<div dir="ltr"><span id="gmail-docs-internal-guid-125d672b-7fff-99d1-1e29-f0036e719723"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:10pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Mission: Murder on the Exeter Express</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Day: 2</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Stardate: 2445.12.02</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">(USS Exeter - Sciences ante-room – Commander - Aylinn Bracken  – Lieutenant – Ire WIliams– 2135)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Ire shook his head.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“I don’t believe it. It was there right in front of us all the time.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Ailynn nodded silently, draining her juice. “Doesn’t actually give us much more than we had, sadly.” She said eventually.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“What’s our next step?”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Ailynn sighed, leaning her head back in tired frustration. “Aaaaargh!” she growled, trying to let out some steam. “Okay...let's take a figurative step back.What do we know?”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> “Well that the original sound and the recording tech run at the same variance.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“Right.” She nodded. “And the Computer didn’t recognise anything that we have as a replicated sound, so everything we hear is pretty much as it was. Perp didn’t use a secondary recording or voice change unit for instance.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“So what we hear is not altered after the fact or changed.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“And yet...and yet...the security tape picked up a modulation to her voice as if…feel free to add any radical stupid daft ideas that you have, as all I’ve got is a head full of nonsense.” she said to Ire amicably. In truth she liked these moments, the times that all there was was a puzzle, and the challenge that it held.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"> </p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“Okay so the voice was changed while it was produced…..but they are not speaking into a changed unit as we would have found the echo of the original voice as it spoke into the change unit…..”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">He frowned as a spark of a thought emerged.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“Is there a way to change a voice without needing a unit or somehow adding a unit to yourself somehow so that you would not be speaking into it?”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Ailynn drew a breath, pensive. “There’s a couple of ways, most simply, breathing helium or sodium hexafluoride will either raise or deepen the pitch of your voice. Certain medical numbing agents will have a similar affect. You know for throat surgery and the like. Those don’t sound like this though. It’s as if the larynx itself is modulating the sound itself.” She closed her eyes and sighed in frustration.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“You mean surgically altered?”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">He paused thinking back to what his parents had told him about laryngeal surgery.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">~I knew that mom and dads surgical talk would help one day~</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“My parents once told me about a laryngeal surgical procedure that would remove the vocal cords and replace them with artificial ones. This might change the sound but since modern techniques and regenerative procedures I guess it would have fallen out of favour. Do you think it could have been done with nanites?”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Her eyes still closed, Ailynn found her mouth moving as her brain wandered off in a different direction. “I’d have to ask mum, but we’re under a classified situation at the moment.” She sighed, thinking back to all the units that she’d done on that kind of thing. “Nanites...technically you could, but all it would do, I think, is repair any damage. Kind of like the medical chip nanite tech that mum innovated.  “Unless…” her face fell, as her brain put different parts of the jigsaw together. “Prophets...they couldn’t have…never in a million years”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Ire frowned at Bracken’s expression.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“What could that not have done?”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“The semi-artificial modulation we can hear, isn’t a secondary effect. It’s a bio-synthetic augmentation.” she drew a breath. “That’s brilliant...horrifying...but brilliant.” Turning to him, she frowned. “Basically means that they could in theory adapt their voice to sound like anyone.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Ire paused before speaking</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“Bio-synthetic augmentation on the vocal cords….would that show up on scans or routine medical? </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“It might...depends what you were looking for. I think that you’d need to do a full, deep scan, you know, checking every atom, tissue composition. A basic scan on structure wouldn’t show it. Maybe some exotic compounds, but nothing more.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“Okay.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“I don’t get the ‘why’ though. I've been awake too long, I can't think." Ailynn said.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Ire nodded. “Well let's see what they did. They used this bio-synth augment to change their voice so that we could not identify them while Commander Nix was killed. The ability to change one's voice would be a great help to a murderer.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">"It's an extreme way of doing it though. I mean, there's far easier ways right? Why say anything at all? It's like they wanted to set this puzzle."</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“Which it is proving at the moment.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">"I hate unexplained enigma" Ailynn said irritably.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“Is there a way we can use this to our advantage?”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Closing her eyes to think, she began to wish that she'd had coffee, or more sleep at lunchtime. "At the moment I'm not sure." A thought crossed her mind. "Is there a way to simulate the sound, but alter the characteristics of how it would be created? Sort of...I dunno. If you programmed a trumpet, you could alter the sound to replicate the sound of a wooden one rather than brass yeah?" Ailynn wasn't sure her brain was making sense.