012 : Missing Persons

[Nia Lemond]

~ OOC : Gheskori post copied from Starbase Forty-Seven Thread ~

IC :

Deeply disturbed to learn about the part of the Starfleet Officer found stuck to an antenna far below, Gheskori withdrew from the party or ceremony or whatever it might be. Later DNA tests would tell them that the remains belonged to Petty Officer Minton, one of the eight missing personnel.

"Ah, and that matter you mentioned earlier, something that O'Toole thought he'd seen?" he asked. Carl said he was waiting to be updated by Sean on suspicions he'd had about the delegate Crelev talking with the Starfleet ensign.

With the events of the ceremony winding down - the dignitaries and other VIPs having drank their drinks, talked to who they felt they needed to talk to, and the like - Ghes started walking from the promenade, satisfied things - though hectic and unprecedented - were well in hand.

All Klingons and Romulans killed in the explosions over the last couple of weeks had been either accounted for or officially declared missing persons, and those who fell in the latter category were made up solely of those who were known not to have been in the vicinity of any of the trouble, except for the huge detonation which had probably killed Ch'Lor and taken a changeling with it.

Things were still tenuous in the extreme between the Klingons and Romulans, and something could be sparked any moment. But at least Section 47 now had another Vulcan ambassador aboard the Starbase - T'Nul - as well as the Vice President and her two senior diplomats from the two empires in tow from Earth. The first arriving Vulcan - Malvik - had left to travel into the border country of the Klingon and Romulan territories to assist in negotiations and try to quell the rage of various border outpost COs.

Commander Dolqar and his cruisers had withdrawn several lightyears and set up their blockade, and - albeit reluctantly - had agreed to manoeuvre to allow the Maracanda and El Alamein to come back through, those two ships currently en route.

Gheskori was under no delusions that the trouble between the two Beta quadrant powers was far from over if it could even be said to have reached any sort of the beginning of the end, something of which he was dubious. As long as there was no conclusive proof of what'd caused the explosions here on the Starbase, and as long as the Tkrnn were still out there, attempting to catalyse a conflict, things would remain difficult.

And admittedly the Tkrnn in and of themselves were a serious problem for the Federation...

Who exactly was responsible for the probable loss of all eight of those Officers and Enlistees? ..... The Klingons and Romulans still aboard were all locked down. The Denobulan could only think it was due to the Tkrnn. But which one?

Not presumably the one thought lost in the explosion that'd taken out Ch'Lor and most of his senior embassy staff. There was a Tkrnn in voluntary custody - the one who'd perhaps pretended to try to throttle Chu'vok. And that left one unaccounted for... the Tkrnn who'd briefly impersonated Torek and had shaken off base authorities by losing his biometric bracelet and disappearing just after the explosion at the entrance of O'Toole's.

But then perhaps there were other Tkrnn aboard - what the latter two changelings had said seemed to suggest that much. Both had claimed to be here trying to prevent those who'd preceded them into the Alpha and Beta quadrants from starting a conflict (both also claimed to be a good sort of Tkrnn, working on behalf of their government's executive).

Later Dupin and several returned Intelligence officers would find traces of Tkrnn DNA on Petty Officer Minton's lower body. Enough was enough! They would have to try to tackle the Tkrnn directly, and it would have to be more than asking all Tkrnn to leave Federation space.

Rounding the corner to approach the bank of turbolifts that would take him up into the Dome, Ghes was suddenly confronted by Mr Thomas! Botracht's business associate's features seized in anger and he swung at the Section Admiral. Gheskori leant backwards and just avoided taking a strike to the chin; unfortunately, he lost his balance and fell to the deck on his back. He cried out for assistance; Torek, Valente and his ADC Barton came running around the corner.

Thomas stood over him and raised an elbow, jumping and making to break his ribs. The Denobulan rolled aside and scrambled to his feet, gripping the off-balance Thomas by the raised arm. The businessman was unbelievably strong, but Gheskori held on to the arm with both hands, trying to wrench it around so he'd pin him to the floor, but Thomas, trying to force his arm in the opposite direction, let out a roar and slowly began overcoming him ..........

ooo000ooo

[David Tan]

SD: 2409.0222 ...
Two Days After Attack on Section Admiral Gheskori

Level One Nine One
High Security Holding ::

Between them, Carl Torek and Noah Barton had managed to overcome Gheskori's attacker, Thomas, more thanks to the kick in the ribs delivered by Calli Valente ..... Now, threatening to sue everyone from the Federation President down to any ancestors Calli may or may not have, a heavily bandaged Thomas sulked in his cell ..... Nia Lemond, Starfleet's Director of Intelligence, had pointedly refused to allow Thomas' broken ribs to be treated immediately, hoping that the incredible pain he must be suffering might in some way contribute to his willingness to talk when questioned!

