Sifting Through the Ashes

[Brian]

After leaving the bridge, Albert follows the lights for a distance to the Captain's room -- which is naturally located quite near the bridge.  Normally, only the resident of a room or a member of the security detail can access it, but rank hath its privelages.

The door slides open easily enough, revealing a small, somewhat cramped compartment.  There's a desk, everything on it neatly stuck in place despite the occasional lack of gravity, and behind that, a bed, and a locker for personal possesions.  The desk currently has a dataslate (turned off) and stylus on it, as well as something that looks rather like a momento of Eden.

A small crystal dome, filled with some heavy blue liquid and water, and higher than what might pass for a water-line, tiny mountain speckled with miniscule (but comically oversized, relative to the peak they're perched on) houses.

The chair is currently folded into the wall, and the bed is unmade -- and quite dusty, too.  Apparently the Captain used the restraint straps while sleeping, to resist the possibility of being jolted around in null gravity, because the straps are currently locked in place.

[Ebiris]

"Oh, God..." Albert grimaces at the locked down straps over the dusty bed, recalling Hale's statement regarding the fate of the crew.

"No disrespect intended, Ma'am," he manages, wrinkling his nose as he goes to investigate the locker, first.

[Brian]

The locker is full of clothing, mostly.  Captain Kim didn't have anything particularly effeminate, and most of her outfits were the standard-issue practical worksuits that the crew was given.  Each hosts a multitude of pockets.  Beyond that, there's a spare dataslate, which looks unused, and a heavy sweater that looks to be hand-made.

The only other thing in the locker is a carbiner, a piece of climbing equipment, without any rope.  It's about three inches across and looks to be made of heavy steel.

[Ebiris]

Not finding anything too helpful there, Albert goes to turn on the dataslate on the desk - probably it was the last thing the good captain ever worked on...

[Brian]

Jackpot!  The dataslate appears to be the captain's personal journal, according to the entry titles, which are all dates.  But, it's also password protected.  Hmm.

[Ebiris]

Albert briefly gives consideration to searching for any note of the password, but shelves that idea immediately. Anyone who legitimately reached the rank of captain wouldn't need to use the same methods he did.

"Hale," he speaks up, "How good are you at decryption?"

[Brian]

"I am sufficient to attempt translation of a previously unrecognized language," Hale offers.  "What do you need decrypted, Captain?"

[Ebiris]

"No, not translation, code-breaking," Albert clarifies.

[Brian]

Hale considers this.  "It seems unlikely that I can deduce the cipher that Captain Kim used to record her journal until it is interfaced directly with my own systems," Hale says after a moment.  "However, my sensors have recorded her entering it in the past.  The command word to log in is: 'Glasnost'."

[Ebiris]

"Well, that's handy," Albert remarks, making a mental note that Hale would betray him in an instant if he was no longer captain.

Holding up the datapad, he enters the requisite password.

[Brian]

After checking the label on the back of the dataslate, it reveals that the unit is using rod logic, and not standard electrical signals.  This does explain why it was able to retain records after ... whatever it was that happened.

The majority of the entries are lengthy, and insightful.  They also reveal quite a bit about the good captain.  She was a very demanding, unforgiving woman, and one who attempted to micromanage the ship completely.  Though, the entries also don't mention her having any suspicion about a mutiny or anything going wrong, right up until the last one:

Code Select Expand

I don't have much time left.  Scotts was leading them, and now he's sedated.  They shouldn't look for him in my quarters.  Hodges and that stupid EVA technician think they can change things, but what do they know?

There probably isn't much time left, but I've installed insurances that the crew's loyalty and life are both in my hands.  The signal strength isn't decreasing, and that means we need to act fast, bef
And it ends, just like that.

[Ebiris]

Albert raises an eyebrow and glances over at the bed, before starting slightly and jumping backwards, looking down at the floor where he just stood. She must have been standing right there...

But what to do with this information? He can hardly bring it to the attention of a superior officer, if the buck now stops with him. So what to do?

"Hale, if you were able to monitor the captain entering her password on a datapad, surely you'd be able to monitor people... I dunno, planning a mutiny?" he asks.

[Brian]

"Affirmative," Hale says.  "Monitoring of crew morale and maintaining awareness of the chain of command is very high on my list of priorities."

[Ebiris]

"And how long before the death of the first crew did you detect any evidence of a potential mutiny?"

[Brian]

"I have no records of crew arranging a mutiny," Hale says after a moment of thought.  "However, one of the memory modules is now known to be missing."