LtCmdr Jovenan – Warmth amongst the dead
Jovenan
((Holodeck 2, Deck 2, USS Artemis))
((OOC: For clarification, the team isn’t split up, merely doing different tasks together for a brief moment. In a situation like this, it’s up to you if your character follows all the conversations between other people who don’t talk with them. If not, you may choose not to include every line of dialogue from everyone, preferably with an ooc note stating that you’ve omitted something. Please still read everything with care, as there will be something relevant to your character.))
Jovenan: Hmm. Major Oolwi, the Kobyar liaison, explained that the drones operate independently if they lose contact with a live operator. The drones my team encountered seemed to behave that way. Is it possible that the age of some of the technology introduced vulnerabilities?
It might have been a silly hypothesis to suggest, as they were talking about civilisations engaged in bloody, long-lasting war between each other. She shouldn’t have taken the word of one side as the truth, especially not one relayed to them by an officer who was close to becoming a casualty of friendly fire. The image Jovenan had gained of the highest ranking members of the Kobyar military suggested that it was entirely possible the attack was just a reckless move in a cruel game. Still, the suggestion opened them a new option to explore, and it was not their task to make sense of the political viability of the attack; the Captain was conducting the diplomatic talks and might probe into the why of the attack, while Jovenan and the Ensigns were trying to figure out the how and what.
Bancroft: If I may offer a theory on vulnerability, Commander: based on what we’ve seen so far, this whole system looks like a patchwork – different cultures, different eras, all duct-taped together into something functional. It reminds me, just a little, of the Pakleds and their Clumpships. ::holds up both hands, placating:: Not suggesting they’re involved, just… drawing a parallel. ::a beat:: It could explain the erratic behavior – tiny incompatibilities in the way subsystems talk to each other could be their own vulnerability.
As she considered the Doctor’s theory, Jovenan looked at the broken components Ensign Imril had brought with them. The officers had already identified Ferengi influence, old Federation software and null-gravity manufactured crystals that might or might not have been created by some other civilisation. That was enough to suggest that the Doctor was correct to think the way he did. Of course, that wasn’t evidence of anything in itself, but it gave them options to study.
Tho’Bi: ::quieter and nodding:: The drone in the forest ::swallows:: behaved strangely (beat) as though ::shakes head:: executing (beat) multiple command protocols.
Imril: Response
Interesting. Interesting indeed. The multiple commands could very well be the drones’ own safety protocols fighting a cyberattack from either side of the war, for example, but it might even be related to the off-world signal the other team was investigating. Regardless, they needed more than guesses and conjecture.
Jovenan: Okay. Imril, would you mind introducing the drone technology to Tho’Bi in further detail? I want both of you be full up on speed before we can start making further hypothesis.
Imril: Response
Tho’Bi: ::nods:: Aye, Aye.
Jovenan: Meanwhile, Doctor…
((OOC: Feel free to have Tho’Bi and Imril talk together as much as you see fit while Jovenan and Bancroft are doing other things, even if there aren’t explicit tags for the two in this part!))
Jovenan walked a few steps away from the two engineers, giving them some space to focus on the finer details of the drone design. Besides, as much as she wanted to think that her experience with the Starfleet systems had given her some expertise in engineering, she had to concede that it would be much more efficient to their mission if the engineers transmitted their technical information to each other in complicated words and only then simplified it for her. Taking full advantage of their team’s medical expertise might also turn up useful.
Jovenan: We should also study the Grunden technology. You and Tho’Bi might have more data, but my team also encountered some damaged Grunden vehicles in the old battlefield. That would provide an interesting comparison. We also found some, um, biological matter inside. Would it be possible to ask you to evaluate that part of the data before cleaning up and looking further into the technology?
Bancroft: ::smiling brightly:: Absolutely, ma’am. If there’s any evidence to be found in the, er… remains… or the technology it’s spread across, I’ll find it.