David approached the Officer on duty and confirmed his identity.

"Any chance he's talkative?"

"He's done nothing 'BUT' talk, shout, threaten. I'm not exactly sure he's nothing to breathe in between rants," the Lieutenant said as they heard yet another barrage of threats and insults from the furthest cell. Sighing, David walked over.

"Mister Thomas, I'm here to ask you a few questions,"

"GO TO HELL!"

"This is going to go a lot better if we agree to cooperate from the get-go..." David said, walking over to collect a stool before placing it close to the forcefield holding Thomas in his cell, "... Let's start with why you attacked Section Admiral Gheskori in plain sight of dozens of people, shall we?"

"You DEAF?" the man asked.

"No ..... Far from it, my hearing is pretty good actually, now, this attack, any particular reason?"

"Maybe he deserved it," Thomas said childishly.

"How're the ribs, I heard them crack,"

"You are going against 'ALL' laws of detention, as an injured person I am entitled to any immediate treatment required. Once I get you all in court you'll be ruing the day. Especially that, WOMAN...!" he spat, glaring at David then at the extremely patient Secuity Officer, "... YOU, you will get me medical help ... NOW!"

"He's not going to help you, nor is anyone else unless, you start to cooperate with our investigation, the sooner you realise that the better..." David said, already annoyed with the prisoner. After a moment, he took a hypospray from his jacket pocket and turned it over in his hands before showing it to Thomas, "... Start to talk, and I'll allow you to use this,"

"I don't know what you want me to say ..... Why did I attack Gheskori, I was intoxicated, and to be honest, it seemed a good idea at the time. Would I have killed him, hmm, I think he might have got the better of me if left uninterrupted,"

"Stand against the rear of the cell," David instructed, then asked the Security Officer to deactivate the forcefield. He stepped inside and placed the hypospray against the man's neck, administering a general painkiller, seeing Thomas sigh with relief David stepped out of the cell and asked for the forcefield to be reinstated.

"Thank you," Thomas said, albeit reluctantly.

"So ..... Let's leave the attack on the Section Admiral for a moment ..... What can you tell me about the missing personnel?"

"Someone missing?" the prisoner asked, grinning.

"That painkiller is going to last roughly fifteen minutes, then you'll be needing either another shot, or those fractured ribs fixed..." Tan said, turning the hypospray over in his hand, "... So what's it to be, further pain, or treatment?"

"GO TO HELL!" Thomas said again, dropping onto the bunk. Sighing, David knelt in front of the cell and placed the hypospray upright on the deck half a metre from the forcefield.

"Give me a shout when you'll happy to talk," Tan said. He tentatively reached out and tapped the forcefield with one finger, numbing his hand but producing a satisfying 'buzz' to make Thomas turn in his direction. Seeing the hypospray on the floor, Thomas screamed obscenities at anyone within earshot. Grinning, David apologised to the Security Officer as he left ..........

[Iorte Clancy]

Once again Clancy found himself glad to be back aboard the Starbase. Every time he went on mission with the El Alamein or in some other capacity it seemed he and the team were fighting for their lives, this time he'd only left the ship for a brief period but had been severely beaten by the Tkrnn on the IKS Qo'nos.

Iorte was hovering around the Intel offices, and Lemond and Paquin found themselves at a loose end for a moment in their back and forth discussions with senior officers, various controllers from the command centre and Intel staff. "Clancy, you and Iezeld," Paquin nodded and beckoned them over.

"What is it?" he asked as he reached them, Iezelda joining. Lemond explained about the eight missing personnel, confirming what Iorte had already heard. One had been found, so far, and it was thought given the manner in which she'd been recovered that there was little hope for the other seven. They had simply not shown up for duty the next day. What'd happened between then and the present was completely unknown.

Lemond spoke, "Nothing suspicious has been discerned in the vicinity of their quarters during that night. That could mean little, however. If a Tkrnn changeling was responsible, they could have entered in their liquid state through a number of different points apart from the entrance."

