Lt. Taelon - Hol' Up, Waitta Minute

[Alison Hardwick]

((Upper vIq'mItlh City, veHrom’nagh))

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: Could this “dealer” be a part of the drug spread Tahna’s team is working on?

Taelon: They seem worth looking into, regardless.

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.

Quinn looked at the board, her gaze one of uncertainty - but that trained, logical kind, rather than the somewhat wide-eyed worry Taelon tended to don.

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: Let me just download the board real quick.

Sevo took a snapshot of the board with her tricorder. Taelon turned his attention to the physical documents again, flipping through the ones he’d pulled out. Most were hand-written, in the same careful and refined script the holoemitter’s notes were in.

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: Doesn’t look like it. It’s possible the editor didn’t know specifics yet; hence why she wasn’t sure if K'uklud was a dealer or a boss.

The papers were about all sorts of things - most of them seemingly mundane. He wondered why the Glob Fly would use this older, inaccurate method. A fun anachronism more associated with Earth, on one hand; but much more difficult to track or trace, on the other. Perhaps they’d switched to using it to avoid people scanning their systems for important information?

He sorted through them quickly, ARIA’s scanning eye helping him read the text quickly. He’d a good understanding of Klingon after living amid them for a few decades, but even so it helped to speed things up in a time-sensative situation like theirs.

Most were notes about the local goings-on; someone from the nearby bladesmiths’ thought the metal they were getting was cheap and they were being overcharged for it, a local baker was having an affair with a rival’s wife, and so on. All perfectly good gossip, but not immediately relevant.

While he read, the others continued their discussion.

V'Lar: Such data could assist us in locating them, either directly or through other leads.

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.

V'Lar: The official database of the local constabulary would be a valuable resource, provided they are not compromised. If a criminal conspiracy is in effect, their records could be incomplete or intentionally falsified. Given that I have not yet encountered local law enforcement, I lack the necessary data to evaluate their impartiality and their competence.

Sevo: ::She raised her eyebrows quizzically.:: You think a conspiracy is involved regarding the police?

Taelon’s own experience said the opposite of Sevo’s thoughts - the local police were likely corrupt by default, in his opinion. Klingon law was a torrid mix of honor, blood rites, and clan loyalty; enforcers were just that, and could usually be paid to look the other way.

Reynolds: Then again, there is this.

She pointed to the web of names and images, to one of a middle-aged man with a death stare. She raised her PADD, and the official roster image matched the one on the board one for one.

Reynolds: He was one of the officers watching over Pak’argh’s murder scene.

Sevo: Okay, that *is* suspect.

Worrying. Taelon was trying his best to stay conservative - to observe and not assume. It was difficult when names and ideas flashed up and matched his own biases.

Taelon: Response

Behind them, V’Lar had started to go through her own tricorder, no doubt scrolling through the reams of data.

V'Lar: It would be advisable for us to reevaluate the data so far collected.

Sevo: You think Torghen may have tampered with the information?

Reynolds: Response

V'Lar: A compromised officer at the primary crime scene would have had the opportunity to tamper with or remove evidence. The integrity of the original scene is now in question as is all of the data collected from it.

Sevo: That is a hell of a supposition.

Taelon: Um, it is. :He piped up, tone gentle and careful.:: Unless they very, very cleverly altered the camera footage, said officer never approached the body, so he couldn’t have significantly altered the trace evidence from the immediate attack. At least, I don’t think he could have…?

He looked to Quinn inquisitively, as if asking for correction.

Reynolds: Responses

V'Lar: Are we likely to have a suitably secure method for acquiring Sergeant Torghen's genetic profile? Doing so would allow us to determine whether he is a match for our unknown subject. It could also help us to establish the potential degree to which they could have compromised this location, if at all.

Sevo: As government employees, they probably did have their genetic profiles saved. It’s worth a shot.

Reynolds: Response

Sevo: Looks like we’ve found all we can in the office. The Admiral suggested we look through the bullpen desks quickly; just in case they have anything else.

V’Lar: Response

Taelon: Aye, sirs.

They broke up, Sevo heading to one of the more intact desks.

Sevo: Nothing much of note here at Pak'argh’s desk. Of course, if anything is missing, there’s no way to tell.

Taelon: His desk? ::He looked confused.:: I - did he work here..?

Had he missed an important detail? He looked to Quinn and V’Lar, uncertainly.

Reynolds / V’Lar: Response

That snarl figured out, the papers and desk stations were mostly the same as the others he’d found: they recorded all sorts of small factoids, none of them useful on their own. ARIA and their tricorders indexed them, all the same.

Sevo: Looks like our next stop is either Ep'ehko or Torghen. Given the Sergeant is back in the plaza, do you think we should confront him, first?

Reynolds / V’Lar: Response

Sevo: He might take it as an insult and a huge dishonor if we confront him publicly, in front of his squadmates. Perhaps we can pull him aside, or investigate him covertly?

Taelon: Um-

Reynolds / V’Lar: Response

Taelon sucked in a breath, let it out, and cleared his throat.

Taelon: I, um, one moment - before we continue, shall we review? The officer in question is on the web, but not labelled; if our journalist was looking into something, that simply means he might have been involved somehow, not that he was directly acting in our theoretical conspiracy…

Reynolds / V’Lar / Sevo: Response

Taelon shrugged one shoulder, not dismissive, but rather implying he didn’t find the concept of corrupt law enforcement shocking.

Taelon: Their job is hard, tiring, and often dangerous. It also doesn’t pay well, and their power is mostly tied to being the enforcers for the local authority; being corrupt and taking bribes isn’t uncommon. It’s technically criminal, but it’s also not a guarantee of involvement…I, um, think, anyway. And if we rush him, we might lose a helpful lead by accusing him.

Reynolds / V’Lar / Sevo: Response

Taelon: My, um, suggestion would be to look into our victim, too? Pak’argh is - was - the nephew of the governor, yes? If he was involved in something that might embarrass his house, or was dealing or imbibing in the drug trade, or anything else, that can help us start to connect names to a motive.

Reynolds / V’Lar / Sevo: Response




Lieutenant Taelon
Science Officer
USS Gorkon
O239303T10