Commander Ava Munro - A Trail of Deception
Ava Munro
((Bridge - Deck 01 - USS Artemis-A))
Storm: Let’s see if we can detect any warp wakes yet.
Ava slipped a hand to push her natural curls behind her ear as she focused on the sector map. Various locations had been eliminated but there was just too much to go on.
Munro: If you can do that, lieutenant, I’ll give you my holodeck privileges for a month.
Jetripar: Havun never showed this much care with his work on the project. He's sloppy. I'm certain we will find something.
Ava had the sense that Jetripar wasn't too fond of Havun. Granted he had stolen a ship that was under his direct supervision, probably causing him serious political damage, but she sensed this resentment may have been growing for a long time. Another clue? Or just personal disagreements?
Politicians, diplomats and delegates always gave her a sense that they were being deceptive. Part of it was how she was raised, in a colony that was proudly independent from the Federation and was governed by a committee of its citizens. No politicians, no government. As was the case when she first met Advocate Chavrainne she had to cast her own personal opinions and mistrust aside.
Jovenan: Response
Storm: I’m picking up three warp wakes…Permission to put them on the viewscreen?
Storm glanced toward the command team.
MacKenzie: Go ahead.
Jovenan: Response
Ava moved away from the MSD and turned to look towards the viewscreen from the back of the bridge.
The Seedea system was displayed on it. From Seedea, three warp wakes were visible. Each heading off in a different direction.
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
Ava's focused went to the mystery of the third trail…
Munro: That third trail? Where does it go? Can we extrapolate with known data a likely destination?
As the map swirled around and zoomed to focus solely on that trail, and the screen moved along the potential trajectory a growing sense of trepidation grew across the bridge crew and she heard the frustrated groan from the commanding officer.
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?
That was certainly the most likely assumption but other possibilities remained and they were far more insidious. Was Nascaik involvement an indicator to a larger conspiracy and how much were the Da'al aware of?
Or was it another distraction? She had to give it to them, they had certainly crafted an intricate and detailed plan.
Jetripar: No no. We can't let them just cower behind a border.
Ava awkwardly shifted her weight on her feet as she surveyed the Da'al secretary. Was his concern self interest? Or genuine concern? Or maybe it was a little bit of both. She did have the distinct feeling that there was a lot of stuff he wasn't telling them, maybe because he couldn't due to his own laws or because he knew they would look bad on him.
Munro: Hopefully it won't come to that, Secretary.
Jovenan/Storm: 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.
That was a good sign, and the perfect example of why the Artemis was in the Borderlands. The relationships that had been forged by not only the crew of the Artemis but the lost Resolution before her meant that they had contacts.
Jetripar: Now that's the reason we called Starfleet! Famed for their connections, quadrant-wide.
Jovenan/Storm: Response
MacKenzie: So, I suppose the question is: do we follow the obvious paths, or the outlier? Which way do we think they went?
Her attention returned to the map still visible on the viewscreen, now returned to a position to show all three trails.
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.
Munro: Unless you know something we don't know, it's unclear who he's been in contact with :: to MacKenzie :: But I do agree we should consider the most likely options based on the evidence we have.
Even if the evidence may have been deliberately misleading. The only real thing she knew was that they had gone to a lot of effort to make it appear to be Klingon, then Romulan and now they conveniently have these two options and an outlier. The outlier that could cause chaos in the region.
It felt like they were being manipulated again, but in what way? And why?
Jovenan/Storm: Response
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.
Munro: Not the Romulans?
She was wondering why he moved from the Romulans so quickly?
MacKenzie/Jovenan/Storm: Response
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.
Munro: An arrangement?
More questions threatened to roll from her but she kept that at bay for now, they had to focus on the task at hand. Where did the Afalqi go?
Munro: What route do you think Havun has taken?
MacKenzie/Jovenan/Storm: Response
Jetripar shook his head and looked down.
Jetripar: Havun was never known for his organisational skills, and I don't see him having the courage to barge into unknown space and ask for shelter. No, I still think ngeb Base seems the most likely option.
Munro: Why would Havun do this? :: to MacKenzie :: I can't help but feel we're missing ‘the why’. If Secretary Jetripar is to be believed, Havun doesn't seem like he could pull this off by himself?
MacKenzie/Jovenan/Storm/Jetripar: Response
Munro: Klingons don't feel right to me. They don't go in for this level of deception. Someone has been pushing them since we got to Meranuge IV and we have no evidence of their involvement. Are we willing to risk antagonising the Klingons and getting them involved? They wouldn't mind getting their hands on an experimental ship full of Romulan technology, I suspect?
MacKenzie/Jovenan/Storm/Jetripar: Response
Munro: Captain, if we select the one trail for the Artemis to track and send out the Atlas and the Prometheus to track the other trails at maximum warp, its unlikely that they would have been able to sustain the false trail for long and we can divert course?
MacKenzie/Jovenan/Storm/Jetripar: Response
((OOC - the Atlas and Prometheus are Type-17 heavy Argo shuttles. The Prometheus was unnamed until now))
Tags/TBC
