S1M5 - O Other, Where Art Thou?

[Rayek tr'Lhoell]

Cmdr. Rayek tr'Lhoell
[USS Amalthea - Deck 6 - s'Lhoell quarters]

Captain Tess t'Lhoell
[USS Amalthea - s'Lhoell quarters]

Other than Rayek who cut his crepe into neat pieces, Tess took up the rolled crepe as a whole and bit into its end ... making the whipped cream oozing out a little in the process, which she shrugged off with a little grin.

She listened to what Rayek told her when the call came in. She shared a concerned look with him and then scrolled with a finger over Rayek's PADD while he went to go and answer the call, to which Tess listened while she looked at the schedule. To hear that Lared had changed his mind was good. She glanced over to Rayek as he informed her that he would go right away. She nodded. "Yes, I think that's a good idea. Don't worry about the briefing, I'll be able to handle it." She smiled, unaware that she had a little bit of whipped cream smeared at the corner of her mouth.

With his mind on rather notable news that Lared... Ensign tr'Movel... had agreed to allow the telepathic search of his memories for key information that could lead to knowing who sabotaged the shuttle which had exploded last month, it took a moment for Rayek's keen observational skills to notice the smear of whipped cream at the corner of Tess' mouth.  By the time it had registered, Rayek had already moved from the kitchen table to the bedroom to dress.

Given the priority of the information that Lared could provide, it was worth it for Rayek to forego the routine of his morning showering.  He did however ensure that his uniform was fresh and that he followed proper oral hygiene.  This was important as he didn't wish to chance the far too embarrassing scenario of him having bits of blueberries or raspberries stuck in his teeth, and only discovering it from the surface thoughts of Ensign tr'Movel.

Once dressed, Rayek paused by the door to Fvienn's room.  As much as Rayek wanted to bid his son good morning and see him before he left, to do so would risk his son waking and becoming upset with Rayek's almost immediate leave-taking.  No, it was best to leave without checking in on their son and just leave Fvienn's morning care to Tess alone.   

The disappointed father returned to the main quarters and found Tess finishing up her breakfast, still with that bit of whipped cream in the crease of her lips.  The sight of it was was ever so endearing to the Romulan.  Rayek strode over, reaching out to gently cup her face as he leaned down to kiss it away.  The taste of her lips were berry sweet with a hint of cream.  He lingered over the kiss a moment before realizing that he was breaking his promise to tr'Movel to be there quickly. 

"I-jol au, e'lev... tell our son that I will make time for him during my break to make up for not seeing him this morning."

Rayek then left and headed to the Medical bay.

[Tess tLhoell]

Captain Tess t'Lhoell
[USS Amalthea - s'Lhoell quarters]

Tess smiled as she kissed Rayek back. "I-jol au, ciccino. Good luck!"

She watched him leave and then returned to her breakfast before tending to Fvienn.






NPC Ensign Lared tr'Movel


NPC Lieutenant jg. Roberto Padrini (Medical)

[USS Amalthea - Sickbay]

When Rayek would arrive at the sickbay, he would not only find Lared, but also Roberto. The doctor had a disapproving look on his face as he stood near the bed where Lared was.

"Commander", Lared greeted him first. "Thank you for coming here so quickly."

"I don't recommend your plans for a mind meld", Roberto stated straightforward. "Mr tr'Movel needs more rest. I don't want to risk any neurological side effects that might worsen his condition."

Lared looked to Rayek in uncertainty. He had woken up and decided to give it a try, but he had not expected Dr. Padrini to step in. He wondered if Rayek would be able to appease the doctor.

[Rayek tr'Lhoell]

Cmdr. Rayek tr'Lhoell
[USS Amalthea - Deck 8 - Sickbay]

NPC Ensign Lared tr'Movel


NPC Lieutenant jg. Roberto Padrini (Medical)

[USS Amalthea - Sickbay]

When Rayek would arrive at the sickbay, he would not only find Lared, but also Roberto. The doctor had a disapproving look on his face as he stood near the bed where Lared was.

"Commander", Lared greeted him first. "Thank you for coming here so quickly."

"I don't recommend your plans for a mind meld", Roberto stated straightforward. "Mr tr'Movel needs more rest. I don't want to risk any neurological side effects that might worsen his condition."

