Tag: Security

#Lore 24 – Entry #114 – Sci-Fi Month II #23 – RestrainTech Trustee Work Release, Onboard Disciplinary Measures, ASD Concerns

From the Personal Logs of Vyrmeth Rashryth, RestrainTech, Expeditionary Over-Warden, UEF-04, Maharani Morgiana.  Decryption algorithm successful; translated from original dark elf script.

Perhaps this voyage will result in great things.  Today was witness to a dark elf and an aerian coming to agreeable terms, so the very heart of the Demon Sector is surely within reach! 

I had wondered exactly how long it was going to take the security chief to finally approach me about the trustee work detail and other security concerns; I will give him credit, it was nearly a month since we first set out, a true testament to his kind’s stubbornness.  I suppose he was rather civil for an aerian, though I could tell he was not pleased to actually have to speak to an elf, regardless of their nature.  Understandably, his concerns were the integration of our SealTech monitoring and control systems into the ship’s security network, and the interactions between the prisoners and regular crewmembers during the construction of the hyperspace relay in the Charvis system.  I don’t think he appreciated my offer to test the SealTech for himself to test its security, but I found his reaction amusing nonetheless.

I believe he may have been somewhat surprised to find out that I was not the type to be easily pushed around; likely that he had assumed I was like the typical dark elf girl, demure and submissive.  I wouldn’t have earned my position were that the case, nor would my boss have even considered me for the assignment had I been so weak willed.  I know my place in the hierarchy, certainly, and will defer to the men when required, but outside of my own people, I need not behave in such a away. 

Regardless, I allowed Security Chief Scharaiden to tour the Morgiana’s prison facility at his leisure, and though he was somewhat taken aback at the fact we were letting our trustees lounge about and enjoy some level of freedom during their leisure time, without further restraints, a demonstration of the effectiveness of the SealTech in stopping them in their tracks seems to have satisfied him for the moment.  I’ve known the prisoners for years; they wouldn’t be here if we couldn’t trust them in some capacity; some were even handpicked by the CEO himself to be here, and with good reason.

Curiously, after Scharaiden had finished his tour, he inquired about the renewability of our SealTech and future requirements in the case of bad behavior during the journey.  It seems he’s already had several disturbances of the peace aboard, and has the idea that implementing some public humiliation measures may assist with improving behavior.  Perhaps he has more in common with me than he is willing to openly admit?  He certainly seemed interested in the discipline cubes as a means of publicly displaying troublemakers, and likewise inquired about temporary SealTech suit assignments for repeat offenders.  I’m working out the details; we certainly aren’t lacking in our ability to generate more SealTech, though I’m curious just how far he’s willing to go with enforcing his idea of proper discipline, and whether the Captain will approve.

Following my meeting with the CSO, I met with the Arcane Support Division’s director, Primula Tallfoot and her assistant, Kiara Mizutani.  She’s rather well informed, I must say, and has excellent taste in whom she chose as a personal plaything; Mizutani is quite attractive, both physically and in his submissive nature.  He certainly seemed to have no qualms being bossed around by a woman, and my well-trained eye says he was enjoying every minute of it.  I may have to look into getting to know him in a more personal manner during my leisure time…

I personally found Tallfoot’s personality to be on the abrasive side, and I am concerned with exactly how she was aware of some of the lesser known details of SealTech, specifically its “Rampancy” mode; I am only aware of that having been used on a handful of occasions, and against DSM targets at that.  Ah, F3…one of my favorite playthings during my tenure as a regular prison guard…who would have thought she would have risen so far as to be trusted with developing that particular function?  I certainly wouldn’t have; I figured she would have remained in the production facility for some years, honestly. 

Still, how did Tallfoot know about the rampancy programming?  She didn’t say, and seemed to enjoy lording the fact that she knew over me.  I’ve assured her that that particular function is only meant for particular types of security breaches, specifically attacks against the encrypted systems controlling the SealTech application systems, but she didn’t seem convinced.  I will have to alert the boss during my next report regarding this, see if there’s a hole in his security that needs to be addressed and to see if I can get more details about Tallfoot; this kind of thing never happens with him…usually nothing escapes his notice.  Quite curious indeed; perhaps getting to know the kerryn boy will be more valuable than simply indulging my own fancies…

#Lore 24 – Entry #111 – Sci-Fi Month II #20 – Repeated Security Issues at VV’s Pink Pussy Lounge

From Personal Logs of Gravius Scharaiden, Chief Security Officer, assigned UEF-04 Maharani Morgiana, decryption algorithm successful, translated from original Aerian script.

