LtCmdr Jovenan – Turn around and find victory at your weakest moment
Jovenan
((Bridge, USS Artemis))
Gnai: Somewhere around one hundred and thirty, sir. This couldn’t get an exact count, the sensors were giving anomalous readings. ::pause:: All Orion.
One hundred and thirty. Some thirty innocent Klingon prisoners who survived the journey to the Artemis, around one hundred people who perished because of Jovenan’s orders to fire. The number of deaths disturbed her; she raised her hand to her face, pressing the fingertips against her head. War is brutal and despite the grotesqueness of it all, a commander couldn’t stop to mourn the loss of their enemies in a battlefield. But how many of those who had been killed were innocent people dragged into their line of fire? There were the thirty Klingons who made it and… She forced herself to consider what LtJG Gnai had meant with the rest of its report. Anomalous readings, all Orion despite the party of Klingons actually amongst them. She pulled up the data to the small interface integrated to the Captain’s chair, removing the readings that didn’t align with the factors experienced in the reality. It was fake, most of it.
Jovenan: Spoofed. The lifesigns weren’t real, the other transports didn’t have a single Klingon prisoner aboard. ::sigh:: We’ll have to figure this out later. Ensign Cole, have the security move the Klingons to quarters somewhere and confine them there. We’ll sort them out when we’re out of danger.
Saying those words taxed much of her remaining strength. Physically, she was spent, limp on the central seat as if after a long run. The relief of not having committed a heinous act because of her negligence or because of the fog-of-war washed away the guilt and the thoughts of giving up. The Orion commander had fooled her, taunted her, tried to break her without moving a muscle, and Jovenan had almost swallowed it all, hook, line and sinker.
Cole: Aye, sir. =/\= Cole to Braga, Relocate our guests to suitable quarters, and post a security detail =/\=
Braga: =/\= Acknowledged, Braga out. =/\=
Jovenan: Ensign Tho’Bi, what did you say about the probe? What’s happening on the moon?
Tho’Bi: The probe wasn’t shot down. It hit something.
Udesky: ::interjects:: Something cloaked. ::nods in the direction of the viewscreen::
Cloaked? That would have explained why the Moonbase had been so difficult to find. Starfleet had very few options into peering past the curtains of the cloak, which is why they only found it indirectly.
Tho’Bi: ::looking at console readouts:: The decompressions have stopped ::looks at Jovenan:: either they stabilized what atmosphere they have left ::voice becomes thin and breathless:: or they don’t have any left.
Jovenan nodded and looked away, to the second Orion destroyer that loomed in the darkness on the viewscreen. She tried to distract herself from the fact that the away team had likely not made it from the base before the decompression. There was still a chance, she knew that and couldn’t stop thinking that, but it was miniscule. Through the pain of losing Vitor, she had to focus on believing, because otherwise, a retreat was the wisest option. She turned to her bridge crew, looking at them one-by-one. Were they all as affected as she was, or was she the poor choice to lead the ship in this battle?
Jovenan: Options, please. I should welcome your insight into what course of action gives us the best chances.
Cole: Could we use their tactic against them and spoof Starfleet transmissions or transponders to make them think we have help on the way?
Gnai: That might just escalate the situation… The Orions don’t seem to enjoy the Artemis’ presence here, and further Starfleet vessels might make them more violent.
Jovenan crossed her hands and leaned her chin against them. That was the difficult part of the combat, not striking one’s opponent with greater force or dodging blows, but to know what’s happening in their heads. It was the art of thinking what the other is thinking you’re thinking they’re thinking. It was also the art she had never truly mastered. While she considered the move, she turned to the other goldshirts.
Jovenan: What’s our status if we’re forced into direct combat?
th'Chaorhith: ::looking at the MSD:: Shields at eighty-seven percent.
Tho'Bi: ::quiet/deliberate:: Confirmed.
Udesky: ::to Jovenan:: Lieutenant Commander, those neutrino readings we picked up from the moon ::beat:: they’re spiking. It’s rhythmic. And it’s increasing.
Tho’Bi: They’re on a build up to detonation.
Detonation? Jovenan turned to the viewscreen again, expecting to see something, but realising that the Moonbase wasn’t visible on it to begin with, she turned back to the bridge crew. She needed to know more! If only she had been on her normal station, she would have known already, or so she thought at that moment of desperation. Gnai took a mere moment to announce the situation on the moon.
Gnai: There are still lifesigns down below on the base! This still can’t confirm how many, or what species…
Sitting straight on the central seat again, Jovenan pressed her eyes tight together, hoping that any clearer indication of her emotions would not appear and that the bridge crew focused on their respective stations so that they couldn’t see her now. It had become harder to believe the away team was there any more, and Jovenan’s determination was melting away. Just last shoreleave she and Vitor had talked about uncertainty and worry of each other that they experienced during the missions. They needed to accept it as a fact of life, of the life they had chosen. Now the worry was ripping her heart from her chest, and she remained silent for a moment longer before managing to push the words out.
Jovenan: What other options do we have?
Cole: Another option, we could load their transport up with a few photon torpedos and return it Trojan horse style.
It was an option. But would the Orions come pick up the transport? Before she could move any further with forming the plan, the bridge fell into the darkness. Gnai’s bioluminescent body shed light to the surroundings, soon joined by a standard torch. The cat’s eyes flashed with reflections in the dark.
Tho’Bi: ::attention on Tricorder:: Everything’s out.
oO I can see that. Now do something about it. Oo
Jovenan surprised herself by how tense she had become. She watched the Andorian engineer’s shadow being cast to the wall by the light of his tricorder.
