Episode 2.02: Rivulets of Copper, Eyes Aflame

[Nolmir]

OOC: Nudge received, Davy. 

Tobin opens a communication channel to T'Kalla, from the privacy of his own quarters -- not that there was anything that needed to be kept private, of course!

"Hello T'Kalla. Sorry again for having to cut the evening short last night. If you have some free time, I think I have a puzzle that might pique your interest. It involves metallurgy and ancient Vulcan weapons."

[Renny]

"A splendid suggestion, Mr. Cole," the captain replied. "See to it right away, please."

"Aye sir." Cole nodded and stepped away to make the call.

[Doug Burke]

Sorak goes deathly still for a moment, his eyes narrowed and brows furrowed. He then looks sharply to his commanding officer, "My father must be warned at once, Captain. T'Kiri can meet me there."

[Davy, aka GM]

Tobin

"Hello T'Kalla. Sorry again for having to cut the evening short last night. If you have some free time, I think I have a puzzle that might pique your interest. It involves metallurgy and ancient Vulcan weapons."

The other side of the line is quiet for a brief moment before she responds, "That is indeed intriguing, enough so that I will need approximately 26.3 minutes to rearrange my schedule. Where shall I meet you, and when?" Tobin thinks he detects a slight upturn in the corner of her mouth as she speaks.

Cole

The lieutenant has a few options available to him:

1. The V'Kor is the ministry of public safety and security, and he could conceivably reach out to the office of the Provost Commander (uniformed branch) or the Ministry of Public Safety itself (V'Kor leadership), since one of their own provincial commanders is a potential target.

2. The V'Shar is responsible for state security from internal threats, but Cole doesn't know if they would have a large enough force to provide protection; however, the V'Shar is the one agency that doesn't have a potential target among its ranks.

(2a. The Intelligence Service is mandated for external threats, and there may be protocols in place that would prevent them from taking such a role against a potential internal threat.)

3. He could go to Commodore Santiago, and work through the Starfleet angle. The station has a small contingent of security personnel available. Similarly, he could make the same proposal to the Vulcan Defense Force, or call for a mix of Starfleet station and VDF personnel. Perhaps even a mix of open and hidden protection assets.

4. He could instead use his own people to provide security to the potential principal targets, and encourage local Vulcan authorities to protect the other two dozen speakers, just in case.

OOC: Where does Cole want to start?

Sorak

T'Kiri and Sorak stand in the antechamber of the V'tel Ak'tur Provincial V'Kor Headquarters. They have been waiting for 12.88 minutes for the commander - Sorak's father - to signal his administrative assistant that he is available to see them. The assistant stated only that Spalan was in a meeting.

Her datapad buzzes quietly and she glances at it briefly, nodding affirmatively at whatever she read there.

"Romar informed me that Mr. Thadis is being released into the custody of the Starfleet station at 1600 hours," she says, referring to her precinct captain, "under the stipulation that Thadis is to be confined to the station and its housing district, and that he have no transporter access."

Before anything else can be said, the door to the commander's office opens, and four Vulcan depart; T'Kiri quietly notes to her mate that they are precinct commanders within the province. The administrative assistant announces that the pair can enter, and they pass through the door to the efficiently-appointed interior. Spalan is sitting behind his obsidian-colored desk, his fingers steepled in thought as they approach.

He then stands to greet them. "Sorak. T'Kiri. What urgency prompted your visit?"

Asha
While Treyva studies information from the conference, Asha says she needs to "freshen up," and her husband calls Chief Waymire to have a yeoman escort her to his quarters. A minute or so later, Yeoman Tremayne arrives in the lab, and Asha leaves with her. The pair reach the turbolift when it opens and Zorana strides out with a sense of urgency. She nearly turns into the pair before stopping short and apologizing with a frenetic, "Ooh, sorry."

"Aren't you off duty?" Tremayne wonders.

"Well, yeah, but -" Zorana responds, as if stalling for a wittier response, "wait, aren't you in the middle of those L-7 annuals to Starfleet Command?"

