Lieutenant Commander Lael Rosek: The Proof Is In the Records, Part II
Lael Rosek
OOC: I had to split this up into two parts as it gets rather long.
(( Conference Lounge, USS Astraeus, 2 weeks later. ))
Mei’konda: ::turns to Shin:: Mr. Shin, I would like you to assist with the analysis of the intelligence information we’ve received - use Commander Tel-ar as well, if you think he will be useful. I have a feeling that your real job will begin when we arrive at Cardassia. Commander Tel-ar, I would like you to also research Cardassian ship movements that miight be related to any of the naames on that screen. Passenger manifests… relatiives who might own vessels that have traveled through the area. Anything.
Shin: I'm on it, sir. :: He said with a smile.::
Tel-ar: Response
::Her mind was racing at the possibilities. A part of her was genuinely intrigued by what Tel-ar and Shin might find. If they could link the missing to Cardassian ships, that would be more than enough to cast some serious doubt on whether the Cardassians were being truthful. Even faced with contradictory evidence, she wasn’t certain what the Cardassians would do with it.::
::Would they continue to deny it and risk a war with Bajor? Given how fired up the Bajoran government was over this, that was the most likely outcome if the Cardassians didn’t return all of the missing to their families.::
Mei’konda: Questions?
Hamasaki: Sir, have we considered the need for more psychological help? That is .. quite some time. And with all that is happened.. well, there are multiple forms of restraint. We may need to have more resources on hand for that.
Riley: Many of the war veterans may resist the offer for help. They’re proud, and some are stubborn. As such, I would tread carefully.
Rosek: ::nods:: Mr. Riley is right. Bajor was pretty much left to its own devices during the Occupation and the people who remember that time don’t trust many outsiders, particularly Starfleet officers.
Mei'konda: Response
Shin: What sort of opposition do we expect once our investigations start? As things stand?
Tel-ar / Harkrow / Sotak: Responses
Galven: Psychologically speaking, technically I would expect since that there’s at least two capable counselors on board…::turns to Femi:: Do you think it’d be beneficial for you to work with Lieutenant Dugoras? The two of you would make a good time in helping these people’s mental states.
::Lael arched an eyebrow. German was acting out of compassion and a desire to help. She had the same temptation herself, but had resisted bringing it up out of concern that she’d offend their Bajoran mission specialist. She glanced at Riley, not sure what to make of his unreadable expression.::
Solok / Cattan / Bailey: Responses
Stennin: A good time to have you back on board, counselor.
Riley: Let’s not do anything hasty.
::She nodded. It was a delicate situation. Bajorans were known to be very passionate individuals and it didn’t take much to light a fire with them. After years and years of oppression at the hands of the Cardassian Union, they didn’t take kindly to outsiders stepping in, trying to tell them how to handle their affairs. The last thing they needed was to stir up a diplomatic incident in their attempts to solve the mystery of the missing souls.::
Rosek: I agree, Commander. If our only way to get more answers is talking to the victims’ families again, we’ll need to be sure of our reception so we don’t offend them.
Hamasaki: Also.. sir, this might seem odd, but it's been two decades. Why is this now boiling over? You'd think with all of the aid during reconstruction we would have found some during that period?
Mei'konda: Response
Riley: Many of the names on the first list were children at the time, lieutenant. Several of them have come of age, and they are now able to put pressure on their government representatives to push for action. Several of the veterans are who have been recovered also would like to see their loved ones who have been declared MIA returned.
Rosek: ::nods:: I suppose when you look at it that way, it’s understandable and not really that surprising.
::Part of her wondered if the tensions between the Cardassians and the Bajorans would ever fade. There had been attempts at peace over time, but those had fallen to the wayside the moment one side did something to offend the other. The tension wasn’t good for the region as a whole. If another conflict did ignite between the Bajorans and the Cardassians, inhabitants of surrounding worlds stood a chance of being caught in the crossfire.::
Shin / Tel-ar / Harkrow / Sotak: Responses
Solok / Cattan / Bailey: Responses
Stennin: it would be logical to assume that with the trouble between Bajoran workers and the Cardassian reconstruction, the process is accelerating.
::She watched as German rose from the chair and approached the viewscreen, studying it for a long moment. She thought she saw a flicker of something in his expression, but when he turned to face them it was gone.::
Galven: Sir, considering what you said about DNA scans, I would imagine that if we do get to interview the family members, Do you think it would be beneficial to run their own lifesigns?
