I Went to Starfleet Academy for THIS?

Posted on Thu 30th Aug, 2018 @ 12:27am by Lieutenant Damion Ildaran & Lieutenant Jacen Miller & Ensign Elizabeth Brennen

2,984 words; about a 15 minute read

Mission: Oblivion
Location: Chief Intelligence Officer's office
Timeline: MD1

ON:
Most of the Intelligence Department infiltration staff worked out of cubicles if they were on assignment but had access to a couple of unassigned offices whenever they needed to use them. They were, after all, expected to spend most of their time out in the field, not at desks, so they rarely even needed cubicles, much less office space. His rank could have entitled Damion to an office, he supposed, but he saw no reason to bother with one up in Intel. Today, he was meeting with Lt. Miller and someone in the Intel staff who he thought might be a good fit for working in the repair shop. Damion certainly hoped so. He was beginning to want to kick himself for drawing up the casino contract when he was the only employee. He pressed Miller's door chime.

Jacen had been leaning back deeply into his chair, day dreaming about other far off places, when the door chime chirped. "Yeah...door's open." he said, sitting up slightly. He sighed, and ran his fingers through his hair. He turned around to face the door as it slid open.

Damion stepped forward a pace, and the door to Jacen Miller's office slid open. "Good to see you, sir," he said as he entered. The door slid shut behind him. "Been busy around here lately, has it?"

"Oh, it's you, Damion..." Jacen replied, pleasantly surprised. He had half expected it to be some aide on some errand from higher up. "It has been hectic." he continued, "It's enough to drive a man to drink. Why so formal today, my friend?"

"Habit," Damion said with a light laugh. "And as Durant I always call my customers 'sir' or 'ma'am,' so it's happening both on the military end and the civilian end." He took one of the chairs in front of Jacen's desk and sat down. "What are the odds of me getting some 'employees' to work at the repair shop? I'm concerned that I might need to hire some actual civilians to help out."

Jacen smiled, "The odds are pretty good. You've got complete operational discretion on this. I'm just here to advise, and rubber stamp things as needed. Did you have someone particular in mind?"

Damion snorted. "Not really. I barely know anyone here or if their personalities would suit. I've looked at a few personnel jackets, run some cross-references of skills needed and people who have them. CPO Bryan Perez would be good, as I'll need someone who can keep two sets of books. If this project becomes able to sustain itself, we'll have to be audited eventually, and those books will have to pass civilian muster. When Adam Keller returns from family leave, I'd like to talk to him about--not working for the shop, as I don't think that's where his strengths lie. He is the sort of man I'd want to have just walking around places and mingling; chatting up folk and testing the waters; listening and being charming, letting folk underestimate him. I suspect he's good at that; I'm wretched at it. People take one look at me and wonder why I'm there and what I'm trying to ferret out."

"Hmmm..." Jacen mused aloud, "Perez should be available. Although..." Jacen reached down and keyed the intercom. "Ensign Brennen, this is Lieutenant Miller. Please report to my office, ASAP." Releasing the intercom, he returned his attention to Damion. "This is a good opportunity to get you one of the bodies you need, our newest Ensign field experience, and hopefully another good Intelligence Officer trained up."

Brennen replied, it took her a few minutes to get there. Her hair tied back and with a PADD in her hand she looked quietly efficient as she tapped the door chime.

"Yes, come in!" Jacen hollered at the door. Returning his attention to Damion, "You know, those door chimes make one of the most ear-grating sounds I've ever heard. I wonder if I could reprogram it to make a more pleasing sound?"

"Don't see why not," Damion replied. "It's no different from a ringtone, right? There may be official specs, but there's no reason it has to sound that way if you don't like it."

Ensign Brennen walked in coming to attention, "Ensign Elisabeth Brennen reporting as ordered." She said, not stiffly but professionally. Her eyes were curious as they took in the room but her attitude restrained.

Jacen, looked up. Noticing the Ensign standing there at attention. "My, my,...Damion, we have a professional one on our hands" he muttered.
He grinned as he turned his attention to Brennen. "At ease, Elizabeth. You're not here for a reprimand. Grab a drink if you like." He waved at the refrigeration unit in the corner. "I have a large selection of real beers and wines available for your sampling pleasure. Courtesy of my brothers and sisters... Or, order something from the replicator. I won't hold it against you."

She relaxed but smiled politely, "No thank you Sir." She disliked being impaired for any reason, it rather required more trust than she tended to have outside of her circle of friends. "I'm fine." She hadn't gotten to know her new superior well and knew Damion not at all so she was polite but careful as was her wont.

