Personal Log: FO Cmdr. Paul Velden

Some birthday this is turning out to be. I don't even know where to begin to describe this day so far, and there are still a lot more hours to this day. I suppose I'll just start from the beginning.

Right. Well, this morning, I went to engineering, as I usually do. It was my shift, after all, and as CEO I had to be there. I was in my office, drinking coffee, when the computer told me there was an incoming subspace message... for me.

To my surprise, it turned out to be Admiral Morgana from Starfleet Command. Imagine that, an Admiral calling me! She called me to inform me about Starfleet's decision concerning my foster parents' complaint against me. I don't want to go into it again in great detail, but suffice it to say that my foster parents had decided that I wasn't capable of being a Starfleet officer, let alone a Commander and Second Officer of a Starship. So they filed a complaint, after which Starfleet launched an investigation to determine whether my foster parents were right about me.

I'm pleased to say that the Admiral told me there was nothing to worry about. Starfleet has concluded that I am as fit to be in Starfleet as anyone else on the ship. That means that I will not get kicked out of Starfleet, fortunately. I can't begin to express my relief in this matter. Of course I will have to contact my foster parents soon, to either inform them of Starfleet's decision myself or to, well, simply talk to them. I do not look forward to that at all.

But I suppose it can wait. The real reason of Admiral Morgana's call was not solely to inform me of Starfleet decision regarding the complaint. Apparently, the USS Atlantis needs a First Officer, and Starfleet wants me to be it. I can hardly believe it myself... First Officer of a Starship!

And not just any Starship. I did some checking, and it seems the Atlantis is stationed in the Gamma Quadrant. Talk about exploring the frontier!

In an uncharactaristically impulsive reply, I gave the Admiral my answer: I accepted. Starfleet wants me on the Atlantis in less than a month, so I'll be leaving the ship relatively soon. Leaving the Odyssey behind is something I never dreamt of; I am... was... happy here on the ship, 'simply' being 2O/CEO, but now it seems I'm going to leave both the Odyssey and my engineering career behind.

I can't say I don't have any mixed feelings about this transfer. My transfer is going to leave the Odyssey short one 2O/CEO. And, as if that wasn't bad enough, Lieutenant Byrne has been offered the position of Second Officer on board the USS Valkyrie. This leaves the Odyssey without a Second Officer, CEO and STC. Now, Captain Bennek says there will be a replacement for Lieutenant Byrne; apparently a Lieutenant Commander called Nerfertii -- coincidentally, he's from the Atlantis -- will become STC here. He'll take over the 2O position too. But Starfleet won't be sending a CEO, so I suppose Ensigns Jorgahn and Alenis will be a bit busier than normal.

I don't understand how Starfleet can do this. We're understaffed as it is already. Taking crew away from an understaffed vessel is, in this engineer's opinion, never a good idea. But, in all honesty, from what I understand, the Atlantis is in an as bad or even worse shape than the Odyssey. They desperately need more crew, and that's where I come in.

Well, the Atlantis it is. The Odyssey's going to bring me to Deep Space Nine, where we -- I mean, they -- will be picking up their new Second Officer and STC. I'm really going to miss this ship. Since a month or two, I have begun to see it as *my* ship, even though of course I was only in charge of the engines. Still, what is a ship without her engines, hmm? And, of course, as 2O, I was also in charge of the crew, more or less. So I don't think it's silly or anything that I thought, and still think, of the Odyssey as my ship. Not only my ship, but my home too.

I suppose that the reality is that I will soon see the Atlantis as my ship... and my home. But I'll never forget the Odyssey.

It's all happening so fast, but that doesn't mean it's not a good thing that I'll be FO. I know I can do it, and I'll make the best of it. Actually, to be perfectly honest, I'm looking forward to it. First Officer of a Starship in the Gamma Quadrant... Whew. That's something.

Lots of things have happened in the past few months, and I have grown to a point where I do indeed have it in me to become First Officer, as arrogant as that may sound. Becoming First Officer isn't something I thought I would be one day, but now it seems as if I am going to be one... And it's going to be great. I just know it. At the very least, it's one hell of a birthday present.

End Log.