The Game is Afoot (PM Marco to join)

[James H. Hawk]

Interrogation Room

Klingons were what really scared Albert.  He could retire peacefully in a Federation prison.  They were a joke and he didn't understand why there weren't more criminals, but then again being a Federation Citizen, a peaceful one, had its own rewards.  Not for guys like him however.  His ambition surpassed his actual ability.  So he forced ambition and that meant doing some really illegal things.

"I didn't kill anyone."  He frowned, "I'm a thief, yeah, but I ain't no murderer, I wasn't gonna hurt that kid."  Albert huffed, "She was in on it...yeah you heard me."  He glared at the older man and ignored the young officer for the moment.  "See, they were my ride outta this place, but they got nervous when you folks started poking around everyone's ship.  So they told me to scram, so I said to them that they either help me or I'd finger them.  They're the ones that came up with this whole kidnapping thing."

Albert tried to place his hands behind his head but the restraints wouldn't allow that.  Instead he shuffled them over the tabletop nervously. 

Marco's face was unreadable as he thought about what Albert said.  He had many questions for him, but he allowed James to do his thing.  Anyway, if the kid missed anything he would fill in the blanks, that wasn't a problem at all.  His main concern was why they needed to smuggle Albert out in the first place.  True, he wasn't in any of the crew manifests but sometimes that happened and the stowaway usually just stayed on board the ship.  This time, he had a feeling that Albert had not stayed on board.  There was a reason why he was on the Columbus and that was what Ensign Hawk had to find out.

Suddenly, the lights flickered and the alarms began to blare.

=^= Red Alert! Red Alert! Core Breech, explosion eminent, all hands evacuate Baaaassssserrrr! =^=

The computer slurred the last part of the message, then the lights flickered back to normal as a human voice came online.

=^=Attention all Base personnel, belay that order, all engineering hands report to engineering! All available engineering personnel report to engineering immediately =^=

Marco's scowl deepened as he looked at Albert who seemed to find it all funny but not surprising.  He had something to do with this because he was way too calm.  Marco placed a hand on James' shoulder, "Get him to tell you why he was on the base and who he met, or I will get it out of him my way."  His voice came out as a growl, angry that someone was messing with his base.  "I need to see what is going on, I'll have Crewman Bla'Sek join you."

With that the tall security man left, ordering a rather large Orion man join James while Marco went to investigate the trouble.  Once outside the interrogation room, he pressed his combadge.

=^= Crewman Ezac, report please =^=

James didn't make any effort to acknowledge Benitez because he didn't want Albert to think he was following Benitez's orders but James followed his 'suggestions' instead. "So, in the spirit of staying out some Klingon prison," James said to Albert, "You're going to explain to me why your on this base and who you were meeting with, and you're going to explain every little detail because if I think you're holding out on me...well I'll give you back to Benitez and after that give you to the Klingon's. It's up to you how easy this is." James wanted to make sure he made it clear to Albert that he was not been given a choice. One way or another James will get this information, hopefully before Marco returns. The fact that Marco sent the Orion crewmen in was proof enough to James that Marco still didn't think James was competent enough to get it done on his own.

[Ezac]

Interrogation Room

...

=^= Crewman Ezac, report please =^=

Benitez's voice came over Ezac's combadge shortly after an alarm interrupted the searches that Ezac was overseeing.

Crewman Benitez, this is Crewman Ezac. I am still conducting searches, but I have nothing to report.

[Dylan Torngate]

=^= Red Alert! Red Alert! Core Breech, explosion eminent, all hands evacuate Baaaassssserrrr! =^=

The computer slurred the last part of the message, then the lights flickered back to normal as a human voice came online.

=^=Attention all Base personnel, belay that order, all engineering hands report to engineering! All available engineering personnel report to engineering immediately =^=

[Promenade]
Dylan was out searching the promenade with his tricorder, trying to find more nodes to be removed. He'd been at it for hours, with dubious success. He was scanning in a crowd of people when he had heard the call over comms.

Dylan heard the call over the comms and jumped. It was the worst call any Engineer can hear. It was immediately countermanded but Dylan was still in a cold sweat. He spun on his heel from where he was back toward the Turbolifts. "Make a Hole!" he shouted loudly, pushing his way through the crowd as the red alert klaxons still blared. "Coming Through, Move it!" Confusion reigned but the sight of a Starfleet officer barking orders was a sight that most people recognized and moved away from.

He got to the turbolift and slapped his commbadge. =/\=Torngate to Engineering, what the bloody hell is going on down there?

