Lt Jovenan – Good mediator, bad mediator
Jovenan
((Administrative Building, Ki Baratan, Romulus))
Jovenan: ::whispering:: This is it. Are we ready? How do we do this?
Jovenan looked at each of her teammates. Just around the corner were at least two Romulan soldiers, armed and lethal should their disguises be less convincing than they had hoped for. The more she worried, the less she had faith in their prosthesis, replicated clothes and metallic covers. But that was not a mindset she should have had. She needed to be like she was supposed to be there, and to appear like that, she needed to be confident in what she was doing.
Ensign Gnai raised what its suit had for thumbs.
Adea: We charge in, act like we belong.
Sadar: Y-Yes Sir...
Nodding, Jovenan turned back to the direction they were going to, had a deep breath to both calm herself and to gain confidence in what they were doing, and stepped around the corner. She had Genkos by her side, as another “Romulan”, and the two other officers followed them. The two Romulan soldiers readied their weapons upon seeing them, but the team weren’t yet staring down the muzzles of the Romulan disruptors, so they had still had a chance.
oO You’re a Romulan now. You’re a Romulan now… Oo
Jovenan: Step aside, soldiers. We are here to conduct maintenance on the turret. Command’s orders.
The line came out of her mouth with an apparent confidence that surprised even Jovenan herself. She expected the soldiers to provide proof of their orders or to identify themselves, but instead, the private kept looking at Doctor Sadar and Ensign Gnai. The order didn’t seem to raise much doubt; the two “non-Romulans” did.
Romulan Uhlat: What is that fehill'curak supposed to be? ::at Gnai:: Or that?
Jovenan avoided moving a muscle on her face. She felt the pseudo-confidence in her melting away and that she would give away how much she was panicking if she had adopted any other than an annoyed expression. It was like the whole plan was collapsing before they hadn’t even reached the turret. Better let someone else say something intelligent while she was gathering herself…
Gnai: ::messing with the speakers of its suit to produce robotic beeps and boops:: Beep. Beeeeep beep.
oO Beep, beeeeep beep? Oo
Sadar: E-E-Eyla Thevn, Sirs… I-I’ve been given leave to demonstrate the efficiency of the latest series of maintenance robots to-
Adea: Quiet, fool!
The intensity with which Genkos’ had barked that order almost startled Jovenan. He could be a strict and strident officer when he wanted to, but in this character, he was genuinely scary. She didn’t want to face him when he was angry – no, wait, she already had. He had tried to impale her with a sword.
Either way, Doctor Sadar went silent at an instant.
Romulan Uhlat: H'treain aren't allowed past this security point. This one ::pointing to Sadar:: can stay behind as you work.
Jovenan almost wanted to look back at Doctor Sadar. The poor Lieutenant was often nervous and afraid of everything, and the prospect that they might need to leave her behind to wander around or to abandon their entire mission must be weighting heavily on her. They needed to say something.
Sadar: I-I really must insist, Sirs! According to the Tenet of Commerce, “The obligation of the peddler is to present his wares with integrity”, and-
Adea: I said, quiet fool! ::he turned to the Uhlat:: This ryakna is with me.
Jovenan had to keep playing her part. She tried keeping the neutral, borderline annoyed face on as she tried explaining themselves – not pleading nor asking but stating the matter as a straight fact that needed not argued.
Jovenan: What we mean is that the Command has approved supervised access to planetary defence turrets to the alien and its robot under this unit.
Romulan Uhlat: You're testing our patience. If Command has authorised you and the alien to work past this point, we didn't hear it.
Genkos hit his cane to the floor. Jovenan wondered how the soldiers would be reacting had they somehow managed to disguise him as a Romulan officer.
Adea: And do you hear everything from Command, veruul?
Sadar: But, surely-
Romulan Newscaster: ::muffled by the windows:: -ttle on approach to Romulus, and discussions are expected to take a turn. We’ve yet to receive news on our guests from the Dom-
They were running out of time, and even without empathetic abilities she could guess that everyone in her team were growing tense or nervous. The prospect was that they might not be able to finish their mission, and the future would ever remain altered.
Genkos stepped very close to the private and stared right into their eyes.
