Security Review

Posted on Fri Dec 27th, 2019 @ 3:11pm by Lieutenant JG Shaille Levine & Lieutenant Nikki St. John

At first glance there was absolutely nothing to indicate that Shaille was a security officer. Her jacket had been removed and her boots were on the floor next to the console she was working at. Her left foot had been pulled up and was sitting on the edge of the seat in front of her, her chin resting on her knee as one hand tapped idly at the console, watching something scrolling across the screen, her face shielded by the blonde curls that fell forward, obscuring her peripheral vision.

Nikki entered the security office and stopped. Her dark eyes took in the situation at a glance. Boots off, jacket off, and whatever was on the screen wasn't security related, that was certain. "Lieutenant," she said as she approached. "I trust I'm not disturbing you."

Having not heard the doors open or noticed the new comer, the sound of the voice startled Shaille. She looked up quickly, brushing her hair back, a steady gaze raking over the dark haired woman. "I'm sorry, were you looking for someone?" she asked quietly. "I'm the only person in here at the moment, did you need something?"

"I'm Lieutenant St. John, acting head of security," Nikki said. "I'm here to evaluate security and determine," she said as her own gaze flicked up and down the length of Shaille's body, "what actions need to be taken. So, I think the first thing that I want is for you to get dressed and then to tell me who you are and what you're currently doing."

Shaille sighed, muttering something darkly under her breath as she stuck her feet into her boots, not bothering to lace them, and shrugged into her jacket, not bothering to zip it. "Lieutenant Junior Grade Shaille Levine," she responded calmly. "Security officer. I was reviewing the updated security protocols that we changed, making sure everything was still operating normally."

"And what did you find," Nikki asked quietly. "I'm assuming that you are more professional in your attitude toward work than you are in your appearance and manner, of course."

The blonde bit down on her bottom lip for a moment, her eyes narrowing with annoyance. "Actually, my duty shift ended two hours ago. I should be at home with my partner now, but I'm here reviewing this, on my own time. Yes, I decided to make myself a little more comfortable. That hardly makes me unprofessional!" Shaille bristled.

"What does make you unprofessional," Nikki said as she leaned against the edge of the desk and folded her arms across her chest, "is muttering like a petulant school girl. It's doing something half-assed because you're irritated rather than the way you and I both know it should be done. We," she said gesturing between herself and Shaille, "are Starfleet Security. That means a killer poker face no matter who's yelling at us or telling us how unwelcome we are. That means being ready at a moment's notice and you know, there won't always be time for you to finish dressing, no matter how many hours past the end of your shift you are." She shifted her stance as she continued. "For the record, I commend the extra effort but you lose points for making sure I knew it up front and for becoming argumentative rather than answering my question."

Shaille raised an eyebrow slightly. "So who's bee got in your bonnet then?" she asked calmly. "New girl on the ship, prefaced your own position with the title 'acting', talk about feeling unwelcome, who spit in your bean curd then?"

"That would be woman. Acting is accurate since I'm not replacing anyone ... yet ... just doing an evaluation and helping out. As for the unwelcome, clearly you've never done VIP Security. And with all that, where, you know, I answered you point by point, you have yet to answer my question," Nikki said in a tone that was both mild and straight forward. "Get your act together, Lieutenant, and answer me. Now."

"Computer, confirm rank, position and clearance level for Lieutenant St John," Shaille said calmly.

She waited for a few moments, listening as the computer relayed the relevant information, giving a slight nod at the end.

"Sorry," she said unapologetically. "I'm going to assume that you're smarter than the average bear and just get to the point. We uploaded all the sensor data and biological scans to the ship's computer, supposedly as a way that we can detect them if they ever come back, I'm just not one hundred percent convinced that it's completely reliable. I've been reviewing the code on a cyclic basis and there's a wiggy bit whenever our shields or sensors modulate. In your everyday right here, right now situation it's not such a big deal, but if we're in a battle scenario when modulating the shields happens more frequently, well.. " She shrugged again. "You do the math."

Nikki had waited while the insolent officer confirmed her position and standing making mental notes as she did so. Evaluations were never easy and while she wasn't a fan of the whole poke-for-a-reaction methodology she had to admit that it did sometimes produce results. So while this one would need to speak to Lieutenant Styvek before she'd even consider letting her back on duty, it was all pushed to the side for the moment as the Lieutenant explained what she had been doing. "Interesting," she murmured as she leaned forward to get a better look. "A vulnerability introduced by the modulation. Measured in microseconds that's not much but still, it's a weakness."

"Even microseconds can be long enough to cause a catastrophic compromise," Shaille said calmly. "My concern is that I'm not sure why the vulnerability is there. I don't know if it was a deliberate oversight on the part of the Ar'goshians or if it was something we missed when we programmed it. Either option is concerning."

"Good catch," Nikki said. "I think it's worth a consult. Have you spoken to anyone else about this yet?"

Shaille shook her head slightly, blonde curls bouncing. "I was half way back to my quarters when I finally realised what I had been seeing when I looked at it. I came back and started looking into it. I'd just worked out how to find when you showed up."

Nikki nodded thoughtfully, her mouth contorting slightly into a wry smile. "I know what that's like. Let's contact the XO and the Operations Chief to start. I'd feel better with this resolved."