Allowing this place aboard the ship was a damn mistake.  Security threat from Hell, and a public nuisance. Barely even two weeks into this trip and I’ve had to send security three times.  Going to talk to the captain about this; should be closed down immediately.  Operator was already on my watch list, didn’t take her long to prove us right.  If I have my way, we’ll drop her off at the first mud-hut colony we come across and be done with it.

UPDATE:

Captain Silvercask didn’t share my appraisal of the situation.  Civilians should be held to higher standards onboard this ship, should be made to follow the same regulations and face the discipline as the military crew.  Would make things a lot more tolerable.

This is why you shouldn’t mix the two.  All military or none I say.  This is going to end badly.

Captain’s letting the lounge stay open for now.  Called it an “adjustment period”, as everyone gets used to everyone else, as territory is established, things will calm down, supposedly.  I don’t think so.  This place will be a problem unless the issue is dealt with directly.  All alcohol should be banned anyway, on the entire ship. 

I’ve placed a security team in the corridor outside the lounge indefinitely during business hours.  May extend that to full-day surveillance if I don’t change my mind.  Spoke to Verlucia myself after the last incident; she’s all charm and innocence, said passions just got stirred up when she sang, that people were just not used to long hyperspace trips like this.  She’s persuasive, likely could make most people do about anything for a chance to please her.  Didn’t work on me, though.  Saw right through it.  Told her to straighten up or I’d see her arrested and booted off the ship.  She didn’t seem too pleased, but that’s not my concern. 

Will look into monitoring activities in the vicinity of the lounge as well.  Sure it’s more than drinks and entertainment that goes on there.  Could smell the sex in the air from outside the place.  Probably some drugs being pushed through there too.  Going to cause issues all over the damn ship.  May make a point to show up there myself as soon as possible, see what’s going down for myself.  Let Verlucia know that I’m not going to let her escape my attention for long.  She’ll correct herself or I’ll correct her, with security pressure or by kicking her off the ship.  Simple as that.

UPDATE 2:

That kerryn reporter, Kajira, is starting to nose around VV’s more often now.  Can’t trust her, didn’t agree with her getting added to the crew last minute.  Seems the type to cause trouble, probably already has.  Wouldn’t be surprised if she’s responsible for that last fight; my team said they saw her talking to both parties previously.  Going to have to watch her more closely.  May be another one we’ll have to offload somewhere.  Will have to monitor her communications, see what she’s telling and to who.  Will get Burnout to set it up in the morning.

#Lore 24 – Entry #102 – Sci-Fi Month II #11 – Security Systems Analysis 02 – The Unpredictable Factors of the Fleshy Sentients Within the Hull of the Great Ship that Explores the Deep Space of the Region of Demonic Beings

 

From Personal Logs of Gadri “Burnout” Quickbyte, Cybersecurity Specialist / Security Systems Analyst, assigned UEF-04 Maharani Morgiana, decryption algorithm successful, translated from original Gnomish script.

Translation Note:  Possible issue with either the translation or decryption algorithm relating to Gnomish script; subtitle of this entry is accurate but manual translation yields something more sensible: “Suspicious Persons Aboard the Maharani Morgiana“.  Further translation of this entry has been reviewed manually and properly translated to Common in proper fashion for readability; original version is attached for further review in case I missed something, though it is at least fifteen times the length.

Continuing the requested analysis of the Morgiana’s security systems, as I continue the deep dive into the system architecture, some further concerns have come to light during the review of personnel aboard the ship.  Below are people of interest who my algorithms have determined to have red flags on their records which could indicate possible security concerns.  Please review and act accordingly.  Not organized in any particular order, judge each risk as you will. 

