Lt. Commander Ayiana Sevo - Evidence Collection
Aaron Schimmel
((The Glob Fly - Upper vIq'mItlh City, veHrom’nagh))
Ayiana watched Taelon bend down beneath the desk. Following his gaze, she looked down from the opposite side of the desk. The computer terminal, which she presumed was supposed to be *on* the desk and not under it, lay broken and shattered.
Sevo: This looks deliberate. I wonder if her computer was the only one with the story’s data. So that begs the question, did the attacker destroy the computer, or the editor?
V'Lar: Whilst we can only speculate at this junction, the primary purpose of a publication is to circulate rather than suppress information. There are likely to be few reasons why the editor would choose to destroy information in their possession. In this, increasingly hypothetical scenario, it would be statistically more likely that the data was targeted by the assailant.
Ayiana carefully picked the parts up off the floor and put them on the desk. With her tricorder and her Mark 1 Eyeball, she looked at the components scattered on the desk. It was heavily damaged, but she didn’t think it was unsalvageable.
Sevo: Klingon computer systems use a crystal-based memory storage similar to isolinear chips because they’re robust, right? The data itself might be salvageable from the computer’s crystal memory.
Ayiana looked at Reynolds, whom she knew had been an engineer at one point in her illustrious career, and had utilized such skills on more than one occasion. She was the only officially-trained engineer on the team. The rest “dabbled.”
V'Lar: If the data is recoverable, it is the most logical path of inquiry.
Reynolds: Yes, but... If the storage medium is notoriously robust, wouldn’t the assailants know that as well? If they did all this— ::she gestured at the assorted chaos and carnage:: —to get to the data, it’s strangely slapdash to damage a workstation and just hope you’ve destroyed what you came for.
Taelon: Response
Sevo: Give us a few minutes, and we should be able to recover it. Let’s link with our devices and we can share processing.
Taelon: Response
Ayiana carefully picked out the data storage crystals from the computer, making sure not to upset anything else. She picked one and placed it on her tricorder, letting the device scan the crystal. A holo popped up above the tricorder, showing details on the crystal. Reynolds tapped on her own device alongside the findings.
Sevo: It looks encrypted, or perhaps it’s just Klingon computer coding. I don’t have the necessary coding packages to read it. Anyone else?
V'Lar: I do possess programming experience but not with Klingon systems.
Reynolds: It’s the code for a Klingon operating system, not encryption. ::She shook her head.:: Looks like someone transferred a series of files onto portable storage, then deleted them from this workstation and the Glob Fly’s servers about fifteen minutes before Pak’argh’s estimated time of death. We might be able to recover some or all of it, but it’ll take time.
Taelon: Reponse
V'Lar: Perhaps the crystals should be transported to the Gorkon for proper analysis?
Reynolds: We’ll have to. ::She nodded.:: We won’t be able to recover the deleted data with the tools we have here. Sevo, if you could take care of that.
Sevo: Yes, sir.
Taelon: Responses
Ayiana took the crystals and placed them on a clear spot on the table. Using her tricorder to mark the exact coordinates, she contacted the Gorkon to transport them to Intelligence for analysis. They disappeared in a blue glow as V’Lar spoke.
V'Lar: Admiral, whilst we wait for the analysis, I have completed the timeline.
Reynolds: All right, let’s hear it.
V'Lar: The data provides a clear sequence. The initial point of conflict was the central desk in the bullpen. From there, the assailant proceeded to the editor's office, where a second altercation occurred. The final engagement was between the assailant and the deceased female in this room, concluding with the assailant's exit via the far door. Given how far into the bullpen the assailant reached, I would surmise that they employed some means of deceit to gain access, but those means did not hold up to scrutiny.
Reynolds: I think, ::she glanced at Taelon,:: Lieutenant Taelon was right, and they’ve been watching Pak’argh. They chose a time when only their intended victims were present, which is why we only have the three DNA profiles.
Sevo: They somehow knew they were working late. They wanted little to no witnesses.
Taelon: Response
V'Lar: Without access to an official database, I am unable to determine their identity; however, sufficient data is available to generate a detailed forensic profile of the assailant. In addition, I have isolated a trace non-biological particulate from the unknown subject's blood trail.
Reynolds: We have access to the official databases, but the Klingons of this colony don’t register every person’s DNA. Only those charged with a crime. So possibly a victim, a first-time criminal, or one who’s never been caught before.
