Tricks

Posted on 08 Jan 2013 @ 12:47pm by Lieutenant Kiri Cho & Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Captain Jonathan Holliday & Command Master Chief Markum Quinn & Lieutenant Commander Evelyn Coleman

4,511 words; about a 23 minute read

Mission: Episode 02 - Resupply
Location: USS Galileo, Deck 4; Science Lab 2
Timeline: MD08 1000 hours

[ON]

Maenad and Kiri returned to science lab two after speaking with the captain about the likely security breach discovered by Lieutenant Liyar that morning. Their instructions now were to come up with a more complicated dummy terminal than the one Maenad had programmed a short while earlier. "I think the fastest and easiest way to go about this is to get the holodeck to create to create a fictitious starship with a fictitious crew," Maenad said once they had settled inside. She was quite experienced with holo-technology, too, and she might even enjoy this work. "While I'm configuring the holo-data to fit Galileo's 'story', per se, you get started on creating a computer capable of storing the ship's database without it actually be connected to our computer."

"Yes sir," Kiri was rather tense but this was work she could lose herself in. Almost at once she set about drawing up a list of parts that could be used to create a computer that could emulate the actual ships computer for a short time. It wouldn't take her that long to put it together but she would need to collect the parts.

Maenad immediately set to work near the conceptual holo-grid on the other side of the lab. She sat down at the computer terminal and immediately began programming the parameters toward simulated Federation starship. That in itself took time and a lot of work, but thankfully there were already several Starships that were stored in the Starfleet holographic database. Maenad figured she would access one of them and spend time modifying it, which would take considerably less time than making one herself. She chose the Voyager program created by Lieutenant Reginald Barclay, which she thought would be the easiest to customise into a Nova's specifications.

Kiri couldn't help but notice, despite her own work, "Do you think the security department has a holographic version of the ship?" It might not be her place to question her boss but she wanted to get this done as soon as possible.

Maenad looked over her shoulder. "If they do, it hasn't yet been added to the database," she said. "At least, I don't think it has." She began checking the Galileo's science database as Voyager's holodata began loading, hoping that some mention of Galileo's holographic version could be found. It required department head authorisation, demanding Maenad's command codes; a holographic representation of the ship posed obvious security threats if accessed by the wrong person. Her accessing the files would notify security despite her authorisation. "It would appear that it is fragmented," she observed to herself. "Only certain parts of the ship are there, but I think I can work from them,"

Smiling slightly to herself Kiri kept working on her own part in the plan. Building a computer was fun, it was really fun. There was a time limit, a resource limit and it was still going to be top of the line, she'd get to program it, build it, it would be hers. After fifteen minutes she had tracked down everything she needed from the ships stores, "Where should I build the computer?"

Maenad accessed Galileo's holo-files next to the stock Voyager program and started integrating the two. First she had to eliminate several decks from the Voyager suite, replacing them with files she'd created of Galileo's decks. Corridor, turbolift, and crew quarters files she was able to get through quickly because of how similar they all were. It was a simple matter of copying and pasting most of the content. She would get the computer to add random variation according to objects and decor later. Most of the Galileo's specialsed rooms had their own holo versions already, and she was able to place them throughout the ship as needed. After about fifteen minutes, her work was interrupted by Kiri's question. "You can set it up over there," she pointed to an empty table near multi-use work area.

"I will be back in a few minutes then, "There were three different storerooms to visit before she had all the bits she needed. It would be a small construction project once all the bits were in place. If it wasn't for the fact it needed to be completely isolated she would have just partitioned part of the main computer, this way was safer though.

Maenad nodded as Kiri left her alone in the lab. She instructed the computer to arrange her created files according to a Nova's specifications, and to integrate Voyager's files where Galileo's didn't exist. The program she had written would then modify Voyager's inserted files to appear as their Nova's equivalents would. It took about ten more minutes and a false Galileo was created. With the ship built, Maenad then imported the entire crew's personnel files, but had the computer randomise them within the ship's false database. This way, the entire crew manifest would appear legitimate, only their logs and any information entered into the ship's computer since it had left dock would have been a fabrication - albeit a realistic one.