"Yes, but the captain's wife needs an escort -"

Snapping her fingers triumphantly, Zorana counters, "And that's why I'm here. I can escort her, and you can get back to the more important stuff." When Tremayne looks at her apprehensively, she adds, "Come on, you know Chief won't mind."

The other yeoman rolls her eyes, and nods her head. "All right," she sighs. Turning to Asha, she adds, "It was a pleasure to see you again, ma'am."

"And you, Tremayne." As a smiling Zorana gestures toward the lift, Asha raises an inquisitive eyebrow and asks, "So, you successfully inserted yourself as my escort, young lady. What do you want to talk to me about?"

[Doug Burke]

He then stands to greet them. "Sorak. T'Kiri. What urgency prompted your visit?"

"Thank you for seeing us, father, considering the demands on your time," Sorak began before cutting stag to the chase, "However, our investigation has revealed that six of the victims were speakers at the Logic in Science, Administration, and Service conference you recently attended. There is a chance you may be in danger from the killer."

[Renny]

Cole

The lieutenant has a few options available to him:

1. The V'Kor is the ministry of public safety and security, and he could conceivably reach out to the office of the Provost Commander (uniformed branch) or the Ministry of Public Safety itself (V'Kor leadership), since one of their own provincial commanders is a potential target.

2. The V'Shar is responsible for state security from internal threats, but Cole doesn't know if they would have a large enough force to provide protection; however, the V'Shar is the one agency that doesn't have a potential target among its ranks.

(2a. The Intelligence Service is mandated for external threats, and there may be protocols in place that would prevent them from taking such a role against a potential internal threat.)

3. He could go to Commodore Santiago, and work through the Starfleet angle. The station has a small contingent of security personnel available. Similarly, he could make the same proposal to the Vulcan Defense Force, or call for a mix of Starfleet station and VDF personnel. Perhaps even a mix of open and hidden protection assets.

4. He could instead use his own people to provide security to the potential principal targets, and encourage local Vulcan authorities to protect the other two dozen speakers, just in case.
OOC: Where does Cole want to start?

OOC: Hmmm. I have a feeling that Cole would start with Starfleet channels and see how far that gets him.

Cole lingered away from the group and flipped his communicator open.

"Cole to Drake. I need a secure channel to Commodore Santiago as soon as you can make it happen please."

[Davy, aka GM]

Sorak
Spalan's eyebrow shoots up. "I was one keynote speaker at that conference, brought there by invitation; my participation in it lasted all of three hours, eight minutes, and I interacted with attendees for 31 minutes afterwards. I had neither interaction with or knowledge of the identity of any of the other speakers there," he says. "Who else is under potential threat?"

Sorak, well aware of his father's tendencies, recognizes quickly that the provincial commander is deflecting the danger to his own life to focus on the bigger picture.

Cole
Miguel's voice responds affirmatively and Cole is only somewhat surprised that the commodore himself is the next to speak only a minute later.

"Lieutenant Cole, you have something urgent for me?"

[Doug Burke]

"Who else is under potential threat?"

Sorak nods, realizing he could no more force his father to take more caution than he could make the sun set early. "The surviving keynote speakers, present company excluded, are Taavai, Vorothal, and N'Varas. They also will be contacted, of course. Additionally, we are contacting Starfleet and Vulcan authorities to arrange additional protection for the keynote speakers and other presenters."

[Davy, aka GM]

Sorak
"Please keep me informed of your progress in that regard," Spalan answers; Sorak thinks this might be his father's way of acceding to a protection detail. "What else have you discovered?"

T'Kiri takes a half-step forward. "Science Officer Les has learned that a metal fragment found in one autopsy may be of Vulcan origin, possibly an alloy of an ancient blade. He is heading to ShiKahr Academy to continue his research. His modelling of the wounds also leads him to believe the perpetrator is larger and stronger than Mr. Thadis; between this and uncovering the connection of the decedents, Precinct Captain Romar has ordered Thadis' release into Starfleet's custody, with the proviso that he remain at the station for the time being."

