The Game is Afoot (PM Marco to join)

[Marco Benitez]

Participants:  Marco Benitez, Cayden McConnell and Dylan Torngate (PM to join)
Summary: A murdered body is found on the Columbus and the investigation is started.  This is a real who done it, and who doesn't enjoy a good murder mystery? 

[Marco Benitez]

Deck 280

The Civilians preferred security crewmen to Starfleet officers who, in their strong opinions, were a bit too full of themselves.  Marco had no opinion, there was good and bad in both the civilian authorities and Starfleet.  He was only there to fulfill his job requirements which he thought about with cool Vulcan logic.  On a more Human point of view, he was born to be a law enforcer and investigator.  If he wasn't investigating something or beating someone over the head with rules and regulations he was not living to his full potential.

As it was, the tall, dark haired man always wore a permanent scowl on his face making him seem just a bit older than he really was and gave him a more authoritative air.  Marco had no idea he wore it although it tended to earn him respect right from the get go.  He wore his dark hair in a small ponytail as regulations required but he refused to cut it.  His face, however, was shaved clean since his beard never grew in full as he'd like it too.  It was probably the native american blood of his father that prevented the full beard.  He'd never really dived into his heritage and really only heard that comment from another human somewhere.  If he thought about it, he could recall who said it and when, but that wasn't important now.

His dark eyes quickly caught sight of a group of agitated individuals and he approached them.  "Someone call for security?"  Marco asked once he was within earshot of the group.  As one they turned towards the tall human and all began to speak at the same time.   He took a step back and held out his hands and raised his deep voice, "One at a time!  Mr. Solsman was the one that called me!  Which one of you is he?"

A worried little human male, a bit round in the middle stepped forward.  He had a mousy face that twitched with nerves.  "Y-yes, it was me."  The flood gate that was his mouth burst open, "Oh it's terrible!  I found it...him..whatever...oh it's just terrible.  And the smell.   We found the body in the crawl space.  Oh, I didn't see it personally but just the thought.  Who did it? Why?  Where?  Is the killer still here?  Who'll be next, oh my, I should have stayed on Earth!"  The rest of the group began again and Marco could grab a word in here and there.

Dead...  The smell....  Murdered... Who's next?

"Enough!"  Marco once again called for order and it came natural to him.  The others sensed this and automatically went quiet.  As soon as they all fell quiet he ordered, "Show me where."  His pronunciation was deliberate as he pronounced each syllable with emphasis although for anyone that didn't understand Standard the translator would easily have corrected that.  Marco, again, did not realize he was doing this, he just wanted to make himself clear.

"Th-this way, officer."  Solsman motioned to him and pointed at an open wall panel.  Someone had opened it and crawled inside recently.

Marco had a flashlight in his hand quickly and inspected the opening before even thinking of entering.  "Who was in here?"  He asked the group.

"I was, officer."  A young Orion female spoke up.  She was a skinny thing, not the typical full bodied versions that Marco had been used too.  He could see why they had chosen her to crawl in there.

He stood to his full height towering over the young girl by an easy foot.  His eyes inspected her and he could tell she was very young, perhaps on the cusp of adulthood and she seemed very shaken up.  The latter made his heart soften a bit, the last thing he wanted was a traumatized child.  "Calm down, girl."  His voice softened as he gently ordered, "Tell me what happened and what you saw."

[Dylan Torngate]

[Station Ops]

Dylan was on leave from his regular posting, that of the USS Athena. Of course, he hated free time, and thought of it as a waste of time, so he instead volunteered for a few shifts on the station. Although it wasn't his usual job, he was covering for a crewman who'd gotten sick suddenly.

Dylan was pacing around a little, listening to the hum of machinery as he worked. His console got a popup that there was a security crewman dispatched to deck two eighty, but he paid it little mind. He had seen a few of those notes, but didn't have any reason to react to this one.

He did start paying attention, however, when the bio-readings flagged a mass grouping of people- notably civilians- surrounding a secured hatchway in a manner that just made Dylan uncomfortable. He sighed, and went to the turbolift after calling for someone to cover for him.

[Deck 280]

Dylan walked quickly over to the gaggle of people. "What the hell is going on here?" he asked, not angry but more exasperated. "Don't y'all know a secured hatchway when you see one?"

