LtCmdr Jovenan – I know I’m supposed to feel bad about it, but I don’t. Am I broken again?
Jovenan
((Path out of town – Holodeck 1, Deck 2, USS Artemis))
Lieutenant: Are you sure? I would not send four of my men alone to the enemy’s lair, not even the four best ones.
That was a valid concern, and had this been the real life, a responsible lieutenant would have never sent four civilians to scout for the enemy hideout. But this wasn’t real life, and for all Jovenan knew, they might have had different understanding of what is an acceptable risk to put an outsider into. Besides, they weren’t mere civilians or soldiers in this story: they were bounty hunters, the best of the best, lethal and cunning and… whatever else bounty hunters were supposed to be. Swift? Strong?
Silveira: Trust me, I am sure your men are the best at their jobs, and it’s not like we are going to single handedly deal with a gang that big. But we are more capable of scouting around before taking any action.
Munro: Trust us, Lieutenant. We know what we're doing.
K'Wara: ::sly smirk:: Ostensibly.
“Know what we’re doing” might have been a bit of an exaggeration, but they did have the plot armour and the mercy of the holodeck difficulty level on their side. The Lieutenant, of course, didn’t know this, but doubt shone through his eyes before he could take a good look at each of them.
Lieutenant: Very well. Meet us as soon as you learn of the criminals. But do so before the darkness falls, because we cannot wait for that long.
The holographic man dipped his hat at them and shouted “Onwards!” to his troop. The circle of horses shifted around them, until it disappeared entirely, leaving just a cloud of dust lingering around them and a set of marks to the path. It didn’t take long for the rumble of the myriad of hooves grinding the ground to disappear, and the four bounty hunters were left on their own again.
Jovenan: So, um, anyone have any plans how to defeat hundreds of criminals? ::shrugs:: Who may or may not also be ghosts.
K'Wara: Holy water? Crosses? A particularly devout Bajoran? I'm sure Dr. Jaran has time.
From her extensive and intensive studies, Jovenan knew that holy water and crosses worked well against vampires – her reading hadn’t extended to ghosts, but as another type of undead, there was some overlap – while a former member of a monastery might have learnt a trick or two as well. That would have needed to be their backup plan, however, seeing that those symbols had little effect on the living kind of criminals.
Silveira: I am thinking of something…
Munro: Go on, share with us?
Silveira: We can’t beat a gang that big… I mean we can, this is the holodeck, but it’s going to be a bloody mess…
K'Wara: Pass - I'd like to be able to reuse this outfit, thanks.
...where?
Munro: So?
“So?” Jovenan wasn’t sure if Munro meant that as “go on” or as “that doesn’t matter”. Despite the inherently violent nature of the Western adventure, she preferred to keep it on the side of less-than-traumatic.
Silveira: So… How about we trick them?
Munro: In what way?
K'Wara: It better be the prank to end all pranks if its going to convince 100+ thugs to give up a life of crime.
Jovenan: Or to give up a life, period. The Lieutenant didn’t seem too concerned if the criminals live.
Vitor opened his arms, and a wide smile donned his face. This was going to be something great.
Silveira: We make them believe we are ghosts.
Munro didn’t waste a moment to start laughing. Jovenan merely raised her eyebrows and looked at the two. The more she thought about it, the more effective even if less practical it sounded.
Munro: Ghosts? Do you want us to wear white sheets with eye holes, Silveira?
K’Wara: If so, I'm out. ::gestures to their face:: Covering up these assets would be a crime.
Jovenan glanced K’Wara up and down before turning to Vitor.
Jovenan: It’s a good idea, if we can come up with how to do that. The people in these parts believe in ghosts, so why would the robbers be any different? And even if it fails, well, we’d still have our guns, I guess.
Silveira: Response
Munro was picking up the speed again and gestured the others to follow. Giving Scout the instruction to move along the way, Jovenan could see that their direction was towards where they had learnt the river delta was. Even if she knew that nothing bad could happen to her or her friends, there was a similar feeling of anxiety about to overtake her as she had at every dangerous mission.
Munro: I like your thinking. We can split up. Distract them, if they're in the mines then we have an advantage. Mines generally only have one exit and entrance… there's a reason a lot of cultures use holograms for mining now.
Jovenan: As long as they aren’t all sitting by the entrance, we might be able to get close. The mines tend to be deep and labyrinthine, so many of them might be hiding inside. But then what?
