Security Officer’s Log Stardate 2401.12. The Tiro has arrived in system and has begun transferring its cargo to the Paramount. I and Hill have returned to the Paramount while T’Soni and Davidson remain aboard the Calgary to find anything else of importance before it is transported to Devron Fleet Yards for further investigation.

The computer systems lab was seldomly used. It had been created after the ship’s midlife refit and was comparable in size to the astrometrics lab aboard the USS Voyager, with a few added bonuses.

The lab was a square shaped room. At the center of the room was a crescent-shaped workstation that served as the main station in the room. It sat in front of a wall that hosted a large holographic display. Along the walls modular workstations were neatly integrated into the bulkhead. Each equipped with a compact monitor and touch panels for any technical task that might arise. Off in a corner was a slim data core that was independent of the ship’s main computer core. The column pulsed faintly as it processed terabytes of information.

At one of the modular workstations was Lieutenant Commander Hill. He tapped at the monitor as he tinkered with the Calgary‘s computer core trying to bypass its firewall to access the ship’s logs.

The doors to the room swished open and an Andorain woman about the same age as Lieutenant D’Antonio stepped inside. Looking around she noticed the man sitting at one of the workstations. “Commander,” she called to him.

Nothing.

She walked over to him as she tapped his shoulder and waited for his response.

Lieutenant Commander Hill hadn’t even noticed when she had walked in until she had tapped him. As he turned he instantly recognized the woman. “Ash,” he said excitedly. Chief Petty Officer Ashia zh’Rilnil had served under Hill during his time as chief operations officer of Starbase 219. He nearly fell as he jumped off his stole to embrace his old friend.

Chief zh’Rilnil reciprocated the hug as she squeezed him back. Letting herself melt into the embrace of a friend that hadn’t seen each other in a very long time.

“What are you doing here?” Lieutenant Commander Hill asked as he let her go. He stepped back to give her room to breathe as she stared at her intently. Back on SB219 most of everyone thought they were dating although they both denied it vigorously one of them often dreamed about it.

“I’ve been assigned to the Paramount as the computer systems specialist. I’ll be here permanently from now on,” she responded. She was smiling. It was the first time she had smiled in over six years.

“Well, it’s good to have you here,” Hill said to her as he turned and headed for the main workstation as he continued talking. “We are going to catch up I promise but for now we have to get into this.” The display shifted from showing the Federation seal to showing a blinking column similar to the one in the corner of the lab.

“What is it?” Chief zh’Rilnil asked as she stood beside him.

“It’s a part of the computer core we recovered from the Calgary,” he said as he tapped at the console showing a breakdown of the core. He continued, “The problem is we haven’t been able to get into it.”

“Why?”

“It’s using a firewall like I’ve never seen before. It’s constantly adapting, changing the code right as you’re about to crack into it,” he told her. Lieutenant Commander Hill gestured to the workstation he had been seating at. “That’s what I was doing when you walked in.”

“Interesting. Have you tri…,” she started.

“I have it didn’t work,” he said, cutting her off. He already knew what she was going to ask him. Hill had tried using the program the pair had created together several times. Despite not talking for six years they both contributed in updating the program and even that didn’t work.

“Can I try?” Chief zh’Rilnil asked him as she stepped towards the workstation.

“Of course,” Lieutenant Commander Hill responded as he followed her.

Chief zh’Rilnil’s practiced hands danced across the console. Lieutenant Commander Hill didn’t have to ask what she was doing he already knew. It’s what she always did when something didn’t work.

Innovated.

As she hacked into the core she took the original version of their program and updated it to help her as she was hacking into the core. It was a gamble that could very well lock them out of the core for months.

Lieutenant Commander Hill watched her with amazement. Chief zh’Rilnil’s brows furrowed, her focus razor-sharp as her fingers danced across the interface. The steady hum of the ship’s systems seemed to fade into the background, drowned out by the staccato rhythm of zh’Rilnil’s keystrokes.

“You were right, this firewall is advanced,” Chief zh’Rilnil muttered. “Whoever designed this knew exactly what they were doing. Layered encryption, recursive code traps—this isn’t just a defense system. It’s a work of art.”

On the screen, lines of code scrolled at a dizzying pace, interrupted occasionally by blinking warnings in bold red text. Each alert was met with a sharp tap of the Andorian’s fingers, her actions deliberate and precise. Lieutenant Commander Hill watched her despite him being a skilled computer systems specialist himself he could only see her work in glimpses: bypassing security nodes, isolating subroutines, and rerouting access channels to create false authorization signatures.

The screen briefly flashed green, only to lock down again as the system adapted.

“Smart, but not smart enough,” Chief zh’Rilnil said, a smirk curling at the edges of her lips. “I just need to keep it one step behind.”

The console chirped, and zh’Rilnil’s hands froze for a split second. The scrolling code stopped, replaced by a cascade of encrypted data collapsing inward. Her fingers flew faster now, almost frantic, as he executed a counter-command. Hill held his breath as the screen went blank. A moment later, a new prompt appeared: Access Granted.

“Good job, Ash. You still got it,” Lieutenant Commander Hill said teasingly looking at her as he walked back to the main console.

“I never lost it. Now, let’s see what secrets lay within,” Chief zh’Rilnil responded as she followed him.

Hill’s fingers hovered over the interface as he navigated through the decrypted system. The computer core’s vast archive sprawled before them—a labyrinth of logs, encrypted messages, and subspace communications. zh’Rilnil leaned closer, her eyes scanning the rapidly shifting data.

As they scrolled through the logs they located the transporter logs.

They week back two days and found when there was multiple transports on and off of the station. As they realized what they had come across their faces turned grim.

“Mason,” Chief zh’Rilnil said her breath labored as she looked at the display.

“Yeah I see it.” The implications were huge and he knew what had to be done next. “We need to speak with the commander,” he insisted as he turned to look at Chief zh’Rilnil. She wad in a daze bur was snapped out of it wherb she seen Hill looking at her. “Now!”