I'm Not Crazy, Just Paranoid

Posted on Mon May 4th, 2020 @ 8:09pm by Lieutenant Farizah Alani & Lieutenant Valenna

Mission: Around The World in 8 Days
Location: Earth - San Francisco
Timeline: Shore leave

The duo walked to a transporter room where they would be able to transport to where she was temporarily staying. They got onto the transporter platform and energized onto the Academy grounds in San Francisco. Several cadets were strolling the grounds. "I live very close to campus since I use to teach here." She led the Bolian officer to a tall building where she was quartered. Once they reached the inside of her temporary home, she walked over to the replicator. "Two Klingon martinis," she said. When they replicated, she handed one to Farizah. "I know you said you didn't want to drink bloodwine so I go you this. A Klingon martini is vermouth, gin, and just a dash of bloodwine." She took a sip. "Delicious." She took a seat on the long circular couch. "Spill," she said to Farizah.

The Bolian took a sip and swallowed hard. "Oh that's a pleasant burn all the way down" she said teasingly. "A warriors drink. They should ditch the blood wine and bring a few barrels of this to the festivities" she added.

"I do not know how much the Captain would want me to tell you. I am only just getting to know her myself, but she did give me approval to use outside resources or any resources. So, I do not see why telling you would do any harm" Farizah began with a prelude. "I was asked to plant a listening device in the conference room in order to acquire recording of an Admiral whom the Captain has some history with to what extent I do not know, but she gives of jilted lover vibes like something fierce."

Valenna nodded her head. "Okay, yes, you planted a device and someone tampered with it and you think someone in your crew was responsible for this." She took another sip of the martini. "I'm assuming this recording device was meant to uncover something incriminating, otherwise simply tampering with the device would call for such drastic measures like," she paused waving her hands. "This?"

"It would seem as though that were the case" replied the Security Chief. "I was not privy to any of the misdoings or dirty deeds of the man. The Captain left me out on the juicy bits. What disturbs me the most is that the device probably had the evidence we needed or at least something worthy of it being tampered with."

Valenna took another sip of her martini, everything becoming clear. She finally decided to ask the question that she now needed to know. "Do you have any suspects? Any leads? Where are you at all in your investigation?" She finished her martini and walked to the replicator and ordered another one.

The Bolian slung the harsh martini back and swallowed. "Too damned many...too damned many" she replied. The suspect list was the crew. "Several hundred suspects minis myself, the Captain, and yourself" she noted. "I left my men in the dark, but a few handled the device, but if anyone knew they could have tampered."

She shook her head. "The Captain seems to be of the mindset of bad luck, but I smell the bitterness of a saboteur."

"What if the Captain's right and you're just crazy?" Valenna asked. She shrugged. "What if that's just your psychology major brain trying to give you something to do?" She started drinking her second martini. "It sounds more plausible for it to have been bad luck and a tampering than there to be a saboteur running around the ship."

Farizah shook her head. "I may be paranoid, but I examined that device thoroughly afterwards. I even had forensic computer scientists have a crack at it" she noted. "They could not 100% confirm the device was tampered with, but that data had been corrupted, deleted, and a phantom of it was left. Unfortunately, not enough of the phantom could be resurrected or recovered. Something was on there and then not."

She looked at the Klingon. "Bad luck may be more plausible, lieutenant, but intentionality is more damaging. Bad luck would be the device failed to record anything at all or that someone accidentally deleted everything. That is not the case. It recorded, but a good portion of it just is not there anymore. That's not any sort of naturally occurring bad luck."

Valenna sighed. "Well, it sounds like you've got quite an investigation ahead of your, lieutenant." She ran her bony fingers through her gray hair. "I probably shouldn't keep you then, but I do know a friend who works with Internal Affairs if you need some...consultation?"

"I will keep that in mind, lieutenant" she replied. "For now though, I would like to keep this between us. I don't want the Captain getting into trouble or making a larger mess out of this" she explained her reasoning. "Klingons have some sort of promise bond ceremony I imagine?"

Valenna chuckled. "Well, there is the Klingon tea ceremony." She walked over to the replicator. "Two cups of earl grey tea. Hot." She grabbed one cup and handed it to Farizah. "Under normal conditions we would drink this tea with a poisonous plant, well mildly poisonous to me and lethal for you, but even I don't feel being mildly poisoned today." She smiled at Farizah. "We must recite poetry to one another before we drink the tea. I'll let you begin."

"Light weight" countered Farizah scoffing. She accepted the tea and listened to the woman. "I don't mind this little dollhouse tea party, but if you would like to do this more traditionally when we are on Astraea, that's fine" she added.

Valenna's concern was genuine and Farizah appreciated it. "I'm Bolian dear, you aren't going to kill me with a little Klingon tea ceremony. Cobalt based blood, cartilaginous lined tongues, and a concoction of strong stomach acids...I suspect I could handle it."

Valenna wanted to smack the tea cup out of Farizah's hand, but she maintained her composure and simply smiled. "Of course. Perhaps we wait until we are back on the Astraea so that we may properly do the ceremony, especially to test your Bolian...physiology." She placed her tea cup down on her table. "If you don't mind, I would like to retire for the evening, me being old and all requires a good amount of sleep."

"The night is young" replied Farizah "but you are not" she added agreeing with the Klingon. "I think I'll leave you to rest while I head out and go see my old stomping grounds of Amsterdam" added the Bolian. "Don't die in your sleep. You're too useful to me right now."

Valenna gave a fake chuckle. "Oh, you're too funny, Farizah. Keep making me laugh with your age jokes and I might just kill you." She led the Bolian office to the door. "Take care now, and I will see you later aboard the ship." She closed the door behind her, ending a rather eventful evening.

Farziah shook her head the entire way out. She would find the nearest public transportation center and use the transporter network to get to city of Amsterdam.