Chapter 131. Data leakage, Otis is furious
"An interesting question, isn't it?" He was surprised at his calmness, even though his heart was still pounding. "Obviously the distance between us has been reduced, so we can connect now." He added a brief, forced smile, "How are you doing?"
"Thanks. Um... not bad." She answered hesitantly, looking around her room. Ingmar wasn't sure what she was looking for, and it might have been outside the camera's range. "And you?"
"It's okay. I just received your message."
"Okay," she said simply, as if she could barely remember. Did she no longer care about what she had said against him?
"You've accused me of a lot of things and I want to clear the air," he began, as she didn't respond proactively. "I must say, I'm..."
"Wait," she interrupted. "It's a little inconvenient right now. We can't wait until another time..."
"You accuse me of not telling you everything, but what are you doing yourself?" he exploded angrily. "When did you have a boyfriend?"
Shu Ran looked at him with wide eyes, as if she had been caught red-handed. It took her some time to answer. "Who said such a thing?"
"That's what I heard," he answered evasively.
"Are you stalking me?" she asked instead of answering his question.
"That's ridiculous," he said through gritted teeth. "Now tell me the truth."
"Are you crazy," she replied, beginning to grow angry as well. "We have broken up. There is no need for me to tell you every detail of my private life. Do you want to control me?"
Ingmar didn't know what to believe anymore. His anger suddenly disappeared. Had he wrongly accused her? Did you receive false information? He felt quite ridiculous.
Before he could respond, he heard a male voice behind Shu Ran: "Are you okay, honey?"
Ingmar felt like he had been punched hard. How could this be true? Shu Ran once again made him feel guilty. And she was just manipulating him again.
"I'll be right back," she responded to the male voice, and then looked at the camera again. "Yes, I have a boyfriend," she admitted. "I wanted to tell you too. But I wanted to make sure."
These words seemed to come from a far away place, as if his head was wrapped in cotton and he couldn't hear clearly. It wasn't until much later that he realized the implications. "But shouldn't friends tell each other before they're sure?" he asked almost mechanically. "Before you're sure?"
"Ingmar, we can talk later," she said softly, but also a little hastily. She clearly didn't want to talk about it publicly while her boyfriend was around.
"No," he said angrily, his eyes sparkling with rage. "I don't want to have anything to do with you anymore. Don't bother me again, and don't contact me again." He cut off the connection before she could respond. Staring at the dark screen with rage, he knew he had lost her completely. Even the so-called friendship with her ended. But he also knew that this was better.
A highly focused Noah sat in front of his dormitory, facing his tablet, looking at the data they had brought back from the planet's surface. He was not a scientist like Jeffrey, but he had always been interested in science and had done well in those subjects at the academy, even though that was decades ago. Still, he always felt like he understood most of what the scientists were saying and made sense of most of the data. However, with these data, he reached his limit and had to admit that he could not participate in all discussions.
At first, he was very sure of the measurements. The ubiquitous particle residue is a clear indication of the presence of antimatter. But as he dug deeper into the data, the situation became more confusing and less clear to him. There were patterns and values that he had never seen before and therefore couldn't explain. It's like a giant puzzle, but the pieces definitely don't fit together, like they don't come from the same painting.
Celia had a similar experience. She reported to him that the biological data she recorded actually contained traces of DNA. It's rare, but enough to prove that there are Cindy and human deaths in this place. However, she was unable to determine how many Sindy individuals lost their lives, or which Sindy species they belonged to. Additionally, there were some data that she couldn't explain. Because some DNA traces belong to neither humans nor Cindy. At least not entirely. Although Cindy's values are somewhat similar to these values. Of course, it is also possible that local creatures were also affected by the explosion and died. It's also possible that Cindy has pets that are affected. There are many possible explanations, but these cannot be confirmed or denied without Cindy's cooperation.
This is where the problem lies. Noah doesn't want to give the data to Cindy yet. Because this can be inferred about the amount of antimatter released by the explosion. This in turn could be interpreted as Starfleet having something to do with the event. He doesn't want to deliver the data yet until he gets confirmation from Isaac that Starfleet is not missing the antimatter. Therefore, he delayed the data transfer.
The doorbell interrupted his thoughts. He looked over in confusion. He takes a moment to orient himself and then let visitors in. Since no one had informed him beforehand, he could only hope that this unexpected visitor wouldn't bring any bad news.
However, the visitor who now walks through the door is anything but unpleasant. And he didn't seem to be bringing any bad news. He relaxed and a smile appeared on his face.
