Commander's Personal Entry - December 15th, 3303
15 Dec 2017Orion Starhunter
The night has been long and unforgiving...The death count rises due to severe injuries from the unprovoked attack from the Thargoids to several stations across the galaxy, and yet still many refugees that survived these station attacks are still awaiting ships for the evacuation procedures that are now in place.
It's times like these that I reflect back on my career as a Commander, and wonder what could have been done differently to avoid all of this conflict. In my heart I am an explorer, one who wants to know more about the universe by seeing it, studying it, and understanding it. While my training certainly qualifies me as a combat pilot, this was not the key element that brought me to fly among the stars.
We knew of the Thargoids, but very little was known of their intentions. At most, word that traveled across the sub-space channels was that ships were being scanned, not attacked. There was no provocation by the Thargoids involved during the Hyperdiction process, and yet a few Commanders who had the opportunity to engage them, did so not in a method of communication, but rather out of fear or hatred. Those Commanders chose to open fire on an alien vessel, perhaps in the hopes of scaring them, destroying them, or both.
I blame these reckless Commanders for the situation we currently face. As a scientist at heart, and explorer, I am forced to agree with many of my colleagues in that the first attempt of communication should have been made. Any sign of force would be the wrong message to send, as it does not send a message of peace. We do not own the universe rather we share it with many species.
It has long been a fact that the human race felt they were the only sentient beings in the galaxy, and that for some unexplained reason, our little blue marble held all the key components for life. For many years we reached for the stars, hoping that one day, we would find that we were not alone in the universe.
I remember the day that the "Wow" signal came in to the VLA in New Mexico. For the very first time, we were receiving a signal that was not naturally made from the universe itself. This was not radio activity from a star or nebula, this was a mechanical signal. This signal lasted for approximately 72 seconds. For the next twenty years that followed, the same region of the sky was closely monitored, and yet no return of the signal. This was humanity's first hope that there was another species out there, another intelligence, similar to our own but on a more advanced level, this was our first sign that we were not alone in the universe.
Now, in the year 3303, it seems that no matter what information we are given, humanity is doomed to repeat our own history. We have been through three world wars, several civil wars, and through it all we still shined by exploring the stars. We have vast stations orbiting both our own planet in Sol, and many other planets and moons, from Vega, Colonia, even Avalon. Yet through all this wonderful and fantastic expanse there is still a part of us that falls back to the idea that you attack what you don't understand.
As a pilot, as an explorer, as a scientist, and as a member of the human race, I am ashamed. One would think that a species such as the human race, would be beyond this mentality of hurting or destroying what we don't understand and know. As with most life forms, the ability to grow beyond basic instinct is something we all possess. Why this particular trait has not surfaced for the last several thousand years of human evolution is beyond my comprehension.
The crew of the Discovery has done a fantastic job in helping the refugees out of Titan's Daughter station, and we will continue to do so until the last refugee has a safe harbor aboard the medical ship orbiting the station.
I will make sure to post a supplimental entry of what happens later on in the day.
Commander Orion Starhunter
U.S.S. Discovery
NX-1301
Beluga Liner Class Starship