LT Gila Sadar - Hostile Design Philosophy

[LT Gila Sadar]

((( OOC: As I’ve fallen a bit behind due to work commitments, I’ll be skipping a few of my tags to the most recent developments, so the SIM won’t get too long. Assume Gila was quietly nervous the whole time XD )))

(( Command Centre - Grunden Base Camp, Kydon )) 

Ensign Cole had mentioned that this wasn’t exactly the front lines, given that this was a base camp, but it was still way too far out into contested territory for Gila to feel comfortable with it, at all. It took everything within her to not immediately beeline towards the medical tent to render her assistance, but she’d been given clear orders to stay neutral and out of the conflict. That was, without a doubt, the hardest part of her job, and judging from Vai-net’s sympathetic glances, her friend knew very well how much it hurt Gila to not be able to help.

At the same time, she perhaps more than anyone knew why she couldn’t. While the rest of the crew had grown up amongst Federation technology, familiar with the almost miraculous properties it possessed, Gila had not. And neither had the Grunden. It didn’t take a genius to imagine how groundbreaking Starfleet medical science could prove in a war of this scale, and Gila was not interested in being the trigger for that kind of culturally cataclysmic event.

Vailani: :: carefully :: This is a very organised set up, is this a permanent location or do you move from location to location?

Forcibly dragging her focus away from the seemingly insurmountable task of assisting without overstepping, Gila listened to Vai-net’s conversation with General Kexxin.

Kexxin: Since I took command here, we have been able to stay put. But we have proper procedures in place if we have to relocate for any reason.

For the past couple of minutes they’d been moving through a tunnel-like area of the camp, but now they exited out into a more open area, and Gila’s forward momentum ceased as she stared at the area before her. A large grounds, cleared of any unnecessary obstructions, to allow space for the stars of the show. All-Terrain-Vehicles.

Kexxin: These are what we call our grunts. Heavily armored, all terrain and ::smirking:: kind of fun.

How long had it been since Gila had last driven anything? Gila barely counted the simulated classes at the Academy as driving, as it didn’t feel the same as getting behind the wheel of a flowhoover, feeling the vibrations beneath your feet as you controlled the forward motion across the evenly paved streets of Pozaron. While the elegant and sterile hoovers of her home planet were a far cry from these haphazardly constructed and extremely sturdy-looking monstrosities, Gila couldn’t help a tinge of nostalgia as she looked at the ‘grunts’.

A nostalgia that was clearly not shared by Lieutenant Gnai, who had obviously never had the need for any sort of vehicle, given its natural environment.

Gnai: ::as quietly as its speakers can go:: Please tell this that one of you took more classes in planet-side survival than the bare minimum at the Academy…

Tho’Bi: I-I grew up on Space Station (beat) ::shrugs:: we didn’t do a lot of off-roading.

Cole/Vailani: Responses

Kexxin: ::Pointing to one of the grunts:: Can one of you handle one of these? 

Gila felt suddenly self-conscious as the General posed this question to the team. It wasn’t like she felt she was the best choice for driver, given that she hadn’t the faintest idea how to operate a Grunt in the first place, and despite her nostalgic instinct to take this opportunity to get behind a wheel again, the notion of being charged with the safe arrival of her colleagues made her cheeks flare with anxiety.

Tho’Bi:  General Kexxin ::bows slightly:: as Engineer, it is my duty to ensure the safety of any equipment, weapon, or vehicle (beat) used by our team, and our commanding officer ::gestures at Lieutenant Vailani:: (beat) be it of Starfleet, or any other world.(beat) ::bows further:: I humbly request your permission (beat) to check your Grunts ::sweeping gesture with arm:: so that I might honor my duty ::remains bowed::

Kexxin:  Response

Vailani/Cole: Responses

Tho’Bi:  My thanks to you (beat) General Kexxin, War-Chief of the Grunden.

Gila looked after Ensign Tho’Bi as he headed towards one of the Grunts to analyze it properly, and she stepped closer to Vai-net, her anxiety band twisting rhythmically in an attempt to soothe her discomfort with the situation.

Sadar: I-I can drive... I-I’m interested to see how the Grunts operate.

With their clunky appearance and heavy armoring, they didn’t appear to be made for speed, but Gila had learned long ago to not judge alien technology by appearances.

Gnai:  Just how far away is this capital?

Kexxin: Response

Sadar: Will we, uhh... Mmh, be crossing through ‘unsafe’ territory?

Even if the Kobyar were honoring the temporary ceasefire agreement, a planet at war for this long was bound to have shaped the landscape in an unsafe manner. Minefields, or structurally unsafe passes as a result of aerial bombardment, or toxic waste disposal sites were of course one thing, but any native fauna would’ve long since learned to either avoid soldiers or attack them on sight in order to protect themselves.

It hardly made for a welcoming environment to home a civilization, much less two this dissimilar.

Not for the first time, Gila wondered exactly what kind of current had led to two such unique species to develop at a similar pace on a single planet and even reach warp capability at around the same time.

Vailani/Cole/Kexxin: Responses

Slightly further away, Ensign Tho’Bi was chattering at himself as he scanned the grunt, and Gila blinked with a strange sense of deja-vu.

Tho’Bi: ::sweeping the Tricorder across the armour panelling:: Electric Reactive Armor ::crouches down at nearest front wheel:: Adaptive Wheels ::shuffles around to front of vehicle and nods:: All in one Solid State Battery and Drive Unit.

Kexxin/Vailani/Cole: Responses

Once again, the subject of actually driving the vehicles was brought up and Gila felt her nuchal folds go clammy, even as she opened her mouth before her anxiety had the chance to stall her.

