Locking Up The Keys
Posted on Friday 21 September 2018 @ 01:22 by Lieutenant JG Saren Barel & Lieutenant Marbim Rejal
Mission:
The New Collective
Location: Holo-Research Lab
Timeline: After The Calvary Arrives, Act III
2596 words - 5.2 OF Standard Post Measure
There was a slight lull in activity that allowed for Saren to step away from the primary science station. Most weapons had been modulated and set and staff was sent to do a deck by deck check to find the stragglers. There was something bugging Saren and he needed some help to work it out before they engaged the Borg.
Tapping his communicator he said, "Lieutenants O'Hara, Rejal, this is Lieutenant Barel. I need your assistance in the Holo-Research Lab. And before you ask, yes it is important to the current situation."
Miles will smile as he hears this, "On my way Saren, just remind Stephanie to bring the whiskey." Although it might get him in trouble, just the smile alone that the comment had created made him fell better. Standing up, Miles moves over to a computer station. With a few simple commands he has the computer beam him to his room, and then to the doors of the Lab. Once he materializes, anyone in sight can see that he has a Cardassian disruptor pistol and a clearly Klingon made fighting spear in his hands. He also has an infectious grin on his face, like a kid caught with their hand in a cookie jar.
"I heard that, Rejal!" O'Hara responded over the open comm link. "An' I resent ya insinuatin' tha' I'm drunk on duty." Her tone held none of her trademarked jovial animosity. "This had bloody well better be important Saren. I'm in th' middle o' recalibratin' th' dorsal shield emitter..."
A short time later, O'Hara arrived at the lab and said "Ya have two minutes to peak my interest. If ya don', I'm goin' back t' the shields."
As soon as he sees Chief O'Hara his grin gets even bigger, "I'm not insinuating that you, or we drink on duty, however, whatever Saren is plotting probably will need some whiskey drunk once we are done!"
Once Marbin and Stephanie arrived, he politely nodded to them and said, "Let's get down to business, we all have a lot to do. When it was first announced we were getting an ICOS system, I did some baseline readings in space dock before the ICOS system was uploaded and installed. I then checked the system with it installed. For the most part, few differences in the systems. However, there is one that the Borg can manipulate, even if you isolate systems like you suggested Lieutenant O'Hara. "
He paused a moment and then continued, "In a ship without the ICOS system, primary systems report back to sensors. Then if the sensors detect anything wrong, they raise an alert. In a manner of speaking, the sensors act as a firewall. Given that the ICOS system is supposed to engage its AI automatically under certain parameters, the ICOS must poll the systems directly. Given a standard sensor would add time to the process, the ICOS system polls the primary systems directly acting not only as AI but as the sensor as well to save time. This is not problematic in most situations. The Borg are the first exception we have encountered."
Looking at Stephanie he says, "You, with your input jack, could also probably be more problematic as well. I have reviewed many encounters with the Borg. After a Borg ship scans a vessel, it then starts to bombard it with numerous computer attacks. If the right code were sent, when the ICOS polls the system, the Borg could reply and gain complete control and not only access systems, but it could also turn the ICOS against us."
Miles plays with his beard, humming something then says, "Why cant we do the same thing back to the Borg. I realize that they may hold the upper hand when it comes to hacking and coding, but what if we had a way to counteract their attempts, or a way for Stephanie to jack into the cube and mess with them? I realize I may sound crazy, but, hackers exist today and thus why we need firewalls, if we treat the Borg like hackers, lets hack them..."
Stephanie turned on Miles. "D' ya know how a data port works, Mista Rejal?" She asked. Her voice had knuckles in it. "This thing is wired inta m' brain. That much raw data floodin' inta m' skull would turn m' grey matter inta pureed cabbage and send it oozin' out m' ears. So ye'll forgive me if I'm in no bloody hurry t' do th' frontal lobe tango with th' Collective." She stopped an took a deep, cleansing breath before she walked over to the replicator in the room and said "Mocha Raktajino, double strong." She stood in silence for a moment as she took a sip and then continued.
