The Game is Afoot (PM Marco to join)

[James H. Hawk]

Chief Engineer's Office

Another call came in, offering assistance and Marco took it.  He would definitely need the manpower especially since they had all those ships to inspect.  Tapping on the combadge he responded to Ensign Hawke:

=^= Stand by, I shall be there momentarily, please arm yourself. =^=

He then listened quietly to the information Dylan gave the Chief Engineer who was taking it all in with an impossible calm.  As he inspected the crime scene evidence he was seriously frowning but nothing else showed what Marco knew was sheer terror.  The chief stood up and nodded, "Understood, we will get on this immediately."  He turned to Marco, "I am assuming that the crime scene will be cleared and available for us to use."

"Yes, sir, you can have your staff clean it up and inspected, unless you want the recovery team to do it.  All the forensic information we can gather has been gathered."  He looked to the nervous young ensign next to him then back to the chief.  "I shall leave Ensign Torngate with you, but I will need to interrogate several of your staff.  Commander McConnell has closed up all ships leaving the base and those arriving will be halted for a time being.  I will send you the list of those on your staff that I will need to talk too."

The chief nodded quietly and sighed, "We will cooperate fully, Crewman, please get the person that did this and I will inform Lt. Guerrero's family if you don't mind?"

"Of course not, sir, and I will keep you informed."  Marco nodded and then turned to Dylan, "Thank you for your assistance, Ensign, I will inform your superiors of the fine work you've done.  Gentlemen."  He nodded briskly and made his exit.

[Civilian Docks - Deck 280]

During the lift ride to the docks, Marco made sure to bring up the files of the two security members that had offered their assistance.  Crewman Ezac was an old hand but a Breen, that didn't really bother Marco.  He needed all the help he could get and perhaps the shock of seeing a Breen Federation Security Crewman would scare the culprits out in the open.  Ensign Hawke was human and would be easily recognizable.

Both men were waiting for him as he made his way towards the crime scene which was being cleaned as he arrived.  "Crewman Ezac."  He nodded to the Breen, "Ensign Hawke."  He spoke to the fair haired young human male, "Thank you for offering to help."  He nodded to a few of his security crewman that grouped around behind Marco.  "Gentlemen."  He addressed them as a group knowing each one personally as he worked closely with them on a daily basis.

"These civilian ships are waiting to leave, but cannot as Commander McConnell has stopped all transports until they are allowed to leave.  Our jobs..."  Marco's voice was strong and clear and easily reached anyone within ear distance, "...is to inspect the ships, the crew and the cargo carefully for any evidence that could lead to finding the murderer.  You will work in groups of two and report anything unusual to me and I will inspect it.  I, as you all know, was the one that found the body.  The murderer is desperate, be sure you have set your weapons to stun and don't be afraid to use them."  He pursed his lips, "You all will be given a PADD with ship information.  Do you have any questions?"

[Deck 280]

James 'acquired' a phaser from one of the patrolling security officers as he had no time to go all the way down to the armoury. He approached Crewman Benitez, "Its no problem. I have nothing better to do than help. Let's get this bastard," he said passionately. "Could you give me a quick brief on what we know so far, crewman?" James inquired. If he was going to be of any use he would have to be brought into the loop.

[Marco Benitez]

[Deck 280]

Ezac turned around at the sound of the turbolift and watched as Benitez emerged.

Ezac had no interest in interrupting, so he just merely offered a subtle nod of his head and allowed Benitez to continue.

Eager to begin, Ezac spoke up first. "I have no questions, Crewman. Should I pick one of your cohorts and begin conducting a search?

[Deck 280]

Marco turned towards the Breen, and gave him an unflinching look.  He nodded at the request and decided to assign the Breen someone that wouldn't be scared by him.  Some people could never get over their childhood fears of the boogeyman and to some that was the Breen.  "I'll assign Crewman Shavar to you."  The Vulcan crewman was very young but steady and like most Vulcan he wasn't caught up in superstitions and childhood stories.    "You will take Docks A through C.  They should be food suppliers and you'll have their crew manifestation.  Make sure you check the freezers carefully, they're infamous for secret rooms."   He nodded them off then turned to Ensign Hawk.

[Deck 280]

James 'acquired' a phaser from one of the patrolling security officers as he had no time to go all the way down to the armoury. He approached Crewman Benitez, "Its no problem. I have nothing better to do than help. Let's get this bastard," he said passionately. "Could you give me a quick brief on what we know so far, crewman?" James inquired. If he was going to be of any use he would have to be brought into the loop.