It wasn't hard work but it wore her out, before coming back to the lab with a trolley Kiri had to sit down and take a break for a few minutes. Despite her enthusiasm for the task she was struggling already. Returning to the room she worked silently, not wanting to disturb Maenad. Starting with power units and processors she carried out her plan from memory. She could build a Starfleet computer in her sleep and program it with her eyes closed. This was lucky because she was almost both of those by the time she finished. A case less mass of lights, isolinear chips and small panels. It was small but powerful, able to emulate the much larger main computer but with a slower reaction time. Rather than micro seconds processes would take seconds, depending on the required task.

"All right, Miss Cho," Maenad said a few minutes after Kiri's return. "I'm all set." She stood from the terminal and walked over to where Kiri was working. "How is this coming?"

"Almost all finished," Kiri was connecting sections together and setting up wireless networks between a final few parts of the system. It was already running with a small hum, slowly producing heat.

Looking over the contraption Kiri had built, Maenad smiled. She was impressed that Kiri could do so much in just under thirty minutes. It would take her at least a few hours to build the same device, she thought. She stood upright and tapped her commbade. "Panne to the captain," she said. "Lieutenant Cho and I are ready to go down here."

There was a brief pause before the captain's voice sounded clearly across the comm in reply. "Acknowledged, I have sent Commander Holliday and Lieutenant Coleman to assist. They should be there momentarily. Saalm out."

Maenad leaned against Kiri's table, placing her hands on her lap, watching Kiri make her final adjustments, her face having gone blank as she waited for these new others to arrive. Obviously there had been some developments, but she would be glad to have this security matter out of her hands.

Kiri heard the words but couldn't form a reaction, her focus was on getting the computer working completely by the time the others arrived. She couldn't focus on too many things at once right now.

Evelyn held the rod firmly in her grip as she walked beside Holliday towards the Science Lab. "So are we going to share our information with the Science officers or are we going to keep that classified and tiptoe around what we're going to say?"

Quinn entered the room and smiled at all assembled, "Sirs, can I help with anything?"

Rounding the corner just as he saw Quinn disappear into the science lab, Holliday slowed down to a brisk walk as he too slipped into the room just before the doors moved to slam shut again, looking at the gathered group of officers in front of him.

"Captain Saalm ordered me to put in an appearance down here...I trust we all know what we're gathered here for?"

Kiri didn't really know why everyone else was involved for this task. For them to be informed made sense but to be here. Holding silence though she put the final touches in place on her crafted computer and looked at the others. If they didn't explain she would ask, right now though she was tired.

"Good morning Commander," Maenad said squarely, pushing herself off of Kiri's desk. She nodded to the others, then walked over to the computer she'd been working on to transfer the false Galileo database she'd constructed onto a storage device. After the transfer had finished, it only took a few seconds, she approached Holliday with her hands held her back. "Captain Saalm ordered Miss Cho and I to construct a facsimile of the ship's computer that is completely self-contained and separate from our own," she explained, then held up the drive in one hand. "This contains an entire representation of the Galileo, but all personal data and mission files have been randomly generated by a holo-novelisation program," she passed the device to Kiri to load into her computer. "We may begin testing the rod if you are ready."

"Wouldn't it be preferable to have the mission files in the duplicate core to see which information it was trying to reach?" Eve asked as she handed the rod to Maenad.

Maenad blinked once. "They are," she said, accepting the rod from Lieutenant Coleman. "Miss Cho is loading them from the drive now," she turned away from the intelligence officer and passed the rod to Kiri with an assuring nod.

"So, is the purpose of the device to keep sensitive files out of the computer in case of an unauthorized access event?" asked Quinn

Kiri wasn't quite sure what device or computer he was talking about, "This computer," Placing her hands on the one she had build, "Will not expose any real information if infiltrated by a hostile program."

Evelyn turned to Quinn, "The rod is designed to identify files in the computer core deemed classified and completely deletes them from ship's database."

"I think we've learned as much as we're going to from poking and prodding...it's about time we power this thing up and see what happens...agreed?"