Lared looked to Rayek in uncertainty. He had woken up and decided to give it a try, but he had not expected Dr. Padrini to step in. He wondered if Rayek would be able to appease the doctor.

That Padrini would interfere in this matter shouldn't have been unexpected except that the doctor hadn't been briefed on it yet.  Tess' request for Lared's cooperation in regards to the memory search had been something Rayek had been reluctant to just mention in passing via an email given the doctor's known bias, so Rayek had intended to discuss it with Padrini during a face-to-face brief later this morning.  It seemed like they would be discussing it now.

At the physician's stated concerns Rayek looked over towards Lared assessingly.  Physically, the wounds that resulted from the shuttle's explosion had all been healed in the month since the explosion because of the excellent medical skills of the USS Amalthea's medical staff (Rayek refused to credit Padrini solely).  Because of automated muscle stimuli that the biobed prompted at regular intervals, there was no evidence of muscle atrophy.  Lared, despite being in a coma for a month, was physically fit. 

However, the man's physical fitness wasn't what Padrini had remarked on.  Lared's facial expression looked troubled.  It was obvious he didn't feel comfortable with what had been requested of him, but the fellow Romulan seemed to recognize that the Captain's need of the information he held within his memory superseded any personal discomfort.

Rayek offered a slight acknowledging nod towards Ensign tr'Movel before turning his attention to Padrini once more.

"I respect your position doctor, and recognise that you speak such not out of your own personal bias," though Rayek knew for a fact there was that in spades  "but on earnest behalf of your patient's well-being.  Had we the luxury of another option, this would not be even considered.  However, this request comes from the Captain herself out of a need to ensure the safety of the entire ship."

The Tal Shiar operative had already killed one crew member in an attempt to get to Rayek.  Without knowing how they managed it every mission from here on was a gamble for not just Rayek but every member on that mission.  There was also the concern that even more devastating attacks might be planned next on the ship itself. 

"This was not my idea.  I am merely the means."  Rayek stated.  "I'm certain Tess would not have requested such if she felt it would endanger Ensign tr'Movel."

Rayek let his words sit a moment before pressing on.  "Yesterday, when tr'Movel said that he didn't think he could go through with it, the Captain said that she needed him to reconsider.  It was that important." 

Then Rayek made a point of looking to Padrini directly - fixing his gaze upon the man that claimed to love Tess as much as he. "If she were present now, I have no doubt that she would say that she needs you to not stand in the way of this."

Rayek looked back to Lared, yet still spoke to Padrini.  "You said that you cannot recommend this course of action - that Ensign tr'Movel needs more rest.  Are those your orders as his physician? or will leave it solely as a recommendation yet permit this to go ahead?"

To help tip in his favor, Rayek added "As you well-know from my medical file, I have been Vulcan-trained in use of the meld now.  There is no reason for there to be any neurological side-effects."

[Tess tLhoell]

NPC Ensign Lared tr'Movel


NPC Lieutenant jg. Roberto Padrini (Medical)

[USS Amalthea - Sickbay]

Padrini's face hardened more with every word that Rayek spoke. He would lose this argument, he already knew it. He didn't want to risk having Tess to come down here and interfere. But he didn't trust Rayek and he didn't trust his mind melding abilities.

So he would put his foot down as much as he could, although he realized that he wouldn't be able to stop this.

"I strongly advise against it", he stated once more. "I will mark it like this in Mr. tr'Movel's file that this mind meld was conducted against doctor's recommendation. Also, I'd like to be present during the meld. To monitor any unwanted effects."

Lared felt more uncomfortable by the minute. He looked at Rayek with growing uncertainty. But he had said he would do it. He wouldn't back down now. That the doctor said he'd monitor the process was actually rather assuring to him.

"I am prepared to go ahead with it", he once more gave his consent.

[Rayek tr'Lhoell]

Cmdr. Rayek tr'Lhoell
[USS Amalthea - Deck 8 - Sickbay]

From Padrini's hardened expression, Rayek had more than half expected the doctor to order him out of Sickbay and away from his patient; but he didn't.  Rayek wondered if it was the urgency and importance of the information that had swayed the doctor or if it was all just about Tess' need of this.  It was probably best Rayek didn't question and just get the job done while he could.   

"Monitor if you wish, but there should be nothing for you to see or do."

