LtCmdr Jovenan – The treatise in morality of inaction considering the consequences a posteriori
Jovenan
((Second Promenade, Deck 227, DS224))
Promotions generally came as a surprise to Jovenan, but her latest one was still particularly difficult to comprehend. Not only did she feel like she had done nothing to earn it – quite the opposite, in fact, considering what she considered blunders and failures – but there was also the fact that she now had a rather high rank among the crew. She’d need to figure out how it would affect her standing and relationship with some of her friends, seeing that she outranked many of them, but right now, she was dealing with the issue at the opposite end of the spectrum: she had been, for a long time, utterly terrified of the superior officers, and now, she was their equal or close to one. And there was already one she could have counted as her friend, though she regretted not becoming more comfortable with him earlier.
Jovenan: I was looking around the station. It’s been a while I was here, so some places still look new to me. How about you? Doing anything interesting?
Dakora: Oh, not really, no. I was doing some people-watching and feeling a bit nostalgic, I think. Was considering grabbing bite somewhere…
Jovenan understood what Talos meant by nostalgia. She had only been to the station a few times before, so she hadn’t yet developed such an emotion towards the place, except when trying to remember where she had spent time with the crewmates that were no longer serving with her. However, it must have been different for the senior crew. Just walking around, she had noticed a sign for the USS Resolution Memorial, and although Talos had never actually stepped aboard the ill-fated ship (if her memory served her correctly), such reminders and even the much more mundane ones must leave a deep impression in someone. She, however, was looking for something more cheerful, so she caught onto his latter words.
Jovenan: Oh? Mind if I join you?
The grin returned to Talos’ face. She liked the way some of the guys among the crew had the habit of grinning or smirking. It made them look like mischievous little boys, she supposed, something rather exotic to her Edo upbringing, silly and non-threatening.
Dakora: That’d be great. What’re you feeling? I’m not very picky.
Ah, selecting a place where to eat, the hardest choice one had to make among friends. Deflecting the choice would have been easy but could have possibly been seen as impolite, so Jovenan picked the second easiest option.
Jovenan: Maybe we could walk around a bit and go to the first place both of us like?
He nodded and pushed himself from against the railing, joining by her side. Smiling, she turned towards the flow of the fellow pedestrians as they started walking.
Dakora: Sounds like a plan to me!
The two Lt Commanders didn’t reach far before being intercepted by a third crewmember of the same rank. Jovenan was mildly surprised to see Commander Salkath come to them. She barely knew him, despite having served together for the better part of the year; they didn’t get assigned to the same team often, and they didn’t seem ever to be engaged in the same free-time activities. Hence, when she saw him, she expected him to be coming to tell something to Talos.
Salkath: Commander Dakora. Commander Jovenan. Greetings.
Dakora: Salkath! I hope your first time aboard DS224 is treating you well!
Jovenan nodded slightly in greeting. She had learnt that people often appreciated if one responded to their emotional state by mimicking it, but that tactic had proven difficult with Vulcans. In this case, Jovenan saw it best to respond in professional manner.
Jovenan: Commander.
They stepped out of the way.
Salkath: My apologies for interrupting your shore leave excursion. I promise I will not keep you long. I wished to say something to you, Commander.
Jovenan stared at Commander Salkath blankly when he turned to her. Only after she realised that he was addressing her did her eyes widen ever-so-slightly and her eyes darted swiftly to Talos and then back to the Engineering Lt Commander.
Jovenan: Oh? Um, of course, is there something I can do for you?
Salkath: On Stardate 240105.30, I attempted to incite you towards actions that insulted your personal and professional ethics and sensibilities. I pursued a tangent of logic in that conversation that, in hindsight, was not only illogical but also unprofessional. ::pause:: I have never been accused of being empathetic, but even that was a line too far for me to cross. I wish to offer you my sincere apologies.
Stardate 240105.30? That was, um… A very specific stardate. Vulcans were of course very diligent with details like that and possessed impressive memory and ability to organize information, something which Jovenan, despite her education and training, found herself lacking. 240105.30, that must have been just before they left DS9 for the… oh, now she remembered which conversation he was referring to.
Dakora: I’m sorry, if this is a private matter I can… ::He jabbed a thumb back over his shoulder.:: You know…
Jovenan’s eyes darted to Talos. It was nothing like that! Before she could object him leaving, Commander Salkath had also turned to him and started the explanation.