"I'm a hacker," Stephanie began. "I'll guarantee ya that there's na a single person on this ship who knows more about comm systems than I do." She looked to Saren. "Borg encryption codes rearrange themselves on th' fly. They're damn near impossible to hack." She rubbed her chin for a moment. "Imagine, if ya will, a door with a keypad entry. T' unlock th' door, ya need t' have a million digit code. Except ten times a second, the code randomizes, the numbers on th' keypad switch positions, an th' language th' keypad is in changes... an' all o' this happens with no discernable pattern. Ya could set every computer in Starfleet t' work at th' task an' ya'd still na be able t' keep up." She sipped her coffee and thought about it. "It sounds like our best bet is t' remove th' ICOS from th' equation..." She trailed off and began mumbling to herself. "We can' do that.. it's too far integrated inta ships systems.. but." She slammed her mug down on the table sloshing Klingon coffee on her sleeve. She didn't seem to care. "We can' remove th' ICOS. Let's change how it gets it's input!"
Miles holds his hands up in submission, then he gets an odd look on his face. Turning to look at Saren he says one word, "Bynars." The both Stephanie and Saren can almost see the gears working, "Bynars can think that fast, maybe even faster, has any ever approached them about hacking into a Borg cube, if nothing else to download the stellar information they have, and maybe ways to get through their technology, or even implant a virus into their collective..."
"An' where d' ya propose we find Bynars all the way out here? Are ya keepin' a pair in your back pocket?" Stephanie asked... "An' would they even agree t' help?"
Saren shakes his head and says, "Lieutenant Rejal, you are missing the point entirely. On a conceptual level, I tend to like the idea of being able to get as much information about an enemy as possible. But, the issue at hand isn't subterfuge. The issue at hand is modifying the ICOS system so the Borg can't use the design oversight at hand to hack us. And we need to do it, without slowing the system down."
"Then it'd make sense that as such, we go straight to th' horse's mouth," O'Hara said. "Computer. Activate ICOS avatar."
There was a shimmer in the center of the room as the Morgan avatar rippled it's way into existence.
"ICOS online," She said as she looked around at the three and rested her gaze on O'Hara. "Well isn't this a motley crew. Shouldn't you be fixing the ship instead of playing with Holograms?"
Stephanie rolled her eyes. "Exactly what we need. An' interface with an attitude. As if m' day hasn't been filled wit' enough unbridled joy." She sighed heavily and looked from Miles to Saren. "Maybe this wasn't as good an idea as I thought it would be." She then locked her eyes on to Morgan. "Now listen here ya photonic misfit. There's work t' do an we've na th' time nor inclination t' deal with yer sass."
Morgan chuckled and said in a sing-song voice "Sticks and stone will break my bones..."
Stephanie scowled at the avatar. A hologram was getting her goat. She had to relax the fist that she wasn't even aware she was balling up. "Computer, Activate ICOS diagnostic mode. Voice Authorization: O'Hara-Whiskey-Tango-Four-Two-Pink."
Morgan's avatar fritzed out momentarily and reappeared standing stock straight, and staring vacantly at a fixed point 5 feet in front of the bridge of it's nose.
"That's better." O'Hara said. She turned to Saren. "The Floor is yours, Lieutenant."
Saren looked at the Chief Engineer and said, "You do realize that the system will remember you shutting it up, so to speak. Even though we can over-ride the system, irritating AI is not the best idea. It's memory is different than just a standard log file."
Stephanie scoffed. "If she's an issue with it, I'll turn 'er inta th' village harlot in th' Camelot program f'r a week. That'll learn 'er."
"Regardless, we need to find a way to change the sensor relay communication", Saren continued. "I have a thought, but I do not know how time consuming it will be. We could re-program the system to receive all issues the way you or I would, ie, having a crew report it to the system. Then we leave only the medical system for it to check crew health for the command assumption process in its current state, but isolate it. Thoughts?"
"If yer goal is t' do it without slowin' down either ICOS or sensor response time, that's th' absolute wrong way t' be about it," Stephanie said before taking up her mug. She upended it and finished what ever hadn't sloshed out. On her way to put the cup back into the replicator she paused. "But I see where yer goin'. What if we could feed both systems th' data simultaneously?
"That sounds interesting. My question is how much 'power' will we need to make these changes. There is only so much, and overloading something in the middle of a fight, or dangerous section of space may leave us in trouble." Miles is busy looking at the hologram who isn't saying much, but the others can tell his mind is working on something.
