Stardate: 70218:0004
Title: Solving the Puzzle
Author: Lieutenant Yonatan Levi
Time: After "Security Checking In"
Scene: Main Operations officer / Captain's Ready Room


"Warrant, do you have a moment?" Yoni asked.

Yoni stood in the middle of the main operations office, glaring toward the monitoring station that was manned by two operators and the shift supervisor, Warrant Officer Torena. She nodded, and moved towards him, taking a PADD he handed her. She scrolled it down for a few seconds, reviewing the schematics, eventually handing it back to him.

"Well, it could be anything or nothing at all, Sir. Those are only fragments of a file after all."

Yoni took back the PADD and scratched his head gently. He started wandering the room, thinking what to make of those segments of information that came out of Relly's diagnostics.

"Assuming it could be anything, if you had to guess by the format of those fragments, what would you say it might be?"

"Well, I've been around computers all my life, and it's surely not any of the typical kind of files that are used on Starfleet's systems. Therefore, it must have originated from outside."

Yoni's eyes almost popped out. "Like a backdoor?"

"Possibly, I can't say for sure... But we also have to remember that many of the systems have undergone significant changes because of the... sentience... of Relly."

Yoni mumbled something as he strode outside the office, disappearing in the corridor, reviewing the PADD and making corrections to some of his notes as he walked towards the turbolift. He nodded to a few familiar faces, but otherwise he was in a hurry, about to solve a puzzle.

Only when he entered the turbolift and named his destination did he pay a little attention to his appearance – straightening his uniform, arranging his collar. With the ongoing investigation he had rarely made it to the bridge in the last few days, even though he was a bridge officer; he had switched shifts with other crewmembers in his department, clearing all the time he needed to investigate the intrusion to the computer systems. Some were saying he was obsessed, others thinking that he was just trying to avoid the Captain after the last incident on the cargo vessel, and it was obvious that, after that bad performance, it was unlikely he was going to lead another away mission anytime soon.

Eventually, the turbolift stopped and the doors opened wide.

~

With most of the senior staff absent, Lieutenant Mock had the bridge. Ensign McGee was manning the Ops station and Yoni nodded toward him. He returned a smile before returning to monitor the readings.

"Lieutenant," Clayton welcomed him. "Any progress?"

"Yes, indeed." He muttered and started circling the bridge toward the Ready Room. "The Captain?" he asked, and Clayton nodded to concur. Yoni thanked him and pressed the chime button.

A moment passed before he was granted access. Yoni released the air from his lungs and checked his appearance for the last time; this wasn't going to be easy.

"Lieutenant," Captain Khavok greeted the Operations officer. Something in his voice told Yoni he wasn't happy about his absence from the bridge for the last few days, no matter what the cause.

Yoni he handed over the PADD he was holding.

"Care to elaborate?"

Yoni wasn't sure what he meant by that – if he was referring to his absence from the bridge or his findings. Something inside him told him to be strong. Yoni wasn't sure if it was he or the alien entity.

"We have completed reviewing the damage done to the computer system during the attack, comparing file sizes and their contents, as well modification dates and access logs."

"Go on," the Captain said.

"It's a communication log, Sir. Relly informed me earlier that just before the attack the system map for those sectors contained ninety-six giga-quads of information, whereas after the attack it had shrunk to ninety-five point sixty-seven." Yoni paused for a moment. "Someone made the system 'lose' some files; it usually happens during deletion, or during deliberate tampering with the system map. In this case, the zero point thirty-three giga-quads that went missing from the system map are fragments of some files that our intruder left behind, possibly a backdoor installed into our system that was activated at a particular moment – probably just before the attack – and erased a communication log together with other files he tampered with, including the Omega bomb logs and the Solar Wind crew manifest."

"This communication log – what did it hold?"

"I have no idea, Sir, as it is corrupted beyond repair. However, I have isolated small fragments, including 'Delivery of package will take place as planned' and something about 'payment to be made'. I can't even tell you who was on the other end of the link."

"And how exactly is it that Galt managed to plant a backdoor into our system? How did he manage to sneak out a call from within this ship without us knowing about it?" The Captain inquired.

"It's not about the 'how', Sir. It's about the 'when'. You have to understand, if we take a parallel with the Galt from our universe, we are dealing with a mastermind here. Circumventing security protocols is second nature for him." Yoni tried to give a decent excuse.

"Still, there was a record left from his transmission," the Captain pointed out.

"Which was why he had to hack into our system – his first mistake. He probably didn't expect to encounter a sentient being running the entire ship instead of the usual computer systems," Yoni clarified.

"And his second mistake was murdering Captain Merdlock," Captain Khavok continued.

"Yes, Sir. Since the transporter bio filters would have picked up any toxins, he synthesised one onboard. This required him to access the systems more than once, and every time leaving more and more trace of his activities. I also found this in the cargo containers we beamed over from the Solar Winds." Yoni pulled a small, button-like device from his pocket and put it on the table. The Captain stared at it for one moment and then returned his attention back to Yoni.

"It's a transmitter, allowing a person to monitor several locations simultaneously, and I have found a dozen or so of these spread around."

"He's tapping us? On my ship?" The Captain lost his temper for a moment.

"I don't know, Sir. But, if I was him, I would."

"Lieutenant, start scanning the ship. Open every container, check every locker. Get rid of those devices immediately. I don't like being spied on, especially not on my ship."

"Yes, Sir." Yoni wanted to shrug off the responsibility but had no choice.

"See to it. Dismissed, Lieutenant."


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Lt. Yonatan Levi
Acting Chief of Operations Officer
USS Relentless
NCC-11966
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