Season 11: Episode 2 - Diplomatic Disaster

[Kyle Briggs]

Briefing Room

Lizzie nodded.

"Yes Captain." She replied, getting out of her chair. "Would you like to accompany me to the Morgue?" She asked.

"I'll be down shortly, Doctor. I have another matter to attend to. Go ahead and get started." Kyle said.

He waited until everyone else had left before returning his attention to Tekin.

"Don't worry about names right now. Tell me more about the shuttle." he said.

[Jiseth]

As Jiseth spoke, Zero had to admit some confusion to herself.  Depending on which way one interpreted Jiseth's words, she could either be trying to incriminate the Augment, or incriminate the CMO.  The latter she had no opinion on.  What humans did or didn't do generally went over the top of her head anyway, so there was no point in dwelling on it any futher.  The notion of Jiseth incriminating her, on the other hand, was somewhat more puzzling.

"I fail to comprehend.  Why would I wish to end the life of a member of the crew whom I have no relationship with beyond being familiar with his medical file?  I was simply performing my duty.  There were no other considerations.  What would I have to hide?"

[XO's Office]

Jiseth snapped her thumb and middle finger, leaving her index one to point towards Zero.

"That's precisely it. You wouldn't. Some might say you don't work and play nice with others, but that's about as grievous of a sin as it gets. So it very much sounds like the CMO was over-reacting because while I should be in here with her, I'm not..."

Her eyes focused back on Wu, though not in her usual intent to fire disruptor blasts. If anything, she was tired. Tired and restless from the amount of time she was still confined in a soiled flight suit as well as this office.

"...And at least I have a bigger picture in mind when I fly off the handle. There's more at stake than just a reputation or hurt feelings. Can we agree on that?"

[Tekin Nevir]

Briefing Room

"I'll be down shortly, Doctor. I have another matter to attend to. Go ahead and get started." Kyle said.

He waited until everyone else had left before returning his attention to Tekin.

"Don't worry about names right now. Tell me more about the shuttle." he said.

Nevir was quiet as the others conversed, and it became from the words between the Captain and Lizzie that this meeting was not in fact, because of the shuttle incident.  Something else happened.  Somethin bad.

"It would appear that this diplomatic mission has become anything but... " he said, when the Captain addressed him.

"We were just in our final descent, about halfway through the atmosphere when the shuttle alerted us to a status change on the Discovery.  While I was trying to find out what happened, the panel dimmed and shut of, as well as the engines.  Even the air seemed to stop circulating.  When the back-up systems didn't come on, we realized we were flying dead stick.  Nothing I've ever seen, the shuttles are designed with redundancies just for this kind of situation.  It just felt like... like the shuttle was just killed completely of all power.  Jiseth did her best to keep the shuttle relatively steady, and I used the volcanic vents and the manual release of the plasma injectors to interrupt our descent for a survivable crash landing.  I don't know where you found her, Captain, but that Romulan is one hell of a pilot.  I can almost guarantee Sukal and myself would not be alive if it wasn't for her."

He took a breath, and then sighed.  "We tried everything, but because of the power loss we feel extremely short of our intended landing side... we were right in the region between the volcano and the incoming hurricane.  The only thing functional was the Argo, so we took our emergency beacon and headed for shelter.  Even the beacon was dead until we rigged it into the Argo's systems.  It's... way too perfect and convenient for this to be a catastrophic accident.  It takes intent and an understanding of systems to be able to rig together every single system on that shuttle to overload and die at the same time.  No matter where that shuttle was going, it would have meant disaster.  Either a dead brick in space, or a crater on the planet."

Nevir glanced out the windows and then back to the Captain.  "I know this may sound paranoid, but I know that you and Commander Wu are not the only ones who know of my recent history.  If anyone one else on this ship believes the charges I'm accused of, they might have been trying to take out their own justice.  This isn't a large ship, all it takes is either an attempt on my life, or suspicion of wrongdoing with Starfleet, and the brass will down on both of us, especially me.  However, there is also this..." he said, gesturing at the now empty room.

"What did Dr. Vaughan mean by morgue, Captain?"

[Lizzie Vaughan]

Briefing Room

"I'll be down shortly, Doctor. I have another matter to attend to. Go ahead and get started." Kyle said.

Briefing Room

Lizzie nodded.

