Season 11: Episode 2 - Diplomatic Disaster

[Lennox Ainsley]

[Briefing Room]
James looked at his fellow officer to leave the briefing room.  He looked down and took a deep breath.  As he exhaled and let go of the air accumulated in his long he thought about the plan.  They were plenty of risks in the plan.  However, it was unconventional and hoped that the plan would be something that the killer did not think about.

He looked at the room as he saw all the officers leaving.   The door of the briefing room opened.As soon as she walked in, James took his seat next to the Doctor he remained silent at the initial.
James first looked at the room to make sure it was empty.  "Commander, as you are aware we are investigation the murder of Mr. Hobbs.  During the investigation, I attempted to recover the sensor data and noticed that it was moved and encrypted.  Unless we know where the data is we can't retrieve it.  It's like our security cameras were not working"  James said

His faced turned serious  as he continued "Only a individual that has high enough security clearance or detailed knowledge of the operation of internal sensors or data could have done this.  The fact that his occurred near the time of the incident, leads to the reasonable suspicion that they were not wholly independent actions"

James took a small sip of water.  He figured that the next part was the hardest one to hear.  "We made a list of all possible suspects.  You name was on the list...the data would lead to the logical conclusion that you might have the connections of the poison, no strong alibi, have the security clearance and technical knowledge to hide your tracks...I think there is a strong case that might be the killer"

James waited for a second and continued "But, neither myself or Doctor Vaughan don't think you are the killer...I think we are playing into their trap...and we have a plan to catch the killer and we need your help."

James handed a PADD with formal charges.  "The plan is simple; Mr. Brooks is right now assembly our communication badges in an effort the recreate the sensor data.  Since Engineering and Science might be compromised he will be storing all the material and data in Sickbay.    Mr. Bryan is also helping and storing the data there.  You will be formally charged and announced to the ship.  Then we will act confident that the DATA will show the killer.  You will then, act like you have committed suicide...I am sure the Doctor and help you and we will store your body next to the data and comm badges.  We will then wait...until the Killer comes to us to destroy the data.   We are going to do the opposite or what is logical and trust you"

[Corridor]

Lennox had yet to catch up with Mr. Hawke about his findings. His pace was quick as he headed to the briefing room, having not located Mr. Hawke around the other places of the ship. He had pieces of a plan but was not completely sure on what the other man would come up with, or had come up with.

He walked up to the briefing room door, the doors sliding open. Lennox inwardly cringed as he realised that they were in fact in a meeting.

"Sorry fer t'e interruption...I'll wait out 'ere, shall I?"

[Leela Kaz]

"Cuts and scratches, nothing to dangerous thankfully.  We have a hell of a pilot." he said, turning back to the seated woman.  He then turned to check on Sukal, and brought his head back to Leela.

"When we get back.. we potentially have a problem.  I hate to say such an outrageous thing, but we all came to same conclusion.  Our shuttle was sabotaged.  Systems completely fried, even the backups.  We came in like a brick, and were lucky we weren't out in space when life support went out." he said, pulling out the container with the scorched chip.

"And it all seemed to start with this chip.  It seemed to have ignited before the shuttle lost power... I think we are looking at the start of the shuttle's death."

[USS Aegeus]

Sabotage! Suddenly everything Leela had a better understanding of the rumors and clamor she had heard on the bridge. "I was on the bridge before we departed the Discovery; I think this may be part of something bigger... And yes, you were lucky to have one hell of a pilot." She looked to her left and flashed a slight smile towards Jiseth. Leela had had the privilege of serving alongside Jiseth aboard the Phoenix and had a front row seat to her impressive level of expertise.

[Jiseth]

Sabotage! Suddenly everything Leela had a better understanding of the rumors and clamor she had heard on the bridge. "I was on the bridge before we departed the Discovery; I think this may be part of something bigger... And yes, you were lucky to have one hell of a pilot." She looked to her left and flashed a slight smile towards Jiseth. Leela had had the privilege of serving alongside Jiseth aboard the Phoenix and had a front row seat to her impressive level of expertise.