He kept far enough back from the group, but took in all of the people. "Can somebody explain what you all are doing here?"

[Marco Benitez]

The more the girl explained the angrier Marco got.  His large hands clenched into fists at his sides as the girl broke down crying.  "Who's idea was to send this child in there?"  The group inhaled as one and they all looked at one another.

"Oh I volunteered, s-s-sir." The girl responded, rescuing everyone from his wrath.  Still, she was a child and decisions like these were not left to children.  Marco, however, knew she had been traumatized enough and didn't need an angry human to make that worse.

"Fine."  He reached for her slender shoulders but found it difficult to put his hands on her.  People interaction had always been difficult for him if it was anything other than interrogating.  Marco decided to forgo the awkwardness of comforting the girl and turned to who he believed was her guardian. "Take her to sickbay and get her help, she's been traumatized by all this."  He pointed a thick finger at her caretaker, "Do not do that again."

He watched them leave just as a Starfleet engineer stepped up asking what was going on.  The tall security crewman took a deep breath and studied the younger man for a few minutes before responding.  "It seems these people have found a corpse in the crawlspace."  Marco realized that the young man's appearance was a godsend.  "We will need to extract him..."  He suddenly felt many eyes and ears on him and he turned to find the gathered group of civies leaning in to get all the information.

"Starbase personnel will take it from here."  Marco frowned at the group, his voice raised and sounding like a growl which quickly made the group jump, some more than others, "You can disburse, but don't leave the base.  I will put orders to arrest anyone from leaving!  Understand!  I will have questions for each and everyone of you later."

They nodded and others voiced their affirmatives then hesitantly broke off leaving the two Starfleet officers alone.  Marco studied their distance and when he thought they were far enough he continued, "...as I was saying.  We will need to extract the body with as little meddling as possible.  But before we even move it, I'll need to inspect the sight.  Can you get me in there without having to crawl on my hands and knees?" 

[Dylan Torngate]

Dylan looked up at the man when he stood out of the vents. Dylan pegged his height at about 6'1" to 6'3". He wasn't intimidated though, and immediately set to work "encouraging" people to vacate the area.

"A corpse in the crawlspace? Not likely." Dylan scoffed, then stuck his head in and got a wiff of whatever ungodly smell was in there. "Nevermind, it's entirely possible" he said, shaking his head. "My first question is what the hell were they doing in a secured crawlspace?"

He shook his head, exasperated. "Nevermind. Anyways, as to your question, No you can't get in there without hands and knees, and no there is no good way to get whatever is in there out in the same way it is, unless you feel like filling out two mountans of paperwork to use the transporters."

Dylan sealed the hatchway and put in his personal access code to lock it, a thick metal bolt sliding in to place with a loud "Thunk". He then began taking scans of the area with his tricorder, trying to see if he could detect the body from here. He could not.

Dylan then shut down the power systems through this section, isolating the area so that it was safer to enter.

[Marco Benitez]

Marco tilted his head to one side as he watched the younger man confirm what he had just reported.  Why would Marco make a thing like that up?  He had no idea how some minds worked.  Still, he was a patient man, prone to stop, observe and make mental notes.

"Paperwork is nonconsequential."  He responded, his voice lifted as if it disturbed him to say each word.  He wasn't disturbed, he just wanted to be understood.  Marco lifted a hand and tapped his combadge.

=^= This is Crewman Benitez to Chief Riurs.  We have a situation on deck 280, I will need the assistance of a recovery team code red gamma 1, I repeat code red gamma 1.  I will also need a commanding officer to be present. =^=

The tall security crewman then turned his dark eyes towards Dylan, "We will transport the body away, but first I need to inspect the area."  He explained and took out his tricorder with what seemed a bored sigh as he went on his knees.  Marco looked up and pursed his lips.  "Lead the way, Ensign, but don't touch anything."

He held up a hand to halt just as a couple of security personnel came rushing in.  They must've been close and Marco was impressed by their speed.  He quickly stood up, "Secure the area and wait for the recovery team."  His eyes flickered from one face to the other as he continued his instructions.  "Inform me when the commanding officer shows up and I will personally inform him of the situation."

After the two officers gave their affirmative, Marco went back to his knees and motioned for Dylan to get on with it.  He hoped that the Ensign wasn't squeamish and that he had a strong stomach.  Last thing he needed was to have to crawl through vomit.

