Chapter 4: Operator, Put Vulcan on the Line

Lt. Reed considered himself a man of action rather than study, but he found that keeping this conception of himself was mostly in how he chose to frame things. Right now, for example, most people would say he was reviewing the personnel file of an art historian. Malcolm, however, chose to think of it as pre-interrogating the suspect in a jewel heist. See? Framing.

"This is interesting." Hoshi stood on the other side of the table, poring over text on a console. "I've been reading Jhemel Dav's files. Did you know he's a really famous artist on Andoria?" The communications officer leaned toward him. "For the last four years he's been spearheading a project called Vehara Nat Sul."

"My Andorian is a bit rusty…"

"'Art For All,'" she translated. "It's a movement advocating that all artwork be removed from the hands of private collectors and placed in public cultural institutions."

"The gearling vetch was in a public institution," Malcolm noted.

"Because it wasn't going to stay in a public institution. After the exhibit it goes back into private ownership by an Andorian family headed by Sekhar Endil. And get this: two years ago Dav petitioned the Andorian Empire to have the artifact released from Endil to 'the people of Andoria and all worlds.'"

"And he was refused. How surprising." Malcolm crossed his arms. His mind processed this new data, then rearranged it and took a different track. "What about the family? This Endil, would he benefit in any way if the little badger was stolen?" He could see the gears turning in Hoshi's sharp brain.

He enjoyed working with her like this. She reminded him what it was like to be young and excited about each mission. She was still a little more timid than the other officers about space travel—and given her experiences, who could blame her?—but her enthusiasm shone through in everything she did. Yes, he was glad to work with her.

"I guess, if he wanted to sell it," the communications officer finally said. "But it's such a famous artifact, how would he find a buyer? And would he risk something like this?"

Money could be a powerful motivator, Malcolm knew. "Maybe Dav will have an idea about that. Let's ask him when we talk to him." He turned to Hoshi. "And let's look at everyone's financial records," he added.

Hoshi was hesitant. "That information wasn't included with the data we received."

Malcolm put a hand on her shoulder and smiled conspiratorially. "I have faith that if anyone can find a way to obtain it, it's you."

She smiled back. "I'll do my best."

Somehow, he knew that would be good enough.

Hoshi really wanted to live up to Malcom's expectations of her, but she had no idea how she was going to make this happen. How was she supposed to get the financial records of two Vulcans, two Andorians, and a human? On two different planets, no less! To make matters worse, the Vulcan and Andorian economic systems were completely foreign to her. The Vulcans didn't use currency, she knew, but still had private property, using clan affiliation to determine ownership and inheritance. The Andorians used an economy based on credits and property; their system of ownership rights was based on marriage and the hierarchy of their four genders.

She spent an hour reading everything the Enterprise databases could give her on Vulcan and Andorian financial systems when it hit her—she didn't need to understand every aspect of this stuff. All she needed to do was figure out a way to find out if any of the people on her list had either received or lost something big—credits, property, social position—in the past few months.

Okay, but how could she do that? Well, now, that was easy. By doing the one thing she was best at: monitoring communications. People communicated everything important at some point, even when they probably shouldn't. If anyone knew this, it was Hoshi. Every day she oversaw the communications that happened on and off the ship. Crew members made jokes that revealed hidden truths, they made unexpected calls home "just to chat" when they got their hearts broken, they let secrets slip during routine work-related discussions. People always told you exactly who they were when they talked, you just had to know how to listen—and Hoshi was a fantastic listener.

The next question: did she know where to listen? This was tricky. She would have to go right to the source, probably. Straight to the Vulcan Communications Administration and the Andorian Imperial Communications Center. She set to work and in half an hour was ready to put her plan in motion.

"Can I assist you?"

Hoshi really hoped this worked, and that if it did, it never got back to the captain. The Vulcan on the small view screen before her showed no surprise at receiving a call from a Starfleet vessel, but Hoshi doubted that surprise was even in her repertoire of facial expressions. The woman was so ancient that she may have actually been around when the VCA had been founded. She sported an older Vulcan hairstyle, one that culminated in a high multi-level bun on the top of her head, and wore an earpiece so large that only the tiny point of her ear peeped above it.

"Can I assist you?" the older Vulcan asked again.

"Yes." Hoshi cleared her throat. "I'm Ensign Hoshi Sato on board the Starfleet vessel Enterprise. We're working with the Vulcan Academy of Art and Culture. As part of an investigation I will need access to the communication logs of four individuals from the Academy." Hoshi tried to sound as official as possible.

The woman didn't bat an eyelash. "Do you have the proper authorization for this request?"

Authorization? Hoshi steeled herself and channel both Malcolm and Captain Archer. "We have been tasked by the Vulcan and Andorian governments to locate an important cultural artifact that's been stolen. That is my authorization."

This did not inspire awe in the elderly Vulcan, but it did spark curiosity. "You're looking into the theft of the gearling vetch?" the woman asked.

Hoshi blinked. "Uh, yes. Do you know it?"

"I saw it last month with my husband. Our son was visiting, on leave from his posting off of Deneb II." Was this Vulcan being…chatty? Hoshi was unprepared for such a scenario. "He rarely comes home these days, so we wanted to mark the occasion with a memorable outing," the woman continued. "The exhibit is impressive, and the gearling vetch is a remarkable artifact. Surprising that it was created by the ancestors of the Ando—"

"It is remarkable, isn't it?" Hoshi broke in. "So you can see the urgency in the matter. Time is of the essence."

Hoshi could swear the women looked annoyed as she adjusted her earpiece. "What are the names you required?"

The Andorian Imperial Communications Center was much less straightforward, but Hoshi found that the Andorian love of draconian bureaucracy worked in her favor. After five transfers and three prematurely terminated calls, she finally found herself talking to the official who could release Sekhar Endil's personal communication records.

"What do you mean you don't have the consent forms?" she raised her voice and huffed. "Three copies were transmitted to your office yesterday, as required by the Imperial Regulation Code, section delta, sub-paragraph 9." She had no idea if section delta, sub-paragraph 9 existed but had quickly learned to throw around sections of the Imperial Regulation Code as often as possible. Everyone at the AICC quoted it but no one seemed to have actually read it.

"Perhaps you did," snapped the peevish looking administrator on her view screen, "but we did not receive them! You'll have to send them again."

"My captain is indisposed, working to find your cultural icon," she replied angrily (they also responded well to anger she found, and very poorly to politeness). "He doesn't have time to sit down and re-authorize those forms!" She leaned in and went for the kill. "I don't want to, but if I have to contact the Imperial Command about your office's failure to assist our investigation, I will."

The administrator cleared his throat. "Now wait, don't be hasty. I am simply trying to do my job properly."

"If you were doing your job properly those forms wouldn't have gotten lost in the first place," Hoshi hissed.

The Andorian's antennae drooped. "What frequency did you want those records sent on?"