Marco took a deep breath and eyed the young officer for a moment.  He had hoped that someone else had informed him of what was going on, but he supposed he could give him a quick runby.  "The information is on your PADD."  Marco handed James a PADD, "There was a dead engineering officer in a Deck 280 conduit, found by the civilians.  We need to find the murderer, but since the body had been dead for a couple of days we may not.  Still, the evidence found gives me a hope that they are still on board."  He narrowed his eyes at the other man, "They have not finished what they started, so it's very important that we find him or her before they do.  Sir."

He waved at one of the crewman, an older human woman with a wicked scar over her left eye, "Crewman Figaro will go with you, she's very experienced in searching vessels.  You two will have docks D through F, medical supplies.  Be careful of the biohazard areas and feel free to call a biohazard team from the Columbus if you need it."

Marco then turned towards another crewman, "Mr. Tam you're with me, we're taking dock G and H, the rest of you I want to you span out and look for clues in the dock, try not to disturb anything you find and take forensic scans.  We will be sweeping all of the docks and that will take a lot of time, but take your time."  His dark eyes scanned the faces of the security officers, "We don't want to miss anything."

[Ezac]

[Deck 280]

Marco turned towards the Breen, and gave him an unflinching look.  He nodded at the request and decided to assign the Breen someone that wouldn't be scared by him.  Some people could never get over their childhood fears of the boogeyman and to some that was the Breen.  "I'll assign Crewman Shavar to you."  The Vulcan crewman was very young but steady and like most Vulcan he wasn't caught up in superstitions and childhood stories.    "You will take Docks A through C.  They should be food suppliers and you'll have their crew manifestation.  Make sure you check the freezers carefully, they're infamous for secret rooms."   He nodded them off then turned to Ensign Hawk.

...

Ezac watched Benitez speak, to a certain extent hoping that he would be sent off alone. It might have been a foolish thing to desire, especially considering the circumstances, but Ezac had a strong preference for working alone. As the Vulcan approached, Ezac looked his way and spoke, "Shavar."

Shavar gave a nod and responded, "Ezac."

"Okay," Ezac started. "Given the circumstances, I think we should make the most of our pairing. Are you mentally prepared for what we might find? I need to know that you will support me effectively."

The Vulcan crewman didn't hesitate. "Yes, Crewman. Where shall we begin?"

"We might as well begin at Dock A. If we unknowingly flush out the murderer, then we will drive him toward the others," Ezac said, although he secretly hoped that they would knowingly stumble across the murderer.

"That is acceptable," responded Shavar.

"Okay, Crewman, then let us begin."

[James H. Hawk]

[Deck 280]

Marco took a deep breath and eyed the young officer for a moment.  He had hoped that someone else had informed him of what was going on, but he supposed he could give him a quick runby.  "The information is on your PADD."  Marco handed James a PADD, "There was a dead engineering officer in a Deck 280 conduit, found by the civilians.  We need to find the murderer, but since the body had been dead for a couple of days we may not.  Still, the evidence found gives me a hope that they are still on board."  He narrowed his eyes at the other man, "They have not finished what they started, so it's very important that we find him or her before they do.  Sir."

He waved at one of the crewman, an older human woman with a wicked scar over her left eye, "Crewman Figaro will go with you, she's very experienced in searching vessels.  You two will have docks D through F, medical supplies.  Be careful of the biohazard areas and feel free to call a biohazard team from the Columbus if you need it."

James took the PADD and had a quick look over it. He would have a better look later after the ships had been inspected. As Benietz spoke, James got the feeling he was worried James would take over or at least wasn't comfortable by the presence of an officer. "You don't have to worry, crewman. I may be an officer but I have no intention of takin over your investigation. Your case your lead," James reassured the crewman. With that he beckoned to Crewman Figaro to get moving and begin the inspection.

[Marco Benitez]

Deck 280 - Civilian Ships

Marco watched as the groups moved towards their jobs and he too left with Crewman Tam fast on his heels.  The man was petite, which made him better at getting into the smaller spaces, while Marco did most of the heavy lifting.  The ships were pretty standard and the crew were annoyed but allowed the Starfleet officials to do their work; especially if they had nothing to hide.

The ship's cargobays were first, while the rest of the ship was being monitored.  No one would sneak in from one place to another.  Then the common areas were next.

Finally, the searched the crew quarters, of course with the captain and the crewman present, in  case, something went missing.  It was uncommon for Starfleet to steal from civilians but that wasn't so in every port.  Marco understood this and so the supervision did not bother him in the least.

