"Computer.  Activate program Detonation 1."

Nynev watched as the holodeck came to life, filling it with a perfect replica of the lab module on the Jouret IV station.  That was the easy part.  The design specs were standard Federation.  What was hard was filling it with people and things based without the benefit of surveillance footage, only sensor logs.  She supposed she should be thankful she had that much, but it was sometimes hard for Security to do their jobs when forced to cover one eye.

Hearing the holodeck door open, she turned to see Jason enter.  She hadn't asked for him, so his appearance was curious.  "Everything alright, Mr. Walker?"

He didn't answer for a moment as he matched memory with vision then turned to Nynev. "Maybe," he said and furrowed his brows a moment. "Dr. Brenn went crazy and I went to inform Lt. sh'Elliaph that he was in the medbay. I was... told to see you. They kicked me out of the Science Lab for some reason."

Jason was a bit distracted but turned to the Lt. "Two pairs of eyes are always better than just one. Maybe I can help find what we both might miss. I didn't get to see any of the sensor logs though. Do you have them, ma'am?"

In reply to Jason Walker (msg # 2):

Nynev quirked an eyebrow at Jason, "I imagine they didn't want to be disturbed while working anymore than you would want to be during a training exercise.  They need to focus and we should let them."

With that, she returned back to the source of hers.  "Speaking of focus, your eyes would be appreciated," she said as she handed one of the tricorders to him.  "I'm trying to reconstruct the lab module just before the explosion.  Commander Geary seemed to think the lab crew was killed before the warhead detonated.  I'm not so sure."
This message was last edited by the player at 03:31, Wed 20 May 2020.

He shrugged. "She's very focused," he said cautiously. For all he had read up on Andorians, they still confused him a little.

Jason nodded as he took the tricorder, looking around the lab reconstruct. "Ma'am were the bodies ripped apart or whole?" He transferred what data the tricorder had to his padd and started to look through it. He glanced at the medical data recorded too when he found it but then stepped back and looked around the lab.

In reply to Jason Walker (msg # 4):

"Ripped apart? No..." Nynev said as began feeding new data into the simulation.  "According to Dr. Dupont, while they exhibited the expected flash-burns and crushing force damage, the bodies were intact.  The primary barotraumatic force of the blast would have killed most humanoid species and if that didn't, the secondary fragmentation damage probably would have finished the job.  A Takaran though... They're remarkably hard to kill, decapitation or complete cellular disruption, so the question is why."

Jason frowned at that. "Well they ain't supermen," he stated flatly. "If the explosion didn't kill them, question is what did? What can kill a Takaran and not leave a mark?" He shook his head, not having a clue. Nothing definitive at least. "Is there a huge reason we are focused on the Takarans?"

In reply to Jason Walker (msg # 6):

Nynev gave Jason a sidelong glance.  "Aside from the deaths of four of the six Takarans working on the prototype aboard a Federation station?"


She looked over her data. "So let's review what we know.  The warhead detonated, but with a yield far below that of a standard photon torpedo, much less the quantum prototype.  Either of those would have destroyed the entire module instead of just the labspace.  Moreover, the radiation signature I recorded differs from that of either a standard warhead or the simulated data of the quantum device.  I suppose that data could have been faked, but I'd like to think Lt. Cmdr sh'Elliaph would have caught it.  Dr. Dupont said the four Takaran scientists killed - the only ones killed - should have survived barotraumatic and incendiary injuries given their physiology, but were instead killed by massive cellular disruption that seems to align with the radiation signature detected.  What does that suggest, Mr. Walker?"
This message was last edited by the player at 22:08, Wed 20 May 2020.

Jason shrugged. "That is a given," he pointed out. "They, Brenn and Ra'Ghul were all on the team. Brenn is in the med bay right now with a dislocated shoulder. I am unsure of where the last one is. This just leaves Brenn and Ra'Ghul, as the only ones that know about the prototypes. Killing the team off leaves the survivors as suspects. And what do we know of them? Not a lot."

"So we have Brenn and Ra'Ghul who could have been 'paid off' to give this information to the Romulans. One or both of them together," Jason pointed out.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:35, Thu 21 May 2020.

In reply to Jason Walker (msg # 8):

"Brenn and Ra'Ghul may simply have been inaccessible or one or both may have been involved," Nynev thought aloud.  "Computer, based on data provided by myself and Dr. Dupont, construct the most likely positions of the bodies just prior to the explosion."

A moment later, images of the four technicians appeared. Two were seated with their backs to the warhead, one was walking between stations and one was standing facing the prototype.  "Looks like a room full of science types doing science things," Nynev said as she walked around the simulated lab.  "Nothing to suggest they expected it or perhaps one of them detonated it themselves."

She paused to consider Jason's words.  "Yes, one or both could have been paid off, but the attack on the Mihoshi and killing the technicians feels a bit much.  Why not simply steal the plans and sabotage the prototypes?  Why go to the extreme?"

Jason furrowed up his brows a little. "No, it looks like they might have been doing normal things. Both prototypes were functional, I recall Brenn saying. Ru'Ghal showed us, Chief Blatt and Commander sh'Elliaph and I, the prototypes. There was a tech lowing the housing back on, that might have been the one standing there but why would he even be there if they were completed?"

He gave a thoughtful look to Nynev. "It is extreme. Kill the techs that built it so another can not be built. Kill anyone associated with it I would hazard a guess. That leaves Brenn and Ra'Ghul as targets. But why steal one and why fire on a Federation ship to do so? Romulans would not be that stupid ma'am. Not unless they are looking for war."

Jason frowned now. "This feels contrived. Like a hook's been baited for us to chase. And the goal is war with the Romulans."