"Hello, Tiny," he greeted his daughter.
"Hi, Dad." She walked towards him and looked at him seriously.
Her expression worried him a bit and his smile disappeared. "What happened?"
"That's what I meant to ask you," she replied. "You haven't shown up since we came to this planet. You haven't even contacted me. I'm a little worried about you. Is there so much going on that you don't have time at all? Or is it so serious that you don't even have time to relax? one time?"
He was touched by her concern, and he had to admit that she was right. He forgot to say hello to her, too caught up in the problem. However, he couldn't forget that he also needed some relaxation to stay fully engaged. Talking to Tiny will definitely help with relaxation. And she can save herself some worries.
He smiled guiltily. “I do get very busy here,” he admits. "But that's not an excuse to ignore the only family I have."
"That's not the problem," she shook her head. "The question is about you. And whether you can continue to take on this responsibility without overloading yourself. Because no one can solve problems alone."
Noah tilted his head and looked at her from below. Then an idea flashed through his mind. Don't all parents have to be confronted by their own children with clever advice like this at some point?
"What's wrong?" She interrupted his thoughts.
He blinked slightly and then waved. "I'm not alone in this," he said in response to her concerns about him. "Captain Carol is also helping me, as is the rest of the crew, everyone is involved in some way or another."
She relaxed slightly. "That would be great. Maybe..."
She didn't have time to continue because Dre Ingmar's voice came from the speakers. "Admiral, Captain, please go to the bridge immediately." The urgency in these words is self-evident.
Noah sighed and looked at his daughter. "Sorry, we'll have to wait until another time to continue our conversation."
"My father, the Admiral. Always busy," she rolled her eyes playfully. "But maybe you still have time to have dinner with me."
"Of course," he said quickly, standing up. Then he held her in his arms and held her tight for a moment. He kissed her forehead before letting her go. "I love you," he whispered. "I'm leaving." He hurriedly left his apartment and walked through the corridor to the elevator. He silently thought about what happened. Why was he summoned to the bridge so eagerly? Could it be something new about the investigation? Or is Isaac confirming that Starfleet is missing antimatter?
He did not have much time to speculate, for less than a minute after he left his residence he had reached the bridge. He hurried to the command chair, where Carol was already waiting.
"What happened?" he asked.
"Otis has just contacted. He seems quite angry and demands that you proceed to his ship immediately," she reported. "And only you."
An uneasy feeling settled in his stomach. Did Otis learn about the crew's records? Or is he just angry that he still hasn't gotten any data from the Republic after his trip to the planet's surface? In any case, he would soon find out.
"Is he still on the call?" Noah asked.
"No," Carol shook her head. "He spoke briefly, asking you to board his ship immediately, and then disconnected. It didn't look like he wanted to get into a long conversation at all."
Noah took a deep breath. "Okay," then said. "Tell Cindy I'll get on their ship."
"Do you think this is a good idea?" Carol stopped him again before he walked to the elevator. "I'm not too keen on it."
"Me too," he admitted. "But I had no choice. I had promised Otis Starfleet's cooperation and spoken of mutual trust. How could I go back on my word under the circumstances? Not only would I have put the mission in trouble, but I would have affected the entire Federation . No, I have to go."
Carol nodded in understanding. Taking responsibility sometimes means doing things you don’t want to do. And these things can get pretty dangerous. But they all decided on this career and the goal of reaching Starfleet leadership. "Good luck," she said simply.
"Thanks," Noah nodded, then turned and left the bridge, heading for the teleportation room.
A few minutes later, he stood in front of Otis' ship. Five humanoid Cindy stood around him, holstering their weapons and staring angrily at him. This is how they are received. Although no one had yet told him that these men were guards to protect him, it was obvious.
"Admiral," Otis greeted somewhat coldly. "The fact that you came in person says a lot about your attitude. Maybe it's just stupidity. Well, we'll see."
Noah still doesn't know what Otis wants. So he looked at him with some confusion. "What happened?" he asked.
Otis seemed about to respond sharply, but swallowed it and walked away. "Follow me," he said in a commanding tone.
Noah did as he was told and followed Otis down the corridor to the room they had last visited. Five guards followed closely, staring closely at Noah. Noah wasn't sure if their presence was more of a nuisance than the reptilian creatures on the planet. Because it seems reasonable for those aggressive reptiles to serve as guards. But for Cindy in human form, that doesn't seem right. It ruined Noah's impression of the peaceful image of the race.
