Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Issac Forgrave (Chief of Security) in Main Sim - FedSec’s Secret Project: A Discussion - [Tag CO, CE, Dr. Drillek]

Posted by Gamemaster Alias Smith N. Jones, Esq. (GMT) in Main Sim - FedSec’s Secret Project: A Discussion - [Tag CO, CE, Dr. Drillek]

Posted by Captain Molly Holloway (Commanding Officer) in Main Sim - FedSec’s Secret Project: A Discussion - [Tag CO, CE, Dr. Drillek]
Posted by… suppressed (8) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Issac sat patiently, skimming his notes while waiting for his ‘guests’ to arrive. After the call with FedSec yesterday; he had forwarded the recordings with some brief notes and a meeting request to Captain Holloway; and an additional meeting request to Dr. Drillek and Lt. Kleinhoffer (sans the recording). FedSec had indicated that the Dr. had been the project leader on the warp signature module; which had been added to the Dresden’s list of concerns with the station. ‘They’ had indicated that both the Captain and Chief Engineer could be pulled into this conversation, and Issac had done so.

Beyond the general concerns with the confidential nature of the project, Issac had concerns with the instructions he had been given; effectively, either forward the readings it had collected, or destroy the unit if it’s been compromised. With the whole station falling silent, there was no telling what they might find.

Lt. J.G. Forgrave, CoS

The door slid open a d the slender form of Dr. Drillek entered. He looked around the conference room and then picked a chair on the opposite side of the table fro. Forgrave. Nodding as he sat, he said “Well, I guess I’m early for a change.” and chuckled.

GMT

OOC: Even though this thread is set the day after the current main sim threads, wouldn’t it be better if it happened after the current main sim events, but later in the same day? I am not sure how long they would take to get to Julian Echo (it might have been said in the briefing thread but I don’t remember and I can’t find it…) and it would probably make more sense for this to happen before they got there, I am assuming? – Joana

IC:
Molly had read and reread the exchange and the notes Forgrave had sent her. She had listened to the recordings and she still wasn’t sure what to make of it all. Why had Security been contacted and not her? What was this new warp signature detection module that had been installed on the station, how important was it, and why had Drillek failed to mention it? Could it even be tied to why the station had gone silent? Was any of this related or was her mind just trying to make connections where they effectively did not exist?

Striding through the doors moments after Dr. Drillek, Molly nodded quietly to the officers already in the room both in way of greeting and acknowledgement of their presence. She held a PaDD in one hand and a steaming mug of coffee on the other. Placing them at her usual seat at the table, she pulled her chair and sat down. She shot Forgrave an encouraging smile and waited for the meeting to start.

Holloway, CO

OOC: Eh, I suppose I’m not too concerned about the exact timing; I have no qualms about it being the same day or next, or whenever it would work out plot-wise. As far as it goes; I figure there’s been enough time for the participants to review the notes beforehand and have time to think about it.

IC: Forgrave nodded politely to both Dr. Drillek and Captain Holloway as they entered; he gestured towards the waiting seats in front of him. “Thank y’all for meeting with me on short notice; I know we’re all plenty busy right now.” Checking his watch, he shrugged. “I’d like to go ahead and start; if Lt. Kleinhoffer shows up we can fill her in - she’d mentioned that she might be occupied by some last-minute jobs.”

A wry grin crossed Issac’s face as he addressed his guests. “Hopefully there’s no question as ta the purpose of me dragging y’all in here; but I don’t mind refreshing y’all’s minds. Very shortly after Admiral Hallsley briefed us, I was contacted directly by Federation Security; asking after details of our mission. Now, I have questions regarding information security on that score; but that’s separate from this meeting. Long story short, ‘They’ want me; or I suppose ‘us’, to check in on a warp signature module that has been installed on the station - I reckon with the station falling silent, they’re not getting the expected reports and whatnot. Due to the classified nature, they have concerns about it being compromised, and want to take steps to ensure it’s security and classification.”

Issac turned to Dr. Drillek. “And that’s where you come in, Sir. When I asked about a contact on the station, I was directed towards you, Sir. I’ve invited you here in the hopes that you can provide some..... answers and direction on this issue. I reckon I’ve got my orders, but I’d like information - context and background.” Issac leaned back in his chair; letting the silence ask its questions for him.

Lt. J.G. Forgrave, CoS

Drillek looked at Forgrave and the Captain and said “Im happy to help, but I will need some more specifics. What exactly do you want to know, Lieutenant? Context of what? Background of… who designed it? Who installed not? What it does? I mean, I don’t think either of you have the time or inclination for me to go into the years of research and development behind the device; so if you could narrow your scope of inquiry a bit, I’ll answer whatever I can.”

GMT

“I reckon to start with, can you give me a brief overview of the project? How…” Issac paused, searching for the right words. “How advanced is this thing? I’ve been told it’s confidential and classified and whatnot, but what risks could compromisation of the module run? I suppose I’d like to know the stakes, as it were.”