When tr'Movel spoke up once more repeating that he was ready to do this, Rayek looked over to his Romulan friend and nodded.   "Thank you." Rayek answered simply before moving to the Lared's bedside and laying his fingers lightly atop Lared's psi nodes.

This wasn't a light search of surface thoughts.  This would require a deeper dive into the fellow Romulan's mind to be certain he was seeing the actual memory and not some influenced 'remake' of that day.

With his fingerstips in position, Rayek let his mind sink into the layers of Lared's thoughts and memories, speaking the ritualized words as a focus.  "My mind to your mind. My thoughts to your thoughts."

As expected, despite Lared's claimed readiness and willingness to do this, his mind was resistant.  It was frustrating to know that had Rayek attempted this while Lared had been asleep or unaware that there would be next to no push back to his presence.  The sleeping mind was so much more open than the wakeful and aware mind. 

Lared's consciousness of the process made the search for the memory 10 times more difficult.  Rayek could feel Lared's ingrained discomfort with the meld-meld.  To help distract Lared from his discomfort Rayek shared 'safe' memories from his own childhood.  These memories were ones he kept out and in the open should he ever be read by another telepath.  It was part of Rayek's mental defenses.

"Think about that day... remember what you were doing.  We were giving chase in the shuttle Kourete to a pair that had been using holographic pirates to steal from freighters.  Mere seconds after taking launching from the planetoid alarms sounded..."

With the scene described, Rayek let Lared's mind complete the rest of the picture.  He filtered through the disjointed and jumbled memories and began to piece together the scene as Lared remembered it.   When it came to the visual displays Rayek delved deeper, going into Lared's subconscious to find the previously obscured code line that Lared hadn't been able to recall.   

They'd found it!

[Tess tLhoell]

NPC Ensign Lared tr'Movel


NPC Lieutenant jg. Roberto Padrini (Medical)

[USS Amalthea - Sickbay]

"I will decide that for myself, Commander", Padrini responded grimly.

He watched as Rayek initiated the mind meld. Inwardly it sickened the doctor to imagine that the Romulan manipulated Tess like this into thinking she had feelings for him.

Both men had gone silent and Roberto observed Lared's face. He was tense and clearly uncomfortable. He suppressed a disapproving snort as he kept glancing up to the bio readings.


The feeling of another person's presence in his mind was exceptionally awful. He hated it. It struggled to relax enough to actually let it happen. Rayek then showed him pictures of childhood memories. It was strangely comforting. Although of course those were not his own memories he recognized their lost home Romulus.

Then Rayek tried to remind him of the day of the shuttle explosion. Those memories came back quite clearly now. The part where he had struggled before was clearly visible now. It was amazing! It was an outstanding experience!

[Rayek tr'Lhoell]

Cmdr. Rayek tr'Lhoell
[USS Amalthea - Deck 8 - Sickbay]

NPC Ensign Lared tr'Movel
NPC Lieutenant jg. Roberto Padrini (Medical)

[USS Amalthea - Sickbay]

"I will decide that for myself, Commander", Padrini responded grimly.

He watched as Rayek initiated the mind meld. Inwardly it sickened the doctor to imagine that the Romulan manipulated Tess like this into thinking she had feelings for him.

Both men had gone silent and Roberto observed Lared's face. He was tense and clearly uncomfortable. He suppressed a disapproving snort as he kept glancing up to the bio readings.


The feeling of another person's presence in his mind was exceptionally awful. He hated it. It struggled to relax enough to actually let it happen. Rayek then showed him pictures of childhood memories. It was strangely comforting. Although of course those were not his own memories he recognized their lost home Romulus.

Then Rayek tried to remind him of the day of the shuttle explosion. Those memories came back quite clearly now. The part where he had struggled before was clearly visible now. It was amazing! It was an outstanding experience!

Error code 08-120
REMOTE ACCESS LOCKED

There it was the partial answer that Rayek had been seeking.  Confirmation that the explosion had been sabotage.  A planned attack that was perpetrated via the shuttle's remote access feature and then covered up. 

Dammit! Whoever had programmed the shuttle's overload remotely also had cleanly wiped all evidence of the remote access from the shuttle's log or it would have been discovered by now.  That meant tracing it back would be difficult.   But not impossible.  Not for Rayek. 

