FOI request

Posted on Tue Nov 27, 2018 @ 3:17am by Lieutenant Annora Tessaro & Civilian 'Key Holder' Yolanthe Ibalin

1,211 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Doors of Perception
Location: Main security, Deck
Timeline: Day 2 07:00 hrs

[ON]

As Annora appeared from the turbo lift outside the Main security office, a young man peeled himself off the wall and fell into step beside her. "Lieutenant Tessaro? Daniel Reyes, Federation Network News. I'd like to ask some questions about some open cases on your books?"

While she didn't particularity like dealing with the media, Annora understood their importance. One thing that stood out from her media relations class was treat all encounters as on the record. Putting on a smile, she continued towards her office.

"I'll do what I can. Which cases in particular?"

Reyes fell into step beside her. "The Ferengi attache, Nazl. He was found stabbed outside the Box of Delights some time ago, but as far as I can tell, you've made no announcements, or arrests, despite several very obvious suspects."

She wished he had chosen an easier incident to defend, but Annora had little control over the direction the conversation took.

"We don't make a habit of publicizing every aspect of ongoing investigations. That being said, we try and update the population when a major case is solved. In this case, the stabbing still remains unsolved. As you said, there were several suspects but there wasn't enough evidence to charge anyone."

Unsolved cases were never liked, but she felt it important to tell the truth.

"I've heard that the security systems in the vicinity of the Box were switched off at the time of the murder. Who gave that order?"


Funny how word got around, but on a station this large she knew many secrets would be hard to keep. "There was an issue with the security systems, although I'm not aware of any specific orders turning them off."

"There's been a lot of problems with security recently. What's going on there.?" Daniel held put his recording pen, "Care to put a statement on the record?"

A lot had come out of both the internal and external audit of security procedures, most of which she wasn't going to share with the public. "You are correct there have been several security breeches recently. We are just as concerned, if not more, than the general public. We have identified several security gaps and are actively taking measures to close them. Expect to see more security patrols on the promenade and docking rings. We are also working with the ambassadors to beef up security in the diplomatic sector while allowing them to maintain a comfortable level of autonomy."

"Thank you," Daniel gave her a smile. "And going back to the murder of Nazl. Given he was implicated in the kidnap of Federation citizens and there are rumors of sexual assault against Commander Ryan's daughter, what steps have you taken to ascertain his whereabouts at the time of the murder?"

Annora returned the smile. "You know what they say about rumors. As for Commander Ryan, he was not lead investigator on the case. We have found no evidence linking him to the murder."

She doubted he would be sloppy enough to leave the body in such a public location if he indeed was involved, but wasn't going to admit that to the reporter.

"So you did interview him?" Reyes pressed "And you interviewed his daughter?"

"Standard procedure was followed, which includes interviewing all possible suspects. As I said, the Commander was cleared. As was his daughter."

Reyes looked thoughtful. "So what leads are you following now. Or do you intend to leave the murder of a member of a diplomatic mission unsolved?"


That was on her list of items not to reveal to the press, and she told him as much. "I don't make a habit of telling the general public specific details of investigations, especially those cases still open. I don't intend to leave any murder on this station unsolved. The death of Nazl is still something we are looking into, including investigating any credible leads. While it would be ideal to quickly solve all murders, the reality is that doesn't always happen."

"Do you have any credible leads, Lieutenant?" Reyes tried to look innocent, and didn't quite succeed.

"As I said, this is an ongoing investigation. We have some leads we're looking into, yes. If an arrest is made, the public will be made aware of it."

"You don't have any more leads, do you?" he countered. "You can be honest with me Lieutenant. Maybe I can help stir people's memories, get someone to come forward?"

Done correctly, a public plea could prove useful. When with the 129th, they were able to track down a wanted Naussican due to tips from a concerned citizen. "We always welcome tips from the public. If someone feels they have relevant information to this case, or any other, they are welcome to leave a message on a secure channel. Or they can stop by the Criminal Investigation Office to file a report in person."

"Have you spoken to Dorian Gabriel?" Reyes pressed again. "He is well known to be anti-aliens, and knows his way around security."

While the reporter was correct in his assessment of Mr Gabriel, Annora had to be careful how she responded to the question. She didn't want to suggest he was being singled out for his views.

"I've talked with him yes, along with several other prominent civilians. If you want more information, I suggest you talk to him about it." She wasn't about to run down her entire list of suspects. Commander Ryan was an exception, due to this his Starfleet connection. As for Dorian, he was an obvious suspect among the civilian population. At present there was no hard evidence, but he remained a person of interest.

"What about other evidence? Did you recover any DNA evidence? Or ever find the murder weapon?" Reyes wasn't going to go away. There was way to much dithering over this investigation. He smelt a story.

"We found evidence, yes. We know where and how he was killed. As with all cases, we do all we can to analyze the evidence for clues as to a suspect. That's all I'm going to publicly say about the case, so unless you have questions about other topics I need to get to work." The who and why were often the harder parts of any criminal investigation, and this was no exception.

Reyes didn't get out of her way. "Did Commander Ryan kill Nazl as revenge for the rumored assault on his daughter? Is security covering it up?"

Now the reporter was getting more pushy than the security chief was comfortable with. "Mr Reyes, I have already answered your question about Commander Ryan. Two times in fact. If you truly believe there's a coverup, I suggest you talk to Internal Affairs. Their job is to investigate things like that."

Reyes, gave her a beatific smile, as if she'd just given up all her secrets. "Thank you for your time, Lieutenant. I look forward to hearing of any progress you make."


Once the reporter was out of the security offices, Annora sent a short message to Commander Soran & Ryan as well as IA about the incident. That way no one was blindsided once the news report hit the airwaves.

Off:

Daniel Reyes
FNN reporter
NPC by Soran

&

Annora Tessaro
Chief of Security
DS5

 

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