LtCmdr Jovenan – My appreciation for the Captain went up after taking her job for just five minutes
Jovenan
((Bridge, USS Artemis))
Does any of this matter? It would be so easy to let the seconds pass. None of them could rewind time and undo their mistakes. No matter how much they fought, the probe had already collided with the Moonbase and torn it open; no matter what they did, the Orions, the troops on the Moonbase and the away team would remain dead. People died, and will die, regardless of what happened next. If Jovenan remained silent or spoke up too late, they would the rest of them die heroically in the line of duty. Some cultures cared about such things. Even humans, supposedly valuing everyone’s life highly, gave their most lavish funerals to the deceased war heroes.
Something did matter. If it didn’t, Jovenan wouldn’t have been staring at the spot in space off the dark silhouette of the approaching Orion destroyer, squeezing the armrests as if bracing for impact would do much when they would either get pulverised by the other ships or be shredded to pieced by the forces that bend the space itself to their whim. She had a duty to the crew and to herself.
Jovenan: Execute!
There was nothing Jovenan could do after shouting the order but to rely on the crew and the ship. A warp bubble formed, contracting the space ahead and pushing the ship through. For three seconds, an outsider observer would consider the Artemis’ speed a violation of the natural laws. Much could have gone wrong, Jovenan had to force herself not to close her eyes when the bridge shook as a sign of a collision of forcefields, but after those three short seconds, the Orion destroyer vanished from the viewscreen. For a moment, the space was coloured by the release of energy from the colliding shields.
Eren th'Chaorhith: Shield Emitters exceeding maximum.
They were still alive. The manoeuvre had been successful. The rush of blood from her racing heart made Jovenan almost feel dizzy.
Jovenan: Fire!
Orange beams and bright specks of light departed from the phaser strips and torpedo tubes on the ship’s hull, colliding with the worn-off shields of the Orion destroyer, penetrating it and reaching the ship itself. Ensign Cole’s fire was careful and measured, but the explosions and flames they drew to their opponent’s skin made Jovenan sick. Release of fear, excitement or regret, she had to fight off the desire to bend over and vomit. The reports kept pouring in, she heard them but didn’t fully comprehend them.
Eren th'Chaorhith: ::focused on MSD:: Collapsing the gravitational field of the Orion’s shields has caused resonance feedback in our own shield emitters ::turns to Jovenan:: Connected EPS grid is overheating ::beat:: Decks two through six on the port side.
Tho’Bi: Venting plasma, decks two through six, port side.
oO Vitor… Oo
Had the probe really veered off so much as to ram the Moonbase? Had she killed him? If she hadn’t given the permission to launch of the probe, they’d all still be alive. She refused the thought that it had happened. There had to be a small crevice where he (and the others) had found into, an air bubble that didn’t burst. He could still be there, she just had to reach for him.
Jovenan: Disable or destroy their engines. ::pause, to Gnai and Tho’Bi:: Are there any signs of survivors at the Moonbase we could try to rescue?
Cole: ::as the data is coming in:: I am reading direct hits. Their weapons offline, engines are stalling. ::confirming:: They're not going anywhere.
Eren th'Chaorhith: ::shaking head:: EPS grid isn’t stabilizing ::looks at Tho’Bi:: Plasma venting is not getting it done.
Tho’Bi: ::head down:: working on it.
Jovenan kept nodding, acknowledging the reports and discussion that took place around the bridge. However, her eyes firmly at Gnai. Her heart bounded, waiting for it to declare the results of the accidental destruction of the base. She feared the words would make it final, bend the universe so that the readings dictated if anyone had lived or if they had died. Maybe she shouldn’t listen, that way she could keep thinking he had survived and the away team were on their way back home. The heartbeat covered much of the other voices.
Gnai: Sir… it looks like there are still multiple life signs on the moon base. It’s unclear past just their presence, it could be Orions… Grunden… Kobyar… or the away team. This can’t tell for certain.
The wave of relief was almost overwhelming. Gnai’s report wasn’t conclusive, and she still didn’t know if Vitor had survived, but it had given her a reason to believe that she hadn’t killed him nor all the potentially hundreds of people that had been there.
Jovenan: Thank you. Are we able to start evacuating the survivors?
Cole: Response
Katerina 'Kat' Udesky: ::to Tho’Bi:: Ensign, you better get that grid cooled down or we’re going to lose half the saucer section.
Marginally less emotionally overwhelmed, Jovenan remembered again that she was supposed to follow everything that happened on the bridge. She had only a vague idea what the gold and redshirts were working on, a fault of her own lack of concentration, but the grim report by HCO officer caught Jovenan’s attention.
Gnai: Communications and transporter signals to the base are still jammed, sir.
Of course they were. She looked over at the Orion destroyer. Now that their immediate threat had been defeated, they had more options to dealing with the jammers.
Jovenan: Ensign Cole, are the Orions still a threat to us? We could try to overwhelm the jammers if we could lower the shields. ::pause:: Ensign Tho’Bi, what’s your status?
Cole: Response
Tho’Bi: ::to Jovenan:: Lieutenant Commander, recommend we evacuate Decks two through six, port side ::beat:: then blow the airlocks ::beat:: open it up to the vacuum of space.
