This is one of Evelynn Brooks’ diary entries during her early days in the navy. In this entry, she goes on an outer colony perimeter patrol mission. The main objective of Evelynn’s patrol is to maintain security in high risk regions. She’s already having second thoughts about the world she’s in now, but deeply excited about discovery and getting to the fringe. Her parents wanted her to go to the military academy, but she went to a public school to earn a degree in xenology. Inevitably, after college she went to pursue her military career. Evelynn was 23. The Garron II terraforming tragedy will play a significant role in developing Evelynn’s passion for exploration, her degree in xenology, and her military career. This event led to the end of the Messer regime and the creation of the Fair Chance Act. Journal 2789.7.10 We shipped off today for our first patrol mission. My first patrol mission–others have gone dozens of times. The senior officers seemed surprised about my enthusiasm for a patrol mission. Perhaps it reminds them of their first time, or perhaps it’s the fact that patrol missions would normally be extremely boring to someone of my status. Either way, I’m discovering the unknown and meeting our distant neighbors. This morning back at the station, my parents were there on the platform for a few hours (most likely hoping they would be seen, maybe interviewed). We circled the station twice so they could introduce me to a few aging commanders. After that, they scolded me into the correct corridor and made their hasty goodbyes. It felt too quick. I’ve been away from my parents before but this time felt different. After settling into the Corona*, I went straight to my duties. Not much time to get my bunk lived in. That’s ok, I needed to settle down with a little monotony. My duties are far easier than my parents led me to believe. I am looking forward to our first stop, which is still a week out. We’ll be helping transition settlers on a colony planet, so my job right now is to familiarize myself with the site and with my equipment, which I already did on station before we left. They’ve put me in the same squad as the pilots who will help shuttle the team down and move equipment into the temporary command post. I know a few people here from the academy. We weren’t close, unless you count the tight line we crammed into to get our diplomas. They don’t seem to be much more interested in me now. I try to eavesdrop on the science officers as much as I can since I am not assigned the more engaging work that they are doing. I’m curious as to what their roles will be in transitioning the settlement. Probably something to do with agriculture or cartography. Or maybe waste management, ha! As I write this, I realize I just jinxed myself. On that note, I think that’s what’s been bothering me the most. We’re patrolling the outermost edges of the known system. We should be using our talent for field research or greater exploration. Instead we get shoved into rooms (that are essentially closets) doing menial work. Especially the senior science officers, they have so much value to bring! I wanted to be like them, once. Our captain is a bit of a tool (who hopefully doesn’t believe in monitoring crew journals). I’ve only seen glimpses of him in random corridors, and stood through his long address earlier today. He spoke about the fringe planets as if they are a dark, lawless alley that we must clean up before settlements can be established. He referred to all the initial scans, studies, and terraforming data as “reconn”. Made my skin crawl. After my shift, I asked my CO how long we’ll be off ship once we get planetside. With an almost unnoticeable smile she said “long enough.” What did that mean? Long enough to get the job done? More likely she meant long enough before we die of boredom, I hope. I later dug up some buried “declassified” reports that hinted that it could be over a month for this type of work. “Often settlers require more hand-holding before full transition. The landing party plays a key role in establishing their leadership as a functional government that the UEE can interface with.” Meh. Although, that will give me some time to get acquainted with the locals. I feel like they typically have some of the best insights of the system. I should sign off and go to bed. I doubt I will get much sleep tonight. Too much to think about! Evey *UEE Corona - An Idris class frigate