Captain or Hero?
USS Beowulf NCC 83182
Captain’s Log Stardate 61992.7; the Beowulf has arrived at Circe II, a pre-warp planet similar to Earth in the late 20th Century, engaged in a Cold War and in the early stages of developing a global internet.
Captain Erica Browne looked at the planet from her ready room window. Beowulf had arrived in high orbit earlier in the day. She had gone over the previous reports on the planet. They had all stated that societies on the planet were similar to those on Earth in the late 20th Century. But one polity had stuck out. She focused on what could be seen of the polity in question.
It was a federal state that lay in the temperate zone of the southern hemisphere, sprawled across half a continent and most of the island chains in the ocean to the west. But it was it’s largest city, which lay on it’s east coast, where it’s largest river reached that ocean, that drew her attention. The previous surveys had shown the crime rate in that city progressively getting worse as time went on, with apparent reforms being ineffective. ‘The societal problems aren’t being addressed,’ she thought. She could think of many examples in Earth’s history, especially in the United States around the turn of the millennium.
The door chime sounded.
She turned towards the door. “Enter.”
Her first officer, Commander Thressa Athrea entered. “You wanted to see me, sir.”
“Yes, Commander. I wanted to know, what you think about the planet.”
“It’s typical of a planet at its stage of development, Captain.”
“Is it?” Captain Browne asked.
“What are you getting at?
Erica breathed deeply and brought up the data on the city she had been thinking about on her desk terminal. “This is one of the largest cities on the planet.”
“You want us to focus scans on it? Why?” Thressa asked.
“I want more information on its layout, and the geography of the nearby regions.”
“It shall be done, Captain. But may I ask why?”
“It has piqued my interest,” Erica answered. She didn’t want Thressa to know what she was planning yet.
Thressa raised an eyebrow and her antennae shifted in a skeptical manner. “I know you’re hiding something, Erica. You can trust me.”
‘Of course,’ Erica thought. She and Thressa had known each other since the Academy. “I’ll tell you another time.”
“Off duty you mean.”
“Yes.”
“I’ll get you the information,” Thressa said in a resigned tone, “But you are telling me off the record.”
“I will.”
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badly_knitted) wrote2026-04-11 06:25 pm
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dw100.
