"That's fine, I understand. Oh and for the record, it was a knife and two Starfleet officers who happened to be present while Admiral Hardin was in the room." Rangin replies with a grin.
"Dr T'Var, do you have anything to ask?"
"That's fine, I understand. Oh and for the record, it was a knife and two Starfleet officers who happened to be present while Admiral Hardin was in the room." Rangin replies with a grin.
"Dr T'Var, do you have anything to ask?"
In the land of the blind, the one-arm man is king.
Graham's attempt at regaining his equilibrium is shattered. He rocks back, feeling as if he's been punched in the gut by a Gorn.
"Wha--how did you kn...?" he starts to stammer, then lurches forward, grabbing his colleague by both shoulders. He has no intention of hurting her, but he holds the smaller officer with enough force to lift her slightly off her feet and carry her several steps across the room.
He's never told Elizabeth all the details, for exactly this reason--fear of what she would say. Anger at him, he could deal with: accept, embrace, agree with. But not absolution...and not... He's always wondered: what if Lizzy had said "But I'm glad you're alive." All he could say in reply is: "I'M NOT."
His jaw clenches as tightly as his chest and his hands on her arms. "I...should...have...been there..." he rasps, and then he thinks not about himself but about what it must have been like, to be without help in those last moments:
What's happening...oh, no...
Someone, help...
Please, don't....
He's not sure who he's speaking to: Jane? Elizabeth? Kylah, as he was running toward the hotel the previous night, convinced--rightly or wrongly--that something was wrong. All of his is bound up in the promise that he would have done anything to save... Jane. Mom. You. And he doesn't know what to do now that he's here and didn't have the chance to live (or die) trying.
His shoulders slump slightly and his grip relaxes enough to let Kylah's feet sit fully on the floor. "I should have been there," he whispers, bowing his head.
And I'm sorry, he thinks, but does not say.
Last edited by general_urko; 04 May 2014 at 07:46 PM. Reason: added last line
The instant Graham lurches toward her, Kylah starts to back away, but his hands clasp her to him, holding her, and now he forces her backward. She is utterly shocked and unable to stop him. The horror and disgust and fear are like a net wrapped around them--she cannot distinguish whose emotions they are, hers or his--or both. She cries his name, asks him to let go, but he doesn't seem to hear her. Or doesn't care.
Terror cluches at her heart as once again, just like on Jan's bed, she is overwhelmed by something too powerful to fight.
But it is not last night. Kylah can defend herself. Shaken from her paralysis, she starts to kick out at him--but then Graham loosens his vise-like grip. At first she thinks he will release her, but no--her back is against the wall and he still looms over her, so much larger than she. His strong fingers still prevent her from moving, pinning her arms to her sides. She cannot reach for her knife, phaser or communicator. What did she do to invoke this? Is the man drunk again, as he was the night of the dinner party?
Gradually Kylah registers some of his whispered words. He should have been there? What does that... what does he mean? Her breath is ragged with alarm. He must somehow be drunk. Or has gone mad.
"Mr. Graham!" she says through her teeth, not recognizing her own voice. Kylah repeats with more force, almost near hysteria herself: "Mr. Graham! You were there. You opened a channel to the ship. Lt. Collins was beamed up thanks to you, at least her life was spared!" She cannot tell if he hears her. Choking with claustrophobia, Kylah pushes desperately forward, hoping to wrest herself free. "Let me go! You must let me go!"
Delaney steps over next to Mr. Hsu and looks at the display screen built into the transporter console. "Try checking the console deep memory files... there. Yes."
Hsu shakes his head in frustration. "No, that's been wiped, too. This is terrible!"
Dr. T'Var says to Rangin and Miss Nguan, "I have no questions of my own, thank you."
"Sir," Dobson says, "With your permission?" She steps to the console, and begins to manipulate the controls and touchpads. "One of my hobbies is computer tech. I've gotten pretty good at some back door hacks."
"Thank you very much for your help Miss Nguan, I don't believe there is anything further."
Rangin wanders a little distance away before pulling out his communicator,
"Rangin to Graham. Just checked the spores and introduction area. Everything is normal here. I'll be going to get the details of last nights rosters for the nightclub next unless you have anything further."
Rangin waits to see if Graham responds with some other menial task that might need accomplishing. Waiter service for the new security members, that kind of thing.
Last edited by CatInASuit; 05 May 2014 at 04:24 AM. Reason: last line edit
In the land of the blind, the one-arm man is king.
