Posted by Gamemaster Alfredo Linguini (GameMaster) in Main Sim - Ask And You Shall Receive… For A Price

Posted by Commander Jason Reilly (XO) in Main Sim - Ask And You Shall Receive… For A Price

Posted by Gamemaster Alfredo Linguini (GameMaster) in Main Sim - Ask And You Shall Receive… For A Price
Posted by… suppressed (15) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Reilly entered his quarters, locked the door, and went to his desk. Encrypting a link to SF Intel, he began to scour records. Suddenly, his comms buzzed with a secure and encrypted communication. He smiled and activated the call.

A familiar yet panicked face peered out from his screen as Reilly’s eyes flitted through files and contents. In a very harsh whisper, the face on the other end said “Reilly?!?! What the hell do you think you are doing?” Reilly grinned and said “Good to see you too, Nathan. Long time no see. How’s the wife and kids?” Nathan’s lips clenche together in barely suppressed anger. “You know I’m not married anymore!” Reilly paused for a moment, and then chuckled. “Oh yeah. Told you she was a cheat.” and the face went read and looked over it’s shoulder and then Nathan said “What are you doing, you &^%$&&^%?!?!?” Reilly grinned and said “Oooo… such language. There could be kids around, Nathan. Think of the children, won’t you? And as far as what I am doing… I’m searching through Intel’s current uploads from Risa. I’m looking for something…” The vein’s on Nathan’s head popped out and he said through clenched teeth “But you are using my security code!”

Reilly smiled. “Yeah… so you might wanna scrub this search when I’m done. How would that look? You doing a search form a ship you aren’t even on?” Nathan tried to speak but the rage kept anything from coming out and then finally he just exhaled. “Fine.” and Reilly’s search froze and crashed. “You’ll never find anything that way. What exactly are you looking for?” Reilly smiled broadly. If anyone could find a needle in an inter-planetary hay stack, Nathan McCall was the one who could do it.

“Anything weird. Can’t be more specific than that, really.” and McCall shook his head “I see nothing changes…” and he began working on his end. For several minutes there was nothing, then a confused expression came over his face. “Well…okay… that certainly classifies as ‘weird’.” Reilly leaned forward. “What have you got?” Nathan looked at something and then his confused expression grew deeper. “Well… there were some files from Risa that we pulled as part of regular traffic analysis… but… man… this doesn’t make any sense.” Nathan said and his voice drifted off. “Nathan… just tell me. What is it?” Reilly said a little more forcefully.

“It’s… it’s like… ok… so we got some files, I can see them right here… but they’ve been scrubbed. Like… someone tried to delete them in a hurry and was a little sloppy. But the odd part… Reilly… there’s no orders attached to this. Like… at all. Someone got in our downloads and pulled info… but I have no idea who. And the only people who coul-” and he stopped short and looked at Reilly.

“Okay, I’m sending you what I found. I don’t like this, not at all. Just keep me out of it, Jason.” Reilly nodded and said “You got it. Mum’s the word.” Nathan’s face whipped to the screen. “And leave my mother out of it, too! She still talks about you and the night of my wedding!” and the line went dead. Ten seconds later, an encrypted file arrived.

Reilly, XO

A voice spoke out, “Mr. Reilly. You remind me of someone I once knew a long time ago. Could not resist to put his hand in the cookie jar to grab a cookie, so to speak.”

Reilly turned around to face the voice to find Admiral Frederic in front of him. Whether she was physically there or a holographic projection, one couldn’t say. “The file you received is useless anyway. You are far better off asking your questions from me. But I warn you, Mr. Reilly, you are about to open the door to the universe of endless wonder. Knowing that, do you really still want to know?”

GM

Reilly looked at the Admiral, then the door, then back at the Admiral. “How di-… you know what? Never mind.” and he stood up and put his hands behind his back.

“Yes, Ma’am. I still want to know. ‘Endless wonder’ aside, what ever is going on almost killed my Captain, so I want to make sure whatever it is going on gets handled. So if the file is useless, I imagine you have pertinent information that isn’t… and that would certainly be more useful than our last instruction of “Find weird antiques.’ Doesn’t really narrow it down, Ma’am.”