Silveira: Response
Munro: Exactly, a cave in :: cringes :: We may need some dynamite?
K'Wara: The mine may have some. As far as I know, ancient Humans used dynamite as an actual tool during excavations. Though... This mine is called Oak Island Mine. A cave-in may accidentally end up flooding the entire structure.
Jovenan nodded. The humans originally invented dynamite as a replacement for the less stable explosives they had used in mining before, although the species had managed to find ways to use it for military and criminal purposes as well. According to a story, the inventor had been so terrified of his legacy that he had founded a prize to celebrate peace – he did actually do that, but the story behind it was probably not true.
Jovenan: We should see what the mine is like, obviously, but if it’s indeed near the river, I’d be surprised if they didn’t have issues with water leaking in even without a cave-in. There’s a chance the criminals will drown.
Silveira: Response
The river valley opened ahead of them, and Jovenan could see the glistering band slither through the dusty landscape. Upon reaching the river’s banks, the team turned to follow it down towards the delta where the mine supposedly was.
K'Wara: What can I say, I'm a bleeding heart. Don't much relish the idea of drowning a couple of hundred pepole, even if they are criminals..
As much as she hated to say it, Jovenan hadn’t even considered the possibility that the criminals dying might have been an undesired consequence. After the years of service in Starfleet, after the multiple occasions she had needed to question her Edo upbringing, after rejecting her heritage and trying to find her own path in this golden cage, she had still failed to change her thinking. She lowered her head so that the others wouldn’t see her wavering lips. It was just a holodeck story, she tried to convince herself, it doesn’t matter. They’re just characters, had it been any other circumstance, she would have realised that causing their deaths would have been wrong. That had to be it.
Jovenan: Yeah… We’ll have to see if we can do that safely before blowing up anything. At least so that the Lieutenant and his men can dig through the cave-in before the entire mine is filled with water.
Silveira/Munro: Response
K'Wara: Sounds like a plan.
The terrain changed rapidly as they went on. Jovenan doubted this was a natural formation – not artificial either, but rather the holodeck cutting the corners to get them on with their adventure before they’d spend days just to get to different places. Even though authors needed to come up with something that disabled the transporters in all of their contemporary adventure and action stories so that the characters couldn’t solve their problems too easily, Jovenan had to admit that in these kinds of cases the ability to cross entire continents in seconds would have been so much easier.
Jovenan: I think we’re almost there. We should be careful that we don’t accidentally come across with their patrol or something.
Silveira/Munro: Response
The river valley extended to a delta and open waters further beyond. Jovenan didn’t need to try to guess which of the islands was the infamous Oak Island; in the middle of the delta sat a large, rocky island, with an opening of a cave marking the cliff. There was a direct line of sight from the mine to their location, so they needed to advance cautiously so that any possible people in there couldn’t spot them by chance. Jovenan was confused to notice that when she hadn’t looked, a spyglass had appeared to K’Wara’s hands. She waited for them to report of what they saw.
K'Wara: Damn. Lookouts. If they see us, they'll alert the entire mine. And I don't think there's a chance of us sneaking the horses over there without getting spotted.
Jovenan: Let’s hide the horses somewhere and figure out how to get closer without being noticed.
Silveira/Munro/K’Wara: Response
They rode back behind the small hills that concealed their approach from the mine entrance. Jovenan patted Scout’s neck – it had served her well so far, but there was little chance the large animal would do them good when trying to sneak in. Before they’d say goodbye to the horses, they’d need to find— Jovenan stopped. She raised her hand and pointed towards the river.
Jovenan: Wait. What’s that over there?
Silveira/Munro/K’Wara: Response
As they approached, the scene became clearer. There was a pile of old wooden crates, seemingly random sticks and a circle of rocks surrounding a darker spot on the ground by the river’s bank. Reaching the place, Jovenan hopped from Scout’s back and leaned in closer to the darker spot. Ash and charcoal, likely a campfire, long abandoned. Without a word, she looked at her partners before stepping closer to one of the crates and opening it. A cloud of dust emerged.
Jovenan: This must have been the old miners’ campsite. Look at these! ::pulls out a moth-eaten shirt and a rusty pickaxe::
Silveira/Munro/K’Wara: Response
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Lieutenant Commander Jovenan
Chief Science Officer
USS Artemis-A
E239911J11