Captain's Log
Stardate 2259.7.6

It's been four days since the death of Chief Petty Officer Skinar, who served in Starfleet with distinction for sixty years and onboard
the U.S.S. Saratoga for seven.

I've been reading the Archive that he left behind and am both greatly impressed and deeply humbled at the sheer amount of knowledge
that he possessed. Both this ship and Starfleet have lost a great man. Many may think that greatness is measured in famous deeds,
such as fighting a major battle or saving a planet. But as my time on the Saratoga keeps teaching me, greatness can be found in the
small things as well.

Case in point: Skinar's maternal grandfather, Aneser. Apparently he was quite famous, not only among his people, but other species
as well. Some of his methods for computer programing were years ahead of their time and have even been taught at Starfleet Academy.
This was a man who never set foot off of the Birthworld until a few days before he died, and yet he had a profound if quiet impact
on many lives both on Tausia and off it.

Skinar had an interest in history, not surprising because he lived through a great deal of it. The Federation of Planets was formed
in 2161. He was born eighteen years later in 2179. He was a man who was literally almost as old as the Federation. I try to imagine
all of the history that he witnessed in his lifetime and I wonder what changes I'll witness if I live to be as old as him. (Although according
to Bones there's much chance of that happening!)

I've also learned a great deal about the history of the Tausian people in general. The name 'Tausian' means 'One Born of the Stars'
and that is what they are in every way. Throughout their entire history they loved the stars above all else and every facet of their
culture was dedicated to reaching them. They developed space flight in the 13th century and within a generation had developed early
warp drive which resulted in the Great Exodus. After this they dispersed themselves throughout space. They never established any
colonies; the only times they landed on a planet was to repair or restock their ships. Their souls yearned for the stars and they desired
only to wander among them. And wander they did- across huge distances in tiny ships that for centuries didn't go above Warp 1.

As time passed they came in contact with other space faring races, gained new technology and made improvements on the old.
They developed ships that could go to higher speeds and dispersed themselves across ever greater distances, always seeking new stars.
They became known to dozens of different races and were given various titles: the Wanderers, the Star Followers, and the Nomads.

At first they traveled in their own tiny ships but as time passed it became increasingly common for many of them to volunteer to serve
on the ships of other races. Some races had faster ships and others traveled to places they hadn't yet gone. Either way it was an opportunity
to see ever more distant stars.

As the centuries passed, many was the alien ship that had a Tausian serving or traveling on it. Their skills with engines and computers
made them highly sought after and their great strength and flexibility were assets as well. Added to that was the length of time which
they were willing to serve. Humans and many other species often retire or at least slow down when they get old. Tausians don't- they
continue to work with all the vigor of youth right up until their Time comes upon them.

When the Federation of Planets was formed the Tausian Legislators recognized that it would be beneficial to have someone to turn
to for help in the event that the Birthworld was ever endangered. So in 2177 Tausia became a Federation protectorate and an official
member, twenty-three years after that.

Since then there have been about a dozen or so Tausians in the Fleet. All of them were enlisted personnel and all of them joined
with the one condition that they always be assigned to a ship, as opposed to a station or outpost. All of them served with distinction
and were valued crewmembers on whatever ship they served.

There were some complications however. Some of those who joined were middle aged or elderly when they enlisted and when their
Time came there were some problems.

The first was an engineer named Korven. He enlisted in 2177, the year Tausia became a Protectorate. After serving with the Fleet
for fourteen years his Time came while he was serving on the U.S.S. Excel, a patrol ship. At the time all of their shuttles had been
sent on missions so he had to use a workbee. He drifted in space until he died and then the Excel towed the workbee to the sun.

The second was a sensor analyst named Norae. Her Time came in 2192 while she was serving on the U.S.S. Strider, a small scout
ship with only two shuttles, one of which had been destroyed and the other was under repair. She jettisoned herself in a life pod.

The grimmest case of all took place in 2208 involving a technician named Zordel. He served onboard the U.S.S. Griffon, a tactical
vessel whose primary function was gathering intelligence in hostile areas. When His Time came the Griffon was in the middle
of a top secret reconnaissance mission and they couldn't risk even sending out a lifepod lest it be detected. So he went into an
airlock and then, after waiting as close as possible to his death, had them jettison him.

