LtCmdr Jovenan – To the field of war we go again
Jovenan
((Central Government Building, Kobyar capital, Galaris IV))
The tactical drone was delivered to the suites just as Jovenan and her half of the team were departing. She had high hopes for the other team’s success, after all, they had Vitor as their leader, Ensign Imril had proven their engineering expertise in the short time studying the drones, and now that there wasn’t a whole team of officers fighting for attention, Richards could freely show her skills. Besides, as much as Jovenan was suspicious of the Kobyar government, she didn’t doubt that they’d keep Vitor’s team safe. In matter of fact, she was more worried of herself and her team heading towards the front lines while the ceasefire was already showing cracks. She turned to their escort.
Jovenan: Major, could you please tell us more about your tactics on the front? Are there Kobyari forces posted near there, or is the area patrolled only by drones?
Oolwi: Drone units, air or ground, are typically led by at least one live pilot or driver. Someone who can see a given region with their own eyes and make snap decisions which are then relayed to the drone operators in their bunkers. Tactically, this means a significant amount of our personnel and materials are used to maintain and defend our communication lines. Tactical drones go independent only if those lines fail. Depending on their size and weapon layout, drones can number up to a dozen per live trooper.
MacKenzie: A dozen per… that’s quite the firepower.
The fact that there were “live troopers” operating the tactical drones gave Jovenan some sense of security. Many civilizations, Federation and Starfleet not excluded, had their unfortunate histories with automated killing machines. That said, the apparent tactical and technological superiority of the Kobyar made Jovenan question even more how the Grunden had survived.
Jovenan: And the Grunden? What do their presence in the area look like?
Oolwi: They’ve withdrawn from the area we are headed for, for the most part. I’m sorry to say the Grunden are busy in Tevire village cleaning up from the Grand Marshall’s attack. There’s been a lot of hospital vehicles going out of there, and defensive vehicles coming in. A pair of ‘grunts’ -- that’s what they call their all terrain vehicles -- has recently been spotted headed towards their capitol at significant speed. They may be carrying your fellow Starfleet personnel.
MacKenzie: It is possible. I informed my officers of the drone that crashed and suggested that they be expeditious in its recovery, if they are able to get to it before the Grunden…
The Kobayr Major being aware of the movements of the other away team shouldn’t have surprised Jovenan, considering their advances in intelligence technology – and it wouldn’t matter either way, since they weren’t hiding their teams’ presence on both sides – but Jovenan did find herself somewhat worried what would happen should the ceasefire break or either side get tired with the Starfleet teams. It was better to concentrate on not letting that happen.
Bergmen: If someone has tampered with your drone, we will certainly get to the bottom of what happened.
The Major guided them to a lift, which hurled them up to an open area high above the ground. From the mezzanine, they had an uninterrupted view of the cityscape with its high towers, holograms and residents that from up here resembled ants with their highly efficient paths. Jovenan didn’t often visit major cities like this, so she compared the view to those from the San Francisco Campus, the Palais de la Concorde in Paris… and Ki Baratan on Romulus. She tried not to think of the doomed city too much and instead focused on the birds above. They were one of the few natural, non-engineered things in the city she had seen so far.
MacKenzie: A truly beautiful city you have here, Major.
Bergmen: From here, it almost seems like paradise. Yet, one must always remind oneself that all of this is only a little over a horizon from the front.
Jovenan turned her attention to the horizon. She didn’t actually know which direction to look at, not that it mattered given that the front would be too far for her to see even at this height.
Jovenan: Indeed. Keeping the city this safe must be a massive undertaking.
The platform sat partially extended out from the interior of the building. The wind, not atypical for the height at which they were, brought in a whiff of sanitizers they had detected below, although at a much weaker concentration. Their vehicle, a reasonably large aircraft with obvious weapons on different parts of its hull, shared the circular platform with a tactical drone. Jovenan was conscious about the amount of armament, although she couldn’t judge their hosts; it wasn’t like their shuttles didn’t have enough firepower to level sections of a city.
Oolwi: This way to the front.
oO That’s one way to say it. Oo
The Major and the pilot of the craft exchanged waves.
MacKenzie: How long will it take to travel to the front lines?
Oolwi: It shouldn't take long at all to get where we’re going. These bugs are faster than they look.