Rosek: ::pauses:: I think that would raise a potential issue. As has been mentioned before, the Bajorans are a very private people. Not to say that they’d immediately dismiss the request. We’d just need to provide a very convincing reason for it and play on how it would benefit them.
Mei'konda: Response
Riley: Interviews might be difficult to arrange, but I’m wondering what your rationale would be for doing so.
Galven: I only ask because even a small percentage can make a huge difference. Plus even if Starfleet Intelligence has the ones that missing their DNA on file, an actual present source could help determining factors for analyzation.
::She nodded. He had a valid point. It would certainly make it easier for their sensors to pin down specific lifesigns if they had DNA profiles and chances were good that a few families might be willing to cooperate. If the could blow the lid off even a few missing that the Cardassians said weren’t on their homeworld, they’d have a hell of a lot more leverage to search for the rest.::
Rosek: ::to Mei:: It might be worth a shot, sir. If we can even locate a few of the missing with DNA profiles, it could give us good leverage with the Cardassian government.
Mei'konda: Response
Riley: I will see if I can talk to the minister to attempt to arrange some interviews.
Shin / Tel-ar / Harkrow / Sotak: Responses
Solok / Cattan / Bailey: Responses
Stennin: It could be beneficial to scan the blood relatives. Since their DNA is so closely linked, we may decrease the time it takes to gather the missing persons.
Riley: It is possible, but I wouldn’t attempt anything on the unwilling. Some of the Bajorans, especially of the veterans, would consider it an invasion of privacy.
Rosek: ::nods:: The last thing we need to do is make an enemy of the Bajoran government.
::She highly doubted any of the Astraeus’s medical staff would be a party to such a thing anyway. They took their Hippocratic Oaths very seriously. Having experienced her share it, she was adamantly opposed to the taking of DNA herself.::
Stennin: Captain, is there any indication of the numbers we will be dealing with? It will help our crew if they can accommodate appropriate facilities. I will prepare the labs accordingly.
Mei'konda / Any: response
Stennin: Perhaps it would be wise if we would allocate additional space on DS9? That way, we can accommodate more people.
::She arched an eyebrow. Given the amount of space and crew aboard the Astraeus, she doubted it would be necessary. Besides, they didn’t even know how many people were going to cooperate. She highly doubted it would be enough to overwhelm the medical and science departments.::
Rosek: That might be a bit presumptuous, Lieutenant. I’m sure the Astraeus medical and science teams are more than capable of handling it here.
Galven: Would it be reasonable to gather historical data on any kind of information regarding the evacuations? It would be better to know if headcounts were taken and if these claims are at least valid.
Rosek: ::nods at Galven:: A good suggestion, Commander. ::to Mei:: This would perhaps be a good task for Doctors Cattan and Dugoras. It could give them a bit of insight in case they’re granted interviews.
::Any support they could get that the Bajorans’ claims had a good chance of being legitimate gave them better reason to look into them. If there was any discrepancy at all--well, they wouldn’t be able to know definitively if it was poor record keeping or if the Bajorans were making false claims in hopes of putting the Federation in a position of taking sides.::
Mei’konda / Solok / Cattan / Stennin / Bailey: Responses
Riley: I might be able to talk to the minister and see if I can arrange for the records, but I’m not sure that they’ll be in any sense of order. Assuming that we can get the records, you hope to find if the headcounts were accurately made, I am guessing?
Rosek: ::nods:: That would be one of the priorities, yes. Also, if we can we’ll want to do some research into the missing to ensure that they are still missing.
Mei’konda / Galven / Solok / Cattan / Stennin: Response
Any: Response
Riley: It’s at least possible, I suppose. I expect at least a little difficulty in securing their cooperation.
Rosek: ::smiles:: The benefit of having a Bajoran mission specialist aboard.
Mei’konda / Galven / Solok / Cattan / Stennin: Response
Any: Response
Rosek: Can anyone think of any other considerations or potential issues we need to look into?
Mei’konda / Galven / Solok / Cattan / Stennin: Response
Any: Response
Rosek: ::to Mei:: Progress reports every couple of hours, sir?
Mei’konda: Response
Any: Response
