[End act III] LtCmdr Jovenan – Some obligations are blind to the colour of the banner we fly
Jovenan
((Corridor, Deck 3, USS Karnack))
When they first met the Dark Things, the creatures were little but a threat to them. Predators, undoubtedly smart for an animal species, but closer to the sehlat or lions than even the earliest of stone age civilisations. However, then they had discovered clues that the animals might have originated from the original dwellers of this planet, from the people that had been advanced enough but also desperate enough to use teleportation technology that could penetrate the Maelstrom’s effects where Starfleet transporters had failed. Those poor Callisians had got lost in the corruption of their own devices, forgotten their identity, exchanged coherent thought and the art of speech for instinct and growls, become the monsters that hunted their remaining fellows deeper into the Waterfall Caverns. Except… these creatures weren’t all lost. They tried to communicate, with the limited means they still had, express their distress, pain and hunger that drove them to violence and madness. They spoke. Maybe they’d also listen.
Jovenan: We have to convince it to leave us alone. Something that uses just basic words, rooted in biology or herd sociology.
Silveira: Leave?…
Storm: We’re willing to help you. Tell us what you want.
Jovenan pressed her lips tightly together. Lt Storm had managed to create a connection to the Dark Things and appeared to be conversing with them. Jovenan didn’t know if the creatures were more verbose and elaborate telepathically; perhaps they could tell the Lieutenant what they could do to help them. However, Jovenan wasn’t sure if they should help them. She hadn’t approved of implying the team would want to help them. They weren’t doing well, and if they couldn’t help themselves, how could they help the creatures? Vitor was barely himself any more, many of their crew had been exposed to the effects of the teleporters, they had been eating and drinking whatever they found for days, they had untreated injuries, they were under enormous stress and fear – not the least from having to constantly run for their lives from the Dark Things – they might be dead in the matter of hours. Meanwhile, there were thousands, maybe even millions of the Dark Things. They weren’t in the position to help, not these creatures.
Bancroft: ::coldly:: I am a healer. ::beat, more gently:: We are explorers and scientists. If you are in pain, if you need help, we are willing to help you.
Except… they were still Starfleet. Even when they were barely surviving, without connection to the wider galaxy, out of the reach of their peers and superiors, they were forever Starfleet. And as such, they had an obligation to render assistance, to a friend, ally and enemy alike. She was still reluctant, and did nothing to hide it, but she had to agree.
Jovenan: What would it take to alleviate its pain?
Lt Storm folded in two. Seeing her teammate in pain almost caused Jovenan to rush in and try to help her, but she managed to hold her ground and hold her phaser ready. She wasn’t going to do much help by pulling the Lieutenant out – that didn’t do much against telepathy – but she could continue to cover her in case the creature did a wrong more… or Vitor did.
Storm: They want to be freed. But I don’t understand from what.
Bancroft: This isn’t going anywhere.
Silveira: They can’t be reasoned with like any sentient. Keep it simple.
The creature’s raspy breathing and the subtle hum of machinery that the other teams had managed to turn on again were the only things breaching the silence that had fallen when Lt Storm tried again. Jovenan could do little but keep watching the Betazoid first try to straighten herself but only to fall back down immediately. She couldn’t imagine what kind of pain the Lieutenant was going through, but she sure hoped it was going to be worth it.
Storm: Split us? Split you from what?
The Lieutenant was shouting. Jovenan readjusted her hold of the phaser. She didn’t know what was happening in the telepathic conversation, but their messenger yelling apparently in pain or shock was a worrying sign.
Bancroft: From your pain?
Jovenan: Lieutenant, you are allowed to disengage if you are in agony.
Silveira: We know what happened… Or we can guess… Just make them go away..
Storm: ::To the creatures:: You want us to separate you from … each other? ::To the team:: There’s more than one of them in there. They want us to separate them.
Separate. From each other. Jovenan frowned as she tried to make sense of those words. Separate the individual from the hoard? From the hive… or hive mind. Her eyes widened as the realisation came to her. Not a hive or a hive mind, but the mind that was a hive. A legion of voices in one body, asking for a place to go.
Bancroft: ::whispered:: More than—
Was it just this one creature, or were all of them like this? Thousands or millions of Dark Things, each perhaps an agglomeration of several individual minds, maybe tens of millions of souls crying out in pain and hunger and freedom, forced to act out of instinct and simple needs and desires to alleviate their agony.
Bancroft: My God…
Jovenan’s heart was racing. She had feared for much during the long days on Callis I, for her life, for the lives of those she cared about, for the seen and the unseen, but more than ever, she now feared for the unknown. The mystery had not yet been unravelled, the opposite, they had found only now found the surface of it.
Bancroft: Were you… are you…?
At the corner of her eye, Jovenan saw Vitor lean back, as if he was losing his balance or falling asleep.