"The liquid state... Iorte saw something of that on the Klingon vessel," Iezeld said.

"And I can confirm it's very much like how we know the Founders are in their own original form," he chimed, "Except for cosmetic differences - the Founders being a sort of beige-gold, these Tkrnn are a kind of greyish silver. The Tkrnn are really quite formidable."

"It's thought that different Tkrnn have different levels of shapeshifting ability, with most not able to do it at all," Paquin said, perhaps wanting to give them all some consolation. Iorte regarded the Director and her adjutant evenly, what did they want him and Iezeld to do?

"Tan is questioning the renegade guildsman Botracht's associate, a Mr Nevill Thomas, who attacked the Section Admiral yesterday," Lemond said. Clancy took alarm. "Don't worry. The Section Admiral is fine, and maintaining his usual good humour, apparently. So we're all done for. David hopes to use Thomas as a stepping stone to get to useful information. If only to eliminate those suspects who may in fact know nothing about the missing persons, it's worth exploring," she insisted. "De Luca and Noon are to assist him in however he decides to pursue the investigation, while you and Iezeld are to go undercover on Gamma Promenade, the site of the guildhall. You're to pose as traders, prospective new business partners for Botracht, who is on the loose again, we think with one of the changelings who must've broken him out of the security levels."

"Is this the best way of going about this?" Iorte said after a pause. "We're investigating the missing personnel, not trying to bring Botracht to justice."

"Botracht is currently our only way to get to the Tkrnn changeling, or changelings. If they were responsible for the lost personnel, this plan gives us our best shout. If you should find that breaking your cover or following a different lead on our missing people is demanded by your situation, you're given leave to do so. This is just a starting point."

Clancy absorbed the information and finally nodded. He wasn't troubled at the idea of - if only initially - taking on an undercover role. The relative secrecy of his position had determined for him his relations with the people who frequented or worked on the promenades: his face and Iezeld's would be unknown to Botracht, the task wouldn't even require cosmetic alteration.

The question was could they get near Botracht? And if they met the probable Tkrnn who'd freed the guildsman, would their anonymity still be assured? How much did the changelings aboard the station know about them? How did Clancy and Iezeld know they weren't being watched by one right now? Iorte watched a Starbase enlisted shifting PADDs from one table to another, and spotted an ensign who was just wandering out of the Intel offices to the command centre. Could a changeling be near? A pertinent question while DNA tests weren't being done regularly.

He accepted and with that he and Iezelda were given four hours to think up their alter egos and to provide themselves with fake backgrounds; that afternoon they strode on to Gamma Promenade.

[David Tan]

Admiral Lemond's Office ...
Mezzanine Level
Command Centre ::

Nia Lemond, much like Carl Torek, employed an 'open door' policy when in her office, basically, if the door was open then you were free to enter, if shut, then that spoke for itself ..... David entered via Erin Paquin's office, sighing as he dropped into one of the two chairs opposite the Intelligence Directors Adjutant.

"Penny for them?" Erin said with a wry grin.

"Nothing to pay for..." David said as Lemond poked her head into the office, "... Got a minute?" he asked, Nia nodded.

"let's have coffee please Erin," the director said as he followed her into her office leaving the adjoining door open as always.

"Well, you look like someone who's just lost a bet," Nia said.

"That Thomas character, I couldn't get anything from him," Tan said, clearly disappointed.

"He'll take, they always do if given the right incentive..." Lemond said, taking the cup of coffee from Erin, David doing likewise, "... I've instructed Iorte and Iezeld to come up with backstories and go undercover on Gamma Promenade, hopefully, if they ask the right people the right questions there's a chance they will find a way to approach Botracht," she informed her Deputy.

"I bet Iorte was happy about that," David replied grinning.

"What would you think about us releasing Thomas?"

"I wouldn't, we're having enough trouble finding the Guild Rep, letting one of his henchmen go will only make him more cautious, he's bound to know we're up to something," Tan replied, sipping at the excellent hand-ground coffee.

"We can't hold him indefinitely, so far all we have on him is his attack on the Section Admiral, which would get him three, maybe six months, then he'll be out,"

"It's six months out of our hair though,"

"Fine, I'll see what 'JAG' have to say ..... Anything else on the missing Changeloings?"