Adea: Listen here, if you think I am going to put up with your hnaev then you have another thing coming, officer.
She didn’t know the ranks of the Romulan Army too well, but she felt her heart skip a beat when Genkos had called the soldier an officer; they were more likely an enlisted. She hoped the soldier would interpret as mockery instead of a genuine and revealing mistake.
She’d just had to keep up with the act she was having with Genkos.
Jovenan: I’m sure you don’t want us to bother your superiors about a matter like this.
Gnai: Response
Sadar: W-Well, i-if it’s truly impossible, then perhaps I can instruct you on the robot’s use and various protocols? ::fumbles with her anxiety band:: It will have to be comprehensive, as I haven’t actually had opportunity to observe the machinery that it interacts with, but I’m certain that, if assisted, the repairs could be completed in a couple of hours. Of course, we won’t meet the projected window, but-
Romulan Uhlat: Enough!
For a moment, Jovenan thought the soldiers would be driving them out or demanding a proof, but instead they stepped aside. Whatever Doctor Sadar had said to convince them to let the team pass had been super effective.
Adea: Thank you.
Jovenan: Much appreciated.
Sadar/Gnai: Response
After the soldiers had disengaged the security features on the door and opened it for the team, the four undercover Starfleet officers stepped through the doorway and into the turret section. Jovenan turned back to see the door close behind them, and immediately let out a deep exhale, letting her shoulders slump forwards.
Adea: Okay, that went better than expected. Sadar, I want you and Gnai to start setting up the scene for our Dominion entrapment, whilst Jovenan and I work on getting the turret to fire at our target. Also probably best if we barricade the door somehow.
Barricading the door sounded like it would be both a good and an awful idea. On one hand, it would provide them with enough time to actually shoot down the shuttle without being interrupted by the Romulans; on the other hand, they would be trapped in here without an escape. She had to trust the Commander knew what he was doing. Maybe CloQ would just… send them home right after it. Maybe not.
Looking around, Jovenan tried to make sense of the turret’s layout. Covered by a dome, the turret was in two levels, connected by a short, maybe just above her height ladder. The first level, where they had entered, had just enough room for all of them, and from what Jovenan could tell it contained access to the turret’s hardware, including an energy pack and a sensor grid of some sort.
Jovenan: Aye, sir. I think the controls are up there.
Sadar/Gnai: Response
The second level was mostly around the gun itself, towering in the middle of the small room. Climbing the ladder, Jovenan found that the second level had even smaller floor area than the first one. It had a single seat, right in front of what looked like a computer terminal with panels all around.
What stole Jovenan’s attention was the dome; transparent at the second level, Jovenan could see the entirety of the sky above Ki Baratan and the star, Eisn. She could see the city around them, the high-rise buildings and the historic columns, and, unlike from the walkway previously, she saw all the way to the Government Quarter; in the centre of several concentric fortifications and rings stood, barely visible due to the distance, the domed Hall of State, the Romulan seat of government.
She couldn’t look for too long, and instead leaned in closer to the controls, on one side of the chair, allowing Genkos to take seat or to stand on the other side of it. Before she would actually start studying the panels, she turned to him.
Jovenan: Sir… I have to say, I wouldn’t have thought you knew so many Romulan swearwords.
Adea/Sadar/Gnai: Response
Turning to the panels, Jovenan could tell one of them was a map, a radar of sorts, with several dots presumedly representing the several vessels in the turret’s range, and probably also within the coverage of the planetary sensors.
Jovenan: There are plenty of ships on the orbit or approaching the planet. Let’s see if we could ::click:: Oh, we get identification information of each vessel! Do you know what kind of a vessel the Senator would be using?
Adea/Sadar/Gnai: Response
Helping Genkos out, Jovenan tried searching for the right vessel. She wasn’t very experienced in using different weapons systems, not to mention that the Romulan interface was completely alien to her. Finding it wasn’t the only issue they’d need to consider.
Jovenan: We’ll also need to cut the connection to the planetary defence command network and breach the firing control lockout. And, um, there’s also the thing… Do you happen to know how to shoot this thing, sir?
Adea/Sadar/Gnai: Response
TAG/TBC
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Lieutenant Jovenan
Chief Science Officer
USS Artemis-A
E239911J11