Just Another Cog in the Wheel
Posted on 18 Apr 2015 @ 5:17pm by Lieutenant Benice Gyce Ph.D. & Lieutenant Oren Idris Ph.D.
Edited on on 21 Apr 2015 @ 3:40am
2,067 words; about a 10 minute read
Mission:
Episode 08 - NIMBUS
Location: USS Galileo - Oren's Lab
Timeline: MD 1: 0830 Hours
[ON]
Prior to Gyce's walk to Doctor Idris' lab, she had spent a few hours going through a false alarm investigation. This time, it was the tripping of a security alarm, tied to Doctor Seleya Qellar's personal property.
Given that the slippery Romulan scientist asked Gyce for a roster once, and this false alarm revolved around said Romulan, the detective had high hopes of a lead. Maybe a new ally in the search for more clues of unraveling her nemesis' plans.
It was a very high hope, but one that drove her to easily narrow down the list of people whose biosigns were on record at the time of the false alarm. That pulled up Doctor Oren Idris, as being the closest.
"Is it safe to enter?" Gyce gently asked with a tap of her fist against the doorframe.
Given the nature of the ship itself, she did not always know what sort of experiments were being run. So finding out if it was safe to enter any given lab was just a safe habit for her to get into.
Her worries proved to be unnecessary as the doctor's office seemed like the least dangerous place on the entire fourth deck. The room was lacking in any of the usual scientific equipment that filled the rest of the deck; even the desk that usually sat in the middle had been moved against one of the walls to leave a wide open space in its place. In the middle of the room was a small pile of multicoloured pillows and, in the middle of them sat Oren Idris. His jacket, black with a white basketweave pattern all over it, was folded on the floor next to him, and paDDs and old books were thrown all around him.
At the sound of his visitor, Oren looked up from his cushioned spot on the floor to meet her eyes. "Of course!" he answered with a smile, "Come on in."
"Thank you Doctor Idris," Gyce began as she entered and strolled casually with her cane. She loved to take in her surroundings as they revealed a lot about a person. "We have not met, but I am Lieutenant Benice."
"Your reputation precedes you, Lieutenant," Oren told her, pushing himself up to stand. Stepping to the side, the scientist picked up the chair from his desk and moved it closer to the Security officer. "Please, sit down and make yourself comfortable. Would you like anything from the replicator?"
"Iced jumja tea, if you don't mind Doctor," Gyce answered just as casually as she accepted the chair. "I'm not sure if my reputation on this ship lives in infamy or high esteem yet, to be honest."
"I think that depends on who you ask," Oren said with a smile, walking over to the replicator and getting them both an iced jumja tea. "I'm impressed though, that you've managed to get a reputation at all on in such a short amount of time." He handed her the tea before settling himself down onto the pillows again, keeping his own drink steady in both hands.
"Mostly it is because I took charge of security while the majority of the crew were on shore leave," Gyce admitted with a small grin as she sipped on her tea. "Had a few incidents I suppose that caused a gossip mill. So I try to to be more discreet when I do followups."
Oren nodded. "It's a small ship, so that's probably wise. Gossip spreads like wildfire here," he added knowingly, sipping his tea. He looked more relaxed after finally getting some sleep the night before and felt no rush in asking what a security officer was doing on the fourth deck. He had his suspicions but he let her get bring it up on her own terms.
"Unfortunately, it is a followup I am here for." Gyce gave the man an apologetic frown. "You were spotted on the feeds yesterday, almost directly on top of a security alert that went off."
"That's a coincidence, because I did accidentally activate a security alert yesterday," Oren replied, not appearing to be the least bit anxious about the officer's statement.
"It's a pity then," Gyce sighed. "I had thought the person's security alarm you triggered might of made us allies. In so far as having a mutual person of interest."
"Somehow I'm not surprised Doctor Qellar is a person of interest," Oren admitted with a knowing smile. "Is it just a race thing or has she been skulking around?" he wondered, sipping his tea. "Out of curiosity," Oren added, clarifying.
"Oh she's been in a few areas where security alarms went off," Gyce supplied in hopes she might fare better from him. "My superiors like to believe it's coincidence, but she's tried numerous times before joining this crew, in getting a crew roster. Even after I got her in touch with her department head to make sure her overlapping research issues would not happen."
"Well, at least she isn't looking for a crew roster anymore," Oren said, rolling his eyes. Now that she'd found him, Oren was sure she had other plans. He'd hoped checking her research notes might help him in figuring out what they were, but she had a good security system up.
"I'd like to get another ally in discovering what her motives are, actually." Gyce gave him a very gauging look as she drank her tea. "Hypothetically speaking, if the one that tripped the alarm were to come clean about it, I would be more than willing to pair up with them and trade notes about Doctor Qellar."
"I've already come clean. I wanted to see what she was working on in her research, but I'm not authorised to know it, apparently," Oren explained, watching the officer closely now, trying to determine just how much he should say about his and Seleya's connection to one another.
