MSNPC Jetripar - Earning His Keep
Jira Jaran
(( Bridge - Deck 01 - USS Artemis-A ))
Munro: Interesting. The Barolians were considered subjects of the Romulan Star Empire up until the supernova. That infrastructure was central to the Romulans' technological base but after the fall of the empire, that relationship ended :: beat :: Sounds like a good place to get your hands on some Romulan tech?
MacKenzie: Certainly substantiating evidence, no doubt.
Jovenan: There are only a few other inhabitable worlds in the neighbouring sectors. Further out, we have factions such as the Nascaik and the Thama, and the Celendi Nebula. Plenty of opportunities to hide if they head straight to one.
Storm: Can we eliminate any of those planets because of location or other factors?
Munro: Without knowing the full capability of the Afalqi or who is helping them, it’s hard to say.
MacKenzie: We should try to resist speculation until we have more concrete evidence that those possibilities are in play...
Jetripar was content to let the Starfleet officers talk amongst themselves. This was their arena now. Anything he had to add would be pure self-aggrandisement, and he couldn't afford that now.
Jovenan: I have the Outer Seedea’s system on sensors. No vessels currently detected in there.
Storm: That doesn’t mean much.
Storm glanced at Jetripar.
Storm: I mean, in the case that they do have a cloaking device.
Munro crossed her arms, studying the map.
Munro: We can probably assume that they know by now that Starfleet is involved? Our presence did not go unnoticed on Meranuge IV. That rules out any location that has positive ties to the Federation. It makes sense that they would avoid those sectors or they risk being detected?
Jetripar: It did come to light that there may have been one or more accomplices left behind. I wouldn't be surprised if they are still communicating with Havun. If so, he probably knows far more than we want him to.
Storm: Let’s see if we can detect any warp wakes yet.
Munro: If you can do that, lieutenant, I’ll give you my holodeck privileges for a month.
MacKenzie smiled at that.
Jetripar: Havun never showed this much care with his work on the project. He's sloppy. I'm certain we will find something.
Jovenan: Response
Storm: I’m picking up three warp wakes…Permission to put them on the viewscreen?
MacKenzie: Go ahead.
Jetripar was hungry for this data. He was nearly bouncing on his toes.
Jovenan: Response
Storm transferred her readings to the viewscreen. Now, projected on the large screen was the Seedea system, now overlayed with three distinct warp wakes, each veering in a different course.
Storm: If I zoom out and put the other locations given to us by Secretary Jetripar, we have something interesting.
One of the wakes headed in the direction of the Barol system, another in the general vicinity of ngeb Base, and a third went off in a completely different direction.
Munro: :: incredulous laugh :: They left false trails for us.
MacKenzie: Slippery things, I'll give them that...
Jetripar: I don't understand. How is that even possible?
Jovenan/Storm: Response
Munro: That third trail? Where does it go? Can we extrapolate with known data a likely destination?
The map shifted with an extrapolated path, and the captain groaned. It was not an area of space that Jetripar knew, but apparently she did.
Jetripar: A complication, Captain?
Jovenan/Storm: Response
Munro: That’s Nascaik territory :: beat :: If they reach that border, we won’t be able to follow them.
MacKenzie: ::shaking her head, trying to make sense of it:: Why, though? So they think they'll be free or we'll stop pursuing them?
Jetripar: No no. We can't let them just cower behind a border.
Jovenan/Storm/Munro: Response
MacKenzie raised a finger.
MacKenzie: Not so fast. I did help mediate their non-aggression pact with the Thama after all. The Nasciak are a difficult people, but I think they owe me one.
Jetripar: Now that's the reason we called Starfleet! Famed for their connections, quadrant-wide.
Jovenan/Storm/Munro: Response
MacKenzie: So, I suppose the question is: do we follow the obvious paths, or the outlier? Which way do we think they went?
Jetripar: I can see a case being made for any one of them. Though I will admit I can't see him even thinking of visiting a foreign territory he has no relationship with. I also wouldn't expect him to hide somewhere closely aligned with the Romulans, given some of the technology aboard his stolen vessel.
Jovenan/Storm/Munro: Response
Jetripar considered that carefully.
Jetripar: Yes, I would say the Klingons seem the most likely candidate to me. Though I fear that Havun may not consider how unlikely they would be to let him leave.
MacKenzie/Munro/Jovenan/Storm: Response
This is why he was here, and he was happy to help. He grimaced rather than beaming at the usefulness, however, due to the nature of the information he could share on their relationship.
Jetripar: You see, we had an... arrangement with the Romulans. The Barol system, while not officially under Romulan jurisdiction obviously, still has enough of their influence that they would likely turn the Afalqi over to one of their own rather than to us. They would not be pleased to learn we had allowed their technology to slip out of our hands.