"Nada..." David replied, frustrated while realising they had only just commenced investigations, "... I'd like your permission to change tack on Thomas. He knows full well that he has cause to complain about our withholding treatment for his bruised, possibly cracked ribs, so maybe I go back in there, sympathise and have Medical treat him while hopefully gaining some sort of trust with the man,"

"He's not going to fall for that David," Lemond said.

"Exactly ..... He'll know we're trying to get something out of him, but he'll also know that we would be stupid to think he'd fall for it. That alone would give him pause for thought,"

"Fine, I'll leave it to you. One thing, don't promise him anything, h has to know he's there for the long haul..." she said as David got to his feet ready to leave, "... Oh, and make sure everyone is aware that should they come across Clancy and Iezelda, they're to completely ignore them unless approached," she said as Erin entered with several PADD's for her to action ..........

Level One Nine One
High Security Holding ::

"Anything to report?" David asked the Duty Security Officer.

"Only that my request to have him 'GAGGED' was refused, twice!" the Security Lieutenant said, glaring at her prisoner before nodding for Tan to enter.

"I see you've been making friends,"

"You'll see ..... YOU'LL SEE!" Thomas said between wheezes. David nodded to the Lieutenant, who motioned for a Marine Medic to approach Thomas' cell, the forcefield was dropped and the Medic, along with Tan, holding a phaser, entered.

"Lay down," the Marine ordered.

"Go to HELL!" Thomas replied.

"Hey, fine by me. I was sent here to treat your injuries, suits me if you just sit there," the Marine said with a shrug as he stepped back over the raised threshold and out of the cell.

"FINE!" Thomas said as if he were ceding to the woman as not to upset her. He lay on the bulk glaring at Tan, his eyes flicking between him and the phaser constantly as the Medic ran a tricorder over his chest area:

"Stay still," the Marine said, using a hypospray to dull the pain, then an Osteogenic stimulator to rapidly knit the fractures to two of Thomas' ribs. Once done she stood back and returned her equipment to her med kit and nodded to Tan.

"Thank you, Lieutenant, David said as both stepped out of the cell. David handed the phaser back to the Security Officer who placed it on the console in arms reach as he watched the Intelligence Officer and his detainee. David crossed the open area of the Brig and grabbed a stool before placing it outside the cell:

"Looks like you'll be doing a bit of time ..... Two, maybe even three years for the attack on Gheskori, with the right Judge Advocate," he said with a shrug.

"I'll do that standing on my head," Thomas gloated, though David could tell that the timeframe gave Thomas pause for thought.

"Fine by me..." David replied, pausing for a few seconds before continuing, "... How're the ribs?"

"Better. Not that you having someone come in here and treat me is going to stop my bringing charges,"

"You 'could' do yourself a favour you know, all this talk of charges, we both know they will get you nowhere. Any Judge will think you are trying to lessen the inevitable sentence by making false accusations, besides, records will undoubtedly show that you were treated the moment you arrived. No one's going to believe we kept you for almost 'three days' before treating your injuries... That said, if you were able to offer information relevant to any ongoing enquiry Security may have, that could help you no end,"

"I'll still be charged with attacking the Denobulan," Thomas said hesitantly.

"Well, maybe the Section Admiral could be persuaded to drop the charges, after all, it was a party, people had been drinking, maybe you tripped, collided with Gheskori who fell with you, and the resulting tussle could have been misconstrued?"

"I'm no SNITCH!" Thomas said.

"OK. Well, if you change your mind. I think your appearance on the assault charges is set for the day after tomorrow, if you have a change of heart in the meantime, ask Security to get me..." Tan said, standing to return the stool to its previous location before heading for the doors, "... Oh, and give Security some slack, they can't help you, so annoying them is only going to get you in more trouble," David said, walking out, wondering if he'd made any headway ..........

[David Tan]

They had made a mistake in recruiting him - It was highly likely that they had realised that fact themselves by now, but it no longer mattered .....

At first, he had welcomed the request to participate in their scheme, but it soon became clear that they had failed ..... Their whole attention had been on instigating a war between two naturally warring races, but somehow, the two had realised what was happening, and now those of the Tkrnn remaining on the magnificent Starbase, were fleeing, trying to find a way home, but not him!