Graham blinks, coming back into the moment very confused. "Collins? Wha--? Oh!" his eyes widen and he quickly drops his hands to his sides and takes a step back.
Of course she's talking about Collins, you idiot, he thinks, his mind spinning. She's not a damn mind-reader.
"I thought...I thought you were talking about something else," he says in a rush. He's mortified he may have hurt her and for a moment starts to reach gingerly for he shoulders--then realizes that probably the last thing in the world she wants is this nutcase standing in front of her to touch her again. He pulls his arms back and collapses in on himself a bit. His right hand shakes a little as he gestures in apology. "I'm--I'm sorry, Ensign."
He clenches his shaky hand into a fist and presses it against his forehead for a moment, standing back up straight. Get it together, Booker.
"Are you--are you all right?" Please, please, please don't let me have hurt her, he repeats mentally as if wishing it would make it so.
Then his communicator beeps, and it occurs to him perhaps it's the supreme being calling to congratulate him on a job well done in command of the mission...
When Graham finally releases her, Kylah stumbles away from him on legs that might as well not have been healed--her bones and muscles are so weak they might as well be made of water. She is wide-eyed with fear and fury. He is in her path toward the door, so she cannot leave, but instinctively she keeps the table between them.
He makes some pretext of explaining himself and apologizing. Kylah vaguely senses his sincerity but she doesn't care. Her left hand grips the edge of one of the chairs for balance while the other reaches instinctively for her knife.
Are you all right? he asks, and Kylah is about to blast out her anger when his communicator goes off. She tries to hold back tears. In less than twenty-four hours, four men have tried with varying degrees of success to control her physically or verbally. Why does this keep happening? Why do men think she is some mere object they can force or break?
Kylah stands--barely--trembling and mute. And ready to pull her knife if he attempts to come near her again.
Last edited by choie; 05 May 2014 at 02:26 PM.
Noticing Kylah's lack of a reply, Graham opens his mouth again as if to speak, then shuts it, realizing he has no idea what to say.
He shuffles backwards another half-step away from her. Graham opens his communicator and manages to process Rangin's message. He clears his throat. "Ah, good. No, nothing...nothing from me. Ens, Kylah is...." he pauses. Freaked out she's alone with an armed lunatic? "...Ah, back. Her leg is better."
Miss Nguan nods and turns back to her work after saying, "If there's anything else you need, please let me know."
Dobson confirms what Hsu and Delaney already found - both the transporter-use active records and deep memory have been completely cleared. It's almost as if the transporter didn't exist for the past two days, through 0500 this morning; the records before that time appear to be intact. She checks the authorization log to see who erased the data, and is not especially surprised to see that the log, too, has been wiped. She knows it would take a relatively skilled computer expert to do that.
Last edited by Elendil's Heir; 05 May 2014 at 03:26 PM.
Rangin listens to Graham over the communicator not really sounding like himself. Surely command can't be getting to him that fast could it?
"That's good to hear", comes the slow and unsure reply from Rangin, "In which case, I'll see both of you in the admin offices in a couple of minutes or so with Dr T'Var then. Rangin out." he says with slightly more purpose, curious as to what is going on. Rangin would have to find out from Kylah shortly.
Rangin looks across at Dr T'Var knowing she can hear the conversation looking to see if she shows any sign of concern, unlikely though it may be.
"Let's go find a roster." Rangin says to the Vulcan, heading towards the offices.
In the land of the blind, the one-arm man is king.
Who is he talking to? Is it Velir? Kylah is suddenly flooded with the need to see Velir Rangin's kind face, to feel his calming presence. When the conversation is clearly over, she does not wait for Graham to return his communicator to his belt before blurting: "How dare you treat me like that?! I will not be manhandled, I will not be used as some--some sort of vicarious target of whatever violent madness lies inside you. Do not ever grab at me again!"
"I--" Graham starts to reply, then stops. He bows his head and instead of putting his communicator away lays it on the table. Then he pulls out his phaser and does the same. "Of course," he says softly. "If you don't want to serve under my command, I'll relieve myself of duty."
He stands up straighter. "I won't...dispute any charges either," he says more steadily, feeling a curious sort of certitude: it's obvious to him that Kylah has the right to whatever next steps enable her to feel comfortable on the mission and on the ship. Given his record it's probably a one-way ticket back to crap assignments, but the right thing to do is so obvious he can't help but be resigned to it. Except for one thing that's tearing at him.
"But...just...before that," he says earnestly. "Please - did I hurt you? Are you...injured, at all?"
