Posted Sept. 28, 2023, 2:46 p.m. by Civilian Jason Reilly (Assistant Director - Colonial Intelligence Agency) (James Sinclair)
Posted by Civilian Alston ‘Fox’ Mace (Colonial Intelligence Agency Asset) in Government Tower- Police HQ, Forensics Dept
Posted by Captain Eela Dasca (Lt. Governor) in Government Tower- Police HQ, Forensics Dept
Posted by Civilian Jason Reilly (Assistant Director - Colonial Intelligence Agency) in Government Tower- Police HQ, Forensics Dept
Posted by… suppressed (7) by the Post Ghost! 👻
It had required double and triple checking but Aliana Ripkiz felt very confident about the results and it was going to turn heads. Then again, someone had attempted to do something rather bold and gotten caught, so heads were going to roll somewhere. It just wasn’t up to her. Her job was to study the minute details of the device before her, and pass the info on.Ripkiz issued a note to both her boss and, at the request of people way above her, the Colonial Intelligence Agency. The info would presumably be passed back to Dasca’s security in some fashion, but that too was not her problem.
While the rest of the colony was anticipating the gala later tonight, Ripkiz booked a conference room at the HQ and (on her day off) said she’d be there to debrief the interested parties.
The petite woman carried a secured case and a PADD into the conference and waited for the others to arrive. She sat on one side of the table and ran a hand over the sleek dark hair that was pulled into a ponytail.
~Aliana Ripkiz, Oed Police Forensics
It was only moments after she arrived that the door slid open and a handsome human man walked in. He was of average height, with dark brown hair and bright green eyes. Dressed in a very nice suit, he radiated charm and an easy-going nature. He smiled a million-credit smile at Ripkiz and said “Good afternoon, Ms. Ripkiz. Heck of a day, huh? Exciting stuff in that report of yours, I must say. I am really looking forward to your briefing!” He took a seat across from her and simply smiled.
Reilly, CIA Assistant Director
Aliana looked the man over carefully and while she was completely pleasant and professional, it was hard not to be wary, especially since she didn’t know who this man was. Then again, presumably only those who were allowed to be here would be. “You say that now,” she said dryly. “Wait for it.”
Alston stepped into the conference room, a visitor badge pinned to his black jacket. It had taken him considerably longer to get through the building security. He was both unknown to the team, and as he came from the field and dressed in black pants, shirt and jacket, probably didn’t help his case either.
He looked over at Reilly and just shook his head. If this was going to work he wasn’t going to let himself get stuck behind a desk.
Stepping forward he stretched out his hand towards Aliana. “Ms. Ripkiz I presume. Alston Mace. What did you find?”
- Mace
She rose and shook his hand. Ahh, so that was one name. She could guess who the other man was. “Aliana Ripkiz, yes. I’m the head of the Technological Forensics. I was asked to handle this case personally given the delicate nature of the situation.”
Ripkiz moved to the head of the table, sliding the case with her. She inputted a code into the locking mechanism and the case popped open. She pulled out the tiny bug and placed it in the palm of her hand. “This tiny thing is what caused all the drama. It was placed inside a crate containing multiple items from different sources that was packaged together to go through security before being delivered to the Lieutenant Governor’s. It was correctly identified on site as a burst transmitter and sensors in the home were tripped when an unknown power source came on. A partial transmission was sent in a burst packet format and had it continued to run, it would have sent packet at a set interval. As far as we know, someone did receive that first packet, but the routing is convoluted and we hit a dead end. However, you might be able to get farther since you have different resources. The total packet duration was approximately 10-seconds before it was made inert. My guess is that the transmission rate would have been every thirty seconds had it been allowed to remain on. Whether that 30-seconds included anything sensitive is a conversation far above my pay-grade.”
She placed the bug back in the case and slid it across the table to the two men. It was all theirs now. “I’ve taken the bug apart and put it back together, and I’ve been able to ID the maker. It was developed and produced by Devray Technologies. They are well known here on Oed and specialize in a wide-range of technological development. Security equipment is just one of them. They have some competition here but have emerged as the forerunners in the last year.”