The elder Vulcan nods, his eyes taking on a distant quality as he considers what he has heard. "Suspects?"

"None at this time."

[Nolmir]

Tobin grins at T'Kalla's dry response. "I knew you couldn't resist exotic alloys. Can you meet me at ShiKahr Academy in 40 minutes?"

[Renny]

Cole
Miguel's voice responds affirmatively and Cole is only somewhat surprised that the commodore himself is the next to speak only a minute later.

"Lieutenant Cole, you have something urgent for me?"

"Yes sir. Our investigations have brought to light that six of our victims were keynote speakers at the LSAS conference. We feel there is a credible threat to the remaining four keynote speakers; Deputy Administrator Taavai, Professor Vorothal,  Sorak's father Spalan and Principal Investigator N'Varas. Until we have more information, we feel it would be prudent to provide protection to these individuals. Captain Treyva and myself thought it would be expedient to offer up personnel from both the Drake and your staff. We could also request VDF personnel to assist, in the interests of co-operation. I could have my teams in place within the hour to get things moving. Hopefully they won't be required for long but the circumstantial evidence seems too compelling to ignore."

[Patrick Goodman]

Asha

As a smiling Zorana gestures toward the lift, Asha raises an inquisitive eyebrow and asks, "So, you successfully inserted yourself as my escort, young lady. What do you want to talk to me about?"

The young yeoman's smile took on a self-deprecating look. "That didn't go as smoothly as I would have liked," she admitted. "There aren't a lot of Denobulans in the fleet, so when one comes aboard, I like to get the chance to talk to them. See how things are going at home, that sort of thing." She took a breath. "Especially when they're one of the captain's wives."

[Davy, aka GM]

OOC: Tobin & T'Kalla's library research; I'm rolling this first and will include the results in the narrative.

Tobin Insight + Engineering (9/3) vs. Difficulty 2; Tobin is invoking Testing a Theory to add a die to the task

Rolled 3d20 : 8, 14, 19, total 41

T'Kalla Insight + Engineering (8/2) Assist. Metallurgy Focus applies

Rolled 1d20 : 14, total 14

Current
Momentum 4
Threat 10 (I spent 1 Threat as part of Tobin & T'Kalla's narrative)

[Davy, aka GM]

Asha & Zorana
"Oh, I get it; you get yourself stationed on a big starship, and it's so spacious you don't know what to do with it," Asha quips. "Next thing you know, you're trying to find crowded night clubs just to feel the joy of being close to others around you, to catch a glimpse of that feeling of home and wonder why you ever left in the first place.

"Well, home hasn't changed much. Same beauty, same vibrance you'd remember. A cool year weather-wise; we've had snow in the northern winter at the lowest latitudes in four decades," she continues as the lift ascends to Deck 3. "Continental council elections are coming up in a couple months; the big debate in the coming sessions is going to be about who's going to be chosen to replace Minister Onoumas as second delegate to the Federation Council. Exciting stuff."

She casts a sideways glance at the yeoman. "Is that what you were looking to hear from a captain's wife?"

Cole
"I have exactly 15 security personnel under my command," Santiago responds. "The rest of our physical security and investigative needs are provided under agreement by the Vulcan Defense Force. But, as long as their primary responsibilities are met, we're happy to augment your team in this matter.

"Talk to Lieutenant Stenisk on the Starfleet side, and Subcommander Tuvang on the VDF side."

Cole briefly met Stenisk when the Drake first arrived three weeks ago; he's one the Vulcans who make up a third of the station's personnel. (It's said that Vulcans often take advantage of this posting between shipboard assignments.)

The calls to each officer are brief. Stenisk can only afford to detatch one officer and three specialists to protection detail, and Tuvang will second six specialists to Cole. The subcommander also volunteers to make arrangements with his commanders to provide security for the other 24 presenters, to allow Cole and his teams focus on the keynote speakers.