[Dylan Torngate]

Dylan rolled his eyes to himself when his back was turned to Marco. The man sounded so damn vulcan... either that or he just had no social skills worth a damn.

"Whatever you say, I'll forward the requisition forms to you." he said, and walked over to the wall console, sending the pages of paperwork to the security crewman's PADD. After he had finished that he walked back over and saw two security people now on guard. He outranked them both and have them step aside. He unlocked the hatch, took a deep breath, and entered, leading the way.

"I know how to handle myself, you have no need to treat me like a schoolchild" he said, matching the tone and boredness of the crewman behind him. He reached a junction, and kept going. The smell was overpowering and disgusting, but thankfully Dylan wasn't queasy. he'd grown up on freighters, he'd seen his fair share of mutilated bodies and parts.

[Marco Benitez]

Once again the ensign was talking about paperwork but all Marco had in his mind was getting to the location.  He made his mental checks of what he was going to look for and he prayed silently that it wasn't a civilian who was dead.  However, from what the girl had told him, the corpse wore a Starfleet uniform.  Still, uniforms could be counterfeited so an actual facial recognition confirmation would be needed.

He ignored the other man's protest against being treated like a child.  Marco had no idea he had treated him as a child but had merely given him clear instruction.  Instruction he would have given anyone actually.  Again, he was only trying to make himself understood.  The comment came and went and he put no further thought into it.  If the Ensign wanted to brood over a few simple words that was his problem, Marco had more important ones.

The smell was getting strong and it indicated that the body had been there for a couple of days.  If the man was Starfleet personnel, how had he gone missing so long without someone reporting him?  Surely, just missing his shift would have sent alerts.

Unless he was on leave?

The reached the area and the dead body was crumpled in a sitting position with nothing touching any crucial equipment that would have interfered and alerted engineering of a problem.  "Clever."  Marco murmured as he took out his tricorder and began to record the information.  He ran it across the man's rotting face, which was still in good condition and the computer quickly identified him.

=^=Lieutenant Junior Grade Reynaldo Guerrera =^=

It seemed that the reason for his death was a hyperspanner lodged into his head through his temple.  It didn't take that much strength and on a human it was sure death.  All this filtered through his brain and he took notes quickly on the tricorder as well.  He'd transfer them later to a PADD.  Marco silently continued to investigate the crime scene, because this was definitely a crime scene.

He was vaguely aware of the engineer near him as he sat down and began to take more notes.  "Please inform me, ensign."  Marco began as he finally allowed his brain to include the other man, "How has this area been tampered with, in your engineering expertise?" 

[Dylan Torngate]

Dylan entered the area, sliding his feet forward and standing. He knew that the security crewman would take care of the body, so paid it no mind. He knew security was about to have a field day, and didn't touch anything related to the scene. He recognized the gold of starfleet Engineering and his gut sunk.

Dylan began checking the access terminal in the same chamber, checking for unauthorized access. He'd put on gloves as to not disturb any fingerprints or the like. He found about seventy unauthorized access attempts, and turned to the security crewman.

He heard the computer say the man's name and he looked in shock. "But that can't be right..." he said, but turned back to the area, finding an unauthorized piece of equipment. He scanned it, and followed it's interface back, and turned. "Well we got trouble here." he said.

"Yes, there are odd things." he started, counting off on his fingers. "First, there's a dead starfleet officer, second, I talked to this officer this morning over comms, he called in sick today. Third off, there are about seventy access attempts on this console, which is tied into the weapons grid, and fourth there's an unauthorized thing here that's slaved into the weapons grid, which means someone has access to every weapon on this station. That's RIM XII-C Independent Twin Mounted Phaser Emplacements: 40 banks of 2 each, and fifty 50 MK-II Phaser Cannons, with enough torpedoes to destroy a small moon."

[Cayden McConnell]

Marco tilted his head to one side as he watched the younger man confirm what he had just reported.  Why would Marco make a thing like that up?  He had no idea how some minds worked.  Still, he was a patient man, prone to stop, observe and make mental notes.

"Paperwork is nonconsequential."  He responded, his voice lifted as if it disturbed him to say each word.  He wasn't disturbed, he just wanted to be understood.  Marco lifted a hand and tapped his combadge.