One can imagine the scrutiny that this caused.

Afterwards Starfleet regulations required that any Tausian in the Fleet over the age of seventy had to be assigned to a ship that
was not engaged in tactical or reconnaissance missions. It was also required that they be on a ship that always had at least one
extra shuttle or shuttlepod available. The last condition became a lot easier after Nero attacked the Kelvin- Starfleet started doubling
the size of their ships and consequentially the number of their shuttles.

I learned from Admiral Pike that some bureaucrat back home raised a fuss over the loss of the High Tide, complaining about the loss
of valuable equipment. I guess being the youngest Captain in the Fleet has some disadvantages; it gets one a lot of scrutiny back home.
He was shot down quickly when the regulations regarding Tausian death rites were shown to him. He then muttered that I could have
let Skinar use the shuttle until he died and then beamed him into space afterwards. But he was once again shot down when he was
shown Tausian medical records.

When a Tausian's Time draws closer their bodies rapidly decline , I and the rest of Skinar's Attendants saw that for ourselves.
But that's nothing compared to what happens after they finally die. As soon as that happens their bodies rapidly decay/dissolve/melt
within a matter of minutes, leaving behind a residue that while not harmful to anything from Tausia can be toxic to other species.
In other words, after they die their remains become a biohazard. So either way we wouldn't have been using the High Tide again.

I didn't know all of this when I granted Skinar's request, but it wouldn't have mattered to me one way or the other; there was no
way that I would have denied him. Skinar gave Starfleet sixty years of service and the Saratoga seven; he was entitled to the use
of one tiny shuttle and if giving it to him meant facing some hassle back home, so be it. A Captain goes to bat for his crew.

After he left, Bones continued to monitored his life functions. About an hour or so later when he looked at me and quietly said,
"He's gone, Jim," I felt my heart break.

He had lived a long, full life and he had died the way he wanted. But I grieved. He had been a part of my crew and now he was gone.

Gone but never forgotten. In the seven years that he was on the Saratoga he touched everyone however briefly and he will continue
to impact us even though he's gone. The cycle and the journey continues.

In the short time that I was with him he taught me a great deal. I suppose in one way I'm similar to a Tausian; I was born in space
and I didn't truly find myself until I returned to it. And thanks to him I will never look at the stars in quite the same way again.
And I think I will love them all the more.

He also gave me something else. He accepted me as an Attendant and named me his Kin by Choice. I consider that to be one
of the greatest honors of my life. Compared to that commanding the Flagship was nothing.

James T. Kirk

Kirk completed his log entry and sat for a moment in thought.

Two days ago he had had a long a conversation with Thelin about what he'd learned from Tausian death rites. His First Officer had
mentioned some of the rituals performed on Andoria to mark the death of a clansman. One of them was the Rite of Memory in
which mourners recorded memories of the deceased in the form of biochemical imprints on a crystalline cipher.

That had given him an idea.

He picked up something that was an increasingly rare sight on Federation starships: a large leather bound book. It had been given
to him as a gift from Samuel T. Cogley, who had represented him during the trial. Cogley was as quirky as they came; he couldn't
stand computers and felt that the law, not to mention anything else worth knowing, was stored in paper books. But he was one
great lawyer. When he had first received it, Kirk had noted that it was empty. Cogley had said that it was like life: starting out empty
but waiting to be filled. He had then smirked and told him that it would be a good way for him to practice his handwriting, something
sorely lacking in most 23rd century Earthlings.

He opened the book to the first blank page and carefully began to write.

BOOK OF REMEMBRANCE

Name:
Place of Origin:
Home:
Age:
Posting:
Rank:
Department:

He paused then filled in the spaces.

Name: Skinar
Place of Origin: Tausia
Home: Space
Age: 80 (2179-2259)
Posting: U.S.S. Saratoga
Rank: Chief Petty Officer
Department: Operations Management

He paused another moment then continued.

He was born of the stars.
Space was his home, the stars his love.