((OOC: Sorry for the delay, work has been picking up a lot lately.))
((Dockyards, Orbital Ring))
With the arrival of the intimidating and impressive Klingon Sergeant Kodash, Tahlira found herself simultaneously feeling self-conscious about herself, and envious of the powerful woman in front of her. Vylaa and Tahlira both asked questions of the Sergeant while Commander Marshall observed and speculated on the problem at hand. Jagan seemed to feel that he was being ignored, and attempted to reinsert himself into the conversation, but Vylaa shut him down quickly and thoroughly, with no objections from Kodash. Tahlira mentally noted that apart from being a tall, intimidating woman at first glance, Vylaa was also quick witted and fierce, in a way that made one feel like a non-entity next to her. Tahlira realized at once that she was surrounded by powerful women that she found herself wanting to emulate, but not having the confidence, or the height, to do so.
After Jagan's put-down, Kodash announced that she needed to leave.
Kodash: The time has come to make my next report. You may find me in the security office should your inquiries prove fruitful.
Then she and the other Klingons left. The Gorkon away team was left alone, Tahlira for one feeling as if they hadn't accomplished much so far.
Marshall: This way.
Tahlira followed the Lieutenant Commander to a secluded spot, the three women softly lit by one light high above a bench.
Marshall: Okay, let's hear it. Working theories on the table.
zh’Tisav: Benamite mining is competitive, and mine owners have lots of money. Enough to buy silence. Certainly enough to blow up a dockyard.
Marshall: Especially here. It's a cleaned up operation if there ever was one. Three Houses controlling the mining operations on a lucrative colony planet? ::She clicked her tongue in the corner of her mouth.:: That's going to generate a red alert across the Empire. Get in while the benamite is fresh.
Thinking along the same lines, Tahlira could only see that this was something done by other Klingons.
Deyari: If one of the Houses, or even another faction of Klingons who was familiar with the mining operation here, orchestrated this, they could easily blame outsiders and never be suspected.
zh’Tisav: Of course, that discounts terrorism, but I would have expected a terrorist group to claim the attack by now.
Marshall: Not necessarily. Not if they're waiting to see how this all plays out. Sabotage a benamite dockyard, corner the market while Klingon Houses rip each other to shreds over the blame. What do we know about local terrorist activity? Have they given us any information on previous cases?
Deyari: I was given a very brief write-up on recent events but it was mostly just information about this event. In fact it was mostly useless. If the Klingons know more, they haven't shared it.
Marshall: KDF sitting on intelligence they haven't shared? ::Her eyebrow flitted upwards, amusement cracking through.:: You do surprise me.
zh'Tisav: They could give the Am Tal a few lessons...
Tahlira was about to ask more about the Am Tal, out of curiosity, when Commander Marshall's tricorder chirped.
Marshall: Odd one here. Molecular trace in the fracture lines of the maglock jaw. Take a look.
Not an expert in molecular traces, Tahlira made room for Vylaa to look at the scanner.
zh’Tisav: That’s not Klingon...
Her interest piqued, Tahlira took her turn to look at the information as well. It was some foreign body that wasn't a part of the construction of the maglock jaw. A clue!
Marshall: Not Federation standard either. Can we determine a source by composite feature?
zh’Tisav: We should. Best bet will be with the impurities. They’re like fingerprints; you can even determine a location sometimes.
Bringing up her own tricorder, Tahlira began an analysis on the substance. She was able to see the impurities the Vylaa spoke of, but she didn't recognize anything. She felt like a kid being told to hold the torch while the adult fixed the nacelle. She wanted to help but this just wasn't her trade. Pushing past her annoyance at her own ineptitude, she tried to identify the impurities.
Deyari: ::shaking her head:: I don't recognize anything on sight, and there isn't anything in the local database. We need a comparative analyses.
zh’Tisav: Send it to me, would you? I’ll link to the ship and run it through the computer.
Deyari: Sure thing. ::tapping on tricorder:: Scans copied to you.
Tahlira was happy she was at least able to do that much. She would have to settle to be the digital gopher of the group until someone tried to kill them. Then she'd probably fall on her face and do no good anyway.
Marshall: Response
zh’Tisav: It could take minutes, or hours. There’s thousands upon thousands of materials in the database. But we have enough to keep us busy.
Marshall: Response
Tahlira watched as Vylaa did her work. Then she realized she was staring and decided to make herself useful, and began scanning the area for life forms and unexpected technology. It would be just her luck if they were ambushed because the security officer was off in her own world. Luckily, she didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Several groups of Klingons for miles around them, all no doubt working hard in the benamite processing or conducting preventative maintenance on various pieces of equipment. Some were probably investigating the wreckage still.
zh’Tisav: While wait for this, shall we check the repair logs?
Marshall: Response
Deyari: ::nodding:: I can do that. Sergeant Kodash said we'd have access, I'll see what I can find.
Linking her own device to the KDF network, Tahlira was able to see several folders worth of files that she had access to. She browsed through them, looking for maintenance logs on the maglocks. She eventually found the right folder, but then saw that each maglock had it's own folder, and they'd need to find the right one to look at the emitter repair logs for this maglock.
Deyari: Is there an identifier or serial number for this maglock?
Marshall/zh'Tisav: Response
Tahlira nodded, and found the reference in question. From there, she was able to cross-reference the geographic location of the maglock in question. It was only a matter of finding the emitter logs then. Again, it was a painstaking process, but she eventually found the correct logs. There was several years of logs that covered everything from what maintenance was does when, to who was doing them. It was surprisingly thorough. Tahlira didn't find anything of note, until a few moments later.
Deyari: Take a look at this. ::indicating the logs:: About seven months ago, there was a replacement of all of the lead engineers in this section. It looks as if every supervisor was replaced or shuffled around. The team replacing the first group aren't mentioned by name, they're referred to as "Second Shift Engineer" or "First Shift Superintendent". That makes it very difficult to identify any particular individual, though I bet that was the point.
Marshall/zh'Tisav: Response
Realizing that this incident was possibly part of a very large organization, one that could orchestrate the changeout of whole shifts of people to facilitate covering up anything under anonymity, Tahlira felt that maybe they'd bitten off more than they could chew.
Deyari: How are we supposed to track down one specific person who signed off on re-certifying bad emitters if they aren't named in the logs?
Tahlira wondered if they'd need to go see Kodash again. Was this something the Sergeant had already seen?
Marshall/zh'Tisav: Response
-- Ensign Tahlira Deyari
Security and Tactical Officer
USS Gorkon
G240207TD3
