| SUBMITTED:
Stardate 95801.5
| | FILED BY:
CAPT A. Derenzis
| | SECURITY:
Level 2 - Confidential
| |
LOCATION: Rybin II Scrapyard, Rybin system, Aldebaran Sector
MISSION: Investigation of the scrapyard as the probable origin of the Miranda-class starship USS
Changzheng, tied to recent attacks on Starfleet assets and personnel.
OUTCOME: Origin point of the Miranda confirmed as Rybin II; vessel stolen from scrapyard without the knowledge of the staff. A security probe, believed to be tampered by the thieves, has been secured as evidence, as well as the prefix codes for the USS
Changzheng.
KEY PERSONNEL:
Endeavour Personnel
CAPT S. Bishop
CMDR A. Samaras
LT J. Read
LTJG Shinwa T.
ENS M. Tonorr
ENS Mitsuki R.
Visiting Officers:
CAPT A. Derenzis (USS Shackleton)
LT A. Niraj (USS Victory)
LTJG S. Valore (USS Pegasus)
NARRATIVE: This officer, LT Niraj, and LTJG Valore boarded the
Endeavour at CAPT Bishop's invitation to assist in investigating the Rybin II Scrapyard, noted to be the place where the Miranda class USS
Changzheng, recently linked to the raid on Communication Post Kelterre-017, the hijacking of the civilian transport SS
Thunder & Lightning and the destruction of the USS
Kwango. On arrival at the scrapyard, CAPT Bishop contacted the scrapyard receptionist, a Trill by the name of Miss Vuon, to arrange permission to examine the site where the
Changzheng, assigned to this scrapyard in 2331, was being held. In the meantime, LT Read and LTJG Shinwa began scans of the surrounding scrap and the sentry probes used for scrapyard security. Once permission was granted, the
Endeavour then proceeded to the site, to find that the
Changzheng was not present.
Contact was reestablished with Miss Vuon, who was confused at our report, as the sentry probe monitoring that site showed the
Changzheng berthed. After some experimentation, it was demonstrated that the sentry probe 43 was sending a false image, albeit highly sophisticated, as it merged real-time views with the false inlay of the
Changzheng. LTJG Valore voiced a suspicion of collusion between the scrapyard staff and the rogue MACO unit suspected of taking the
Changzheng, while ENS Tonorr opined that it was more likely the ship had been stolen with the scrapyard staff unaware of the situation. More distant sentry probes, when maneuvered to monitor the site, showed the
Changzheng as missing. At this point, CAPT Bishop informed Miss Vuon that the ship had been stolen by a group of dangerous criminals and requested her cooperation in the investigation, which she granted. The scrapyard was placed on lockdown immediately, and CAPT Bishop detailed an away team to investigate the scrapyard station, its staff, and its computers. The team consisted of CMDR Samaras, LT Read, LT Valore, LTJG Shinwa, and ENS Tonorr, with this officer in command of the team.
When we beamed over to the station, this officer directed LT Read and LTJG Shinwa to investigate the computer records for the probe in question (Probe 43, we would later learn) in a bid to learn how far back the false images went. The rest of us then approached Miss Vuon, who had summoned scrapyard Director Wu (then planetside) and Chief Engineer Spian, who was on the station. Spian arrived first. When this officer told him of the theft, he likewise was confused, as he personally maintained the probes and did not accept the fact that they had been compromised or that the ship had been stolen until this officer had repeated the fact twice, and Mr. Spian finally conducted the same experiment we had performed earlier and saw the ship missing from the views of the further probes. With Mr Spian's consent, this officer directed ENS Tonorr to examine the database to determine where Harrison's team had compromised scrapyard security and when. ENS Tonorr began this work, though he stated that it could be several days before he could pinpoint the place and time of the breach. This officer inquired Spian of the security measures present, which Spian informed us involved constant monitoring of the entire scrapyard, with supplementary probes put in place should any probe need to be taken offline. Low level tachyon scans were also in place to guard against the possibility of cloaked ships.
At this point LT Read and LTJG Shinwa approached this officer, having evidence supported by scans from the
Endeavour that a small cloaked vessel had indeed been in the vicinity. This officer then asked Mr Spian if there were any gaps in the tachyon grid. Spian replied that the only time when gaps would be present is when the scrapyard reorganizes its contents, pushing older scrap out to the perimeter to make room for newer scrap in the interior. The window of opportunity afforded would be small - Spian quoted a time of 176.3 seconds when the grid would be vulnerable to inflitration via cloaked vessel. Spian also informed us the last such reorganization occurred three months prior.
According to ENS Tonorr, an attempt to subvert one of the scrapyard probes would need approximately 150 seconds. This officer is of the considered opinion that such a subversion took place, allowing Harrison's crew to infiltrate the scrapyard and take the
Changzheng at their leisure. This officer then secured Mr Spian's consent to secure Probe 43 as evidence and advised him to work on closing this loophole in their security. Mr Spian stated that they would, and that he already had a solution in mind. ENS Tonorr also secured some information from the scrapyard database and downloaded it onto an isolinear chip. He then handed the chip to this officer, with the request that it be reviewed by CAPTs Bishop and Nimitz at the earliest opportunity.
At this point, the
Endeavour contacted this officer, stating that Director Wu was attempting to cross the perimeter, and seeking confirmation that she was who she said she was. This officer confirmed that she was the director of the scrapyard, and the
Endeavour let her through. With our investigation concluded, the rest of the team returned to the
Endeavour, while this officer and CMDR Samaras remained behind to debrief Director Wu on the situation before returning to the ship ourselves.
RECOMMENDATION: Probe 43 should be examined carefully for further proof of subversion, which should be useful if and when this case is brought to trial. This officer also recommends Starfleet contact other scrapyards in the sector and review their security to insure this loophole is closed before anyone else can exploit it.
It is this officer's considered opinion that the staff of the Rybin II Scrapyard are INNOCENT of any wrongdoing in this situation, and commends their cooperation with our investigation.
The isolinear chip ENS Tonorr handed this officer contains the prefix codes for the
Changzheng, which this officer recommends be distributed to Starfleet vessels operating in the Kelterre and Aldebaran sectors. Should they encounter the
Changzheng, they may be able to use the codes to shut the ship down, and make for an easier capture of Harrison and his rogue MACO unit. Be advised, however, that Harrison has demonstrated great skill at subverting security protocols, and thus we must consider the possibility that he has already changed the prefix codes.
OOC: AAR for the impromptu event "Rybin II"; special thanks to Sam for running this event. If I omitted anything, please let me know!