=^= This is Crewman Benitez to Chief Riurs.  We have a situation on deck 280, I will need the assistance of a recovery team code red gamma 1, I repeat code red gamma 1.  I will also need a commanding officer to be present. =^=

The tall security crewman then turned his dark eyes towards Dylan, "We will transport the body away, but first I need to inspect the area."  He explained and took out his tricorder with what seemed a bored sigh as he went on his knees.  Marco looked up and pursed his lips.  "Lead the way, Ensign, but don't touch anything."

He held up a hand to halt just as a couple of security personnel came rushing in.  They must've been close and Marco was impressed by their speed.  He quickly stood up, "Secure the area and wait for the recovery team."  His eyes flickered from one face to the other as he continued his instructions.  "Inform me when the commanding officer shows up and I will personally inform him of the situation."

After the two officers gave their affirmative, Marco went back to his knees and motioned for Dylan to get on with it.  He hoped that the Ensign wasn't squeamish and that he had a strong stomach.  Last thing he needed was to have to crawl through vomit.

Cayden had been in the Starbase Operations center, looking over the refit schedule for the USS Monitor. The starbase shipyard personnel were still replacing sever all of the power transfer relays in the engine room from the latest engines test.

Looking up from his console, he heard the call for a commanding officer to be present at a crime scene. Like it or not, he was currently the XO of this orbiting behemoth until the replacement officers arrived, which meant that he had mundane duties that he had to attend to.

Perhaps this will be somewhat exciting, he thought to himself.

Securing his terminal, he tapped his commbadge as he made his way towards the turbolift.

McConnell to Benitez. I'm on my way.

Entering the lift, he quickly order it to deck 280. As he waited for the lift to descend into the bowels of the station, he wondered what was waiting for him below.

[Deck 280]
(A few minutes later)

Exiting the lift, he simply followed the security personnel to the area of interest and saw to other crewman standing there, discussing something.

"What have you got?" He asked, in a slightly irritated tone.

[Marco Benitez]

"Yes, there are odd things." he started, counting off on his fingers. "First, there's a dead starfleet officer, second, I talked to this officer this morning over comms, he called in sick today. Third off, there are about seventy access attempts on this console, which is tied into the weapons grid, and fourth there's an unauthorized thing here that's slaved into the weapons grid, which means someone has access to every weapon on this station. That's RIM XII-C Independent Twin Mounted Phaser Emplacements: 40 banks of 2 each, and fifty 50 MK-II Phaser Cannons, with enough torpedoes to destroy a small moon."

Terror was a persistent demon perched on Marco's shoulder but he pushed it off and remained calm.  The only sign that he was disturbed at the information was the slight twitching of his right eye.  He held out a large hand, "Calm down, Ensign."  Again, there was no babying being done, but the other man seemed to be agitated, not that Marco blamed him.  He doubted that any weapons have been used, but that could change at any second.

"First of all, is there a way to shut it down without shutting down the weapons."  He didn't want to leave them open to any attack, if there would be one. "Second, is there a way to track down where it's being slaved from?"

Just then his combadge chirped,  =^= Sir, Commander McConnell is here. =^=

=^= Acknowledged, =^=  Marco responded and took a few moments to ponder on the information he had at hand.

=^= Commander, Crewman Benitez here, we have one confirmed dead engineer.  Homicide is definitely responsible. =^=

Unless he figured out how to commit suicide by hyperspanner through the temple. Marco mused darkly then continued.

=^= I have Ensign Torngate from Engineering with me, and he has confirmed that this area has been tempered with.  Sir, it seems someone has enslaved the base's weapons systems and could be in control of them.  I have requested that the system be removed. =^=

Marco turned to Dylan, wondering if he wanted to add something to the information. 

[Dylan Torngate]

Dylan was very, very agitated. "Damn it all I knew this man, I worked with him." he said, his foot tapping incessantly. "I talked with him this morning, and unless he was playing with some serious radiation he's been dead for a while." he paced a little, trying to run down things. He was unsuccessful in determining who it was he'd talked to over comms, but kept thinking.

