By Salvek
100714.2100
After Quest for the Truth
-=Vulcan=-
100714.2100
After Quest for the Truth
-=Vulcan=-
“We need to get back to the ship. We don’t have much time.” Zander said, as soon as Salvek finished reading the note. Both men knew if someone went to all the trouble of delivering it, there must have been a damn good reason. However, the recess was only planned to be three hours long before Salvek’s inquiry would resume, and they had wasted a third of it being dragged around unconscious.
Salvek tapped the communicator on his chest, and requested a transport back to the Alchemy.
-=Alchemy=-
After the two men materialized directly on the bridge, they each took up adjoining stations. Gira Lassiter frowned at their abrupt and silent arrival.
“Everything ok?” She asked, poking her head over their shoulders to see what they were doing.
“Our time is short.” Salvek answered. He didn’t means to be rude, he simply could not afford the time to be pleasant. Gira let them be, figuring if they were acting like they were in a great rush, that they probably really were.
“Have you ever heard of K’Shara Industries?” Zander asked. The name gnawed at him, like he should remember it. It was the same sort of feeling a person gets when they know there is something important they were supposed to remember, they just can’t remember what it actually was.
“Never,” Salvek answered. He linked the Alchemy with the central computer on Vulcan, to being their search for information. “I’ll look for the company, you look for any ancillary links, such as partners or subsidiaries they may have.”
As he ran his searches, Salvek became more disturbed by the results, or lack of them. There appeared to be no public face for this company. No way to contact them from the outside. Certainly they existed, but only mentioned in passing. No press releases, no employment opportunities postings, no articles from the media, nothing you would expect from a public company.
“I’ve got something, maybe…” Zander said. “They are listed as a consultant to the Vulcan government’s medical research division. The same group our friend Savol works for. But that is all. Nothing about why they were retained or who their contact is. And this information has not been updated in over three years.”
“Is there a contact with the government? Maybe if we can speak to them it will help.”
Zander nodded his head, and pointed to the name on the screen. “I can hail him right now.” Zander reached for the keypad to access the communications system, but Salvek stopped him.
“Not from Starfleet. Give me a few minutes.” Salvek left the bridge, while Zander went back to the computers to look for more information. A few moments later he returned. His Starfleet uniform was gone, and he wore civilian attire in its place. A light top with interlocking shades of tan and light blue.
Salvek positioned himself so that as he spoke this Director Vilosh with the Vulcan Medical Research Council, all the director would see behind him would be a blank wall. He hopped that was enough to convince the man he was not speaking to Starfleet, but simply to a concerned citizen.
“Open the channel.” Salvek ordered.
Zander nodded, and a moment later a frighteningly thin elder Vulcan appeared on the screen.
“This is Vilosh. To whom am I speaking?”
“I am Salvek. I was hoping you may have a moment to answer a few questions.”
Vilosh nodded slowly. “The government is always open to questions from its citizens. What are your concerns?”
“I’ve discovered a site where a K’Shara Industries is listed as a consultant to the Vulcan Medical Research Council. Yet, I cannot seem to find any public records of what they do or why the Government chose to retain their services. Do you have any knowledge?”
Vilosh’s small and very thin eyes seemed to widen for just a bit. “They have assisted us with research. Research that I am sorry to say is classified.”
“I thought you said the government was always open to questions?” Salvek retorted.
“Open to questions, just not necessarily answers,” Vilosh said. “It is sometimes necessary to protect secrets, for the greater good.”
Salvek backed away from the screen. He could have began a philosophical argument about the merits of keeping things hidden from the public, but he did not have the time, nor did he think it would get him anywhere.
“There is probably little point in questioning you on this further, is there?” He said finally.
“I would be happy to listen to any other questions you may have.” Vilosh offered, completely unhelpfully.
“That will not be necessary. Good day.” Salvek closed the channel and immediately turned to Zander. “At least we know now that the affiliation was there and the work done was serious enough to warrant it being classified. Our efforts are not in vain.”
Zander rolled back from his console, inviting Salvek to take a look. “While you were talking something came to mind. T’Dara’s Starfleet application. I recalled scanning over it while I was going through her records before the hearing.”
Zander pointed at the screen, where Salvek saw the words “K’Shara Industries.”
“According to this she listed it as previous experience and education, saying only that she participated in an advanced biological research study. Starfleet queried her for more information while processing her application but was specifically told by the Vulcan government that the research was classified, but that they would vouch for the years served on her behalf to help her gain acceptance into Starfleet medical. It’s all in the report here.”
Zander clicked onto another screen to show Salvek the additional information. The Vulcan stood up straight, as pieces began falling into place in his mind. Unfortunately the pieces he had only formed the border of a much larger image.
“You want to read the comments from the Vulcan ambassador very carefully.” Zander continued. “It says that T’Dara participated in a research project. Not that she ran it or helped run it, but that she participated. That seems to tell me that she was a subject of the project.”
