AAR: Xedi Vessel Data Core Analysis

Subspace Network Reports
1
SUBMITTED:
Stardate 96617.4
FILED BY:
LCDR Sideris
SECURITY:
Level 3 - Restricted
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LOCATION: Deep Space 13 Computer Lab
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MISSION: To analyze the CELL data from the Xedi vessel computer core.
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OUTCOME: Gathered information regarding communications and the location of the Xedi rebel base.
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KEY PERSONNEL:
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LCDR Noah Sideris
The Computer (NPC)
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NARRATIVE: I was tasked with deciphering the information we retrieved from the Xedi vessel's computer core. Per standard procedure, I created an isolated data store localized to a secure console J82 prior to copying the data core's contents into the data store for analysis.

I created two copies of this data. For the first I applied algorithmic decryption methods successfully used on similar systems of Klingon design, but these methods were not successful. The added level of complexity introduced by the Xedi engineers has made brute force decryption impossible within a reasonable time frame.

For the second, I had the computer create a virtual simulation of the Xedi vessel's communications system and placed within it the Xedi data core so it would return to normal operation. Using the credentials for the Xedi helmsman and this mocked-up system, I gained access to the internal messaging system and retrieved three more CELL messages from the data core. See attached.

I then initiated a message response to one of these CELL messages; though we cannot access the internal workings of the core without the code keys, a series of coordinates for message delivery was sent into the virtual communications array, which the computer relayed to me, and was using a non-standard encryption code to do so.

All messages below were sent from the Isep Xedi system. They have a single interstellar transceiver buoy that serves several nodes within the system. By comparing the most recent scans of these buoys with our earliest scans, I confirmed that all of these buoys have been physically modified to accept and transmit with the CELL encryption codes in addition to the standard Xedi codes.

Further investigation revealed that only one of the helmsman's three messages originated from the Xedi homeworld; an abandoned mining colony in orbit within the rings of a gas giant was the source of the other two. Additionally, over the last three months, the increase in comms traffic from that abandoned mining colony has been exponential. They are not sending out nearly a hundred messages per day. Passive scans of the comm traffic indicate a full two-thirds of those messages are being sent using the CELL encryption codes.

At this point I ordered the computer to set up an intercept and record for all messages being broadcast from the abandoned mining facility in the Isep Xedi system. Without a warrant it would be against regulations to read these messages, but as this information could be potentially critical to the investigation effort, I instructed the computer to deliver all transmissions into a secured datastore, accessible only by Commander William Levesley, Captain Samuel Bishop, Admiral Konieczko or Admiral Quint if and when they deem it necessary.

RECOMMENDATION: I recommend immediate remote surveillance of the abandoned Xedi mining facility and review of the messages located in the datastore for information regarding Xedi rebel activity and the identity of the CELL members, including RPC and PSMI.

//ATTACHMENTS//

Spoiler: Mining Colony - Message 1Show

Helmsman, status report on Project 17? Is the fungus able to be contained and utilized? -RMC

Spoiler: Mining Colony - Message 2Show

Helmsman, change of plans. Project 17 is to be terminated immediately. Believed to be too volatile and dangerous. -RMC.

Spoiler: Homeworld - Message 1Show

Made contact with RS. He needs a way to get one of his compatriots here. See if you can follow his instructions with the border installations. I'm moving him underground for his safety. -PSMI



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Thanks to Valore for letting me do fun intel things on a weeknight! :-D
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Stardate 92880.6

***APPENDED BY NSIDERIS LCDR***


Since Command approved the warrant to access encrypted messages received by the Xedi Homeworld relay, I have been monitoring the communication traffic. Over the past 36 hours, there has been much discussion between various ministers and military officers of high rank of an incident that occurred on the Xedi ship Intelligensia.

A Xedi general tasked with hunting out heretics and the Helmswoman of the Intelligensia were both killed in uncertain circumstances during a private meeting between the two in her office. The ship was under audit by the general, and official investigators state that the evidence points to a fight between them, during which each wounded the other so grievously that they died before an alarm could be raised.

