Lt. Commander V'Lar - What the Blood Remembers

[Chris M]

(('The Glob Fly' - Upper vIq'mItlh City, veHrom’nagh)) 

V'Lar: If we were able to obtain the genetic profiles of the staff employed at this location then it would aid our efforts to build a comprehensive picture of the interactions in this area.

Sevo: It’s a shame there are no cameras here.

V'Lar processed the Trill's comment. It was a statement of fact. The presence of visual recording technology would have been helpful, however, no such technology was present and it was illogical to waste time lamenting its absence. All the absence did, was reinforce the importance of the biological data. V'Lar considered her scans.

Reynolds: Response

Taelon: …If I had to guess, which, um, I do, the stabbing started in the next room…?

Sevo: It makes sense the attacker or attackers entered through the main entrance and…um…worked their way through the bullpen to the editor’s office. It looks like they used a chair to break through the window, since the door was locked. Perhaps the employees in the bullpen were trying to delay the attackers and defend the editor.

The El-Aurian and the Trill were engaging in speculation. Their theories were plausible but were, for the moment, merely hypotheses. V'Lar continued to focus on her tricorder, aware that the RNA degradation timeline she was compiling would provide a definitive sequence of events, replacing conjecture with fact.

V'Lar: Speculation on the sequence is unnecessary. The data will provide the answer.

She paused for a moment, recalling how sensitive other species could be.

V'Lar: Your hypotheses do appear to be supported by the currently available data... incomplete as it is.

Reynolds: Response

Taelon: Perhaps you might have been right, Commander, that the Glob Fly published something incriminating. Or knew something they shouldn’t have…

Sevo: If anyone would have known such information, it would have been the editor. Maybe they didn’t even get around to publishing yet. Maybe someone got wind of the compiling story and tried to stop the publishing.

Reynolds: Response

The conversation had pivoted from the "how" of the altercation to the "why." This discussion of motive was outside her specific area of expertise. She continued to collate the physical evidence, content to let the other officers theorize while she dealt exclusively within the realm of facts.

V’Lar: Motive is not within my purview however if the motive was to suppress information, the individual with primary access to that information would be the primary target.

Taelon: Aye, that - oh…!

V'Lar’s gaze shifted to the object of their attention: the shattered computer terminal. 

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?

The deliberate destruction of a data storage device was a clear indicator of motive. 

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.  

Reynolds: Response

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.

V'Lar: If the data is recoverable, it is the most logical path of inquiry.

Reynolds / 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.

Lieutenant Commander Sevo proposed an on-site data recovery attempt. V'Lar internally weighed the logic of this course of action against the risk of further contaminating the crime scene and of inadvertently corrupting any data by performing a complex technical task, best suited to specialist facilities, in the field.

Reynolds / Taelon: Response

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?

The on-site attempt had encountered a predictable obstacle: encryption. Whilst V'Lar did have considerable experience with programming as well as data analysis and modeling, she was not fluent in the decryption algorithms for Klingon computer systems.

V'Lar: I do possess programming experience but not with Klingon systems. 

Reynolds / Taelon: Reponse

The report of encryption was a pivotal new variable. V'Lar had remained silent because a simple data recovery by a fellow officer presented a manageable risk. Attempting to bypass unknown, non-Federation encryption in the field, however, exponentially increased the probability of accidental data corruption. The current course of action was no longer the most logical one, therefore it was appropriate to propose a more prudent alternative.

V'Lar: Perhaps the crystals should be transported to the Gorkon for proper analysis?

Reynolds / Sevo / Taelon: Responses

The storage crystals, whilst a key source of evidence, were not V'Lar's immediate concern, the data encoded on them was a focus for others. She therefore returned her focus to her own task, using the data gathered from the biological matter to resolve the chaotic scene into a clear sequence of events. A moment later her analysis was complete. 

V'Lar: Admiral, whilst we wait for the analysis, I have completed the timeline.

Reynolds: Response

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 / Sevo / 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 / Sevo: Response

V'Lar: It is Boridium.

V'Lar recalled that the element, atomic number 121 on the human periodic table, had an atomic mass of 317 in its most stable form. The metal was part of the trans-uranic series of heavy elements and, if memory served, Federation scientists believed that the element could not exist in nature, something which later proved to be incorrect. She was uncertain as to its usage by the Klingons although it could be used in power generation or for weaponry. Quite how it factored into this scenario was unclear but it could prove helpful in tracking the unknown assailant.

She turned her head towards the science officer, silently gesturing for them to add their own thoughts.

Taelon: Response

Reynolds / Sevo: Response

==========/\==========

Lieutenant Commander V'Lar
Chief Medical Officer
USS Gorkon, NCC-82293
A240101CC1