RP Log: Certification Training: Prime Directive
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| 2026-02-24 17:35 | |
[Tilar's Commbadge] Incoming communication request from Lieutenant Commander Hauser.
[Tilar's Commbadge] Opening communications channel from Lieutenant Commander Hauser.
You say, "This is Doctor Tilar"
[Tilar's Commbadge] Hauser says, "Hey there. You busy?"
You say, "Just the usual. No traumas or surgeries."
[Tilar's Commbadge] Hauser says, "I'll take no trauma. Thought we could check in on your training and talk about things. Why don't you join me in holosuite 2."
You say, "Are the holosuites safe and functional now?"
[Tilar's Commbadge] Hauser says, "They are, or I haven't heard complaints. I'm using 2, which hasn't been tampered with."
You say, "Alright, I'll head down there. See you soon."
You double tap your commbadge.
[Tilar's Commbadge] Connection from Lieutenant Commander Hauser terminated.
The door leading to Holosuite 2 swooshes open.
- Lunar Park - Holosuite Two <Deep Space 3>
- This park has been terraformed into the surface of Earth's moon. It's evening, and through the shimmer of the atmospheric dome, you can see the stars of lunar night. Earth is rising overhead, and the planet fills about half the sky. Pathways wind through the quiet park, which features mostly Terran vegetation. A few benches are scattered here and there for people to relax and skywatch.
The holodeck Arch door swooshes closed.
Hauser is standing off to one side of one of the pathways, looking relaxed.
Tilar steps into the holosuite as instructed, taking a moment to look around and orient herself before walking over towards Hauser. "Hey," she greets with a smile. "New adventures?"
Hauser smiles. "Just wanted to create a slice of home. I didn't grow up near this park, but I visited it often enough." She starts strolling. "We keep local gravity fields at earth normal in places like this."
Tilar ahhs softly, falling into step beside Hauser, hands clasping loosely behind her. "I don't think I ever visited Luna," she says. "I was at the Academy, but that was really my only major exposure to Earth. It's not exactly a small place. So many different cultures and things to see there."
Hauser nods. "The moon doesn't get many visitors even today. Earth gets the lion's share. But then, we don't like crowding either."
"That makes sense, then." Tilar looks up towards the sky, studying the stars before looking back over towards Hauser beside her. "I gather you grew up here, then? On Luna, that is."
Hauser nods. "I sure did. In fact I was born here. It's home, more so than Earth is."
"I assume there's some connection between that and the reason you asked me to join you here...?" Tilar asks, brows rising curiously. "I was born and raised on Trill, so I haven't seen a place like this before."
Hauser grins. "No connection at all. I just thought something other than bulkheads would be nice to look at."
Tilar laughs at that and nods. "Alright, fair enough," she says with a grin. "We've certainly had our fair share of bulkheads lately. Especially vandalized ones. And some broken ones."
Hauser nods. "Very true. So, tell me about the prime directive," she invites cheerfully as you walk.
There is a brief snort of amusement at the topic shift, followed by a small chuckle before Tilar composes herself. "The Prime Directive, also known as General Order one. It's the foundation of Starfleet's approach to new civilizations with slightly different guidelines depending on their level of technological advancement. It came up a few times with our encounters with the Aranea and so on."
"Yeah, it did," Hauser agrees. She strolls a pace or three. "So, what's the basic rule of the prime directive?"
"In general? Non-interference," Tilar says with one lift of her shoulder. "It's one that can be very difficult to follow."
Hauser laughs. "Now she tells me!" She says. "Yes, it can be. Why do you think that it is our General Order number 1? What's so important about noninterference as an idea?"
"Because we're not conquerers," Tilar says with a laugh. "It's not our job to police the galaxy, or impose our beliefs and values on other civilizations. That's not who we are. That's not what we embody. We are a group of different cultures with different beliefs, and part of our core values is respecting those unique cultures."
Hauser hangs a right and keeps on strolling. She thinks about that. "So, suppose we come across a planet that's home to a pre-warp civilization. Say, circa Earth's early 21st century. The planet's about to be hit by an asteroid that'll plunge the planet into nuclear winter. The inhabitants can't do a thing about it. They've tried, and we watched them try. Supposing that we can, but that because of their technology, orbital radar systems, space-based telescopes, they would see any attempt we made. So, you're in command of the Phoenix. It's on your shoulders. What do you do?"
Tilar groans at that scenario, her head tilting back as she looks up at the sky. She doesn't like this. "I don't like it, but as per General Order One... we can't do anything," she says, nose wrinkling as she makes a displeased look. "I don't like that at all."
"We can't do anything?" The human challenges. "So you're gonna let a planet full of billions of people, women and children, die because of a principle written by bureaucrats a thousand lightyears away?" Her tone is challenging, but if you look at her, you would note that she's not actually upset.
"Yes," Tilar says with a small frown. "If we weren't in the area, it would happen anyway. Our presence is purely coincidental, and the Prime Directive says that we cannot interfere. At best, I can poll for suggestions on how we might be able to divert the asteroid without detection, but if that's impossible? We cannot reveal ourselves and alter the course of that civilization's future."
Jessica walks along, her face giving no hint as to what she thinks. Finally, she nods. "If that's how it turned out, Starfleet would back your call in that case. It wasn't meant to be a fun or easy question, and the prime directive isn't something we have to always like."
