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CH02: S [D02|0745] Draw Me a Line Across the Stars

[ Lt. Cmdr. Rutherford | Intelligence Ops | Deck 05 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] attn: @chXinya
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Today was the first day of the next leg in their mission. Things were slowly shaping up to more palpable objectives, rather than the obscure promise of liberating the Galaxy. Samantha was all about the endgame, but that was a little bit too far down the road to count as a credible goal. She almost felt as if she had assimilated a little bit of the Chief Intelligence Officer’s focus on the matters at hand by osmosis. How he was constantly putting out accuse brush fires, here and there. Which was intriguing, since their departments were so intertwined. Also evident in the little project, she had for the people three decks down, today.

Walking into the intelligence suite, the diplomat took a cautious look around, trying to identify the present faces. It was highly unliked that Fisher was in this early, after everything that had gone down the night before. She wasn't entirely sure yet if going past him on that matter was a smart idea. But if Andrew was also there, in any case, it would have been a little … weird? Like, she understood how to deal with him in a professional capacity … and in a private capacity – sort of. But what about meeting him in a professional setting but with no professional agenda?! It was way too early in the day to find out. To set the mood for the coming hours with awkwardness.

Noticing that the head honcho was not present, the blonde straightened out her shoulders and walked over to the Warrant Officer, greeting her with a pleasant smile. Fresh face of the morning, radiating with refuelled enthusiasm. “Warrant Officer Ravenholm?” she announced herself, trying not to intrude on the woman’s current work too much. “I’m Lieutenant Commander Rutherford, from the diplomatic department. I was wondering if I could borrow a moment of your time for a special communications topic.” the blonde’s voice dipped towards the more serious, after the ice was broken. Not able to keep her baby blue eyes from taking stock of the woman’s more obvious enhancements. What a truly artistic piece of work.

As things progressed in their mission, Samantha had got a better idea of what was required of her and the diplomatic detachment. What she was about to ask from Ravenholm, was the basis of all that. Sure, there was the intel provided by the intelligence department itself. Most of it anyways. But she also had to make her efforts a little less dependent on whatever scraps of information would be sent her way, out of some sort of twisted sense of responsibility or duty. She needed to be – and feel – a little more self-dependent in her opportunities and those of her subordinates. If recent developments were any indication.

“I had a brief talk with Lieutenant Arnold, a few days ago, about some adjustments on the former flag bridge, and I had brought up the possibility of a Starfleet Archive uplink, with him. As much information as is stored in Thea’s memory banks, I would still be well aided by the far superior amount of intercultural knowledge, stored on earth. He related me to intelligence, and since you’re the comm’s specialist, I figured you could help me out in that regard.”

Re: CH02: S [D02|0745] Draw Me a Line Across the Stars

Reply #1 –
[Selena Ravenholm | Intelligence Ops | Deck 05 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy] attn: @stardust

Camped out on the stool in front of one of the auxiliary stations, Selena stifled a yawn and glanced at the empty coffee mug nearby.  I knew I shouldn’t have been up so late trying to track Ro-Fendrevii down…  It was tempting to get yet another refill (her third since dragging herself in less than an hour ago), but she could feel the jitters in her artificial joints.  Any more and Sickbay might get a call to pull her off of the ceiling.  Or worse, get Engineering to find a way to hook her up to the warp core to boost the ship.  Unable to fight it this time, the next yawn erupted at a full bore, giving her a perfect view down her own gullet in the reflective screen.

And of course that’s when someone walked in.

Unable to close her mouth fast enough Selena quickly spun away from the door to compose herself before turning back to the newcomer, hand still covering her lower face, eyes hidden behind the VISOR as usual.  “Hi, sorry.” she mumbled around the yawn’s death throes.  It was doubly embarrassing as soon as she saw this Rutherford’s expression.  How in the hell anyone could be this chipper without some sort of stimulation implant was a mystery.  Finally able to keep a straight face the mechanical hand dropped to rest on her lap restoring at least a modicum of professionalism to the cyborg’s bearing.  “Sorry, Arnold sent me a note you’d be dropping by, didn’t think it’d be this early though, normally I’d be peeling myself out of some sheets right now.”  Ah, screw it.  Grabbing the mug she tilted her head towards the nearby replicator.  “Want anything?”