"I'm sorry, Sir." Dobson says, "I was unable to retrieve any data. Shall I call in to Ensign Graham?"
Graham's mood change and words leave Kylah unable to gather her thoughts for a few seconds. She blinks away tears and stares at him. "What? I--no, I--am bruised, maybe, but not anything..." Seeing his communicator on the table, Kylah shakes her head in a combination of weariness and irritation. In truth, she feels manipulated. "Pick that up, Mr. Graham," she says hoarsely. "Please. I will not be the cause of... you do not have to resign. I would look worse than you. I would be blamed. I know how I am seen by others."
She takes a deep breath and presses the heel of her hand into her eyes. "We are all tired. I do not pretend to know what you thought I meant, what you may have misheard from me. You were inappropriate and--I was scared. But if you think I would charge you with anything... all you did was frighten me, it is not close to a crime." Her voice cracks and lowers to a whisper. "I wish I could charge someone, but I cannot, because it is my fault."
A fresh outpouring of hot tears makes her blink and sweep them angrily away with her hand, which then falls to her side. "This has been a horrible day. I just want to do my job and get off this revolting planet. Please, let us find Mrs. Hsu and get that announcement over with."
Last edited by choie; 05 May 2014 at 05:16 PM. Reason: Added manipulation line.
Graham clears his throat and after a moment grabs his gear. "Well...you're right it's been a horrible day," he says. "You're not right about anybody blaming you--not if I had anything to say about it," he says with more of his normal force.
But then he shrugs and scratches his head - he smiles wanly. "But yeah, how the hell would that work in a situation like this, right?"
He takes and exhales a deep breath. "OK let's get back to it - I...talk is cheap, probably even cheaper coming from me at the moment, so I won't belabor the point." He shakes his head. "But--you didn't deserve that, Ensign. I...well," he taps his chest with a finger. "My problem, my fault."
He gives Kylah a lot of space between him and her as he gestures toward the door and flips open his communicator. "Graham to Mrs. Hsu--are you able to meet us in the administrative offices?"
Last edited by general_urko; 05 May 2014 at 05:32 PM. Reason: mispelling
Delaney leans on his knuckles on the transporter console. He doesn't answer Dobson directly but says, a little tensely, "There must be some other way to come at this. Let me think."
Rangin and T'Var arrive in the resort's administrative offices, just off the main lobby and behind the wide front desk. An aide shows them to Mrs. Hsu's office. The door opens, and she looks up from her desk, smiles and taps a comm key. "I'm here now, Mr. Graham. Two of your party have just arrived, as well."
It is now 1255 hours.
Last edited by Elendil's Heir; 05 May 2014 at 08:03 PM.
"Wouldn't there be," Dobson says tentatively "some sort of bio residue on the pads?"
While Graham contacts Mrs. Hsu, Kylah takes a wide berth around him to escape the room and reach the corridor. Once there, she gives a shuddering sigh, trying to get herself together. After a few seconds of thought, she lifts her communicator. "Kylah to Rangin," she says quietly, sidling farther from the CP with a nervous glance backward. "I--I am going with Mr. Graham to see Mrs. Hsu now. I wanted you to know, in case--" In case what? What do you think Graham will do? What can Velir do?
She moistens her lips and realizes how futile this attempt to contact Velir is, how weak she is acting. The truth is, she just wants to hear him. That is not a good enough reason to interrupt him during a mission. Kylah shakes and lowers her head, embarrassed. "No, never mind, I should not have bothered you."
"Hello Mrs Hsu, how are you bearing up?" Rangin asks the lady behind the desk shortly before his communicator beeps. He sighs, it had been a day of interruptions. "Please excuse me," he apologises as he steps to one side.
Rangin listens to Kylah's worried and hushed voice before responding. "In case of what? Kylah, what's happened and yes, I would rather be bothered and it be a mistake than not be bothered and it be a problem. Now, I am currently with Mrs Hsu and Dr T'var, so I will be here for a while. We were expecting both of you shortly. Don't be too long and if there is a problem, tell us..."
Rangin takes a deep breath, "...and if there is a problem with Graham better to deal with it now than later. See you in a couple of minutes."
Rangin looks across worriedly at T'var knowing she would have been able to hear his side of the conversation before turning back to Mrs Hsu with a smile again.
"Where were we, oh yes, would it be possible to get a copy of last night's roster for the nightclub? We think it might help provide some alibis for some people from the staff on duty."
In the land of the blind, the one-arm man is king.
