Lieutenant Anton Richards: A Cubic Crime
Writer Guy
((T-1 Independent Bay, Operations Centre Lower Floor, Deck 7, USS Octavia E Butler))
It appeared to Anton that after a brief moment of suspicion they were going to make progress on the crate after all. It appeared Lhandon was onto something.
Nilsen: It’s a cubic lock. I had one years ago in the academy, when I got kicked out of Echo Squad, I needed some place to store my stuff while I moved out of the campus. They were so easy to break into and I couldn’t afford the credits, All you need to do is line up the layers. Both of you be quiet now, I need to listen.
Anton glanced around. After all of the cube like things Anton had thought of. He was pretty content with a cubic lock.
Richards: A cubic lock?
The room remained silent as Lhandon appeared to be cracking it by listening in.
Nilsen: Got ya.
Anton flinched as the moment of silence was broken with a slam on the box.
Nilsen: Am I good or what?
Anton tried to observe Lhandon to see how he was completing the lock.
Richards: Okay hold on. Lock it back up, I want to try.
Anton stretched his arms outwards as if tackling the lock was going to require some sort of physical prowess.
Toxin: There’s enough time for celebrating later, we still have a case to solve, get on with it please.
Toxin was probably right, Anton would have to try out a cubic lock another day.
Nilsen: Richards, what does that manifest say this should be?
Anton quickly searched the PADD for the answer, and he found it. But it didn’t make sense.
Richards: It's just standard medical supplies.
Nilsen: Well that’s wrong because our star prize is Replicator units. Entire Replicator units.
There they were. Food Replicator Units.
Toxin: That’s definitely unexpected.
Toxin: What should we have been expected?
Richards: Ancient earthen artifacts.
Or something right? Anton still thought it was odd that the thieves went through all that trouble for some food replicators. Perhaps the crime was getting more and more sophisticated after all.
Nilsen: Responses
Richards: Yup. Like maybe one of those old bicycles, you know, the ones that sprayed toxic fumes out the back?
Toxin: That’s obviously not what we got.
This was a technically true statement to Anton’s dismay. Anton eyed his shipmate suspiciously, although he couldn’t imagine someone in his position and rank going through all this trouble to relocate some run of the mill supplies.
Anton still thought he seemed preoccupied though.
Toxin: So, what's next? I can escalate this through the chain of command. However, there's a risk that our "entrepreneurs" might get wind of it and go silent.
Something this so soon after joining would look good on Anton’s record. Plus Toxin was correct again, he wasn’t sure who was to be trusted.
Richards: I don’t think there’s any need to run it up the chain just yet. We can solve this. We already cracked the cube lock.
Anton glanced towards the lock once again. He wondered how exactly it worked.
Nilsen: Responses
Toxin: We need to act quickly. Even though the T1 is a secured room, anyone interested in this crate will undoubtedly find its sudden disappearance unsettling. Why don't I stay here to continue the analysis while you two collate the information you've collected to find any correlations? I can monitor things here.
There he was, trying to sneak off again. Just when his suspicions had leveled out.
Richards: Are you sure? Maybe one one of us should hang around to help you with that?
Nilsen: Responses
Toxin: No it’s fine, I don’t mind at all. (beat) I don’t think I need to make this an order (beat) right?
Anton found this slightly surprising. Even though Toxin and Anton held the same rank the newly promoted chief technically outranked him. But this was mainly a security matter now and Toxin had to know that.
This was all making Anton more and more suspicious, but he wasn’t going to jump the gun just yet.
Richards: You got it, Sir.
Nilsen/Toxin: Responses?
RIchards: If someone is missing their crate. They might come looking for it. We should check surveillance of the shuttlebay, just to be safe.
Nilsen/Toxin: Responses?
Richards: But they might be too smart for that, especially with the…
Anton nodded once more at the cubic lock, he still wanted to give it a try.
Nilsen/Toxin: Responses?
=========TAGS & TBC==========
Lieutenant Anton Richards
Security Officer
USS Octavia E. Butler - NCC-82850
T239802AR1
===============================