Post by Isaiah Quinn on Oct 14, 2021 8:17:15 GMT
{Quoted Posts}
Solum responded to Chloe's request to access the Soteria's systems with surprising speed. Chloe had been keeping him up to speed with what they were looking for, and before long, he was sending documents that might be relevant. She quickly examined them, skimming over them to see if any where relevant. Luckily, some were, and they were damning. "Yes!" she exclaimed with excitement, pumping her fist in the air. "Sorry..." she said sheepishly as she looked at the Captain. "I've found communication logs, transcrips, orders. They confirm that the Alliance used some sort of technique to probe Perry's mind for information, and then induced memory loss," she explained as she sent what she had found to Eastman and Taggart. "And it proves Vasser knew. She acknowledged receipt of these messages. She's in on it. This is enough to detain them on plenty of charges."
Pierce nodded, and sent out a broad request for information to the rest of the ships registered as being in that system around that time. While waiting for responses, he listened to Chloe's report, a sinking sensation taking hold in his chest. It was one thing to suspect what had happened... It was something else entirely to have it confirmed. He turned to the Captain to await her orders, but his attention was grabbed by a ping on his console. "Looks like someone has a guilty conscience. A merchant's sensors picked up a freighter dropping off an escape pod, but when they went to investigate they were warned away before they were within range to scan the pod. He's not saying who sent the warning, but he's offering to send us his sensor and communication logs. Guess leaving well enough alone didn't sit right with him." At least there were some honest people left in the galaxy.
"Oy vey iz mir."
Chloe's revelation was a bombshell, laying it all out in black and white. It was crisp, and it was clear.
Pierce also made progress.
=A= "Eastman to Sickbay. We have information that indicates Perry's memory was probed by the Alliance." =A=
That would help guide that group's work.
"Well, I think this is a smoking gun. Do you think we can board and search the Soteria without casualties?"
"That's something at least," Chloe said to Taggart. "A boarding action could be costly if they choose to fight back. I'm not sure they would, but it's a risk. We could impound the Soteria, refuse to let them leave but stop short of boarding. Recall the Mac and inform Starfleet, have reinforcements sent. We can try and demand Vasser comes in for an interview," she paused, knowing it was unlikely Vasser would do that. It was still worth a try in Chloe's mind. "The drawback is they can purge their databases and it could result in a standoff if they try and resist." Niles further confirmed the proof that the Alliance did something to Perry, it was now extremely difficult for them to justifiably back down. At least with the Alliance they didn't have any leverage comparable to trillium. Maybe Starfleet would actually be willing to put their foot down, rather than allow a foreign mercenary group to assault and steal information, likely classified and sensitive, from a flag officer. Unfortunately, Quinn decided to try and defend the indefensible again. Chloe was surprised this time though, in the face of all this clear evidence that he would still choose to defend his former Commanding Officer against another prior CO. It was very suspect, especially given the Alliance's nature as a self serving mercenary group and its tendency to recruit Starfleet officers. Based on his behaviour, it wasn't inconceivable that he could be getting some form of kickbacks.
Taggert immediately shook his head at the question of boarding the Alliance vessel. "Not without the crew's complete cooperation. We simply don't have enough people trained for boarding. There's only a few I would even trust to have decent instincts for it." Which wasn't necessarily a bad thing, considering how rarely such a situation came up on this station. "The safest bet would be to lockdown the Soteria to prevent unauthorized departure, request another meeting with the Colonel and her senior staff, and detain them at the dock." Hopefully they were close to getting Moz in the brig. Velal would be invaluable here, and she knew her team better than he did and could bring the best with her.
=A= "Thank you, Lieutenant." =A=
Processing Isaiah's comments proved a more complicated task for Judy. She felt his judgement was clouded, more so and for more complex reasons than everyone else's.
=A= "Commander, go ahead and look up what's at those coordinates," =A= she ordered. For a moment, she thought herself content to leave it there, to see the conflicted officer tend to his tasks outside the decision curve, but... that wasn't who she was.