"Could be," Delaney says. "I'll scan for that." He unlimbers out his tricorder and scans the platform but finds no biosigns. "Not surprising, really," he says as he clicks the scanner hood shut. "If they wore shoes and didn't touch bare skin on the platform, they probably wouldn't leave any biosigns behind. Also, each subsequent cycle of the transporter would remove any DNA, skin flakes, tissue, etc."
Mrs. Hsu says, "Sure." She turns to her computer and taps a few keys, then transfers the data to Rangin's tricorder. There are 27 people on the list - cooks, kitchen staff, bartenders, servers and entertainers. Rangin does not recognize any individual names.
Graham acknowledges Hsu's response, half-mumbling "we're on our way."
He rubs his head. "All you did was frighten me." He winces--you've been worried about her all day and you're making things worse, not better, dammit.
He makes sure to leave a decent amount of distance between himself and Kylah as he heads toward the admin offices.
Kylah hears both Velir's voice and Graham's footsteps simultaneously, and she says a hurried goodbye to Velir before snapping her communicator shut. She keeps it close to her stomach, holding it with both hands clasped around it as if in prayer. Not waiting for Graham--she knows his longer stride will catch up with her eventually--she walks quickly to their destination.
Graham does not catch up with her. She is aware of every footstep behind her, however, and he seems to have slowed his pace to avoid her. Slightly relieved, Kylah reaches the office area, sees the aide, and in a still-shaky voice, says, "Good afternoon. Ensign Grahams and Kylah of the Yorktown to see Mrs. Hsu, please. We are expected."
"If they'd cut the power," Dobson is still tentative "Couldn't we track that somehow? They probably wore gloves, but maybe we should scan for fingerprints on and around the power couplings"
Rangin looks down the list with a slight sinking feeling. "Ok, interviewing them all in a short space of time is not really going to be possible and to be honest most of these people are only just getting up if they have done a night shift."
He thinks for a moment before smiling with an idea, "I may need to confirm this with Ensign Graham, and to beg both you and your staff's indulgence, but it might be better to take statements from each of them just outlining their activities yesterday evening, who they interacted with, who they saw and then interviewing any which look to be of interest. It would mean asking them for an hour or two of their time to put it together but it would be a far easier starting point to read through 27 statements mthan to have to spend at least 30 minutes with each of them."
Rangin looks back across at Mrs Hsu and nods to her, "Would that be acceptable?"
In the land of the blind, the one-arm man is king.
"He, she, they or it didn't cut the power," Delaney explains, "but just wiped the records. Hmm. The power... the power... let me see...." He inputs a new series of commands into the transporter console. Mr. Hsu looks on with interest.
Mrs. Hsu says to Rangin, "I don't see why not. Would you want to have your people take those statements, or mine? Or some combination?"
Graham and Kylah then arrive, shown in by Mrs. Hsu's aide.
"Good afternoon, Mrs. Hsu," Kylah says, politely nodding to the temporary administrator. But her gaze switches almost immediately to Velir, and before she even knows what she is doing, she's taken three steps toward him. Then she halts, awkward; she cannot just make a beeline for Velir in front of others.
With difficulty she breaks her intense stare at Velir to flick a glance of silent greeting at Dr. T'Var. A conundrum lies before her: how does she act as if she is not afraid of Graham while managing to avoid him completely? Kylah decides to stand beside Mrs. Hsu. "Please continue," she murmurs, then lifts a shoulder in Graham's direction--the closest she's willing to get to looking at him right now. "We did not mean to interrupt."
Dobson also watches Delaney, and a thought occurs to her "Power fluctuations! You're looking for usage!"
Last edited by anyrose; 07 May 2014 at 07:11 AM. Reason: grammar
Graham can't help but frown noticing Kylah's body language: she's clearly not comfortable around him now, it's all his fault, and he has no idea how to fix it...
He winces: remind you of another young woman you tried to take care of, Booker? At least Ens. Kylah just thinks I'm a failed officer, not a failed father...
He clears his throat. "Right. You were discussing something, Mrs. Hsu, Mr. Rangin?"
Delaney snaps his fingers and points at Dobson. "Exactly! Even if we don't know by whom or why the transporter was used, we can still see when it drew power from the resort's fusion plant." He taps additional keys and accesses the power-consumption log. "Unless it was wiped... no! Whoever it was didn't think to do that. OK. Let's see...." Dobson and Mr. Hsu lean in. "Wow. Looks like it was used seven times this morning, between 0137 and 0151."