They had made a mistake in recruiting him - Because, unlike his brethren 'HE' was a killer. There was no cure for what he was, an anomaly they had said, a genetic abnormality, something to be shut away from the eyes of the innocent ..... He, unlike his brethren, relished in ending the lives of the unwary. Yes, he preferred, even thrived on his victims knowing their end was near, but sometimes he just had to stand back and allow events to take their course. Now, with their so-called 'plan' in ruins, the remaining Tkrnn wanted to scamper back to the safe haven of their Homeworld, something he was loath to do.

They had made a mistake in recruiting him - Realising their error, they had tried to persuade him to return to the fold, but he knew what would be waiting if he did, and now he had tasted freedom, of sorts, he was unwilling to cede to their demand he goes back, return to his incarceration, to be hidden away from all, out of sight, out of mind, but importantly, to be denied his urge to kill!

In all of their long history, no Tkrnn had ever willingly, knowingly, taken the life of another ..... He of course was the exception to the rule, so to speak because he had used pharmaceuticals to compel one of their own to sacrifice himself. Not 'murder' as the definition said, but he was responsible nonetheless. His associates had found a record of his complicity and had subsequently demanded his surrender. He had laughed, actually finding their demand hilarious given the circumstances, so no, he would not return, he had been given his tentative freedom for services rendered, services only he among them could supply without falling into the depths of despair for his actions.

They had even discussed options while he sat patiently listening, all the while knowing he wouldn't return home, but it had amused him to allow them the illusion it was they who were in charge. Would they even contemplate the thought of retaliation for his misdeeds, he doubted it. The Tkrnn by their very nature were given to submission, preferring to suffer rather than fight .....

They had made a mistake in recruiting him - Now, as far as he was aware, he was alone, his erstwhile associates had taken their leave of the silver blue needle that drifted in the darkness of space, they had gone, escaped before they could be apprehended and incarcerated for their part in the crimes committed. But not him ..... Now, those enjoying the safe haven of the gleaming spire would suffer for their ignorance, he would teach them the meaning of loss! ..........

[Elena de Luca]

Crew Quarters
Level Nine Four Six ::

Elena had been on duty when the call had come into Security .....

"Who found him?"

"Me, Ma'am..." the young Chief Petty Officer said.

"Who is he?"

"Petty Officer Second Class Malcolm Wright Ma'am,"

"What made you go looking?"

"He was supposed to be working on phaser array maintenance on Level seven ninety, that was three days ago .... When he didn't file any maintenance report on time, I checked why he hadn't reported in, for some reason his communicator showed he was on Level sixteen fifty-one - Industrial Replication, when we couldn't contact him we headed there,"

"..... You normally have people going missing for three days without any concerns?" Elena asked, eyeing the body as Medic's arrived.

"Maintenence Personnel are usually given a weeks' schedule, they pretty much get through the list then head back to report, unless something needs more than basis attention, in whi ....."

"Really..." Elena said, looking around the room, "... OK... We've established that he didn't report in, so....?" she prodded, eyebrows raised.

"Well. When we went looking for him, in 'Ind Rep' we only found his communicator, Ma'am. I instructed someone go look in his quarters on the off-chance, and well ....." she finished, trying not to look at the copious amount of blood surrounding the body.

"How long's he been, dead Doctor?"

"Approximately two, maybe three days, give or take, I'll know more once we get him back to Medical," the Doctor said dismissively.

"Ma'am ..... We checked his rota, and he finished work at eighteen hundred as usual..." the Chief continued, "... There was no need for him to be down in Replication at all. I took the liberty of retracing his movements. He had been in his quarters until zero two hundred three nights ago, then he left and went to Replication," the woman said, clearly trying to be helpful.

"Thank you, Chief, so, we still need to know 'why' he went down there and 'how' he ended up back in his quarters, sans his hands!" DeLuca said, her frustration obvious.

"Ma'am, I feel kind of responsible, he was new, and maybe I should have supervised better,"

"You were doing your job Chief, as was he, no need to rebuke yourself,"

"But if I'd gone wi ....."

"Was he qualified to do the job assigned?" Elena asked, impatiently waiting while the Chief nodded, "... Then there would have been no need for any supervision on your part ..... Am I right?"

"Yes, no, Ma'am," the woman said reluctantly, Elena inwardly swaring that if the woman referred to her as Ma'am once more she might end up on the dead list too.

"OK, go up to Security, someone will take a statement from you," she watched as the Chief left, seeing her glance back once as her colleague's body was lifted onto the maglev' stretcher. Once everyone left, Elena contacted Nia Lemond, David Tan, and Iorte Clancy, saying she had found another of the missing personnel from thre list. Lemond said she would send the others down soonest. Once the comm snapped off she began a systematic search of the quarters. There were no correspondence, no letters from home or loved ones, and crucially, no instructions to go down to Industrial Replication at two in the morning.

