Ensign Jaran Jira - Pulling Teeth
Jira Jaran
((Office Building, Afalqi Project Launch Complex, Meranuge IV))
Jovenan: I don’t know. Looks like a part of a ship component, so probably something from the Afalqi, but I can’t tell what it does.
Jira looked at the part and then up at the custodian.
Jaran: Ta'Mora, where did this come from?
Ta’Mora: I made it.
Jovenan: You? ::pause:: Sorry, that was very rude of me. I didn’t realise you were an engineer.
Jovenan looked at Jira with an intensity behind her eyes. They saw the plea for help written on her face. The scientist needed someone with a personal touch in this hunt for goodwill.
Jaran: This is a complex piece of equipment. Is the custodial staff as well educated as the engineering staff? I guess it would make sense on a project like this.
Ta’Mora: I am a component engineering graduate. I applied here, but I didn’t get the place I looked for. The next time I try to get a job, I get to say I worked on this project, even if just as a cleaner. Havun knew of that and asked me to design that for him.
Jira was impressed. It was a good plan. If an engineer said they worked on a huge government contract, it's possible that someone wouldn't look too closely into what capacity that work was.
Jovenan: I see. And you feared that if the authorities find about your involvement in his other projects, you’d get in trouble?
The woman nodded.
Ta’Mora: I did not have the clearance for this. And with the... with everything happening, I was afraid I would be implicated.
She wasn't wrong. Any irregularity during an investigation like this could shed a negative light on someone, even if they weren't directly involved. Jira understood the self-protection drive.
Jira saw that the walls were down now, and that was the time for straightforward questions.
Jaran: I understand that. We aren't worried about your design at all. But, Ta'Mora, I have to ask. Do you know anything about what happened with Havun and the theft of the Afalqi?
Jovenan: Response
She shank into herself again, and the confidence that had been returning disappeared.
Ta'Mora: I spent a lot of time working with Mister Havun. And I'm being told he stole the ship. I promise you I did not know anything about that!
That seemed likely. If she was left here, the thief probably didn't think she had any information that would help an investigator. But any information was good.
Jaran: I believe you. Please, relax. Can you tell me anything about what Havun was working on lately?
Jovenan/Ta'Mora: Response
That was something. It wasn't going to blow open a case or anything, but it was more than they had to this point. Jira wanted to see if they could pry that open a little more.
Jaran: Ta'Mora, I need you to think very hard about this. What he asked you to do was very unusual. Do you remember anything at all about what else he was doing at that time? Maybe something he was reading or working on that you happened to see.
Jovenan/Ta'Mora: Response