Setting Into Motion

Posted on Mon Sep 25th, 2023 @ 9:15pm by Commander Elias Maxwell & Lieutenant Commander Nyx Valentine

Mission: Mission 4: The Line of Duty

ON

"I know this is important, Captain. I know you have reasons to want to continue the search. Our priorities have shifted somewhat. We're pulling you off the search of the White Wolf."

The display screen in the conference room showed the security footage. Captain's Holbrook and Harding were the only two within shot.

As Holbrook went back to her file, Harding pulled a small object from her pocket, easily held in one hand. "We've been getting some odd readings out by the Delta Triangle, we need you-"

Harding rose to her feet, pointing an old, type-1 phaser at Holbrook. "What the hell?" The woman behind the desk had time to ask. Before she could call for help, though, the shot was fired. Holbrook's body fell forward onto the desktop, the PADD she had been holding dropping from the now limp hand. Harding tossed the weapon next to the dead woman, turned, and walked out.

The footage came to an end, the screen replaced with pertinent details of the case. Maxwell was again sat in what would have been the XOs chair, not watching the monitor. Whatever his thoughts on Harding's guilt or innocence, Calliope Holbrook had been his boss, and friend.

“What kind of officer was Captain Holbrook?” Nyx asked quietly, in more than a little shock at what appeared to be her Captain cold-bloodedly murdering a fellow officer. The decisiveness of whoever was on the screen was accurate, but everything else just felt… Wrong.

"Good officer." Maxwell said after a brief silence. "Good person to work for." He took a breath before continuing. "We got DNA and fingerprints for both of them from the scene. I'd appreciate it if Dr. Ashev could double check the results - look for anything out of the ordinary. I would also like to ask if your Engineering team could go over the footage - spliced frames, cuts and edits. I want us to start with the concept that Harding is innocent, and figure out how to explain everything."

“She IS innocent.” Nyx corrected him, hoping she wasn’t wrong somehow, “The Doctor is at your disposal whatever is needed, we all are. I’m the best person on board to go over the footage, but I’m going to bring in someone else as well, a Chief Petty Officer Parnell, he’s our liaison to security for all of their maintenance needs.” Something niggled the back of her brain, fingerprints… What about them, though? “Harding’s fingerprints were found on the weapon, I presume?”

"They were, and the chair she was sitting in." He waved a hand at the display.

A nod, but how could they be faked? If they show the DNA and prints being from the Captain, if they were truly hers… “What if… I want to check out the Captain’s personnel files, compare the ones from the Starfleet database and the ones stored locally here on Endurance, see if their data matches. Also, perhaps if we umm.. Get samples from her quarters? Compare it to what the investigation team picked up? As a tertiary comparison, of course.”

Maxwell nodded. "All good ideas. Let's get the doctor to check samples from her quarters - prints and DNA, and compare to those found on the scene, and check the station records for alteration." If they could find something - anything - to raise at least a question, maybe they could keep Harding out of New Zealand... or worse.

"I got you clearance to see her, by the way. A JAG Officer will be there, as legal counsel, but the two of us are cleared to head over."

“What? When?” That news startled Nyx and she hopped to her feet, an instant desire to check her hair, makeup and lipstick, but she knew she didn’t need to. Of course, the heels SHOULD be switched out, but no… Let the Captain scold her, she’d like the normalcy of it, “Right now would be best, we can get the request to the Doctor sent off on the way, I know I’ll be up all night going over the surveillance.”

Maxwell couldn't help but smile at the exuberance of this woman. "Slow down, Commander. We don't have a set time, so there's no panic. I want to get everything set up and running here first, before we head over. Let's meet with the doctor, and engineers; make sure everything is clear on what they're doing before we leave the ship."

“No, but, but, but…” Nyx tried to come up with some good reason not to delay at all, but deflated as she failed to come up with something good. “Well, I suppose. And I can leave Absinthe in charge for the time being, she’s gonna be doing her own investigating as well.” She said in a more lackluster voice.

His tone shifted to one of compassion, and understanding. "Command is a difficult burden. More times than not, it means putting aside what you want to do, in favour of the things that must be done." He smiled in a pleasant way. "Now, as for the crew. I was thinking of having the Doctor, and Lieutenant Kersey go over medical and psychological records - and the physical DNA evidence found at the scene, to try and something that Station security might have overlooked. Lieutenant Harper can have her people double-check the crime scene documentation. Your own team would do well at scrutinizing the security footage for any evidence of tampering." He paused for a moment. "As for Mister Savat..." He trailed off, not entirely certain what to give the Ops officer.

Nyx thought hard for a few seconds, going over what she knew of the new addition to Endurance's crew. Despite the Captain's assurance that no major changes would be happening during this particular stint, the arrival of a new Operations Chief had happened. Time and tide awaited no one and this one had been going through a rather lackluster career so far, but his father and grandfather and great grandfather had been in the Fleet, so perhaps he'd learned from them as well? But any which way, he was here now. "I'll have him download the Captain's schedule, both Holbrook and Harding, and reconcile anything he can through other security footage from the station. If there was a switch, maybe he could find that."

"We'll make a Captain of you yet." Maxwell said, approving of her suggestion. "Very well, shall we?" He indicated the door of the conference room.

"I suppose we should." Nyx nodded started off for the door then stopped dead once again, pondering some of his last words, "The Four protect us.. I get this feeling that Temperance is either going to kill me or kiss me before this is all over. No reason, just a hunch."

Maxwell couldn't help a laugh at that. "If those are the only two options... I'm hoping for the latter. Let's not have her commit a real murder, after clearing her of this one."

"Getting kissed by her isn't high on my list of things to do, though.." Nyx admitted with her own laugh, "Still, better for me, better for her and then they can finally get me out of that chair and back to Engineering where I belong! Besides..." She looked down at the scarlet of the uniform she wore in this temporary duty, "This red really doesn't suit me."

"It sits better on you, everyday."

OFF

Commander Elias Maxwell
Starbase 42 Staff Officer