After the inspection of one ship, he thanked the captain and left with Tam to the next ship.  Before however he requested a progress report from the other teams.

=^= Team A and Team B, please report, Crewman Ezac and Ensign Hawk.  =^=

[Ezac]

[Deck 280 - Docks A through C]

One by one, crate by crate, Evac and Shavar slowly and painstakingly made their way through their assigned docks. Ezac found himself silently grateful for the focus of his Vulcan companion. No chit-chat. No voiced nervousness. Perhaps Shavar was frightened, nervous, or something between, but he kept it to himself...and Ezac liked that.

Deck 280 - Civilian Ships

...

=^= Team A and Team B, please report, Crewman Ezac and Ensign Hawk.  =^=

Just when Ezac was getting used to the lack of conversation, he shuddered as the voice of Benitez came through his combadge. He chided himself silently for his response. If you want to be alone, then Starfleet is not the place to be, he reminded himself. He had always been driven by a desire to look after others, but that desire was held back by a powerful and innate longing for solitude.

Crewman Benitez, this is Crewman Ezac. We are still conducting our search, and we have nothing to report thus far.

He looked at Shavar who gave a slight nod. "Shall we continue?"

"Yes, Shavar, please take the lead."

[Ezac]

.

[James H. Hawk]

[Starbase Columbus Docks]

James stepped off the ship he had just finished inspecting with Crewman Figaro close behind, grabbing a young civilian my his shoulder with one hand and a packet of illegal drugs he claimed were for medicinal purposes.

Hawk to Benitez. We've searched a number of vessels but no sign of the murderer James glanced at the civilian he had arrested, Though we have uncovered a number of illegal goods and substances. I'll keep looking, we still have more ships to search

James had been quite ruthless in his inspections and uncovered more contraband than he would have expected but it wasn't easy since many of the crews were uncooperative with James, probably not only because he was a Starfleet officer but because of his young age. One particularly agitated captain had even spat on James uniform and it took a great deal of effort for James not to strike him. He was later arrested when James found cages full of illegal animals in his cargo hold.

Crewman Figaro delivered her prisoner to some patrolling security officers to take th bridge. She then followed James to the next ship to begin inspecting hopefully the next lot would be more cooperative.

[Marco Benitez]

[Deck 280 - Docks A through C]

Crewman Benitez, this is Crewman Ezac. We are still conducting our search, and we have nothing to report thus far.

He looked at Shavar who gave a slight nod. "Shall we continue?"

"Yes, Shavar, please take the lead."

Deck 280 - Civilian Docks

Marco nodded to himself, since it was obvious that Ezac couldn't see him.

=^= Good job, keep me informed, Crewman.  =^=

[Starbase Columbus Docks]

James stepped off the ship he had just finished inspecting with Crewman Figaro close behind, grabbing a young civilian my his shoulder with one hand and a packet of illegal drugs he claimed were for medicinal purposes.

Hawk to Benitez. We've searched a number of vessels but no sign of the murderer James glanced at the civilian he had arrested, Though we have uncovered a number of illegal goods and substances. I'll keep looking, we still have more ships to search

Marco rolled his eyes, leave it to an officer to go by the book and deal with small things instead of a murder investigation.  Still, Marco wasn't about to say anything, after all Hawk was just doing his job.

=^= Affirmative, Mr. Hawk, please continue the search and keep your focus on finding stowaways. =^=

Suddenly there's a scream and several shots fired in the dock outside the ship.  A ragged man has taken a hostage and is screaming for someone to let him off the base.

"Get me a shuttle or I'll blow her head off."  He appears to be human but looks can be deceiving and he's holding a young Bolian child in a headlock.  The man appears terrified as he points his weapon at the girl's head. 

[Kirok]

[Medical Bay - Autopsy Suite]

Zex walked into the Autopsy Suite dressed in her surgical whites.  Her hands were gloved.  Her face covered by a splatter guard.

The bulky clothing did nothing to show off her figure.  But it did protect her from picking up diseases the body might have.  Thankfully there was no one to charm her, except of course the dead body and her EMH supervisor until she was cleared to start practicing medicine on her own.

"I would have started my shift early if you had let me know there was a body to examine" Zex said to the EHM who stood silently in the corner.  "I know, "you are only her to observe.  Not partake in ideal chit chat" he added, using air quotes to emphasize that she was quoting some of the only words the hologram had said to here since here arrival on the station.  "Can't help a girl for trying" she added with a slight shrug before turning her attention to the body.