"Yes," Mrs. Hsu says to Graham, "Mr. Rangin was just talking about taking statements from the nightclub staff. The roster shows we had 27 working at Starfire last night."
Last edited by Elendil's Heir; 07 May 2014 at 10:40 AM.
"Seven times?" Dobson repeats, then tries to reason it out. "One - into Wilson's office; Two - beam dead body to park; Three - beam out to safe destination.' She pauses. "But what about the other four?"
"Indeed", says Rangin with a warm smile and a nod to Kylah before he takes a look across at Graham to see what kind of state he is in and it's not looking too pleasant. If Kylah was looking nervous and anxious to be as far from Graham as possible, Graham was looking slightly downcast, a far cry from his mood earlier. Something had happened between them and it was likely that if he could see it, then Dr T'Var certainly should be able to as well.
Rangin continues on. "The general idea would not be to try and interview all 27 of them, but to try and get them to submit statements about their duties last night. If anything catches our eye we can follow it up. It would probably be worth having one of our team and one of Mrs Hsu's staff to co-ordinate taking the statements but that can take a couple of hours for all of them", he looks back across at Mrs Hsu, "perhaps if there is an empty conference room that could be used? It would make life easier."
Rangin looks across at Graham, "Perhaps Crewman Markovitch would be the best option? It's not the greatest job, but certainly would be valuable, not to mention he's probably more trained in that area that some of us, not to mention, I've just thought of another task I should be doing. Regardless, what do you think? "
Rangin waits to see his reaction whether that be positive, negative or just distracted. he glances at Kylah to see how she is doing and finds he has slowly walked around to be between the two ladies and Graham while speaking.
In the land of the blind, the one-arm man is king.
Graham sighs, feeling like a heavy cruiser decided to dry dock on top of his head.
Nonetheless he is encouraged by Rangin's suggestion: this is how a team's supposed to work, he thinks, people taking initiative, coming up with ideas on how to solve problems rather than arguing about them... Although he's conversely deeply discouraged by the fact that he seems to have become a weak link, however--at least as far as Kylah is concerned.
"That's a..." he forces himself to perk up a little. "That's good thinking, Mr. Rangin." He nods and smiles grimly. "If Markovitch has good sense he'll appreciate a job that sounds boring is better than one that sounds heroic but might get you killed." He shrugs. "Doing up the forms nicely to say 'By signing here you attest under penalty of perjury and criminal sanction' can be effective. Of course, none of us here have the authority to make that legally binding - but most people won't know that." He pauses for a moment, considering who he's speaking to.
"But if you're...not comfortable with that, I leave it to your discretion to have Markovitch include that or not. It's your good idea, Ensign, make it so as you see fit."
Graham's concerned that rather than sounding crisp and in command instead he sounds like a depression case trying to sound crisp and in command, but at the moment that was the best effort he could muster.
Kylah tries to rein in her distracted thoughts so she can pay careful attention to what the others are saying about the nightclub. While she listens to Velir's idea, she notices that he is walking casually toward her, ending up between her and Graham. Having him next to her allows Kylah to relax her vigilance--which she knows is excessive, since Graham is hardly likely to repeat his performance in here. If at all.
After Graham approves the proposal, Kylah feels a little swell of pride for Velir. She contains her smile but gives an infinitesimal nod, and then says softly, "Mrs. Hsu, forgive me if this has been asked before and I have forgotten. But are there any other venues that are open past midnight? Any other staff members who might have been on duty--or coming off duty--that late? Staff involved in room service, for example? If so, perhaps they should be included as well."
Last edited by choie; 07 May 2014 at 06:31 PM.
The Security crewman's name is "Markovich."
"That's a good question," Delaney says to Dobson. "I'm not sure how we could figure that out. The transporter uses pretty much the same energy regardless of how far or near something is being beamed."
T'Var says to Graham, "We could probably be assisted by the Starfleet Judge Advocate back on Starbase 27 if any interrogation or witness statement forms need to be prepared."
Mrs. Hsu answers Kylah, "All of our restaurants close at midnight, as does room service, but of course they have to clean up before their shift ends. Otherwise, other than those at the nightclub, security staff and the front desk clerk, no one else works after midnight."
Mea Culpa
"I'll contact Starbase 27 and ask for advice.", Rangin says with a nod to Dr T'Var. "They may even be able to send a pro forma we can use." he turns back to Mrs Hsu. "If you make those staff aware this will be coming I would be grateful and if you could let me know which staff you would like to help out, I can brief them at the same time as Crewman Markovich. Hopefully that won't be too long."
