[Act 3] Fleetmarshall Yolan Ser: Humble Pie
Robin Hopper
((Hovan Military Command Center, Hova III))
Yolan stared at the centralized report summaries rolling in on his control terminal, his jaw tight with nervous tension. Behind him, the Federation diplomat and officer. Internally, he ached at how just a day earlier he had privately balked at their involvement in Hovan affairs.
Aitas: How are the rescue efforts proceeding, Fleetmarshall?
Ser: ::Grumbling:: Well enough, considering the severity of the ‘incident’. This is all entirely unbecoming of the Hovan Military Command, I will have you know. Unprecedented. We train for situations like this, but never in…
He trailed off, his face contorting into a sullen frown, his mustache drooping over his black lips. In all his decades in the service – first with Uwezo Surveillance, and later with the Military Command – Yolan had never seen such a disgracefully-compromising failure of integrity and discipline. To think that members of the Military – HIS Military – could stoop to such acts in defiance of their orders and the will of the People’s Assembly… How was he going to face his wife when he returned to her that night? How was he going to face himself in the mirror the next day.
Ser: We’d hoped never to have to put them into practice here on our own bedrock.
Around them, officers of the H.M.C. scurried to-and-fro, diligently attending to their D.C.S. and S.A.R. duties. It would have made him proud to see – were this a drill. As he turned on his heel towards the Federation diplomat, his beady eyes scanned her and her companion. The two of them looked quite businesslike, seemingly disinterested in the deep shame he found himself struggling not to wallow in. Perhaps they didn’t understand its significance. oO Maybe treasonous acts like this are more common in the Federation… Oo he mused – but he did not believe it.
Aitas: We’re ready to pick the investigation back up. I had a few areas in mind with which to start; our initial information indicated inappropriate use of preexisting credentials, rather than a more brute-force intrusion. And of course there are the scout ships and their crew as well.
Rosek-Skyfire: ::nods:: That would make sense given that those responsible didn’t seem in a rush. ::brow furrows:: It also makes me wonder just how high up the chain of command all this goes, given that accessing the area didn’t trigger any red flags. If one of your security team had noticed, surely they would have said something.
Ser: Yes, that is certain. It would have been far too laborious for someone to force their way in without triggering any of our security systems, or being intercepted by one of our patrols. I’m afraid this could not have been possible without treachery from within… How deep that vein runs, however, remains an unknown quantity. ::Gesturing to the control panel, behind him:: The logs have been scrubbed of all the data we could use to decisively identify the culprits.
His mustache twitched.
Ser: It would take many days – weeks perhaps – for our finest technicians to recover anything of use.
Aitas: I can bring my bot ::she’d in truth picked a more technical term, the Hovans were more likely than most to have some small understanding of Eccian cybernetics:: down to assist as well, if you’d consider that prudent.
His bushy eyebrows rose. Her “bot?” A number of possibilities flew through his mind of just what that might entail. While the Hovans had made great strides in their technologies, it was clear the Federation, like the El-Aurians of old, far-outclassed them in several areas. This seemed like it may be yet another…
Rosek-Skyfire: I have a background in coding and, to an extent, network security. I can monitor the bot’s progress and note any anomalies that might lead us to the party responsible. ::to Ser:: Thoughts, Fleetmarshall?
He considered the possible security implications of allowing such a device into such a sensitive area – let alone granting a technically-skilled officer of the Federation essentially unrestricted access to their systems. It could be utterly destructive. Looking around at the mayhem, he wondered if such considerations were really warranted at the moment. He found himself weighing the risks and the potential benefits in a mental probabilities matrix he could scarcely make sense of.
Ser: Given the circumstances, I am inclined to agree with your proposal – so long as it is carried out under appropriate supervision. ::Indicating his control terminal:: You may examine the logs, but I warn you they are heavily fragmented, as the culprits were clearly trying to erase anything tying them to the events. In case their plan did not work as intended, I suppose.
Yolan stepped aside, allowing the Federation diplomat and officer access to the terminal.