[Daniel Howell]

[Sickbay]

Zex's eyebrows narrowed as she thought over the information.   It wasn't as helpful as she had hoped.  But then again, not all the piece of information for a crime were meant to fit nicely into a puzzle.  It was what made her chosen profession so interesting and vexing at the same time.  "OK" she finally replied as she retrieved the bag and placed it with the victims personal items.

"Now I need to see the crime scene" Zex announced.  It was actually something she was looking forward too.  Hopefully no one had cleaned the area yet.  "You wanna join me?  I there the area needs some repairs anyway" she said.

Sickbay
"I'd love to join you. I may be able to provide more assistance." Replied Howell. Just as Zex was about to lead the way the computer started going what could only be described as. With a confused look, Howell thought What is going on there?. Just then another voice came over asking every engineer to report in and so said to Zex "Sorry, gotta fly." and with that ran off.

Suddenly, the lights flickered and the alarms began to blare.

=^= Red Alert! Red Alert! Core Breech, explosion eminent, all hands evacuate Baaaassssserrrr! =^=

The computer slurred the last part of the message, then the lights flickered back to normal as a human voice came online.

=^=Attention all Base personnel, belay that order, all engineering hands report to engineering! All available engineering personnel report to engineering immediately =^=

Engineering
Howell arrived in engineering to find an onslaught of other engineers rushing around. Howell was the newly appointed chief engineer and he was definitely being thrown into the deep end. Howell then clapped and shouted out as loud as he could saying "Alright, I want everyone to split into 3 teams. 1st team, verify the core. Make sure that it is completely stable and there are no problems. 2nd team, check the central computer core to check if this is a glitch. Switch all primary systems to the secondary core for now and finally 3rd team, check all the gel packs that power both the core systems, computer systems and sensors, as they could be infected. alright.... Lets move double time."

[Marco Benitez]

Benitez's voice came over Ezac's combadge shortly after an alarm interrupted the searches that Ezac was overseeing.

Crewman Benitez, this is Crewman Ezac. I am still conducting searches, but I have nothing to report.

Corridor somewhere

Marco cursed under his breath, fortunately everyone was too busy freaking out to note.  The Security Chief was already barking orders as he made his way towards the tall broody crewman.

=^= Roger that, Crewman Ezac.  Stop the searches for now, make sure no one leaves.  And, don't allow anyone into that crime scene even if they are wearing a Starfleet uniform.  If they complain tell them to talk to Commander McConnell =^=

Not that the commander will know what it's about, but it was a good stall and by the time the Commander figured out what was going on, Marco would take over the situation.  This was one of the reasons Marco would never make a good officer, he was always circumventing the rules.  He lived for loopholes and always pressed the envelope.

"Benitez, tell me you know what is going on here?"  The Trill Security Chief asked, his voice abnormally calm but his face was flushed and all of his spots had darkened with anxiety.

Marco purshed his lips before responding, "Sabotage, sir.  The engineering chief has been informed and his team is working on it.  I was heading to Engineering to get a report.  Commander McConnell has locked down all ships, we're looking for the saboteur as we speak."

"Why wasn't I informed about this!?"  He barked into Marco's face but the crewman stood emotionless as stoic as a Vulcan and responded just as stoically.

"You were, sir, I've been sending reports."  He lifted a PADD.

Riurs seemed more upset by this, "Next time report to me in person, that's all, carry on."  He left Marco to see to the search teams and was pissed off that he had been too busy to note this very dire situation.

Marco let out a breath and raked angry fingers through his dark hair.  He had had not time to make a personal report but perhaps he should have.  That was the thing with these Starfleet types, the bureaucracy was ridiculous.  There was nothing he could do about it now just as the lights began to flicker and finally shut down.

=^= Emergency lighting on =^=

The bases' Klaxons went off again signalling another red alert.

=^= Environmental Systems Malfunction =^=

The warning was followed by the heartstopping depressurization alarm.   This time the lights remained at red alert. 

Another curse escaped from his lips.   Marco doubted that there was really a malfunction but he couldn't take that chance.  He put the angry Security Chief towards the back his mind and made his way to engineering.  Marco was so focused on making his way to the stairwell leading down to the engineering hub when he bumped into someone.

"Apologies...."  He began when he looked down and noted who it was.  "Zex..."  It came out almost as a growl, but he wasn't upset to see her.  Not really.  "...isn't there a man you could be torturing, I'm kinda busy right now..."

[Daniel Howell]

Marco let out a breath and raked angry fingers through his dark hair.  He had had not time to make a personal report but perhaps he should have.  That was the thing with these Starfleet types, the bureaucracy was ridiculous.  There was nothing he could do about it now just as the lights began to flicker and finally shut down.

