Who Done It

Posted on Mon Apr 13th, 2020 @ 9:47pm by Fordyce Kirschler PhD & Chief Engineer Michael Burnstein & Executive Officer Jake Ford & Liha t'Ehhelih

Mission: Mission 11 - Prospecting
Location: Deck 15, Engineering
Timeline: following 'A Stationary Classic'
1542 words - 3.1 OF Standard Post Measure

Burnie returned to the engineering bay shortly, with both Jake Ford and Liha in tow - though 'in tow' was probably the wrong description for Liha, who was striding determinedly, steam practically trailing from ear points as she seethed over both the sabotage itself and the lack of what was to her Romulan sensibilities the simple common sense vigilance that should have prevented it. Burnie considered just how much alcohol he might owe either Ford for subjecting them to that, but he still felt she was the extra set of eyes - and inbred distrust - they might need for this.

"Ford," Burnie called to the COO as he started up the ladder. "We're coming up."

Jake poked his head into the shaft as Burnie ascended. Then he glanced over at the waiting Liha, who was a lot smaller than he was but still seemed like she would somehow be more intimidating. "Every time I hear 'other' Ford is involved, my day gets more complicated," he explained.

"I heard that," claimed Ford, projecting his voice so that it would carry down the maintenance tube. "'Boy howdy, my life sure was boring before ol' Ford come along. I'm mighty grateful for all the excitement lately.'"

"I'm sure you find each other far more delightful than I do," Liha remarked dryly, climbing up after Jake.

Jake pondered asking which 'Ford' he was referring to - even in jest - but figured the moment wasn't calling for even more levity. Instead he followed Burnie up the ladder. "So, what's got you both all 'excited'?" He emphasised the last word while looking at Fordyce for effect.

"Well, we found the problem with the engines," said Ford, gesturing to the control panel. The door was still open, hanging the slightest bit off its hinges. "Somebody slippier'n a pocketful of puddin' snuck in here under our noses and relieved us of a few vital isolinear chips."

A slanted eyebrow ascended as Liha tried to run that through her internal human to normal translator. She looked pointedly at Burnie.

"I'm from New York. Southern is almost as foreign to me as to you," the engineer told her, shaking his head with a chuckle. "But I think he's trying to say that some stealthy thief got in here and pulled the isolinear chips we need to initiate warp."

"Not much of a thief if they left such obvious evidence of tampering," Liha scoffed, examining the door hanging open.

"Unless they didn't care too much," replied Ford. "We figure the latch was a little loose on account of age and maintenance. If it hadn't been open when I come in here, we mighta been lookin' for longer. And anyway, maybe they were more worried about bein' efficient than subtle. Either way, we were stuck when we needed to be stuck."

"Hm." Jake folded his arms. "What can you tell me about the work? Skilled? Any tell-tale clues that might lead us to the culprit?"

"I'm not sure I'd say 'skilled', but whoever took them knew which ones to pull. One or two from any of the other close slots would have made the problem obvious and maybe let us work out how to fix it quickly." He paused, mouth twisting in a wry frown. "If we had replacements on hand."

"So they knew exactly what they wanted to do and how to do so unobtrusively," Jake mused, scratching his beard thoughtfully. "You think that it was those folks who stole the Temperance out from under us, or are we considering an inside job?"

"That depends," Liha said, frowning at him. "Who was supposed to be watching them while they were aboard?"

Ford shifted in place. That seemed like an awfully pointed question, since the only person in the confined space who ought to have been watching them was Other Ford. Trying to ease the conversation past that sticking point, he cleared his throat.

"Well... I tell ya what, I'm leanin' toward an inside job. I can't claim to be ol' Burnie over here, but I know things've changed since the Rosie was put together. The saboteur was mighty thorough pullin' out the right chips, and I wouldn't have known what's what in that control junction without lookin' it up. So unless they got somebody smarter'n a hooty owl runnin' with 'em, I figure somebody on the inside had to have at least helped."