Rosek-Skyfire: ::pauses:: Do you have any thoughts on who might be behind this, Fleetmarshall? Anyone who would have a motive to steal those ships?
Ser: ::Grunting in disapproval:: It is difficult to speculate on this subject, Commander. Hovans are not, by nature, quarrelsome – we prefer to find reasonable compromises that avoid internal conflict. The military is defensive in its duties… Without knowing what the thieves were attempting to achieve by taking these ships, it is hard to imagine what possible motive they could have.
Rosek-Skyfire: Even Humans were divided at one point in our history. ::grimaces:: Everyone doesn’t always agree with everyone else, after all.
He imagined, to their ears, he must sound naive, given the situation they found themselves in. But it was the truth. Sure, there were those among the Hovan people – even on the People’s Assembly itself – who expressed differing opinions on how to approach the unique situation with the Uwezo, but never before had anyone taken such direct action in contravention to the Assembly’s standing decisions or the Military Command’s orders. To do so was practically an affront to the Hovan identity!
Aitas: Response
Rosek-Skyfire: ::runs a hand through her hair:: Sadly, it took a war that wiped out most of Earth’s population for us to see sense.
oO Black burrows! Oo
The Fleetmarshall’s lips paled at the thought of such a thing. Long ago, his ancestors, and the ancestors of all Hovans, realized the tenuous circumstances of their continued existence. Advancement so often came only at great risk in their unstable surface atmosphere – a reality that necessitated cooperation and caution. He could scarcely imagine what such a conflict would look like on Hova… He didn’t want to imagine it.
oO Could this be the start of such a horror? Oo
Aitas: Response
Rosek-Skyfire: ::nods:: Illogical, I agree. But our core nature isn’t always logical.
Ser: I hope you will not be offended, Commander, if I say that I do hope our people have more sense than that… A war between Hovans would be absolutely devastating. If someone is trying to foment unrest among the people with these actions in hopes of escalating some sort of conflict, we simply must get to the bottom of it – as swiftly as possible… Have either of you been able to recover anything?
There was a hint of hopefulness in his voice. The Federation now, was perhaps his only hope of addressing the rising concern in a manner timely enough to prevent what he was quickly beginning to fear would be the end of Hovan civilization.
oO It is ironic, Oo he thought, silently, his twitching mustache the only hint of this internal monologue, oO that we should so fear the coming of the Uwezo that we might preemptively destroy ourselves… Oo
Aitas/Rosek-Skyfire: Responses
Ser: What does that mean? Can we deduce how they were able to take the ships?
Aitas/Rosek-Skyfire: Responses
((OOC – Feel free to add more tags/discussion here; I can always backsim!))
There was a crackle of communications over the Fleetmarshall’s private terminal, followed by a voice.
Hovan: =/\= Fleetmarshall – We have received the recovered vessels, towed by the Federation starship. Senor Dil has been taken into custody, though he insists he was not personally responsible for commandeering the vessels and was only following his orders. =/\=
A low grumble of irritation came from Yolan’s throat. Dil. The man had been a competent Submarshall in the Hovan fleet for many years, until he had started neglecting his duties and ignoring the proper chain of command. If anyone were to have been responsible for the theft of the vessels, Dil was a culprit Yolan could believe.
Ser: Perhaps this case will not be so difficult to solve after all. Senor Dil has been troublesome in the past… However, his credentials had been disqualified from accessing these restricted areas. Someone else with access would have had to have been involved. ::Activating his comms:: =/\= Has he identified who gave him the orders? =/\=
Hovan: =/\= No, Fleetmarshall. So far, he has vehemently refused to give them up. =/\=
Yolan turned his body towards the Federation representatives, balling his fists in frustration.
Ser: Now we have two paths to investigate, it would seem. What we uncover in the files may be corroborated by Dil – if he can be persuaded to talk. Perhaps, if we are able to recover evidence and show him what we know, he may be more inclined?
Aitas/Rosek-Skyfire: Responses
==
Fleetmarshall Yolan Ser
Hovan Military Command
(Lt. Cmdr Robin Hopper)
V239806K11