Several cups of half-finished coffee were scattered about the conference table, the focal point of a room being shared by Commander Yilaan, Commodore John Miller, a Vulcan advisor named Siruk, and Lt. Commander Ailyana Kuchma, the human chief of security on the starbase. They were having a discussion as to what evidence had been uncovered, and whom they might pursue charges against.
"Well so what did the latest round of image analysis uncover?" Yilaan asked of the other members of the meeting.
"Unfortunately, certain areas of that tape, the one made farther away, are sketchy, and we still don't have anything from the second tape," the sandy-haired, brown-eyed commodore answered her, with annoyance in his voice at the difficulty of the investigation. "My people are still working on it. They're going to run some experimental decoding schemes and see if that helps clean up some of the imagery."
"Meanwhile," the Vulcan advisor Siruk continued, "we have some alibis to check out. Biln Falor, the Tellarite merchant's son, who appears on the imagery for roughly three minutes spread over two different parts of the tape, claims he was involved in important business discussions during his stay here. Commander Yilaan, I would like you to investigate his claims, and see exactly how much free time he really did have on his hands. One space of the tape, right before a garbled section, shows him in the hallway at 0214. That's awfully late for most people; he might've been engaging in unsavory activities."
Yilaan was about to protest that she wanted to work on investigating Jevor, but stopped herself before speaking as she realized the conflict of interest. She instead nodded in acknowledgement of the order and said, "Aye."
The Vulcan continued, "Commander Kuchma, we'll need you and your personnel to investigate the remaining three suspects. The Andorian Jevor was working a great deal on the repair of the Bristol and of the warpshuttle Belize; his activities should be pretty well logged, as I understand he indulged in very little in the way of breaks or rest during the past few days." Siruk then glanced at Yilaan, "He must be an excellent officer."
Commander Cecilia Yilaan smiled and nodded. Siruk then returned to addressing the station's security chief. "The other Andorian, Hanarran, was a bit more vague. He claims to have been in attendance at the play in the station's theatre and then spending time with some friends until 0100 hours the night before the attack. However, the tape, though admittedly unreliable, seems to show him in the hallway in question at 2230 hours. See if you can clear up this time discrepancy."
The Vulcan paused while Lt. Commander Kuchma made some notes, then he went on. "The final suspect, the Human, is the individual who doesn't appear on the videotape. He says he was on his ship the entire time during the two days in question."
"You should be aware that I'm shorthanded at the moment; these investigations will take well into tomorrow," Commander Kuchma responded.
"Acknowledged. Do your best Commander; pull whatever personnel you need," Commodore Miller ordered.
"Why are we only focusing on activities during the two days before the attack, Siruk?" Yilaan asked.
"No one knew the Grizzelans were going to be on the station until two days beforehand," Siruk said simply.
"The Grizzelans did," Yilaan pointed out.
Siruk paused for a moment, and then replied, "A very interesting point Commander. However, investigating these men during these two days is a good place to start."
"If we're through here then," Commodore Miller said, pausing to allow someone to interject. When no one did, he continued, "Very well, let's do our jobs. Let's meet at 0730 tomorrow morning for a progress report. Dismissed."
With that, the participants left the conference room and went about their tasks.
Yilaan went back to her quarters. "Computer, lemon iced tea, two degrees Celsius," she said to the food synthesizer on one wall. The synthesizer produced the requested drink and she sat down in front of the terminal in her room, which would provide her with access to the station's records.
'Well now,' she thought to herself. 'Let's see what interesting tidbits we can dig up on our Mr. Biln.' "Computer," she said aloud, "call up all the information we have on a Biln Falor, a Tellarite. The son of a merchant currently visiting the station." Some data appeared on the screen; the young man's place of birth, age, marital status, missions he had led, trades completed, ship manifests, that sort of thing.
The brown-haired first officer sifted through the information for a couple hours without taking a break, except to obtain more iced tea. "Wow, he has 15 years of licensed trading experience already!" she exclaimed aloud to herself at one point. She punched a couple of buttons. "Computer, give me a list of all the trading missions Biln has been a part of since he became a licensed trader."
The computer's voice replied, "Working; the information will take one minute, three seconds to accumulate. Please stand by."
Cecilia took a couple sips of of iced tea while she waited; she then scanned the information intently once it was presented to her on the terminal screen. 'Wow, this guy's really been around,' she thought to herself. After taking a few minutes to read over the list, she shrugged. "Pretty routine stuff," she said to herself. She sat back in her chair and brooded for a moment, taking another sip of the tea.