Sorak & T'Kiri
Spalan nods again. "Ensure all precincts involved receive everything your task force has uncovered to date," he orders. "Motive has become paramount; however, I do not need to caution you to tread carefully in this regard. If our connection to that conference is the catalyst for the murders, that brings in the possibility of one opposed to Surakian values being responsible, and it will be too easy to inadvertantly prompt a response that would reflect the state of our culture only 140 years ago. We do not want to foster a situation where diversity of philosophy is again suppressed."

OOC: I'm adding a new Directive. "Avoid Creating Sectarian Conflict"

Spalan then returns to his chair and begins to focus on another task, indicating the discussion has ended. Sorak and T'Kiri return the way they came, and begin to cross the lobby. The investigator says to her mate, "Motive is not something even our task force has deeply discussed beyond general theories. But, with the conference connection to the decedents, my earlier reluctance to consider a terror element may have been imprudent.

"I wish to conduct some research into our many lesser-followed philosophies, beloved. Would you assist me?"

OOC: I had originally planned to only follow avenues of investigation proposed by the players, but it would make no sense for a seasoned investigator like T'Kiri to be so passive. Since she had downplayed Tobin's line of thinking on the possibility of a sectarian motive, I figured it would be appropriate for her to reverse course and decide to look into it.

That said, Doug, I would prefer you (and the other players) be the one(s) to make decisions on the specifics of it.

Tobin & T'Kalla
Tobin is certain he heard her eyebrow rise up a centimeter as she responds, "I will see you there."

T'Kalla materializes in front of the library only about a minute after Tobin does. Her attire is much more functional than the night of their reunion, including a satchel slung under her left arm, into which she digs to retrieve her credentials for entry. Tobin expresses his surprise to find that they're Starfleet credentials, and T'Kalla explains she was allowed to retain her commission, due to her long-term physical limitations. She rarely makes use of her the credentials, but figures they will be useful in this case, given the nature of his task force.

They enter the building together as he explains the metallurgical composition of the alloy in question. She recalls researching ancient metallurgical practices for an essay assignment during her adolescence, and notes she learned of several forging techniques that could narrow down their search parameters to certain regions.

A study of the fragment's data later*, T'Kalla realizes it's the result of an advanced forging technique from the time of Surak. She notes very few blades remain from that time.

Armed with that information, they delve deeply into the archives...

* I'm spending 1 Threat as a piggy back on Tobin's original test to provide this tidbit of information.

The couple spend several hours searching through databases and texts within the library, but are unable to find anything definitive that links their fragment to any known weapon from the Vulcan Atomic Era.

"During the Awakening, Vulcans went through a period of destroying all weapons of war. Lar'Vaniss, the designer of the Ra-sirak-esta electromagnetic pulse rifle, the most widely-used battle rifle on the planet at the time, famously destroyed her production stock, and dismantled her manufacturing facilities, warehouses, and design facilities after joining the Surakian movement," T'Kalla explains. "Similarly, the swordsmith S'harien began melting down his masterpiece blades, and only through the intervention of Surak himself do any examples of his work survive today; still, he never again forged a weapon.

"I doubt more than three score blades of any of the master swordsmiths remain from that time period, and the vast majority of those are in museums."

Tobin and T'Kalla realize that such a blade would be either an heirloom weapon or one taken from a museum. The engineer thinks the former would be registered in a database somewhere and the latter could be identified from theft reports and canvassing of remaining museums for unreported losses.

OOC: 1 Success vs. Difficulty 2. Failure.

They're unable to match the alloy to anything recorded historically. They decide to change tack and search surviving blades from the Vulcan Atomic Era.

[Doug Burke]

Spalan then returns to his chair and begins to focus on another task, indicating the discussion has ended. Sorak and T'Kiri return the way they came, and begin to cross the lobby. The investigator says to her mate, "Motive is not something even our task force has deeply discussed beyond general theories. But, with the conference connection to the decedents, my earlier reluctance to consider a terror element may have been imprudent.

"I wish to conduct some research into our many lesser-followed philosophies, beloved. Would you assist me?"

Sorak nods once more, "I concur. And I would be delighted to assist you, beloved." He says the last through one of his trademark ghost smiles.