"Yes Captain." She replied before excusing herself and exiting out onto the Bridge.

Bridge

Lizzie noted that the XO seemed to have vanished as the Duty Officer had the Bridge. They nodded to each other as she made her way to the turbolift and down to the Morgue that was on Deck 4 adjacent to Sickbay and the surgical suite.

Deck 4

Lizzie exited the turbolift and made her way along the corridor to the Morgue. It still had 2 Security Officers stationed outside, as per her instructions. She greeted the pair of them and entered the Morgue.

Morgue

Lizzie entered the morgue and opened the stasis unit that held the body. She pulled out the drawer and added the support struts that turned it into an examination table. She then laid her tools out and waited for the Captain to arrive.

[Alexander Wu]

[XO's Office]

Alex allowed both to speak, prior to standing slowly, gazing down at both the Romulan, and the Augment. Both experts in their perspective fields, both far too secure in their own importance. Enough was enough. "Lieutenant Jiseth, I am well aware of the homicide onboard, and the investigation at hand. Neither the CMO nor Alpha are considered suspect. And Lieutenant Nevir is with the Captain right now, I suspect, explaining your theory. Thank you for bringing me up to speed. However, regardless of your intent, my order for you to apologize to the deck detachment stands. Considering that an official complaint has been made, and there is holorecording evidence of your outburst, it would only be reasonable for this...correction, be made. You can make it part of your effort to draw out the suspect if it so suits you. Report to the bridge afterwards. Dismissed." His tone left little to argue against, and he waited for Jiseth to leave before speaking again.

"Lieutenant Alpha, I think I've been fairly lenient with you. Some others in leadership roles would have immediately sided with their senior officer's side, assuming the junior's fault. I am giving you the benefit of the doubt, as well as choosing to overlook your ill-concealed contempt for my intelligence. I'll be honest with you. I'm...disappointed." Alex spoke quietly, gazing down at Zero while fighting the burden he felt weighing on his shoulders.

I can't be their friend anymore, Alex was coming to the realization. Offer them an inch of slack and they run with the mile. "I will only say this again once. I am ordering you back to full duties, including re-examining the autopsy which Doctor Vaughan completed. You have two options, Lieutenant. Carry out my orders, or return to your quarters to await charges. What is your decision?"

[Kyle Briggs]

[Briefing Room]

Nevir was quiet as the others conversed, and it became from the words between the Captain and Lizzie that this meeting was not in fact, because of the shuttle incident.  Something else happened.  Somethin bad.

"It would appear that this diplomatic mission has become anything but... " he said, when the Captain addressed him.

"We were just in our final descent, about halfway through the atmosphere when the shuttle alerted us to a status change on the Discovery.  While I was trying to find out what happened, the panel dimmed and shut of, as well as the engines.  Even the air seemed to stop circulating.  When the back-up systems didn't come on, we realized we were flying dead stick.  Nothing I've ever seen, the shuttles are designed with redundancies just for this kind of situation.  It just felt like... like the shuttle was just killed completely of all power.  Jiseth did her best to keep the shuttle relatively steady, and I used the volcanic vents and the manual release of the plasma injectors to interrupt our descent for a survivable crash landing.  I don't know where you found her, Captain, but that Romulan is one hell of a pilot.  I can almost guarantee Sukal and myself would not be alive if it wasn't for her."

He took a breath, and then sighed.  "We tried everything, but because of the power loss we feel extremely short of our intended landing side... we were right in the region between the volcano and the incoming hurricane.  The only thing functional was the Argo, so we took our emergency beacon and headed for shelter.  Even the beacon was dead until we rigged it into the Argo's systems.  It's... way too perfect and convenient for this to be a catastrophic accident.  It takes intent and an understanding of systems to be able to rig together every single system on that shuttle to overload and die at the same time.  No matter where that shuttle was going, it would have meant disaster.  Either a dead brick in space, or a crater on the planet."

Nevir glanced out the windows and then back to the Captain.  "I know this may sound paranoid, but I know that you and Commander Wu are not the only ones who know of my recent history.  If anyone one else on this ship believes the charges I'm accused of, they might have been trying to take out their own justice.  This isn't a large ship, all it takes is either an attempt on my life, or suspicion of wrongdoing with Starfleet, and the brass will down on both of us, especially me.  However, there is also this..." he said, gesturing at the now empty room.

