A/N: Though this is a story with plot (ish), I'm using it to make a point. Set in Mirror universe, because the actions of some characters make more sense that way.
[BEGINNING OF LOG TRANSCRIPT]
Science Officer's Personal Log, Stardate 56989.7. The I.S.S Deadly Spear encountered a planet teeming with advanced Warp-capable life a sun-cycle ago. The captain ordered beam down to "negotiate" our way into ruling the planet, as is Terran way. We beamed down into a rocky mountainous area with extensive cave systems. It seemed as though this civilisation lived primarily underground. So the captain led us into the caves.
We saw the life that lived on the planet. It was, to outward appearances, hideous. The body was long and scaly, like a snake, but with more legs than could be counted. The head was black and furry, while seven large bug eyes stared at us. The creature had iridescent blue wings that folded underneath a brown two-piece she'll. It was like a grotesque mix of beetle, snake, centipede, and tarantula. I am an empath. Despite outward appearances, the creature radiated hospitality and benevolence and had a soul so pure that to me, it was absolutely beautiful. I was about to take some scans, but the captain ordered us back on the ship. When we returned, he practically sprinted to the bridge. I followed, partially because my station was there and partially out of curiosity. When we got to the bridge, the captain ordered, and I quote, "the total destruction of that planet and those… things!" He spat the word out, putting as much disgust and contempt as he could in it. And the planet, along with that beautiful life form, was gone.
A few hours later we found a planet prime for colonisation, and laid claim to it for the Terran Empire. There were some sentient cosmotoans swimming around the planet. They were coated in a corrosive material that could conceivably damage ships, but they radiated mostly a benign happiness, along with some passing curiosity about our ship. There was no reason for them to attack us, even though they had the ability to. Until the captain opened fire on them. Then they panicked and attempted to flee, but our ship was faster.
None of them survived.
Now, as I sit here recording this log, a score of questions come to me. The captain had justified his attack on the cosmotoans on the grounds that they were a threat. But they had no intention of attacking us. They just wanted to enjoy their swimming. He said the lifeforms on the planet were "vermin" and "unworthy of the Empire." He said that their extermination was a cleansing of the galaxy. But they were so pure inside. Is this what the Empire does? It decides the fate of a civilisation by what it sees on the surface?
And most importantly, what gives us the right to decide?
What lets us choose if something lives or dies?
What determines that we can control another's life?
What makes us worthy of that right?
The Empire thinks that they've come so far, yet we are still savages deep inside.
Maybe the United Federation of Planets is a better world. Maybe I should go to the other side. Yes. That is what I will do.
[END OF LOG TRANSCRIPT]