Personal Log: First Away Mission

Posted on Thu Jan 22nd, 2026 @ 8:35pm by Ensign Janelle Barett

291 words; about a 1 minute read

Personal Log — Ensign Janelle Barett

I was selected for my first away mission today.

I knew it was coming - statistically, at least. New ensign, operations background, limited planetside exposure. Eventually the numbers line up. Still, when my name was spoken on the bridge, it felt unreal in a way training simulations never manage.

I don’t think I smiled. I don’t think I said anything unnecessary. I acknowledged the order, confirmed readiness, and did exactly what I’ve practiced doing for years.

And then I went to my quarters and stood there for a full minute doing absolutely nothing.

There’s a strange weight to an away mission that isn’t about danger. It’s about permission. Permission to leave the controlled environment of the ship. To step onto a world that isn’t designed for you. To matter in a way that doesn’t involve a console or a schematic.

I ran through my checklist twice. Equipment secured. Uniform pressed. Tricorder calibrated. Phaser checked, rechecked. I corrected the power setting myself - no assumptions, no complacency. The kind of mistakes people make when they’re too eager.

I told myself this was just another assignment. A job. A task with parameters and protocols.

That helped.

What didn’t help was the quiet moment right before I left my quarters, when it finally sank in that this would be the first time I’d feel the deck not beneath my feet. No bulkheads. No hum of the warp core. Just a planet - hostile, irradiated, alive.

I’m not afraid.

But I am aware.

And awareness, I’m learning, feels a lot like anticipation when you’re trying very hard to keep your hands steady.

End log.

 

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