He shrugged. "I could be wrong too. But if even half of it is true, means Brenn and Ra'Ghul might be targets too."

"Walker to Dr. Dupont. What is the status on Dr. Brenn?"

Assuming this is before the previous insight, "In Cyrostasis. His vitals dropped suddenly without any reason."

In reply to Jason Walker (msg # 10):

"Final assembly for the test?  Either way, it seems to me the thing was either tampered with or deliberately constructed to kill the scientists," Nynev wondered aloud.  She wasn't an engineer and she hadn't questioned their process either, something she now regretted.  "Preventing another from being built seems the most obvious theory.  It makes me wish I'd been able to scan their systems before the module failed, but now that we're at warp that's not an option.  Maybe we can contact the station.  Of course, if we can catch up to the Klingons, perhaps we can learn more there too, though I doubt they'll be very talkative."

Then Alex's call came in and it etched a deep scowl onto her face.  "I'll be there shortly, Doctor," she said as she glared at Jason, thought perhaps he was not the focus of her ire.  She turned toward the exit.  "See what else you can figure out.  I'm going to take care of this."
This message was last edited by the player at 02:53, Fri 22 May 2020.

He frowned at the Doc's response and had a thoughtful look. "That leaves Ra'Ghul now."

He nodded at Nynev's words and chewed on his lip a moment. "I don't recall the away team doing any scans. At least I don't think so. Well if we catch up to them. With what is going on I almost doubt they will stand and fight. And we don't know if those ships were purchased or stolen either."

Jason arched a brow at Alex's request. The glare made him stiffen his back up. "Ma'am don't look at me. I wanted Bravo team guarding him. Even after I had to wrestle the Doctor down to the floor he was still fighting me with a dislocated shoulder which I never intended to happen. I don't understand why Lt Davis would only assign one officer. He was there watching me try to subdue Brenn. I wanted a full team of hand to hand specialist on that Takaran."

Jason turned back to the scene, not quite sure what to do but what was at the lab that the doctor would be that desperate to get back to. With Nynev gone he looked up at the data. "What were the techs doing when the explosion happened?" He looked through the data in hopes of finding information on what the two sitting had been working on/with before they died.

In reply to Jason Walker (msg # 13):

Using the scans of the burn patterns and the placement of the bodies of the technicians, the computer presents Jason with an approximation of where they were just prior to the explosion.  Two were seated at stations with their backs to the warhead.  The third was between them with burns most prominent on the side facing the warhead, suggesting walking between them.  The fourth was standing facing the warhead with a PADD.  The computer cannot resolve facial expressions or finer detail, but it seems unlikely they expected the blast.  Unless one was a suicide bomber, it would tend to rule out their complicity.

"zh'Idrani to Walker," Nynev called to Jason.  "On my authority in the investigations of attacks on a Federation starship and facility, I want you to take your team and go through the quarters of our esteemed Takaran guests.  Look for anything that might explain the motivation behind either."

OOC: Roll would be Reason + Security, one for each quarter.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:31, Sat 23 May 2020.

In reply to Nynev Idrani (msg # 15):

Jason had just started going over the data but everything appeared normal to his untrained eye. Nothing was out of the ordinary at least. He leaned against the bulkhead and crossed his arms, staring up but deep in thought. The warhead went off but didn't cause enough damage to be the actual payload. That meant someone changed something or added something that was inherently fatal to Takarans.

The hail from Nynev brought Jason back to the present and he straightened. "Aye aye Lt. On my way. Walker to Bravo team, meet me at the guest quarters."

"Computer: save under Lab Investigation. End program."

Jason made his way out and headed towards the guest quarters, met by his hand picked team. "The Lt. wants us to search both quarters. Look for anything unusual or out of place. We will start with Dr. Brenn's and move to Ra'Ghul's after."

The searched thoroughly but there was nothing to find in Brenn's quarters. much to Jason's frustration, and moved on. Ra'Ghul's proved a bit more of interest to him. Crewman Jaka called him over and pointed out a device that normally one didn't find on a starship or more like didn't find in a guest quarters.

Jason carefully picked it up and studied it a moment. "Its a storage module of some kind," he frowned at it before letting Nynev know. "Walker to zh'Idrani. The Doctor's quarters were clean but Ra'Ghul's had a storage device that one of the crewman found. I am going to get this looked at to see whats on it. I will keep you informed. Walker out."
This message was last edited by the player at 16:04, Sat 23 May 2020.

In reply to Jason Walker (msg # 16):

"I want that thing decrypted," Nynev told Jason, her tone making it clear failure was not an option.  "I'm going to the Conference Room to speak with Ra'Ghul as he's still with Commander Geary and Ms. Seward.  When you decrypt the contents, send what you find to my PADD."

It took some time, more than 15 minutes, and bit of digging, some of his security knowledge and the ship's help, to get into the device and what he found was not too surprising to him after the whole mess that happened. He sent the findings to Nynev's padd.

The device stored some rather interesting plans on it. It appears the schematics to the prototype. I have Bravo team on standby still. What would you like me to do? -Walker

In reply to Jason Walker (msg # 18):

"I want you to go to MedBay," Nynev said to Jason as she neared the Conference Room.  "Dr. Dupont will be bringing Ja'Brenn out of the medical stasis and I want you to question him while I speak to Rh'Ghul.  Take an earpiece with you so we can remain in contact with one another without letting our Takarans guests know.  At this point, we'll be treating them both as suspects and I imagine Brenn will be none too pleased to see the man who dislocated his shoulder."

"Understood, ma'am." He made a stop by security to pick up the ear piece. With that in place he made his way to the MedBay.