Silveira: I am feeling tired…
Jovenan inhaled deep. For the first time, the Dark Things were not violent creatures wishing nothing but death for them; they were now people for whom they had the duty of rendering assistance. Starfleet might be able to help, too, since history mentioned a handful of times people sharing one body had been successfully separated, even if the moral implications of doing so were complicated. However, as much as Starfleet might have been able to do, the crew stranded on the planet were not. They wanted to help, perhaps, but they couldn’t. She released her breath and spoke directly to the Dark Thing.
Jovenan: There might be a way to separate you. Our… group has done so in the past, and we have the knowledge that might help you. However, we are not able to do anything. We are stranded here, we have little resources to even begin to help you. We are trying to leave and—
Lt Storm acted unexpectedly. She rolled to the side, with her phaser now in hand, and she shouted.
Storm: Fire!
Bancroft was the first to follow that order. His weapon emitted a rapid burst of shots towards the creature, followed by Lt Storm’s beam that hit the Dark Thing just as its jaws snapped where the tactical officer had just been. Jovenan’s beam divided the corridor between them, cutting through the air and joining the others’ to light the space with the bright orange hues. At the corner of her eye, Vitor was cowering and shielding his newly sensitive eyes.
Bancroft: Moving!
Jovenan removed her finger from the trigger and pointed her weapon to a safe direction so that Bancroft could move without suffering from friendly fire. Once he was joining the firing, she continued as well. The creature was facing fire from multiple angles.
Jovenan: Is it going down?
Storm: Don’t stop!
Bancroft: Keep the pressure up! Don’t give it space to move!
Silveira: It’s working…
Unlike most living things, the creature didn’t fall to the floor stunned or dead, nor did it disintegrate upon receiving fire, but it wasn’t immune either. It grew slower and less refined in its movements, and eventually it slumped and went down. When the firing ceased, the creature was motionless. Lt Storm rose up and stepped closer to inspect the body, never once removing her aim from the creature. Jovenan lowered her phaser a little so that she wouldn’t be pointing it at anyone, but she didn’t turn away, even when she saw that Vitor was shaking and she felt the urge to go and hold him.
Storm: We would have helped you. At least we would have tried.
The Dark Thing let out a whimper and tried to move, but it couldn’t find the strength to stand up. Jovenan could see the blood coming from his mouth and nostrils. The body was broken, and the minds within were hurt. They were in control of the body and simultaneously barely cognisant and sapient; Jovenan didn’t know if they had just neutralised an enemy with an effective strike, or if they had done so with unacceptable collateral casualties. Maybe both.
Bancroft: ::wearily:: Don’t let it get up. I’ll be right back.
Bancroft left. Jovenan followed him for a second with her gaze, but her attention returned quickly to the injured creature on the floor. It wasn’t moving any more. She didn’t know exactly where the Doctor was off to, but she had an idea.
Silveira: Let them…
Jovenan: No one shoot. Lower your phasers.
Storm: Response
Bancroft returned with medical equipment. After over a week of not having seen those operational, Jovenan sensed something akin to relief in her – perhaps it was some kind of weird nostalgia to the time before they landed here. It felt much longer than what it had been in reality.
Bancroft: ::to Jovenan, Silveira, and Storm:: This isn’t bravery. This is humanity. ::softly:: This is healing. ::a beat:: Please.
Silveira: Do it…
Jovenan nodded without a word. They had their own injured and people who needed their help, but denying anyone the release from pain in their last moments would have been cruel. They had shot at what could be considered their enemy, but once it was down, it had become just… someone, a person, an animal, didn’t matter that much right now.
Storm: Response
The Doctor knelt besides the patient. Jovenan stayed alert for in case the creature moved again, but that didn’t seem to be happening. Instead, the dying animal was still and without showing any resistant under his touch. Only the subtle movement of its body as it inhaled and exhaled.
Bancroft: ::to the creature:: This will help you rest. ::gently:: You will be free from pain.
Jovenan heard the once familiar hiss of the hypospray, and soon the animal stopped moving at all. It was gone, and so were the minds trapped inside. She didn’t know what the ancient Callisians would have believed in, nor if their successors with the gruesome fate had philosophy or belief, but maybe they were finally separate and free.
Silveira: Thank you…
After a moment of silence, Jovenan resumed.
Jovenan: ::quietly:: We should keep going.
Storm: Response
MacKenzie: =/\= All hands, this is the Captain. Secure your stations and brace for impact. We're getting out of here. =/\=
The Captain’s voice came through the communications sharp. The team followed the order, finding a place where they would be relatively safe when the structure would be defying the gravity and its own structural instability. When the ship vibrated and shook by its own power, Jovenan found herself smiling. They were almost home. After all that time. They were almost free.
----
Lieutenant Commander Jovenan
Chief Science Officer
USS Artemis-A
E239911J11