~ Lared, we've found how the assassin caused the explosion but the error code doesn't point to who did it.  For that, I'd like to search your memories some more.  As you know when Remote Access is initiated it'll display the authorization code of its remote user and their relative coordinates.  You should have seen this at some point... that you didn't mention it means either that feature was disabled - a difficult and time-consuming thing to overwrite without advance notice... or the speed-frame was reduced so that it would have only flashed on the screen for a but a fraction of a second.   Your conscious mind wouldn't have picked that up... but your subconscious mind and memory would have.  Do I have your permission to continue?~

Rayek had only initially asked to search Lared's memories for how.  He needed Lared to agree before he would delve deeper.

[Tess tLhoell]

NPC Ensign Lared tr'Movel
[USS Amalthea - Deck 8 - Sickbay]

Every minute that the mind meld lasted, Lared was burdened more and more. Instead of relaxing with time, he became more restless and impatient, wanting it to be over soon.

He winced slightly when he heard Rayek's voice in his head again. He took a few deep breaths. Actually, he didn't want Rayek to go any deeper. He hesitated. But he thought, now he had gone this far before ...

"Yes," he answered and took another breath. He tried to imagine the situation in the shuttle, the moment Rayek had described.

[Rayek tr'Lhoell]

Cmdr. Rayek tr'Lhoell
[USS Amalthea - Deck 8 - Sickbay]

NPC Ensign Lared tr'Movel
[USS Amalthea - Deck 8 - Sickbay]

Every minute that the mind meld lasted, Lared was burdened more and more. Instead of relaxing with time, he became more restless and impatient, wanting it to be over soon.

He winced slightly when he heard Rayek's voice in his head again. He took a few deep breaths. Actually, he didn't want Rayek to go any deeper. He hesitated. But he thought, now he had gone this far before ...

"Yes," he answered and took another breath. He tried to imagine the situation in the shuttle, the moment Rayek had described.

Despite Lared's verbal answer, Rayek could read his true thoughts.  Like Rah'ul, Lared was extremely uncomfortable with Rayek's presence in his mind.   If the need for this information was not so crucial, Rayek would have withdrew right then; but Lared was his best and last hope of finding out who had sabotaged the shuttle, killing Lieutenant Verlock.

With permission given once more, Rayek didn't waste time acknowledging or offering apologies for the discomfort.  Lared would be happiest with Rayek being swift... but the nature of this search meant that Rayek had to slow down the memory of Lared's time in the shuttle cockpit so that he could study each memory engram for the remote access details.  This could literally take hours. 

Rather than start at the very beginning of the mission and work his way through chronologically, Rayek tried to put himself in the role of the assassin and look for times when the shuttle was already busy with information coming and going where one screen blip would have been least likely to be noticed.   Even so... the process of searching was lengthy; and Rayek was fully aware that Padrini was already not approving of this meld.  It would only be a matter of time before the doctor said enough was enough and ordered Rayek to stop.  So the Romulan was racing with the doctor's patience.

Thankfully however, Rayek had similar training as that of the Tal Shiar assassin and his guess as to when the remote connection was initiate was spot on.  What could have taken hours to find in Lared's mind,  took only 45 minutes. With the information located, Rayek mentally 'flagged' it for Lared's easy access from then on.

With that complete and the information he need obtained, Rayek withdrew from Lared's mind.  He removed his fingertips, from Lared now sweating temple and realized that own was just as damp.  The meld had been far more exerting than he had anticipated.  He was fortunate Padrini hadn't forced a separation before now.   He clapped an appreciative hand over the shoulder of the bedridden Romulan. 

"Thank you, Lared.  I'm sorry to have put you through that." he dipped his head showing his respect for the other man. "Rest knowing that the knowledge gained will point to the saboteur."

Rayek stood up, and swayed slightly feeling a bit disoriented within his own body after searching Lared's memories for so long.   He glanced to the chronometer on his PADD and noted that the Department Head meeting was already in progress.   That Padrini hadn't left his patient to attend the meeting said a lot about the doctor and his dedication to his work.   At times like this Rayek found it hard to dislike the man.   But that feeling usually didn't last long, since Padrini was always looking for ways to criticize Rayek and would always speak his thoughts when Tess wasn't around.