"Well, is there a sanctioned way... No." he said, trying to order things. "Can I make a way? Probably." he said. "Would it end up with me losing my job and being sent to a federation penal colony, most definitely." He obesrved the piece. "I have know way of knowing how far this goes, if there is more than one adapter we'll tip our hand that we know we're on to the person." he said, frustrated at not being able to do anything.

Dylan squatted down and observed the corpse. He looked at the hyperspanner wound. "Well there's a hint there, it takes quite a bit of force to shove that thing through a person's temple, so whoever it is has some major leverage."

As he heard the commander was coming, he gulped. It hadn't exactly been cleared that Dylan could cover any extra Engineering shifts while on leave from Athena. He'd registered with the Commander as being on base when he arrived, but other than that he wasn't exactly part of the Starbase crew.

[Cayden McConnell]

Terror was a persistent demon perched on Marco's shoulder but he pushed it off and remained calm.  The only sign that he was disturbed at the information was the slight twitching of his right eye.  He held out a large hand, "Calm down, Ensign."  Again, there was no babying being done, but the other man seemed to be agitated, not that Marco blamed him.  He doubted that any weapons have been used, but that could change at any second.

"First of all, is there a way to shut it down without shutting down the weapons."  He didn't want to leave them open to any attack, if there would be one. "Second, is there a way to track down where it's being slaved from?"

Just then his combadge chirped,  =^= Sir, Commander McConnell is here. =^=

=^= Acknowledged, =^=  Marco responded and took a few moments to ponder on the information he had at hand.

=^= Commander, Crewman Benitez here, we have one confirmed dead engineer.  Homicide is definitely responsible. =^=

Unless he figured out how to commit suicide by hyperspanner through the temple. Marco mused darkly then continued.

=^= I have Ensign Torngate from Engineering with me, and he has confirmed that this area has been tempered with.  Sir, it seems someone has enslaved the base's weapons systems and could be in control of them.  I have requested that the system be removed. =^=

Marco turned to Dylan, wondering if he wanted to add something to the information.

Dylan was very, very agitated. "Damn it all I knew this man, I worked with him." he said, his foot tapping incessantly. "I talked with him this morning, and unless he was playing with some serious radiation he's been dead for a while." he paced a little, trying to run down things. He was unsuccessful in determining who it was he'd talked to over comms, but kept thinking.

"Well, is there a sanctioned way... No." he said, trying to order things. "Can I make a way? Probably." he said. "Would it end up with me losing my job and being sent to a federation penal colony, most definitely." He obesrved the piece. "I have know way of knowing how far this goes, if there is more than one adapter we'll tip our hand that we know we're on to the person." he said, frustrated at not being able to do anything.

Dylan squatted down and observed the corpse. He looked at the hyperspanner wound. "Well there's a hint there, it takes quite a bit of force to shove that thing through a person's temple, so whoever it is has some major leverage."

As he heard the commander was coming, he gulped. It hadn't exactly been cleared that Dylan could cover any extra Engineering shifts while on leave from Athena. He'd registered with the Commander as being on base when he arrived, but other than that he wasn't exactly part of the Starbase crew.

Cayden walked through the collection of security personnel and made his way to the crime scene. As he approached he saw an Ensign and a Crewman standing over a body and near a control panel.

He knew that one was Crewman Recruit Benitez and the other was an Ensign from the Athena.

Dillwe...no, Dylan Thornhead or something, he thought to himself.

Names weren't all that important though he knew that the Ensign wasn't not assigned to the Starbase personnel roster and not assigned to a duty shift.

Looking at the ensign, he quickly found nothing of interest, rather like a predator deciding that the prey was not worth the effort of killing.

Benitez seemed to have ano annoyed expression of his face, as Cayden's glance fell upon him. Moving quickly past Benitez, Cayden looked at the corpse that lay on the deck.

Cayden felt nothing as he looked at the dead body. The man had been struck in the head with a blunt object...he was dead. End of his story. What lay ahead was the search for the reason as to why he was dead.

"Has medical examined the deceased yet?" He asked, coldly, still looking at the body on the floor.

[Marco Benitez]

Dylan was very, very agitated. "Damn it all I knew this man, I worked with him." he said, his foot tapping incessantly. "I talked with him this morning, and unless he was playing with some serious radiation he's been dead for a while." he paced a little, trying to run down things. He was unsuccessful in determining who it was he'd talked to over comms, but kept thinking.

