Bagel Sized Database

Posted on Tue Jan 31st, 2017 @ 11:20pm by Petty Officer 2nd Class Ila Dedjoy & Lieutenant Commander Eneas Clio

Mission: Refit Rondo
Location: Intelligence Lab 3

It wasn't often that one found a starship with extensive dedication to Intelligence, and Clio was greatly enjoying her discovery of all the systems and equipment the Hera carried. Even the Banshee - owned and operated solely by Starfleet Intelligence - hadn't had so many facilities just for her department. It was all so very fascinating, and she highly doubted she was going to discover all of the Hera's many secrets before launch. She was, however, going to try damned hard to do just that.

Having already taken a close look at her console on the bridge, Clio had ventured into the Intelligence pod the moment it was deemed environmentally safe. There were too many systems here to inspect personally for now, so she decided to check out one of the Intelligence laboratories instead. Coming across Intelligence Lab 3 first, she wandered inside... only to find there was already someone there. Someone she recognized even. "...Dedjoy?"

Looking up in surprise, Crewman Dedjoy clicked off the console she was working at. "Commander! I didn't expect to see you here aboard the Hera. Is there something I can help you with?"

"How did you even get in here? The only people who have clearance at this point are me and the captain." Not that Clio expected a straight answer. She knew damn well how clever Ila could be.

"The refit teams cleared me. I've been assigned the task of calibrating what I can in the labs." Dedjoy then pointed to a bagel sitting in a sealed container in the middle of the room, then clicked her console back on. "I've been able to calibrate the sensors to a quantum level and if I'm right, I've just downloaded the computer's geology database into that bagel. I was just starting my scans to see if it succeeded."

"...you did what, now?" It wasn't often that data hijinks baffled Clio, but that was a new one. Either this was the most elaborate joke Ila had ever told or the girl had gone insane. Those had to be the only two options; even Clio wasn't crazy enough to fall for the 'computer bagel' thing.

Ila stared at Clio for a few seconds before replying. "Commander... I downloaded a geology database into a bagel. deep in the atomic structure of the bagel is now an edible database. I'm going to eat it. And then if it works right, my blood will contain that database. It's insane and ingenious."

Insane was certainly an apt description. Even the expanded explanation did nothing to help Clio understand what Ila was talking about. "Are you... okay? Because that doesn't make any sense at all."

"I'm perfectly fine," Ila replied, tapping at the console in a few places before walking over to the bagel, unsealing the chamber, and taking a bite of it and chewing thoughtfully for a moment. "It's actually a more refined version of a crystal lattice positronic scanner used to analyze ore deposits. I did my Geology dissertation on that so getting to play with this is actually really exciting."

"Okay..." Clio had nothing to say to that. She didn't generally take to arguing with scientists over their work, having learned a long time ago that they were usually right even when they sounded completely insane to everyone else.

Sensing that she needed to further explain it in simpler terms, Ila tried a different angle. "You know how we can store data on isolinear chips, data rods, and things like that? This lab's sole purpose seems to be doing that exact same thing with anything on a quantum level. Anything."

Taking another bite of the bagel, Ila munched thoughtfully for another moment before continuing. "And as far as I can tell, it's undetectable by normal scanners. I can now take this geology database through a blockade or customs or whatever and it's virtually undetectable. I just have to leave a tiny blood sample behind."

"I see." Clio didn't really quite understand it, but continued explanations probably wouldn't help at this point.

Ila nodded, satisfied enough. She then set the bagel aside and turned the consoles back off. "At least this one is understandable. Intel Lab four, all I could do was check calibration status and run the self diagnostics. Everything said it was ok, so that was it."

"Honestly, that's all you should have been able to do in here." But Clio wasn't going to ask any more questions right now. She had enough of a headache from the first few.

"I don't doubt that, Commander," Ila replied. "I was given a job though, and I'm going to do it to the best of my abilities. Besides, the computer won't let me access any of the data pertaining to the equipment other than those things. I'm also supposed to check the sensor platforms as well, but the computer won't tell me anything about them either."

"Who gave you these orders anyway? I know I haven't given any..." Perhaps Enalia had done it and declined to tell her, but Clio hoped not. That was how distrust among the staff started.

Pulling out a PaDD, she offered it to Clio. "I got them from an officer on the refit team named Drake."

"Bloody hell, Ila. You can't be taking orders from Franklin Drake!" Clio took the PaDD and looked at it. Sure enough, the full name on the signature line read Franklin Drake. "Damn it, Dedjoy. Don't you know who that man is?"

"No?" Ila asked, now worried. She knew a lot of intel stuff was super secret but she didn't think much of it - she'd gotten more than a few strange jobs during the refit. "I don't think I want to know who he is now."

"He's the ringleader for Section 31! He's been trying to regain their power for years, and now he essentially has the keys to my office." Clio's opinion of Section 31 was fairly clear as a growling note entered her voice. "Please tell me he doesn't actually have access to the Hera."

Ila's eyes went even wider as realization dawned on her. "I... No, I met him on the station after the maintenance meeting. He handed out a few assignments and I got one of them."

"Good because we're keeping him out. Don't take any more assignments from him and do not, under any circumstances, respond to any contact he tries to initiate." As if they didn't have enough to worry about, now Clio had to make absolutely certain that the Hera was secure against Section 31's attempts to come back into power. "If he persists, tell me. I'll take care of it."

"I will. You'll be the first to know," Ila declared immediately. "Commander, does this mean my temporary assignment to the Intel Sciences team is invalid as well?"

"You'll have to talk to Captain Telvan about that. I don't know anything about an Intelligence Science team." Clio's brow furrowed a bit because that seemed like something she should know about, if it was real.

"I will then," Ila replied. "Should I leave? Or do you need me for anything?"

"You can stay. There's not much more trouble to get into at this point." Besides, even if Enalia said there wasn't to be an Intelligence Science team, Clio liked Dedjoy and didn't mind having her around to help.

Ila nodded in understanding. "Yes Commander. Is there anything I can do for you then?"

"If you could figure out what some of this equipment is supposed to do, that would be good. I've never seen some of this stuff before." And that was saying a lot, seeing how long Clio had worked for Starfleet Intelligence.

"I will Commander," Ila replied. "I was about to move to Intel Lab two when I finished up here."

"That's fine. Take your time and make sure to lock this place down when you leave, okay?" There wasn't much in the pod to look at yet, but Clio didn't want anyone getting used to wandering around.

"I promise I will," Ila replied. She then looked around the lab and took the remains of the bagel back to the replicator for reprocessing. "I'm done in here. Will you be staying for a while?"

"Unfortunately I need to check in with the doctor, so I won't be staying." Clio would much rather stay and play with her new toys instead of get poked and prodded by whoever the Chief Medical Officer was on this boat, but that just wasn't an option.

"Then I'll reset the locks now," Ila replied, turning to work on the door lock controls.

"That's fine. I'll get going then." Had it been anyone else, Clio would have insisted on watching them or even doing the locks herself. However, she'd come to trust Ila, perhaps more than she'd trusted the few officers who'd come into her actual department on the Katana. "Be careful and call if you need anything."

"I will, thank you Commander," Ila replied as the locking mechanism reset and started a short countdown to resealing the door. Ushering Clio out, Ila followed her and watched the lab reseal itself.