"I'll leave you to your patient, Doctor."

Just as he was about to exit Sickbay, the doors opening for him as he made to stride out,  Rayek nearly bumped into Aide tr'Hei.  The portly figure looked momentarily alarmed to see that it was Rayek he had collided with.   Rayek noted that the man's hand moved to his belt... where a Romulan disruptor might have been located had weapons not been banned from the visiting Ambassadorial staff.  After the initial shock the hand dropped and the aide made a point of bowing obsequiously.

"Commander, my apologies at my inattentiveness.  I hope all is well with you and yours." the man all but fawned in an obvious attempt to make up for the incident.

"Yes.  All is well.  Just visiting Ensign tr'Movel. Now if you'll excuse me I have somewhere urgent to be." Rayek stated as he began to step around the other who remained blocking the doorway.

For a moment, as Rayek passed in close proximity to the aide, Rayek felt a strong sense of familarity and he turned his head to glance back at the man.   tr'Hei remaining the doorway offering another slight apologetic bow.   

Rayek shook his head to clear the feeling and continued on his way up to Briefing room.   Along the way, he double checked the information he'd discovered in Lared's memory and found it confirmed.   Rayek's expression hardened as he tapped away on his PADD - issuing orders and prepping himself for settle things one and for all.
 
...

[USS Amalthea - Deck One - Briefing Room]

A few minutes later Rayek entered the briefing room.   His arrival, briefly disrupting the Acting Department Head of Science as he gave his daily report.

Rayek inclined his head politely.  "My apologies at my tardiness."  He quickly took his seat and then waited for his turn to speak.

[Tess tLhoell]

Captain Tess t'Lhoell
[USS Amalthea - Briefing Room]

Tess looked up when the door opened and Rayek joined them at the meeting. While his task with Lared admittedly had taken longer than she had expected, she found it a little odd that he apologized for his tardiness. It was not as if he had been in bed until just now.
She tried to read from his face how the meeting with Lared went, but couldn't really decide if it went well or not.

"Welcome to the briefing, Commander", Tess said in her role as Captain. "Ensign t'Movel was just reporting her department's progress on tracking down the astrocetus." She gestured for her to continue.

The Romulan flushed slightly. "Actually, I ... I was just about finished", she said, then glanced to Rayek. "Would you like me to repeat for you, Commander?"

Tess looked at Rayek, letting him decide if he accepted the offer or if he would read it later in the report.

[Rayek tr'Lhoell]

Cmdr. Rayek tr'Lhoell
[USS Amalthea - Deck One - Briefing Room]

Captain Tess t'Lhoell
[USS Amalthea - Briefing Room]

Tess looked up when the door opened and Rayek joined them at the meeting. While his task with Lared admittedly had taken longer than she had expected, she found it a little odd that he apologized for his tardiness. It was not as if he had been in bed until just now.
She tried to read from his face how the meeting with Lared went, but couldn't really decide if it went well or not.

"Welcome to the briefing, Commander", Tess said in her role as Captain. " Acting Ensign t'Movel was just reporting her department's progress on tracking down the astrocetus." She gestured for her to continue.

The Romulan flushed slightly. "Actually, I ... I was just about finished", she said, then glanced to Rayek. "Would you like me to repeat for you, Commander?"

Tess looked at Rayek, letting him decide if he accepted the offer or if he would read it later in the report.

That the Academy cadet had been field promoted to Acting Ensign said a lot about the young Romulan's skills and dedication; and a bit about the ship's lack of both senior and junior officers.  Every ship faced losses, but those losses seemed more pronounced on the Amalthea since the ship had limited officers to begin with -  and now they were about to lose one more.

Rayek looked over to the Operations cadet... Acting Ensign... and shook his head declining her offer to begin again for his benefit.  "No need of that.  If you are done, I will report next."

The young Romulan was quick to indicate that she was done.  She hadn't reported much anyways, just that the reconfiguration of the long range sensors had been completed and that scans for the astrocetus life sign was continuing.

While he waited for the Captain to agree to his speaking next, Rayek let his eyes rove over the assembled Department Heads, and for a moment he marveled at its composition.  Ensign Mitumba for Science was Caitian. Acting Ensign t'Movel for Operations was Romulan. Ensign tr'Hava, another Romulan, had been sent by the Engineering chief - no doubt because the Lurian wouldn't take time away from his investigation into the death of his Vulcan friend via the shuttle explosion.  Flight was being represented by Rojol - yet another Romulan officer. 