Sorisana Kelvaris – Female Elf, Starfigher Pilot assigned to 1st Squadron – Signs of tampering with her personnel records, possibly significant alterations or pure fabrication.  Exceptionally well-done manipulation, done by an exceptional talent; doubt many would have caught the discrepancies on this one.  Cannot verify authenticity, however, as communication between here and the other side of the Barrier is currently unavailable due to Barrier radiation fluctuations.  If fabricated, could indicate a sleeper-agent level false identity.

Szoreth Delyl – Male Dark Elf, Under-Warden, prisoner work division – Another long-time prison employee, his records have a sealed section, from the company, following a period of military action approximately two-hundred-fifty years ago, lasting for another eighty years before he began working at the prisons.  May indicate nothing aside from state/corporate secrets that need to be maintained, could mean some clandestine operations that have further reaching consequences, could mean nothing. 

Brawnik’ush’Fangren AKA “Devil Dog” – Male Feradogian, assigned to scouting and recon division, ground operations.  Records are spotty, typical of the Ferians due to constant periods of warfare between their peoples.  Has tattoos and ritual scarring that indicates involvement with guerrilla factions on Feria known to value brutality of the old ways.  Outwardly easy going and personable based on other crew interactions, seems to be developing relationship with kerryn arcanist Kiara Mizutani, but loyalties cannot be easily determined, nature is somewhat chaotic and suited to being a loner. 

Provissh Longtail – Female Kobold, Technician, assigned to Engineering section.  Has served on over two-dozen ships in her time.  No direct evidence of misconduct on her part, but each ship suffered severe mechanical failure during her time aboard.  Could be coincidence, unlikely.  May be blessed with bad luck, possible actual jinx.  Technical abilities are solid, supposedly. 

Chiasa Charity Chiasakaniki – Female Kitsune, IT Specialist, assigned to IT Department.  Excellent coder, has talents that meld her natural magical abilities with her technological talents.  Known hacker, exceptionally curious, very likely she will be attempting to access backdoors and give herself heightened access to the Morgiana’s computer systems.  No indications of intentional harm, but possible she could be manipulated into threatening actions. 

Kourtney Bradigan – Female Human, Priestess of Erisaya.  Native of PLANET, has known ties to political factions there, and has confirmed involvement in violent revolution there.  Has a tendency to manipulate people with her charms and stoke fiery passions.  Unconfirmed ties to both the weapon-smuggling organization known as the Church of Violence and the militant historic society, the Seekers of Hidden Truths; would fit her personality and record. 

Donerail Wintergreen – Male Equinarian, Inmate, Prison Work Division.  Mercenary by trade, wound up on the bad side of an attempted coup on Odrade III.  Took down a lot of combatants but was captured when he decided to save some children caught in the messy evacuation.  Has been bouncing around the prison system since.  Could be useful, could be dangerous; was listed as non-violent, but has been confirmed as a combatant in unsanctioned prison fights.  May have unknown triggers that get him riled up.  Psych profile is outdated, so cannot verify.  Assigned to Under-Warden Delyl’s heavy construction unit.

Gragnesh Cracktusk – Male Orc, Inmate, Prison Work Division.  Also assigned to Under-Warden Delyl’s heavy construction unit.  Another mercenary, involved in space-based operations, trained as a ship’s gunner and for hostile boarding actions, possible links to pirate groups during time as a mercenary.  Has been a model prisoner on paper since incarceration, but also known to take part in the prison fights when he’s not been working the porno shoots.  Will dig into other prisoners assigned to that detail; may have some kind of secret combat unit here, or some very serious muscle loyal to Delyl.  Does Delyl have plans on something?  Recommend observation and a look at the gap in his records that was mentioned previously.

Vyrlesska “V.V.” Verlucia – Female Succubus, Entertainer and Procurement Specialist.  Runs one of the cantinas aboard the Morgiana, sings and dances there as well.  Known to be quite capable of obtaining often-illegal goods for her clients.  Could be useful to have someone like this aboard, certainly, but she’s a free spirt, and may not be too discerning about what items she’s procuring.  Likely has many contacts in many areas, again, useful, but she appears to be out to make a profit for herself first and foremost.

#Lore 24 – Entry #101 – Sci-Fi Month II #10 – Incarcerated Workforce (Aboard Ship)

 

From Personal Logs of Gravius Scharaiden, Chief Security Officer, assigned UEF-04 Maharani Morgiana, decryption algorithm successful, translated from original Aerian script.

