What Just Happened On The Flight Deck?

Posted on Wed May 15th, 2019 @ 6:41am by Captain Enalia Telvan & Petty Officer 2nd Class Ila Dedjoy & Death & Kodria Mizu & Baroness 2nd Class Schwein von Alcott & Commander Rita Paris & Lieutenant Commander Sonak & Lieutenant JG Thav Th'ovohrot & Ensign John Carrott & Petty Officer 2nd Class 'Big Ethel' Jablonski & Petty Officer 3rd Class S'Rina Wil'I'Ams & Petty Officer 3rd Class V'Nus Wil'I'Ams
Edited on on Tue Jun 4th, 2019 @ 4:46am

Mission: Fractured Fairy Tales
Location: USS Hera, Deck 22, Shuttle Bay 2
Timeline: 2396

Shuttlecraft Bay 2 of the USS Hera that occupied part of the aft section of Deck 22 was heavily insulated. After all, shuttles, freighters and any number of small to medium sized craft might make a poor landing on it, and had, more than once. The tritanium triple reinforced honeycomb system of interlocking layers acted as a shock absorber utilizing a polymer gel sandwiched within said honeycombs. The deck was resilient, sturdy, and reasonably crash-proof. If there could be considered a 'safest place' to crash a small starship on the USS Hera, it would be the flight deck.

As attributed by the worker bee left smoking on the deck, it's canopy hatch shattered nearby, the explosive bolts still smoking.

The blast doors were there as part of a bulwark defense. While it was nice to trust in forcefields, sometimes they failed when ships lost power, and rather than vent the entire starship via the shuttlecraft bay, sturdy blast doors lined the entrance to the Hera proper from the flight deck on both Decks 21 and 22. Which was fortunate, because the security alerts had gone off when those blast doors came under attack from heavy phaser blast from the Khallianen, Lieutenant Dox's personal pirate craft, which she'd taken to parking on the flight deck.

With everything else that was going on, the irritation that she felt seeing the pirate ship parked prominently on the Starfleet shuttle bay was minor, and she'd decided to let it go. Now the first officer was glad that she had. If the attacks had occurred on the flight deck, there might have been more casualties..

But then, Ensign Raphael Paulson might not be dead.

It had taken her a few moments to get up, get dressed and cross the ship to get to the flight deck, during which Lieutenant Dox had been hauled off to sickbay, and the security officers on the scene had updated the situation. Operations had already confirmed a viral worm loop in their systems that had kept the flight deck silent from sensors, and they were shunting it out now, and reported that the data from the suppressed sensors might be retrievable, and they were working on it.

Now, at just after 02:15 hours, Rita Paris was looking at the flight deck that was the scene of a murder and an attempted murder. One officer lay dead, another gravely wounded. Knee and an ankle had to hurt. Dox would live... which meant right now, Rita Paris needed answers. Because when the Captain finished checking on Dox, she was going to expect answers.

"Mr. Carrot, you're the flight deck doc, I want to know what killed Mr. Paulson. Also determine if he needs to be quarantined. I want scans, people- take that ship apart screw by screw if you have to, but if she's got any more nasty little surprises like this, I want them found in short order, identified and neutralized. I want this debris over here to be analyzed, down to the point of manufacture, and I want to know everything about it. In no small part because the fluid is eating into the deck, and that is some very, VERY tough deckplate right there."

"I want scans of the flight deck to determine that there are no more surprised lying dormant. In short, people I want you to be able to tell me what color underwear I've got on because you've scanned that thoroughly. Because something killed Mr. Paulson, and tried very, VERY hard to kill Lieutenant Dox." Paris addressed the assembled officers, chin high, brow set, resolve firm. "Not on our flight deck. Not on our starship."

"Let's get to work."

Thav nodded as he began walking forward, his eyes on the scanner and the floor as he walked in a straight line across the flight deck. Around halfway across his scanner detected something just in front of him. Stopping and getting down on one knee his blue eyes found the foreign objected. A few shattered pieces of metal. Placing a marker at the sight he used a pair of tweezers to pick up the shards after having his scanner logged their structure completely. "Got something over here. The scanner shows it as part of a Yemmars energy cell." He said calmly.