"Someone with knowledge, then. Opportunity?" Jake asked, his eyebrow raised. "How often do you have people down in this section?"

"People as in crew, or people as in visitors?" Burnie asked. "Because engineers are down here regularly, but this is the first time there have been any visitors on the ship since I joined the crew. But I should point out that the saboteur didn't have to be as well informed as that Ford suggests - even in modern ships this particular junction set up hasn't changed that much since the 2240s and it's not a location that would be moved in any upgrades or mods."

Jake frowned. "Unhelpful..." he murmured. "Not the information, but what it means. Almost anyone could've been in here and done it." He glanced thoughtfully over at Liha. "What do you think? No offense, but I imagine you have a pretty good head for something like this."

"What I think is that none of them should have been allowed aboard without a pair of escorts to keep an eye on their every move," Liha replied tersely. This kind of laxity would have gotten someone shot out an airlock in the Galae. "So, who was watching them? That woman who'd been on the Temperance was obviously good at sneaking about so she strikes me as the prime suspect, but we don't know that the rest couldn't do the same. At this point, we'll have to go with forensic evidence - prints, DNA, residual trace particles if they used a personal cloak of some sort."

There was a long pause as silence hung in the air. Jake thought for several moments, considering her words, before he just shrugged and motioned to Liha with his thumb. "What she said."

Ford narrow his eyes a little at Liha. "I thought you worked in engineerin'?"

Liha narrowed hers back. "As Mr. Ford has noted, I'm Romulan. We learn basic security measures - and how breaches can be detected - before entering the first level at school."

He figured that meant she knew just as well how to cover all that up, assuming everyone was a suspect. But it wouldn't do to point that out at the moment as stirring up suspicion wasn't likely to work out well for him. After all, Ford was the newest crewmember, and he had shown up coincidentally in the middle of the salvage operation. Instead of making some smart remark in reply, he decided to just keep his mouth shut... For once.

"She also started as a fighter pilot," Burnie put in. "Ours check their own systems before flying, so I can only imagine how thoroughly Galae pilots would." Getting a nod from Liha, he continued. "At this point it's probably best to let Mr. Ford run the scans and collect evidence. Liha can help out if you need a technical expert on hand," he told the armory officer.

"And I reckon I'll just stay out of the way," added Kirschler. He physically took a step back as if to demonstrate the point.

Jake cocked a grin at Other Ford and took his place. "Forensic scans, then. Those can take a little while; Any chance we can limit the number of folks working in this area for a while?" he asked the Engineers.

"You got it." Burnie nodded. "I'll put up a restricted access barrier. Engines are offline anyway, so there's no need for anyone be here until we fix this," he said, stepping back to head down the ladder. "Until then, I leave you in Liha's capable hands."

A look passed from Liha to Burnie. He may or may not have meant it as she interpreted - her understanding of the way humans thought wasn't perfect - but in mind that was a hint that she should watch both the men remaining there. And that Burnie trusted that she could handle one or both if there was trouble. "I will let you know what we find."

"Appreciated," Jake nodded. He cocked his head slightly, lips curling up into a sheepish grin. "Anyone else think it's weird that the one person I trust in this situation is the Romulan on board?"

Liha laughed out loud. "That's a new one for me. I'm not sure if I should take it as a compliment, or be worried that I'm slipping."

"Definitely a compliment," Jake nodded. He glanced around the others. "Back to it?"

Liha smiled, a rare honestly pleased smile. "Yes," she said simply, and began to her tricorder to adjust it for the necessary readings.

OFF:

Jake Ford
Chief Armoury Officer
SS Mary Rose

Michael Burnstein
Chief Engineer
SS Mary Rose

Liha t'Ehhilih
Engineer
SS Mary Rose
(PNPC Burnstein)

Dr. Fordyce "Ford" Kirschler
Chief of Operations
SS Mary Rose

 

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