 

Whoever approved this idea is an idiot.  Complete moron.  Must have come from that dark elf in charge at RestranTech who stopped by with the Veylani girl the other day. 

Or is this some terrible decision from the ASC?  Some corpo with a bleeding heart?

Doesn’t matter who is responsible in the end.  I’m the one who will have to deal with the problems it’ll cause down the line.  Having prisoners working the loading docks at Aphelion Station is one thing but incorporating them into the Morgiana’s crew long-term is something else entirely.  I don’t care if they’re wearing that SealTech shit 24/7; all it takes is one fuck up and all hell is going to break loose.  If there’s an uprising against the command structure, I’d put money on these lifers being involved with it. 

Oddly, the RestrainTech rep in charge is a female dark elf, Vyrmeth Rashryth.  Thought they only let their men be in charge?  Maybe she’s a problem case and they wanted to get rid of her?  Former security guard at one of their max-sec prisons, now granted the title of “Expeditionary Over-Warden” upon getting the assignment, mostly clean record, no major infractions, just a few write-ups for cruel treatment of prisoners.  Cruel treatment?  The hell does that mean?  Thought those rubber suits were bad enough, not to mention the personal prison cubes they use, or their porno work-release bullshit.  What constitutes cruel treatment in a dark elf prison?  Can respect the need for order and discipline, sure, but she’s an elf, and tied to a very shady corp; will have to dig deeper, find out more about this operation they’re running.  She’s got a dozen Under-Wardens with her, plus a support team for the SealTech systems; whole damn thing is already integrated into the ship’s security systems, so anyone with access can track the prisoners at any time. 

Handy that, screams backdoor access, though; need to look long and hard at that.  Will assign Burnout to it; he’s good at the computer thing, worked with him long enough to trust him as much as I can a non-Aerian.  Will make it sound spicy, get that gnomish mind of his turning; he’ll root out any security issues.  Have a meeting with Rashryth scheduled for tomorrow; going to push for full access to the SealTech control systems and a full demonstration of their security procedures.  Big ask, see what she’s willing to give up.  Going to be friction between us, I’m sure. 

Have some concerns with the prisoners themselves, too.  No psycho killers or rapists or others that should’ve been executed, but some have violent incidents on their records, armed robbery or assault and the like, a minority, but still red flags to me.  Few ex-soldiers turned mercs who took up the wrong job and wound up on the losing side.  Most are white collar types, a lot of those are cybercriminals and technician types, but some records seem off to me.  Assuming these are a lot of political prisoners, or corpo types who got the shitty retirement package.  People who the system wants disappeared.  Supposedly they’re all volunteers, but if your only other choice is a four-by-four cube and being a cog in the porno industry, who wouldn’t take the chance for something else?

Prisoners should be isolated as much as possible and are isolated to “prison” blocks on their downtime, but they aren’t otherwise restricted from interacting with other crewmembers while on duty.  Multiple reports of casual conversations going on already, some getting too close to the prisoners for my liking.  They won’t try anything before we set out, but how long until something sparks up?  Going to have to discuss this with the Captain directly. 

#Lore 24 – Entry #98 – Sci-Fi Month II #7 – Potential Threats (Aboard Ship)

 

From Personal Logs of Gravius Scharaiden, Chief Security Officer, assigned UEF-04 Maharani Morgiana, decryption algorithm successful, translated from original Aerian script.

Clusterfuck doesn’t even begin to describe this stupidity.  I would prefer a clusterfuck to this any day.

Captain Silvercask has expressed his concerns to me about the personnel assignments aboard the ship.  I share these concerns.  He has tasked me with analyzing the personnel assigned and requested a report on possible security issues.  Guessing this will take a few hundred pages.  Copy of important details follow.

