After the excitement of the journey to tIhoS pagh’lan, being saved from Orion pirates by a Gorn battlecruiser, and retrieving one of the station’s wayward, disgruntled inhabitants from an asteroid belt, the crew expected that might be the end of the excitement here at the edge of nowhere.
Instead, we were “gifted” an adventure to tIhoS pagh’lan II, a nearby planet with a burgeoning population of proto-Vulcanoids in the early stages of societal development.
We were tasked with setting up an observation station, commonly called a “Duck Blind.” We expected and received no call to directly engage with them, and Commander Pytha ran the operation entirely by the numbers, despite encountering an early mutation which may have held sway over the entire direction the race might’ve taken. Adm. Clarke has sent his regards on respecting the Prime Directive despite what must have been an emotional and stressful observation period.
Also of note, during this operation the USS Stalwart was recalled to the asteroid belt to assist with medical and firefighting needs in a titanium fire caused by shoddy safety procedures from the civilian mining efforts in an older operation. My recommendation for improved safety protocols is on record with the station and Starfleet, but there is little which can be enforced directly. I fear this just may be a fact of life here on the edge of civilization.