Fresh stimulants hitting her bloodstream seconds later, Selena listened to her visitor detail her idea and request.  It wasn’t a bad one, no starship could ever hope to contain the sum total of the Federation’s collective knowledge, nor even a single planet’s worth.  That’s why the archive stations were accessible via subspace whenever anyone needed them.  It was a remarkable system, databases just overflowing with whatever anyone could want, open for anyone to read.  The Starfleet Archive was the military equivalent of course, chock full of all the little things that the Tal Shiar agents, Obsidian Order spooks, or even snoopy FNN reporters would give testicles to have just 5 minutes with. Of course there was just one issue, and as much as Selena loved to be able to link in, her first answer was a big frown and head shake.  “Even with an encrypted line complete with false credentials, that’s a huge risk.  If the security system manages to break through the mask they could follow the signal right back to us.  Honestly, I’m not even sure I could get us into the public archives for more than a few minutes at a time before someone starts sniffing us out.”

Still, this was the hacking challenge that people like her were born to attempt.  A conspiratorial smirk soon grew on Selena’s brightening face, the gear turning in her head like a revving engine.  Within seconds there was no sign at all of the morning drowsiness that dominated her day so far.  Locking onto Rutherford’s eyes with her steel blue ones, Selena was already formulating a plan.  “What kind of a connection did you have in mind, and what specifically are you looking for?”

Re: CH02: S [D02|0745] Draw Me a Line Across the Stars

Reply #2 –
[ Lt. Cmdr. Rutherford | Intelligence Ops | Deck 05 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] attn: @chXinya
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It was early in the day still, so Samantha could understand and excuse the sentiment conveyed by the PWO, which she had witnessed just the tail end of. They all had been through the wringer, the night before. Some more, some less. But it was not only that, which almost coaxed forth a yawn of her own, but also the simple notion of reciprocation, that followed such human sentiments. Pressing her jaws together, to counter the initial urge, cheeks pulled into a tight-lipped smile, at the ultimate attention of Ravenholm.

Following her doubling down on the apology, the diplomat’s smile grew every so warmer and more honest, upon the realization of slight discomfort, in the augmented woman. Apparently, her proclivities were still decidedly human. “Well, if you can’t sleep, you might as well get some work done.” she replied ominously, not letting on whether she felt like the notion applied to Selena or herself, or potentially both. The offer extended, however, was met with a simple shake of the head, blonde waves gently moving, like branches of a golden willow tree in the wind. Taking another cautious look around, blue eyes soon returned back to the raven haired woman, as she got her … tenth coffee of the day?

“Do you have any idea when Commander Fisher is expected in his office?” the blonde asked curiously but disguised it as casual interest. She may have escaped awkwardness for now, but it would hit her back ten-fold, if he suddenly sauntered through the doors of the intelligence suite.

After she had related her request, however, Samantha was initially met with what she could only describe as unacceptable repudiation. She appreciated the flags raised, having anticipated some of them, but given how large the tales were, being told about the crafty specialist, she had expected more. Then again, she hadn’t waited for her to finish, realizing that the initial refusal almost acted like some sort of bargaining chip, to drive the price up. Which was a notion she, as a diplomat, could certainly respect.

Giving Ravenholm a gentle nod and warm smile, the commander produced a small PADD, which she placed onto the console next to what the woman had been yawning over mere minutes ago. “Anything but full access would be … unfortunate.” she reiterated, erecting herself back up straight beside Selena, clasping her hands together behind her posterior. “On the PADD you’ll find my credentials from my last – or let’s say – still current official posting. As Special Envoy I have full access to the interspecies library. I was thinking that, maybe, we could setup a remote link through my office on Starbase 133. Make it seem as if I were still there. As I am sure we’ll still have a couple of weeks until those will be revoked.”