Forgrave, CoS

Drillek shrugged and took a deep breath. “Well, as far as how advanced it is… very. The project itself has about a decade of research and development into it. In a nutshell, it would allow a station to pick up and identify warp signatures in advance of a ship’s arrival… they’d know they were coming before the ship or ships got there. Think of it as akin to when humans were first able to get radar lock on a flying object past the horizon. Its a huge step.”

GMT

Issac was silent, taking a moment to process the implications of what had been said. “That… that is a huge step… Yeah, I reckon I can see why… we were contacted about this.” But I’m still curious why I was contacted, and not the Captain.

“So if there is any chance of.... let’s say foreign entities on the station, then that is cause for concern on this issue; along with concerns about the rest of the station, of course. On the station itself, how much ah… awareness is there of this module? Is it entirely hidden and remote, or are there people on the station in charge of it specifically?”

Forgrave, CoS

Molly listened, letting the Dresden’s Chief of Security do the questioning first. A lot of his questions were the same ones she had anyway, and she liked to give her own crew, Department Head or otherwise, the freedom to take initiative and run with it. She wasn’t there to command all the time, sometimes a more silent oversight was needed.

However, a particular phrase took Holloway’s interest. The chance that ‘foreign entities’ as he had called it, could be present on the station. She wondered how many other reasons could there be for someone to take some interest in the station’s new warp signature module, and why Forgrave had specifically chosen that one. That still left open the question as to why anyone would contact the Dresden’s Security Department directly instead of going through the proper channels… was it Intel doing one of their things and would she be able to recognize them? But… who would be naïve enough to believe that she wouldn’t know about it anyway? It didn’t make sense. It must be something else entirely.

“The question as to why was Lieutenant Forgrave contacted instead of any of the Command staff is very much still baffling.” Molly interjected, turning to Drillek. “After you address the Lieutenant’s questions, I would also like to add one of my own… why was Julian Echo chosen to house this new warp signature module? Is it because of the state of the art facilities, or is there any other reason entirely?”

Holloway, CO

Drillek shrugged and shook his head in a fashion that seemed to indicate that being asked these kinds of questions was nothing new to him. “I really wish I had the answers to most of your questions, but I really don’t. I’m an Engineer. I build things. And sometimes I’m td to build so wthing specific or to make room for something in a project. Now, the WIM.. Warp Identification Module that is… wasn’t anything I worked on. I dont even really know who did. But when the designs for the station were submitted, I was briefed on the project and told to find a place for it in the designs. Captain, to your question, it is because the station is so remote that the vast majority of incoming vessels are to be expected, so the station is a good control for the experiment. Lieutenant, as to your concerns. I wouldn’t have the first idea as to who or what may have knowledge of the project as far as ‘foreign entities’ go. As far as station personnel? Only the Station Commander, Chief Engineer, and the three project scientists know about it. And the three scientists are only tasked with the experiment as secondary to their physics work on the star.” and he took a deep breath and looked at both people. “And why the Lieutenant was contacted rather than anyone else, I don’t know. That isn’t anything to do with me. I’m sorry I can’t be of more help.”

GMT

“Well, even if ya ain’t able to answer everything, that’s still helpful; it gives us a starting point. At your convenience, can you send me a schematic of the station with the module highlighted; as well as the names of the three scientists involved?”

Issac paused in thought for a moment. “Dr Drillek, was there anyone you worked with on the station designs; specifically who would have noticed any change in relation to the module? Someone who… I reckon wasn’t cleared to know about it?” Issac waived his hands to forestall any questions before continuing. “Now understand I ain’t asking for names or anything specific; nor making accusations. Just speaking for myself, if I was making something and then my designs got shoved around, I’d start looking into what happened. I reckon there’s a chance someone coulda’ started putting pieces together, and tipped off someone who has less than friendly interests. Now, this is pure conjecture on my end, but I ain’t willing to discount possibilities at this stage. There’s a lot we don’t know, but thinking about the potential for this module.... I reckon it might be worth a lot of risk to the right folks.”

Forgrave, CoS

Molly nodded in acknowledgement of Drillek’s words. She wasn’t expecting the man to have an answer to all the questions she and Forgrave had posed, but as the Chief of Security had mentioned, at least he would be able to provide them with some starting points.

After Forgrave asked a few more questions, Holloway went ahead with her own. “It is perfectly understandable that you don’t know all the answers, Doctor Drillek. You might also not know the answer to this one, but I wouldn’t be thorough if I didn’t ask it, so I hope you understand. You said you don’t know who worked on the module, and that you were simply told to build space for that particular project. Do you have any idea of who might have ordered the project to begin with? I mean, doesn’t it strike you as odd that no one at the station seems to be directly involved in the project? You mentioned that the only people that knew about it on the station’s personnel are the Station Commander, the Chief Engineer, and the three scientist that are working on it as a secondary project. So, who’s working on it as their primary project? I can only assume it is someone not in the station personnel?”

Holloway, CO