A Second Science Search
Posted on Tue Apr 19th, 2022 @ 10:20pm by Lieutenant Commander Alyssa Maren & Lieutenant JG Mira Jayna
Edited on on Wed Apr 20th, 2022 @ 12:34am
1,169 words; about a 6 minute read
Mission:
Episode 12 - Risin' To Risa
Location: CSO's Office & Astrometrics - Deck 8 - USS Pioneer
Timeline: MD010 1400 hrs
Alyssa sat at her desk, going over messages. Some were from the Quartermaster about her requests for supplies, some were suggestions from her department, and some were from other archaeologists on various projects. She'd caught up on her work for the day and now she had an hour to catch up on this. She was determined to get through all the new messages before she left her office.
It had been several months since Jayna searched the Astrometrics computer. Shortly after arriving on the Pioneer the former first officer had asked her to see what information she could find about a period of time where the Pioneer had gone missing. She'd found some cryptic messages that were buried in the Astrometrics database, and some gaps in the main computer where data had clearly been removed, but nothing that specifically pointed to one person or group. It did show some odd temporal fluctuations. She'd collected the information and passed it on, but now there was a new first officer and a new chief of science. And, since Jayna was still curious, she decided to say hello and see if she could schedule some time for another dive into the data.
She located the chief of science in her office and rang the door chime.
Alyssa paused to bookmark where she was reading before calling, "Come in."
Jayna walked in and looked around the office. It had changed with the new chief. There was a large desert print on the wall that she thought was of some place on earth, but she wasn't sure. There was also a smaller print of a Mayan pyramid. A small box held several herbs under a light. "Hello, lieutenant," she said with a Vulcan bow. "My name is Mira Jayna and I'm in intel. I had permission from Commander Vaebn to search the Astrometrics database and was wondering if I would be able to do so again."
Alyssa set down her PADD. "Oh, yes. I noticed some of your activity when I set up a secondary database for science and your command authorization." She cocked her head to one side. "Did you find what you were looking for?"
"Some. Whoever used Astrometrics to send and receive communications was careful to not give away much. Most of it was simply missing." She had found information, with the help of Commander Malbrooke, to indicate that the New Maquis had a hand in some of it, but there were some odd signatures she didn't recognize.
Alyssa nodded. "I'm not surprised. If they were careful enough to use Astrometrics instead of communications, they're going to mask what they send and receive."
"Agreed. I would like to use a program I've adapted to look for communication fragments. It is my hope I can collect enough bits of data to at least learn who sent and received the messages." Jayna had used some programs the first time, but she'd tweaked them since and hoped the adapted program would find something.
"As long as you let me know what you find…or what you can tell me about what you find, I'll be happy to set aside some time for you. The lab now has a backup database to prevent corruption or loss if the ship is damaged." She hesitated for a moment, unsure if she should offer to help, then figured if the warrant didn't want it, she'd say so. "I've worked with intel in the past and have utilized some…alternative uses for Astrometrics. I may have a program that might be of some benefit to your search—not that mine is better than what you have. It's just that mine was created to piggyback on the lab's core programming and may not be recognized by the computer as a separate program as much as one with an intel slant. If that would even be relevant in your search."
Jayna raised an eyebrow. She would have to have a look at the lieutenant's personnel file. It was unusual, but not unheard of, for a scientist to work with intelligence. "That's a possibility; I'd like to have a look at your program, if you don't mind."
"Of course. I…made use of it on one of my past assignments." She didn't offer any details as she pulled up the algorithm for the specific bot she used and moved aside for the Vulcan to have a look.
Jayna looked it over carefully. "Nicely done. Yes, I could use this, if you don't mind. Mine is for sifting and collating, this is less intrusive and could be altered to draw any information to it." She raised an eyebrow. "Do you mind if I make a few changes?"
"No. I have a backup. I'm curious to see what you'll do." Alyssa stood behind Jayna and watched her work. When the other woman was done, she smiled. "May I use this?"
"Of course. This is still essentially your program." She saved a copy to her PADD. "Now, with your permission, let's see if either program finds anything."
Alyssa led the way to the Astrometrics lab and placed her palm on the access pad. "Computer, please allow access to Staff Warrant Officer Mira Jayna to the Astrometrics lab." Anyone could come in and make basic use of the lab, but with the access, it would allow Jayna to add the two programs and use the backup database.
The computer beeped. "Access granted."
"Thank you," Alyssa said. The door opened and she stepped inside, allowing Jayna to follow her.
Jayna walked in and looked around again. "I'm continually impressed by this lab."
"So am I. My predecessor did an amazing job. It's my hope that the backup database will prevent anyone from contaminating or altering data in the future, but I don't know if you'll have much success."
"Probably not, but it is worth a try," Jayna said. "I don't like having so many unanswered questions."
Alyssa chuckled. "Science deals with that all the time. There are always more questions than answers."
"This is true." Jayna smiled. "Intel doesn't always have answers, either. But we try." She went over to the main console. "I'd like to spend a couple of hours here today and possibly tomorrow, if that's all right."
"That should be fine. I'll let you know if that changes," Alyssa said. "In the meantime, I'll leave you to it and wish you luck."
"Thank you," Jayna said, setting her PADD and a data rod on the console. It would be like finding a needle in a haystack after someone had gone through it with a magnate, but it was worth a try.
Alyssa nodded. "Good luck." She watched Jayna for a moment, then left her to her work.
A Joint Post By
Lieutenant Alyssa Maren
Chief Science Officer, USS Pioneer
Staff Warrant Officer Mira Jayna
Assistant Chief Intelligence Officer, USS Pioneer
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