LtJG Jovenan – Yellow is mellow, red is dead
Jovenan
((Briefing Room, Deck 1, USS Artemis))
Yalu: Ensign Kader is right about the nebula. The conditions are unfavorable to both ships. While I think it’s unlikely that we will lose anyone inside, I agree with the ensign that every facet of our offense and defense needs to take the environment into consideration.
Jovenan took a deep breath. Space is dangerous, but not all of it is equally so. The beautiful purple nebula outside their viewports was one of the hardest places to navigate in. They not only needed to see their opponent – extremely challenging task on its own – but also all the environmental hazards the Paulson nebula could hurl at them.
Jovenan: Sir, I think the sensor pod is one of our biggest assets. The Berlin’s standard sensors are weaker, so we should be able to detect them before they do us. But the active scanners shine bright, and they might notice, so if we want to hide, we might need to rely mostly on passive sensors or probes. Avoiding detection might leave us half-blind. The Nebula is difficult to scan; even the Borg cube couldn’t find a ship in here without resorting to random magnetometric bombardment.
Kader: I agree with the lieutenant. It is our biggest asset. We will need it in order to avoid the dangerous elements in the nebula. I fully believe the first ship in the drill without working sensors will get its engines blown out by flying into something it shouldn't.
Lieutenant. Yup, that’s me. It still took Jovenan some time to get used to that.
But Kader was right. Disabling the sensors could put the ships at risk of being damaged by the plasma currents or other hazards of the nebula. It would make sense to avoid hitting the sensors so neither party would get hurt for real.
Yalu: Then it sounds to me like our first priority will be to disable Berlin’s sensors. We can fly circles around them if they don’t know where they are, or where they’re going.
Umm, okay then. We can go with the opposite as well.
Savel: Do we wish to accomplish that during a ship-to-ship engagement or would a boarding action be more effective?
Silveira/Vedic: response
The computer unexpectedly beeped and their combadges began to emit green light. The drill system must be activating.
Yalu: A green badge means that you’re alive and kicking. If it changes color to—
Commander Yalu stopped to think of the colour code. Jovenan presumed they were going to use the same three-colour code they had used in many different cases in the Academy. It had never made much sense to her.
Yalu: If it changes color from green, that means you’re injured. You’ll need simulated medical assistance before you can return to duty. ::beat:: Isn’t that right, Captain?
MacKenzie: Correct. The medical officers will then be able to tell you what kind of injury you sustained and the appropriate length of time which you'll be removed from the game. ...unless the delta turns red.
Yalu: Yes. If it turns red, it means the computer has recorded you as sustaining a fatal injury. And you’re removed from the game.
Green – ok. Yellow – injured. Red – dead. See, no sense whatsoever. The colours had nothing to do with the respective departments that wore the colours, besides, the sciences wore blue, not green. Jovenan tried to form a mnemonic to remember the meaning of colours. ‘If you anger a yellow-shirt, you might need to see a doctor. If you anger a red-shirt, you’re as good as dead.’ It didn’t rhyme at all, but the contextual clues were enough.
Savel: Is the drill considered concluded only in the event a ship or its crew are rendered disabled?
MacKenzie: Until one of us has been rendered disabled, destroyed, or captured.
Let’s hope there’s a way to disable the system in case of real emergency.
Silveira/Kader/Vedic/Yalu/Savel: response
The Captain tapped the desk and stood up. Jovenan followed her example and got off the chair.
MacKenzie: Sounds like we have a plan. To your stations...
What was the plan again? Uh, let’s hope they’ll tell what to do.
((Bridge, USS Artemis))
The bridge crew stepped out of the briefing room and onto the bridge. Jovenan hadn’t been to here expect briefly; this was her first time manning a bridge station since Academy training. After all, most of her work was conducted in laboratories or in the field. That was yet another benefit of having this drill: familiarizing everyone with their consoles before they needed to use them in a real space battle.
The Captain walked directly to the command chairs, cueing Jovenan to stop marvelling the bridge and head to her station. The science station. How many times had she had to file a report to this station or send a request for extra resources. Now, it was all hers to decide. Well, not hers, but the Captain’s, but she was the one reporting to the Captain, so it counted.
MacKenzie: Take us in, Mr. Yalu.
Yalu: Response
Silveira/Kader/Vedic/Savel: response
As they began to glide into the nebula, Jovenan tapped her interface. She took over the sensors and placed all requests for active sensor time on hold for now. Only the passive sensors were running without her explicit control now; no reason to shut down the stellar cartography just for a drill, is there?
Jovenan: Mapping all the plasma currents and other hazards we can currently see. Shall I start following the Berlin, sir?
MacKenzie/Yalu/Silveira/Kader/Vedic/Savel: Response
TAG/TBC
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Lieutenant JG Jovenan
Science officer
USS Artemis-A
E239911J11