The Doctor appeared to be cautiously eager to take on the task. Jovenan nodded: she didn’t know how much experience the junior medical officer had in determining the cause of death and other related studies, but the fact that he didn’t seem to shy from the duty suggested it wasn’t his first time acting as a coroner. Unless he was one of the people who could muster up confidence even when there was no reason, something Jovenan had never learnt. Either way, he was open to the task, so Jovenan turned to face no one in particular.
Jovenan: Computer, replicate the destroyed Grunden vehicle as recorded in the folder Jovenan Lambda-Gamma-1.
The computer quickly combined the data she had gathered on the surface as well as that recorded by LtJG Bergmen’s holo-imager. A perfect replica, made mostly of photons and forcefields instead of alloys, plastics and biological matter, appeared before their eyes. It was as gruesome a sight as it had been on the surface, although the separation from the dead battleground made it somewhat more palatable. Sad it was, regardless. It made her think if there would ever be a medical investigator trying to separate her from the bulkheads of a crashed ship or a shuttle. The remains of her sister-across-the-universes had never been fully isolated from the corridor near the Engineering, after all. She felt suddenly tired: the mission and her memories were weighting heavy on her.
Bancroft: ::softly, to himself:: Oh, good. Not horrifying at all. ::clearing his throat, louder:: I’m on it, Commander. Computer – replicate an isolation suit, full forensic kit, and medical tricorder if you please.
Jovenan almost pointed out that the isolation suit wasn’t needed, as there wasn’t anything that was actually biological in the holographic wreckage, but she decided to let the Doctor do what he wanted. It might be more to the benefit of the Doctor’s psychology than anything else; the simulation was so realistic that being close to it might trigger an unwanted and unpleasant emotion, not to mention touching, smelling or tasting anything. Jovenan had seen her share of dead bodies – the ritualistic washing of the partially-intact body of the alternate universe counterpart of Ensign Chevalier came to her mind first, but the Battle of Frontier Day and the aftermath refused to leave her imagination as well – but she wouldn’t have wanted to go anywhere near the wreckage either.
The Doctor donned the isolation suit and approached the wreckage. Jovenan observed him – supervised – for a moment longer, making sure he didn’t face trouble with the simulation, but once he was in full work, she turned back to listen to the conversation between the two engineers.
Imril/Tho’Bi: Response
Before she’d actually learn much, a shout came from the wreckage.
Bancroft: ::poking his head out of the cabin:: Commander Jovenan? How confident are you that the holographic recreation of this Grunt is absolutely accurate?
Jovenan: Huh? Um, there are always some imperfections in the scans and how the computer interprets them, but the data should be as accurate as the circumstances permit. Why?
Imril/Tho’Bi: Response?
Giving an apologetic look at the engineers when departing from them again, Jovenan stepped closer to the wreckage. The Doctor’s PPE-clad head was poking out, giving her something else to look at than the suspicious liquid at the bottom of the vehicle.
Bancroft: It’s just… there’s a hot spot here, on this floorboard. Small, no larger than a few centimeters in diameter. The rest of the vehicle is cold and dead, but this… isn’t. It seems out of place to me.
Jovenan: Can you have a closer look? Is there a hot component or something else you could identify as the source?
Bancroft: Response
Imril/Tho’Bi: Response?
Was it an electronic component that got damaged when the vehicle was attacked, or perhaps something to do with fuel or the engines? Jovenan tried to crouch and peek in, but seeing more of the biological remains, she preferred to let the Doctor continue the investigation for a bit longer before exposing herself to them. She straightened herself and turned the other way to call for the engineers to join them.
Jovenan: Tho’Bi, did you happen to take any scans of vehicles like this while you were with the Grunden? There’s a hot spot in the floor. It might not be anything, but I want to check it.
Imril/Tho’Bi/Bancroft: Response
Jovenan: Is it possible this grunt is of different design? Maybe there’s something added or removed to the ones you saw.
Imril/Tho’Bi/Bancroft: Response
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Lieutenant Commander Jovenan
Chief Science Officer
USS Artemis-A
E239911J11