Zex started by disengaging the status field and asking for the pertinent information about the deceased.  "Engineering Officer Lieutenant Junior Grade Reynaldo Guerrera.  He was found in a craw space on Deck 28 approximately 49 minutes ago.  He presented with an Engineering tool in his throat" the computer voice indicated.

"An efficient way to kill someone.  The circulatory and respiratory system run through the throat.  Disrupting either or both would have cause death in minutes" Zex said aloud.

"We will need x-rays, finger nail scraping, and measurements of this man's arms taking into account the joints.  With those measurements we can rule in or rule out suicide" she added.  Then she pretended that she was holding a knife and attempted to match the angle of the tool into her own throat, but could not get it to line up correctly.

"It's unlikely that it is a suicide.  So, the finger scraping may be helpful in narrowing down the suspect pool - if not the killer.  For that matter, we should also run the serial number on the tool.  If the tool did not belong to Mr. Guerrera, it could possibly lead us to the killer" said finished.

Zex stopped and looked over to her silent supervisor for feedback, but as usual none came.  So she sighed and returned to the body.  "I'll start by scraping the nails, using a standard Star Fleet tool specifically designed for such things" she added as she picked up the utensil and a collection bad and turned back to the body. 

[Ezac]

Deck 280 - Civilian Docks

...

Suddenly there's a scream and several shots fired in the dock outside the ship.  A ragged man has taken a hostage and is screaming for someone to let him off the base.

"Get me a shuttle or I'll blow her head off."  He appears to be human but looks can be deceiving and he's holding a young Bolian child in a headlock.  The man appears terrified as he points his weapon at the girl's head. 

Ezac didn't hear phaser fire, but he heard the scream. He looked at Shavar and nodded as they both moved in silence toward the origination point of the scream, weaving in and out of crates in an attempt to approach unnoticed.

They knew they were drawing closer as they could hear a voice yelling and making demands for transport. Ezac looked at Shavar and, with a flat palm toward the floor, twice lowered his hand, telling Shavar to stop. Ezac peeked around the large crate in front of him and saw the backside of a large male figure. With his arm wrapped around the neck of a much smaller, squirming individual, he was making demands that either confirmed him as the perpetrator or tied him to the circumstances.

Ezac turned to Shavar. "How should we handle this?"

[Kirok]

[Medical Bay - Autopsy Suite]

After the nail scraping and arm measurement were completed, Zek started to prepare for the actual autopsy.  Before she did that, she summarized her findings to her observer.  And for dictation machine which was recording her every word.

"The arm length of the deceased make it possible for him to have reached his throat and impale himself with the tool at the angle we are seeing.  As such, I am officially ruling our suicide.   This is supported by the defensive wounds that we see on his hands.  Luckily, he did manage to get some skin cells under his nails in the process" Zex said with her mouth raised toward the microphone.

"Sadly, the tool or weapon in this case was free of any dna.  But the angle of entry does suggest that the culprit is likely shorter and likely thrust upward and into the throat.  The cut itself was deep, effective but crude, and did not require much effort or force" she added as the eyebrow narrowed.

A rough idea of the killer was starting for form in her mind, but she was not year ready to put them into words.  If only to avoid making a mistake in front of her observer.  Instead she picked up the scalpel and turned back to the body.

"Fred, I'm going to start with the standard Y incision" Zex said as she looked over to the EMH.  "I know, you are just here to watch, but I have to call you something and I decided to call you Fred" she added with a smile.  Then she turned back to the body and stared to cut him open.

[James H. Hawk]

Suddenly there's a scream and several shots fired in the dock outside the ship.  A ragged man has taken a hostage and is screaming for someone to let him off the base.

"Get me a shuttle or I'll blow her head off."  He appears to be human but looks can be deceiving and he's holding a young Bolian child in a headlock.  The man appears terrified as he points his weapon at the girl's head. 

James and Figaro were just about to step onto another frieghter when thy heard the shots. Even if this isn't the murderer we need to deal with this situation immediately. James ran towards the origin of the shots and found the man and his hostage.

The suspect appeared scared, he must have been spooked by the inspections. He doesn't seem to be thinking rationally, at least to James, which could make him extremely unpredicatbale...and dangerous. The first order of buissness is to get him to release the hostage, then get him to drop his weapon. James signalled to Figaro to position herself to the side of the suspect. He didn't want to take the risk of spooking him any more by moving Figaro behind him so he had to settle for the side. Hopefully she could get a good shot if I came to that.