Reilly, XO

“I read Lt. Mado’s report. I suspect that is a replica of the 1982 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am from 1982 American Television series, ‘Knight Rider’ – the car in the show had a functional Artificial Intelligence supercomputer named ‘K.I.T.T.’ and supposedly had the ability to use an Electromagnetic Pulse Projector which could disable and/or drain power from an electronic device. Now, you might ask me how a fictional object might actually be responsible for the Captain’s loss of power drain… to do that, I must explain the fundamental public understanding of the universe is … let’s just say not precise. On Stardate 41263.1, the USS Enterprise-D was thrown beyond our galaxy in an area of space where thought and reality blurred. That thought and reality blurred does exist in our corner of the galaxy, but it presents itself uniquely in antiques and objects which are imbued with … for a lack of a better description … powers. We do not fully understand how an object is imbued with powers or rather specifically, gaining properties of the universe where thought and reality blurs, but we have managed to be able to develop methods of detecting such. I belong to a division of Starfleet Intelligence whose job is to collect, catalog and properly store away said objects for safekeeping to insure they are not misused. Lieutenants Mado and Fihnrilkk’Hob”ledn-ardol are agents who have been assigned to this task. The USS Wolverine has been known to cross ethnically gray areas more than once, and so I have decided to evaluate her Captain and its crew for agent status – the first in a long awhile being assigned to entire Starfleet crew. Most objects which have been imbued tend to be old and/or ancient… there are rare exceptions to this rule but that has been mostly the case. Not every old or ancient object gets imbued with said properties and some require special conditions to trigger.”

GM

Reilly listened and paid close attention. When the Admiral finished, he said “Alright, Ma’am. Let’s say that I buy into the whole ‘strange objects imbued with powers’ thing. A few questions arise. You say that your department does indeed ‘collect, catalog and properly store away said objects for safekeeping to insure they are not misused’… a line I have heard used by dictators and oppressors all over when confronted with threats to their power, by the way… the question then becomes: One- where are these items stored? Two- can these things be neutralized, at least temporarily, in the field? Three- how can we detect them? Surely there has to be a way to, oh I don’t know… ‘ping’ them, for lack of a better term. And four- who else knows of these objects and how do we circumvent their advantages in using such objects?”

He crossed his arms on his chest and looked at the Admiral expectantly.

Reilly, XO

“As for your first question, that’s classified until your ship passes evaluation on your mission, but if the need arises, Lt. Mado will contact me for authorization should you need to visit the main facility. For your second question, yes, it can. Supplies are waiting for your ship to be picked up to help artifact neutralization. Lieutenants Mado and Fihnrilkk’Hob”ledn-ardol can train who you deem necessary to use the proper equipment. Lt. Mado has plugged in a special tricorder that is processing long range sensor data to ‘ping’ objects in Main Engineering. The only people who know about this are my division and the civilian committee that is chosen by the facility that houses these objects. And by facility, I specifically mean the building itself has a mind of its own. I am 99.9% certain that Section 31, the Obsidian Order, the Tal’Shiar or any other major space power intelligence agency is not aware of these objects existence, as my division tirelessly works to ensure the secrecy of this information. But there is that 0.1% there is another group at work, I can not say for certain,” replied Admiral Frederic in a matter of fact tone.

GM

Rielly smiled slightly and said “Well, I can. Either that or one of your group kidnapped our Chief Engineer. Here, Ma’am… take a look.” and he turned to the desk and took the optical disk of the security feed that the store owner gave them and inserted it. “See here? Looks like someone is using one of your objects to keep us off-balance.” and he looked back at the Admiral.

“0.1%? I should have played the lottery this week, Admiral.”

Reilly, XO

Admiral Frederic looked at the video. “That does seem like an artifact in play. Your Chief Engineer’s kidnapping has already been made aware to me, and I have activated resources to send information to your ship as soon as possible, but your crew must obtain the artifact neutralizing supplies otherwise your crew will be defenseless against whatever dangers may come before you. Furthermore, in your best interests, information regarding Lt. Petrov’s disappearance has been kept secret. Also, among that 0.1% however… I should mention that there are alternative universes, and people who do accidently discover artifacts on their own unintentionally. It’s a big galaxy, Mr. Reilly.”

Frederic handed Reilly a PADD. “All the data from Risan security, Mr. Reilly. I am afraid we haven’t had time to perform an analysis, but my department delivered this information for me. Also, don’t be rude to little old ladies who are trying to sell you a fair market price on old antiques, you were clearly undervaluing all the objects in her shop. Fortunately, she doesn’t carry anything of interest or dangerous.”

GM

Reilly took the PaDD with a not-very-sincere-smile. “Was never rude ma’am, but haggling is to be expected… especially in a Risian shop. And had you told us that she didn’t have anything of interest before, we’d still have our Chief Engineer and probably one of your toys already.” he said flatly and looked at the PaDD.