Jovenan pressed her lips tightly together. The situation with the engineering must have been as bad as Lieutenant Udensky had painted it as for them to suggest something so drastic. Decks 2-6, the affected area was large, containing the mess hall, arboretum, the Elysium, the family quarters… Although much of the crew were at their stations elsewhere, that portion of the ship was by no means empty. However, dismissing the threat of losing half of the saucer permanently was a trade-off she couldn’t accept.
Jovenan: Approved. Evacuate the decks with transporters and prepare for a controlled venting. Isolate the affected sectors. The arboretum and the Elysium are to be kept on the life side if possible.
Katerina 'Kat' Udesky: =/\= Attention all crew currently located in decks two through six, port side ::beat:: prepare for emergency evacuation beam out =/\=
Jovenan: Use the cargo bays as evacuation sites. Proceed when ready.
Katerina 'Kat' Udesky: ::to Jovenan:: Aye, Lieutenant Commander. Transporting crewmembers to cargo bay two.
Eren th'Chaorhith: ::focused on MSD:: Isolation doors locked and confirmed.
Jovenan waited until the transport was complete and the personnel were reported at the cargo bay. Exposing a large portion of the ship to the vacuum of space, without the hull and the plating to separate the crew and the deadly emptiness from one another. The bulkheads should be able to hold the pressure difference, but the risk was not insignificant. Still, she couldn’t turn down her bridge crew’s recommendations on this matter.
Jovenan: Vent the decks.
Tho’Bi: Aye Lieutenant Commander. Venting Airlocks.
Tremors shook the ship lightly, and the release of air pushed them slightly to the side. Jovenan kept looking at the team working on the issue, waiting for the report that they had succeeded or that they should proceed to the more drastic measures. Jovenan would have hated to be the first one to order a warp core ejection or abandonment of the ship.
Eren th'Chaorhith: ::focused on MSD:: It’s working ::beat:: ESP grid is stabilizing.
A deep exhale. Another danger averted. Jovenan felt herself increasingly exhausted and losing focus. However, they couldn’t return to the planet and pick up the Captain to release her – or reprimand her for what she had done to the ship – until they’d get the away team back, and she wouldn’t ever find rest if…
Gnai: Commander Jovenan, look—! ::pointing at the ships now visible on the viewscreen::
Jovenan turned sharply towards the viewscreen. At first, she only saw the bulk of the Orion destroyer adrift in space, damaged by the Starfleet weapons and their own poor tactics, but then, smaller specks appeared to emerge from the destroyer. Small vessels, both what appeared fightercrafts and larger transport shuttles departed from the destroyer and headed towards the Artemis.
Jovenan: Are they abandoning the ship? Why?
Cole: Response
The ship kept shaking by the continuing venting of the ship. All thoughts of helping the Orions with their evacuation melted away in Jovenan’s mind when it became obvious that the swarm of fighters were opening fire. Why couldn’t things be easy?
Gnai: There are no more lifesigns on the D’Kall’s Revenge… This thinks they mean to try and board the ship!
Jovenan: Return fire!
Cole: Response
Tho’Bi: ::beat:: ::to no one/everyone:: The cat! ::turns to Ops:: There’s a cat in the XO’s Quarters…
… the cat?
Katerina 'Kat' Udesky: ::dryly:: You want me to lock onto feline DNA?
Tho’Bi: ::shakes head:: No! Cat DNA!
Lodia Xaff: ::glances back from Helm:: Feline DNA is cat DNA
Tho’Bi: ::at Xaff:: Oh. ::Turns to Udesky:: then yes, feline DNA.
Jovenan ignored much of the conversation between the engineering/ops team and instead focused on the approaching Orions. Could they shoot all the enemy vessels and stop them? Or ram them, like the destroyer had tried? After all, the Artemis now had the advantage in size and firepower. But should they? She was still hesitant in trying to destroy their opponents, but she had to admit that they were now in a battle that would eventually see people dead. It was, as grotesque as it was, better to see an enemy killed than one of her own crew.
A cat meowed next to her. Briefly, Jovenan turned to see the pet on the XO’s seat. Had… Had Tho’Bi beamed it on the bridge of all the places? Seeing that the cute animal was not in an immediate danger, she refocused on the task ahead.
Eren th'Chaorhith: ::focused on MSD:: It worked! ESP grid is stable.::turns to face bridge:: Where did the cat come from?
Tho’Bi: Uh oh. ::to Jovenan:: Lieutenant Commander, we have a problem ::beat:: there are gaps appearing in our shields… and those fighters are small enough to take advantage.
Meaning that they were vulnerable to both attacks within and without.
Jovenan: Security to General Quarters 3, prepare to raise to General Quarters 4. Dispatch security team even to the vented areas, with appropriate protective equipment. Tactical… Shoot to destroy.
Cole/Gnai/Tho’Bi: Response
The red alert light continued flashing as it had for the entirety of the fight. The Artemis had been boarded before, but they had not needed to fight to regain the ship recently and rarely from so many attackers. Jovenan knew from experience that every boarding and takeover could and would cause casualties and losses that she’d mourn for long afterwards.
Jovenan: Phasers, everyone. Heavy stun. Please, if you have any ideas how to stop them…
Jovenan turned to the poor cat on the seat next to her. There were so many safer places for it than the bridge if the Orions got in.
Cole/Gnai/Tho’Bi: Response
TAG/TBC
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Lieutenant Commander Jovenan
Chief Science Officer
USS Artemis-A
E239911J11