"Well, is there a sanctioned way... No." he said, trying to order things. "Can I make a way? Probably." he said. "Would it end up with me losing my job and being sent to a federation penal colony, most definitely." He observed the piece. "I have know way of knowing how far this goes, if there is more than one adapter we'll tip our hand that we know we're on to the person." he said, frustrated at not being able to do anything.

Marco's dark eyes followed Dylan as the man acted out his agitation.  It was clear that the man had not taken his order to Á¢â,¬Ëœcalm down' to heart.  Again Marco was strained to repeat it, "Please, Ensign, calm down."  His deep calm timbre hid his own agitation well, but this wasn't the first time Marco had been on a murder investigation.  It was, however, the first time an entire bases' weapons systems were compromised.  He could think of many reasons why someone would do that and each one was darker than the next.

The security crewmen stifled the urge to slap the ensign and instead watched as he squatted down and inspected the corpse.  Marco tilted his head to one side hoping that the younger man wouldn't disturb the body but he didn't.  Instead he gave his opinion on the attack.

Dylan squatted down and observed the corpse. He looked at the hyperspanner wound. "Well there's a hint there, it takes quite a bit of force to shove that thing through a person's temple, so whoever it is has some major leverage."

As he heard the commander was coming, he gulped. It hadn't exactly been cleared that Dylan could cover any extra Engineering shifts while on leave from Athena. He'd registered with the Commander as being on base when he arrived, but other than that he wasn't exactly part of the Starbase crew.

He shook his head and pointed at the temple area, "This area is soft, it doesn't take that much force to penetrate it.  What it does take is skill, after all it's a small area and there would be a struggle."  Marco explained, believing that moving the focus to the murder would calm the other man down a bit.  Of course, he was the last person to know what could calm a person down other than ordering them to calm down.

With a long finger he pointed at the corpse's arms which indicated some bruising and what seemed to be scratches.  "Defensive wounds, he put up a fight.  We will have to examine under his fingernails for samples of his attacker.  Or it could be the other way."  Marco suddenly revealed, "He could have been the attacker and his victim is hiding the attack for some reason."  Another thought hit him, "Perhaps that is the reason why the weapons haven't been used yet?"

He reached out and stretched out the corpse, after all the way he had been found had already been recorded.   Marco was about to search the body when Commander McConnell arrived.

Benitez seemed to have an annoyed expression of his face, as Cayden's glance fell upon him. Moving quickly past Benitez, Cayden looked at the corpse that lay on the deck.

Cayden felt nothing as he looked at the dead body. The man had been struck in the head with a blunt object...he was dead. End of his story. What lay ahead was the search for the reason as to why he was dead.

"Has medical examined the deceased yet?" He asked, coldly, still looking at the body on the floor.

Marco looked up, not realizing the scowl he wore on his face.  He was in investigation mode and had no time to appear pleasant.  The man standing over him seemed to be in the same mindset and that made Marco's job a lot easier.  He was glad that the corpse didn't seem to bother the Commander, the last thing he needed was another agitated Starfleet officer.

"Not as yet, sir."  Marco responded, "I am still examining the body for clues."  He calmly if not a bit coldly, opened the man's arms, they were no longer stiff from rigor mortis, and opened the hands which seemed to be clutching something.  He moved his face closer to get a better look at the hands.  "The ensign here says that he spoke with this man earlier today, but it is clear that this man has been dead for at least two days.  I am positive medical will agree with my assessment."

Marco pulled out a small piece of technology from the man's cold hands and showed it to Dylan, "Ensign, could you tell me what that is and what is the status of the bases' weapons system?"  He didn't want to step on any toes, after all the bases' commander was present, but he had asked a question and had not received a response.

Turning towards the commander he offered, "Perhaps we should shut down all traffic going out of the base, Commander.  I believe the killer is still on the base."  Marco stood up but the area wasn't able to take his full height so he crouched a bit.  "After all."  He concluded, "Who was it that Ensign Dylan was talking to?  If not the killer then surely a co-conspirator?" 