Sevo: What is it?
Taelon: Response
V'Lar: It is boridium.
Sevo: Oh… ::She let her thoughts trail.::
Ayiana raised her eyebrows curiously, alongside Quinn. That wasn’t a regular element one found in most humanoid bodies. It was a superheavy element, long thought not to be naturally-occuring. Only two cultures Ayiana knew of used it in their technology. The Federation, and the Romulans.
Taelon: Response
Reynolds: Klingons don’t use it much, but Romulans have been known to implant boridium pellets under the skin of their prisoners to keep track of them. Our assailants might not have a history of crime here, but it’s possible they have elsewhere.
Sevo: oO I hope it's that and this isn’t some larger conspiracy involving the Romulans. Oo
V’Lar / Taelon: Response
Reynolds: Right. If we put the pieces together, we have this— ::she gestured to the larger room with both hands, unwittingly looking like a steward giving flight safety advice,:: —the assailants first came into conflict with Pak’argh in the bullpen, who then made a break for the editor’s office, and then out into the corridors, into the back alley, through the side street, and into the plaza where he died. My guess is he went for the data he or Krelah had downloaded onto portable storage, and was trying to get it out of the office. We know at least one person followed him out at this point, because we found evidence of a continuing fight in the alley.
Reynolds: While he was trying to get the data out, Krelah fought another assailant with boridium in their system. Possibly trying to stop them from following Pak’argh, possibly because she was a target herself, maybe both. She fell, they thought she was dead, they left, and told their accomplice Pak’argh had the data — which explains the security footage showing one of them taking something from his body. But at all times, they were careful to stay off cameras, choosing locations where there were none, or keeping their faces hidden when there was.
Sevo: That suggests a level of municipal intelligence, along with prior spycraft experience. The average citizen wouldn’t know where every single camera was.
V’Lar / Taelon: Response
Reynolds: Following V’Lar’s logic; if they’re aiming to suppress a story, and they’re targeting the people who knew about it, that leaves the investigating journalist. Possibly a fact-checker, too, if the Glob Fly employed one. That’s who we need to find.
Sevo: The editor must have a record of the investigator here somewhere. It could be an employee or a third party.
V’Lar / Taelon: Response
Sevo: It could be on the memory chips we found. We’d have to wait for the ship to analyse them which could take a while. But it looks like the editor-in-chief was big on physical media. Maybe they kept physical records. :: She gestured around the office to the myriad cabinets and articles on the wall. ::
Reynolds / V’Lar / Taelon: Response
Ayiana began scouring the office for clues. There were several cabinets filled with file folders that would take hours to go through; besides, she didn’t think the information would be that obvious. If the investigation was truly as important as they thought, then the editor would have gone to great lengths to keep the information hidden.
She examined a large board with various clippings and photos on it. The cases did not seem connected to each other; they were just put up there randomly as a place to quickly glance at the information. She was about to turn away and examine something else when her tricorder beeped quietly. She had forgotten about it; it was still in her hand and calmly running a standard sensor sweep. Looking down, she saw it was detecting a very weak power signature right in front of her. Ayiana looked closer at the infoboard, but couldn’t see anything out of note. Noticing it wasn’t fully attached to the wall and was just hanging on a nail, she picked it up and flipped it over.
At first, nothing was apparent; it was just the back of a board. But in the dim lighting provided by the bot and flashlights, she saw a small circular device attached to the back of the board near the top-right corner.
Sevo: I think I found something. ::She looked closer, scanning the device with her tricorder.:: There’s something attached to the back of this board. I think it's a holoemitter.
Reynolds / V’Lar / Taelon: Response
She wouldn’t have detected it if her tricorder was farther away; it was on standby mode and barely drawing a trickle of battery power. Tapping the single button in the center of the holoemitter, it suddenly lit up, projecting a complex diagram across the board in red light. It was a complicated evidence and connection board. There were pictures and names on it connected by red lines in a complicated web. Ayiana recognized a couple names - Pak’argh among them.
Sevo: Whoa. Jackpot.
Reynolds / V’Lar / Taelon: Response
----------------------------
Lt. Commander Ayiana Sevo
Mission Specialist
U.S.S. Gorkon
Image Collective
Wiki Ops
V239109AS0
----------------------------