Vice Admiral Quinn Reynolds - The Plot Thickens
Quinn Reynolds
((Upper vIq'mItlh City, veHrom’nagh))
Their investigation of Pak’argh’s death had led the team of Starfleet officers first to another murder victim — the editor-in-chief of the Glob Fly, Krelah — and into the publication’s offices. Inside, they had found an abundance of evidence, the legacy of almost unimaginable violence, allowing them to piece together a likely series of events.
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.
Not necessarily spycraft, but possibly evidence of local security knowledge or prior planning. Taelon, however, looked less than convinced by that aspect of her summary.
Taelon: I’m not sure we can say they carefully dodged cameras just yet, sirs. :: He spoke up from where he’d been looking out over the ‘bullpen’, as they were calling it.:: Pak’argh ran into a square overlooked by them, but, um, the alleys and this building aren’t monitored. They might have just been unlucky that he happened to flee towards a monitored area…
He had a point. Sometimes, those with malicious intentions just got lucky. It could be the assailants had barrelled in with no preparation whatsoever, and just lucked into a site where there was little to no surveillance. But that didn’t feel quite right either, and she wondered if perhaps the answer was somewhere in the middle.
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, and possibly a fact-checker, 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: Given the assailants' thoroughness in destroying the primary computer, it is logical to assume they would have also targeted any obvious physical records. A hidden or encrypted source is more probable.
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. ::
Sevo gestured toward the cabinets around the room, and once again, Quinn was struck with the incongruity of it all. On a planet where a mineral intended for the most advanced drives in the galaxy shipped out from orbital docks on a structure which encircled the entire planet... there was a news office with paper clippings and physical files. She wondered if it was Krelah’s influence, or something she had inherited from a previous editor. A touchstone to a treasured past, perhaps.
Taelon: Don’t forget those, either.
While he gestured toward the desks outside, V’Lar subtly turned her tricorder toward the cabinets and desks, passive scans silently cataloguing. There was little sign anyone had rummaged through them, and that struck Quinn as a little odd, given the circumstances.
Reynolds: I wonder why our assailants didn’t stop to search any of this.
She swept her torch around, frowning in thought. Maybe Taelon was right, and this was far less professional than she had first assumed. Or maybe she had guessed the wrong profession. Assassins weren’t the only people who committed murder in their line of work. There were plenty of other criminal types willing to take a life to ensure theirs continued in the fashion desired.
Sevo began her search, turning to a large board with—anachronistic once again—clippings and pictures. None of them seemed connected to one another, or to what they were investigating. It looked as though she was about to step away, when her tricorder beeped, its passive scans alerting her to a point of interest. Her interest reinvigorated, she returned to the board and inspected it once again, this time checking the back.
Meanwhile, Taelon investigated the cabinets which were filled with physical documents. Where had they all come from? Who was printing all of this, instead of working from PADDs and workstations? It was a bizarre setup.
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.
Taelon: A holoemitter—?
A tiny disc, barely bigger than a button, sat in the top right corner of the noteboard. Sevo tapped the centre of the small device to activate it. Immediately, a complex diagram sprung into life, an evidence and connection board with pictures, names, and glowing red lines weaving between them. A familiar name stood out — Pak’argh — while the rest remained unknown to them for now.
Sevo: Whoa. Jackpot.
Both Taelon and V’Lar stepped in for a closer look, the former towering over the less vertically blessed among them.
V'Lar: A 'jackpot' is a subjective assessment. We should first analyse the data before reaching conclusions.
A soft huff of amusement slipped past Quinn’s lips, a small smile catching on the corner of her mouth. She appreciated the Vulcan’s caution and clear logic, even as she understood Sevo’s enthusiasm for the find. Sometimes evidence was exactly as important as it seemed. And sometimes it was less valuable than it first appeared, or nothing more than a red herring. Ensuring they were appropriately sceptical was always wise.
Taelon: Sirs… this might be, um, incorrect, but the attack here feels more personal than professional. If our suspects are among this web, then they might have simply asked to meet Pak’argh and the editor…
V'Lar: The distinction is noted, Lieutenant, but the methodology of the assailants remains unchanged regardless of their motive.