[Dylan Torngate]

Marco's dark eyes followed Dylan as the man acted out his agitation.  It was clear that the man had not taken his order to Á¢â,¬Ëœcalm down' to heart.  Again Marco was strained to repeat it, "Please, Ensign, calm down."  His deep calm timbre hid his own agitation well, but this wasn't the first time Marco had been on a murder investigation.  It was, however, the first time an entire bases' weapons systems were compromised.  He could think of many reasons why someone would do that and each one was darker than the next.

The security crewmen stifled the urge to slap the ensign and instead watched as he squatted down and inspected the corpse.  Marco tilted his head to one side hoping that the younger man wouldn't disturb the body but he didn't.  Instead he gave his opinion on the attack.

He shook his head and pointed at the temple area, "This area is soft, it doesn't take that much force to penetrate it.  What it does take is skill, after all it's a small area and there would be a struggle."  Marco explained, believing that moving the focus to the murder would calm the other man down a bit.  Of course, he was the last person to know what could calm a person down other than ordering them to calm down.

With a long finger he pointed at the corpse's arms which indicated some bruising and what seemed to be scratches.  "Defensive wounds, he put up a fight.  We will have to examine under his fingernails for samples of his attacker.  Or it could be the other way."  Marco suddenly revealed, "He could have been the attacker and his victim is hiding the attack for some reason."  Another thought hit him, "Perhaps that is the reason why the weapons haven't been used yet?"

He reached out and stretched out the corpse, after all the way he had been found had already been recorded.   Marco was about to search the body when Commander McConnell arrived.

Marco looked up, not realizing the scowl he wore on his face.  He was in investigation mode and had no time to appear pleasant.  The man standing over him seemed to be in the same mindset and that made Marco's job a lot easier.  He was glad that the corpse didn't seem to bother the Commander, the last thing he needed was another agitated Starfleet officer.

"Not as yet, sir."  Marco responded, "I am still examining the body for clues."  He calmly if not a bit coldly, opened the man's arms, they were no longer stiff from rigor mortis, and opened the hands which seemed to be clutching something.  He moved his face closer to get a better look at the hands.  "The ensign here says that he spoke with this man earlier today, but it is clear that this man has been dead for at least two days.  I am positive medical will agree with my assessment."

Marco pulled out a small piece of technology from the man's cold hands and showed it to Dylan, "Ensign, could you tell me what that is and what is the status of the bases' weapons system?"  He didn't want to step on any toes, after all the bases' commander was present, but he had asked a question and had not received a response.

Turning towards the commander he offered, "Perhaps we should shut down all traffic going out of the base, Commander.  I believe the killer is still on the base."  Marco stood up but the area wasn't able to take his full height so he crouched a bit.  "After all."  He concluded, "Who was it that Ensign Dylan was talking to?  If not the killer then surely a co-conspirator?"

Dylan shrunk back at the Commander's entrance, both to get away from him and to give him some room. He took a few deep breaths and calmed down, but still had some residual angst left over. Dylan was both on his first murder scene and had, for the first time, had to deal with the arsenal of an entire starbase going rogue. It wasn't a pretty thought.

He nodded at the crewman's explanation. "That's certainly possible" he said, nodding in acquiescence. "I guess you're right, you are security after all."

He stood back and observed the equipment around, linking his tricorder with the weapons grid and running a diagnostic. The system was a mess, with malicious code written throughout. It would be a pain in the ass to remove, but as soon as they did the entire grid was rigged to blow.

He heard the men discussing the body. "Aye, sir." he said, speaking to the Commander. "I spoke with him earlier today... He said he was sick and asked if I could cover his shift, so he didn't have to bother any of the on-base engineers, and to keep it on the down-low because he didn't want to bother you." he said, looking down at his feet slightly for breaking several regulations right there, which included letting the Station Commander know if any roster changes happened.

He took the piece of equipment in his hand, glad it was gloved. "Well... I'd say that it's an unauthorized bug, little interface device that is mean to syphon computer data to another source... These things get really hot when turned on. From the burns on his hands" he said, indicating his left hand, "He was removing it."

"The weapons systems are a charlie-foxtrot." he said, bluntly. "They're all syphoned to another control device, anything from a PADD to another starship computer, so that doesn't lower the chances any. If we tap into the virus it'll alert whoever put it there and they might go off. The virus is set to detonate all the torpedoes on the station if the virus is removed improperly."

He cursed himself for not seeing it earlier, though it was impossible for him to have seen this code from the Ops centre.