She was just about to clear the screen and try another angle, when a thought struck her like a blow to the head. Yilaan leaned forward in her chair and paged through the information about the Tellarite Biln's travels on her computer screen. She half-smiled to herself, "He's been all over, but not to Grizzela! He's even been to other planets in the same solar system," she paused in her monologue, "but not to Grizzela! Computer, do we have any information on this person visiting Grizzela before he was a licensed trader?"
"Working," the computer's plain monotone voice responded, and, after a pause, "on screen."
A lengthy report appeared on the screen, which she read intensely. Yilaan then sat back in her chair and smiled broadly. "Well, it seems our friend Biln got into a little trouble a long time ago; and we have ourselves a motive!" She whirled around in her chair and stood up, heading for her door. "Computer, locate Biln Falor," she said.
"Biln Falor is in his quarters, Deck 38, Room 21," the computer responded.
Yilaan headed out of her quarters towards a turbo-lift, tapping her comm-badge en route. "Siruk, this is Commander Yilaan; if your duties permit, I encourage you to meet me on Deck 38, Room 21, straight away. I have some interesting questions to ask of our friend Biln Falor."
"Well done Commander," Siruk replied. "I'll meet you there."
Siruk was waiting for Commander Yilaan as she jogged down the corridor towards Room 21, after getting off the turbolift at Deck 38. She smiled at him as she approached; he merely nodded in acknowledgement with typical Vulcan stoicism. Commander Yilaan pressed the door buzzer of Biln's quarters, and a gruff voice told them to enter.
Yilaan and Siruk entered the Tellarite's quarters. Though most humanoids found Tellarites repulsive, due the random shocks of straw which made up the hair on their heads, and their snout noses with upturned nostrils, neither visitor reacted when they saw Biln Falor. An unfortunate tendency for, shall we say, less polite Humans was to compare the facial features of the Tellarites with that of the Terran swine. Such a comparison made to a Tellarite's face, however, was unwise. The offender would likely find blood coming from his nose before it was all over. Tellarites had the reputation as good fighters and sneaky traders; second only to the Ferengi in that latter category.
"Are you Biln Falor?" Yilaan inquired.
"I am," he responded simply. "Who are you?"
"I am Commander Yilaan, and this is Siruk, advisor to Commodore Miller. We're investigating the attack on the Grizzelans a couple of days ago, and we'd like to ask you a few questions."
"Why? I didn't have anything to do with it!" the Tellarite complained.
"Nevertheless, Mr. Biln," Yilaan continued, properly addressing the merchant (as Tellarites, like the Bajorans, structure their names so that their family name is first). "You were seen in the corridor in question for an inordinate amount of time in the two days before the attack, and you're one of the few people on the station that could've pulled it off."
"Go ahead then Commander, ask your questions! I am not afraid; I have nothing to hide!"
"Where were you between 1800 hours two days before the attack up to the hour of the attack?" Yilaan began.
"In meetings, eating, sleeping, and pacing about," Biln replied, after enjoying a hearty chuckle at the vagueness of her question.
"Who were you in meetings with, and for how long?" she continued, unphased by Biln's unpolite behavior.
The Tellarite gave her a lengthy list, of which she entered the pertinent information into her computerized message pad that she had with her. "Is this all?" Yilaan asked finally.
"Yes," he responded. "Are we done now?"
"Hardly," she responded. "Look at all these gaps of time," she said to Siruk, showing him the message pad. He nodded while she turned her attention back to the Tellarite. "Let me ask you something else," she continued, "What were you doing between the hours of 0200 and 0300 the night before the attack?"
Biln folded his arms in an irritated manner, "Sleeping."
"You sir, are a liar! We have video surveillance placing you outside the bomb site at 0214 and 0248 on that very evening!" Yilaan raised her voice, aggressively moving towards the table next to the increasingly nervous Tellarite. "I also have information that you were once on Grizzela, about, oh, eighteen years ago with your father."
"So?" Biln replied weakly.
"So, a certain young man overheard a shady deal your father was engineering and reported your father. Your father was forever barred from Grizzela and his successful business plummeted sure enough didn't it? And you said to that young man that had ruined your father, and I quote, 'I'll get even with you one day!' didn't you? And do you know who that young man was?" Yilaan finished, her voice at a near yelling volume.
"The Marked Prince of Grizzela," Biln said in a hoarse whisper after a few moments tedious silence.
"Who? I couldn't hear you!"
"The Marked Prince of Grizzela," Biln said again, a little louder but still barely audible.
"The Marked Prince, soon to be King of Grizzela, I should think," Yilaan replied tersely. At the back of the room, Siruk was quietly summoning security to come to Biln's quarters.
"So, I said rash things and I was in the stupid corridor! I was conducting last minute business deals!" Biln stammered. "I didn't blow up that hall!"