While waiting on the others, she sat on the couch in the living area deep in thought, primarily wondering where Petty Officer Second Class Wright's hands were! ..........

[Iorte Clancy]

Gamma Promenade

What was the meaning of this? Iorte supposed that in some respects the question answered itself. According to most of the faces in the guildhall Botracht hadn't been seen since his arrest in the Command Centre by the Section Admiral, so he hadn't returned to Gamma Promenade since his breakout (probably assisted by a changeling). And why was that? Of course, for Botracht to return to a place where at least one person working for the authorities - Sean O'Toole - had found and spoken with him before would be supremely foolish.

He was close to giving up on the undercover search to find the guildsman, even trying to convince himself that it hadn't been a Tkrnn who'd freed Botracht from the security levels - and so any work he might do down here wouldn't lead to a changeling anyway.

But still there had to be one or more of the Tkrnn left aboard the station, if any had departed at all. The Tkrnn were under no material need to do so except for the obligation brought about by the authorities' demand to that effect.

His concealed commbadge buzzed under the abdominal part of his tunic and he excused himself from his and Iezelda's conversation with a businessman. Heading away from the credit-changing office he entered a small cubicle or anteroom and took out the badge, =/\=This is Clancy,=/\= he whispered.

=/\=Iorte, you're to halt your operation briefly,=/\= Captain Paquin said, =/\=De Luca has summoned you, David and the boss to crew quarters, deck 946. Another of the bodies has been found. Lemond considers it of overriding importance. Leave Iezeld in place to continue the investigations; return to her and Gamma in the morning.=/\=

He acknowledged and returned to the credit office, the mask of his adopted persona coming up again as he smiled to various traders who welcomed him back. He informed Iezeld quietly and she nodded, returning to her unenviable task of quizzing this restaurateur from Gamma's slightly less dilapidated end. Iorte would like to find out more about the restaurateur; he and Iezelda would end up having a dreadful meeting with him the next morning.

* * *

Crew quarters, deck 946

"Iorte. I thought you'd have undergone cosmetic alteration," de Luca greeted him as he arrived in Wright's quarters, last of the invited three.

"It wasn't needed. No one knows me down there. Botracht didn't know about O'Toole's connections with Intelligence despite the fact they're reasonably well publicised on Alpha Promenade, so..."

Elena nodded impatiently and brought the three of them up to date on what she'd discovered about the dead Petty Officer. "In the middle of the night?" Tan asked. "Is it possible Wright was taken to level 1651 rather than heading there of his own volition? Or possibly that he was called there, via comm?"

Apparently internal comms records had revealed no sort of communication to or from the Petty Officer's quarters that time three nights ago. If Wright had been due to meet someone that evening after 0200 hours then it would have been prearranged by 12 hours or more in advance, and that opened up the location at which the meeting was arranged to a vast number of possibilities throughout the Starbase.

"Where was the first body found?" Iorte asked to be reminded.

"Deck 1153, outside the station, only some of it and floating about an antenna," Lemond confirmed.

Iorte nodded to himself; there didn't seem to be any connection between the two locations then, unless the man was robbed of his hands and left to expire that way on 1153 and only then headed back to his quarters in that condition. Otherwise, it was only their deaths on the same night that tied together the stories of the eight persons, six of whose bodies were still unaccounted for, with their respective quarters found to be empty. "What kind of work did he do?"

"Basic maintenance for the most part. He was meant to have been repairing a phaser array only, on level 790, but his duties involved many different systems in different sections," de Luca replied.

"An all-round handyman then. Well, once upon a time!"

"Now is not the time for levity, Iorte," Elena said.

"... Yes, ma'am!" He didn't understand why that earnt him such a hard glare from de Luca. "Now, let's think... Why the hands?" he asked the three of them.

An accident, it'd been first supposed. However, the four considered, was it possible that given it was suspected a Tkrnn was responsible for the deaths (at least two of them; at most eight if there was no hope for the others) that he or she'd been the cause of the fatal injury? Assuming they were on the right track: if the Tkrnn was of the shapeshifting variety, it might've made some of its physical form into something that could efficiently cut through bone.