Re: CH02: S [D02|0745] Draw Me a Line Across the Stars

Reply #3 –
[Selena Ravenholm | Intelligence Ops | Deck 05 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy] attn: @stardust

“Not for a while yet.” Selena answered over her shoulder as the fresh java materialized in the replicator before her.  The smell alone made her stomach churn, so much acid could not be doing anything good for it but she didn’t care at this point.  “I’m pretty sure he’s up on the Bridge filling in the Captain on the latest.  Or gym, or somewhere."  Glancing at the blonde’s reflection in the replicator’s control and status screen she couldn’t quite figure out the look that Rutherford was trying to hide.  Ah well, not the point of this meeting, she can get the gossip later.  After another dozen or so coffees.

Sitting back down at her workstation, the two women talked for a minute about Rutherford’s desires.  Selena shot it down right away of course, the archives might have been public record but the Federation was always curious to see who was looking things up (and was a great way to catch criminals, real or imagined).  There were always ways around such security protocols though, if you knew what you were doing.  All she needed to know was what Rutherford was expecting, and the woman did not disappoint.  Some officers would whine or bully to get her way, this one knew how to play the game.  As soon as the PADD was on the table Selena slid it to her and looked at the contents as they were detailed.  Oh you sweet wonderful woman I could kiss you full on the lips for this… she said without speaking (it was all over her smile.)  This was the exact access point she needed, all that was left was to do was to set up the link to 133, and that was easy.  Large bases were always flooded with signals going and coming from every direction all day long, one more will never get noticed, especially since as far as they know it’s coming from one of the deep-space exploration missions far outside of Federation space.  Even if they investigate that one, they’d think the source is so far out they’d never be able to realize their mistake before Theurgy was long, long gone.

“Your transfer speeds won’t be anywhere near as fast as you’re used to, especially this close to the Federation’s core.  You’ll be bouncing between relays scattered through probably 100 cubic light years and at least 2 sovereign states, but with this,” she held up the PADD proudly, “you’ll think you’re back in your office again, just a century prior.”

Re: CH02: S [D02|0745] Draw Me a Line Across the Stars

Reply #4 –
[ Lt. Cmdr. Rutherford | Intelligence Ops | Deck 05 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] attn: @chXinya
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The sense of relief, washing over her, was hard to hide. So there would be a moratorium, on dealing with the more personal ramifications of the night passed. After having slept no more than four hours, Samantha was glad for any extension she would get. Especially if it was provided by her sense of duty. And at the same time, it was almost amusing, with what Ravenholm thought her boss usually filled his time with, as they were seemingly the two most prominent things, coming to her mind that moment. That was not to say that she couldn’t too see Andrew doing either of the two, right then.

From years in the diplomatic service, and countless negotiations the fate of entire sectors hinged on, the commander was astutely aware of the importance to come prepared. Like the earth saying went: You didn’t come to a gun fight, wearing a knife, she too wouldn’t come to demand something without having a plan of her own, to aid such dealings. If only to slap it on someone’s desk, if they chose to be entirely unhelpful. Thus, was not the case, granted. Ravenholm’s reputation preceded her, and seemingly the diplomat was not going to be disappointed.

Listening to the woman’s ultimate revelations, the blonde gave a subtle sigh. Though not one that squashed all possible sense of gratitude. “Well, that’ll put my request for Lieutenant Arnold’s bandwidth upgrades to my workstation under some scrutiny.” she chuckled lightly. “But I got a little glimmer back into his eyes when he was planning it, so hopefully he won’t be too heartbroken about it.” Picking up the PADD back from Selena, with a thankful nod and pleasant smile, Samantha took no second look at the data, knowing fair well that it was good.

“Regardless, though, I think we do have to prepare for the eventual possibility that my credentials will be suspended. As will be my credibility with Starfleet, I have no doubt.” Sort of a sad spot, there. “But now, thanks to you, we will have some time to peruse such possibilities. Potentially even restoring our credibility, who knows.”

Re: CH02: S [D02|0745] Draw Me a Line Across the Stars

Reply #5 –
[Selena Ravenholm | Intelligence Ops | Deck 05 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy]

“There’s no telling what will happen in the medium-term, that’s for sure.” Selena mused.  Rutherford was right, even if Starfleet Security never traces the remote connection through her old office on SB133, the moment they know she’s not there anymore they’ll revoke her access within minutes.  Good thing Selena already knew a few ways around that little issue.  “But for the short term, we already have access levels and codes that will give you what we need.  I will need to beg a bit of a favor though.”  Cybernetic fingers were already dancing over the control panel, a fresh program created and the initial operations loaded in from her own little archive.  “Once you’re in for the first time I’ll need a listing of as many ships out on deep space assignments, preferably 500 light-years outside Federation space or further.  If you can get their scheduled crew rotations and returns as well that would be excellent.”  She didn’t look away from the screen while she talked.