He looks around the room at all, "Ah well, guess I had better get on with it." He nods to Kylah and Mrs Hsu, "if you will excuse me." Rangin turns round. "Dr T'Var, I wouldn't want to bother you with the paperwork, but if you need me for anything, I should be available."
He looks across at Graham and steps forward, and drops his voice to a quiet tone for him too hear. "One, when I've got the request out, I'm going to swing by Wilson's suite and check the back exit. It's one of the few places we haven't scanned. Two..." Rangin glances back at Kylah, before looking back at Graham, who at this close range looks drawn, and with a more worried tone, "...I'd suggest taking a break and clearing your head. Until later."
Rangin heads for the door.
In the land of the blind, the one-arm man is king.
Kylah watches Rangin leave with a sinking feeling, but her thoughts seem able to rally enough to focus on the job at hand. "Mr. Rangin, wait, please?" She turns back to Mrs. Hsu. "Have the staff been informed of Mr. Wilson's death yet? I just thought--if they do not know, Ensign Rangin will inadvertently be spreading the news by asking them to sign statements. Perhaps you should make the announcement first, letting them process it for a few moments, before we ask them to explain their whereabouts and what they might have seen."
Kylah sends an apologetic gaze to Rangin. "Not that I think you would be anything less than tactful about revealing their boss's death, but... you understand me, I am sure? I just wanted to give Mrs. Hsu the opportunity to be the one to share the unfortunate news with her employees--and also encourage them to be full and frank with us in order to solve the crime."
Graham nods in response to T'Var's comment. "Fair point, Doc, no need to...ah, improvise...when we have access to the right resources."
He's a little taken aback by Rangin's tone because it seems authentically concerned rather than sarcastic or sardonic. His eyes widen slightly, and he manages a reasonably appreciative nod in response.
Nonetheless he's still not entirely on his game and he physically lurches forward a step when Kylah's comments register. "Uh, yes, that's why we're here. It won't be long before the cat's out of the bag on last night's events, Mrs. Hsu. We'd like to make some public statements - you to staff." He spreads his hands. "You or me to the resort in general. Basic point is that this tragic event occurred, but we don't believe it was a random event and there is no cause for panic--Starfleet is conducting an investigation and Starfleet personnel are on the ground, folks should share any information, however trivial it might seem." He shrugs and spreads his hands. "Generally I'd say the lead investigator ought to do it, but I recognize this is a private resort and you're in a position of responsibility - as long as you're willing to align with the message that we believe will further the investigation I don't see a need to force the issue either way."
Mrs. Hsu says soberly, "I've told some top staff about Mr. Wilson's... passing, but have asked them to keep it to themselves. I'm no wordsmith. If any of you would like to draft a statement - I suppose it can be for both staff and guests - I'd be glad to have a look. Do any of you have a communications background?"
With a slight flush, Kylah nods. "Yes, that is my background. I will do my best. I expect you will wish to make the announcements slightly different for the staff and the guests. If you wish to, please do not hesitate to make this more appropriate to your own way of speaking. News such as this will be difficult enough to impart, much less hear, if it does not feel natural."
She asks Mrs. Hsu if she may sit at the computer; assuming the older woman allows her to, Kylah will be seated so that she can type the words into a new file.
Before she begins, she turns to Velir, although her words are really aimed at Graham. "Please let me know if anything needs to be reworded more tactfully, or if I forget anything." Looking back at the monitor, she murmurs thoughtfully, "Start by greeting them however you naturally would. Then, I would say something such as... 'It is my sad duty to let you know that Anthony Wilson, our administrator, has passed away under tragic circumstances. He was found early this morning, the victim of a suspected homicide. His is a loss that will be deeply felt by all of us who knew him. If you wish to express your sympathy to his friends and family, I will give you the information at a later date.'
"'I wish to assure you that our security staff team is on high alert, and members of Starfleet, who were already here on a routine inspection, are also on hand--you may have already noticed their increased presence throughout the resort. There is no evidence that anyone else is in danger--'" Kylah hesitates, then says quickly to Mrs. Hsu, "Here I would say, to your staff: '--and we ask that you do your best to maintain a calm and reassuring demeanor in front of our guests.' To the guests, I would change this to: '--and we hope you will remain calm and continue to enjoy the resort's amenities as usual.'"
Kylah rereads what she has just written, and then continues. "'Both Starfleet Security and our own security team will be in charge of ensuring the safety of guests and staff alike. Currently there is no need to restrict your movements or curtail regular activities. However, it would be irresponsible to ignore that there has been a violent death in our midst. Everyone is advised to act with all reasonable caution.'