"Well," O'Hara said. "I can do it with minimal system impact. I'd need six weeks in dry dock t' install and test a sensor subprocessor unit... An' it'd increase th' strain on Sarah by at least fifteen percent." She thought "Any solutions I could come up that will be easier on power consumption'll be murder f'r access time because it involves compressin' all th' sensor data inta a single data stream an' pushin' it t' two sources simultaneously." It's a loose/lose."
"I don't think the power consumption will be a major issues", Saren said. "The base ICOS system is designed to run 3 avatars and a communication sub-process for ship control. I think we can divert the power from one of the avatar processes during standard operation. When entering emergency mode, the sub-routine can be coded to stop the power use and the data stream processing as the ICOS will not need two streams when us mortals are indisposed. I've studied the interface coding. It is not a hard system to interface with, once we have our process streamlined.
"Ok, so where do we start first..," Miles turns to grin at O'Hara, "what parts of your plan can we start now, and then what parts of Sarens' can we either start or bring to fruition before finishing the other?"
Stephanie rolled her eyes at Miles. "Calm yer tits, boyo. There's procedure t' be observed. Before we conspire t' go muckin' about wit' th' ships main input systems, we need t' follow procedure an' submit a proposal t' th' XO." She ordered another Raktijino from the replicator in between sentences. "Right now this is all theoretical. We've na an accord or a solid plan on how t' make it work, an I'll na go t' th' Commander wit' my bare face hangin' out askin' fer permission t' poke th' ICOS with whatever random stick comes t' hand."
"Lieutenant O'Hara is correct", Saren said. "We need to map the plan out, but as a precaution, I do suggest that we give the recommendation to the Captain and XO that we do not engage in any clandestine data collection against the Borg."
Stephanie smirked at Saren. "Clandestine? Who? Me?" She laughed. "Ya make it sound like i've na already been tappin' their comm signals." She grinnned. "Sounds like ya just voulenteered t' write th' proposal." She chuckled. "Since it was yer idea. Miles is recoverin' from an injury an' I'm so far behind on my repair schedule, I'm in front of it. So what's yer plan?"
Snickering at how easy Stephanie has put this package into Saren's lap, Miles will also head for the food dispenser and order himself a double strong Raktijino for himself. After taking a long drag, MIles will cooly look at his two fellow 'conspirators' and ask, "How much trouble are we putting ourselves into that we didn't come up with this plan before, but seem to be putting this together after having our asses handed to us by the Borg?"
"Show me a captain who dosen' want their crew t' learn from their mistakes an' improve," Stephanie said flatly. "However, it doesn't matter what we learned if we can' come t' a consensus about how t' improve."
"Whether we had this plan before or after this encounter is not relevant", Saren replied, oddly finding the banter between the Chief Engineer and Chief Operations officer amusing. "Any ship would be in this condition if its shields were dropped mid-battle, regardless of our actions or in-actions. Regardless, I will document a proposal, give it to you all to review, and then we can meet with the XO. I will try to have something to you all by 0600 tomorrow. Is that acceptable to you all?"
"Sounds like a plan. I've got a shield emitter t' get back to, an' my girlfriend needs me." O'Hara said as she put her mug back into the replicator. "Perhaps ya've met 'er," Stephanie shot back. "She's amazin'ly sexy... 'Bout 20 meters tall, Silver and blue, full o' Dilithium... Goes by th' name o' Sarah."
Miles looks at Stephanie funny, "You named her Sarah ... I was thinking she was more of a Carrisa, but hey you call her what you want and i'll call her what I want. Like I said, I've got teams looking for that supposed breach in the Jefferies tubes, so if you want I can go start on the emitter so you and Sarah can have some quality one-on-one time..." He ends with a grins before taking another pull at his drink.
"Sarah was th' name o' th' first girl I had a crush on," Stephanie said simply, then refused to say any more on the subject. "If you Gentlemen don' have anathin' else f'r me, I've got three people's workloads t' do and not nearly enough time t' get it all done."
"Agreed", Saren replied with a nod. "I will keep you both updated."
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LTjg Stephanie O"Hara
Chief Engineer
USS Merlin
LTjg Marbim Rejal
Chief of Operations
USS Merlin
LTjg Saren Barel
Chief Science Officer
USS Merlin