“I won’t go go into any details about it, the less you know the better, but the idea is to make up a crew member on a ship that won’t be back for a long time, and is so far out there’s no way to investigate if Security does realize the credentials are bogus.  The trade-off here is speed though.”  Now Selena stopped to look back at Rutherford, eyes aglow with the energy that comes from having an idea.  “While I can assume that the same Ensign Ricky will be gone a long time there’s no telling what will happen out there in the void, so I’ll have our little worm do a quick access check, make sure they haven’t been nullified for any reason.  If so, you’ll get disconnected, hopefully before the flags get noticed.  We will be back to square one however, but with luck that’ll be months down the line.”

Re: CH02: S [D02|0745] Draw Me a Line Across the Stars

Reply #6 –
[ Lt. Cmdr. Rutherford | Intelligence Ops | Deck 05 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] attn: @chXinya
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Letting the PADD with the data sink into the voluptuous softness of her bosom, Samantha hugged the table against her uniformed chest, nodding appreciatively of Ravenholm’s reassurances. Raising her neatly manicured brows only ever so slightly at the situation flipping on its edge to one where she could do something for the plucky PWO in return.

Not that the chain of command required any quit-pro-quo shenanigans, but as a diplomat the blonde had learned a long time ago that despite of what power and influence you thought you had, it never hurt to have an additional I-O-U stored somewhere for the really desperate times.

“That’s only fair.” she nodded courteously, prompting for the raven-haired beauty to outline her terms.

Listening intently to the elaborations, the commander soon found out that her welcoming acknowledgment was not misplaced in the slightest, as – if she understood correctly – the so called favor was in fact circling back to extending the possibility of her original query. Funny how hanging back and letting things unfold sometimes worked. Not able to shake a little bit of a satisfied smirk the blonde nodded once more as conclusion to the ploy.

It wouldn’t be too hard to gleam at least a partial record of ship deployments, especially deeps space missions, who heavily relied on support from the diplomatic corps in first-contact scenarios. So a query there would not raise any immediate flags. Samantha could’ve actually named at least five liaisons on ships out on multi-year missions right on the spot. But preferred to check her information before presenting it to someone else.

“Very cunning plan.” she admitted honestly. “I’ll find you your John Doe. Blonde or brunette, what’s your preference?”

And while the diplomat did not have the detailed understanding of covert operations as the other crewman, she could at least rely on the basic physics of 3 dimensional space when forming the sentiment behind her next question. “So, I assume, for the matter of convenience, this sector of space and beyond would serve best to bounce a signal off the nearest relays, I suppose?”

Digging through the mementos in her mind for a moment while also doing the geography of their position in respect to what lay ahead in terms of the opposite side from earth – putting them in between a potential stooge and Starfleet Archives – she already got a somewhat clear window of possibilities.

“The Nardendra Sector, for example. I know a ship currently exploring the Shackleton Expanse. But I will check the latest records when I establish connection.”

Re: CH02: S [D02|0745] Draw Me a Line Across the Stars

Reply #7 –
[Selena Ravenholm | Intelligence Ops | Deck 05 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy] attn: @stardust

Selena’s attention had already gone back to the monitor where computer code was appearing at a furious rate when Rutherford asked the followup questions.  The first brought a small smile to the woman’s face and she stopped to turn back and gauge the other’s reaction.  “Guess that depends on my mood.  Redheads can be quite a ride as well.” she teased with a wink then went back to work.  One nice thing about this new little job was that a lot of the groundwork was already in Selena’s repertoire.  Sure she’d done plenty of honest interviews and data digs, but sometimes you just had to keep one step ahead of the security systems.  The catch was that this was a much bigger runaround than usual, and the price of failure was much, much steeper.

