assigned to similar tasks within the same areas of the station, Milo speculated that the seniors were pairing them together to help with my transition to the station. A logical conclusion. More personal logs to follow. 

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mickel775

Recording name: A day on the holo-deck
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Personal log, Ensign Nitaar. At 0900 today Myself, Milo and several others were running command drills on the bridge. We were introduced to an Andorian from a different squad who was looking to transfer, but before we could formally greet each other we were replaced into our stations. I was at the tactical station, my preferred post, and the situation was routine, approaching starbase 72 with a Vulcan Ambassador, with nothing to report on sensors. Approximately 50 km before the transporter would be in range to beam over the ambassador. Suddenly two Romulan ships decloaked, 10 km directly ahead of us, blocking the way. The Romulan vessels did not hesitate to raise shields. I diligently informed the Andorian captain about the situation and waited for a response. The Romulan ships fired and hit us with Torpedoes before the Andorian ordered the shields to be raised and to trigger the red alert status. Before not much longer the Romulan vessels had cloaked again, I informed the captain, and they gave an order to the helm to make a rush toward the starbase. I spoke up at the illogical tactic, being an emotional being they barked down about how they know, and this is a tactic commonly used. Strange, I was unfamiliar with the tactic of allowing our ship to be hit with torpedoes and then making a break for the nearest station. A concise beep alerted me to the fact that one of the Romulan vessels had decloaked and we are targeting our vessel again. I informed the Andorian informs me to fire a torpedo, followed by informing the helmsman to engage maximum impulse power. We would be within the transporter range within the next few minutes. I fired the torpedo and confirmed the hit, The Romulan vessel had been diagnosed with a damaged deflector. as it cloaked again. I informed the captain that We had damaged the Romulan vessel and that it was leaving a plasma trail that we could use to target them. The Andorian ordered to fire another torpedo, I did without hesitation as the hit was confirmed and the Romulan vessel was destroyed. The captain let out a sigh of relief and sat down on the captain's chair. Milo who was on a science console and as such had not said too much, turned his chair into the middle of the bridge and informed the captain that there was a second Romulan vessel out there still and we were still 23 km away from the transporter range. The captain nodded and acknowledged Milo's response, turning toward me, he had me send out a scan to see if we could find the vessel. I scanned the area and responded with a negative response, as is usual with cloaked vessels. It was then that I spoke out. I addressed the captain and recommended we lay down mines behind us that are magnetised, with some of what milo would call luck. The Romulan vessel will attract the mine and reveal themselves to us. The captain gave the plan a go ahead and with some careful placement eventually, the Romulan vessel ran aground, as the humans would say, and hit one of our mines dealing a lot of damage and revealing it to us. The Romulan vessel had lost engine power but was drifting into our second minefield which finished it off. We dropped out of red alert and managed to get the ambassador to the starbase. However, after a damage report it was discovered we had lost decks 9 through 11 due to our earlier torpedo hits. An engineering team had begun repairs as we parked the vessel alongside the station. The holodeck simulation then ended, and we were briefed about our rights and wrongs by a lieutenant but, was impressed as not many cadets make it through this simulation. I too was pleasantly surprised that an Andorian had not lost their temper or fired first. Apparently, I had a lot to learn about Andorians. 

Later that day we were all at the usual bar and I introduce myself to the Andorian captain, we had been put together due to her not fitting in with her squad. Apparently, she had been put in with Orions and the relationship had deteriorated. I and Milo were welcoming to a new member of the roster. Her name was Atottel, and she had come over about a week before me.  We made pleasantries exchanging stories of our experiences at the Academy...
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We will be running more advanced drills in the coming weeks and I have been reading more about strategies and tactics. Unfortunately, my time has been cut short today due to my colleagues wanting to converse but expect further log updates. 
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