Tho’Bi: ::attention on Tricorder:: Bringing battery power online.
Red emergency lights soon lit up, and the screens and consoles came back to life. The main screen flickered before showing the image of the Orion destroyer again. It hadn’t apparently moved at all during this time. Jovenan wondered why it hadn’t attacked, even when the ship had been entirely vulnerable. It was almost as if the Orions’ entire tactic relied on deceit and intimidation.
Jovenan: What happened?
Cole: Response
th'Chaorhith: ::turns from the display:: There was a sudden massive power spike.
Tho’Bi: ::to Jovenan:: The spike came from the shuttle.
Jovenan: Shuttle? Which shuttle?
Cole: Response
Braga: =/\= Bridge, you Copy? ::phaser fire:: The klingons! ::shouting:: They went wild ::phaser fire:: Just started attacking us ::screaming:: It’s like they're out of their minds! =/\=
The voice came through the intercom harsh, obscured by the rattling of the failing devices. Jovenan could detect the urgency and panic in the security officer’s voice through the cutting sound of phaser fire. Looked like their Klingon guests had proven to be less grateful of their escape from the Orions than she had hoped for. She looked at the operations officer, hoping they’d get the connection to work, but she was greeted with a shake of a head. The cat meowed.
Tho’Bi: ::softly:: I got you, little one.
Jovenan: Lieutenant Udensky, we need to have contact with the rest of the ship. Go down, take Crewman th'Chaorhith with you. We need all the hands we’ve got, and you’re more needed there than here.
Udensky: Aye, Commander.
As the two crewmembers were departing for their individual tasks elsewhere on the ship, Jovenan turned to the remaining bridge crew. There weren’t many remaining, but with the current state of the ship, the bridge was not the place where she needed personnel. They were vulnerable, and if the Orions decided to attack, there wasn’t much for the bridge crew to do other than abandon the ship.
Jovenan: Ensign Cole, try to isolate the Klingons. Disable the turbolifts if possible. Ensign Tho’Bi, what’s the status of our other systems?
Cole/Tho’Bi: Response
It was dire. The option to retreat as the Orions were demanding remained clear in Jovenan’s mind. It was difficult for her to keep pushing herself to believe the away team were still alive, and they were almost the sole reason to remain by the moon. At some point, she had to come to the conclusion that the crippled ship, in a disadvantage against a much larger enemy and being boarded, could not win this fight. Jovenan stood up from the chair and walked closer to the main screen, taking measured steps, her head lowered. She could leave, go pick up the Captain and her team and leave. This was far too big a challenge for the Artemis. It wouldn’t be defiance or determination from her part to keep standing here, it would be a suicide and stupidity. She couldn’t do that to the crew and all the civilians aboard.
Gnai: Sir - some ships have just departed the base!
Sharply, Jovenan turned to Gnai.
Jovenan: On screen! Enhance!
Cole/Tho’Bi: Response
The image of the Orion destroyer was replaced by eight smaller vessels, varying in their design and condition. They weren’t exactly escape pods – although any vessel could be used as one, she supposed – but rather more aggressive, not exactly like the Orion fighters but close. Jovenan pressed her lips tight together. Was this the end of their period for consideration?
Gnai: ::excitedly:: It’s them! ::pausing to collect itself:: The furthest ship, there ::pointing to it on the main viewer:: it’s got the missing crew! And a… stowaway?
Them? The missing crew, as in… The away team had survived! Jovenan straightened her back and looked up to the screen, at the vessel Gnai had pointed out. Vitor, Doctor Sadar and the others had escaped their imprisonment, found a refuge when the base decompressed and self-destruct, found a vessel and fled their captors. Of course they did, she should have never doubted them!
Jovenan: Can we contact them?
Cole/Tho’Bi/Gnai: Response
For a moment longer, Jovenan watched the group of vessels crossing the space near the moon. The away team’s ship was different, and it soon stood out even more from the group by veering off. Frowning a little, Jovenan wondered what the away team was doing, but she had to trust that they knew their own situation better than she could ever guess. They had a plan. Quickly, she turned around and pointed at Tho’Bi.
Jovenan: Ensign Tho’Bi, we have to keep the Orions’ attention to us and not the away team’s ship. If that means we have to take a bounding, then we take it. Make sure the ship is ready for that!
Tho’Bi: Response
She walked away from the central seats and towards the tactical, but doing so, looked at Gnai, pointing at it.
Jovenan: Lieutenant Gnai, earlier my team discovered a relationship between an Orion drug, nanoparticles and a transceiver. If the Klingon party’s behaviour is in any way influenced by the Orions or anyone else, find it, block it or use it!
Gnai: Response
It was a big ask, Jovenan knew that, but she didn’t believe the power surge and the Klingons’ change of attitude were unrelated, and if that was the case, she trusted Gnai the most to discover it. Having reached the tactical consoles, she leaned closer to the goldshirt stationed there.
Jovenan: Ensign Cole, about your earlier suggestion. What would it require to make the Orions think we’ve got backups coming?
Cole: Response
Jovenan: It’s a gamble, but I don’t think they’re looking for a direct confrontation. They could have destroyed us already, but instead they are relying on subterfuge, provocation and intimidation. We have to remind them that there’s no playing with the entirety of Starfleet. If they don’t know that already, we give them a reason to think so.
Cole/Tho’Bi/Gnai: Response
TAG/TBC
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Lieutenant Commander Jovenan
Chief Science Officer
USS Artemis-A
E239911J11