John replied, looking across at the system being set up by the science department. As much as he saw the point of examining the data as much as possible in order to maximise the chances of a successful mission, there was only so much examination that could be done before it was time to test the theory.

Eve didn't respond directly, she merely took a step back to get out of Maenad and Kiri's way. She took one of the empty seats in the lab and sat down, waiting for the results.

Maenad had already given the rod to Kiri a moment ago, but now that the commander had given the go ahead, she moved behind Kiri's shoulders to watch her get the process underway.

Rather than slipping the round peg into the circular hole as a normal terminal Kiri had devised a franken port. Flexible crystal filaments danced in a rainbow of colours as she clipped pegs over each end of the rod. The wires were loose and running into the computer and almost at once they started to flash. The second set of wires fed into a cannibalised tricorder that started its own light hum now. Just to be on the safe side she was going to record every change in the rod right down to the atomic level. If need be she could even make a copy then.

Standing up she moved to where a display made out of a large screen panel and several pads was laying neatly across the table. The bridge, engineering, Weapons control, security office, main computer core. Each one was a copy of the real station but in miniature. Allowing fast access to any of the pretend systems, the main screen just showed a churning mass of active programs that constantly changed in a font almost too tiny for even her to read. Almost absent mindedly she spoke up, "It is starting."

Watching as the system booted up, Holliday felt a sense of anticipation develop in his core. No matter what happened here, they would at least get an idea of what this device was being used for, and hopefully, an idea of who was using it as well. Either that of course, or Intelligence would notice what they were doing and take measures to avoid detection.

"Status?"

Eve waited patiently, as the situation began unfolding. "If this rod is used for as we discussed in the Conference room, Commander, something interesting is about to happen." Eve smirked.

"Interesting is not a word that I take lightly coming from you Lieutenant Coleman...should I contact security?"

Maenad held up her hands, trying to calm everyone. "No, that really isn't necessary," she said tersely. The last thing she wanted was her lab to turn into crime scene swarming with goons and batons. It was only a rod, it couldn't do them any harm. "Just watch the monitor," Maenad nodded to the miniature schematic of the ship that Kiri had brought up to demonstrate what the rod was accessing and where. "What you are seeing here," Maenad began to explain, "Is a device that accesses the ship's classified information by taking the command codes of a senior officer who's accessed the terminal in which the rod has been placed. I programmed false command codes into the programmed simulated ship we are seeing now. In a matter of seconds, perhaps even less time if this rod were in the actual ship's computer, it would be able to attain the command codes of the entire senior staff up to and including the captain." She looked at all of them sternly. "As you can see, the device has accessed the entire computer core, all crew and ship logs, and is now beginning to read all of the ship's sensor data - internal and external. In a moment it will locate mission information, and will most likely begin storing information it has already read once it is found to be relevant to the ship's previous mission." She watched the screen for a few seconds longer until her hypothesis proved correct. Then, all the coloured parts of the screen returned to their normal LCARS colouration and the rod shut shut itself down.

"What you have seen is that the device reads all of the ship's information, but it does not download it. Once it has 'seen' everything, it makes its own analysis of what it has been programmed to do. In our case, access any and all information pertinent to the previous mission. It then pictures that information, but destroys any record of having done it while it's doing it. Essentially, in layman's terms, it snaps photos of data and then recreates new data based on those photos. This way detection cannot be made because no information has technically been accessed or downloaded." Maenad pursed her lips and flashed her eyebrows. "It's an impressive piece of technology, whoever designed it. We are fortunate that when Mister Liyar had mistakenly found it, the program he was running at the time unwittingly prevented the device from carrying out its function."

Evelyn nodded, "Yes, the 'sweepers' would be proud." She stood up and took a step towards Maenad, "Have you performed a detailed scan of the data rod itself, identified it's design material composition? There should be 2 sets of serial numbers. One underneath the outer casing of the rod, and second set on the circumference of the inner rod's tip." She turned to Holiday, "If the 2 serial numbers, are there and they are identical than it isn't a manufactured reproduction."