“Did you ask Lt. Mado or Lt. Fihnrilkk’Hob”ledn-ardol about the shop?”

“Lt. Mado and Lt. Fin were as much of a help narrowing down the field as the rest of the directives we have received so far, Admiral.”

“Hardly fair accusation when you didn’t do your own due diligence, Commander. And may I remind you, the USS Wolverine is still being evaluated whether it can be trusted. How is it suppose to be an evaluation if you are given all the answers?”

“Determining trust is one thing, Ma’am. Determining ability is quite another. But the Wolverine and her crew can handle it. Especially now that we know we are, as usual, being left to fend for ourselves. So we will just do what we always do… make our own rules and let chips fall where they may.” Reilly’s tone was professional, but his look was plain to interpret. He hated it when higher ups played games that only served to put their subordinates in harm’s way.

“Should the need arises, Commander, you may order Lt. Mado to request for additional support, but please bare in mind that my department has no Starfleet vessels. They are mostly civilian ships with agents of the department, so expecting support is a bit of a stretch considering my department is constrained as well,” said Admiral Frederic.

“Appreciate the file. We will review immediately and see what can be done. And I will make sure the neutralizing supplies are loaded asap, Admiral. Anything else you’d like to share before I get on this?” and he looked up at the Admiral.

Reilly, XO

An incoming message distracted Reilly’s attention for a split moment. When he turned to tell the Admiral that he had the call to take, she was gone.

GM

Reilly’s jaw clenched and he took a deep breath. Turning, he tapped the comms. =/\= Commander Reilly. =/\= he said as he looked to the screen.

Reilly, XO

The man that he requested favors appeared on the screen.

“What the hell did you get me into, Reilly?”

GM

Reilly swore… loudly. “Nathan, talk to me. What’s going on? I’ll help however I can.” he replied with earnest.

Reilly, XO

“I don’t know, Reilly. Half of the favors I had to call in to get you that information are now upset because their own security clearances were slightly downgraded. I mean, yah, they can still access about 90% to 95% of the same information but some information has been restricted or sets off weird alerts resulting in an access information audit… in fact, I’m now under audit!”

GM

Reilly swore… again. “Understood, Nathan. I’ll handle it. Seriously, didn’t know it would be… well… like it is. Give me a few days, ok? I’ll see what I can do.” and he cut the comms. He then immediately tapped his commbadge.

=/\= Lieutenant Mado to the XO’s quarters immediately. =/\=

Reilly, XO

The door rang immediately.

When beckoned to enter, Andreas Mado showed himself. “Admiral Frederic sent me a message saying you might want to talk, sir,” said Mado.

GM

OOC: Minor correction: not once did Admiral Frederic use the word “Warehouse” – she said ‘division of intelligence’

IC:

Reilly looked at Mado and said “I’m sure. Take a seat Lieutenant.” and he gestured to the seating area by the windows.

Taking a seat himself, he said leaned forward and looked at Mado. “Listen. I just spoke to Admiral Fredrick myself, so her contacting you isn’t a surprise. But we… ‘we’ being the crew of the Wolverine who I am going to take the liberty of and speak for here… need you and Admiral Frederick and your whole intelligence division to understand something. And I am going to try to be very clear here without being defensive, okay?”

‘Clearly you are already on the defensive. Stating that you aren’t, just makes it look like you are going to be,’ thought Mado.

“Now then… you all came to us. That, to me, would indicate that you or Frederick or at least someone in your division actually took the time to check up on us before sending you and Fin here and tasking us with your artifact recovery. So you should already know about this ship and how we operate. So when we do what it is we do and how we have always done it… and then you all come behind us and smack our proverbial wrists for doing things you don’t like in order to fulfill your mission parameters… well… that’s a problem. That tells me that one of two things is happening. One is that you don’t know what you are doing and you didn’t do you r due diligence and find out how we do things here first. I find that somewhat hard to believe. So the other option is that you are simply making things harder than they should be for the sake of us ‘proving ourselves’ or some other bull.”

‘Honestly, it wasn’t my choice to involve the Captain and the entire ship in this. Why am I getting the blame here? Oh, it must because he thinks I can be the target of his frustrations and imitate me,’ thought Mado, ‘I wonder why he didn’t call Fin? Maybe he can’t imitate Fin so that’s why I’m here alone…‘

“And yeah, I know this is some kind of hush-hush glorified test to see if we are ‘worthy’ or whatever… but when you all start to interfere with how we do what we do without reason or warning, see… that’s a no-no. I don’t mind getting in trouble for breaking the rules. I definitely mind getting in trouble for breaking rules I didn’t know existed. And that is where we are now. So, in order to further the investigation, I did what I am supposed to do and I called in favors.”

