How Does It Feel To Be A Rule-Breaker?

Posted on Sat Apr 29th, 2023 @ 4:02pm by Lieutenant Didrea Zade & Lieutenant JG Nayisa Wrea

Mission: Wrath of the People
Location: Deck 2 :: Kane's Quarters
Timeline: MD5 :: After 'The Point Of No Return'
1562 words - 3.1 OF Standard Post Measure

Nayisa ignored the question as she identified the failsafe for the second seal. Damn, it cycled faster than she anticipated. It was a weird enough practice to even link motion sensors to a failsafe, but to make them cycle as fast as they were? Whoever put them up really didn't want anyone snooping. She watched it cycle a couple times to be sure before configuring the PADD to send the correct information the failsafe was looking for, as well as program in a countdown timer. Probing the panel once more with the spanner, she heard a click come from inside the wall, followed by a hiss as the door unsealed itself. All that was left was to enter in an access code. "Last chance to back out," she told Zade, unplugging the cable from the wall and returning the hatch to its former position.

Zade wanted to. She hated this idea with a burning passion. But she couldn't leave Nayisa to do it alone. She needed to make sure the intelligence officer stayed true to her word. "Let's get this over with."

Picking up the bag, Nayisa gestured for Zade to enter in her security code. The door still had the standard lockout procedure, after all, and the chief of security had the ability to override it. Technically, Nayisa also had such an ability, but she knew Zade wouldn't like it. The Trill already didn't want to be there, and Nayisa was absolutely certain that guessing Zade's access code, right in front of her, would violate the conditions the chief had laid out. "Once the door opens, we have thirty seconds before the failsafe triggers. Get inside, and I'll deal with the failsafe."

"Won't using my access code alert security?" Zade asked. Even she knew that her security override was logged every time it was used. It was a safety feature that held the chief of security accountable, to make sure they weren't abusing their power. How ironic.

"Not this time," Nayisa answered. While the PADD was connected to the inside of the access hatch, she had temporarily disabled access logging to Kane's quarters. She made it look like a hardware issue that would conveniently resolve itself once they got inside. She'd do the same thing later, once they were finished. Technically another broken regulation, but was harder for her to be blamed if it looked like some random system glitch.

The Trill narrowed her eyes. "Did you just-"

"Argue with me later! Do you want to just stand out here or not?"

Zade stared hesitantly at the wall panel, then looked both ways to make sure it was clear before she typed in her access code. The more she protested this in plain sight, the greater the chance of them getting caught. Once the doors opened she slipped inside the dark room, sensing Nayisa right behind her.

Moving fast, Nayisa entered while typing on the PADD, and after the doors shut behind her she stood still for a moment, eyes locked onto the device in her hand as it illuminated her face in the dim lighting. She needed to trick the failsafe into thinking the door hadn't been accessed, but she had to do it fast before the cycling was complete. When she was successful, the tension in her shoulders left as she breathed a sigh of relief. "The hard part's done," she reported, grinning with excitement. "Well? How does it feel to be a rule-breaker?"

It took a moment for it to dawn on Zade that she was inside Kane's quarters. When it did, it felt like she couldn't breathe, for fear that it would alert someone to the invasion of privacy. They were inside Kane's quarters. Uninvited. "Awful," she strained. Breathe, standing inside his quarters wasn't that bad.

Well, it was, but it could also be a lot worse.

"Exhilarating, isn't it?? Computer, lights." Nayisa gave the PADD a tap before holding it out to the Trill. "I couldn't actually remove the seals, because that would have been recorded in the logs, so this is where you come in. The quarters are bugged with 26 motion sensors that also trigger the failsafe, which will alert security if the trigger's key is unchanged within thirty seconds. The PADD is configured to override that key, but it needs to be sent every twenty-five seconds to avoid sending the alert."

Recovering from her initial panic of being in Kane's quarters, Zade stared at the PADD being presented to her before looking up at Nayisa. "Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

There was a pause, then Nayisa burst out laughing. She couldn't help it. Was Zade so anxious about being here that she was asking ridiculous questions now? "I just bypassed two Starfleet security seals and told you about twenty-six motion sensors inside the Captain's quarters, and you're asking me if I know what I'm doing?? Didrea, you can't be serious!" She pushed the device into Zade's hands, "I set up a recurring timer, so just press this button every time the timer runs out."

The PADD nearly fumbled out of Zade's hands when Nayisa gave it to her, and she caught it before it hit the ground. Looking at the screen, she saw the timer at ten seconds and the big green button that had the text 'ALERT FREE ZONE' written on it. Talk about a flair for the dramatic. "Yeah, I-I was obviously joking," Zade stammered, sounding unconvincing. She realized once Nayisa laughed that her question was silly, and tried to move on from it. "What do I do with the other PADD?"

Nayisa put the bag on the ground by the door and pulled out the sterile bag containing the gloves and a pouch she had prepared, which contained the sterilized tricorder and collection kit. The pouch also contained her pocket knife, which she had also sterilized and brought with her. Once the gloves came on, Nayisa wouldn't be able to touch anything on her person, including her uniform and into her pockets. Ripping the bag open, she slipped her hands into the gloves, taking care to touch as little of the outside as possible. When she was done, she reached into the pouch and grabbed the tricorder. "Put it next to the bag for now. And for the love of God, don't touch anything in here. Don't even lean or brush against something. The quarters, as you pointed out earlier, are still classified as evidence."

Standing, Nayisa finally got to look around the room, getting a rare glimpse into Kane's private life. The doors led into the living room like all the other quarters, but it was much more spacious. A couch and two single chairs were separated by a coffee table with several items on it, and in the corner there was a wall that hid what the diagram said was a dining room from view. To the right was the bedroom, and adjacent to that door was one that led to the bathroom. Partly in view through the bedroom door was the door to a closet, which Nayisa knew was a walk-in from the diagram. Being in command really did have its privilege. Opening her tricorder with her gloved hands, the silver-haired woman configured the settings to look for traces of the compounds P'Rel had mentioned: Rossium-K, Hutzelite-27, Bishop/P 374, and Pastorium liquid 342.

The timer beeped, and Zade pressed the button. At first, it seemed like nothing was happening, but then five seconds later the timer started up again, counting down from 25. While the timer counted down, Zade spared a quick glance around. He really didn't have much in the way of decoration. There were shelves with some trinkets, but the walls themselves were occupied primarily by the basic decoration Starfleet provided. The shelf over his desk had several awards on them, and the Trill moved closer to inspect them. "So what is it you're looking for?" she asked.

Nayisa remained silent. The Trill already knew more than either of them were comfortable with, so she had to be careful with what she said. She began to scan everything, starting with the half-hidden dining room. When she got closer, she could see into the little nook, which had a table and four chairs. The room had its own window that looked out into space on the left side. Briefly glancing up into one of the corners, she spotted the nearly invisible motion sensor, an unassuming square positioned near the ceiling so it had a full view of the dining room. From behind her, she heard a faint beep come from the PADD she gave to Zade.

On the table, a PADD sat next to an empty dish and cup, signs that he was reading while eating a meal. Was it the last thing he did in his quarters before he got arrested? The intelligence officer could almost envision him sitting there, blissfully unaware of his future as he ate. As nosey as she wanted to be, Nayisa opted to not turn on the PADD to see what he was reading. The man still deserved privacy, even if most of it was nonexistent now. It also wasn't relevant to her search. She scanned the whole dining room, not finding any of the elements.

One room down, four to go.