The Major stepped into the craft while her drone docked to a slot near the door. Jovenan followed the Major’s instructions on how to strap the harness, something she supposed was necessary in a vehicle like this, despite how rarely they were used on Starfleet shuttles and similar crafts. Safely aboard, the Major pointed towards the cockpit.
Oolwi: If anybody wants a seat up front, be our guest.
Jovenan looked quickly at her two colleagues if either of them were interested, and indeed, Captain MacKenzie raised a finger apparently without hesitation. The pilot greeted them with a wave.
Oolwi: Captain Hui’Jel, Captain MacKenzie, Lt Commander Jovenan and Lt Bergman of Starfleet. Hui’Jel’s one of the best pilots in the Defense Service. And I should know, he’s flown me to enough places.
MacKenzie: In that case, we’re grateful for your services, Captain.
The Captain joined the Captain on the front seats, while Jovenan and Lieutenant Bergmen remained behind with the Major. The Lieutenant gave Captain MacKenzie a thumb-up gesture while finding himself a seat at the back of the craft. Jovenan sat down nearer to the Major, attaching the harness as instructed, and put on the helmet with communications equipment. Done that, she quickly glanced at Lt Bergmen before turning back to the Major.
Jovenan: We’re ready here.
Soon after, the craft’s engines engaged with a loud roar. They ascended from the pad, and as Jovenan looked out of the window, the details of the cityscape began to fade away with each metre the craft’s flight gained in height. Soon, they were out of the city itself and into the suburban and rural parts surrounding it. Captain MacKenzie’s voice came through the communication device in the helmet.
MacKenzie: What can you tell us about the area we’re headed to?
Oolwi: Response
Jovenan pressed her lips tight. She had known that this mission and particularly their current assignment would be dangerous, and she appreciated the fact that the Major was open about the risks, but she still needed to do some more work to contain her anxiety. The Major had said earlier that the Grunden have withdrawn from the area and are currently occupied with the other strike target, but Jovenan supposed not even the Kobyari could see everything. Luckily, she had the entire flight time to calm down.
MacKenzie: Do you believe we might find evidence implicating the Grunden there?
Oolwi: Response
Bergmen: Is there any Grunden … how to say it… discarded or captured equipment?
Jovenan: We can try to analyse even the small remnants of matériel used there, but anything more substantial would be helpful.
Oolwi/MacKenzie: Response
Lt Bergmen nodded to the answer and turned to look out of the window again. Jovenan followed his suit, watching as they flew over a flat grassland far outside the city’s influence. They must have been approaching the front with the Grunden.
Bergmen: What is the actual effective range of the Grunden anti-air weaponry? ::gaze back to Oolwi:: Or do you maintain air superiority over the front?
Raising an eyebrow, Jovenan looked at the junior operations officer. She couldn’t tell if he was nervous or simply curious about the other side’s capability to shoot down their aircraft. It wasn’t a bad question at all, from a tactical point of view, she just thought it might be telling of the Lieutenant’s current emotions.
Oolwi/MacKenzie: Response
Again, Jovenan looked out of the window. She spotted a circular mark on the ground, a small, round dent struck to the ground. Judging by the water at the bottom of it and the small amount of vegetation already growing in it, she judged the crater to be at least months, if not years, old. There was no indication of what had caused it in the first place, but when she noticed another similar hole nearby, she could guess that the front, or where it once had been, was within the artillery fire’s reach away.
Jovenan: Looks like we’re getting close to the front, is that right?
Oolwi/MacKenzie/Bergmen: Response
As the craft began to descend, Jovenan found her hand on the phaser. She had been in battle before, but it hadn’t become easier for her yet. It was also very different to fight in the corridors of a spaceship than in an open terrain planetside, the type of combat she didn’t have much experience in and she hadn’t practised much since the Academy. Hopefully, both sides continued to respect their neutrality and didn’t take random shots at their positions, either.
Jovenan: At least everything seems reasonably calm right now. No active fighting, that is.
She didn’t know if she was saying that to report her view or to help her teammates to shed their nervousness… or to calm herself down.
Oolwi/MacKenzie/Bergmen: Response
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Lieutenant Commander Jovenan
Chief Science Officer
USS Artemis-A
E239911J11