"Oh, so now you were conducting business deals," Yilaan said casually. "You're a liar Mr. Biln. We see what the courts think of your actions."
Biln growled angrily, threw aside his chair, ran, and tackled Commander Yilaan, throwing her hard against the wall. She struggled under the heavy Tellarite for a few moments, before the latter suddenly went limp and she was able to wriggle free.
"Thanks Siruk," Yilaan said rubbing her shoulder where she'd hit the wall. The Vulcan had applied the infamous Vulcan neck pinch to Biln, rendering him unconscious.
"No problem," Siruk responded coolly as the security team burst through the door. "Take him to the Brig," Siruk commanded the security officers. They acknowledged the order and dragged the unconscious man off. "Have you ever considered a career as an investigator? Or perhaps an interrogator? You were quite effective," Siruk then asked Yilaan.
She laughed and smiled at Siruk. "Nope, my life is out in space, not cramped in some office," she replied.
The Vulcan nodded. "Clearly our loss."
Later on that evening, Yilaan was in the operations center of the starbase, talking idly with Commodore Miller about the afternoon.
"Sounds like it's pretty open and shut on the Tellarite," Miller said after she was done.
"I feel pretty convinced of his guilt myself, but our tangible evidence is merely circumstantial."
Miller nodded. "I know, but perhaps another round of questioning will shed further light on the situation. Perhaps with these people he's been theoretically meeting with at late hours of the night."
"That's a good idea, but we don't have any idea who they are, and he's tight lipped about them," the Betazoid Commander Yilaan replied.
"Hmmm," Miller said, rubbing his chin. "At times like these it's too bad we don't have video systems all around the station; they're considered an invasion of privacy by the powers that be, so we have them only the most public or the most secure areas."
As Yilaan was about to respond, a computer warning klaxon went off. "Warning!" it barked, "Environmental systems compromised, Deck 41, Sections 14 through 28. Lethal doses of Dranzaline being released into ventilation systems."
"What the devil?" was Miller's immediate response. "That's the Brig!"
The lights immediately turned a dark red, as the station went on red alert for the first non-drill time in its history.
"Computer, this is Commodore John Miller!" the base commander shouted over the increasing din of alert klaxons and comm-traffic from frightened base occupants. "Switch to emergency backup ventilation systems, base-wide! Purge all toxins from air. Begin with Deck 41! Engage!" Switching gears, he pressed his comm-badge, "Commodore Miller to Sickbay, come in doctor!"
A male voice, apparently the chief of medicine on the Starbase, answered. "Come in Commodore."
"Doctor, send your medical teams to Deck 41, once toxins have been purged. We may have people dying down there!"
"Preparations are already being made sir!"
The commodore nodded at Yilaan, and the two of them took off for the turbolift to take them to Deck 41.
Upon their arrival, they met up with a medical team and two security officers who were arriving at one intersection that had been sealed off by emergency bulkheads when the computer realized it could possibly help its humanoid creators by sealing off parts of the station to keep the toxin localized. Unfortunately, this also prevented help from arriving in a timely fashion, as teams were forced to override the computer's protocols to gain access to the affected areas.
"Computer, status of toxin in the air behind this bulkhead," Miller asked of the station's computer.
"Ninety-four percent cleared," the computer responded.
"The low concentration should not be dangerous with light exposure sir," one of the medics on hand commented.
The commodore nodded, "Computer, release this bulkhead, authorization Miller-7-8-Gamma-5-9-Delta."
The computer complied immediately, and the group raced in, not knowing what they'd find. Within moments, they arrived at the Brig, and were treated to a horrifying sight; the Brig's Human guard was lying face up in the doorway to the Brig, clutching his throat, his skin a very nasty shade of green. Apparently the poor man had attempted to escape at the last minute, but had succumbed to the poison. As they expected, Biln Falor also lay dead in his cell, clutching his head. The Tellarite's normally brownish skin was a ghastly white.
The commodore sighed and shook his head while the medics raced around and the security details kept an eye out for trouble. A few minutes went by, then his comm-badge beeped. "Miller," he said simply.
"Commodore, this is Lt. Commander Kuchma," the base's security chief replied. "I've checked with the other security and medical teams; everyone in the affected area is dead."
The commodore rubbed his temples, a pained expression on his face. "How many people are we talking about here?"
"Including the two where you are, twenty sir," the chief medical officer of the starbase replied for Commander Kuchma. "And Commodore," he continued, "the computer indicates that the dosage of Dranzaline was twelve times the dose required to kill. Whoever did this wasn't fooling around."
"Acknowledged Doctor," the commodore replied. He then removed his hands from his head and let them fall loosely by his side. All at once he swore and slammed his fist into the wall next to him.
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