Starlight: Preface
Captain’s Log; Stardate 90758.2
I had never given much thought to how I would die — though I'd had reason enough in the last few years aboard the Enterprise — but even if I had, I would not have imagined it like this. I stared with heavy breaths through the glass, into the dark eyes of my Commander, and he looked tearfully back at me. Surely it was a good day to die, in the place of someone else, someone I loved. Noble, even. That ought to count for something. I knew that if I'd never gone to Starfleet Academy, I wouldn't be facing death now. But, terrified as I was, I couldn't bring myself to regret the decision. When life offers you a dream so far beyond any of your expectations, it's not reasonable to grieve when it comes to an end. The Commander looked at me in the most human way as I held up my hand in the Vulcan salute.