LtCmdr Jovenan – You’ll be the good cop, and I’ll be the… wait, why would anyone want to be the bad cop?
Jovenan
((Havun’s office, Afalqi Project Launch Complex, Meranuge IV))
Ta’Mora: I made it.
Jovenan: You? ::pause:: Sorry, that was very rude of me. I didn’t realise you were an engineer.
There are many ways to say a word. Tone, intonation, it all contributed to the meaning that the sounds carried to another person. Jovenan hadn’t intended her words – that one word – to message doubt, but that was the natural interpretation. In fairness, it wouldn’t have been an unreasonable question: the object in Doctor Jaran’s hands was a piece of complicated engineering, while the person in front of them was in a uniform of a maintenance worker. However, questioning someone’s capability and intelligence based on such factors was extremely unbecoming of her. She turned to the Doctor, pleading of their assistance. They had been able to reach out for the terrified… cleaner? engineer? person, so maybe they’d also be able to salvage the situation. They seemed to understand her message.
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.
Oh. That made… Jovenan wasn’t sure if that made sense. She furrowed her eyebrows, but she raised them not to appear angry. The portion of Ms Ta’Mora’s past, of taking a different job when the access to the desired field was blocked was plausible, maybe a little dishonest, but she also couldn’t fault someone for making the life work in their way in such a society. But she didn’t understand the purpose of Mr Havun’s request. Before the theft of the ship, the building used to be full of engineers under his command, so he could have assigned the project to any of them. And if it was something to do with the Afalqi Project, then he should have assigned it to one of them, given the secrecy of the project and the personal responsibility should a component prove to be faulty. That was, in the end, Mr Havun’s problem – the junior engineer in custodial uniform had been massively terrified when Jovenan and the team had entered the room, and Jovenan understood now why.
Jovenan: I see. And you feared that if the authorities find about your involvement in his other projects, you’d get in trouble?
Ms Ta’Mora nodded.
Ta’Mora: I did not have the clearance for this. And with the... with everything happening, I was afraid I would be implicated.
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?
That was the question they needed to ask, but Jovenan worried if asking that was going to make Ms Ta’Mora nervous again. She had become more and more open with them as they make themselves seem more approachable, but a reminder that they were indeed investigating a crime might send the poor woman back into being afraid for herself. Jovenan tried smiling encouragingly again.
Jovenan: That’s right. We’re not suspecting you of anything, so you don’t have to worry. But if you know something, it would help our investigation.
Jovenan didn’t always understand body language of other people, even less so for people from entirely different species and cultures, but seeing Ms Ta’Mora slouch and close off again, she could tell that some of the engineer’s confidence had diminished. Not all progress was lost, however. At least they weren’t throwing objects at them any more.
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!
Jaran: I believe you. Please, relax. Can you tell me anything about what Havun was working on lately?
Ms Ta’Mora hesitated. She looked downwards, averting their gazes. Jovenan leaned a little to the side, as if to peek into what she was thinking. Again, Jovenan failed to see what her body language and expression tried to say. Perhaps she was trying to remember something Mr Havun had said, or maybe she was weighting her options to just deny everything. Jovenan understood they had put her in a difficult position. Ms Ta’Mora might not have any connections to the theft, but she might still feel like she owes Mr Havun something, or she might fear for his revenge if she tells them something. She might still be afraid of legal consequences. For a person who has to work as a cleaner after graduating as an engineer, those could be detrimental.
Jovenan: It’s okay, take a minute to think.
Ta’Mora: Uh, I don’t know. He didn’t tell a lot about his work, and he also asked me not to talk the little I knew about with anyone. This whole project is secret, so I didn’t question it. All I know is that he needed a connector for some device with weird specifications, and I made it for him. But I didn’t get to keep any of the notes. Again, secret project.
A connector, for a device with weird specifications. So did Mr Havun want to install something to the Afalqi that he couldn’t tell to other engineers or the authorities? What was it? Did he build it himself, or did he get it from somewhere? Mr Havun had clearly been thorough in keeping Ms Ta’Mora in the dark, but at least they got to know something. For a moment, Jovenan wondered in what danger they had placed Ms Ta’Mora in convincing her to tell all this. Or did Mr Havun just trust that the somewhat timid engineer graduate would stay silent based on the risk of exposure alone? Jovenan glanced at the Doctor. If there was more to know, they had to get it out.
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.
Ta’Mora: I don’t know! I don’t know!
The engineer shrieked those words. All the trust they had managed to build seem to vanish at that moment. Jovenan feared she might start throwing objects again.
Jovenan: Ta’Mora! It’s okay! Everything’s alright!
Jaran: Response
The Da’al woman calmed down, but the panic shrieking was replaced by sobbing. Tilting her eyebrows and pressing her lips to a frown, Jovenan could feel her anguish – her future was very much dependent on what happened in this place, at this time, as she couldn’t take back her past. Without knowing it, she had become an accessory to a serious crime.
Ta’Mora: All I wanted was to work my way to a better job. I just tried to show my worth.
That was it for the interrogation, then. Jovenan turned to look at Ms Ta’Mora’s connector. It would be perfect evidence for the investigation, if they could bring it back to the Artemis for a closer study. However, they had promised to give it back to her. She pursed her lips and thought for a moment. They could just take it, or ask the Da’al authorities to confiscate it for them. That would have made her a liar. Surely she couldn’t become a liar now.
Jovenan: Hey, it’s alright. You did perfect job and showed it, it’s not your fault what happened next. And you might still get that dream job of yours. ::pause:: You’ll get your device back now. But do you mind if we scan it first? Our people might be able to reverse-engineer what it was meant to connect to from it. Is that okay?
Jaran/Ta’Mora: Response
Jovenan pulled out her tricorder and ran it around the device for a few times. She wasn’t an engineer, but the composition of it seemed pretty standard for her, just the same kind of bits and pieces the Da’al used in their other projects as well, and what surrounded them in the shelves and on the tables. It was about how the components combined, then. They’d need a team of engineers for this. It was not their job. When she was done, she looked at Ms Ta’Mora.
Jovenan: Good. Thank you for your co-operation, Ms Ta’Mora. You’ve been very helpful.
Jaran/Ta’Mora: Response
After the Da’al woman had left, Jovenan kept watching at the door for a few more seconds. She heard their two other colleagues working somewhere deeper in the large yet cramped office – they’d join them in a minute – but before that, she spoke to the Ensign.
Jovenan: What do you think? About her part, and letting her go. I guess we could still go and catch up with her.
Jaran: Response
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Lieutenant Commander Jovenan
Chief Science Officer
USS Artemis-A
E239911J11