Reynolds: ::She nodded.:: We should keep it in mind, but let’s not discount the possibility that it’s a professional hit that went wrong. It wouldn’t be the first assassination attempt which turned into a bloodbath.
Sevo: Response
Taelon squinted at the board above their heads, reading the Klingon text. One image caught his eye, and he pointed toward it. A young person, their forehead ridges only just reaching maturation, with a label in pIqaD.¹ One of the red lines led to an older Klingon man, heavily scarred on his visible skin, and she could only assume just as heavily scarred under his clothing.
While Quinn was fluent in Klingon, it had been a while since she’d read the script. She had to pause and think about whether the uncertainty in the terms was her own or the original author’s.
Taelon: 'Ep'ehko, informant.’ ::His finger traced the red line to a face they’d yet to identify, an older Klingon man with visible scarring across his head and neck.:: 'K'uklud. Dealer. Boss?
Sevo: Response
Taelon: No, I meant — the symbol means she was unsure… Dealer seems more certain.
V'Lar: The editor's uncertainty is a critical piece of data. It suggests K'uklud's role is not a matter of public record, which would support the theory that the Glob Fly was not merely engaged in satire, but in criminal investigations. That being the case, 'the Circle' could be the name of a criminal organisation that was the subject of their investigation.
Reynolds: If that’s the case, I wonder what she meant by, “The circle must not close”. And who she was talking about when she said he was the first one they noticed.
Sevo: Response
V'Lar: The Gorkon could begin searching the colony's public registries for the names provided.
Quinn nodded. It was a good idea, and she let someone else send the request up to the ship. She focused instead on gathering up the new series of revelations, and trying to form them into a conclusion and plan of action. As much as she would like to search the Glob Fly from top to bottom, they hadn't the time, and they needed to move on soon.
Reynolds: If we’re assuming the assailants got the information downloaded from the computer, and it matches this information, then we have two potential next targets. The informant and the journalist they’ve been reporting to.
Sevo / Taelon: Response
V'Lar: Indeed, an informant, by definition, is a liability in any criminal enterprise. Prioritising the determination of the status and location of this 'Ep'ehko would be logical.
Crossing her arms and tapping her tricorder against her bicep, Quinn frowned in thought as she looked over the rest of the board. She agreed with the assessment, but wanted to spend a moment double-checking if there were any other individuals on the board who might be under threat. Her hazel eyes moving from image to image, label to label, she couldn’t see any other potential targets, but there was a picture which caused her brow to furrow.
Reynolds: Before we leave, let’s do a quick sweep of the journalists’ desks to see if we can figure out who was investigating this. Otherwise, we’ll have to focus on 'Ep'ehko and hope he can point us toward them.
Sevo / Taelon: Responses
V'Lar: ::She looked back toward the holographic projection.:: Is there any information about the specifics in which the dealer is believed to deal in?
Sevo / Taelon: Response
V'Lar: Such data could assist us in locating them, either directly or through other leads.
Her eyes still on the lower half of the board, Quinn dug in her pocket for the small PADD she had brought along. She talked as she tapped on the screen, scrolling through the data her requests summoned. Text and images of various Klingons flicked past, their faces growing more similar as she fine-tuned her searches.
Reynolds: The local LEOs might have something, even if they’ve not got enough for an arrest. If they’ve been itching to get their hands on him, we might get a little more cooperation out of them.
Sevo / V’Lar / Taelon: Response
Reynolds: Then again, there is this.
She pointed at a picture near the lower half of the board, a middle-aged Klingon with an intense stare, then held up her PADD. The same individual stared out at them, but this picture was more formal, and the rugged clothing was instead a uniform. Underneath, a name and a law enforcement rank: Sergeant Torghen, son of Krathor.
Reynolds: He was one of the officers watching over Pak’argh’s murder scene.
Sevo / V’Lar / Taelon: Response
¹ pIqaD: The Klingon alphabet
Commanding Officer
USS Gorkon
T238401QR0