Missing Pieces
Posted on Wed Aug 27th, 2025 @ 6:11pm by Lieutenant Sarah Graesyn & Lieutenant James Constantine
Edited on on Thu Aug 28th, 2025 @ 4:33pm
1,072 words; about a 5 minute read
Mission:
Episode 2 - The Sins of History
Location: Criminal Investigations Office - Deck 10 - USS Artemis
Timeline: MD012 1300
Sarah stepped into the Criminal Investigations Office and looked around. She looked weary and completely beat, she clearly had not slept beyond the minimum in several days.
James Constantine glanced up from his screen on instinct to check who had entered, but his gaze lingered rather than drop back to his reading as it usually would. The officer looked distinctly worn out. He pushed his chair back a touch in case he needed to get up, watching with a note of concern. "Is everything okay, Lieutenant?"
Sarah nodded; not quite seeing him at first. “Just tired; I need eyes that aren’t mine or my teams on the problem with the Leto. I was hoping I might find that here; though honestly outside of an attempting attack on a Starfleet Vessel and its crew…. I am not entirely sure what the crime is per se.”
Constantine pushed back from his screen, literally pulling a stool over and slapping the top of it to offer a seat. "Sometimes, the best way to let your brain work on something is to give it some space. Come and tell me about it."
Sarah took the offered stool and began to lay out the problems she and her team had found so far and shook her head. “It boils down to one of two possibilities to my mind; either somebody on board the Artemis sabotaged the sensors on the Leto before she launched… or the Cardassians have some sort of advanced Stealth technology that allowed them to plant that device without being seen… and I don’t like either possibility.”
She looked to the computer at Constantines desk and motioned with her hand. “You should be able to pull up the investigation notes and files so far.”
Constantine nodded lightly as he pulled the files up, but his mind also went back to the conversations that were had when the shuttle had been dissected...and the misgivings he'd had at the time. "Talk me through your thinking here, to get to those possibilities. Honestly, from my point of view on the evidence gathered so far, neither of those are cut and dry theories. There are plausible alternatives to it being an inside job, from what I understand," he wasn't saying it to challenge, rather inviting her to brainstorm what they knew and what they didn't know, to get an idea of what their next steps should be.
“The way that the Leto’s sensors were disabled indicates an intimate knowledge with Starfleet procedures concerning the maintance and upkeep of our shuttlecraft; as well as further knowledge with the communications frequencies for the subspace antennae on board them. This indicates potential insider knowledge; that being said it isn’t impossible for it to have been an external threat. Gods know that the Cardassians are nothing if not devious.”
Sarah rubbed the back of her neck as she worked through her own thoughts before speaking further. “As for the other possibility I mentioned… the device was shielded in a manner I have never seen used by the Cardassians. The usual tricks and methods used to get a read on the device once it was discovered didn’t work and I am very familiar with Cardassian technology. Which leaves the fact that either the Cardassians have developed a new shielding system… or they purchased one from somebody that wouldn’t be easily recognized by one of our officers. See why I am stuck?”
"Cardassian officers are nothing if not resourceful," Constantine sighed as he scrolled through the reports that had been filed so far. "Apologies if I'm about to explain what you already know, but from the investigations side of things, we always look at three key factors. Motive, means and opportunity. I've been looking through all the logs relating to the shuttle, I can't find any evidence that someone onboard this ship had the opportunity to plant a device. So...the only window of opportunity is when the shuttle docked on the Cardassian station."
“That confirms my greater suspicion. I am relieved that it isn’t looking internal.” She shifted herself so that she could see the screen a little better. “Still not a comforting thought that someone outside Starfleet has as much knowledge as our maintenance protocols as was showcased here though.”
"A bribe here...a spy there...a hacker for good measure...and a touch of misdirection for luck..." Constantine gave a soft, wry chuckle. Because no one liked to think it could be that simple, but he knew from experience that it could be. "I suspect in this case the means would not be outside of their capability. And we know they have motive."
“Oh aye; plenty of it. Do you think we have any hope of figuring out who exactly might be responsible?” She rubbed her temple as she asked; highly doubtful that it would be possible.
"Not without more evidence," Constantine tilted his head as he considered the possibilities. "If we were able to extrapolate DNA from the components...or perhaps if we were able to get a hold of their logs to find out who had access during the window of opportunity."
“Can’t say as I think there is much more that can be extrapolated. But anything that Ballistics discovers should be available in the investigation logs. I am not overly fond of unsolved mysteries but I suppose we will have to insert nothing more than suspicions into the official report.” Sarah gave a soft sigh and shook her head. “My team is working on starting to put the Leto back together. Let us know if you need anything else from our end.”
"Will do," James assured, watching her with knowing eyes. He could feel the frustration from her, the will to deliver. "I can assure you, no investigator expects you to have all the answers or a perfect theory. Deliver the facts, and the team will put it all together."
“Aye. Thanks for your time Lieutenant.” Sarah met his gaze and gave a small nod before standing and stepping toward the door.
A Joint Post By
Lieutenant Sarah Graesyn
Chief Engineering Officer, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
Lieutenant James Constantine
Criminal Investigations Officer, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
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