=^= Emergency lighting on =^=

The bases' Klaxons went off again signalling another red alert.

=^= Environmental Systems Malfunction =^=

The warning was followed by the heartstopping depressurization alarm.   This time the lights remained at red alert. 

Another curse escaped from his lips.   Marco doubted that there was really a malfunction but he couldn't take that chance.  He put the angry Security Chief towards the back his mind and made his way to engineering.  Marco was so focused on making his way to the stairwell leading down to the engineering hub when he bumped into someone.

"Apologies...."  He began when he looked down and noted who it was.  "Zex..."  It came out almost as a growl, but he wasn't upset to see her.  Not really.  "...isn't there a man you could be torturing, I'm kinda busy right now..."

Engineering
Engineering was busy enough from everything going on, but just to add to things, the decompression alarm sounded with an environmental control warning. Dan ran over to the nearest terminal to look into it and found that this was actually happening and not a glitch. Looking into it further, Dan found that the saboteur had in fact purged the environmental controls and corrupted them, expect the mystery person had done it wrong and set it to a time of 3 minutes and tripped the alert system.

Dan wanted to try something that was a little bit wild, but worth a try. Darting over to a replicator, Howell replicated as much 21st century earth electrical wiring, bundled it around his right shoulder and ran to a Jeffrey's tube. The idea was that he could bypass the computer systems and send an electrical current to the gel packs that manage the commands to the environmental systems and re-engage them. The current had to be right or it could accelerate the decompression rate.

Crawling into the tube, Dan dragged the wiring behind him. He cut two bits and attached 21st century crocodile clips to either end. He then took the cover off of one of the access panels and attached a crocodile clip to the gel pack. He then continued to the next one and did the same with another piece of wiring, before connecting the two wire pieces together. Then he did the same with another 2 gel packs and connected all of the wires together. It would need to be a 2 second burst and that should trip the controls. If this didn't work, then nothing would. He connected one final bit of wire to the first clip on the wire chain and then hovered the other end to an EPS power relay. He briefly prayed before touching it onto the relay. There was a massive spark and loads of smoke, but Dan held it for 2 seconds before dropping the wire. The smoke was unreal and Howell was coughing a lot. He crawled out of the tube and checked the nearby terminal and found that amazingly it had worked. Dan sat on the floor for a few minutes before something else no doubt would happen.

[Kirok]

Sickbay
"I'd love to join you. I may be able to provide more assistance." Replied Howell. Just as Zex was about to lead the way the computer started going what could only be described as. With a confused look, Howell thought What is going on there?. Just then another voice came over asking every engineer to report in and so said to Zex "Sorry, gotta fly." and with that ran off.

[Corridor]

"Be careful, Danny" Zex called out as she watched Danny turn a corner.  But she had to wonder if the engineering issues had anything to do with the murder.  She walked down to Engineering and stood outside the door.

Corridor somewhere

Another curse escaped from his lips.   Marco doubted that there was really a malfunction but he couldn't take that chance.  He put the angry Security Chief towards the back his mind and made his way to engineering.  Marco was so focused on making his way to the stairwell leading down to the engineering hub when he bumped into someone.

"Apologies...."  He began when he looked down and noted who it was.  "Zex..."  It came out almost as a growl, but he wasn't upset to see her.  Not really.  "...isn't there a man you could be torturing, I'm kinda busy right now..."

"Marco" Zex replied with a fake sneer.  She wasn't mad, it was simply safer to act like to to help them both avoid any intimacy.  She picked up the padd she dropped when he bumped into her.

"In fact, I just came from torturing a young man.  Sadly though, he had just recently been killed.  So he was not much fun" Zex said as she indicated the padd with a wave of her hand.  "But if our too busy" she added, pretending to prepare to put it in her pocket.

[Marco Benitez]

[Corridor]

"Be careful, Danny" Zex called out as she watched Danny turn a corner.  But she had to wonder if the engineering issues had anything to do with the murder.  She walked down to Engineering and stood outside the door.

"Marco" Zex replied with a fake sneer.  She wasn't mad, it was simply safer to act like to to help them both avoid any intimacy.  She picked up the padd she dropped when he bumped into her.

"In fact, I just came from torturing a young man.  Sadly though, he had just recently been killed.  So he was not much fun" Zex said as she indicated the padd with a wave of her hand.  "But if our too busy" she added, pretending to prepare to put it in her pocket.

