// Bridge \\
0843, and Natasha was busily managing all the communications coming and going within the Charon. Since they were still out of range of the Fleet networks, it was all intra-ship calls and recordings to be transmitted as soon as they regained the network. Early mornings were busy times, with slowdowns generally occurring as noontime approached. Personal calls picked up then, but they didn't concern her other than a brief look-see to make sure the connection was strong and the parties valid. Validity was all part and parcel of her job. NO-ONE was sneaking any calls on this ship under her watch, it was part of security and Natasha took it very very seriously -- especially since her predecessor had been ... well, to be unusually diplomatic, he'd been 'lacking'.
While she was working, Natasha stole a glance over at the console next to hers. It was manned by a Human today. She'd been made aware of the entity, Savant, by the members of the COMMs team during one of their weekly meetings. Natasha had yet to actually come into visual contact with the program. That didn't stop her, however, from not trusting it one. Little. Bit. How could you expect 'loyalty' from what was essentially a series of code? Holograms could definitely simulate any emotion that had been programmed into them, but they certainly did not /feel/ anything. It made Natasha distrustful and suspicious (not anything new, by any means).
Any and all communications to and from the Charon had to ulitilize the COMMs arrays that were embedded here and there on the ship's fuselage. All array usage was reported to the COMMs console, without fail. Any attempt to block such notification would trigger alarms from here until doomsday. Any attempt to block the alarms would trigger even more alarms, ad infinitum. Even if a person were to smuggle a transmitter onboard, the signals it put out would be detected and reported. THAT's how Natasha became aware that someone was using the COMMs system -- albeit through a very intricate routing of contacts-- to make intership communications, utilizing an alternate network. She delicately pinged the origin and was not entirely surprised to find it originated in the quarters of the new Intelligence officer. Natasha frowned. Spooks. They had their own agenda and weren't shy about sacrificing others in their attempts to satisfy their higher-ups, all in the name of the "Greater Good". Natasha snorted under her breath.
Since it /was/ SFI business Natasha did not listen in, not this time, but she did save the information and logged it for future reference. No-one was sneaking any calls on this ship under her watch. She'd made that tenet clear to the entire team. The devil was in the details, her father had always said, and Natasha knew this old adage was true. The devil was, indeed, in the details.
Natasha looked at her chrono. It was almost time to meet with the CO. A small frown pulled her brows together. Natasha didn't really have much use for Romulans, but here on the Charon she was running into them all the time. It was to be expected. So, although Natasha understood /why/ she had to meet with the CO -- it was 'how things were done' -- it didn't mean she had to like it. Whatever, she'd get it over with and then be free for the rest of the day. She was meeting with Renji in order to go over those array mods, fine-tuning the request so it could be turned in to the XO.
Time to go. Yes, and here was Ensign Suder to take her place, right on time. The Betazoid female slid into the chair as Natasha vacated it. Getting her up-to-date with a shift-change turnover briefing, Natasha got the young woman's attention by peremptorily tapping on the console top. "Keep your ears open," she said, staring into her eyes.
"Yes, ma'am," Staxi replied, eyes wide.
Natasha didn't bother to explain her orders. Why should she have to? It was simple, right? She turned on her heel and walked to the ready room door, then chimed for entrance. When the door slid silently open, she took a deep breath and entered. Hopefully, this wouldn't take long.
Lieutenant Natasha Segurev
Chief Communications Officer
USS Charon
