Seeking a Spy

Posted on Thu May 7th, 2015 @ 1:47pm by Commander Angelica Fairchild & Commander Sinek

Mission: The New Sydney Fiasco
Location: XO Office
Timeline: After "Whom to Trust" and before the memorial service preparations

While she waited for Sinek to join her, Angel slipped behind her desk and quietly pulled up the Hera's communications logs. Because the ship was under the command of Starfleet Intelligence, she knew that much of the information would have been cleared once it was no longer immediately relevant, but she wasn't really sure what they were looking for yet anyway. She knew approximate mission dates and when files should be purged, however, so she started searching for anomalous gaps that didn't quite match up. Perhaps that would be the key.

Sinek wrapped up what he had been doing in the Science Labs. He had heard the concern in Angel's voice when she was in his office. It certainly was a concern that someone among them was a spy. Not a spy from the enemy, but someone connected with an unacceptable organization of the Federation. A question that kept coming to him was: Does this infiltrator necessarily have to be a member of the crew? Could it be a civilian - like Nexi, who admitted to him that she was for hire.

Arriving at Angel's office, Sinek rang the chime to announce his presence. He supposed that with his relationship with Angel, he could just walk inside. However, they were also Star Fleet officers; Angel was the First Officer, he the second. It was important for Sinek to show the respect deserved to the First Officer.

"Come in!" Angel knew exactly who would be at her door and wouldn't have minded if he'd just come inside, but she also appreciated his desire to show proper respect for her rank and position.

The door opened with a swish and Sinek entered her office. He quietly waited for the door to whisk shut behind him. Once this occurred, Sinek approached Angel from behind, placed his hands on her shoulders and leaned forward, kissing Angel on the cheek.

"Have you any findings?" he asked.

"Not yet. Our communications logs are routinely deleted once they're no longer needed... being under SI's command is really making this complicated." Angel paused in her search, looking over her shoulder at him. "Maybe you'd have better luck. The only systems I know at any expert level are the tactical systems."

"Indeed," Sinek replied.

Computer programming was pure logic. Logic was one language Sinek clearly understood other than Vulcan. He pulled up a seat next to hers and started punching in commands. He was designing a program to recover transmission files on the day they disappeared into the anamoly. Hopefully, once they were restored, they would be able to fully understand each message.

He could have worked faster. He would argue that he "wished the program to be precise and accurate." However, each moment programming was a moment spent with the one he chose to love. No matter how much he delayed, the program was completed in 45 minutes.

He realized that for the program to succeed in running, Angel would have to give her security code. He turned to Angel and announced, "Once I press start, the computer will prompt for your security code." Once he affirmed she understood, he pressed the command for the program to start.

"Command security code required," the computer immediately announced, unnecessarily after Sinek's warning that her code was needed.

"Fairchild bravo charlie one." The moment she'd said it, Angel could see the computer go to work searching for the parameters that Sinek had set. That certainly made things easier. "Is that a program you can leave installed on my terminal?"

"If I were to save this program, it would give you the exact same data," Sinek admitted. "However, once the data is downloaded and we review it, I will rewrite part of the program so that after the security code is given, it will prompt you for star dates and a time frame to set the parameters."

It would give him more time with Angel.

The current program ceased running and produced the data they had requested. It listed who made a transmission from where and to whom.

"Well that'll work just fine. Thanks," Angel replied cheerfully, starting to look at the results. Soon her cheerful mood faltered as she stared in puzzlement at what the program had found. "No anomalous gaps. No unauthorized calls. I don't get it... they had to contact the office somehow... and the only Section 31 call is here." She tapped the entry for the call she'd received, pulling up a record of it. It played through, ending with her 'request' to be left alone.

Sinek searched for logic that would solve the whole mystery. He found none. The only logic he could come up with was, "You made a good choice just as I have." He was speaking, of course, of his choice to love Angel.

"Think I've made a couple of good choices lately." Angel couldn't help grinning a bit, even as she scrolled through the search results a second time. "This doesn't make sense. We're missing something."

Continuing his thoughtful search for truth, Sinek raised the thought, "Unless the contact was made from a member of the crew that was not aboard the Hera during that time. Do we know who may not have been present at the time?"

"Computer list crew members that were not on board the Hera during the parameters listed."

The female voice, which strangely sounded Vulcan, listed: Lieutenant Junior Grade Airi Saxa, Lieutenant Junior Grade Rhett Beaumont, Ship's Chef T'Pel.

Sinek's brow raised at the mention of the third name. It did not seem logical to him that the spy would be Vulcan, so in his mind, he turned his attention to the other two mentioned. Sinek had read their profiles in an effort to familiarize himself with the members of the crew. He knew the two lieutenants had a sense of adventure beyond their offices.

"Perhaps this narrows our search."

"Perhaps, but it's not going to help us unless they left the communications logs of the small craft intact. A smart operative wouldn't." Angel sighed, rubbing her eyes. "Saxa was on official business, and I checked over her fighter when she got back. Which leaves Beaumont and T'Pel, but I really don't think either of them is our spy. Beaumont would be rubbish as a secret agent and T'Pel... well she's Vulcan. Reputation for honesty and all that."

He knew that with all their talk of truth, Vulcans could be deceptive if the logic dictated. But what logic would a Vulcan have to be associated with Section 31? Lieutenant Saxa seemed to be cleared. Her fighter was checked out. But the Chief Engineer was not cleared. Perhaps he should talk with T'Pel. It would shed light upon his suspicion of Beaumont.

However, he was not security minded; that was Angel. "Perhaps you should interview each of them."

"I think I will... but I have a meeting with Enalia first. Planning for the memorial service for the twenty-nine people we lost." A twinge of regret colored Angel's voice, but otherwise she remained steady. "Then the service after that... and then I have all the time in the universe while we're waiting on Temporal Investigations and the court martial to be finished."

The concept of referring to the Captain in a familiar way was foreign to Sinek. However, he had made adjustments with Angel on a personal level.

"I suggest a period of meditation before the meeting." With the meeting followed by the memorial service, Sinek knew she would be carrying a heavy load. "I will leave you to meditate upon your thoughts."

He leaned from his chair and kissed her on the lips. Thinking it may not be good for Angel to be alone after the service, he added, "Then after, we can continue instruction."

"Good idea." Before letting him escape, Angel pulled him close again and gave him another kiss. "And then maybe dinner?"

Sinek turned to the computer and made the necessary changes for the program to prompt Angel for the specific star date and time parameters she was seeking before saving it. This took a matter of seconds.

Turning to Angel, Sinek inquired with the hint of a smile, "And after dinner?"

"I can think of a few things to do after dinner." She didn't specify what any of those things might be, but Angel imagined that Sinek could guess what they were pretty easily.

He gave Angel a light kiss on the lips, then excused himself to prepare for the memorial service. "I look forward to tonight," Sinek added as he exited her office.