RP Log: Over the Coals
| Roleplay Log | |
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| Participants: | |
Location(s):
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Stardate:
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| 2023-07-30 20:00 | |
- Briefing Room - Saucer Security <USS Phoenix NCC-170100-A>
- The entrance opens out into a fairly large lecture hall type arrangement. A raised podium on the far side of the room sits before a large LCARS panel. Lighting is concentrated around this area, while the rest of the room is kept largely darkened. The overhead panels can be adjusted in intensity, however, to brighten the whole room. There are six rows of eight seats, four seats to each side of the room. These seats are set into the deck behind long, curving desks. Steps run down from the entrance through the rows of seating to the front of the room.
[T'Shaav's Commbadge] Worthington says, "worthington here sir."
"Is your departure imminent?" T'Shaav asks.
[T'Shaav's Commbadge] Worthington says, "Yes commander. I was conducting some systems checks on Hadfield. Fuel's not topped off, but at 84%, should be more than sufficient. Things checked out, so she's ready once loaded."
T'Shaav says, "Since you are not yet gone, report to me in saucer security briefing room"
[T'Shaav's Commbadge] Worthington says, "on the double sir. worthington out."
[T'Shaav's Commbadge] Connection to Lieutenant Commander Worthington terminated.
Lieutenant Commander Worthington arrives from Security Complex.
T'Shaav is seated in the back row, having not turned up the elumination. She has a stack of several padds to hand.
Worthington doesn't mess with the lights either, but moves to a seat next to the vulcan and her padds. He salutes, remaining standing for now. "You wanted to see me sir?" he asks.
"Yes, I have some concerns about this investigation, and I want to give you the chance to respond to them before you leave. I recently went to Crewman Jenkins's quarters and interviewed one of her roommates and examined her things."
Worthington nods, getting the indication that the vulcan may not be finished. He remains silent for now.
"Would you like to tell me why this was not done, Commander?" She leans forward. "It should have been done early in this investigation. Have you interviewed her shift crewmates? Her shift lead? Have you, in fact, interviewed anyone at all, Security Chief Worthington?"
Worthington considers. "Her things should have been checked first thing, this was an oversight sir," he says. "From what I did learn of her, she didn't share shifts with many people consistently, and I did make attempts to track down people close to her. I did interview crewman first class M'wer, and the night of the murder, we did discuss crewman Jinkens with senior chief Sanderson in engineering. I had been planning to interview crewman Davidson as well, plus those involved in submitting missing persons reports when they were tracked down."
"Had been planning to?" The Vulcan quotes, her tone not departing at all from her usual, though her gaze is unwaivering. "The past perfect progressive tense does not indicate, to me, an investigation being pursued with full viggor and resource, Commander. Perhaps you were too preoccupied with planetside duties and your proposed foray back to the Alpha Quadrant. With all the avenues of investigation you, had been planning to, investigate, not having investigated them in point of fact, do you have any idea how far behind this department is from a law enforcement perspective? We have murderers roaming freely to this day aboard our ship, Commander. Cold-blooded, highly intelligent, /free/, adversaries right now."
Worthington considers. "To be honest sir, I'm not used to conducting murder investigations. I've had few leads to follow and few avenues to pursue, with a large complament of individuals in which a suspect can hide. I admit, my other missions on the planet in particular have been a drain on my time sir," he says.
T'Shaav nods. Her tone doesn't change, but when does it ever. She studies something on a pad and returns to you. "Very good. What did Mr. Sanderson have to say? Also, I wish to know more fully who this crewman Davidson is and what your interest in him was. It may prove helpful."
Worthington nods. "Sanderson said that he didn't know the crewman well or those who did. He was the one who initially told us that she was supposed to be on a date the night she was killed, which is what I was following up on sir. Crewman M'wer then stated that this rumor didn't seem to be accurate, but crewman Davidson did make a pass on Jinkens and was apparently rejected. I wanted to get his perspective, as I thought he may have known or observed crewman Jinkens more thoroughly or gotten closer to her than others. All indications I had were that she was a loner and wasn't really known well by anyone."
T'Shaav nods. "Yes, she appears to have been the self-isolating sort. I will interview this Davidson and her other cabbinmate. I will have to determine who her shift lead was, what area of engineering she was assigned to, what her work assignments may have been. I think this matter will not be solved by computer forensics alone, if at all, since the computer has been a target of multiple sabotages. What have you discovered thus far about the MIA reports?"
Worthington shakes his head. "I have no trust in the computer sir, so I have been seeking the identities of the report makers through other departments. I believe I approached you on this very issue not too long ago sir. These reports were of course made when the computer was down and being re-imaged."
T'Shaav nods. "And it may prove impossible to determine who made them. But we shall see. I remain more concerned about who closed them out."