=A= "The evidence that we've found is... jarring, young man, and it is damning. This is difficult, I know, but the CO you once knew is at least complicit in something that is truly... despicable." =A=
Judy then turned her gaze to the duo in the room with her.
"I'll contact Vasser. Maybe Isaiah is right, and she is playing her own game, or maybe she'll just realize when she's lost. Stand by to extract our asset if need be."
Or maybe Admiral Ellis will show up at exactly the right time to mess things up again[fn]OOC: from a GMing perspective, this is one of many roads not taken[/fn].
=A= "Eastman to Vasser. We've come into possession of some new information. I'd greatly appreciate it if you could come back to my office." =A=
Chloe didn't think Vasser would come over, but it was the logical next move for now and at this point there wouldn't be much extra fallout if they already went to the level of impounding the Soteria. "Playing her own game or not, she knows something," Chloe said. And she was complicit to some degree. Extracting the asset would be difficult if the Soteria were to lock down, but there were a few options. Potentially he could be transported out, but Chloe began to prepare and examine some contingency plans that were more adventurous. At this point, there was little suspicion on Solum so without another streak of bad luck, his position seemed safe enough for now.
[LTJG Chloe Hudson - Conference Room]
Solum responded to Chloe's request to access the Soteria's systems with surprising speed. Chloe had been keeping him up to speed with what they were looking for, and before long, he was sending documents that might be relevant. She quickly examined them, skimming over them to see if any where relevant. Luckily, some were, and they were damning. "Yes!" she exclaimed with excitement, pumping her fist in the air. "Sorry..." she said sheepishly as she looked at the Captain. "I've found communication logs, transcrips, orders. They confirm that the Alliance used some sort of technique to probe Perry's mind for information, and then induced memory loss," she explained as she sent what she had found to Eastman and Taggart. "And it proves Vasser knew. She acknowledged receipt of these messages. She's in on it. This is enough to detain them on plenty of charges."
[Lt. Cmdr. Pierce Taggert - Front Ear - Conference Room 2]
Pierce nodded, and sent out a broad request for information to the rest of the ships registered as being in that system around that time. While waiting for responses, he listened to Chloe's report, a sinking sensation taking hold in his chest. It was one thing to suspect what had happened... It was something else entirely to have it confirmed. He turned to the Captain to await her orders, but his attention was grabbed by a ping on his console. "Looks like someone has a guilty conscience. A merchant's sensors picked up a freighter dropping off an escape pod, but when they went to investigate they were warned away before they were within range to scan the pod. He's not saying who sent the warning, but he's offering to send us his sensor and communication logs. Guess leaving well enough alone didn't sit right with him." At least there were some honest people left in the galaxy.
[Capt. Judith Eastman(-Williams), PhD - Conference Room]
"Oy vey iz mir."
Chloe's revelation was a bombshell, laying it all out in black and white. It was crisp, and it was clear.
Pierce also made progress.
=A= "Eastman to Sickbay. We have information that indicates Perry's memory was probed by the Alliance." =A=
That would help guide that group's work.
"Well, I think this is a smoking gun. Do you think we can board and search the Soteria without casualties?"
[LTJG Chloe Hudson - Conference Room]
"That's something at least," Chloe said to Taggart. "A boarding action could be costly if they choose to fight back. I'm not sure they would, but it's a risk. We could impound the Soteria, refuse to let them leave but stop short of boarding. Recall the Mac and inform Starfleet, have reinforcements sent. We can try and demand Vasser comes in for an interview," she paused, knowing it was unlikely Vasser would do that. It was still worth a try in Chloe's mind. "The drawback is they can purge their databases and it could result in a standoff if they try and resist." Niles further confirmed the proof that the Alliance did something to Perry, it was now extremely difficult for them to justifiably back down. At least with the Alliance they didn't have any leverage comparable to trillium. Maybe Starfleet would actually be willing to put their foot down, rather than allow a foreign mercenary group to assault and steal information, likely classified and sensitive, from a flag officer. Unfortunately, Quinn decided to try and defend the indefensible again. Chloe was surprised this time though, in the face of all this clear evidence that he would still choose to defend his former Commanding Officer against another prior CO. It was very suspect, especially given the Alliance's nature as a self serving mercenary group and its tendency to recruit Starfleet officers. Based on his behaviour, it wasn't inconceivable that he could be getting some form of kickbacks.