Damion ordered an Irn Bru from the replicator and retook his seat with the orange beverage in hand. He gave Brennen an approving nod when she didn't take Jacen up on his offer of alcohol. Smart woman.

"Ensign, I'm Lt. Damion Ildaran," he said and extended his hand to her. "I served as CIO onboard the Hermes and was reassigned to Starbase 109 as an infiltration specialist because of a current problem the base is having with piracy in the area."

She briefly shook the offered hand after she caught the nod, and though she didn't require the approval, it was nice to see. She turned her attention to him as he spoke, taking into account his words, tone, and body language as she tended to to with everyone, though not as closely as when on mission. . It was good to be safe but there were some tactics one did not do to one's own. She waited patiently for the rest of the information she knew was incoming as she kept quiet but attentive, keeping both superior officers in sight as they traded off speaking.

"Elizabeth, we haven't had much opportunity to talk since your arrival. Outside of your initial report in. Welcome to the team. I've read, and heard, good things about you. As I'm sure you've noticed, I prefer a more relaxed mode of address than my friend here." Jacen said, nodding in Damion's direction. "Call it an occupational hazard, but I detest standing on ceremony, for ceremony's sake. Please, call me Jacen, and when you're not on assignment, or in the field, I fully expect you to relax, and enjoy yourself." He paused to take a sip from the beer on his desk. "Now, Damion and I have a very interesting assignment for you. One that should test your skills, and perhaps allow you to discover new ones...Damion?"

Damion shot Jacen an amused look and then glanced at Elizabeth. "He's right. When I'm in uniform, I'm a Starfleet officer who operates by the book. Out of uniform, I'm often in character, immersing myself in a role. Makes it easier for me if I have ways to separate the two."

Damion went on. "We discovered that someone was sending clandestine signals from 109 to...somewhere. There's nothing in the area of space intersecting the signal's trajectory that is also close enough to us that someone could receive the signal and make sense of it. Every known astrological body in the signal's path is too far away; the signal would be unintelligible by the time it reached the closest of them. That means we're probably talking a ship or a rogue asteroid, and finding either of those even in that small area of space would be like seeking a grain of salt in a pile of sand.

"So Lt. Miller and I decided we needed an onsite undercover team to find whoever sent the signal. To that end I've set up a civilian appliance repair business just above Tivoli Gardens, in the range of decks where it was determined that the signal originated. I have a store front, I've begun doing work for customers, and having the business has enabled me to go all sorts of places in and around Tivoli Gardens that a Starfleet intelligence officer in uniform couldn't go without inciting a lot of questions.

"Lt. Miller has decided that it would be useful to keep this business in place for the long term, to keep track of possible threats from outside the Federation or criminal activity external to the base but in our jurisdiction. We are not using it to spy on residents of the base; that's Security's job to handle. The business, however, is proving to be surprisingly successful, and I'm only one person. I need additional staff to flesh out the business. Lt. Miller recommended you to me because you're sharp, you've the right skill set to be able to function as an 'employee' of a repair business, and he says you need field experience, which this would provide in a relatively safe environment before you'd be sent out on more dangerous assignments."

Brennen looked at her Boss when he didn't seem to have anything to add then back at Damien. She'd never thought to do anything like field work, happy enough analyzing data and ruining the bad guys's day through distance from her computer screen. However it appeared, that others had seen something in her abilities and accomplishments that warranted an expansion of duties. She was intrigued, her normal repair skills were a little rusty but it wouldn't take much to bring them up to speed. This was an interesting puzzle and she'd always had a hard time resisting those, she spoke after a moment her questions cautious but aiming to clarify the essential points, "As I understand it, it would be a standard combination of visual and electronic surveillance with non-illegals being ignored and unrelated illegals sent to security for further analysis and action?" She asked thinking it smart to focus here where there was more likelihood of it panning out, "And it seems a burst transmission?" By that she meant it could only be tracked while active, in that case it behooved them to cover the areas as quickly as possible before the next transmission. Her mind quietly working on the problem, adjusting as they gave her more information.

Damion nodded. "Essentially. "We use the cover of repair servicepeople to grant us freedom to move throughout the civilian parts of the station as needed, without raising suspicion. The shop itself is located near the transportation core for ease of movement, either along the tram/lift system, or by using the fire stairs. Jeffries tubes are available, too, but stairs are faster. We're on deck 1549, just above Tivoli Gardens."

Brennen nodded her understanding. They were well placed to cover where the offender was most likely to hide.

"This operation is vital to the security of the Station, and a large portion of the surrounding space. I can't stress enough how vital this assignment is. I've given Damion and yourself a very large budget to get the job done. You'll have station security's full cooperation, and the help of OPS if needed. I am also available for wet work, if needed. I'm new to the station as well and have gone to some lengths to keep myself as anonymous as possible." He paused to take another sip from his glass. "Now.. Elizabeth, tell us about yourself."