"What did Dr. Vaughan mean by morgue, Captain?"

"I'm beginning to think you're correct, Mister Tekin." Kyle replied. "Not only was there the incident with your shuttle but we've also had a murder here on board the Discovery. We haven't been able to lock down the murderer as of yet. Doctor Vaughan is going over her autopsy again while Commander Pardek is reviewing the files and videos once more."

Kyle continued to fill in the Science Officer.

"And I believe our killer was afraid you might find something down there on the planet and that's why they sabotaged the shuttle." Kyle added. "But don't worry. We'll get them. Just log your report and don't worry about anyone coming down on anyone." Kyle said as he stood and rest a reassuring hand on the young Bajorans shoulder. "I've gotta go see a Doctor."

Kyle exited the the Briefing Room and headed for the lift. On his way there, something blew out of an air vent, right past his face. He wasn't sure what it was so he swatted at it like an insect.

"That's it!" he exclaimed as he took off running for the turbolift. Orellius infection. He remembered reading about it in the Academy. Basically, it is an affliction that is transmitted by an insect native to the Class M world colonized by Alixus. There is no known cure for the disease and symptoms include swelling, high fever and purple splotches. "Someone must have brought some of the venom on board." he said to himself as the lift came to a halt. He hurried into the Autopsy Room. "Doctor!" he called out. He explained his thoughts as he reached her side.

"Someone must have brought some aboard as a "just in case" scenario." he said. "Can you scan all the dignitaries?" he asked. "Maybe we'll get lucky and find one that isn't as they appear."

[Jiseth]

Alex allowed both to speak, prior to standing slowly, gazing down at both the Romulan, and the Augment. Both experts in their perspective fields, both far too secure in their own importance. Enough was enough. "Lieutenant Jiseth, I am well aware of the homicide onboard, and the investigation at hand. Neither the CMO nor Alpha are considered suspect. And Lieutenant Nevir is with the Captain right now, I suspect, explaining your theory. Thank you for bringing me up to speed. However, regardless of your intent, my order for you to apologize to the deck detachment stands. Considering that an official complaint has been made, and there is holorecording evidence of your outburst, it would only be reasonable for this...correction, be made. You can make it part of your effort to draw out the suspect if it so suits you. Report to the bridge afterwards. Dismissed." His tone left little to argue against, and he waited for Jiseth to leave before speaking again.

[XO's Office]

Always a pleasure to meet a representative of an invertebrate species... But how this one got three pips is beyond me.

Jiseth clicked her heels together and briefly stood at attention before stepping around her chair and placing her hand softly on Zero's shoulder. It remained for the shortest of moments before slipping away as did the rest of her from the office. Talking to Wu was a flamboyant waste in her mind, but as much as she detested his pettiness, she had to respect the rank. For as long as his lasted anyway.

[Shuttlebay]

The Romulan had stopped by her quarters and cleaned up with a new uniform on. Her crimson collar may as well have been colored with Human blood. Aside from the distant sounds of various hand tools, nothing concealed the sound of her legs as she neared. The crew she had scolded had stopped and looked at her. One ensign seemed a bit too chipper about the thought of having a superior officer having to belittle herself to placate their wanton sense of self-importance.

"I apologize for my outburst. It seems that my dismay at the events of today have caused me to act unprofessionally. There's a certain standard that is to be expected on this ship, it is after all the flagship of the task force."

"Why, thank y-"

"Shut your mouth, Ensign."

His slight grin faded quickly and her baleful stare locked to his eye and then every one else of the deck crew. She held out a PADD that she had behind her back and marked each of the profiles of the individuals who stood before her.

"In my professional opinion, you have not lived up to the standards we expect of you. I am rescinding the maintenance certificates each of your possess and once we dock back at starbase, you can find reassignment on a ship that might be more suited to your caliber, such as a mining freighter or garbage scow. If you want to stay on this ship, I suggest you earn that privilege by finding out how every single system can go out at once. This may seem harsh, but it is fair. After all, what occurred today could be considered criminal negligence and I would rather give a chance to those who can prove themselves rather than put you all in the brig to await court marshal. Certain luxuries will still be available to you. The maintenance logs for example, shuttle schematics, camera feeds of who was working when. Time however, is not a luxury you have. Now go."