‘So you butted in where you didn’t have to be… and you didn’t run it by the Captain?’ thought Mado, ‘Well, I suppose from another perspective, he was trying to do his own research. But you know, we’re an intelligence operation, and if I recall correctly, he was in intelligence before – so didn’t he just make the blunder of setting off alarms and then trying to pin the responsibility on the Admiral and myself?‘

“I don’t know if you or the Admiral understand how favors work, but it is a currency that we deal in quite a bit here on the Wolverine. More so than almost anything else, actually. So when you and your division stick your nose into that economy, it causes a great deal of disruption. So now, I have to deal with not only your ‘so super secret that we can’t even tell you who are doing the looking what to look for or how to find it artifact garbage; I now also have to do damage control from your groups overstepping and micromanagement. And that is why you are here, Lieutenant. You are going to learn first hand how our ‘favor economy’ works. That way, you can participate in it without destroying years of relationship building and simultaneously hindering your mission form being completed successfully. Understand? Good.” he answered himself without allowing Mado the opportunity.

‘Why couldn’t you just ask Admiral Frederic to deal with the damage control? I guess he didn’t find out until after he spoke with the Admiral,’ thought Mado. Mado inwardly sighed, but his face remained expressionless throughout Reilly’s speech.

“So what we are going to do is this. You are going to call your Admiral and tell her that the blow up she and her people have caused with my contacts stops now. Not tomorrow, not when they can… now. Everything is put back like they found it.”

‘Well… there is one way to do this but it involves contacting the Department of Temporal Investigations and they hate altering the timeline. But I’m not going to say that out loud,’ thought Mado.

“While you all are doing that, I am going to make sure that all of your gear is brought aboard and stored properly and securely. Then, to make sure you know that I am appreciative of you doing what I have asked, I am also going to make sure you have a full contingent on hand for training in how to use said gear. Now before you protest and say ‘But Commander, that is what you are supposed to do anyway’; yes, I know it is. But what you and your people have to understand is this: As much as this is a test on whether or not we can be trusted and relied upon to do what you need; it’s also a test to see if we can trust you. Which right now we can’t. Trust goes both ways.. and right now you all have done more to make us not trust you than you have the opposite. So… you get done what I ask, I’ll do what you need. That should put us on fairly equal footing going forward. In turn, I will do my best to make sure that all of us here in the Wolverine have everything we need… material and information… to get this job done. Is that a deal, Lieutenant?”

Reilly, XO

‘This was never an equal footing to start with’, thought Mado, ‘He’s being utterly silly, but I can’t risk saying that since he’ll just get upset more. I wonder how Fin would handle him?‘

“I am afraid that is not how the Admiral operates, sir. The Admiral already ordered me to train the crew in the use of the equipment, if you were not already aware, as it was informed to the Captain about that. Also, I can only guess from your statement, sir, that your contacts looked into the Admiral’s intelligence division and like the story of Icarus, got too close to the sun. But, if you were to put this in perspective if you were the Admiral – If you were in charge of a top secret clandestine intelligence division which is responsible for collecting objects that redefines the nature of what we know about the universe and bends the laws of physics and someone was snooping around reveling the existence of your division which should not be made public at all and have to lockdown any potential leaks, how would you accomplish that?” asked Mado politely, “And from my understanding, sir, the Admiral negotiated all this with Captain initially.”

GM

“Except I didn’t ask anyone for anything to do with any intelligence agencies, objects, or anything of the sort. I asked for the standard Intel uploads from Risa which happen all the time. Information, by the way, I should have access to anyway, but I figured you all want to play secrets, so I didn’t make it an official request.The fact that you guys didn’t do a good enough job of covering your tracks and a simple search threw up weirdness is not my problem. Perhaps next time your department wants to scrub files, they should get someone competent to do it if you want stuff like that to stay hidden.” and he leaned back.

“So far, you all have asked for a whole lot and given very little. I get it, and that’s fine. But what isn’t fine is you all throwing up unnecessary roadblocks and hindering us because you guys can’t delete a file registry properly. So go have Frederic call off the dogs. That is… if she actually wants us to be able to help. Besides… all that extra attention is just going to make people more curious and draw more attention to you. Otherwise, just charter a damn runabout. Risa has plenty, and you don’t have to worry about us trying to find information you either don’t have or won’t give.”

Reilly, XO