A search for Petty Officer Wright's DNA was being conducted on deck 1651, aside from that found on his commbadge. Could they find the hands themselves? Or could there be microscopic flecks of blood somewhere in the vicinity of the badge's findspot? Anything to indicate where the attack or accident had taken place.

* * *

Officers' lounge

"The Tkrnn remain undetectable except by a DNA test. But having one submit to such a test is well nigh impossible," Lemond mused frustratedly over coffee in the officer's lounge with Iorte, Tan, de Luca and Noon gathered around. It seemed they were going around in circles. Iorte checked the chronometer; it was just after 1500 hours; in the morning he would be returning to Gamma Promenade and very much hoped he and his fellow Intel officers would've made good progress by then. He wondered how Iezelda was faring.

"Internal sensors don't detect them, certainly," he said, "And of course they're indistinguishable from those around them on surveillance records."

Those records were preserved for deck 1651 that evening, and nothing on them suggested anything untoward. If the tapes had been missing that would've been a story in itself; the Tkrnn would've been revealing their theoretical presence by such an action. One timeslice had indeed shown Malcolm Wright moving through a series of sections of the level, his hands still attached; critically perhaps, no visual showed where he'd been thought to enter a turbolift to exit the level - surveillance equipment not pointing that way.

Could a Tkrnn have known this and used that small space of deck next to the lift to carry out an attack? It was possible, but sweeps of the blindspot had revealed no trace of blood or other Wright DNA, so the changeling would've had to clean up very efficiently. The other possibility was that the Petty Officer had entered the lift unscathed and suffered his injury during his suspected meandering return to his quarters. What other places could he have visited on the way back? Scouring of further surveillance records to reconstruct his path on what'd possibly been his last night was under way.

"The word's now been put out to his neighbours on deck 946," Paquin came in to inform them and again departed.

"Well, that's good. Perhaps someone saw him returning, they might be able to tell us something," Iorte said, "Though surely they would've reported it by now if they thought something had been amiss."

[David Tan]

Officers Lounge
Level Ten ::

The atmosphere in the lounge was dire. It seemed that the Tkrnn, however many remained aboard the Starbase, were winning the battle by keeping themselves out of the arms of Starbase Officials .....

They had been forced to temporarily take Iorte his undercover assignment to look at the latest deceased found.

While they were discussing options, primarily allowing Iorte to return to his assignment before his absence was noticed, hoping that at some point they would attract the right attention for the right reasons, and be able to progress. Elena had been looking at the list of missing personnel and frowned. Standing she walked back and forth before sending the data she had on her PADD to the others around the table.

"The eight personnel that are missing..." she said, waiting for the others to fall silent, "... We didn't find any comm badges for them did we?"

"Erm..." Iezelda said, checking her own files, "... No, they were either disabled or more likely destroyed, why?"

"Our latest deceased - Malcolm Wright ....." Elena said, still frowning as if trying to put something straight in her head before vocalising her concern, "... We 'found' his comm badge, so why leave this one, and not the others?"

"Maybe the killer couldn't find it after the attack," Erin Paquin suggested.

"Or didn't think," Rosa Noon said with a shrug.

"Or ..... Our Petty Officer Second Class Malcolm Wright wasn't one of the original eight..." she said, pulling up files, eyes flicking through data before she slapped the table dislodging glasses in the process before pointing at the screen of her PADD, "... DAMN! ..... Petty Officer Wright had a partner, Technician Elizabeth Chapman, they were seeing each other, and Technician Chapman 'IS' one of the missing eight!"

"So why kill her partner?" Rosa Noon asked.

"He 'SAW' who took her...!" DeLuca said almost shouting, or the killer believed he'd been seen, so had no option but to go after Chapman's partner,"

"There was nothing in his quarters to say he was seeing anyone..." Paquin said, then clicked her fingers realising why, "... He was in 'single-crew' quarters, she had a suite, a left-over from before her brother and nephew returned to Earth. In normal circumstances, she would have had to give up the family suite, but with the Starbase being so sparsely manned, Personnel presumably allowed her to keep the suite!"

Nia Lemond slapped her commbadge:

=^= Admiral Lemond to Commander Ki Yalao =^= she said, hailing the Deputy Chief Medical Officer.

