Lieutenant JG Kaito Moore - Recon in Depth
Lieutenant j.g. Kaito Moore
((Uldera City, Zomas, near the edge of UAW space))
Kaito kept his head on a swivel ever since they beamed down. Insurgencies were textbook chaos manifested, more so when infiltrating them. The issue with insurgencies compared to regular militaries is their command structure was loose at best. Sure, they had leaders; all militaries needed leadership, but an insurgency was more decentralized… More chaotic. More unpredictable.
Typically speaking, a good insurgency needs to be decentralized when fighting asymmetrically. Centralized leadership could easily be taken out by a technologically superior foe, and the conflict between the Zumardi and the UAW absolutely fit that definition of technological disparity. It’s why a good insurgency needs to be a hydra, many heads, so when the leadership is cut off, another leader takes its place. That is how an insurgency survived, and this was proven time and time again across countless worlds.
The trade-off for this survivability is a certain level of chaos at the lower levels of leadership. Cut off a head, and the next one to rise up could be much more radical, much more dangerous, more willing to commit violence, or more willing to accept collateral damage. Too many times, an insurgency built on good intentions, built on perhaps a righteous cause, ended up committing terrible atrocities; sometimes bordering on the same level of cruelty as their oppressors.
Bajor came to Kaito’s mind, but even then he couldn’t recall the Bajorans deploying a biological pathogen on the Cardassians… Granted, he wondered if they had the opportunity, would some in the resistance go that far?
Of course, this also begs the question, what did the UAW do to warrant such a harsh and radical response?
Aitas: Lieutenant Seleya, I’d appreciate knowing if there are any notable resources in the area you can detect. Ones that might prove useful to a society at a somewhat different technological stage as well.
Kaito leaned against one of the stone walls, following Aitas’ gaze to the group of locals briskly moving past them. He made note of the cloth-wrapped packages carried by each of them. Under his cloak, Kaito quietly activated his tricorder, set to a low-powered silent mode. He hoped to get a passive scan of the packages. Granted, given the busy nature of the city around them, and the various markets and stalls that lined the streets in seemingly all directions, he could have guessed they were most likely goods being delivered… But he didn’t rule out a religious procession too.
Seleya: Response
Aitas: And Lieutenant Moore, I’d like for your analysis of the defensiveness of this position. Especially as it relates to technological stages. What would you say it’s intended to defend against?
Kaito gave another glance around. He had been noting the defenses ever since they arrived. Trying to piece together the tactical situation, and in his opinion, it wasn’t pretty. The city was old, with a mixture of stone-built and a few metal buildings. Alleyways crisscrossed the city while the large, crowded streets were dominated by three- to four-story buildings overlooking them. Various woven walkways spiraled to the upper levels, and in between buildings. There were many windows and doors all along the corridors, and as Kaito surveyed, he had spotted what he was sure were makeshift firing positions in the walls of upper floors.
He had noticed a few checkpoints, some manned with fairly heavy weapons, others seemingly empty, but he had no doubt they would make for a quick fighting position. What was concerning was the amount of armed populace. Quite a few times, he had seen armed civilians, those trying to keep pistols and carbines hidden under clothing, others not even caring as they walked with rifles in slings. This was a fairly armed city. Granted, it wasn’t organized; there wasn’t a uniform weapon of choice you would find with an organized militia or military. They were a mishmash of various technologies, ranging from plasma pistols no doubt traded to them by one of the various alien species, to what looked like homemade chemical firearms, and a range of technological designs in between the two… Kaito was fairly certain he saw a disruptor rifle with a wooden stock and foregrip.
He kind of wanted one, or wanted to make his own. But he remained focused, glancing over at Aitas as he pulled what he collected from memory.
Moore: ::Speaking Quietly:: It’s more defense in depth; designed to delay and inflict casualties. You have a few checkpoints at key positions, and choke points, but much of the city has been modified for defense. ::Casting a glance to the upper stories around them.:: Notice a few modifications to the windows and walls, they would make for good firing positions down into the streets. Perfect for a fire-and-move strategy. If I were to guess, this is meant to defend against a foe who they couldn’t keep out of the city, so instead it is designed to allow the insurgency to fight, move, and slow down their enemy. Perhaps allowing them to evacuate important persons or equipment. Not too different from the Betazoid resistance during the Dominion War, or what the Talarians used against us in the twenty-three-fifties. ::Glancing between the two:: We need to be extra careful should things get hot, since anywhere could be an ambush point.