"Break that down for me, Mr. Th'ovohrot," Paris replied, standing in the center of it all to coordinate, as if she were on the bridge.

"It's a small energy cell, often used in spy equipment and black market robots," the andorian responded as he sealed the evidence bag.

“Excellent,” the gold-clad commander replied. “Finish gathering up the rest of the remains there so we can seek out all the clues involved. Get that investigation launched and trace that power cel- I would very much like to know more about where our little assassin droid came from, who made it, who sells it, and how it got here. Good work, Master-At-Arms- keep it up.”

After a few minutes, the gold clad security officer, V'Nus emerged from the twisted metal hatchway of Dox's ship, the Khallianen, PaDD in hand as she walked up to Commander Paris at full military attention.

"Commander, I have compiled the report from Petty Officer Wagner, who was first on the scene and took the Lieutenant's first statement along with the inventory listing of the ship. The investigation team is beginning to disassemble the vessel, but initial scans have found nothing further matching the energy signature of the damaged sample we have. It left a detectible trail from one of the four crates in storage and all are being taken for further investigation."

Finishing, V'Nus handed the PaDD to Paris. "That trail should make it possible for us to determine where on the Hera it's been. And I've also compiled the past security scans of the Khallianen for comparison to determine how this eluded us."

That's when the silver haired, eye patch wearing, augmented human of a pirate entered the flight deck in her full Baroness livery, hat, cloak, and tasseled shoulder pads and all. She strode up to Commander Paris like royalty and looked up to the taller woman, completely ignoring the carnage around her as if it was normal. "I am here, Commander. You have need of me?"

“Someone murdered one of our crew, and tried to kill Lieutenant Dox,” Paris turned, a hint of the cold fury she was restraining leaking through in her stiff and formal manner. “I will know who has perpetrated this act. Once we have determined that information, a course of action will be determined from there. As it stands, you are the resident expert of the Artan pirate baronesses. As we narrow the focus of the investigation, your input and analysis would be most helpful and would be appreciated.”

While she couldn’t order the platinum pirate to do anything, von Alcott was close to Dox, and the first officer suspected that an assassination attempt would likely anger her nearly as much if not more than it infuriated Paris.

And so it did. The Baroness clenched both her fists and her jaw at the news and took a moment to compose herself, taking a deep breath. The smile on her face after that was not one of friendship but one of deadly intent. When she spoke, she had to force her teeth to unclench. "Do we have the means of assassination? Has it been determined how it came aboard?"

“Mister Th'ovohrot. You have the debris of the device, correct? Petty Officer V’Nus, you have scanned the Lieutenant’s ship and indicated it originated in one of those crates… the ones bearing gifts from the other baronesses? Anyone else? I need an answer, an analysis determining how the assassin droid came aboard. Anyone?” While she herself was a reasonable investigator, Paris gad called in the crew of experts for a reason. Now it was time to see what they produced.

Ensign John Carrott looked up from the body of Paulson, sadness evident on his face. He shook his head as if to clear it, and scanned again, leaning closer to gain a visual inspection of exposed skin on the body. When he looked up, he was three shades greener than Kermit.

“Stop!” he exclaimed, “Gloves everyone, now please! There is evidence Paulson succumbed to a particularly virulent poison, and in the event any of it leaked anywhere….well, better safe than sorry.”

Suiting actions to words, Carrott took long-legged strides to the replicator and procured protective gear for himself and the others, putting his own on and preparing to pass the rest out.

The andorian had been flicking through something on his PaDD before the ensign's words rang through his head. He'd already been wearing gloves for his search, but the words made his eyes twitch as he flicked the padd back. A certain model of assassin droid was on the page. A Scorpinox 7 model.

"I think we may have a culprit, ma'am." the Master At Arms said, handing the PaDD over to the Commander with the highlighted droid model.

On the PaDD was the technical information for the small, palm sized assassin droids that matched the small pile of twisted metal that had been collected from the flight deck.

'Designed to replicate jewelry, the Scorpinox 7 has an advanced internal A-I and targets based on DNA scans built into a replica gemstone containing the processor and scanning equipment. The platinum body converts into a series of extendable and retractable platinum legs and the linked chain converts into a powerful, retractable tail with a durasteel toxin delivery Lance.