[Aegeus]

When I find whoever did this I'll be sure to leave them a pool of their own blood to drown in...

She could feel someone's eyes on her and it was not a particularly pleasant feeling for a Romulan. Humans were fickle in her mind. One moment someone could be a treasure and then the next trash. At the very least no one questioned her abilities, though she was predominantly good at one thing and one thing only. The bane of being a specialist.

Jiseth looked over her shoulder and saw the Trill's smile. She in return could only offer a blank stare and a most convincing monotone declaration.

"We're going to have to go back. I left my helmet in the buggy..."

After a few moments a button began blinking and chirping on her LCARS display, the proximity alert going off that they had entered the controlled zone of the Discovery.

"...Just kidding."

Turning back, she could see an oblong shape in the star field as they cleared the atmosphere. It was currently almost a hundred kilometers away, but it would not take very long to catch up. Zero would be furious to know that she had crashed another shuttle and that imagine in her mind brought a trace smile to her lips.

Aegeus to Discovery. All Theseus crew are aboard, recovery successful. Requesting permission to land immediately.

[Leela Kaz]

[Aegeus]

When I find whoever did this I'll be sure to leave them a pool of their own blood to drown in...

She could feel someone's eyes on her and it was not a particularly pleasant feeling for a Romulan. Humans were fickle in her mind. One moment someone could be a treasure and then the next trash. At the very least no one questioned her abilities, though she was predominantly good at one thing and one thing only. The bane of being a specialist.

Jiseth looked over her shoulder and saw the Trill's smile. She in return could only offer a blank stare and a most convincing monotone declaration.

"We're going to have to go back. I left my helmet in the buggy..."

After a few moments a button began blinking and chirping on her LCARS display, the proximity alert going off that they had entered the controlled zone of the Discovery.

"...Just kidding."

Turning back, she could see an oblong shape in the star field as they cleared the atmosphere. It was currently almost a hundred kilometers away, but it would not take very long to catch up. Zero would be furious to know that she had crashed another shuttle and that imagine in her mind brought a trace smile to her lips.

Aegeus to Discovery. All Theseus crew are aboard, recovery successful. Requesting permission to land immediately.

[USS Aegeus]

Leela couldn't help but to notice Jiseth's response to her smile. She was well aware that Jiseth did not completely trust her and Leela couldn't blame her. Given her relationship with Zero and Corinth the Trill could understand Jiseth's apprehension. The tension broke with her joke.

"We are not going back." She chuckled as she contemplated the state of the other trill in the shuttle. "I don't think Arlan could do that again."

[Kyle Briggs]

[Briefing Room]

Kyle entered just as Hawke was running through what sounded like a plan.

James looked at his fellow officer to leave the briefing room.  He looked down and took a deep breath.  As he exhaled and let go of the air accumulated in his long he thought about the plan.  They were plenty of risks in the plan.  However, it was unconventional and hoped that the plan would be something that the killer did not think about.

He looked at the room as he saw all the officers leaving.   The door of the briefing room opened.As soon as she walked in, James took his seat next to the Doctor he remained silent at the initial.
James first looked at the room to make sure it was empty.  "Commander, as you are aware we are investigation the murder of Mr. Hobbs.  During the investigation, I attempted to recover the sensor data and noticed that it was moved and encrypted.  Unless we know where the data is we can't retrieve it.  It's like our security cameras were not working"  James said

His faced turned serious  as he continued "Only a individual that has high enough security clearance or detailed knowledge of the operation of internal sensors or data could have done this.  The fact that his occurred near the time of the incident, leads to the reasonable suspicion that they were not wholly independent actions"

James took a small sip of water.  He figured that the next part was the hardest one to hear.  "We made a list of all possible suspects.  You name was on the list...the data would lead to the logical conclusion that you might have the connections of the poison, no strong alibi, have the security clearance and technical knowledge to hide your tracks...I think there is a strong case that might be the killer"

James waited for a second and continued "But, neither myself or Doctor Vaughan don't think you are the killer...I think we are playing into their trap...and we have a plan to catch the killer and we need your help."