Aitas: Thank you. Let us go see if this scientist is willing to meet with us. I promise I’ll try not to get myself shot. I had more than enough injuries when I was in Starfleet.
Kaito gave her a slight nod. He had to admit, he had his security concerns, and while he trusted the design of the Mantis, he knew it should work. He tested them himself, and double-checked everything before deployment, but this wasn’t exactly the field test he had in mind. Good thing he brought his phase pistol as a backup, just in case.
Moore: As long as we keep our heads down, we should be fine, but I’m already coming up with evac plans should we need them. My biggest worry is us getting separated. This city is like a maze with all the back alleyways and streets.
Seleya: Response
The ground was muddy beneath their feet, with spiraling paths to elevate travelers up out of it. They seemed to be made from a mixture of materials, mostly some sort of thick cords woven together. The buildings were made of stone and brick, and there was a distinct scent of waste in the air.
One building stood taller than the rest, and its exterior looked to have once been covered in metal, though only fragments of it now remained.
Once they stepped inside, the light turned to a pale blue. There were counters and tables scattered around, most empty. There were only benches, and those looked to be secured to the floor. They’d likely arrived in the middle of the workday, or what passed for it, but it was still remarkably quiet.
There were gaps in the ceiling as well; they let light shine down only over the more distant parts of the room.
Kaito didn’t need to be a telepath to tell most in the quiet cantina weren’t friendly, but he suspected that was less because of their arrival, and more the general mood of the city. He kept a calm demeanor as he took a seat with his comrades, glancing around, noting the exits, and who was armed or not. Granted, he suspected more were hiding what they were packing than not.
Aitas spoke in an exotic, if not unknown to him, language. Kaito was impressed she knew a Delta Quadrant language, but felt like he shouldn’t have been surprised. He too had started to pick up various languages from different species that visited Amity, mostly Talaxian, but others too. Granted, he was mostly learning phrases and commands; useful in an emergency situation should the UT stop working.
Nevertheless, Kaito was impressed with the fluidity of Aitas’ xeno-vocabulary and grammar, and he made a mental note to ask her what language she was speaking, or at least download his UT records to see if it was in the database.
Luckily, his universal translator, hidden in his disguise with a small bone-conducting earpiece, came to life just in time to translate for him.
Aitas: Since we’re guests here, what would you recommend? I’ve been told by a friend that Olvaren is an excellent choice. And a traditional one for meeting new acquaintances.
Aitas glanced between the two of them, before resting her gaze back on the individual behind the counter. Kaito shifted a little, leaning against the counter, better to conceal his lower half near the bar.
Moore: Olvaren works for me.
Granted, he wasn’t sure if Olvaren was safe or not; the intelligence on this world was slim at best. He glanced over at Seleya, trying to strike up a casual conversation, as his hand discreetly activated the tricorder under his coat, the beeps and warbles playing in his small earpiece.
Moore: What about you?
Seleya: Response
Ar’a’Dal: Response
He carefully scanned for contaminants, mostly checking if the food and drink was going to kill them or not. It was one of his quick-access scanning modes that he had practiced activating blindly, mostly using the various sounds of the tricorder to guide him.
He kept quiet, allowing the others to speak while he listened to the scan. He wouldn’t know what was wrong with the food, but should anything harmful be detected, then he would get an earful of alarmed beeps.
Aitas/Seleya: Response
Ar’a’Dal: Response
A waiter walked past with a few mugs, heading for another table. The tricorder chirped and trilled, before sending back a positive tone. At least whatever they were having wouldn’t kill them. Same with the food a patron was eating a few benches away. So far, the dietary composition of Zomas wasn’t too different from their own.
Moore: Not going to lie, quite a bit on the menu seems good. Do we just want something to drink, or should we order food?
That was code for, this stuff won’t kill us. Useful information when doing reconnaissance on a new species, or faction. Being able to break bread, so to speak, was a great way to lower tension, and get people talking. Granted, a few of the tricorder tones did warn of alcohol molecules in some of the drinks. So they would need to be careful of intoxication.
Aitas/Seleya: Response
Ar’a’Dal: Response
Lieutenant JG Kaito Moore
Tactical Officer
Amity Outpost
A240006KM1