8.26 The Future of Star Fleet

Jaynz Defense Weekly — 6 August 2180

The following editorial was submitted by Jaynz special guest writer Admiral Gulval Thronlev (ret.). Admiral Thronlev led the Andorian flank forces during the successful Federation offensives in 2161-2162 that brought an end to the Romulan War.

Today I live in peace. My mate and my grandchildren enjoy a serenity that I have seldom known. It is hard for me, an Andorian born and bred in the ways of the warrior, to adjust to such a life. I know many of my former Andorian and human comrades who feel the same. We can but watch from the side as the peace we worked so hard to build corrodes the very Star Fleet that helped make it possible.

Today I received two gifts from old friends. One was a display model from the NX-Project by one of its former engineers. It now sits on my desk, its sculpted vras showing the sleek lines of the starship that he had designed for the Federation before the War. Had those who build our starships known how to make such a vessel work in that time, then perhaps the War would have turned out very differently. As of now, though, it is still a dream. My friend continues to dream that dream and I wish him well. Perhaps someday he can build that ship. Perhaps someday the Loknar will become a reality.

The other was from an old friend in Star Fleet Command. It was a copy of this year’s White Paper, as the humans call it, describing the state of the fleet and what needs to be done to keep it strong. This year, however, it was something more. It laid out a vision for a new Star Fleet not all that different from what my other friend had foreseen with the NX-Project. A whole new generation of multi-mission starships, capable of both protecting the Federation while exploring its boundaries, flexible for any mission that the Council could dream up for them. It too is a pleasant fantasy, I fear. It lays out in clear terms what needs to happen in order to keep Star Fleet alive, yet the Council will not give so much as a single credit for the necessary outlays to make this dream come true. “We are at peace,” the councilors say. “We need no new starships. The old ones are good enough.” That is the reasoning of a fool, one who can no longer dream and who has forgotten by whom and for what price this peace was made possible.

It is only when we chase our dreams, pursue them, do everything we can to make them come alive, that we advance. It was such a dream that brought about the Federation in the first place. Now I fear that the lack of such vision is affecting us. I can see it happening all around me. Have we forgotten so soon what we suffered only a short time ago? Have we forgotten that we once fought to save that dream — that we will have to fight again someday to protect it?

Today I live in peace. I am an old warrior whose sword has been taken away. Now I play with my grandchildren by day and satisfy my mate at night. As of today, though, a model made of vras now sits on my mantel in my study. It reminds me of for what I once fought, and of a dream that should not be allowed to die.