“The specific sector isn’t critical really, but would be of help to make the signal spoof look more authentic.  Don’t worry about figuring out just which sector the ship in question is, it’s not unusual for the deep-space explorers to rely on a single subspace relay at extreme range to keep in contact.  Choose wisely though, the further away from us it is the longer the lag time.”  Filling in the final coordinates was trivial thankfully, all Selena had to do was plug it in once Rutherford made her choice so she kept programming while the plucky blonde thought it over.”  Not that she had to wait long.

“Shackleton in the Narendra Sector eh?” She asked, stopping again to picture the map in her own head.  “Other side of the Klingon Empire and the anti-spinward side of the Federation, not a bad idea.  Less of a circle around the network as well, but plenty of places to bounce around…yeah, that’ll do nicely.  I’ll set up your connection to go through that region and refine it once we have to final details set up, how’s that sound?”  Selena studied the woman’s face, trying to gauge if she understood the possible ramifications of what they’re doing.  In order to keep their end of the connection hidden there’s a decent chance they’ll ruin another person’s career, permanently or temporarily.  If Starfleet Security does realize there’s been an unauthorized breach and run it down despite the distance there’s no telling if they’d be able to determine that the credentials were completely falsified, including the source, or if they’ll just take the evidence at face value and think it really was the unknowing patsy.  If they do that, they could just put a reprimand in their file limiting promotions, or they could throw the entire book at them.  Worst case, one of the Infected got on the hunt, and if that were to happen, there really was no limit to what could happen.

Re: CH02: S [D02|0745] Draw Me a Line Across the Stars

Reply #8 –
[ Lt. Cmdr. Rutherford | Intelligence Ops | Deck 05 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] attn: @chXinya
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Samantha quite enjoyed that little detour to the more quippy side of the pond with Selena Ravenholm. There was only so much professionalism to be had in order for a task to be executed 120% until a woman of her calculated exterior would come off as a robot. Even if, in the grander scheme of things, androids were in many regards more lifelike than her. Sky blue eyes behind ever so slightly encroaching lashes as she watched the pale woman, trying to picture with either of the aforementioned color variety. Concluding that a redhead would go quite well with that general color scheme of ebony hair, skin as snow and lips as red as a rose.

She’d better stay away from apples however, while she was at it.

“I’ll take your word for it.” The blonde replied quietly, a gentle smirk tucking at her plump lips. She couldn’t quite recall any experiences with a redhead that would sway her opinion otherwise than what the officer was alluding to. And it was a curious thing, these side-tractions, that the woman found herself in more so than not, these days. It was a way of escaping the stress of it all, bit by bit, while larger recuperations seemed so far away from their current trajectory.

Nodding gently, however, at swerving back into line with the parameters of the mission, Samantha agreed with Ravenholm’s assessments. There was a matter of convenience and then there was that of possibility. The most fitting solution was not always the best one. Especially when it came at an insurmountable price. In that case, diplomatically, a concession was always the best option. The biggest reward possible for the smallest tribute affordable.

Luckily, however, no such compromise had to be struck, as Selena gladly accepted the Commander’s offer. Adding her own little twist to the subject matter, that Sam had actually come to bargain for, the overall plan finally took shape – as did its backup variety. She’d gladly defer the technical expertise to the professionals and strike it off her mental to do list. Would it keep her from checking up on the process before utilizing the uplink, however? Probably not. Because as much as the leggy blonde was of the non-droning leadership school, she was a perfectionist first.

“Sounds great.” She appreciated with another nod, a significantly more definitive nature to it. “Let’s hope we’ll have a moment until such considerations become necessary.” Because she’d much prefer the more straightforward approach through her regular channel, also giving Starfleet the impression that she hadn’t just deserted her post. At least not yet.

“After I’ve established the link for the first time, I will copy fleet deployments from that sector and find you a redhead.”

Letting a small wink pass the controlled exterior, clutching her PADD tight against her bosom once more, the diplomat turned on her heel with her entire body following in a slightly delayed corkscrew movement, before heading to leave the intelligence suite.

“Thanks for your help.” she cast over her shoulder, just before the doors slid shut behind her.

- FIN
 
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