=^= Commander Yalo .. What can I do for you Admiral? =^=

=^= Ki .. Medical had just retrieved a body .. A Petty Officer named .. Malcolm Wright .. I want a thorough examination made of the body .. .. =^=

=^= I'll deal with it personally Admiral .. Anything particular you're hoping to find? =^=

=^= Evidence of who killed him =^= Lemond said, snapping the comm off.

"OK ..... So our friend has possibly made his, or its first mistake!" David said, slapping the arm of his chair ..........

[Iorte Clancy]

Restaurant, Gamma Promenade

Clancy sat frozen and thought that Iezelda must be doing the same beside him. He dared not move anything except the muscles of his face as he looked over across the table, which was small enough that they could talk with the person opposite, large enough that he couldn't easily make a lunge and remove from consideration that which had sharpened the moment with peril.

Clancy looked from the face of the restaurateur, along his arm to what he held in his hand: the weapon the proprietor had drawn after sitting at this dinner table in his establishment at Gamma Promenade's less dingy end.

Having returned this morning to the promenade levels and his assumed identity as a Martian trader, Iorte had resumed trying to get a lead on Botracht's whereabouts and so hopefully start to track the changeling who probably broke the guildsman out of jail and possibly killed and knew the location of the eight dead officers and enlisteds.

He'd followed Iezelda some ten minutes later in traipsing from the guildhall, which lay at about the midway point on the promenade, down to the restaurant.

Of all the merchants and businessmen who frequented the offices of the guildhall the restaurateur didn't seem the most likely to give them anything meaningful, or so they'd thought on first examination, but then Clancy had found that his surname had been changed from that on a previous record last current eight months ago... Of course, Iorte had done the same way back: aak'a'Nerei to Clancy.

Neuchri was the restaurateur's old name, which was that of Botracht's mother's first husband... In other words, it'd emerged that the restaurateur was Botracht's elder half-brother! If anyone knew where the former guild representative had gone, Neuchri was at least a good start.

Both of them regretted following that logic now as the man pointed his phaser their way, "It doesn't make sense to me that traders such as yourselves would agree to meet with me, especially out in the open like this. No, there's something else about you, which tells me I shouldn't take any risks..."

"If we're so much in the open," Iorte said eventually, "Why would you risk holding people at gunpoint, unless you want to cause a public incident?"

"This is about par for the course around here," Neuchri said dismissively, gesturing with his phaser, "Is that something else you didn't know? What, did you spend so long on wonderful paradisical Mars that you forgot what the world of illicit money is like? And out here - now Starbase 47 is on the frontier - it can be particularly unpleasant. But it doesn't have to be," he said more brightly and shrugged.

Iezeld glanced briefly at Iorte and recognising the agreement in his eye spoke to the man, "Ok, we will level you. We're interested in finding out about Mr Botracht... We understand you have links with him. What those are we don't know -" except that he's your half-brother, she thought and kept her eye on the phaser, "- but we were wondering whether you could point us his way..."

"You will be lucky... In more ways than one," the weapon started lowering, "I do have close links with him, yes. But as to his current whereabouts, I wouldn't have a clue, but... Well, perhaps some reassignment of the titles to credit ownership is to be advised."

Clancy rolled his eyes. The restaurateur wanted some money. But at least they were making some progress even if it came with its jeopardy.

Studying a PADD, waiting for the funds to arrive, Neuchri's eyes eventually lit up; he paused and nodded to them decently and suggested they go to a place on level 925 at 1500 hours today where he they sought or associates of his would meet with them. Not believing it was going to be that easy, Iorte and Iezelda would take their phasers this time.

* * *

Guildhall bar, Gamma Promenade

Waiting in the guildhall bar at lunch - having been going to go to O'Toole's but deciding they were in too much danger to even marginally break their cover by leaving Gamma Promenade during the business day - the two of them talked on the rest of their team's findings, not worrying about keeping their voices down as most of the clientele (a mix of traders of the four promenades) were too busy being jolly in the middle of the day. So this was why the station's commerce had been suffering so much, Clancy thought.

"Wright is of course not one of the eight, but de Luca's found that Elizabeth Chapman, one of the dead enlisteds, was his partner," Iezeld said.

"I didn't know that," Clancy sipped water and nodded, "But did you hear that they've found another of the bodies? That makes three of the nine now - including Wright."

"Yes, someone told me this morning. The most senior of the eight." Autopsies would hopefully reveal the nature of the deaths - not so much DNA traces from a killer but signs of an attack by a strong and versatile being...