By: Mark Compton via Dr. Thal Edryn
So, some backstory for why this review will be a bit “different” than those you may have seen before. For the past few weeks, I have had the distinct pleasure of playing in a Star Trek Adventures game with Michael Dismuke (and several awesome others, but this article is not something they wrote now is it?). He is playing the Commanding Officer of our ship, while I play the Chief Medical Officer. This is not your typical Kirk / McCoy relationship. So far these two characters have done nothing save for butting heads.
However, what happens in role-playing does not lend itself to real life. This is why when I learned that Michael had his first STA work published, I asked to be the one to write the review for Continuing Missions. He agreed but challenged me to write it in the voice of my character from our game. I love a challenge. With that said, here is an excerpt from the personal log of Dr. Thal Edryn, Major in the Bajorian Militia who in 2369 was serving aboard the U.S.S. M’Benga. It is vastly important to note that this review is told from an in character / in universe perspective. So please take that in mind as you read.
Well then, Ladies, Gentlemen, They and Them, Please allow me to present Dr. Thal Edryn’s Personal account of this work.
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Personal Log, Major Thal Edryn – Stardate: 46204.8; Having been accepted into the Officer Exchange Program, I’ve decided to study some of the histories of the Federation and Starfleet itself. I wanted to start tales from the earliest days of the Federation, where they experienced their first growing pains. Thankfully, when I expressed this desire, I was provided a detailed study of ten mission briefs from various NX vessels compiled by Lt. Commander Michael Dismuke, the Chief Science Officer serving here on the U.S.S. M’Benga.
Commander Dismuke has laid out these log entries in a rather well-organized fashion. His writing of these events is, while sparse, detailed, and to the point. These logs detail crucial events in the service record of these ships where one of the members of the ship’s crew made a commendable or even outstanding contribution to the mission’s success. The Commander also focuses on several key elements of the incidents which transpired. These include major events, minor events, key personnel, and a rather well-wrapped-up conclusion. He has even provided evocative titles for these events, some of them including what humans refer to as “Puns”, which I find quite imaginative.
Of the ten, there are a few that I would like to recreate in the holodeck, such as the one where a parasitic invasion seems to mimic evolutionary effects. Or the one which details an explorer sustained by metaphasic radiation. Several of them focus on the building of trust between the fledgling races of the growing Federation. This trust was of course key the the organization that exists today.
I have noticed that twenty percent of the entries compiled by the Commander seem to focus on the effects of paranoia on the early Federation explorers. The psychologist in me wonders if there is something more there about the commander that needs to be explored.
All in all, I feel that the Commander has provided me with a rather interesting look into the various roles one can play in Starfleet. I look forward [to future publications about] the more recent eras in Starfleet and Federation history, just as much as I look forward to meeting “Uzaveh the Infinite” on the holodeck the next time I get the chance.
{A woman’s voice can be heard} “All Medical personnel, please report to sickbay, incoming wounded.”
Computer…
[END LOG]