STARFLEET DIPLOMATIC COURIER, CODED SECURE George Samuel Kirk Jr. Bioagricultural Industries, Kirk Inc Deneva Central 17 Junque St. Deneva, UFP Dear Sam, Beautiful. Just absolutely beautiful. Now this is nothing but pure pleasure and a reward for the crew. I told you we were going to investigate and sample a planet that had been found circling a G Type star. You know the routine, so I'll just say it's so far that the scout ship that found it, still hasn't made its way back to Federation space. We're bigger and faster, so we'll be there and on to another mission before those poor folks make home again. I love what this ship can do. Anyway, imagine this sun, larger than Sol, older, giving off an almost white glow. It's less than yellow and not quite white. Visualize 12 planets circling the sun. The farthest is past Pluto versus Sol. The closest is approximately at Venus. That means four of the planets can be terraformed and the best part is they all have absolutely no sentient life. Can you believe that? Damn, what a find. Now there are the oodles of life on all four worlds, but Spock is almost certain that no planet has a sentient life form. Colony world, here we come. Hot damn! Let me tell you about my favorite one of the four. The scout ship named it Poseidon. It's not hard to figure out why they did that. It's 85 percent water. A deep cobalt blue sea covers it with a slow and sleepy tide on the surface. There are little archipelagos and big islands scattered all over its surface, but most are grouped around its equatorial belt. The waters are warm, so warm and sleepy. I waded in seas the temperature of a cool bath and floated on shallow soothing waves that surged slowly beneath me. I played, Sam. The creatures are not afraid of us and one group that looks a little like a cross between otters, dogs, and whales with no arms, just pseudopods, will even let us touch them. The heads were the closest things about them to otters and eyes were dark blue, like a sea. They glittered like multifaceted jewels in the white light of the sun. The skies are clear here and absolutely calm. I wonder what their winter or rainy season is like. We will stay here for about two weeks. We already set up camp on the largest island and my crew was talking about volleyball nets and soccer games. Floating on crystalline seas with the sounds of the surf to lull me to sleep, I dreamed. For once, all my dreams are filled with peace. We are very careful. No one has gotten hurt and none of the creatures have any toxins, stings, or bites that are inimical to Humans or Vulcans. I'm not so sure about the little sea dogs. I think they may be sentient. Spock says no because they use no tools, build no edifices, have no discernible language, and demonstrate no social interactions not seen in any herd animal. Spock and some of the zoology folks are in the lab having a hot debate right now. I laugh because there's nothing I could add to the discussion and when they decide, they will bring me into the loop. The other planets had only rudimentary lifeforms so they didn't require a lot of thought. This one does. The Prime Directive is absolutely clear on colonizing worlds with existing sentient life forms. That is one part I'll never disagree with. I have memories of Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania, Hawaii, mainland North America, and South Africa. I will never willingly violate that principle. It was peaceful for a change and I'm having fun. Spock and I went diving with some of the lab crew. We picked up some unbelievable samples of plants and aquatic life forms. It was so easy because they just came to us. Of course, Spock will return all the animals to their habitats after he finishes with them. We didn't come here to ruin everything or kill what we don't understand. Once, when I was about nine, Grandpa and Jean took me to the Museum of Natural History in Chicago. It was one of the few museums left untouched by the eugenics war. The local tyrants had a love for history and research, so they spared it. Upstairs, where the public is never allowed to go, are rooms and rooms of wooden cases that are 12 ft. tall. Those cases were filled with long drawers, labeled with small cramped markers. I had no idea why they took me there, at first. Then, Grandpa pulled out one of the drawers. It was filled with dead, stuffed, Cardinals. Every damn drawer, nook, and cranny was filled with stuffed dead things. Even extinct animals like carrier pigeons and Dodos were in there. I was horrified. On the farm, you kill what you need to eat, or what you are selling to eat. You don't kill for trophies or to stuff something as beautiful as an South American Macaw, and then put it in to a drawer. I know, I know. They didn't have the same tools we have now. They used what they knew. I know that now, but I was outraged as a child. We haven't killed anything, Sam, and nothing has killed us. Sentient, or not, I like swimming with my little sea dogs. Even Spock is enjoying himself and now he's having a real ball. What he's deciding is vital. He's in his element. I let him run with it at times like this to build up his confidence for the times when I will really need him. Maybe one day, he'll learn to go with his gut reaction. McCoy is having fun, too. He found some plants that have medical potential so he's humming and collecting them. I've let anyone who wants to, go down to the surface and we even had an old-fashioned luau. Jean would have loved it since she tells folks she's from Hawaii. We didn't roast pig, though just veggie steaks, and stuff from the stores. We're low on fresh food, so we worked with what we had. I'm content, Sam. I've got a great crew and two of the best friends in existence. Of course, I also have you. Next thing you know, I might get laid and I'd have to die of bliss. Fortunately, I have no trouble remembering sex, even if I'm not getting any. I wonder if those otter things have good . . .. Gotcha! Made you laugh. Love Ya Big Brother, Jim May 1, 2000 Page 4