Chief Operations Officer’s Log, Stardate 75439.7

Lieutenant Command Yanrel Vex reporting.

It appears at last long my time aboard the Sirona has come to an end. I will not modestly make light of the work we have done and the things we have accomplished with this vessel underfoot. Many lives were saved, and many more rebuilt, under the reins of the captain and my fellow officers, and I count my time aboard this ship as one of the most rewarding of my many experiences as a Starfleet Officer across several lifetimes.

Now it seems my good deeds for the Federation have earned me a rich reward, and I can at last put such things behind me and focus on the fields in which my studies and personal interests are better suited, those particular areas of expertise being xenoanthropology, xenoarchaeology, and history.

Now more than ever, the Federation is looking to its peacemakers to end the litany of conflicts that are erupting along our borders and it appears they are wisely considering a delve into the vast history and varied cultures of their apparent foes to achieve this goal.

I certainly feel as though my own history is to play a part in this endeavor. Kirvad Vex was considered the foremost expert on Romulan culture and diplomacy among the diplomatic organizations of the Federation in his time and I would surmise Starfleet are attempting to apply those same explorative and inquisitive tendencies and fascinations with the history and culture of others to their efforts with the powers of the Alpha Quadrant. Between the Cardassians, the Ferengi, the Breen, and the Tzenkethi, there is certainly no end to alien threats that bare down on our borders.

Now as well, my old ‘friends’ in the Romulan Free State are causing chaos on the collapsed edges of Romulan space. Undoubtedly the tides of change are awash over the Alpha and Beta quadrants and it appears we must do all that we can to root ourselves to the soil lest we find ourselves being washed away.

At a glance, it may appear of such sentiments to be in some way aggrandized or overstated, though I dare note that the Federation does and always has sat precariously within the center of various volatile powers, not least of all between the Romulan and Klingon Empires in the Beta Quadrant.

Though the Klingons have long been our allies, and the Romulan Republic that was birthed out of the fall of their empire following the Hobus supernova are making strides in opening diplomatic relations with the Federation, the Romulan Free State and splinter groups within the Klingon Empire such as these… Hunters of the House of D’Ghor are certainly a cause for concern regarding the future of the stability of our borders.

The frontier of the Alpha Quadrant is equally as uneasy with regards to diplomatic relations and hostilities. The True Way, an extremist faction of the Cardassian Union, have declared all-out war with the Federation, the Breen are as always hostile and with little care or compassion for our desire of peace, the Tzenkethi are as quiet as ever and still show little to no interest in interacting with the Federation beyond opportunistic raiding, and though we may have cordial relations with the Ferengi, they must, as always, look after their own interests before all others, as selfishness seems to be a mode that courses through the veins of Ferenginar like a river that feeds a meadow.

Indeed, our list of friends is still worryingly short, given our chartered intent to discover and learn from others and hopefully foster bonds of peace and partnership.

I confess that though I do possess limited training with the Starfleet Diplomatic Corps, I am myself no dignitary and am unsure currently what my particular focuses in xenoanthropology and xenoarchaeology could possibly do to assist Starfleet in their current operations. Perhaps only time will tell.

The USS Sirona should be arriving at Starbase 72 within the next week or so for resupply. There I shall disembark, and take up my new residency in the undeniably more spacious and comfortable habitation section of the Stardock-class station. Candidly, I am looking forward to the leg room, and to having larger and more dedicated spaces in which I may work, though the lack of adventure and stationary position I will undoubtedly find myself in is less than favorable for the wanderlust that drove me to join Starfleet in the first place.

Oh what a duality of personage this symbiont brings me. Often we find ourselves at odds with ourselves, and to live successfully as a joined Trill is to learn how to compromise between yourself and your own varied memories, personalities, and desires.

At least the station is big.