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“I guess so.” he paused for a moment thinking about what Bracken had said. “We could run it through the computers in the acoustic lab and see if that works or we could go to the holodeck and try and replicate it there.” </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">"Either or." Ailynn said. "Lets go with the lab. The holographic interface table should make it easier."</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“Okay.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">As they walked back to the lab Ailynn chatted to Ire, "I'd like to believe that this will give us an ID, but I wonder if we're too far behind."</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Ire nodded and sighed tired. “I have a feeling that we are so far behind it's not even funny. I would be happily surprised if I was wrong and we could get this person but I feel that it will be a miracle.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">"Sadly I agree." She sighed. "You remember back at the Academy, when we woke up, did stuff, then at the end of a shift nothing crazy had happened and we got beers then went to sleep? I remember those days?"</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“Yes. Those days were good. When your only problem was not irritating the Master chief or being late for lectures.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Ailynn laughed gently. In the meantime they'd reached the thermal that they wanted. "Computer restart previous session. Get me a display of a standard set of vocal Cords on this table. Normal tissue types averaged across known species."</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Ire looked at the screen and nodded to himself.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“This is going to take some time. I need another coffee. Do you want me to grab you something for the replicator?”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">"Coffee would be good. Strong and a splash of milk. Thank you. I'll try and cut down our variables a little."</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“Okay.” He paused as his stomach rumbled. “Snack?”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">She honestly couldn’t remember the last time she’d eaten, but on the flip side, she didn’t like having to stop once her teeth were into a problem. “Just the coffee will be lovely, thank you. I should have had one last time rather than the juice.” She then switched her attention to the display in front of her, and began the laborious procedure that would try and limit their options. She then selected a few parts of the display. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Ire smiled. “No problem one coffee coming right up.” he headed over to the replicator and imputed the order. He leaned against the wall as the replicator hummed away as the Bracken’s coffee and another raktajino appeared. A small bowl of salted popcorn appeared beside the coffee cups. He picked it al up and moved back towards Bracken. He placed his cup and popcorn beside him on the workspace and handed her the coffee.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“Here you go. Found anything yet?”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Ailynn shook her head. Not yet. “Computer, alter shape and size for an average female, taken from species currently on board, then alter composition of the selected parts to match the composition of nanites as in file Bracken-iota-two.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">[acknowledged]</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“Run voice ID. Does it produce the same modulation as in the sample?”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">[working]</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> She turned to Ire. “Well, this will test out our theory if nothing else.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“Okay.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">[calculations complete. Simulation produces a similar, but non-identical modulation.]</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Ailynn swore. “There’s times that I hate being correct.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">He sipped his coffee. “Well at least we now know and it is one step closer.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Ailynn picked up the coffee “Thank you, that’s kind. Mmm. perfect.” she allowed the caffeine to kick in for a few seconds, and then carried on.“Well, we at least know which haystack we might find our needle in. Okay. next step will take hours, but we can automate it. “Computer. Alter all other variables around the standard range. Produce and compare a voiceprint for each set of variables with both normal and altered composition. Immediately inform myself and Lieutenant Williams the moment a match is found to any on the Exeter crew.” She turned to Ire. “Does that make sense?”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“Yes it makes sense.” He looked at the computer monitor. “I just hope it doesn't take all night.” he pulled up a char and dropped into it. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“Hopefully not, but the amount of minor tweaks is actually completely insane, so it’s going to be a few hours at least. I’m going to forward what we know to Trip and then try and get some beauty sleep, don’t feel that you need to sit and watch it if you have other stuff to attend to.” She smiled gently. “I’</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Ire nodded. “Thank you. I will finish my coffee and the popcorn and then do a few things until my shift at 2300. Enjoy your sleep and I hope it's restful.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Ailynn smiled as she stood up and stretched her back, “Me too. Sure as hell been a long day. Good work Ire, thank you so much.”</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Ire smiled. “No problem I want to get his person as much as anyone else.” He stifled a yawn and glanced back at the scrolling console. “You know what they say. ‘Should not have joined if you can’t take a joke’.” he said sarcastically. </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Ailynn chuckled gently. “I’m going to head off. I'll be in my office for the next ten, and then in sleepy bye-bye land after that. Take Care.” she patted him on the shoulder amicably as she left. A tired, but content smile on her face.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">(Reply none)</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;padding:10pt 0pt 0pt"><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:Arial;color:rgb(29,34,40);background-color:transparent;font-variant-numeric:normal;font-variant-east-asian:normal;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">(Posted by Robbie and Mark)</span></p></span><br class="gmail-Apple-interchange-newline"></div>