This conclusion has met with significant skepticism in the upper echelons. People who knew the individuals involved claim any hostility between them was purely professional, and though it was not mentioned in the official report, a discreet secondary investigation revealed that the escape pods were manually altered to be unlocked during the ship-wide lockdown that followed the discovery of the dead Helmswoman and the inquisitor. There are conflicting reports, but at least one escape pod was jettisoned during that lockdown.

Reasons for this murder are also the subject of debate, but the ship Intelligentsia is a carrier, a new prototype considered essential for the security of the system. Some officials theorize that this was an attempt to cripple the vessel by the rebels, but evidence pointing to any particular criminal is too thin for them to act on.

They are now debating who should replace the Helmswoman and the inquisitor. I will keep you apprised.

//SIGNED//
LCDR Sideris
Intelligence Officer, DS13


Thanks again, Valore! The plot thickens.
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Stardate 96709.4

***APPENDED BY NSIDERIS LCDR***


I have transcribed the following information from the messages we are intercepting from the Isep Xedi relay. Itemized below.

1. I decoded messages stating that the Xedi Rebel outpost on Poltofor II went silent, prompting an investigation by the insurgents. Their chatter indicates that this outpost is of particular importance because of its proximity to Parin and they are planning to stage a breakthrough of the Parin royalist border checkpoints at some point in the future.

After 24 hours of silence, the rebels sent an investigation team to Poltofor II and found that the outpost's crew had been massacred. The details on the murder scene suggest the perpetrators were interested in making the process and the scene as gruesome as possible. Their investigation team found Federation weaponry and insignias, and have drawn the conclusion that Starfleet was responsible for wiping out the outpost. They're still investigating the matter, but opinions in the Xedi rebel hierarchy range from 'I knew we couldn't trust them' to 'the only way to survive now is to start attacking Federation ships and stations'.

This response has been tempered by the opinion of someone identified as Runis'Salli, the Parin representative of the People's Movement of Popular Discontent. Per these communications, he's residing in the literal Isep Xedi underground. While he does believe the Federation would be willing to use force, he also claims in his response that this would have been in conjunction with a more public and political approach. He recommends caution and determining the truth of the matter rather than jumping immediately to rash hostile action.

It's my impression from these messages that the Xedi rebel leadership is in serious disagreement with itself about how to respond. They're split between proceeding cautiously or attacking us outright. Some advocate asking for direct intervention from the Klingon Empire. Others advocate for dismantling the base and moving to 'Location B'. If they weren't so scattered, I don't think they'd give the Parin representative's opinion as much weight. It's also my impression that they're not likely to remain divided. Whatever their final decision, we need to be prepared for their response.

2. Though it's become a secondary concern, in response to CAPT Bishop's request for information regarding the carrier Intelligensia, the ship was built after the Isep Xedi scientists had a chance to study foreign designs, with a focus on Dominion War-era ships and equipment. In addition to the main ship, it also carries several corvettes that serve in a screening capacity and are better equipped to pursue retreating enemies while the Intelligentsia holds its position.

The administration has invested a sizeable portion of their military resources into the vessel in hopes that it could defend the system from piracy and insurgents, and given the fraught nature of Xedi politics, the late Helmswoman was appointed specifically for her apolitical and meritorious record. The administration took these unusual pains to make sure that the ship could be a protector for all the population of Isep Xedi rather than used as a political stunt. Choosing a replacement Helmsman or Helmswoman will be a challenge.

In communications from the suspected rebel headquarters located in the abandoned mining colony, the response was celebratory with regard to the death of the general, but mournful regarding the lost Helmsman of the Intelligentsia. If their internal communications are to be believed, the rebel Xedi were not responsible for this attack. The killing of the general and the Helmswoman may still have been the work of Xedi rebels, but if so, the organization at large is not aware of their actions.