James handed a PADD with formal charges.  "The plan is simple; Mr. Brooks is right now assembly our communication badges in an effort the recreate the sensor data.  Since Engineering and Science might be compromised he will be storing all the material and data in Sickbay.    Mr. Bryan is also helping and storing the data there.  You will be formally charged and announced to the ship.  Then we will act confident that the DATA will show the killer.  You will then, act like you have committed suicide...I am sure the Doctor and help you and we will store your body next to the data and comm badges.  We will then wait...until the Killer comes to us to destroy the data.   We are going to do the opposite or what is logical and trust you"

He listened before he continued. "So do we have a suspect?" he asked looking from James to Vaughan. "And Doctor. Id like to see your autopsy report. I haven't had a chance with all the negotiation stuff I had to deal with."

He walked around the table and greeted his Second Officer with a nod. As the Chief of Security, Kyle felt better having her involved. "Have you been able to get caught up yet?" he asked Safeta.

[Kali Reyes]

At first, Joseph was just shocked. He stared at the woman in front of him with wide eyes, raised eyebrows and an open mouth. His mind went a million miles an hour as a mix of shock and hurt started off a train of thought.

Okay ... aggressive ... didn't expect that. Right ... I can't actually be in trouble because I'm acting under orders, but I'm not allowed to completely divulge what I'm doing either. ... So how to approach this? She hasn't exactly tried to do anything to win my trust over ... I've already started the lie so there's no turning back ... um ... here goes?

The thoughts flashed by in about two or three quick seconds before Joseph gave his head a quick shake and put on a (false) face of annoyance.

"Look. Just because the floor is still here does not mean that there aren't forces acting on the ship. All the air inside is constantly trying to get outside, and all the pressure from various rooms occasionally acts against each other and against the various decks. It might never be enough to warrant a jump to red alert, but if a micro crack does form somewhere and we do happen to come under attack, then that makes our structural integrity that much weaker from the get go. So just because you're wise enough to see that the floor is still here, doesn't mean you can do my job. If you've got a problem with it, contact Engineering. If you want more information quicker, I respond better to nice people. ... And my name is Joseph. Joseph Bryan."

So hopefully that was convincing ... either way it's gotten the attention of half the mess hall ... or the whole mess hall and half of them are just trying to awkwardly ignore us. So if she's the killer, then the bait is set ... if she's not, then hopefully the killer is watching, and hopefully she'll give me an opportunity to bait the killer more naturally than this.

Kali opened her mouth... then closed it. Her 'anger' flipped back to disinterest and she turned back around to her table where Yates and Anderson waited with a mix of confusion and exasperation. "There. Satisfied? Air, cracks, whatever. Back to my cornflakes."  She didn't believe the explanation, (not for a split second), but she didn't have to go beyond the line of duty to put her nose into it. It was only her first week here.

"And for the record..." Kali refocused on him, her smile sharp. "I wasn't drafted to be nice, Joseph Bryan." She gave him a long once-over of his form and leaned a fraction forward. It seemed to calm the spectators - like a jibe between two fellow crewmembers instead of an interrogation. "If I see so much as a suspicious twitch from you, I'm calling security. We're not all expendable to a killer on board, don't you think?"

[Lizzie Vaughan]

[Briefing Room]

Kyle entered just as Hawke was running through what sounded like a plan.

He listened before he continued. "So do we have a suspect?" he asked looking from James to Vaughan. "And Doctor. Id like to see your autopsy report. I haven't had a chance with all the negotiation stuff I had to deal with."

He walked around the table and greeted his Second Officer with a nod. As the Chief of Security, Kyle felt better having her involved. "Have you been able to get caught up yet?" he asked Safeta.

Briefing Room

Lizzie looked up at the sound of the Captain's voice.