"'Several Starfleet officers are in charge of investigating the crime, and they will be assisted by Mr. Hsu, our own Security Chief. These personnel will need your assistance. Please be advised that while all Federation legal regulations will be upheld, and you have the right to refuse to answer any questions, your help will be vital, and as the temporary administrator of WR&R, I personally request that you cooperate fully and frankly with them in their investigation.'"
Kylah looks up at Mrs. Hsu. "Of course, that sentence would be for staff only. For guests, I would change everything from 'I personally request' to 'Starfleet and WR&R hope all guests will cooperate with the investigation as fully and frankly as possible.'"
She returns to typing. "Finally, if anyone has any information, possibly something you have seen or heard, that might be connected to this crime, the Starfleet officers encourage you to come forward. Following this announcement I will send you their names and contact data so that you may reach them confidentially and without fear of anyone else learning that you have done so." Again Kylah looks up. "For the guests, I would finish with something like... 'WR&R deeply regrets that a tragedy like this has occurred during what should have been a sublimely peaceful rest and retreat. We will do everything possible to make sure your stay is uninterrupted and that the investigation is as unintrusive as possible.'"
After a moment Kylah sits back, scanning the words she has written with a critical eye. She then turns in Graham's general direction, her glance barely grazing his chest. "Have I left anything out, Mr. Graham? Does anything need to be reworded?"
Last edited by choie; 09 May 2014 at 01:04 AM.
Graham takes a deep breath, as even he can sense Kylah's discomfort. Well if there's no way out and now way back, all you can do is go forward, he thinks. He shuts his eyes for a moment and tries to forget the previous events and focus on her work at the moment--which is excellent. You're the mission commander, Booker, she's part of your team--this is something, at least, you've done before, successfully...
"It's excellent work, Mr. Kylah," he says, with more assurance but still softly. "If you would change this one line from 'However, it would be irresponsible to ignore that there has been a violent death in our midst' to 'However, it would be irresponsible to ignore that a crime has been committed in our midst' it has my full approval."
He pauses for a moment, then adds "If I ever teach at the Academy again, I just may use it as an example of why Security ought to turn to Comms experts for things like this, rather than presuming to do it all ourselves--with your permission, of course."
As Graham suggests the new wording, Kylah nods and quickly edits the section to suit his recommendation. She finishes and digests his compliments for a moment. "Thank you, sir, that is kind of you," she says with formal politeness, aiming the words at the monitor. She knows the 'sir' may not be strictly required but since he is the mission commander, it seems appropriate. Without a pause, she turns to the older woman nearby. "Mrs. Hsu, are you comfortable with this? Does anyone else have suggestions? If not, I wonder how you will be making this announcement, particularly to the staff. Will you ask them to assemble in a conference room, or send a broadcast to their communicators...?"
Mrs. Hsu says, "That text looks good, with the change that Mr. Graham suggested." She looks around the room, and then takes out her datapad. "If there are no other suggested changes, I'll see that the different versions are posted to the comm accounts of staff and guests, as appropriate. Thank you, Ens. Kylah, Ens. Graham."
Rangin listens to Kylah and is impressed by what he hears. "Nothing to change from me", he says quietly, "the only thing that might require thought is if we wanted to have a single point of contact for anyone who has information and wants to pass it on."
He gives her a proud smile, trying to let her know what he thinks.
"I had best be on my way. Nice work Ens. Kylah." Rangin heads once again for the door.
In the land of the blind, the one-arm man is king.
"Thank you," Kylah says again, more softly, as Velir leaves. She looks down at the monitor, wishing she could just face Graham rather than feel like a skittish fawn around him. "What do you think about Mr. Rangin's suggestion, Mr. Graham? Should we just include one contact? The only reason I thought of including additional names was the possibility that while many would feel perfectly comfortable speaking to someone in Security, others might not. Especially if they themselves were somehow involved. But of course, Mrs. Hsu should include whatever you think best."
Kylah switches focus to the office in general, taking a somewhat disinterested inventory of the items on the desk and surroundings. It occurs to her that she really needs to tell Dr. T'Var and Graham about her conversation with Halsey, and sooner or later she'll have to make her move regarding asking Mrs. Hsu to speak in private.
At least I have a legitimate personal reason to speak to her, she thinks, remembering her desire to pay for her medical examination rather than accept the free exam as a Starfleet officer without the attendant paperwork. She didn't think much of it at the time, but it does seem strange that Halsey was so willing to break a rule for her. Pure helpfulness, or an attempt to curry favor? She is getting suspicious of everyone here.