For a few seconds they stared blankly at her, but this was no joke or empty threat. Aviation had a long history for mechanical mishaps killing perfectly good pilots who never stood a chance at triumphing over the laws of physics when certain components failed. Like hell she or any of her flyers would befall a similar fate if it were preventable. She gave not the slightest hint of remorse as they put away their tools and filed out toward the corridor. In her head she made a mental note of which she was rooting for to solve the mystery. Some she hardly knew at all on a personal level, but was usually confident in their work.

[Bridge]

When Jiseth arrived she moved to the helm station just as the Captain went by toward the turbolift, but did not take it. She scanned the various displays and noted that nothing was out of the ordinary. Standard orbit. Impulse engines at idle, warp nacelles on standby. Trajectory with barely a hint of eccentricity. It would have been helpful if she had been given orders other than to try and work and play nice with others.

[Kali Reyes]

[Deck 15 - Operations Center]

Kali busied herself with a coffee in one hand and an LCARS screen pressed with another as Yates tried to coax out one of the flight crewman hyperventilating near the plasma breaker. This wasn't very professional - if she was on the verge of emotional breakdown Kali would do it in her quarters or something. The thought of her willingly sobbing in front of someone kind of disgusted her. Maybe it was the Vulcan in her that cringed at the thought, she didn't know.

The point was Yates was a bleeding heart for everyone but her so instead of filling out her daily report on the ship's subsystems, she was rubbing the crewman's back and whispering reassurances Kali sure as hell wouldn't give.

"S-she can't d-do that, can she?!" Crewman Brooks hiccuped.

Just because Kali was focused on her crew roster manifest didn't mean she wasn't listening. Without looking at them, she took a sip of her coffee and typed out the report with her free hand. "The maintenance certificates? Pretty sure there's a pencil-pusher somewhere in Starfleet with the power to rescind those. Don't think that's up her alley though. Professional opinion?" She propped her hip against the console with a hint of swagger. "Probably blowing smoke up your ass. Sounds like something a Romulan would do."

The crewman looked up at her with bloodshot eyes. "But she sounded so certain."

"Yeah well, Romulans are really good at that." Kali pointed out mindlessly at her PADD now. Did Crewman James take two extra breaks today? Ugh. "Personally, she sounds like the welding on her nacelles are a wee bit too tight, but that's my opinion." She gestured with her coffee. "If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals."

Yates made a face. "Did you just quote a fantasy novel?"

"Hey, it's still classic literature," Kali countered wickedly before returning to her manifest. "Save your tears for something productive - like a funeral, Brooks. Just keep your head down and do your job. If there's anyone on this ship with the final word, it ain't her's. It's the Captain's."

Crewman James just clocked in for another unofficial break! With a shake of her head, she forwarded James' schedule up to her superior for disciplinary measures. He better have a good reason for it - like being pregnant.

[Lizzie Vaughan]

Kyle exited the the Briefing Room and headed for the lift. On his way there, something blew out of an air vent, right past his face. He wasn't sure what it was so he swatted at it like an insect.

"That's it!" he exclaimed as he took off running for the turbolift. Orellius infection. He remembered reading about it in the Academy. Basically, it is an affliction that is transmitted by an insect native to the Class M world colonized by Alixus. There is no known cure for the disease and symptoms include swelling, high fever and purple splotches. "Someone must have brought some of the venom on board." he said to himself as the lift came to a halt. He hurried into the Autopsy Room. "Doctor!" he called out. He explained his thoughts as he reached her side.

"Someone must have brought some aboard as a "just in case" scenario." he said. "Can you scan all the dignitaries?" he asked. "Maybe we'll get lucky and find one that isn't as they appear."

Morgue

Lizzie looked up as the Captain came in. She listened to his idea then thought for a minute.

"To get an accurate scan I would need to scan every one of the dignitaries individually. However that would not only be impractical, but would warn the fugitive that we are on their trail. We could set up a scanner in a doorway that we could get all the dignitaries to walk through. That would allow us to be discrete both for diplomatic and security purposes. We can get a mobile scanner set up in under an hour. While it is being set up I can run a check for Orellius infection on the body. If your theory is correct then we have an avenue to investigate. I will need a hand to get this working and Dr Alpha, despite her attitude problem, is the best I have." She sighed and tapped her com-badge.