3. Finally, in addition to the standard communication traffic authorized through the Isep Xedi homeworld and the rebel-encrypted communications coming from the mining colony, I have intercepted series of transmissions for which the computer was unable to determine an exact point of origin. These transmissions were badly degraded - a technologically inexpensive way to make it more difficult for uninvited parties to listen in if they don't need to hold their integrity for long subspace distances - but with the computer's help I was able to reconstruct several of the most recent.

The messages reference a cloaked ship en route to Isep Xedi with a cargo of military-grade weapons. The name of this freighter was not mentioned, and given the lack of additional information there isn't much for us to go on to investigate this further - even if Command authorizes an interdiction, finding a cloaked ship without knowing its route is a difficult prospect at best. If we pursue that course of action, our best bet would be to make contact with our Dominion contingent. I understand they have some scanning equipment that might make the job easier.

I wish I had better news. I'll update this as I've got more.

//SIGNED//
LCDR Sideris
Intelligence Officer, DS13

Ask not why the wall of text; only estimate how many walls of text you will scale for good story and add one.
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Stardate 96769.1

***APPENDED BY NSIDERIS LCDR***


Subsequent monitoring of the communications relay in the Isep Xedi system has yielded the following information.

1. The rebel Xedi faction has been actively seeking ways to undermine the current government and gain popular support. Recently they sent a member undercover to join a smuggling operation, then ambushed and captured a smuggler vessel containing illicit narcotics, inbound from Klingon/Orion territory.

In addition to achieving a symbolic victory over the Xedi government as keepers of order, they discovered an unexpected windfall of latinum aboard the vessel, an estimated five hundred bricks. Expect to see more and better armaments from the Xedi rebel faction once they’ve hundertook an operation to increase popular support. They recently seized a Xedi-owned ship carrying narcotics from Klingon/Orion territory.

  • It follows that the Xedi rebel faction will be interested in turning that latinum into equipment and supplies as quickly as possible. If we could maneuver an undercover supplier into position, we may be able to exert some subtle control over the equipment they receive and gain a pair of eyes on the inside of their operation at the same time.

2. We have intercepted messages from the homeworld that suggest a military leader, General Balrath, is preparing to launch a coup d'état to take control of the Xedi government. This is expected to take place within the next 72 hours.

Since the assassination of his superior on the Intelligentsia (see prior entries), Balrath controls the branch of the Xedi military placed in charge of hunting ‘heretics’, which may be defined more simply here as Xedi rebels. The internal nature of hunting dissidents within Xedi society has built this group a reputation more in line with a ‘secret police’ profile than a military one.

The general himself is part of a hardline political movement intensely critical of the government’s ‘soft’ approach to dealing with the rebels, and, in addition to the forces he controls directly, he has rallied clandestine support from other hardliners to supplant the current government.

Balrath’s reputation as a brutal enforcer with no compunction for killing or endangering civilians in large numbers to accomplish his goals, coupled with his available resources and level of support from the rest of the hardliner faction, make this attempted coup a credible threat, with likely civilian casualties.

Balrath is extremely unpopular with his peers and the populace, but an effective military leader whose subordinates respect and revere him. If this coup is successful, he is unlikely to remain in power long-term, but the short-term repercussions will be immediate and severe as he attempts to maintain control.

  • The Xedi rebels have a deep-seated loathing of Balrath and his division, and have tried to assassinate the general twice. If Balrath is given free rein to solve the Xedi rebel problem as he sees fit, the rebels can expect to be mercilessly hunted down and exterminated. If we choose to intervene on behalf of the current government and we can prove to them that the massacre on Poltofor II was not our doing, they may be willing allies.

There will not be a better or more critical time for intervention on either of these concerns. We strongly urge Command to consider the ramifications of letting these events proceed unchecked.

//SIGNED//

LCDR Sideris
Intelligence Officer, DS13


"Will you walk into my parlor?" said Trionis to the fleet.
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