Worthington nods. "As am I," he says. "I brought up the matter with LT Fairburn when he reported to me about the knife theft from a security station armory, leading to the increased security protocols. He is astonished that such reports could have been closed out without even reaching my desk."
"I do not admit astonishment, but that knives could be stolen from our armories at all suggests inside help in this department. Do you disagree?" She asks.
Worthington shakes his head. "Not in the slightest, and that's been one of my problems, trying to find people in security that I know I can trust," he says. "If anyone there could be part of the conspiracy without a clear trail to follow, how can they be trusted with particulars on an investigation like this? Making logs, issuing broad orders, utilizing the expertise of my department on such a scale would almost certainly tip the conspirators off. It's something I've been wrestling with this entire time. I've felt mostly alone on this issue, alone except for those officers that I know well and trust."
T'Shaav nods slowly. "It is a most difficult investigation with many aspects to consider. Perhaps my taking charge of this investigation will have some positive aspects. You see, I want them afraid. I want them to know that I am now in charge of the hunt for them, and to know that Commander T'Shaav is coming after them, and I want my reputation as an investigator and as a Vulcan to make them tip their hand. Perhaps they will even be foolish enough to come for me. I will anticipate an attempt, anyhow." In so far as she ever has an expression, she may look grim. "I will turn this department over until I have answers, and I will do it without favor, without bias, and without prejudice."
Worthington nods. "I sincerely appreciate your assistance commander," he says. "You have decades of relevant experience, and I must admit, my experience when it comes to murder investigations of such complexity is somewhat lacking," he says.
"Murder investigations are rarely this complex, Commander. Most murders are crimes committed in the heat of the moment. But there is more here than a simple murder, and that is what makes it complicated. Now then, I want you to search your ... intuitions," not her favorite word, "and tell me. Is there anyone in the department you suspect? I want their names, and any reasons, no matter how slim, for why you suspect them, even if you wish you did not suspect them."
Worthington considers, thinking back a while, trying to come up with names. "It's a pretty big department," he says, "so there are plenty of people whose faces I know but names are a bit fuzzy to me. Let's see," he contemplates. "There was petty officer Collingsworth, security station, deck 8. He routinely operated there and dealt with a lot of the typical civilian complaints. There were some times when he had to be reminded to submit daily reports, but the reports he sent weren't out of the ordinary and matched the recollections of other duty personnel. I don't recall seeing anything more than the occasional drunk and disorderly, simple assaults, and a couple of battery cases, the kinds of things you expect to happen with a lot of different people cooped up in one place for an extended period of time. Whenever he'd be reminded to submit a report by me or one of the junior officers, he'd send it in pretty quickly, though he would tend to be forgetful from time to time and require a reminder." He thinks further. "Crewman third class, what was her name," he racks his brain. "Sumpter, I believe it was. Only saw her a few times. Think she was from somewhere in the old United States on Earth. I once saw her digging around through one of the arms lockers and checking over the access log. It's a task that is done to insure weapons aren't stolen, though usually by more senior security officers at any particular station. I asked her what she was doing, and she said that petty officer Jackson had ordered her to run these checks for him. Nothing was amiss at the time. Jackson had apparently forgotten to run those checks the day before so was trying to cover his ass before the morning reports were due." He ponders. "Other than that, nothing really notable jumps out at me."
T'Shaav nods. "The usual covering for slightly below par behavior. I am familiar with it. THough not from personal experience," she adds wryly. "I will check nonetheless, but it will not be revealed that you gave these names to me. Now, what of your search for bodies under the guize of engineering inspections?"
Worthington nods. "On going sir," he says. "Nothing has been found, yet."
Worthington nods. "Understood sir," he says.
T'Shaav nods. "While you are at Earth, as we discussed briefly before, I want you to bring me back Crewman Jenkins's complete file. I also want the jackets on all our supposed MIA's. If you require one, I will draft a letter to the chief of Starfleet Security' eyes only with a copy to the captain, to vouchsafe your request and its reason. It may not need to go that high, but if it does, you will have what you need."
Worthington nods. "Understood sir," he says.
T'Shaav says, "To be candid, Mr. Worthington, I am not satisfied with how you have spearheaded this investigation. Leads that should have been investigated at the start have now gone cold. Witnesses who may have talked before may now never do so. Evidence that might have been found in the immediate aftermath may now be lost forever. Do you understand the problems?"
Worthington nods and responds. "Yes sir, I do," he says resignedly.
"Very good. Then we will speak no more about it. I will not place any report in your jacket and the matter will rest here, but I expect you to learn from this, Commander. Now get back to your vessel. We both have things to do. Dismissed."
Worthington stands and snaps a salute. "Yes commander," he says, and makes for the door.