A/N: Sorry for the delay, but this chapter was especially hard for some reason. It's short, but the main purpose is to segue to the final chapter, in which the crew gets some excitement. Meanwhile, thanks for the reviews and enjoy!
Personal log, Ensign Shariel, Stardate 55938.83
"Hmm, it's been a long time since I recorded anything here. There's been nothing to say, of course. Until today.
I finally solved the mystery of Captain Mercoeur's numerous communiqués with Command and the Federation Diplomatic Corps. Not that this really has anything to do with my detective skills; she made a shipwide announcement.
We're going to have a cultural exchange with the Klingons who are on the other side of the Neutral Zone. Finally, something to do! Everyone who wants to, which is basically the entire ship, will have a chance to host a Klingon and a chance to visit their ship in return. We get half an hour of holodeck time when we're hosting, which means I can show my guest the program I just finished of the thermal springs of Ajhel. My antennae are twitching with excitement at the thought of it!
I must admit, I did enjoy trying to figure out this mystery. Using the resources of my station to create a timeline, since there wasn't anything else to do, as usual, I had worked out a few highly speculative theories – the resumption of hostilities with the Klingon Empire, the abolition of the Neutral Zone, and Captain Mercoeur's transfer to the Diplomatic Corps being the prominent ones – but I didn't consider this. A cultural exchange should prove very interesting.
In other news, Lieutenants Hermann and Hart are reported to have enjoyed an exceptionally long second date last night. Nobody seems to know who finally asked who out, which is a pity. Everyone knew it was only a matter of time, with the possible exception of the two lieutenants themselves.
This business also reminds me that there are no other Andorians on the Charlemagne except Rolea, and he's promised to someone back home. In fact, I'm pretty sure he's retiring from Starfleet in less than a year now to be with her. Anyway, while I'm not xenophobic or anything, I would prefer to have an Andorian mate. However, as Commander Stillwater is fond of saying, "you never know." There are many single males on the Charlemagne.
I should stop thinking about such matters. We have to be ready for the cultural exchange! The next few days we're actually going to have things to do while on duty. That will be a nice change. All information that could possibly be construed as sensitive (which is a lot, according to the list we've been given) has to be kept from Klingon eyes. If they're half as bored as we are, they will probably be too busy enjoying leaving their ship to care about sensitive information. Still, we have the long list, thoughtfully broken down by departments, and we have to stick to it carefully.
Looking at other sections, I'm glad that I'm not in Engineering. They have the most sensitive technology and information. Actually, they have the most after Captain Mercoeur, but her high-level stuff is classified and spirited away from the rest of us anyway as a matter of course.
According to Rose, Security is "practically doing cartwheels" now. They get to work on all this sensitive-information stuff, and there will be security procedures to be followed for this cultural exchange. On the way back from dinner, she demonstrated a cartwheel, as neither Ensign T'Loc or I knew what she was referring to. It is an interesting display to watch, but I don't have any desire to learn the technique. Perhaps after the cultural exchange, when we go back to our usual boredom, I'll ask her to teach me."
End log.
Coming Soon: The Grand Finale
