Cmdr. Katsim Peri - "What Could It Be?"
Amanda Nordstrom
(( Commander Katsim’s Quarters, USS OE Butler ))
Peri stood there silently in the turbolift with Richards. If someone tried to get into the replicator, it needed to be dealt with, and considering the nature of the access, she felt it best to involve security, not just Engineering. What she couldn’t understand was why someone would wish to access a replicator - except she’d read in an Academy security course that such things had been done in the past and while Starfleet security was extremely secure, they also recognised that at some point, someone, somewhere, might find a way. She really hoped that was not the case there, but she’d rather be cautious.
The turbolift stopped, and the doors parted to allow them to exit. Stepping into the hallways, Peri made her way to the Marine Captain’s Quarters - which were now also hers - and stopped outside just as another person came into view.
Katsim: Thank you for looking into this.
She offered gratitude in her stereotypical half whisper before moving inside.
Peters: Not a problem. Can you perhaps tell me what I’m looking for?
It was Richards who answered, first stretching out the PADD Peri had given to him so Peters could take a look at the information she compiled, and Peters immediately perused the data.
Richards: See this log here.
Katsim: It was accessed. But not by us.
With a nod, Peters traversed further into the quarters and over to the replication unit and set down his toolkit. Following, Peri hovered nearby, Echo balanced upon her shoulder, quiet with watchful curiosity. A second later, he tapped upon the replicator’s panel, and an interface lit up, one that Peri didn’t normally see, and
More habit than necessity, he keyed in his renewed credentials and brought up the text-based interface.
Peters: Have we ruled out pets accidentally triggering it while you weren’t here?
Katsim: Yes.
Echo had been with her every single time the replicator was accessed - and all of them were after they had returned from their most recent mission. Richards, however, made another point that also cleared Echo of any mischief.
Richards: I think it would have to be a pretty precise critter to pull that off.
Peters: Dr. Skyfire’s beagle can order kibble by barking in a specific manner courtesy of voice activation, but still needs a two-legged to get it down for him. So it’s not that hard, in theory.
Blinking, Peri hadn’t even thought about training Echo to get anything from the replicator herself. Since the dragonet had pretty severe separation anxiety, she was always with someone, especially since Avander no longer served on the Butler and Meander remained with him on Deep Space 14. The idea was interesting, and she might come back to it at some point, just to see if it was possible, but her current concern was discovering what had actually happened.
Katsim: Um. No.
Richards: That’s odd. Any chance that the terminal could have been activated remotely?
Peters didn’t really answer, but set about dismantling the replicator. First, he pried off the case and carefully checked it for any damage or wear and tear, or anything else that could have caused some sort of malfunction. As was typical for her, Peri watched in silence as the man worked quickly, efficiently, and skillfully, setting everything back and making sure it was all in order. Finally, he lifted the case and put it back into place.
Peters: Nothing wrong with it internally.
Richards: For what purpose?
Katsim: Purpose?
Glancing over at Richards, she wondered if his mind processed the information and tried to come up with answers. She didn’t have any, and his question had no reply. Meanwhile, Peters crouched down, his expression thoughtful as he considered the device - Richards' question perhaps spurring a thought of his own.
Peters: Any chance of a misfire caused by whatever artificial intelligence you tangled with on the last mission?
Katsim: The Continuance?
Richards: Response
At that, the man straightened and shared more of his thoughts and the possibility of what might have occurred.
Peters: I read through some of the AARs — it assumed the voice of the ship’s computer. If it retained access pathways, it’s at least worth ruling out.
With that, he tapped the PADD upon which the logs remained visible - evidence that something had definitely gone awry with the machine, even if there was no other physical evidence.
Peters: Do these timestamps roughly align with your time off-ship during the away mission?
Katsim: No. But they align with times Wes and I were both out of our quarters. Echo as well.
Although Peri didn’t need to make that last point for herself, she realised that most people left their pets in their quarter when they weren’t present. She, unfortunately, didn’t have that luxury. It certainly made logistics interesting.
Peters/Richards: Response
Peri thought about it for a minute. She and Wes had combined households, so to speak, during last shore leave. Logs showed regular and normal replicator use and only during times when she or Wes or both were home. Only since the mission had that shifted.
Katsim: The Continuance did access the holodecks.
And other systems. But replicators?
Peters/Richards: Response
They made good points and Peri’s eyes slid away from the men and to the machine in question. If someone wanted to access secret information, using a replicator was an odd way to do it, but it was also a way most people might miss. Idly, she wondered if any of the other command team had logs to show something had happened to theirs. Regardless, even if she was the lowest ranking person on the ship, Peri didn’t want anyone to just access her replicator at any time they wished. Whether or not she had intelligence or classified data, someone could use it to perform a prank. While she knew she wasn’t the most creative person out there, she had a feeling someone could come up with some sort of malicious way to manipulate a replicator and hurt someone. However, thus far, that didn’t seem to be the case there.
Katsim: Could it be digital ghosts?
Peters/Richards: Response
-- Commander Katsim Peri Chief Science Officer USS Octavia E. Butler M239008AD0