Corridor

Marco looked away from her as he studied the commotion caused by the engineering sabotage.  He was listening to her, but barely, until she mentioned the murdered engineer.  He turned to her, bringing his face closer to her.  "You did the autopsy, Zex."  He felt delighted at this and gently placed a large hand on the small of her back.  The tall crewman carefully guided her to one side as several engineering crewmen flew past them.  He then kept himself between her and the chaos as he spoke to her in a lowered voice.

Since their first meeting, Marco was much gentler with the Deltan women and although he joked that he was cross with her, that was further than the truth.  Out of all the people on the base, her presence was most welcomed to him.  "I was on my way to engineering but I doubt they need me poking around asking questions."  He began, "I need to know what you found, Ensign.  Please."  He placed his hands behind his back and tilted his head slightly to the side, "Do you wish to go back to medical?"

[Ezac]

[Dock 280]

Corridor somewhere

...

=^= Roger that, Crewman Ezac.  Stop the searches for now, make sure no one leaves.  And, don't allow anyone into that crime scene even if they are wearing a Starfleet uniform.  If they complain tell them to talk to Commander McConnell =^=

...

I read you, Crewman Benitez. I will have the security crew spread out and ensure that no one leaves, and I will personally oversee the security of the crime scene.

Ezac quickly split up his security crew into pairs and directed each of them to various locations within the dock. Seeing as there was an odd number of crewmen available to him, he took one crewman with him to the crime scene.

[Kirok]

Corridor

Marco looked away from her as he studied the commotion caused by the engineering sabotage.  He was listening to her, but barely, until she mentioned the murdered engineer.  He turned to her, bringing his face closer to her.  "You did the autopsy, Zex."  He felt delighted at this and gently placed a large hand on the small of her back.  The tall crewman carefully guided her to one side as several engineering crewmen flew past them.  He then kept himself between her and the chaos as he spoke to her in a lowered voice.

Since their first meeting, Marco was much gentler with the Deltan women and although he joked that he was cross with her, that was further than the truth.  Out of all the people on the base, her presence was most welcomed to him.  "I was on my way to engineering but I doubt they need me poking around asking questions."  He began, "I need to know what you found, Ensign.  Please."  He placed his hands behind his back and tilted his head slightly to the side, "Do you wish to go back to medical?"

[Corridor]

Marco's hand was gentle and felt nice.  But as much as Zex wanted to slip back into flirtatious manner, she knew that she had to resist doing so with the Sec/Tac Crewman.  So, she forced herself to keep her back rigid instead of relaxing it.

"Well for starters, Reynaldo Guerrera is definitely dead" the Deltan said with hint of gallows humor.  "And I'm certain that it was murder as opposed to suicide.  A conclusion that is supported by the DNA I found under his nails" she added as she opened the file on her padd and gave it to Marco.

"Before I say more, I would like to see the crime scene.  It may help me get a better profile of our killer.  I was actually on my way there before the first alert sounded" she explained.

[Marco Benitez]

[Corridor]

Marco's hand was gentle and felt nice.  But as much as Zex wanted to slip back into flirtatious manner, she knew that she had to resist doing so with the Sec/Tac Crewman.  So, she forced herself to keep her back rigid instead of relaxing it.

"Well for starters, Reynaldo Guerrera is definitely dead" the Deltan said with hint of gallows humor.  "And I'm certain that it was murder as opposed to suicide.  A conclusion that is supported by the DNA I found under his nails" she added as she opened the file on her padd and gave it to Marco.

"Before I say more, I would like to see the crime scene.  It may help me get a better profile of our killer.  I was actually on my way there before the first alert sounded" she explained.

Corridor

As the lights continued to flicker and the steady red of the alert lights filled the corridor with an erieness that both frightened and excited Marco, he listened to the petite woman.  He blinked, wanting to tell her that he had concluded murder from the beginning but of course he needed affirmation.  He was glad that he was right, but at the same moment his stomach sank.  The murder was on the loose.

"DNA?"  It was more of statement than an actual question.  He was hoping to find some clue and the DNA could help convict the murderer once he caught him.  "Good...good."  Marco became lost in thought, so much that he almost missed Zex's last request.

He pursed his lips and frowned, "I took extensive forensic scans of the crime scene and have placed them in the report.  What exactly do you think you'll find there that I have missed?" 

[Kirok]

Corridor

As the lights continued to flicker and the steady red of the alert lights filled the corridor with an erieness that both frightened and excited Marco, he listened to the petite woman.  He blinked, wanting to tell her that he had concluded murder from the beginning but of course he needed affirmation.  He was glad that he was right, but at the same moment his stomach sank.  The murder was on the loose.

"DNA?"  It was more of statement than an actual question.  He was hoping to find some clue and the DNA could help convict the murderer once he caught him.  "Good...good."  Marco became lost in thought, so much that he almost missed Zex's last request.