Salkath: I had urged Commander Jovenan to join me in decrypting the classified Fleet Formation technical files prior to the events of Frontier Day. It is a testament to her character that she did not acquiesce to my entreaty. ::he nodded slightly, as close a symbol of shame as he could express:: I realize that advising you of my insubordinate plans will require you to consider disciplinary action, but I needed to express my regret to Commander Jovenan while I had the opportunity.
Jovenan pressed her lips together. Indeed. The conversation at the awards ceremony in Elysium. Each of them had been curious and even suspicious of the modifications Starfleet Command had insisted in keeping secret. The only part that she found inaccurate was how he had characterized her actions: as she remembered it, she had become overtly uncomfortable with the suggestion of them breaking the orders and had removed herself from the situation, not with the steadfast dignity as the Commander suggested, but in a socially incompetent and awkward fashion.
Talos turned to her.
Dakora: And Jovenan? ::He raised his eyebrows.:: I’d like to hear your thoughts on the issue.
His voice was more formal than it had been a moment ago. Despite her growth and the fact that she was hardly done anything wrong this time, she found herself growing anxious about how the atmosphere among them had changed. Nonetheless, she kept her composure and resumed with the discussion at hand, adopting a similar tone as the two Lt Commanders – the two other Lt Commanders.
Jovenan: The account by Commander Salkath is accurate. We were discussing the secretive nature of the installation of what we now know was the Fleet Formation Mode, and the possibility of accessing the programming of the system was brought up. I became… uneasy with the suggestion that I interpreted as trying to gain unauthorized access and left the situation. ::pause:: If we had gone through with the plan, we may have been able to release the Artemis from the Borg control much earlier, or even prevent it.
Something turned in her stomach. She hadn’t considered that. If she hadn’t been so stiff and so inflexible with the rules, dozens or hundreds of people hadn’t needed to die. Had she killed all those people with her Edo morality? Had she condemned them to death just to keep her record spotless? It hurt to just look at the two other officers.
Salkath: Response
Talos crossed his arms. Jovenan’s hands were behind her back, since she didn’t want either of the others to notice how she fidgeted with her fingers.
Dakora: I think we can all agree that it was an unprecedented situation, one which ended disatrously. ::To Salkath:: We know now that your instincts were correct. ::To Jovenan:: and You followed protocol to the letter. ::He sighed and shook his head.:: From where I’m standing this seems like one of those situations where everyone involved had their heart and their heads in the right place…
Jovenan nodded, though she wasn’t sure if she agreed entirely. She had acted according to what she had considered right at the time but what now looked like an act of a fictional villain. The Edo-type moral absolutism stated she had done what she was supposed to do, but the time spent with the offworlders had instilled her another philosophy, one that she couldn’t dismiss. The consequences often mattered more than the correct procedure. Starfleet didn’t need people who “just followed orders”, she had heard said. People like her.
She sighed.
Jovenan: Maybe so. ::to Salkath, formally:: Commander, I accept your apology. Please receive mine. As the evidence post factum have proven, your logic was flawless. I find myself responsible for us failing to reach a better outcome.
Salkath/Dakora: Response
Jovenan: I couldn’t have known, no, but there would have been no damage done if the Fleet Formation hadn’t been as sinister as it turned out to be, except maybe for my conscience. As it turns out, my… moral compass is somewhat flawed.
Jovenan twisted her mouth. She wasn’t in the mood for a discussion in ethics and the hypotheticals, with the realisation of the consequences of her inaction pressing onto her. She had been a Lieutenant, she had been in the limbo state where she should have expressed support to Salkath as her senior and started taking greater responsibility of the safety of the crew and also been aware of the rules and regulations and the consequences of breaking them. Just days prior, she had led the ill-fated exercise on Bajor; had she been so emotionally compromised as to make a bad decision and cause much greater suffering?
Salkath/Dakora: Response
Eventually, Jovenan turned to Talos. She tried not to be so formal and pensive as before, though it was difficult to distract her racing thoughts.
Jovenan: Unless there’s something more we need to discuss, sir… ::turn to Salkath:: Talos and I were about to go look for a place to eat. Would you like to join us? ::quick glance at Dakora for confirmation:: I’d like to learn more about you, as a person. That could help us avoid such, um, miscommunications in the future.
Salkath/Dakora: Response
TAG/TBC
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Lieutenant Commander Jovenan
Chief Science Officer
USS Artemis-A
E239911J11