Lt. Commander Ayiana Sevo - Her Worst Fears Confirmed
Aaron Schimmel
((Waste Extraction — Room Four))
:: In an odd twist of circumstances, Ayiana found herself in Waste Extraction processing. Seeing as she had just found a listening device planted in her quarters, she wasn’t sure of many other places on the ship that might not be similarly bugged; the Admiral’s ready room included. Thus, Ayiana had warily asked Reynolds to meet her here, along with their Intelligence officer, Commander Vondaryan. A part of Ayiana hoped he wasn’t in on the scheme. ::
Reynolds: Alright, Commander. You have our attention.
Sevo: Sorry about this, sir, but I think it will make sense in a minute.
:: Ayiana held up her hand with her palm open, showing the tiny black device resting on her palm. ::
Sevo: I found this in my quarters. It’s a listening device, I think. Commander?
:: Ayiana handed it to Vondaryan, the resident Intelligence officer aboard the ship. Admiral Reynolds had been a former Intelligence officer as well, so she knew the territory, too. If anyone could confirm Ayiana’s suspicions, it was them. ::
Vondaryan: Indeed. A Class II Auditory Surveillance Device. :: He held it up to his eye for a look.:: Yridian, if I had to guess, but I would need to examine it more closely to be completely sure.
Sevo: So...I’m right? I’m not crazy and paranoid?
Vondaryan: The two are not mutually exclusive, Commander.
Sevo: oO Well, that’s comforting. Oo But...who would put this in my quarters?!
Reynolds: The obvious culprit would seem to be our recent band of thieves, but I wouldn't want to jump to conclusions this early. Do we know how long it's been there? :: She glanced toward Vondaryan.:: Can we find that out?
:: Vondaryan nodded in agreement.::
Sevo: :: Shrugging. :: No idea. I’m not sure if it’s the only one in my quarters, either. I found this purely by accident, then immediately contacted you.
Vondaryan: I'll run a full spectrum analysis as soon as we're done here. I will subject it to every test I know of to figure this out.
::With the equipment available on board he should be able to determine at least a general timeframe if not a specific date. Determining exactly *who* had put it there might be a little more difficult. It was almost to small to have attracted any genetic material, though perhaps they'd get lucky.::
Reynolds: How did you find it?
Sevo: I was working on my tricorder, running an EM scan diagnostic. The results showed a microsecond burst in a high-spectrum band.
Vondaryan: I'll need that scan, as well. I can use it to have the sensors run a comparison log for similar bursts.
Sevo: Of course. :: Ayiana paused, feeling nervous. :: Can...can you tell if it has video recording capability?
:: Ayiana thought she saw a tiny smirk on Vondaryan’s face. Did he think this was funny? Her privacy had been violated. People often said and did things in the presumed privacy of their homes they wouldn’t say in public. Of course, that was the whole point of such devices and the deviousness behind them, but it still didn’t make the whole thing any easier to swallow. ::
Vondaryan: This bug can't, and there would be little reason for it to in your personal quarters. :: He tilted his head.:: Where exactly did you find it, did you say?
Sevo: It was wedged into a crevice on a small statue of mine, smack in the middle of my living room.
:: The thought of someone *watching* Ayiana in her quarters, in her private space aboard the ship, sent chills down her spine. Who would do something like this?!::
Vondaryan: On a statue? A strange place. That is not connected to any external power source, I assume? The power source on this would eventually run out, rendering it useless. Unless whoever put it there replaced it later.
Reynolds: Well, not so strange. It served its purpose as concealment — the only reason we know about it is because of some hard to anticipate homebrew tricorder tests. My guess is that the limited lifespan is because it was only needed for a relatively short time.
:: To see the two Intelligence officers’ minds work was fascinating. Wheels-within-wheels of possibilities probably swam through their minds. Did Reynolds and Vondaryan do things like this in their time in Starfleet Intelligence? ::
Vondaryan: Sir, permission to run a sweep of the entire ship for similar devices?
:: That was the entire reason why Ayiana chose this location for this meeting. She had no way to know if any other places were similarly bugged. The Admiral’s ready room was her first thought. It would be an ideal place to gather intel. Then again, if Admiral Reynolds was as paranoid and cautious as Vondaryan was, perhaps she swept it regularly. ::
Reynolds: Yes, of course.
Vondaryan: I'd also suggest sweeps for the other ships in the task force. Without more information, there's no way to know if Commander Sevo was the only target.
:: Admiral Reynolds nodded affirmatively. ::
Reynolds: Frame it as a precautionary measure, after the incident with Kudrem. Say there are still questions about how she pulled it off and we want to ensure the robust security of our ships. :: She paused, glancing toward Ayiana.:: And Ayiana, we need you to move quarters, say it's because of your change in duty assignment. If we're lucky, they'll assume the bug has stopped transmitting because of damage or becoming dislodged in the move.
Sevo: Aye, sir.
:: He sighed as he glanced up at Sevo.::
Vondaryan: If this has recorded any sounds, rather than deleting them after the bursts, I will have to listen to them, you understand. Please understand that I wish you no embarrassment.
:: Her spine tingled again; her cheeks flush with embarassment. Who knows what could be on there? ::
Reynolds: It's up to you, Ayiana. I can do it if you'd prefer. But given the nature of the situation, I don't think it's wise to expand the investigative circle too far just yet.
Sevo: Yes...of course. Right now, you two are the only two people I trust with this, given your histories with SFI. You know what to look for. Um...don’t mind my taste in music.
Vondaryan: Response
Reynolds: Alright. We have a plan of action. For now, I think we need to keep this between the three of us.
Vondaryan: Response
Sevo: Agreed. I’ll go ahead and start “moving.”
Reynolds/Vondaryan: Response
Sevo: :: To Vondaryan. :: Commander, did you want to sweep my personal effects before I move? What if other devices have been secreted on other items as well, instead of in the room itself? They’d travel with me.
Reynolds/Vondaryan: Response
:: Ayiana sighed. ::
Sevo: Stars, how do you guys deal with the paranoia, and constantly looking over your shoulder?!
Reynolds/Vondaryan: Response
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Lt. Commander Ayiana Sevo
Research Coordinator
U.S.S. Gorkon
Image Collective Co-Facilitator
Wiki Ops
Training Team
Advanced Systems Design Board
V239109AS0
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