Otis took him to a computer terminal and retrieved some data. "You were on this planet a few hours ago and you still haven't given us the data you got," Otis scolded. "We have an agreement to share all data. We also provide you with a lot of information. But you keep your data. The crawlers think you have found something incriminating, so you don't want to share the data . I must admit, I gradually began to believe this." He looked at Noah coldly. For him, disappointment in humanity was tinged with anger. Angry that he was willing to trust humans. He really hoped that cooperation with the Federation would achieve something. But reality seems to have educated him for the better.
"Mr. Otis," Noah said in a calm tone. "We didn't mean to..."
"Save your words," Otis interrupted coldly. Noah's justification alone disgusted him and confirmed his fears. "There's more going on than just uncommitted data." He turned to the computer again and pulled up some data. "The Aquatic Cindy intercepted an encrypted message sent by your ship. The Insect Cindy decrypted it. They were very efficient at decrypting. And what they found was alarming. Based on the data you obtained from the planet, They determined the amount of antimatter used in the explosion. And that number matched the inventory on your ship. You immediately reported this fact to your superiors. Yet you tried to conceal these findings."
"If you have intercepted and analyzed communications with headquarters, you must have also noticed that I asked if we were lacking any antimatter here," Noah said, trying to correct the situation.
"Just because you may not know this, doesn't mean the Federation isn't involved. Maybe you're just a scapegoat who's kept in the dark in order to credibly claim innocence here." There was almost an edge to his voice. Mercy for Noah. But this does not change his attitude towards the Federation.
"But that's not proof, just a coincidence of numbers." Noah tried to sound confident. He never wanted to bow before Cindy. Because he has no crime to answer for.
Otis responded mockingly: "A strange coincidence. Especially since there was another coincidence. In the basement of a nearby building we found some teleportation pods specifically designed to transport antimatter. These teleportation pods From Starfleet. And they're empty." He pulled up the data, and six transport pods appeared on the screen side by side. Six long tubular containers, each about as tall as a human. Normally, the antimatter inside them is held in place by energy fields to avoid contact with matter, which would trigger an immediate chain reaction. But the energy displays of these vessels indicate that they have been closed. They are empty and the antimatter inside has disappeared. Noah immediately recognized the containers as Starfleet transport boxes. There are large logos on each side, and the entire design is in line with Starfleet style. These vessels are either genuine or very good forgeries. But you can't tell from the screen display.
"These must be yours, right?" For Otis, there was no doubt about the ownership of it all.
Noah was so surprised that he couldn't say any more for a moment. What could he say? He knew very well that in Cindy's eyes, the current clues were indeed very clear, and the accusations against the Federation were very serious. No matter what he said, nothing could change that. Besides, he couldn't help but wonder where these pods suddenly appeared from. The Federation does not trade these devices, which means they are impossible to purchase. And Otis says, where were they found? In the basement of a nearby building? Why didn't they check until now? More than two weeks after the disaster. Could it be that Cindy's first investigation was so hasty that she ignored this? For Noah, this was almost unimaginable, so he asked the corresponding questions.
"Our exploration of this planet so far has been very limited," Otis explained. He wanted Noah to understand that he shouldn't expect Cindy to make mistakes here. "At first, the Crawling Cindy controlled the planet and kept us out of contact, then the Aquatic Cindy took over control. They offered to wait for your arrival. Therefore, we have had little chance to investigate so far." For Otis , which seems to be a sufficient explanation.
Noah was very unhappy about this. But he chose to remain silent. Refuting seems pointless now. Otis is too angry to listen to reasonable arguments. And Noah himself had some doubts about it. There appears to be too much support for the federal charges and too little evidence to refute them. As hard as it was for him to believe it, it was true.
"What do you say in your defence?" asked Otis. Apparently, these were all the clues he had.
Noah hesitated, then replied, "I want to analyze the data myself. Only then can I judge the authenticity of the evidence."
A displeased smile appeared on Otis's face. "Do you really think we will give you this data? Why would we do this? You didn't give us your data." His expression showed that he had lost trust in Noah.
Noah sighed and looked at each other. "It's a shame things have come to this," he said candidly. "Regardless of what happened, if this was indeed an attack, the perpetrators have achieved their goal of preventing a shared future between Cindy and the Federation. The terrorists have prevailed."
"Save your big words," Otis growled. "Everything here is the responsibility of you humans, don't try to hide it from me!"