[Lt. Cmdr. Pierce Taggert - Front Ear - Conference Room 2]
Taggert immediately shook his head at the question of boarding the Alliance vessel. "Not without the crew's complete cooperation. We simply don't have enough people trained for boarding. There's only a few I would even trust to have decent instincts for it." Which wasn't necessarily a bad thing, considering how rarely such a situation came up on this station. "The safest bet would be to lockdown the Soteria to prevent unauthorized departure, request another meeting with the Colonel and her senior staff, and detain them at the dock." Hopefully they were close to getting Moz in the brig. Velal would be invaluable here, and she knew her team better than he did and could bring the best with her.
[Capt. Judith Eastman(-Williams), PhD - Conference Room 2]
=A= "Thank you, Lieutenant." =A=
Niles had corroborated their source's revelations, and this was welcomed.
Processing Isaiah's comments proved a more complicated task for Judy. She felt his judgement was clouded, more so and for more complex reasons than everyone else's.
=A= "Commander, go ahead and look up what's at those coordinates," =A= she ordered. For a moment, she thought herself content to leave it there, to see the conflicted officer tend to his tasks outside the decision curve, but... that wasn't who she was.
=A= "The evidence that we've found is... jarring, young man, and it is damning. This is difficult, I know, but the CO you once knew is at least complicit in something that is truly... despicable." =A=
Judy then turned her gaze to the duo in the room with her.
"I'll contact Vasser. Maybe Isaiah is right, and she is playing her own game, or maybe she'll just realize when she's lost. Stand by to extract our asset if need be."
Or maybe Admiral Ellis will show up at exactly the right time to mess things up again[fn]OOC: from a GMing perspective, this is one of many roads not taken[/fn].
=A= "Eastman to Vasser. We've come into possession of some new information. I'd greatly appreciate it if you could come back to my office." =A=
[LTJG Chloe Hudson - Conference Room]
Chloe didn't think Vasser would come over, but it was the logical next move for now and at this point there wouldn't be much extra fallout if they already went to the level of impounding the Soteria. "Playing her own game or not, she knows something," Chloe said. And she was complicit to some degree. Extracting the asset would be difficult if the Soteria were to lock down, but there were a few options. Potentially he could be transported out, but Chloe began to prepare and examine some contingency plans that were more adventurous. At this point, there was little suspicion on Solum so without another streak of bad luck, his position seemed safe enough for now.
Col. Helena Vasser | Maj. Chromar | Alpha Sgt. Gorsk | Dr. Bel | Capt. Rez Jogann | 2nd Lt. Neema |
The level of tension in the room was high. Vasser could only imagine that a very similar disposition was taking place aboard the station as well. However, that wasn't her concern. For now, her purview was limited to what was taking place aboard her own vessel. Particularly, where her Intelligence officer was concerned. It wasn't in Vasser's nature to simply allow idle hands to roam. After hearing about Avi Moz, Vasser thought it best to put Chromar's talents to constructive use, rather than leave him to his own machinations. And at those he was quite talented.
"Have you discovered anything useful?" Vasser asked.
The Romulan stared coolly in Vasser's direction. His venomous glare wasn't aimed at her directly, but she certainly hadn't alleviated the matter. Sometimes, he thought the fact that she had been a Starfleet Captain was to her detriment. Still, he couldn't argue with the effectiveness of her methods overall. "If you are asking if I've discovered the identities of any other moles... the answer is no. As per your request."
Vasser pursed her lips. "And I thought we agreed the more prudent strategy was not to uproot the mole, but to control the narrative. How're things on that front?"