The Lance can be loaded with up to 1,500 CC's of any toxin and can puncture most forms of body armor.

The Scorpinox 7 is equipped with dormant scan reflection technology rendering it undetectable to all but an individual, level four security scan.

The Scorpinox 7 can be configured and customized to match jewelry from multiple cultures for maximum infiltration expediency and is primarily used by the Orion Syndicate, the Tal'Shiar, the Ferengi Alliance and the Dominion. Of Orion manufacture.

"Get me DNA off that thing. It'll have Romulan and human DNA that will match up with what else we have on file. I want to know who else handles it, because that might give us some clues. Where can such a thing be purchased, Baroness von Alcott?" Paris directed. "Also, you said you found traces on which crate it came from- Baroness, coordinate with Mr. Th'ovohrot. While I understand that in the wheels within wheels and worlds within worlds of espionage, it could have been slipped into someone else's crate, which likely tells us nothing, I still want what answers there are to be had."

At which point, Petty Officer V'Nus returned with another PaDD, which she handed to Paris. "Commander. The investigation team traced the point of origin on the ship to this. The box in question is still being scanned and is quarantined for the time being, but there is a name inside."

On the PaDD were holo images of the small, velvet wrapped jewelry box the false pendant was found in. Visible on the inside of the open lid was a small gold plaque that read 'Verelan t'Rul'.

While she was remaining outwardly calm, it was abundantly clear to all personnel in the shuttle bay that the Commander was In No Mood. An attack on the decks of the United Federation starship Hera itself that had murdered one officer and damn near killed another was just the opening act of getting involved with pirate scum, and the entire affair was bringing her anger to a boiling point she was working very hard to contain, as now cold logic and determination were called for.

"Has Mr. Sonak arrived as yet? No?" Tapping the comm badge on her left breast, Paris made a direct call. "Paris to Sonak, you are needed on Deck 22, Shuttle Bay 2 immediately."

''Acknowledged,'' came the instant reply.

Meanwhile, based on the data that she had seen so far, Schwein had pulled out one of her PaDDs and had tapped into the ArtaNet and was looking up the registry of who had given Dox each of those gifts. When she found the gift, she forwarded the data to Rita's PaDD. She was so pissed, she didn't even bother trying for common, instead speaking in German and letting the UT handle translations. "It was from one of our own. A Romulan of the name Theran T'Werska. He registered the gift as a pendant he found at Tortuga station from a Romulan vendor he knew that claimed the person in the picture to be the deceased grandmother of Mnhei'sahe."

She then easily crushed the reinforced PaDD with one hand in frustration and dropped the fragmented remains to the deck before pulling out a backup.

"Investigate this personage, please. If he is innocent, I want it proven," Paris grumbled. While she was here to represent the Artan family, the Baroness was her friend and confidante. As angry as Rita was over the situation, she wasn't about to take it out on the pirate whom she had cheerlead to chase her fiance, who had taught her swordplay and who, if she was not turned against her will, would take a disintegration for the Captain.

One of her greatest fears in the coming storm was that just such a thing would come to pass, which would destroy von Alcott, and the Captain as well. Grinding her teeth, Rita sough reserves of calm as fear and anxiety continued to try to turn themselves into anger inside her.

At that moment, the shuttlebay door wooshed open to admit the blue clad, grey-eyed chief science officer of the Hera. After a quick visual survey of the current state of the small hangar deck, the Vulcan walked straight to his superior officer who was also his wife. But none could have told it was so, looking at his deadpan, professional demeanor and hearing his flat tone of voice.

''Reporting as ordered, Commander. How may I be of service?''

Internally, a wave of relief swept over Rita Paris, although it was tempered by the severity of the situation. But while she often doubted her own logic, Sonak's was logic which tended to be flawless, even if not always applicable. Right now, she needed his sharp, critical eye, his keen understanding of personal motivation and his threat analysis capability.

Right now, she needed Sherlock Holmes. But she had Sonak instead, who was actually superior.