"I have not," Maenad said. "Its design is unique to me," she motioned to Kiri to remove the rod from the terminal so that Coleman could look at it for herself.

Evelyn took the rod, and proceeded to twist the the bottom portion and pulled the outer-casing as she did with the Captain and the First officer in their meeting earlier. "Permission to use your scanning equipment Lieutenant?" she asked Maenad.

Maenad nodded to the intelligence chief. She knew more about this sort of thing than she did and didn't want to get in the way. "Certainly," she replied.

Evelyn made her a vacant science station, and placed the two rod pieces on flat platform, tapping a few keys on the console activating the table scanner. As it scanned the rod, Evelyn made her way to the equipment closet and took a small pen-like scanning device. She walked back to the station where the scan completed. She reviewed the findings, "there are no irregularity in the metal composition. She said as she lifted rod, and aimed a tip of the scanning pen inside the outer-casing and activated the scan, the tip illuminated blue. After a minute, she lowered the casing and picked up the rod itself. She proceeded to scan around the tip of the rod, and rested the peice beside the casing once she finished.

The inserted the device into the necessary slot on the station to transfer the findings. Evelyn nodded to herself as she reviewed the scans, "Serial Number 23-948-00113-0 was found in the casing and around the tip... 2-39480-011-30." She looked up at Holiday, "It's a match, this is indeed a Starfleet data rod."

Quin scratched his beard. "What the hell is a data rod doing here?"

"Seems like someone within our own organisation really wanted to know what we were up to before we landed on Vega."

John did his best to control the feeling of sheer outrage and anger that was bubbling up within him. Someone within their own organisation had been trying to spy on them without permission and more than likely with only the authorisation of a senior admiral to show for it.

Kiri has suspected this all along. There were parts meant to throw them off the trail, the Romulan style file architecture, the way the program didn't take the shortest route to the data it wanted. If it did that it would be too obvious they knew what they were looking for. "Does that change anything?" While it was from Starfleet that information had already been handed over to the right people. Whether it was Starfleet, Romulan or someone else, did it change what they needed to do?

"The question is now....how do we find the owner of this particular rod. They aren't going to announce themselves at the airlock as Starfleet Intelligence now are they?"

The XO had plenty of ideas for how exactly to trap and contain their target once they had identified him, but getting to that point was one part of the plan that he hadn't yet gotten around to analysing.

Kiri repeated what she had said to the captain, "If we allow the rod to complete its mission with the fake information we have been working on, then the owner will need to appear to collect it."

"Then once they...appear, the end of a phaser should be more than sufficient to get some answers out of them. "

John was almost ready to jump into action himself, being less than impressed with the idea of having to wait for someone to show their face before he could find out what exactly their little ship had done to attract so much attention.

"I assume that like last time they will try to disable internal sensors Miss Coleman?"

"I'm concerned with the fact they're incompetent enough to leave the rod behind." Evelyn replied shaking her head, ignoring Holliday's question, "this rod is assigned on an individual level directly by the Head of Starfleet Intelligence. The fact this person left it here to be discovered worries me and the integrity of the whole Intelligence wing of Starfleet." She sighed, "The rod's serial number is directly related to the officer's Starfleet ID. However I am unaware of the sequence to re-arrange the numbers."

Maenad hummed and hawed silently while everyone bickered about why the rod was there in the first place. She didn't care why the rod was there and she didn't care that everyone was still in her lab arguing about it. And the question of why it was there didn't seem to matter to her. As a scientist, the question of why was never as important as how. The rod was there, they knew what its purpose was, now they should have been trying to figure out what they were going to do about it. "This is all very nice," Maenad said, "But I do not understand why it is relevant whether it came from Starfleet Intelligence or not. If we are all on the same side, then why not just let them do what they want?"