A long sigh left Chromar's lips. "We won't know for certain, until they haul you in for another inquisition, but if their source... or sources are worth anything, I'm certain their tongues are wagging quite profusely," Chromar admitted. "There are enough... alternative facts... that they won't ignore. If Harmon's replacement has access to any of that information and has shared it with Captain Eastman and the rest of the staff, they'll tip their hand and verify there's a spy on board."
Vasser nodded. "Excellent. Thank you, Major," she said. Perhaps that was enough stroking of Chromar's ego for the time being. A little praise went a long way in soothing one's wounded pride. "Now, I'm not certain if things will escalate, but I do plant to take the Soteria out very shortly. I imagine that Captain Eastman will be resistant to that notion if Lieutenant Henriksen mood was any indication."
She then turned her attention to Captian Jogann. "Captain, your assessment of any attempts to retain us?" She paused waiting for the Brikar's response.
"The obvious play would be to lock down the clamps and keep us stationary," the Captain stated. "They may even attempt to breach and board, or extract via transporter. I have contingencies in place for each of those. The majority of your men are trained in anti-boarding and close-quarters combat. I'm not certain the same could be said for Starfleet stationed here. As for nullifying the transporters, we can erect a scattering field. It should interfere with their sensors enough that they it would degrade the accuracy of a signal lock well below their preferred threshold." The Brikar tilted his head slightly. "And we could have a team of six cutters in EVO-gear at your discretion if you choose to physically cut or blow the docking clamps."
Jogan was good... effective. Vasser made a mental note to see what she could do about stealing him away from Sigma-4 on a permenant basis. "It's good to know we have options, Captain. Let's proceed with the scattering field. Have all people standing by to defend against a breach and board. The clamps will be a last resort." The last thing Vasser wanted to do was escalate things to that level if it could be avoided. "I just received orders that our presence is required just outside the Decius system, immediately."
"That's where--" began Chromar.
Vasser nodded. "That's right," the colonel said. "A very popular area as of late, with absolutely no strategic value. Have you heard anything more?"
"Colonel... even I have my limits," said the Romulan. Vasser wasn't entirely certain if she believed that. However, given that someone had nearly killed him several months ago, she knew that Chromar would be dogged about learning what he could from those shadows.
It was then that Vasser was advised that Captain Eastman was attempting to contact her. "Well, gentlement... it seems we're being summoned." Vasser rose from her seat and moved to the Bridge. She nodded for Gorsk to put the message on screen. As she stared over at Eastman's image requesting her presence, Vasser wasn't entirely certain if Quinn had gotten the message she'd sent him or not. Which meant there was only one way to proceed.
-♦- "Captain, your timing is impeccable. I trust Lt. Henriksen relayed our time table to you, so I must decline your invitation. My ship has business elsewhere, and as I said before... I've shared with you all that I can. Everything I have said and will say is in the official receipt that Mr. Quinn signed for." -♦- Vasser nodded towards Jogann, and the Brikar proceeded to the tactical station and erected the scattering field. It wouldn't interfere with communications, but he did imagine that if they were being watched, they'd realize it was in play.
"Sergeant Gorsk, send our official request to disembark to Ops," Vasser said. Her eyes moved back to the viewscreen. -♦- "There are a lot of eyes on us, Captain," -♦- Vasser said. -♦- "I suggest we each be very mindful of what follows from here." -♦- Vasser then turned to Chromar and gave a second nod. The Intelligence Officer began filtering through com-traffic to and from the ship, no matter how significant. Vasser took one a deep breath, her eyes staring directly into Judy's as she gave her next orders aloud for Eastman to hear. -♦- "Helm, prepare to disengage and proceed to our coordinates on my mark." -♦- Vasser continued to stare directly at Judy's image. She wasn't certain how much time had passed before she finally uttered the word. -♦- "Mark." -♦-
Tag: Judith Eastman , Matthew Harmon , Jovireh Velal