Renee, Thomas, and J'Loni

Posted on Wed Oct 4th, 2017 @ 11:23pm by Lieutenant Commander J'Loni Mo'Bri & Lieutenant Renee Salchin

Mission: https://wellington.pegasusfleet.site/index.php/sim/missions/id/3
Location: Engineering
Timeline: Right after The Unexpected Succession

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The entire previous day, after waking up next to Thomas, she had been busy. First it had been a trip to her quarters for a change of clothes, then back to Engineering where she and everyone else seemed to be like bees in a beehive. Then, as soon as she was released and without a word to Thomas, Renee had vanished back into her quarters and put in a comm block on everyone except for J'Loni, just in case. Then an overnight marathon working on the chips she'd kept.

Now she strode through Engineering like a woman on a mission on two hours of restless sleep, eyes flitting around before finding Thomas and making a beeline to him, her voice lowering to be for him only, "We need to see the Boss. Now." She said seriously, "I've got something."

"Ok, and just where have you been hiding...", he said. Thomas was curious as to what this was all about and then just remembered what had been the topic of discussion the night before.

"My quarters." She said in reply, seeing a cup of what at least smelled like coffee and grabbed it, taking a drink regardless of whose it was, then made a face, "I was working on that project and got something we need to talk to the Commander. I can't say it here, too public."

Realizing she was right, he slid out of engineering and caught up with her as she arrived in her quarters. "Um...you sure we won't be disturbed?", he asked tentatively, before entering.

"Yes." Renee activated her terminal and punched in a text to J'Loni to come to her quarters as soon as she could do so unobtrusively. She glanced around making sure that nothing she needed to tuck away was visible. She hadn't trusted most of her judgement for the last few hours and had covered the secure standalone terminal with a cloth to make it look like a table, "I want to wait for the Boss before I go over this. If I just go over it once, it might be easier. And yes, my roommate is fine with it."

J'Loni got the silent text from Salchin, 'What the hell...damn!", she thought, then slid from engineering unobserved and made her way to Salchin's quarters. Once inside...surprise hit her. "Ok...what do you both have for me?", she said as she sat and folded her arms.

Renee took a deep breath, then let it out, putting in a complex unlock code, then turned the screen, "These are files from two of the extra chips I found in one of the phaser capacitor arrays. I first need to point out that if fired, the array would have stood about a fifty-fifty chance of exploding once fired, but would have taken about twenty times as long to recharge if it didn't explode, and that is based off how the chips were installed and this. But this also has a second bullet to it. If I deciphered it right, there were three potential events that could be triggered: Capacitor drain, overload or complete phaser shutdown. Any one of those would have been devastating at the wrong time." She showed three highlighted command prompts, in almost overly complex strings, "But this isn't Federation coding, it's Ts'usugi."

"Boss add to that, I found in the propulsion systems relays, some of them were damaged in such a fashion that had we gone to warp, they would have failed resulting in a massive over load that would have taken out the warp drive for who knows how long. This ain't no accident. It was deliberate sabotage", he said looking at Renee.

"Well the two of you have certainly come up with more fuel to add to an already building fire. I have Hawk and William looking into their systems to see what more we can find before I go to the boss. Keep looking but who could have circumvented the safeties to get to these systems? There are at least five redundant safeties to prohibit that type of tampering and for it to go un noticed?", she said...looking a bit worried. She had a sinking feeling she wasn't going to like the answer.

"Completely and utterly intentional. I would say all done at the starbase, but then there's this one." Renee brought out the last chip, the one she'd taken from Valeria's replicator, "This chip caused a replicator malfunction in Valeria Mordin's quarters. It took me until five this morning to decode that one, also in the Ts'usugi coding language, but with Klingon protocols as well. This, ma'am, is a communications command master chip, one that can made comm calls using a double sideband frequency that the Federation doesn't use, but is within the Klingon comm spectrum."

Before she could answer, her portable PADD chirped. It eas Hawk and William with their reports. Reading what they both texted, she re-read what Hawk had said and she... "Qu'Vath! Ptagh! Only a Klingon dog would have their hand in this. I am sorry Renee but for the Klingons to be involved...I had my suspicions with that but...your own people? Why?", she said looking at Renee with sympathy.
"Hawk just confirmed what you said about Klingon comm spectrum. He also found a few in the environmental systems. He pulled them and replaced them but had they not been found the system would have failed on several decks killing a lot of good people. The blame would have been on the Federation for sure and that is not good", she added.

"No it isn't..." Renee said quietly, "But I've also been thinking, and I'm not sure that what we're seeing is the whole truth." She said, "Why would she have put the chip in her replicator, then just idly let me take it with me when I left? I mean, if our only resident Ts'usugi is really doing this, wouldn't she have to be be smarter than this?"

"Good point...", her PADD chirped again. This text was even more disturbing that the last one. Christine had found something in her investigation of the ships comm systems. "Shit! It would seem that Christine has found an isolinear chip with a hidden Cardassian command embedded on it. She says it would have sent a signal to the Cardassian government letting them know when the Wellington was disabled. Now I believe that our counselor had no idea that this wad there and why but if I were interested in taking down this mission, I would go about it this way. Now why would the Cardassian's have a hand in all this?", she asked them.

"So we have implications on three species involved in sabotaging the Wellington..." Renee shook her head, "Something just doesn't make sense. Ma'am, I think we need to prioritize engines, shields, then weapons and go over them with a fine toothed comb ASAP. And quietly as hell. I don't like this one bit..." She closed her eyes for a moment to think and found it hard to do that, so she opened them again, "I... Occom's Razor. What is the simplest solution that covers everything we're seeing."

Thomas, who had been quiet... "Well I think that the Cardassians would be in cahoots with a disident House in the Klingon empire so that they can get a foot hold here in the delta quadrant. By doing this, the Cardassians could just walk in and take over like they did on Bajor. The Klingons would just be happy with gaining territory and not resources I would think but...", he looked apologetically at his boss before he spoke..."Klingon's I can't speak for", he said. "Sorry boss", he said looking at the floor.

J'Loni laughed at Thomas' last remark,"Son you said a mouthful and I am not offended by it, but you do have a valid point, both of you. We will keep this between us as are the others and once concluded I will pull a departmental meeting and sit with all of you and Commander Alennis and discuss where we go from there", she said nodding to both of them as she got up to leave.

"Ma'am?" Renee stood as well, words in her mouth, needing to come out that might help in the situation, resources that could be called in with it. But when J'Loni looked to her, she couldn't say them and paused for a moment, then spoke again, "I know you need me down there, but can I grab a nap? I really didn't get much sleep this morning."

"By all means Renee and you too Thomas. From the emotions you two are projecting and the fact that you are glowing Renee, I agree with you two as being a couple", she said as she exited the room.


Renee's eyes opened wide, partnof her was surprised that the Boss knew about her and Thomas's time spent together, but also not surprised. Really, she was too tired to know one way or the other as she watched J'Loni leave them standing there. She looked to Thomas and shook her head slowly, "Well then..." She gently turned him and propelled him towards the soor as well, "Sorry, but I really do need sleep."

OFF:


CPO Renee Salchin
Engineering Officer
USS Wellington

Lt. Jg. Thomas James
Propulsion Specialist
USS Wellington

Lt. Cmdr. J'Loni Mo'Bri
Assistant Engineering Officer
USS Wellington