First came a basic statement of the facts as they stood, then her thoughts. "An infiltration and assassination droid was slipped into the cargo of Lieutenant's Dox's private vessel, amongst gifts from other Baronesses of the Artan family. Ensign Paulson is dead, and Lieutenant Dox is in Sickbay. The remains of the android have been collected by Master-At-Arms Th'ovohrot, and at this point we have a probable representation of the manner in which it was smuggled in, by whom and it seems the culprit behind it all, if the trail of evidence is to be believed."

The Vulcan asked to see the data regarding the assassination tool and started studying it before he spoke again.

''Identifying the origin point of the device is greatly simplified by the tools we have on board. This is an investigation ship with state of the art apparatus and personel. So, as with any device encountered, our first, best bet of avenue is to identify it's molecular composition, technological design and power signature.''

He contacted the different ship departments and programmed the computer for detailed analysis and correlation with their data banks as he continued.

''So far the data found seem to point to a Romulan source. But, unless we are dealing with fanatics eager to promote their agenda, the first rule of a successful assassination is to divert suspicion; as much from it's intended target as away from his, her or it's true identity. I think we can rule out fanaticism, as the manner of execution was too anonymous, too subtle and unspectacular to act as an effective socio-political message.''

The Vulcan completed his programming.

''Engineering will soon confirm if this device is truly of Rihansuu manufacture and design. Our good doctor should also be able to send us the analysis of any residual DNA imprint and if such trace is that of the manufacturer and user or if it has been implanted as a decoy. There is also the chemical composition of the poison used with the device, which should allow our science lab to point to it's possible manufacturer and origin. Xenosociology is also studying the repertoire of known user of similar assassination methods. Correlating all those pieces of data from our various departments should give us the best possible probability of who the culprit truly is.''

He stepped back to let Rita Paris see for herself the result of all those analysis and correlations as they appeared on screen.

"Theran T'Werska registered the gift as a pendant he found at Tortuga station from a Romulan vendor he knew that claimed the person in the picture to be the deceased grandmother of Miss Dox, which would stand to reason that he himself may have been used as an unwitting agent, but that coincidence is too broad to be statistically likely. Instead he was given the android by a Tal Shiar agent, and paid to sneak it into the various gifts, playing a long game. But with that line of reasoning assumed as correct, why would she be trying to murder her own granddaughter, with Mr. Paulson as an accidental casualty along the way?" While she wasn't a detective Rita could see how the chain of events and the data came together, but that was an element that eluded her.

''Romulans live in a very archaic hierarchical society where lineage is manipulated for political gains,'' the Vulcan answered. ''In such societies, murder is often but a tool to an end. But it remains to confirm that Romulans are truly involved in this specific instance. Poison is far from being unheard of among them, but usually open challenge is more the norm. Honor is a central concept of their culture and it is harder to make a recognized claim through covert means. For most Romulans and most of their socio-political needs, this would appear counterproductive.''

"Ja, I concur," the platinum haired pirate interjected. "With the timing of mein own assassination attempt, zis is too suspicious. Romulans are definitely involved, given the means and method, but I suspect as a diversionary tactic. I suspect that Theran and this supposed vendor are pawns in the Queen's plans, just as Sarika was in delivering my own means of demise." Peering up at the Vulcan with her one human eye, she studied him for a moment. "Ist that a logical enough assumption and a good starting point for mein own research?"

''The truth about the logic of an assumption can only be established through the validation of it's premise. You are far more knowledgeable about your own culture than I am. If you have external data relevant to this, then you can assert the probability of you being correct.''

Looking up from his crouched position, Carrott had been letting the words wash over him while he completed his scans. His slightly dazed look became more focused as he processed what had been said. Brain and mouth finally caught up, he began to speak in his usual deliberate fashion.

"Commander, the poison implemented was not Romulan in origin. At least not in part. There are multiple layers to the neurotoxin. The strongest element is a derivative of the Borgia plant from M-113. However, it has also been mixed with the kaylo plant and a binding element from a plant native to Romulus. This was engineered. I've never seen anything like this....someone paid big bucks to have this created."