Salvek read the words for himself and came to the same conclusion. It was possible they were just misinterpreting the Ambassador’s words, or simply grasping at straws, but there was only one way to know for sure. “We need to speak with the family again.”
-=Residence of T’Dara’s family, Vulcan=-
T’Far, brother of T’Dara, answered the door this time. Without being asked, he simply stepped aside and allowed Salvek and Blakeslee to enter the home.
“Mother, father… Commander Salvek of Starfleet has returned.” T’Far closed the door behind them and waited for his parents to enter the room. When they did, neither Verkola nor Savel seemed particularly surprised or pleased to see Salvek had returned.
“Forgive us for the intrusion, but I require information that may shed new light upon the matter of T’Dara’s death.” Salvek said. He noted the T’Far was glancing almost angrily in his father’s direction, as if he knew exactly what Salvek was going to say before he even said it.
Zander took the opportunity to introduce himself formally, despite knowing the family was well aware of who he was. “My name is Commander Zander Blakeslee. I’m representing Commander Salvek in this matter, and we’ve uncovered a name that may or not have some meaning to you. Have you ever heard of an organization called K’Shara Industries?”
T’Far immediately turned on his father, his jaw set square. “I told you not to let her go, father!”
“T’Far, please.” His mother rested a loving hand upon her son’s chest, and the impassioned young man stepped back into his place. It was quite clear T’Far had a long way to go in his training, though Salvek doubted the young man had much interest in completing the Kholinar.
“My daughter received an offer from them, yes. They were looking for the brightest young minds to participate in a research project.”
“As a Doctor or a patient?” Zander asked.
“They offered her the chance for early admissions to Starfleet Medical if she helped them with their research. They wanted to study her.”
Zander held his arms behind his back, asking the next question very gently. “I know this must be difficult to discuss, but do you remember anything about the project? What they were studying? Who her contact was? Perhaps another participant?”
“I’m sorry,” Savel lowered his head. “She was not allowed to discuss any of it.”
“Was she compensated for her time?” Salvek asked.
“The experience credit and early admission was her compensation.”
“The meals, father.” T’Far interjected. “She had to travel to the city for her tests. She never told me where, but she told me they gave her a few credits a day to cover her meals since she had to eat at the local restaurants.”
“Do you have access to her accounts? Could I see where the deposits came from?” Zander asked.
“Of course,” Verkola said quickly, before her husband could object. She proceeded to a terminal and input the codes to retrieve T’Dara’s account on the screen. She then stepped aside so Zander could review the records himself. He scrolled back until he found a large grouping of very small deposits. The fund source was merely a number, but it was better than nothing. He copied the information down, and turned to look at Salvek, and then the family.
“Unless you have any other information, I believe we’ve taken up enough of your time.” Zander said, as he moved to stand beside Salvek. T’Far moved to open the door for their guests. Salvek nodded to each member of the family respectfully before stepping from their home.
Once clear of the home, Zander turned towards Salvek. "I have an idea what we are looking for. Vulcan female, possibly part of a medical experiment, dies quite suddenly as a result of a rapidly advancing untreated episode of Pon Farr. That can't be a coincidence. What if they did something to her that accelerated this event? If they did, they would have all the reason in the world to want to cover it up."
-=Alchemy=-
Salvek waited patiently as Zander began running the account number through the Vulcan data net. He crossed the bridge, and came up behind Gira Lassiter.
“Have you heard from the Serendipity?”
“Not yet.” She shook her head. Salvek could tell she wanted to be anywhere but here. He could understand, he felt the same way. As the seconds ticked by he hoped Zander would find some sort of smoking gun that would clear him so he could simply be done with this mess and return to Earth to seek his family.
“Very well, contact Starfleet Command and request an update on their status.”
“Yes sir,” Gira said, more than happy to obey the order.
“Anything?” He asked, returning to Zander’s side.
“Yeah, the code is from a Ferengi intermediary. They run a small operation on Vulcan, handling the transfer of interplanetary funds. Most likely for clients that want to work with the Vulcan’s without actually needing to face the Vulcans.” Zander sighed. “They aren’t going to give up the source of their funds easily.”
“Can we subpoena the records? As part of the investigation?"
“We’d have a difficult time making the argument that they are necessary for an inquiry into your own judgment as a Starfleet Commander. Perhaps if commander Jars throws his weight around, along with something else.” Zander shrugged.
Salvek tilted his head to the side, confused. “What else?”
“What else does a Ferengi want?” Zander prodded.
“Are you suggesting we bribe them?” Salvek asked, clearly not enamored with the idea.
“I’m suggesting you stay here on the ship for a half an hour or so, while I meet up with Commander Jars, and we go on a fact finding mission."
********************************************************
Commander Salvek
First Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
Commander Salvek
First Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012