Report Summary, Highest Threats:

  • The Elves – Personal biases against elves aside, elves should always be considered suspect and treated with sufficient caution. Too many worked under DSM previously, many more are associated with the Great Houses in some way.  Always scheming, always plotting, always running long games to twist things to suit their whims.  Can’t trust any of them.  Reports of malfunctions and sabotage have come from previous UEF missions.  No proof, but makes sense that DSM wouldn’t take being left out of the ruling council lightly.  Always suspect elvish involvement.  See Section 2 for information on suspicious individuals.
  • Corporate Entanglements – The idea that multiple corporations could function together successfully was ludicrous. They like to spout cooperation and equality for the media, but each of them are vying for a bigger piece of the pie than the others.  Dozens if not hundreds of corporations of every size and type, too many possible dangers.
    1. Veylani Transport is in charge of the ASC; somehow that girl has managed to keep the top spot and pulled several other big names around her to keep her there. She’s romantically involved with a dark elf though, Fenrou Varmyrl, big name in their for-profit prisons, suspected he’s much more than that, though.  Likely she’s compromised, though partnership with the prison corp kept DSM away during hostile takeover attempt.
    2. A3 wants resources, and they want their people securing them. Dwarves are greedy, they’ll do whatever it takes to make sure they get first rights to mine whatever we come across.  Trust them to prioritize these resources over any other concerns, though it’s likely they’ll sacrifice others before any of the dwarves onboard; at least they still value loyalty to their own kind.  Hopefully they’ll start with the elves when it comes to sacrifices, at least.
    3. ASC – The Aphelion Station Council has become unstable. Lots of arguing since it expanded from the Big Three it was initially founded with.  Basically your typical nightmare bureaucracy now, composed of over a hundred entities.  Expect conflicting orders from the top.  They will test loyalties, try to extort compliance in some way or another.  Agree with shifting personnel around; some will need to be watched more closely.
  • Racial Tensions – Expect frequent arguments at least, violence more likely. Elves don’t get along with anyone, can barely stand each other.  Dwarves, orcs, and kobolds have long-running hatred that hasn’t died yet.  Kerryn, equinarians, and halflings are hard to provoke, but tend to band together against threats.  Ferians are loose cannons, likely to fly off the handle at the slightest provocation; watch the male ‘dogians and female ‘katians especially.  Aerians and orcs get along better than some, don’t expect two warrior societies to get along all the time, though.  Rattenvolk keep mostly to themselves and the bowels of the ship, so if sabotage is going to happen, they’re likely the ones to do the dirty work.  Gnomes are wildcards, can’t predict them.  Succubi will entangle themselves with whoever gives them the best offer, then try to manipulate others to their side. 
  • Religious Conflict – There is a reason aerians usually don’t have faith in the gods. They’re like anyone else, always squabbling, pushing conflicting beliefs.  Those serving the whore goddesses will cause trouble just by their nature, stoking passions and twisting people one way or another.  The Mausolians will seek death at any opportunity, wouldn’t trust their recommendations on most things; expect any sudden deaths and assassinations to be their fault.  Expect the orcs following their war god to want a fight whenever possible, even if peaceful solutions would be best; can’t really fault them there, always prefer a fight myself.  Wouldn’t even trust the followers of the librarian goddess not to cause problems, either; probably some militant ones there who will start trouble if they smell a secret to uncover. If any followers of Saressh happen to have a prophetic vision, though, might actually pay attention to that.  Studied history enough to know that goddess at least has an above average success rate on her predictions, so I guess maybe she’s not entirely useless.
  • Untested Tech – This ship’s an accident waiting to happen. Pushed it through trials too fast, too many hands have touched it during the refit.  Last shakedown had some issues that were supposedly being fixed, but don’t count on it.  That docking frame on the hull, that’s just asking for trouble; one ship goes up, and the rest of them are not far behind.  Don’t like the idea of those robot drones being onboard, either; haven’t been tested enough, still likely to suddenly develop a killing impulse like previous robotics; keep the AI on a short leash, or dump them into deep space the first chance we get. 
  • ASD – Can usually trust an arcanist more than a priest, not that that says much, but the Arcane Support Division is as big a mess as anything else. Too many ties to too many corporations, too many old loyalties, too many abrasive personalities.  Division lead, Tallfoot, she’s unstable; not sure how she managed the spot.  Guess maybe pickings were slim by now.  Lots of new blood, too many straight out of school to be counted on in a crisis.  They’ve got their own dress code; should be in uniforms like everyone else.  Special treatment is bad for everyone. 

 

Report continues…