James  slowly moved next to Benitez and spoke quietly so just he could hear, "I see three options, one we try and stun him. Neutralise him before the situation deteriorates further. Two we negotiate, build a relationship with him and convince him to release the hostage if possible, or three we give him what he wants," James said, "I favour option two and might be able to talk to him myself unless you would rather do it," James offered, "Or of course you could come up with a different plan." James had the rank but Benitez had the experience and James wasn't so arrogant and egotistical he would ignore the experience Benitez possessed, and at the start of the investigation, James had said it was Benitez's case so his lead and James wasn't about to go back on that so, he left the situation in Benitez's hands.

[Marco Benitez]

Ezac didn't hear phaser fire, but he heard the scream. He looked at Shavar and nodded as they both moved in silence toward the origination point of the scream, weaving in and out of crates in an attempt to approach unnoticed.

They knew they were drawing closer as they could hear a voice yelling and making demands for transport. Ezac looked at Shavar and, with a flat palm toward the floor, twice lowered his hand, telling Shavar to stop. Ezac peeked around the large crate in front of him and saw the backside of a large male figure. With his arm wrapped around the neck of a much smaller, squirming individual, he was making demands that either confirmed him as the perpetrator or tied him to the circumstances.

Ezac turned to Shavar. "How should we handle this?"

Marco slithered in like a shadow and was behind Ezac and Shavar in an instant.  He narrowed his eyes at the situation, his face as expressionless as before.

Unless you consider permanent scowl an expression?

"I hope you're good with that rifle, Crewman Ezac."  He began, his voice so low it was more of a rumble.  "As soon as he points the weapon away from the child I want you to fire on him."  He did not think he had to explain to the Breen to stun the man, so he didn't insult his intelligence by ordering a stun.

James and Figaro were just about to step onto another frieghter when thy heard the shots. Even if this isn't the murderer we need to deal with this situation immediately. James ran towards the origin of the shots and found the man and his hostage.

The suspect appeared scared, he must have been spooked by the inspections. He doesn't seem to be thinking rationally, at least to James, which could make him extremely unpredicatbale...and dangerous. The first order of buissness is to get him to release the hostage, then get him to drop his weapon. James signalled to Figaro to position herself to the side of the suspect. He didn't want to take the risk of spooking him any more by moving Figaro behind him so he had to settle for the side. Hopefully she could get a good shot if I came to that.

James  slowly moved next to Benitez and spoke quietly so just he could hear, "I see three options, one we try and stun him. Neutralise him before the situation deteriorates further. Two we negotiate, build a relationship with him and convince him to release the hostage if possible, or three we give him what he wants," James said, "I favour option two and might be able to talk to him myself unless you would rather do it," James offered, "Or of course you could come up with a different plan." James had the rank but Benitez had the experience and James wasn't so arrogant and egotistical he would ignore the experience Benitez possessed, and at the start of the investigation, James had said it was Benitez's case so his lead and James wasn't about to go back on that so, he left the situation in Benitez's hands.

Deck 280

Marco did not turn to acknowledge the younger man, instead he continued to study the situation. "Very astute, Mr. Hawk."

This wasn't Marco's first hostage situation.  Sometimes in those out of the way colonies, a man got to drinking then fighting with his best friend and things often turned ugly.  The man before him was not drunk, however, which made things harder.  The man was desperate about something and Marco wanted to know what.  The child needed to get out of that situation quickly and unfortunately she would be scarred for life.

Taking off his weapon and handing it over to James, Marco moved forward with his hands raised.  He hoped Ezac wasn't the type to hesitate and shot the bastard.  "I'm Crewman Marco Benitez of the Starbase Columbus."  He began and moved forward until the man stiffened.

"Stop where you are!"  He ordered nervously, and swung his weapon at Marco, finding him a threat, which was exactly what Marco wanted.

[Kirok]

[Medical Bay - Autopsy Suite]

Zex finished the autopsy in record time.  Her execution was flawless.  So after she completed it, the EMH Observer simply offered her a nod and disappeared.

Until next time then the Deltan thought to herself as moved the body into storage.  Then she removed her gloves and white scrubs and placed them in the replicator for recycling.  Finally she was free to head into the main room of the Medical Bay.

Zex still needed to check the serial number on the Engineering Tool.  And she needed to see the place where the body had been found.  If only to help her get a more complete picture of how things may have happened.

Maybe an Engineer could help with both.  So she tapped her combadge.  Ensign Zex to Lieutenant Howell, I need your assistance in the Medical Bay please she said.