Epilogue
"Captain's log, August 14, 2154. Every mission has its positive and negative aspects. When first Enterprise came to the Grailen system, there was nothing that could detract from my enjoyment of the mission. We were proud to be given a chance to help others, to learn more about an alien culture, and to act as ambassadors for Earth.
"But with the discovery of how the government treats their prisoners, we seemed to have hit the negative aspects.
"I have been reminded, since the beginning of our mission, that what species you associate with or have trade agreements with, will affect how other species view you. Several times Enterprise was in danger because of our association with Vulcans.
"With Grailen, now we are in a similar position. I don't agree with what they were doing. Nor would any human in their right mind. If we gave the government the supplies they needed to distribute to the people, then it would seem like we support the government. But not delivering the supplies was not an option either.
"Being Captain of this vessel means that I am in charge of executing missions and our orders, and must be able to do so on my own without constantly requiring updated orders. However, in a case like this, I felt it best to contact Admiral Forrest.
"The decision was left to me.
"One part of me wanted to cancel the deal, or to use the supplies to force a change in the government. But there were people's lives on the line other than the prisoners. In the end it came down to a number game. More people needed the lives than there were prisoners who were going to die.
"If there was any one thing I could give up that comes with the job, this would be it. It was a terrible decision to have to make, Even though I have had to make similar ones, they never become easier. My only hope is that perhaps, some day in the future, when another crew returns to Grailen, they will find that it has changed of its own accord.
"End log."
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It was actually my intention to end the story off where I did. I had no wish to hand over a decision to Archer and in effect, preach certain views to those who were reading.
However, due to the number of reviewers who wanted a resolution to Archer's dilemma, I did add a rather small epilogue. Instead of having Archer rehash the need of the Prime Directive- that was already covered well in the episode, 'Dear Doctor,' I thought it better to instead show him utilizing the wonderful Vulcan philosophy- "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one, or the few."