The Amalthea abounded with Romulans.  Even it's First Officer, who sat in the role of Tactical Chief and Chief of Security, was Romulan.  Was really difficult to understand why such terrible things happened to the ship and crew?  They brought it on themselves by trusting those of such duplicitous natures.

Once given leave to speak, Rayek stood up and began pacing around the room.  "For those that have not yet heard.  Ensign tr'Movel awoke yesterday afternoon from his month long coma."  Rayek made a point of not referring to it as a healing trance - that was solely a Vulcan trait - and he would never insult Lared that way.   

"With his return to conscience, the shuttle investigation has gained a new and informative lead.   I have just come here from speaking with Ensign tr'Movel and he recalled for me seeing the shuttle's display screen announcing the activation of remote control of the shuttles power system.  That is how the overload of the EPS system occurred with no prior warnings to the shuttle, they had been turned off via remote until the system went critical."  Rayek continued pacing around the table as he spoke. 

However Rayek wasn't done, "Of course, that possibility had crossed the investigation team's mind some time ago, but whoever had done this was able to wipe the computer command from the system prior to the explosion - hiding evidence of their actions and making it impossible for us to discern if this was indeed how the explosion happen."   

Rayek paused his pacing, as he stood just to the side of tr'Hava and Rojol.  He  looked around the room. "If not for Ensign tr'Movel's keen observation and his willingness to go beyond what is expected of an officer, who did this would still be a mystery.  However, tr'Movel saw the authorization code of the one who activated the remote access to shuttle."

Rayek looked to Tess.  "That authorization code belongs to Ensign Rojol, Acting Flight Chief.  Coordinates noted along with authorization code list the Amalthea Bridge as it's origin.   A check of his location at the time of the incident shows that Ensign Rojol was on the bridge with full access to the Flight operations console -including remote access."

Rayek subtly braced for an escape attempt; but for Rojol there would be none.  Security were already waiting outside both exits to the briefing room and Rayek had ordered a signal dampener to be activated to prevent escape via transporter.   Inwardly he hoped the man tried to fight his way out, allowing Rayek the opportunity to violently take down the one responsible for Verlok's death and Lared's convalescence.   After a months frustration, Rayek needed and outlet.

[Tess tLhoell]

Captain Tess t'Lhoell
[USS Amalthea - Briefing Room]

Tess listened carefully to what Rayek reported. Although she was used to his pacing by now, it irritated her a bit that he couldn't suppress it even here in front of the whole team.

That the shuttle had been remotely controlled was not all that surprising, after all, that had been the most likely theory as to how the accident had happened, but they had not been able to find out who had taken control of the shuttle at that point, since the person had thoroughly covered all tracks. When Rayek brought this up, however, she guessed with burgeoning hope that he now knew, or at least had a promising clue.

Neither was true. Instead, Rayek presented the name of the culprit, that of Ensign Rojol. Tess' eyes grew wide as she stared at the Romulan. She was stunned. A murmur went through the room and then it was suddenly dead silent. It was clear that the young officers, who had to take on so much responsibility so early, were now completely shocked and unsettled.

Tess looked over at Rayek. She could understand the anger he had. She didn't feel any differently. After all, one of her crew had been killed and her husband had been the target. Still, this public display was not what she liked to see. She would have preferred if they had confronted Rojol alone.

Rojol now began to deny everything. Although Tess thought the evidence was very incriminating, no one should be accused without the opportunity to defend themselves.

She rose from her seat. "The briefing is over. Please return to your stations." Her gaze rested on Rojol, who hopefully understood that it did not mean him. She looked up at Rayek. "I would like to conduct a questioning, right now."

[Rayek tr'Lhoell]

Cmdr. Rayek tr'Lhoell
[USS Amalthea - Deck One - Briefing Room]

Tess' decision to end the meeting abruptly, should have been something Rayek had foreseen, but he'd been far to focused on finally getting justice for Verlock's death.   When the flight officer - either oblivious to Tess' pointed look or just choosing to ignore it in the hopes of escaping the upcoming questions - attempted to rise, Rayek placed a hand on his shoulder in an arresting manner and held the fellow Romulan firmly in place.  "You will remain here with us, Ensign."