"A lot of people didn't like it with the Aranea," Tilar says with a heavy sigh. "And you're right, I didn't like that. I'm a Doctor. I want to help people. That scenario is horrifying to me, but I understand the rules. And they're not always easy to follow."
Hauser nods. "You're right, VI. They're not. Sometimes it hurts like hell to follow them. Now, supposing that you're in orbit of a planet with a few hundred million people on it. Pre-industrial civilization. Think Earth, circa ... early 18th century or so. You have a team on the surface conducting local anthropology research, and they're concealed. We actually do have the technology to do this, and field teams do study primitive cultures in that way, Vi. SO." She walks a little farther. "Your team's concealing equipment has failed, and they have been scene by local inhabitants. No chance the team was mistaken for their own species. So, concealment has been breached, and you've gotten just enough of a message from your team to know it. How might you handle it?"
"You're mean." Tilar's nose wrinkles as the new scenario is given to her, though she doesn't genuinely hold any animosity towards the other woman. She understands the reasoning for the questions. The Trill woman is quiet as she thinks about that, undoubtedly skimming through some of her old classes. "Extract them when possible. Assess the degree of contamination to contain it. The exact method of containment depends on how widespread the contamination is."
"Sounds a little indefinite," Hauser presses. "Are you telling me you don't know exactly what you would do?" She inquires sweetly, looking at you.
"No. How could I possibly know with such broad generalizations?" Tilar asks, giving Hauser a puzzled look. "Containment doesn't have to be indefinite. If they were seen by a small group of people, memory alteration is a possibility. If it was a wider group of people, then the civilization may have already reached a threshold of 'sufficient exposure' and then Section 2 of the Prime Directive may apply."
Hauser smiles warmly. "You're right. I was being mean. And you're also right, you can't possibly know what you'd do until you're in it. But you also said the one thing that saves your answer. Containment. When the breach has already happened, what you get to do is pick the best strategy for containing the damage. So, for example." Her smile widens into a grin. "You're surveying a pre-industrial planet, say same time period of development, early 18th century earth. Ok. There's a conflict going on between two of the nation states or tribal states. But you observe that one side is using technology the planet's people can't have actually come up with. Think here, one side's using single shot weapons. Another is using machine guns or lasers. You also discover solid proof that another actor, say the Romulans or the Cardassians or the whoever, has been actively interfering, arming one side for their own reasons. Let the proof be whatever you like. You find one of their ships in orbit, some of their stuff on the surface, whatever. Point is, you don't think this. You know it! What do you do about it?"
"Oh this is a new-ish scenario now?" Tilar tilts her head slightly, thinking about that and rubbing slightly at her face. She's thinking hard, and it's not something she's spent a lot of time worrying about in the past. "The culture has already been contaminated. Section 2 of General Order One now applies. Introduction and diplomatic relations can be established when enough cultural information is obtained. I'm actually not sure how to handle the involvement of the Romulans or the Cardassians, because they aren't technically Federation members, and they don't have to follow our rules."
Hauser smiles. "No, they don't. But we do. Every situation I gave you has happened in one form or another in Starfleet history. And the decisions those captains made are rarely black and white. In a way, that's what makes them interesting. So, you get some homework!"
"And those Captains have years of experience and training under their belts," Tilar counters with a frown, pressing her fingers against her eyes. She sounds a bit defeated, some tone of frustration in her voice. "If I'm the current officer in command and have to make those decisions, something has gone very very wrong, and retreat is the most likely scenario."
Hauser comes over and takes your hands in hers. "Two things, maybe 3," she says gently, waiting until you're looking at her. "First, no amount of experience answers some of those questions I posed you. Nothing prepares a captain for making decisions like that, except making decisions like that. Some captains actually broke the prime directive a number of times. Kirk and Picard, to name 2. Second. I wanted you to think about this now, while you're still a lieutenant. I don't want the first time this occurs to you to be while you're sitting in the center seat, lives in the balance. here, now, it's just two people talking. No stakes."
Tilar looks up at the other woman, her hands falling from her face as she sighs, shoulders a bit slumped. "I'm not even a Lieutenant yet," she points out with a shrug. "I can think about it, but it's hard to say what I would do in that moment. I don't have years of experience dealing with other hostile cultures. There are so many people in the command chain ahead of me that maybe I'm wasting my time. I don't know. It seemed like a good idea at the time."
Hauser smiles. "Lieutenant, if you had said anything else, like, I know I can handle it? Then I'd know you absolutely were not, and I'd be worried about you. What you just said? That's good. I want you to think about those things now. Now at the beginning of things, not later. And I think you're going to be fine. So, homework!" She smiles. "I want you to study up on James Kirk and Jean-Luke Picard. Two very different styles of command, two different centuries. But, dig out some of the moments when they broke the prime directive, pick a favorite, or one that you totally don't understand, and bring it to me. We'll talk about it."
Tilar gives a small smile, a small measure of confidence reappearing in her features. "Could I muddle through? Probably. Would I make mistakes? Also probably," she says with a nod. "I'll look into that and send you the wordiest report ever that you have to read. Revenge for giving me homework." A small smirk is given to the other woman.
Hauser grins. "I look forward to it. Now let's enjoy the moon!"