Captain’s Log Stardate 23861.2. The U.S.S. Nimble has successfully mapped the Wolf 359 system without incident. In fact, several discoveries were made there, including First Contact with a species from a distant star. Starfleet’s primary concern, of course, is in setting up a star base there to counter the possibility of a growing threat from the Romulan Star Empire.

The U.S.S. Hanley has been dispatched to Wolf 359 along with an escort provided by the 1st Fleet. Their goal is to establish a Federation foothold there to deter the Romulans from further aggression along the Neutral Zone, and to provide a staging location for Starfleet should the need arise.

Although it may seem premature, Starfleet has also agreed to allow a small colony to be set up on the 6th planet of the system which the settlers have named “Direwolf”. I have spoken to the leader of this expedition, Lomas Dellins, and he assures me that all of the colonists are in support of the Federation’s new “front line” against Romulan aggression. While I wish the colonists well, I would be lying if I said I trust that they won’t be looking for ways to cause trouble for their nearby neighbors.

Due to Starfleet’s rapid response to the Romulan aggression against the Klingons, I have heard through the grapevine that the Federation is frequently cutting it close when it comes to its energy reserves. Aside from the star base in Wolf 359, two other star bases were constructed in the Obora and Estasi systems.

The 2nd Fleet was also commissioned under the command of Admiral Alynna Nechayev to respond to threats anywhere within the Federation. Because of this build-up, our construction ships have been working overtime to build mining stations around energy-rich worlds, moons, and stars, with surprising results. I wouldn’t call it paranoia since the threat is real, but the Federation’s profligate spending on hardware has put a strain on other resources as well…resources which aren’t as easy to recoup as energy credits are.

Now for the good news. While surveying Wolf 359, the U.S.S. Nimble made contact with a new species who call themselves the Iyaaran.

Although the Iyaaran Scientocracy lies well outside of our current reach, Starfleet scientists have been chomping at the bit to invoke a technology exchange with them in the hopes of learning anything they can about the Iyaaran’s starship propulsion systems that allowed them to travel further than anyone in the Federation has. It’s still too early to commit to such an exchange, but we’re hoping that this First Contact situation will prove fruitful. We need some rays of hope in this dark and troubling time.