If I could offer you only one
tip for the future, phasers would be it.
The long term benefits of
phasers have been probed by federation
scientists, whereas the rest
of my advice has no basis more reliable
than my own meandering voyages.
I will dispense this advice now.
Enjoy the power and beauty
of your ship. Oh, never mind.
You will not understand the
power and beauty of your ship until it's
vaporized above the genesis
planet. But me, in 20 years, you'll look
back at photos of your ship
and recall in a way you can't grasp now
how much possibility lay before
you and how fabulous you looked in
the big chair.
You are not as infallible as you imagine.
Don't worry about the transporter.
Or worry, but know that worrying
is as effective as trying
to penetrate the galactic barrier by sipping
saurian brandy.
The real troubles in your
life are apt to be things that never crossed
your worried mind, the kind
that blind side you at stardate 4524.76
in some idle quadrant.
Do one thing every day that scares your crew.
Seek out strange new civilizations.
Don't be reckless with your
security officers. Don't put up with
people who are reckless with
theirs.
Boldly go where no man has gone before.
Don't waste your time on jealousy.
Sometimes you're ahead,
sometimes you're behind. The
race is long and, in the end, it's only
with the Klingons.
Remember the prime directive.
Forget the regulations. If you succeed
in doing this, tell me how.
Keep your old starcharts. Throw
away your M5.
Timetravel.
Don't feel guilty if you don't
know what to do with your career. The
most Interesting officers
I know didn't know at 22 what they
wanted to do in starfleet.
Some of the most interesting
captains I know still don't know.
Get plenty of Dilythium. Be
kind to your warp engines. You'll miss
them when they're gone.
Maybe you'll marry, maybe you
won't. Maybe you'll have children,
maybe you won't. Maybe you'll
be admiral by 40; maybe you'll
dance with Orion slavegirls
on your ship's 75th anniversary.
Whatever you do, don't congratulate
yourself too much, or berate
yourself either. Your choices
are half logic. So are everybody else's.
Enjoy your body. Use it every
way you can. Don't be afraid of it or
of what sexstarved alien women
think of it. It's the greatest
instrument you'll ever own.
Dance naked, even if you have
nowhere to do it but in your ready
room.
Read the regs, even if you don't follow them.
Do not read tech manuals. They will only make you feel stupid.
Get to know your crew. You
never know when they'll be gone for
good. Be nice to your
ship's computer. It's your best link to your
past and will help you automate
the ship when the crew's reduced
to salt crystals.
Understand that officers come
and go, but a precious few you
should hold on. Work
hard to bridge the gaps in stellar geography
and alien lifestyle, because
the older you get, the more you need
the officers who knew you
when you were young.
Live in the Klingon Empire
once, but leave before it makes you hard.
Live on Bajor once,
but leave before it makes you soft.
Cross the neutral zone.
Accept certain inalienable
truths: Starfleet will quote policy.
Captains will philander. You,
too, will get old. And then you too will
fantasize that when you were
young, Starfleet was reasonable,
Captains were noble, and officers
respected the prime directive.
Respect the prime directive.
Don't expect anyone else to
support you. Maybe you have a fully
charged phaser bank.
Maybe you have a commodore
on board. But you never know when
either one might run out.
Don't mess too much with your
hair or by the time you're 40 it will
look like 85.
Be careful whose refit you
buy, but be patient with those who
Captain it.
A shakedown cruise is a form
of nostalgia. Refitting your ship is a
way of fishing the past from
the disposal, wiping it off, painting
over the ugly parts and recycling
it for more that it's worth.
But trust me on the phasers.