He pursed his lips and frowned, "I took extensive forensic scans of the crime scene and have placed them in the report.  What exactly do you think you'll find there that I have missed?"

[Corridor]

Zex shoulders went up with the smile on her face.  She liked making people happy.  Even Marco with certain limits.

"The scans were helpful, but those are two dimensional images.  Visiting the crime scene will help me put thing into perspective.  Maybe even provide me with some more hints as to who our killer might be" the Deltan explained.

[Marco Benitez]

[Sickbay - Private Room]

Zex could see that Marco was conflicted about the idea.  Even without the extra help of her subconscious telepathy which helped her get a sense of people.  Again though, it seemed that maybe she had not been clear enough give Marco's response.

"I can understand how you feel.  Some secrets are very hard to share with others and you took a risk doing so with me.  But some of the techniques could be practiced in the repli-mat with a hologram.  Actually, that would be the suggested way to start" she replied, again sit straight up in her seat, resisting the urge to stand.

"Your welcome, Marco" Zex said.  She slowly rose to her feet.  "Friends it is" she finished with a smile.

[Corridor]

Zex shoulders went up with the smile on her face.  She liked making people happy.  Even Marco with certain limits.

"The scans were helpful, but those are two dimensional images.  Visiting the crime scene will help me put thing into perspective.  Maybe even provide me with some more hints as to who our killer might be" the Deltan explained.

Corridor

Insufferable!

Marco thought, but with a mental affection for the Deltan.  He would have normally suggested she use a holodeck, but as it were things weren't right with the Bases power that was not an option.  He sighed as a parent would sigh at at child, "Alright, Miss Zex, follow me and stay close."  The chaos surrounded them as crews rushed to and fro since they were all avoiding the lifts for fear of getting stuck.

"This way."  He gave her one final look before taking off hurriedly but at the same time slow enough to know that she could keep up.    It was at least fifty decks to the Civilian Bay where the murder took place and Marco was sweaty but slightly out of breath.  He checked on Zex before continuing, "Are you okay, doctor?"

Deck 280

His eyes spotted the Breen guarding the entrance to the engineer conduit where the body of Lt. Guerrero had been found.  Marco made his way towards the crewman, "Anything to report?"  He asked before explaining his presence. "I've brought the doctor here to investigate the crime scene.  I'll take care of it myself."

Marco looked around noting that most of the civilian ships had made their way off the base.  Whatever was happening with the Columbus they wanted to be no part of it.  He hoped the murderer was still on the base because he really wanted to get his hands on that man, whomever he was. 

[Ezac]

[Deck 280]

It was obvious that the security crewman was new...and nervous. Ezac hadn't planned on keeping a crewman with him to guard the scene of the crime, but as he counted out pairs, he had the brilliant idea to take the odd-man-out with him. Now, as the crewman paced back and forth, talking about his childhood pets and his first love, Ezac wished to himself that he had found himself with one fewer crewmen at his disposal.

Just as Ezac was about to tell the crewman to take a break, Benitez and an unfamiliar female officer came around a corner and approached.

...

Deck 280

His eyes spotted the Breen guarding the entrance to the engineer conduit where the body of Lt. Guerrero had been found.  Marco made his way towards the crewman, "Anything to report?"  He asked before explaining his presence. "I've brought the doctor here to investigate the crime scene.  I'll take care of it myself."

Marco looked around noting that most of the civilian ships had made their way off the base.  Whatever was happening with the Columbus they wanted to be no part of it.  He hoped the murderer was still on the base because he really wanted to get his hands on that man, whomever he was.

"No, Crewman, nothing to report," Ezac replied as he pieced together the likely reason for the medical officer's presence. "Everything has been quiet, and none of the security teams have reported anything abnormal." Ezac glanced at the nervous crewman and noticed that he was staring with his mouth hanging open slightly.

"Please take your time, doctor," Ezac said to Zex as he gestured toward the nervous crewman. "And if you need anything at all, then Crewman Wrampe is at your service."

[Dylan Torngate]

[Main Engineering]

Engineering was a rush of activity, people scurrying around and the air getting thinner before a cloud of smoke flared up from a corner and Dylan saw a man fix the issue. He ran over to him, and helped him up. "Lieutenant Dylan Torngate, USS Athena. What the hell is going on here?" he asked, while at the same time walking over to a computer console and pulling up the Federation's version of the twenty-first century "Task Manager" and trying to isolate the computer malfunctions... unsuccessfully. He waited for the other man to introduce himself and explain before he walked off to try something else.