"Our list of suspects is rather long at the moment Captain. However we have a plan to shorten that list and we are just briefing Commander Pardek." She reported, getting to her feet. "And here is a copy of the Autopsy report. Let me know if you need me to explain anything." She added, handing the Captain a PADD not wanting to assume the level of knowledge that he had.

[Alexander Wu]

Aegeus to Discovery. All Theseus crew are aboard, recovery successful. Requesting permission to land immediately.

[Bridge]

Captain Brigg had returned from his diplomatic duties, and was now working with the others in the briefing room regarding their murder. Taking advantage of his senior officer's presence, Alex had temporarily excused himself; getting into a fight with the CMO wasn't really high on his agenda of 'to-do'. Finding himself on the bridge, he gingerly took a seat before turning to the viewscreen.

Gratifyingly, it showed a tiny speck returning from the planet's surface, and the comm signal came in clear. Alex was relieved it carried a familiar voice. "Aegeus, this is Discovery. You are cleared to land, all lanes open. Welcome home."=/\=

"Send a message to sickbay, get a medical team to the main shuttlebay." Alex ordered, bouncing to his feet. "OOD, you have the bridge, I'll be in the shuttlebay as well."

[Safefta Pardek]

[Briefing Room]

Kyle entered just as Hawke was running through what sounded like a plan.

He listened before he continued. "So do we have a suspect?" he asked looking from James to Vaughan. "And Doctor. Id like to see your autopsy report. I haven't had a chance with all the negotiation stuff I had to deal with."

He walked around the table and greeted his Second Officer with a nod. As the Chief of Security, Kyle felt better having her involved. "Have you been able to get caught up yet?" he asked Safeta.

[Briefing Room]

The plan was... distressing, to say the least. Safefta didn't much fancy the notion of pudding her unconscious body in the hands of relatively unknown officers. Basic rationale said that screamed 'bad idea'. However, she couldn't deny that there was a soundness to it otherwise. It would act as a perfect lure, and they'd thought out her role in it rather well.

She turned her attention to Briggs. "I've been informed of their intentions, and what I'm to do to assist. Though I'm questioning the way this will damage my reputation among those less-informed in the crew, I do intend to see this through." The second officer and security chief committing apparent suicide at the idea of being found guilty would not sit well with many.

[Lennox Ainsley]

[Briefing Room]

The plan was... distressing, to say the least. Safefta didn't much fancy the notion of pudding her unconscious body in the hands of relatively unknown officers. Basic rationale said that screamed 'bad idea'. However, she couldn't deny that there was a soundness to it otherwise. It would act as a perfect lure, and they'd thought out her role in it rather well.

She turned her attention to Briggs. "I've been informed of their intentions, and what I'm to do to assist. Though I'm questioning the way this will damage my reputation among those less-informed in the crew, I do intend to see this through." The second officer and security chief committing apparent suicide at the idea of being found guilty would not sit well with many.

[Briefing room]

Despite standing outside the briefing room for a moment, Lennox went against his gut and walked in, swallowing heavily. He had noticed a couple more people having gone in, mostly those of higher ranking than Lennox was.

"I apologise fer the interruption, but I was tryin' te find Mr. Hawke," Lennox said, noticing the chief of security. "I was wonderin' 'hat the next steps would be."

[Jiseth]

Gratifyingly, it showed a tiny speck returning from the planet's surface, and the comm signal came in clear. Alex was relieved it carried a familiar voice. "Aegeus, this is Discovery. You are cleared to land, all lanes open. Welcome home."=/\=

[Aegeus]

Normally the approach was done under minimal thruster input, but Jiseth was coming in at near full impulse and gave little regard to the amber caution lights on her display. In terms of relative velocity the Discovery may as well have been a stationary object no different than any other landing on a planet.

It was not until they had passed under the roll bar of the secondary hull that she began to decelerate. The forward viewport grew partially obscured from the sudden release of gases from the thrusters. The shuttle came down to land in the center of the runway along the axis of this ship. In her current mood, she cared little to park it herself. She was already standing by the time the landing struts made contact and hopped down the boarding ramp before it even fully opened.