Schwein's eye opened wide as she slowly looked over at Carrott recognizing at least the basic description of the toxin. "Was ze toxin encased in ze resin of ze dunkip trees of Setlik five?" Receiving a nod from the medical officer, she mumbled to herself a few German curses before continuing. "Zat is ze signature of an assassin I... Dispatched... Some years ago. His blades are now in the ownership of our Lieutenant Dox. Whomever obtained that recipe is not a friendly person and likely has ties to the family of said assassin. The Queen's attendant is rumored to have such ties..."

"Baroness, follow up with Theran T'Werska, if you please," Commander Paris asked, then followed it up with a twist. "Bring Petty Officer Jablonski- this is a murder and attempted assassination of Starfleet personnel. So while we would very much appreciate your assistance in navigating these waters, this is Starfleet custody they are being taken into for questioning. I assume this is clear to all involved, correct?"

"Ja, perfectly, Commander," Schwein replied, giving the buxom lass a salute and forgetting that she still had a reinforced PaDD in her hand. The remains of which shattered against her forehead and sprinkled to the floor like confetti. The platinum haired pirate just sighed and brushed the pieces from her face and uniform. "Almost time to replicate more..."

Just as Schwein was smashing a PaDD into her face, Enalia made her entrance onto the flight deck, looking like she owned the place, which, in a way, she did. "Status report, if you please." She shook her head at Schwein and the small pile of electronics at her feet, but said nothing, knowing how she could be. She also judged it to be serious by the looks of the size of the pile.

"Someone snuck an assassin droid into the Baroness gifts on Miss Dox's personal vessel," Paris drew herself up to report- this was why the investigation had proceeded as it had, after all- so the Captain could be briefed. "Apparently Ensign Paulson must have spotted it, and it killed him with a neurotoxin encased in the resin of the dunkip trees of Setlik V. After a pitched battle, Lieutenant Dox managed to overcome the android."

"We have a lead, with a myriad of potential shadow motivations behind it, including your mother's attendant. The box small, velvet wrapped jewelry box the false pendant was found in apparently bore a small gold plaque that read 'Verelan t'Rul'- Grandmother to our Miss Dox on her father's side. Wheels within wheels, Captain... which have left one of ours dead, another in sickbay, badly injured." There was no humor in the tone of the first officer- these were grave tidings.

The spotted captain closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly let it out. She then pulled the PaDD out of her pocket and handed it to Schwein who cracked the screen just accepting it. "Add that to the pile for me, please." Without another word, the platinum haired woman crushed it like paper between her hands, the remains falling to the floor in a shower of plastic and electronics.

Enalia then opened her eyes and grinned ever so slightly. "I assume you've already handed out marching orders for the investigation then?"

"Aye ma'am. The investigation is underway as we speak, and I'll keep you apprised of progress, interviews and arrests. Someone out there will pay for this, I assure you." Paris was not usually given to grim proclamations, but it was clear in this case she was rather determined. "Justice will be served."

"I swear I don't know what I would do without you. Keep up the good work." Enalia surveyed the deck once more before turning to leave but stopped long enough to reminisce about when she and her team at the time had saved the augmented human from a Syndicate raid that had wiped out her entire research colony but her. It had taken the woman some time to learn to treat the tech gently enough to not destroy it casually and as far as she knew, it had been a long time since Schwein had destroyed even one of her own PaDDs and the ease of which she had destroyed the one she gave her... She had somehow grown even stronger over the years.

Taking another deep breath and slowly letting it out, the curvaceous Captain looked around the flight deck again, burning the image into her mind. They had been too late to save Raphael Paulson, who was likely just an innocent bystander in the way of this assassin droid. They just had to make sure they weren't too late to save anyone else. This time she knew she had the best crew in the galaxy though, so they would pull it off.

Looking up at the Commander and Captain, Carrott said, "I would like to move the body to storage in Medlab 2. No quarantine is needed as the live toxin must be injected directly into the bloodstream or muscle mass to be active, but better safe under lockdown than sorry."

“Do so. See if an antivenom can be assembled, in case we encounter this again,” Paris ordered. “Seal the private ship, clear the deck and file your reports. I have to go write a letter to the next of kin.” Eyeing the Captain, the Starfleet officer added, “Hopefully not one of many.”