Graham rubs his chin. "We should identify me by name as leading the investigation for Starfleet. Doesn't preclude folks talking to anybody else, but for those who want a face and a name..." He clenches his teeth. "I'll have that many more chances to win friends and influence people," he says quietly, mentally grimacing.
He's reminded of the joke he made to Kylah onboard: "I don't bite." No, he thinks, I just flip out and push you around and scare the hell out of you...
"I--am bruised, maybe, but not anything... all you did was frighten me, it is not close to a crime."
Graham's eyes widen involuntarily. Son of a bitch.... He's been convincing himself that whatever happened last night was harmless--but given her reaction to his behavior he's not so sure...
Last edited by general_urko; 10 May 2014 at 11:58 AM. Reason: added 2nd half of post
Rangin leaves the office and heads back to the Command Post. He hopes that Kylah is alright, but in the office with the others around, she should be safe, but he still cannot shake the little gnawing sense of concern from her last communication. He hopes that Dr T'Var is also paying close attention to Graham, but there was nothing Rangin could do about that.
Once at the Command Post, he contacts the USS Yorktown about the request for legal advice from Starbase 27 to try and get the correct legal wording for these statements, if the Yorktown doesn't already have it.
Next he contacts Crewman Markovitch. "Ensign Rangin to Crewman Markovich, please join me at Mr Wilson's suite on the 4th floor. I have a details of some new tasks you have been assigned to and also require backup for some exploratory work. Rangin out."
Then he heads off to the suite.
Last edited by Elendil's Heir; 10 May 2014 at 03:54 PM. Reason: Command post, not point.
In the land of the blind, the one-arm man is king.
Mrs. Hsu says, "We can list both Mr. Graham and me as possible contacts at the end of the message. Those with questions about the resort and how it will deal with the... with Mr. Wilson's death can contact me; those with questions or information about the investigation can contact Mr. Graham. Would that be all right?"
Cmdr. Vargas speaks with Rangin from the ship, and says, "I'll ask the Starbase's Judge Advocate for suggested forms. It won't be long, by subspace."
Crewman Markovich replies to Rangin, "Understood, sir. On my way."
Rangin arrives in Wilson's suite. It looks unchanged, except for Delaney's tricorder set up near the hidden wall safe, still trying to crack the code and open it. Markovich arrives just a minute or so later.
Rangin looks up from where he has been looking around the suite making sure it was still undisturbed. "Afternoon Crewman Markovich, good to see you again, at ease, relax and so on. You are probably wondering why you are here, well I have two tasks for you. The first is as backup while we check out the back entrance to this suite. The second task is to assist in taking evidence statements from several of the staff here. I'm sorry to say though its not interrogation, but assisting them to write down their personal POV from last night. It may not be, actually it wont be, the most stimulating task to do, but the information they could provide may prove vital in any case here."
Rangin looks across at the crewman to make sure he has understood, before continuing, "but first, we need to examine the passage way that leads to the back. We need to find out when it was last used and by whom...and hope that it isn't in the general roster for cleaning being a service passage. If you have any questions, feel free to ask while we are scanning. Ready?"
Rangin heads to the back door to open it into the corridor beyond and start scanning.
In the land of the blind, the one-arm man is king.
Kylah gnaws on her lower lip for a few seconds in thought. She cannot imagine Graham as a suitable contact for potential witnesses. Considering his own description at the dinner party of his violent on-duty behavior during an interrogation, his aggressively producing that knife to scare poor Mr. Wilson yesterday, and his sudden display of physical force in their own encounter moments ago... Who knows how he might act to some nervous informant? Kylah knows she herself is no model of stability, but Mr. Graham is unpredictable in an entirely different, very frightenng way.
She swallows and looks up at T'Var. "Perhaps... perhaps, Mr. Graham, we could add Dr. T'Var's name as well, with her permission, of course? I just think it might be valuable to offer an alternate Starfleet contact point--just in case you are busy, or if someone feels more comfortable with..." Kylah finally turns to face Graham, and her eyes try to convey her true concern, even as she finishes, "...With a doctor, rather than a security officer."
Returning her attention to the Vulcan, Kylah adds, "I do not know where you are next headed, Doctor, but I need to brief you--and Mr. Graham--regarding one of my interviews. When we are finished with the announcement, may we speak alone for a moment?"
Last edited by choie; 10 May 2014 at 07:56 PM.
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