Lt Jovenan – What I deserved, part 2
Jovenan
((CloQ’s Realm))
CloQ: Welcome to my world.
Jovenan was disappointed to find out she wasn’t dead.
She could remember it. The shot-down shuttle plummeting out of the Romulan sky and towards them. She remembered the purple alarm lights and the klaxon, the white, blinding light and the horrendous sound of the duranium hull impacting the transparent dome, crushing the entire structure and everything in it. Surely she had died.
And yet, there she stood, confused. Romulus had changed for a… um, place, with a wall opposite of her full of clocks, each set to a different time. Turning her head, she realised that she had been wrong. Every wall was filled with timekeeping machines. Even the floor.
Dakora: Where… or when are we?
Jovenan knew that voice, even if she hadn’t heard it in… hours? Or decades? It was difficult to say with everything that had occurred between the promotion ceremony and… now? When?
Silveira: Thank you for having us.
Turning her head around, Jovenan noticed the four figures alongside her in the bizarre room. There was Doctor Sadar, who like her seemed to have survived the shuttle crashing on them, though Genkos and Ensign Gnai were nowhere to be seen. Then, there were Talos and Vitor, God knows from which part of the time and space.
And last, she saw them.
CloQ: How’d you like my little game?
Jovenan recognized a feeling within her that she had felt rarely. She was furious. It had been them who had forced them to encounter all these obstacles, they were the one who had caused so much suffering to her, her friends and innocent people all across the continuum of space and time.
Still, a voice in her head reminded that no external cause could absolve her of her crimes.
Dakora: A game? ::He scoffed:: Is that what you’re calling it?
Silveira: Two out of ten for originality. Seven out of ten for the challenge. And nine out of ten for welcoming and treating my wounds.
Wounds? Worried, Jovenan looked up and down on Vitor, followed by similar inspection on Talos and Doctor Sadar. Each of them appeared unharmed, though the worry began to translate into anger in Jovenan’s mind as she continued to blame CloQ of whatever travesties they had placed each of her friends and colleagues.
Then she inspected herself, running her hands on her body, tapping over clothes from bottom to the top. The shuttle crash had caused her no injuries, or they had been healed. Finally, her hands found her ears. The points they had artificially planted on her had disappeared, as had the ridges and the short black hair. It was as if she had reset to how she was at the beginning.
It didn’t alleviate her fury.
Jovenan: We played it to the end, CloQ! Let us go, now!
Sadar: It was distasteful.
Dakora: It’s not really a game if the consequences of not playing are death.
CloQ: Response
Jovenan tried to keep her wrath up, but the flame in her didn’t want to burn any longer. She had all the right to be mad, but she also began to question what the point was. What was the point of keeping fighting when CloQ could undo their efforts with a single wave of a hand, or change the rules?
Silveira: As we say, don’t ask a question that you might not like the answer
Jovenan noticed that Vitor had stepped closer to Doctor Sadar, who was fidgeting with her ring again. She didn’t know if the Doctor was afraid, nervous or something else, but she knew they all needed each other right now. She, too, joined the rest of the team, forming a tight bundle.
It helped.
Sadar: ::pulsing brow ridges:: And I suppose hoping for you to inform us of the others’ whereabouts is similarly futile?
CloQ: Response
Silveira: Unlike you we have feelings. And concerns over the well being of those we care for.
Jovenan: And we will continue to fight for our friends.
Talos shook his head frustratedly. Jovenan remembered what CloQ had said about him when they had appeared in Genkos’ childhood home. She wondered what he had had to go through to get here.
Dakora: Where are we? What is this place?
CloQ: Response?
Jovenan: And what do you want of us? What are we supposed to do here?
Sadar: Response
Unexpectedly, Vitor stepped forward, leaving the pack and walking towards their tormenter. Jovenan raised her hand briefly towards him, though she realised she couldn’t stop him. As she watched terrifiedly, Vitor executed an obvious mock bow.
Silveira: Are we thy pawns oh Master of Times? Shall we entertain thy Majestic Lordship to your whims?
Jovenan: ::quietly:: Vitor, what are you… ?
CloQ/Dakora/Sadar: Response
Vitor spread his arms wide open. Jovenan couldn’t see his face from behind, and without telepathic abilities, she couldn’t tell if it was an attempt for intimidation or something else. Either way, she realised how stupid Vitor was being right now.
Silveira: I will never be able to comprehend your powers. And I know I am no match for you. I haven’t forgotten our last encounter. But if you permit me, let me offer you something you might not have considered before.
Jovenan: ::pleading:: Vitor, please, don’t…
She remembered what Genkos had said. CloQ had caused permanent physical alterations to Vitor the last time they had met. Whatever Vitor was doing, he was risking provoking CloQ again.
CloQ/Dakora/Sadar: Response
Silveira: My forgiveness.
Vitor, no! ― Wait, what?
She observed the scene unfold before her. She had not expected Vitor to give forgiveness to CloQ, and she certainly didn’t know how CloQ would react to such gesture. Hoping that they wouldn’t interpret is as mockery or be provoked by the thought that they had done anything that would require forgiveness, Jovenan turned to Talos before things would turn any more critical.
Jovenan: ::to Dakora:: Sadar and I were with Adea and Ensign Gnai. Do you know what would have happened to them?
She knew that Talos would likely not know it, but she really needed someone to tell her that they were rescued from being crushed by the shuttle.
CloQ/Dakora/Sadar/Silveira: Response
Jovenan: ::to Dakora and Sadar:: And you? Are you alright?
CloQ/Dakora/Sadar/Silveira: Response
TAG/TBC
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Lieutenant Jovenan
Chief Science Officer
USS Artemis-A
E239911J11