"Be as it may, she tripped alarms as well. While I cannot prove it due to circumstantial evidence, every feeling in my bones tells me she's doing something, or planning something that will not bode well for who her target or targets are," Gyce cautioned to him, then took another sip of her tea. "Her connections to the Tal'Shiar and other groups, however loosely, plus the fact she tried to play me unsuccessfully in revealing who all servers here, tells me she's anything but harmless. So if I do nothing else, I'm cautioning you very carefully in not going into her personal things unless you got backup. There's no telling how she'll retaliate."
Oren stayed silent for a while, sipping his tea as he continued to look at Benice. Thinking on her words, Oren wondered what, if anything, he owed Seleya. Sure, they were close once upon a time and while she seemed to forget that, Oren couldn't. Despite his best interests and better judgment, he still had a small amount of care for her. But, unlike Benice, he knew her relatively well.
"It's not targets," he finally said, meeting the Bajoran's eyes. "Target. Singular. She was looking for me."
"I see," Gyce nodded as she took in that bit of confirmation. "So why is she trying hard to get to you? At least, I assume it was your quarters the MAA said she accidently tripped an alarm on."
"We used to work on the same colony," Oren said simply, crossing his legs under him. "She's a scientist," he added with a shrug. "She's curious about me." It was the nicest way he could put it.
"More like stalking you," Gyce supplied as she pulled out a PADD from her messenger bag to take notes. "At least from my perspective. She gave the same dung story of her needing the crew roster to your DH, after I shut her down... Strikes of desperation when you put the events together."
"Well, she knows I'm on board now," Oren told her, remembering his few encounters with Seleya. They had been civil, if one was to look at them from the outside, but Oren knew what she meant with every word.
"I have to ask this, as it is part of my investigation into her," Gyce began very respectfully, "but were the two of you ever romantically involved?"
"That's really none of your business," Oren said, smiling around his cup as he took a sip. "It's also completely irrelevant."
That was confirmation in of itself. Gyce was smart enough not to press for there were other ways getting that fact out in the open. Still, she went to a different set of questions, typing notes away in her PADD.
"Where did you two work together at?" Gyce next asked, then took a careful sip of her tea.
"Al'Asayan," Oren replied calmly. "It's a small Romulan colony near the border. I was working on my Ph.D. in Exoarchaeology and she was there, working as a biotechnologist."
"So how long ago was that study program you partook in?" Gyce asked.
She did not have cause just yet to think Oren had done anything illegal just yet. But also she knew if he studied in a Romulan program and Starfleet passed him for service in the fleet, it probably was not a big deal.
"About 25 years, give or take a few," Oren replied, his sincerity clear in his casual tone.
"So did you two ever share any research projects? Or do your two fields rarely cross each other?" Gyce asked both out of professional courtesy, and scientific. Seleya's field was most assuredly unique.
"We never officially worked on any projects together, but we helped each other out when needed. She was more secretive about her projects than I was. Still, it's the Romulan way, so I never held it against her. We were assigned roommates for the duration of my stay there, so we spoke often about a lot of things."
Assigned roommates, but did not want to answer if he had a relationship with the woman... That was interesting indeed.
"I guess my last question for now," Gyce began to conclude as she finished her tea, "is what is she after? If she wanted to see you, all she has to do is come here or knock on your door. Not break into a door."
"I told you. She's very curious about me, in a scientific sense," Oren explained as best he could while keeping his tone lighthearted.
"I'm not quite sure what she wants exactly," he admitted. It was at least a half-truth on his part.
"Well if you do happen to notice any thefts or strangeness about her, you will let me know, yes?" Gyce asked hopefully.
"I will," Oren promised. "I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help to you, but Seleya, in my experience, seems more dangerous than she really is."
"I will take your opinions into advisement, Doctor." Gyce smiled warmly to him as she finished off her tea and then made to head for the door. "Still... No matter if it was a lover scorned or an unexpected poor parting of friends between you? If you feel at any moment you're in danger, then you can come to me. Free of prosecution or judgement."
She meant it too. Mainly because of the statute of limitations on charging anyone for any crime. - Except maybe treason and murder. Those were likely long gone and she dare not rely on any fruit from these past lovers.
"I will keep that in mind, lieutenant. Thank you for you concern," Oren told her with a smile and a nod, standing up to see her out. As they approached the door, he spoke again.
"Also, I want you to know that your reputation doesn't do you justice and it's a comforting thought to know that a Security officer would reach like this. You're not nearly as paranoid as the rumors make you out to be." He added the last with a small, playful smile.
"I'm not," Gyce agreed with an easy laugh. "Take care, Doctor Idris."
Gyce left his lab feeling as if she had just busted the case wide open. Her next meeting with Stace, she believed, would be far more fruitful.
[OFF]
Lieutenant JG Benice Gyce
Security Investigations Officer
USS Galileo
Oren Idris, Ph.D.
Archaeologist/Anthropologist
USS Galileo
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