Sadar: I-I can drive one of them. ::brow ridges tremble::

Tho’Bi: ::stood up straight:: Lieutenant, the vehicles ch-

When Vai-net looked at Ensign Tho’Bi, there was an awkward reaction from the timid Andorian, and a flash of recognition passed through Gila’s mind as she imagined herself in this kind of situation, only facing down someone far worse than Vai-net. 

She wondered how the Captain’s team was doing.

Vailani:  Response?

Tho’Bi: ::swallows:: the vehicles check out for safety ::gestures across the space:: they are based on a modular design (beat) every piece of armour and weapon can be changed out with any other ::points at the wheels:: the wheels are adaptive (beat) altering their shape to best suit the terrain ::points at the front of the vehicle:: power and drive is one unit (beat) And…

Ensign Tho’Bi picked up a tool from one of the nearby work benches to demonstrate his point.

Tho’Bi:  ::holds the tool up:: Everything can be done with this one tool.

Vailani: Response

Kexxin: Response?

Cole: Responses

Gnai: Wait - this didn’t realize that was a concern!!

Gila’s presumption that Lieutenant Gnai had limited experience with driving vehicles was thus confirmed, and as the group split up and climbed into two Grunts, Gila followed the anxious Galadoran and the anxious Andorian.

Evidently, the USS Artemis-A attracted a specific type of officer, Gila thought with no small amount of self-awareness.

Tho’Bi: Ow.

Gila didn’t immediately climb into the car itself, waiting outside with concerned patience as she saw the towering Andorian Ensign attempt to position himself in a manner that didn’t inflict physical harm upon himself in some fashion. This was, apparently, a very trying task.

Tho’Bi:  Ow.  Ow.  Ow.  Ow.  Ow!

Vailani/Cole/Kexxin: Response

Gila looked to the three others who’d be manning the other Grunt, scratching her cheek with a slightly sheepish look.

Sadar: Oh, uhh, y-yes... W-We’ll be ready in a moment. ::looks back to Ensign Tho’Bi’s spasming extremities:: I hope?

A few more moments of intense struggle passed, and finally, Gila was able to kind of clamber into the Grunt. Mizarians legs and arms were slightly longer than those of most humanoids, but after many years of adapting to structures and design philosophies that weren’t intended for her specific physicality, Gila knew how to manage, and she carefully swung herself into the front of the Grunt while avoiding getting stuck in the same kind of awkward situation as Ensign Tho’Bi. An awkward position that persisted, even after Gila had climbed past him. 

Tho’Bi:  Erm…. Help.  (beat)  Please.

Gila looked back into the backseat of the vehicle, seeing that Tho’Bi struggled to close the door, and pressed a button in the cockpit that triggered the automatic sealing. Useful for when single individuals had to man a Grunt and had to make a quick getaway, she presumed.

Tho’Bi:  Thank you ::tries to nod, can’t:: Ow.

Gnai: Response

Vailani/Cole/Kexxin: =/\= Response =/\=

Gila looked down to the main control panel of the Grunt when she heard a communication arrive. She held down a switch near the speaker system on the right-hand side, hoping that this wouldn’t accidentally fire any weapons, and instead allow her to communicate to the other Grunt instead.

Sadar: =/\= Y-Yes, sorry. W-We’re ready. ::clears throat:: We’ll follow you. =/\=

Vailani/Cole/Kexxin: =/\= Response =/\=

Gnai: Response

The viewscreen, or what counted as the equivalent of a viewscreen, allowed Gila a pretty good look around the Grunt, and far more than was logical, thus causing Gila to make the assumption that it wasn’t a window, but rather a highly advanced display feed for exterior cameras. She saw the other Grunt bounce to life, practically kicking itself forward with impressive momentum, and after orienting herself in the cockpit, Gila attempted to replicate the maneuver.

The sudden forward motion made her jostle in her seat, and she heard an unmistakably loud noise from the backseat, which made her teeth itch.

Tho’Bi: ::tries to look at Gnai, can’t:: Ow.  (beat) At least you can move.

Gnai: Response

Sadar: S-S-Sorry!

Vailani/Cole/Kexxin: =/\= Response =/\=

Gila did the same thing once more, though this time she was even more careful with pressing the accelerator pad beneath her one foot. It was a difficult thing to maneuver, as the pad wasn’t formed to fit her foot shape, and she got the distinct sensation that the thin grooves within the pad was meant to accommodate claws or some other kind of appendage, which provided a better grasp on the pad and allowed for more intuitive speed control.

But she would have to manage.

Thankfully, the Grunt ahead of them allowed her a few moments to get accustomed to the steering of the vehicle, and it didn’t take long for her to get back into the methodical mindset that allowed her to control the vehicle far more evenly than one would suspect of her. Lt. Commander Jashkaa had, before her untimely transfer to the Eagle, made the observation that Gila liked cooking because she was able to follow a strict step-by-step method that didn’t require much improvisation on her part.

Driving was probably much the same.

Tho’Bi/Gnai: Response

Vailani/Cole/Kexxin: =/\= Response =/\=

As the instructions came in through the speaker, Gila started seeing the landscape around them change character. Gone was the canopy of trees that had housed the Grunden Base Camp as they moved into large open plains. The path that they followed was less of a road than a well-worn track, likely one of several paths that the Grunden alternated between in order to render their movements as unpredictable as possible to the Kobyar aerial artillery.

Sadar: =/\= Have your people always lived on these plains, General? =/\=

Vailani/Cole/Kexxin: =/\= Response =/\=

Tho’Bi/Gnai: Response

TAG/TBC

LT Gila Sadar

Assistant Chief of Medical

USS Artemis-A

A240006GS1