=/\=Vaughan to Dr Alpha. Please report to the Morgue.

[Tekin Nevir]

[Briefing Room]

"I'm beginning to think you're correct, Mister Tekin." Kyle replied. "Not only was there the incident with your shuttle but we've also had a murder here on board the Discovery. We haven't been able to lock down the murderer as of yet. Doctor Vaughan is going over her autopsy again while Commander Pardek is reviewing the files and videos once more."

Kyle continued to fill in the Science Officer.

"And I believe our killer was afraid you might find something down there on the planet and that's why they sabotaged the shuttle." Kyle added. "But don't worry. We'll get them. Just log your report and don't worry about anyone coming down on anyone." Kyle said as he stood and rest a reassuring hand on the young Bajorans shoulder. "I've gotta go see a Doctor."

Kyle exited the the Briefing Room and headed for the lift. On his way there, something blew out of an air vent, right past his face. He wasn't sure what it was so he swatted at it like an insect.

"That's it!" he exclaimed as he took off running for the turbolift. Orellius infection. He remembered reading about it in the Academy. Basically, it is an affliction that is transmitted by an insect native to the Class M world colonized by Alixus. There is no known cure for the disease and symptoms include swelling, high fever and purple splotches. "Someone must have brought some of the venom on board." he said to himself as the lift came to a halt. He hurried into the Autopsy Room. "Doctor!" he called out. He explained his thoughts as he reached her side.

"Someone must have brought some aboard as a "just in case" scenario." he said. "Can you scan all the dignitaries?" he asked. "Maybe we'll get lucky and find one that isn't as they appear."

[Briefing Room]

It wasn't a very settling thought.  The lives of two fine officers were nearly extinguished because of him.  Three.. only the third was extinguished.  There had to be a reason.. there had to be something...

Nevir walked out of the briefing room, waving his hand to the science officer standing there, and took the turbolift to his deck.  He needed rest... or at least needed to get away.

[Tekin Personal Quarters]

The doors gave a small delay as they opened, and Nevir barely thought anything of it.  He stode over to his bed and lied down, stretching himself as he stared at the ceiling, his mind racing at warp speed as he tried to figure out what was going on.  The chip might be salvaged of data, but he had a feeling it was a lost cause.  Without any kind of recovery, he would be left with just a burnt chip to explain the shuttle crash.  Prophets, if the culprit was completely clean with the chip, there was be no record of the actions in the computer either.

Nevir sighed and looked up.. looking for the holo he kept of Hrafn.  It was there, next to the image of his children and the floating ore he kept from his first mission.....

The Bajoran shot up in bed, staring at the rock.  It was subtle, but it was moved, or at least disrupted.  The axis of rotation had shifted, and now it was moving in a different direction.  He couldn't have done so.. because he always made sure to fix it.  Only because he held significance with the placement.

"Computer, any unauthorized entrances into my room?"

Negative.

Nevir walked over to his office desk and brought up the computer, careful not to touch the evidence of a break in.  No break ins didn't mean anything when the person was seemingly skilled with altering computer logs.  "Computer, display all activity on this deck, sector 24A." he said, calling up the sensor logs.  He only got as far as the time index before they took off in the shuttle when the sensor logs showed a standard maintenance cycle.  When it came back, there wasn't anything out of the ordinary.

Disgruntled, he opted instead to go another route, and looked around the desk.  Some of his PADDs were in a messy array, but he had done so.  There were a mix of science reports and his own investigation into the Challenger, nothing out of the ordinary still.  The Bajoran folded his hands and shook his head.

"C'mon.. you're smarter than this... there is a reason why the rock moved... a reason why the sensors were down... a reason why someone was mur-"  The Bajoran stopped, and looked up.

"Computer, who among the crew is no longer showing on sensors?"

Lieutenant Timothy Hobbs is no longer registered on sensors.

"Where was his last location?"

Deck 6, Section 5

Nevir thought for a moment, and then brought up the service record of the late Lieutenant.  There... that's what he was looking for.  Hobbs was on the Challenger in a previous assignment, and was serving aboard when he disappeared.  He looked through the man's service record on the Challenger, and saw the exact planet they were currently on.

"No...." he started, before he looked down at his PADD.  There was one about the mission to this planet, and the science survey of what was on the planet.  What was curious, though, was that the paragraph displayed was about the entomology... including the different toxins...

