Phae's Journal - first entry

Posted on Sun Feb 2nd, 2025 @ 12:46am by Lieutenant Phaedrae Cyn

587 words; about a 3 minute read

Mission: Personal Logs, Journals, Letters Home, etc.
Timeline: approx. 25 years ago

I used to journal a lot when I was 10 and 11, but I stopped when all I wrote was stuff like "swim team sucks" and "Matt likes Brendy better than me." I never felt better after writing it. And then I felt sick with embarrassment when I read it back. I don't want to be the jealous girl in school. And I really didn't want anyone finding what I wrote then tease me with it. So those journals are disposed, recycled, deleted.

But this one, I'm writing so in case I don't survive, my family can know what happened to me.

Hi, I'm Phae. My parents are Fotis and Tasoula Naallax. I also have an older brother, Killion. Mom and my brother are Starfleet officers. My dad also works for Starfleet as a chef. He's a really good cook, so it's hard to be a picky eater around him. He also oversees my education if we end up somewhere without a school set up.

I hope my mom is still alive. The last time I saw her ... she

Anyway, that's what's up and that's why I need to write this all down. It all started a few weeks ago when my mom had some shore leave. Sometimes, we would go to museums of whatever planet we were orbiting. Sometimes, we went shopping. But what I like the best is walking a good, no tech nature trail.

There's the best smells out there, especially after rain. And so that's what we decided to do that day. It was a rocky path with some really big trees growing up everywhere. Looking behind us, the trail disappeared into the greenery of nature. Looking forward, the path curved around so that everything we saw in front of us was trees and a few birds sometimes.

A small creek babbled nearby and I went to look for frogs - or small amphibians. I wasn't sure what kind of wildlife the planet has, but frogs are cool and that's what I wanted to find.

I took off my shoes and waded in the water - not too far because I didn't want to get my pants wet. The water was cold, but the air was warm. Still, though, walking around in nature with wet pants for another few hours - no thank you!

It's hard to say what happened next. I was busy looking in tree hallows when I heard my mom yell. "Run, Phae! Run!" Instead of running, I went to see what was wrong. Plus, where was I going to run? Down the creek? Into the brush? Yeah, those were actually good ideas when I think about it now. But at that time, I had no idea what the emergency was.

It wasn't the wildlife. It wasn't a falling tree. It wasn't a leg cramp or any other passing thought I could have had. It was a god-damn Bajoran attacking her. In my folly, I thought I could help. I punched a bully or two in select locations. Easy-peasy - but that didn't go over well.

Instead, while my mom was temporarily free from attack, I was caught up and hanging in a choke hold. I blacked out for a bit. I think mom tried to negotiate - or at least, words of negotiation are what my mind has filled in for those lost minutes,

The last time I saw her, she was hurt really bad. She wasn't dead. I looked and saw her breathing. I believe that with all my will.

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