The room quickly cleared, though Rayek had to give the security at the door the go ahead to let the others leave.  Afterwards, Rayek released his hold on Takima though the First Officer didn't go far.  He stood about a half a pace away, arms folded, waiting for the Captain to begin her questioning. 

The Romulan Ensign of course denied any involvement.  The young man was quite adamant on that part, not that Rayek believed a word he said in his defense.  At first, Rojol claimed he was being unfairly accused, that Rayek had a bias against him.   Then he suggested that he was being framed.  This earned a scoff from Rayek.  Given how hidden the information had been - there would have been no way for an average investigator to have uncovered the remote hackers identity and location, it was unlikely that the information was falsified just to frame the flight officer.  In an normal investigation the information would never have been uncovered making the 'frame' useless - and therefore questionable.  Rojol even went so far as to try pinning the hack on the Ambassador's aide because the rotund little man had asked a few questions about the shuttle during his tour.   Even Rayek thought that suspicion rather far-fetched.

As the questioning wrapped up, Rayek looked to Tess for sign of what she intended to do with the man.  To Rayek, it was clear the man was guilty.  He'd seen the Ensign's authorization code (a code that Starfleet personnel were not supposed to share - ever - under threat of dismissal) in Lared's memory clearly.  There was no arguing with that.

But Tess was far more lenient that he.  She hadn't seen the code and while he knew she trusted his word, that lack of tangible proof might be enough to sway her to be more open to other possibilities.  He hoped not.

[Tess tLhoell]

Captain Tess t'Lhoell
[USS Amalthea - Briefing Room]

Tess let Rayek conduct the questioning for the most part. She added a question of her own here and there. It was clear that Rayek already had made up his mind as to who the culprit was. While Rojol really couldn't offer anything substantial to lift the weight of suspicion off of him, Tess didn't want to make a decision on it just yet. She wasn't sure how much of an actor Rojol was, but his protestations seemed rather convincing.

When the questioning came to an end, Tess met Rayek's eyes. It was almost as if she could read all of the different thoughts in his mind. She couldn't, really, but she knew him so well. Directing her gaze back on Rojol, Tess finally spoke up. "The evidence is incriminating towards you. I will impose further investigation into this, but you will be confined to your quarters until further notice." She nodded at the security detail that have been waiting near the door.

It was not without protest that Rojol was escorted out, but finally Tess and Rayek were alone. She regarded him for a long moment before she let out a heavy sigh. "Well, that was ... unexpected", she commented and sat back down in her chair, rubbing her palms over her face for a moment. She then lifted her gaze back up to Rayek. "You are absolutely sure it was Rojol's authorization code you saw in Lared's mind? I couldn't have been something else?"

[Rayek tr'Lhoell]

Cmdr. Rayek tr'Lhoell
[USS Amalthea - Deck One - Briefing Room]

Tess' decision was far less that Rayek thought the man deserved.  Verlock was dead because of this worthless sack of ryakna.  Rayek could recall several times that Rojol had seemed to hesitate responding to his orders in what he'd suspected was disrespect.  At the time, Rayek hadn't pursued action against the man... now he wished he had.  Maybe if he'd investigated the man then none of this would have happened!  But that was a 'what if'.  He had to accept the consequences of his inaction now - and try not to repeat the same error.

After Rojol was escorted to his quarters, Rayek was prepared to argue to stronger measures, but Tess queried him about what he'd seen in Lared's memory.

"There is no doubt.  It was his code.  I could show you my recall of Lared's memory, if you wish." Rayek offered but he doubted that was what Tess truly wanted. Unfortunately, Rayek couldn't give Tess the 110% assurance.  The fact was that the culprit was a pro at computer hacking so any concrete evidence that might have otherwise been available to them had been wiped clean.

Which prompted his next comment.

"Captain. I appreciate your hesitancy to think the worst of your fellow officer, even with him being Romulan; but if you insist on merely 'House Arrest' rather than time in the brig, as Security Chief, I must request that his access to any and all computers be not just revoked but the units removed from his quarters - including the replicator unit.  As a Tal'Shiar operative, there is little he is not trained to gain access to and make use of lethally, given enough time."