Nevir glanced back at the rock... it was sitting on a portion of the desk where his drawers were.  Being careful, he opened the drawer, and saw it.  A level 4 biohazard vial and hypospray.  Empty.  He went back to the notes.  There was a toxin that appeared similar to the poison of the Borgia plant... in fact it was listed right there on his desk.  He made sure not to touch the items, and instead tapped his commbadge.

"Security, be advised that my quarters were broken into.  Sensors for my section were offline for a good portion of time.  Tekin out."=/\= he said, standing up and walking out.

[Sickbay - Morgue]

It didn't take long for the Bajoran to find the two, and he bit his lip.  Lizzie was a good friend of Hrafn.

"Captain... I think I know what happened to the officer.  He may have been..." he started, before realizing that the man was on the table, and the purple splotches told him they probably already knew.

"There is a toxin here similar to the poison used by Romulans from a Borgia plant.  And I think someone planted the murder weapon in my quarters.  I found the vial and a hypospray."

[Lizzie Vaughan]

[Briefing Room]

It wasn't a very settling thought.  The lives of two fine officers were nearly extinguished because of him.  Three.. only the third was extinguished.  There had to be a reason.. there had to be something...

Nevir walked out of the briefing room, waving his hand to the science officer standing there, and took the turbolift to his deck.  He needed rest... or at least needed to get away.

[Tekin Personal Quarters]

The doors gave a small delay as they opened, and Nevir barely thought anything of it.  He stode over to his bed and lied down, stretching himself as he stared at the ceiling, his mind racing at warp speed as he tried to figure out what was going on.  The chip might be salvaged of data, but he had a feeling it was a lost cause.  Without any kind of recovery, he would be left with just a burnt chip to explain the shuttle crash.  Prophets, if the culprit was completely clean with the chip, there was be no record of the actions in the computer either.

Nevir sighed and looked up.. looking for the holo he kept of Hrafn.  It was there, next to the image of his children and the floating ore he kept from his first mission.....

The Bajoran shot up in bed, staring at the rock.  It was subtle, but it was moved, or at least disrupted.  The axis of rotation had shifted, and now it was moving in a different direction.  He couldn't have done so.. because he always made sure to fix it.  Only because he held significance with the placement.

"Computer, any unauthorized entrances into my room?"

Negative.

Nevir walked over to his office desk and brought up the computer, careful not to touch the evidence of a break in.  No break ins didn't mean anything when the person was seemingly skilled with altering computer logs.  "Computer, display all activity on this deck, sector 24A." he said, calling up the sensor logs.  He only got as far as the time index before they took off in the shuttle when the sensor logs showed a standard maintenance cycle.  When it came back, there wasn't anything out of the ordinary.

Disgruntled, he opted instead to go another route, and looked around the desk.  Some of his PADDs were in a messy array, but he had done so.  There were a mix of science reports and his own investigation into the Challenger, nothing out of the ordinary still.  The Bajoran folded his hands and shook his head.

"C'mon.. you're smarter than this... there is a reason why the rock moved... a reason why the sensors were down... a reason why someone was mur-"  The Bajoran stopped, and looked up.

"Computer, who among the crew is no longer showing on sensors?"

Lieutenant Timothy Hobbs is no longer registered on sensors.

"Where was his last location?"

Deck 6, Section 5

Nevir thought for a moment, and then brought up the service record of the late Lieutenant.  There... that's what he was looking for.  Hobbs was on the Challenger in a previous assignment, and was serving aboard when he disappeared.  He looked through the man's service record on the Challenger, and saw the exact planet they were currently on.

"No...." he started, before he looked down at his PADD.  There was one about the mission to this planet, and the science survey of what was on the planet.  What was curious, though, was that the paragraph displayed was about the entomology... including the different toxins...

Nevir glanced back at the rock... it was sitting on a portion of the desk where his drawers were.  Being careful, he opened the drawer, and saw it.  A level 4 biohazard vial and hypospray.  Empty.  He went back to the notes.  There was a toxin that appeared similar to the poison of the Borgia plant... in fact it was listed right there on his desk.  He made sure not to touch the items, and instead tapped his commbadge.

"Security, be advised that my quarters were broken into.  Sensors for my section were offline for a good portion of time.  Tekin out."=/\= he said, standing up and walking out.