[Shuttlebay]

There was a small gathering of personnel glad to see they had returned safely, but their smiles disappeared swiftly when they saw the enraged Romulan stomping towards them.

"Fall in! I SAID FALL IN, ALL OF YOU! I don't know what you've heard about me, but when I take a shuttlecraft I like knowing it'll get me home in one piece and not end up in a ditch on a planet going through the Klingon equivalent to puberty! The CSO and COO have informed me that the cause of the crash was caused by a faulty circuit board and I have absolutely no patience for finding out who did the last inspection because it could have happened to any of you. Any of you could have let this happen! You all have brought dishonor to the squadron as well as the ship! And if you don't want to be stricken with the uncomfortable sensation of my robotic foot forcibly entering your lower digestive tracks, you will assist the crash investigation and that will be your highest priority because as far as I'm concerned YOU OWE ME FOR ONE ARGO SHUTTLE! DISMISSED!"

She turned and stormed off towards the nearest set of orange doors. Her office was to be her destination when she entered the corridor, but she did an about face swiftly and made way for Zero's quarters. There was a small child that needed to know her daredevil mom was still quite alive.

[Tekin Nevir]

[Aegeus]

Normally the approach was done under minimal thruster input, but Jiseth was coming in at near full impulse and gave little regard to the amber caution lights on her display. In terms of relative velocity the Discovery may as well have been a stationary object no different than any other landing on a planet.

It was not until they had passed under the roll bar of the secondary hull that she began to decelerate. The forward viewport grew partially obscured from the sudden release of gases from the thrusters. The shuttle came down to land in the center of the runway along the axis of this ship. In her current mood, she cared little to park it herself. She was already standing by the time the landing struts made contact and hopped down the boarding ramp before it even fully opened.

[Shuttlebay]

There was a small gathering of personnel glad to see they had returned safely, but their smiles disappeared swiftly when they saw the enraged Romulan stomping towards them.

"Fall in! I SAID FALL IN, ALL OF YOU! I don't know what you've heard about me, but when I take a shuttlecraft I like knowing it'll get me home in one piece and not end up in a ditch on a planet going through the Klingon equivalent to puberty! The CSO and COO have informed me that the cause of the crash was caused by a faulty circuit board and I have absolutely no patience for finding out who did the last inspection because it could have happened to any of you. Any of you could have let this happen! You all have brought dishonor to the squadron as well as the ship! And if you don't want to be stricken with the uncomfortable sensation of my robotic foot forcibly entering your lower digestive tracks, you will assist the crash investigation and that will be your highest priority because as far as I'm concerned YOU OWE ME FOR ONE ARGO SHUTTLE! DISMISSED!"

She turned and stormed off towards the nearest set of orange doors. Her office was to be her destination when she entered the corridor, but she did an about face swiftly and made way for Zero's quarters. There was a small child that needed to know her daredevil mom was still quite alive.

Nevir had to admit, he was a bit white knuckled as Jiseth brought the shuttle in, but it was clearly more of an emotional reflection of her state than any kind of mishap.  If anything could be said, he had absolutely full confidence in Jiseth's flying capabilities, and made a mental note to request her in the future.  As they departed the shuttle, Jiseth was already going Kira Nerys on the flight crew, and Nevir decided not to stick around too much.  Besides, he had to head off any intelligence that would link the Bajoran to the shuttle incident.  Already he could feel the eyes of Starfleet ready to send him packing to New Zealand.

[Bridge]

It wasn't too much of a surprise that the Captain was not on the bridge, but the only person he could really trust about his situation was the Captain.  Taking a breath, he walked over to the XO.

"Back on board, finally.  I need to speak with the Captain urgently, is he busy?" he asked Wu... hoping that he would be able to speak with someone at least.