She followed his rapid-fire speech like a white water rapids boater, quickly and knowing she'd miss something if she made a mistake. The offer of resources, casual offer to kill people as needed, the fact he liked his privacy for reasons but seemed to want to dive into hers. "Related information is in my record Sir." was all she replied internally puzzled but externally polite. "What do you need to know?" There was an almost imperceptible emphasis on the word 'need'. In that what did he feel he needed to know that would put his mind to rest about her participation in this effort.

Damion blinked but otherwise gave no reaction to Jacen's blunt offer to kill people at need. He would discuss that with Brennen later, he decided. "If someone brought you a malfunctioning tricorder, how would you troubleshoot to assess the problem? How would you distinguish between ID-10-T error and a serious malfunction? If the problem were an ID-10-T error, how would you explain that to the customer so that the problem wouldn't recur? Presume the customer calls you to their home because the video display on their tricorder isn't working."

Brennen shifted her attention to Damion, actually relieved he was asking for actual knowledge and not something more personal. She took a moment to order her thoughts then rolled with it. "First step in trouble shooting is to do a situational interview with the patron. While I can understand this is like pulling teeth sometimes, it can give a place to start for example when did it start to malfunction? What were they doing? In what way is it malfunctioning? Were there any unusual energy signatures nearby? These questions can be asked while one does the basic troubleshooting list from basic to advanced that exists if they wanted to speed things along. For myself I prefer to ask questions first for a starting point so I don't risk wasting time. Should that not work for some reason I have the fallback of the list."


She paused, "To continue an ID-10-T error is..." She paused, unable to resist a small smile, "Is also known as Pebcak or Problem Exists Between Chair And Keyboard; this is a user-created error and can usually be undone easily unless they are quite impressive wherein we return to the trouble shooting list but even if the user doesn't wish to admit error one can infer situation from the interview. This analysis is aided by such phrases as 'I don't know it just stopped working...I wasn't doing anything unusual' and my personal favorite 'My kid got a hold of it' all of which mean they were likely doing something they should not have with the device. However it is not a guarantee so best to start with the area of malfunction and go through the troubleshooting list as mentioned. One must start slow and make sure the user is following along but adjust speed and complexity of explanation based on own knowledge of how comfortable the patron seems as well as the needs of the device. Though to be fair shutting it completely down and rebooting it fixes it a rather lot of the time."

She paused again then finished, "If one discovers the cause, usually explaining why such a thing happened, if an error, is enough to stop it from happening again. If it appears a part needs to be replaced or there is a software update I would recommend that to fix the problem." At that she shut up, going over in her head what she'd just said to make sure she didn't over explain. She'd done tech support for her grandparents and a few other relatives, she did not like it but the needs of Starfleet must.

Damion snickered during the tell-tale phrases but kept silent until Brennen finished. "Your mention of 'quite impressive' customers reminds of a story.
One of my nicest and most frustrating customers was this one lady--not quite sixty. At least once a week I would get a complaint that someone had been using her computer and messing it up. Now, she lived by herself, and no one touched her computer but her--or me when I had to undo whatever she'd done--and it was never the same problem twice.

"She called the office one day to question her bill, swearing up and down that she never called us all those times; it must have been someone impersonating her. Even got a lawyer involved. Someone from the company I worked for asked if she might have dementia. Well, the lawyer told us to our face that that was rubbish, but apparently, he had that checked out. She was diagnosed, treated, restored to normal, and continued to be a sweet lady--though she stopped calling us nearly as much, and we couldn't back down on the bill, though I think we did reduce it a bit, considering."

Brennen's lips quirked a little, "I rather hope the current crop of customers aren't nearly so...colorful." Her tone held a little bit of amused resignation as she half expected they would be and was willing to adapt to do her job.

Damion chuckled. "They've been fine, so far. Just don't let Morva at the Slug and Grub feed you anything, unless you like Ferengi food. So, would you be willing to work for me? We do earn hazardous duty pay for doing this. If you agree to the assignment, I'd like to start you off a couple of days a week at first, and if you like it, increase your time."

Brennen nodded, "That seems fine Sir. The sooner we can blanket the sooner we ideally get the bastards." She said it mildly in a polite tone like one discussing the weather but there was a determination in her tone. She did not like pirates, especially not ones that stomped on innocent transports and Starfleet vessels.

"I think we all agree on that, Ensign," Damion said. "Welcome to Durant Repair Services. Come on by for your new-hire orientation tomorrow at 0900."

 

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