[Sickbay - Morgue]

It didn't take long for the Bajoran to find the two, and he bit his lip.  Lizzie was a good friend of Hrafn.

"Captain... I think I know what happened to the officer.  He may have been..." he started, before realizing that the man was on the table, and the purple splotches told him they probably already knew.

"There is a toxin here similar to the poison used by Romulans from a Borgia plant.  And I think someone planted the murder weapon in my quarters.  I found the vial and a hypospray."

Morgue

Lizzie turned as the door opened and was slightly shocked when Nevir entered. She listened to what he had to say. His story was plausible and she could not pick up any deception in his face. She was still suspicious however. She raised her left eyebrow at Nevir before turning to the Captain.

"While I'm reluctant to accept this version of events as Mr Tekin has not had a great recent track record. However, the sophistication of the Murder fits with the technical know-how the killer had to have had to disable internal sensors and enter a quarters without leaving a trace." She said to Briggs before turning back to Nevir.

"Do you know of anyone on board who would have to motive to frame you for this?" She asked, her brain racing through the angles.

[Kyle Briggs]

[Morgue]

After hearing Tekin's words, Captain Briggs had had enough. He had the poison that was in the Science Officers quarters brought down and tested. It did the exact same thing as the toxin Kyle had thought of.

"This is enough." He said. "We're just gonna march in there and scan everyone. We've already lost one crew member and he tried to kill three others. I'm done being nice to these people. Doctor. Mister Tekin. You're with me." He said as he headed for the exited and reached for his comm badge.

=^= Briggs to Security. Have a detail meet me outside the Conference Room. =^=

They rode the lift in silence. The doors parted when it halted and they could see the Security personnel already waiting.

"I hope this works." Kyle said more to himself but loud enough for the two officers accompanying him to hear.

They walked into the Conference Room as the doors opened upon their approach.

[Conference Room]

"Captain! What is the meaning..........."

"Sit down, Ambassador." Kyle said, not letting the Diplomat finish his sentence. "While you've been in here having you discussions, we've been dealing with a murder aboard the Discovery." He watched as several faces registered shock. "Now, we don't know exactly who the killer or killers are but they also tried to kill three other officers by sabotaging one of our shuttles. We have recently discovered some evidence that leads me to believe that the perpetrator is someone in this room." He motioned toward Vaughan with his hand. "This is Doctor Vaughan. My CMO. She is going to come around and scan each and every one of you to make sure nothing strange registers. Think of it as our way of clearing you if you're innocent. Doctor." He offered.

He watched as Lizzie started at one end of the table. No one seemed to be bothered by the intrusion. It took Vaughan several minutes to work her way around the table but as she got closer to the other end, a Federation attaché stood up.

"This is outrageous!" he exclaimed.

"You have something to hide?" Kyle questioned. "Maybe the Doctor should just skip down to you." He looked over at Vaughan and slightly nodded. When she started his way, the young man quickly tried to push his way through the security guards that encircled the room in an effort to escape. They quickly subdued him. Vaughan made her way over and began scanning him. A moment later, she looked up at Kyle and showed him the results.

After a moment, Kyle spoke once more. "Why would a Romulan get augmented to look like a human?" he asked. "What's here that you didn't want us to find and that almost cost the lives of four of my crew?"

The young man went on to explain how he and some "colleagues" had stumbled across a Bilitrium mine while surveying the planet below. A scarce lucent crystalline aggregate that can be transformed into a powerful explosive using an antimatter converter. They were going to strip mine the planet of it and use it against the Federation. He had been in place for several years just waiting for the right time. Lieutenant Hobbs had come across him as he was sending a transmission and was killed for trying to do his job of detaining him. The shuttle, he said, was self explanatory. The remaining Diplomats decided to move the negotiations to the planet and the murderer was placed in the brig until they could take him back to Starbase Columbus. With him caught, this exonerated Mister Tekin. They were on the Bridge once more and headed home. Kyle, for one, couldn't wait.

[Columbus, Several days later]

The Discovery was docked. Kyle had been informed of some roster changes that were to take place during this time that they were using to resupply the ship. He was sorry to see some of the crew leave as he felt they were just getting to know each other. But on the other hand, he was happy for the advancement of their careers. They all deserved it very much.