[Alexander Wu]

[Bridge]

It wasn't too much of a surprise that the Captain was not on the bridge, but the only person he could really trust about his situation was the Captain.  Taking a breath, he walked over to the XO.

"Back on board, finally.  I need to speak with the Captain urgently, is he busy?" he asked Wu... hoping that he would be able to speak with someone at least.

[Bridge]

Alex hadn't even made it to the turbolifts before Ops reported the shuttle onboard, his eyebrows raised in surprise. That kind of flying must've meant Jiseth was at the helm. "Very well, have Lieutenant Alpha send me a report of injuries once they're done in sickbay."

"Uh...Sir, Sickbay's currently being covered by Doctor Neebz, Lieutenant Alpha's been confined to quarters."

"Well who the..." Alex checked his tone, feeling frustration bubbling up. "Nevermind. Have Neebz send up the report when it's ready." Tapping his commbadge, he sat back down in the command seat. "Wu to Alpha, report to my office immediately. Wu, out."=/\=

The opening turbolift doors caught Alex's attention, and he stood, greeting the newly returned science officer. "Glad to see you back and in one piece. I assume you'll have a story to tell about what happened." Alex nodded in the direction of the briefing room. "Captain's holed up with some of the other senior staff, we've had...a problem onboard. Anything I can help you with?"

[Tekin Nevir]

[Bridge]

Alex hadn't even made it to the turbolifts before Ops reported the shuttle onboard, his eyebrows raised in surprise. That kind of flying must've meant Jiseth was at the helm. "Very well, have Lieutenant Alpha send me a report of injuries once they're done in sickbay."

"Uh...Sir, Sickbay's currently being covered by Doctor Neebz, Lieutenant Alpha's been confined to quarters."

"Well who the..." Alex checked his tone, feeling frustration bubbling up. "Nevermind. Have Neebz send up the report when it's ready." Tapping his commbadge, he sat back down in the command seat. "Wu to Alpha, report to my office immediately. Wu, out."=/\=

The opening turbolift doors caught Alex's attention, and he stood, greeting the newly returned science officer. "Glad to see you back and in one piece. I assume you'll have a story to tell about what happened." Alex nodded in the direction of the briefing room. "Captain's holed up with some of the other senior staff, we've had...a problem onboard. Anything I can help you with?"

[Bridge]

Nevir responded with a raised eyebrow.  A problem?  That was vague enough to show that whatever issue it was had to be kept reasonably quiet.

"I'm assuming the delegation is still aboard.  We had a very serious issue on the shuttle as well, one that either screams incompetence or... something worse.  And as you're probably aware, if my name gets attached to that shuttle report, Starfleet will be on us before we leave orbit.  If you'll excuse me... " he said, rather grimly, and turned towards the briefing room.

He debated on actually entering the room, but Wu's explanation was a bit of a concern as well, and there were at least two senior staff officers who weren't on board.  Blast it, if the Captain reams him for it, so be it.

He stepped in, and stood just inside the door, letting them closed.  He waited for a break in the conversation, hopefully for the Captain's attention, and then spoke.

"Sir, we had a serious issue on the shuttle, one that... looks very bad."

[Kyle Briggs]

"I apologise fer the interruption, but I was tryin' te find Mr. Hawke," Lennox said, noticing the chief of security. "I was wonderin' 'hat the next steps would be."

Kyle turned and looked at the Crewman who had just entered. He recognized him from the Personnel files he had been reading prior to having to join the negotiations.

"At ease, Mister Ainsley." Kyle directed. "We're discussing that now." He continued to listen as the others spoke as he also went back to reading the autopsy report. "Doctor? What have we learned about these spots or splotches? Whatever they are?" he inquired. Something about them tickled the back of his mind.

As she began to reply, the doors parted again and the Chief Science Officer walked in.

"Sir, we had a serious issue on the shuttle, one that... looks very bad."

This was all Kyle needed. More problems. Because an unsolved murder wasn't enough. But he had known Nevir long enough to know that he wouldn't have barged in and said anything if it wasn't important. "Report." he said.