She tapped a few commands on the console and gestured for Coleman to take a look. "I neglected to mention that upon a detailed analysis of the rod, it appeared to have contained subspace transmitting device. It was rendered inoperative when Mister Liyar's calculating program inadvertently sent a power surge through it. It is possible, then, that because of the rod's ability to wipe itself of all information and all programming, that after it was to have sent the data, it would have made itself appear as a harmless empty storage device." Maenad heaved a silent sigh and turned to face the intelligence chief. "As Miss Cho suggested, what if retrieving the rod was only meant as a Plan B?"

Kiri didn't want to point out the obvious but, "Sir, if they are on our side and are meant to see the information, they only have to ask. The fact that they have not tells us they aren't meant to have it. I believe that the rod was left behind on purpose to infect the ships systems without being noticed. It was a fluke that we discovered it before it could do this. The rod had to be used by someone authorised to make changes to ship systems, anyone else would have been noticed." Taking a deep breath she kept her eyes on the screen rather than everyone else, "Who ever it is behind it, we should stop them and question them. It might just be a test of our and intelligence's capabilities, it doesn't really matter." She noticed that the Captain wasn't here, that would be the one person that would know that for sure.

"Unfortunately, intelligence isn't exactly forthcoming, Miss Cho," she said tersely. But she agreed with her assistant's idea to question whoever it was that left the rod behind. She returned her attention to Coleman and Holliday. "I think we should keep the rod here with a guard posted outside. That way, if what we think about someone coming back for the rod is true, we will find them and get to the bottom of all this." She looked to Commander Holliday at that, who seemed to be the most annoyed by the prospect of having spies running amok.

Nodding in agreement, John began to formulate his plan further. It was true that there was an excellent chance of whoever left the rod in the first place coming back to claim it once they realised the rod had not transmitted it's data as designed.

"If we post a guard they'll know that we're onto them already. I'll have the internal sensors in this section re-routed to appear offline - that way hopefully they shouldn't attempt to disable them remotely. If the science lab doors open again after we leave, the computer can alert the relevant individuals."

Maenad looked hesitant; she didn't want to question the commander's authority in front of everyone like this, but she felt that she had to voice her concerns. "Understood, commander. What if we posted a single guard after hours, during gamma shift? There are few active people during gamma, one guard could make all the difference."

"I concur, sir." added the CoB. "And I suggest it be someone with very good reactions and hearing. We may need the extra edge for this to play into our favor."

"I volunteer to take down the bastard." Evelyn spoke up, "they snuck aboard my vessel, decided to tamper with my ship's computer. I don't give a rats ass if they are under direct orders from some jackass of an Admiral." Eve crossed her arms, "that asshole is starting to tick me off."

"As much as I appreciate your attitude Lieutenant Coleman, I'm going to need you at your station coordinating our efforts - if anyone tries to come back they're going to be using Intelligence training not standard Starfleet - you're the only one aboard ship who has that training at current levels."

The XO wanted to station himself if anyone; his sentiment was on the same level as his Intelligence Officer, but deep down he knew that there was no way the Captain would authorise such an action.

"Mr Quinn - any recommendations?"

"Well, XO." replied Quinn while scratching his beard. "You can't leave someone that will be missed later, like the Security Chief, Lieutenant Coleman, or yourself. So why not booby-trap it, and use someone that can keep their head straight if things get sticky?"

"Very well" The XO began, wandering over towards the elaborate collection of wires and circuits that were being used to fool the device into thinking it was performing it's designed function, watching as small lights blinked on and off in sequence as the interface, albeit less than pretty, set the Galileo's plan into motion.

"Set up additional motion sensors and trip feeds in this section - if anything bigger than a microbe drifts into this lab I want security to know about it - but no guards. If someone from Intelligence comes aboard I would assume the first thing they would do is try to find out how much we already know."

"Yes commander," Maenad said with a nod. "I will see that it is done."

"Very well. Let's get it done." With an appreciative smile, John turned on his heels and headed for the doors.


[OFF]

CAPT Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant (JG) Maenad Panne
Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant Evelyn Coleman
Chief Intelligence Officer/2XO
USS Galileo

Master Chief Petty Officer Markum Quinn
Chief of the Boat
USS Galileo

Cmdr Jonathan Holliday
Executive Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant (JG) Kiri Cho
Assistant Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo

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