~Aliana Ripkiz, Oed Police Forensics
Alston picked up the case, popped it open to take a look at the bug up close. “Who packaged the items together? And is that standard procedure for delivery of materials to the Lieutenant Governor?”
He tilted the case towards Reilly and raised an eyebrow.
- Mace
“I’m not sure what is procedure for the Lieutenant Governor. It’s not our realm, and I’m not sure who packaged everything. What I do know is that the items individually came in from different locations and cleared Customs. After that they were packaged. At some point between Customs and her apartment building, someone affixed the bug with a small amount of adhesive near the original crate’s security locks,” Ripkiz said. “I could go hunting in the system for record, but I’l going to come up against other colonial security relams and I’m pretty sure they’d take exception to me nosing about without permission,” she added with a grin.
“What I can also tell you is that aside from the known people inside Captain Dasca’s apartment who touched or handled the bug, there are no fingerprints or DNA samples. Someone was careful and covered their tracks. But at the same time, despite the proprietary design of this particular device, it’s not hard to purchase or get your hands on.”
~Aliana Ripkiz, Oed Police Forensics
Alston nodded. “Fair enough, though asking for permission is not exactly my forte either. I leave that for the people in suits,” he replied with a chuckle and a noted glance over at Reilly.
“I assume all the information related to the transmission is in your report? Is there any other information you were able to glean from the bug?”
Aliana nodded. “The info is there. Based on the initial incident report that accompanied it, it’s likely nothing was transmitted that was actionable. The duration before security nulled the transmission. Naturally, the fact that anything was transmitted is a concern, but her security acted quickly enough that there is likely little to worry about there. But I’ll let you all decide that for certain.”
Putting the bug back in the case, Alston closed it with a snap. “Or perhaps any other questions while we are here,” he said looking over at Reilly. There was still a lot of unanswered questions he had, but they would have to wait until they were able to get more information from either the Captain’s security team, or they had a clue in tracking down the transmission.
- Mace
“You said it was placed inside a case.” Reilly began. “Was it loose? Or was it attached to something? If it was, how was it attached? Adhesive is most common. What kind of adhesive was used, if any? If it was mechanical, screwed? Taped? Painted on?”
Reilly, AD - CIA
“Actually, it was outside the crate, just below the security locks, and adhered with an epoxy glue. Very low-tech for such a high tech item, but it also meant that it didn’t trigger any alerts. It likely wasn’t even visible and probably felt like the locks themselves.” Ripkiz, gestured to the case. “Whomever is behind this knew what they were doing and how to bypass security. Even if the person who affixed it isn’t the person who orchestrated the whole thing, we’re dealing with skilled individuals. Just because the bug is easy to acquire, doesn’t mean it’s as easy to use. It’s voice-activated, but as far as I can tell it wasn’t previously activated, which means that it was programmed to detect a particular voice or voices. If you want a simpler process you use a bug that picks up everything and then you sift for anything useful. In this case, someone specifically sought information from Dasca. Whether that included specifically targeting others she might be around, I don’t know yet. That’s a few hours more work, but it’s probably irrelevant given that Captain Dasca. I would also note that someone tried this at her home rather than the Tower. Her office at the Tower would likely glean a great deal more classified info, but she does maintain a home office and is working there more than previously.”
~Aliana Ripkiz, Oed Police Forensics
“There probably is also a better chance of getting something past security at her private residence then inside of a Starfleet facility,” Alston said mulling it over. “But it’s pretty permanently affixed to the crate, so there is only a limited window of information that could be gathered before the crate was disposed of…”
Alston looked over at Reilly, “We are going to need a look at the Captain’s calendar and schedule for that day. Not to mention who would have access to that information, and not just what is publicly available.”
- Mace
Reilly grinned at Mace and said “Sounds like someone needs to set a meeting.” and he put his finger to the side of his nose. “Not it.”
Reilly, Deputy Director- CIA
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