Star Trek RPG - Mission #3: "Some Other Side of Paradise"

As his eyes quickly readjust, looking down Rangin can see that Kylah has moved slightly into his shadow and is looking ill, her words ground out through clenched teeth, while she keeps looking past him and then back to him. Rangin crouches down in front of her, with concern over the sudden change in demeanour in a matter of moments.

"What's wrong? Are you OK?, he asks before it suddenly strikes him to look in the direction she was glancing. A single look tells him more than he needs to know and memories of last night, making a complete fool of himself come flooding back. How through his own action he had come close to losing Kylah as a friend. And then he remembers what she said, about the worst he could think of was true. Well, she hadn't disappeared, never to be seen again. His assumption was a night gone badly wrong, that she was really regretting. But, what had been so bad that she was reacting like this, for Kylah to look this sick, worried and afraid.

With a low voice of urgency, he calmly and quietly says to her, "I'm guessing he is the last person you want to see or talk to. Ok, we can stay a few moments longer and see if he doesn't notice us. If he does, and if you still don't want to talk to him, head off and I'll try and delay him. If you want to speak to him, just remember one thing, whatever happens, I'm here for you."

Velir's gentle voice draws Kylah's attention to him. "Thank you. And I am sorry. This was such an enjoyable lunch. I was able to forget how--how sordid everything was. It is shameful. I do not think even you would be as supportive if you knew..." She shakes her head in disgust. "I am less afraid of--of him than what he represents. My own failure and recklessness. My terrible judgment."

She looks away and sighs. "If he comes over, I do not know what he will say, what he will expect. He did nothing wrong," she adds weakly. "I should not overreact. It was just a--a wrench to see him while sitting here with you. I cannot expect to avoid him as long as we are at this resort." Kylah remembers that she wanted to speak to Jan anyway about his investments in new colonies. She does not mention this aloud. Velir is nothing like Graham, who seems to believe every man a suspect. But if Velir is already inclined to think poorly of Jan, finding out that Jan might have some involvement in a WR&R competitor could make things worse.

Some secrets, however, must be revealed. With another deep breath she prepares herself. "Velir... if we do want to be--be closer than just friends--at some point, perhaps tonight if we are free, I must explain what happened with him. And the only way to do that is to share something about myself, something I have kept from almost everyone. It would not be fair to keep it from you, too." Even if it means you run from me, she thinks, staring nervously into his gaze for a few seconds before stealing another look to see if Jan has spotted her.

Graham's purchase is beamed back to the Yorktown, as he asked.

Dobson returns to the CP. Dr. T'Var, Lt. JG Delaney and Crewman Markovich are already there.

Jan seems engrossed in whatever he is reading, and does not look towards Kylah and Rangin.

After a few seconds of watching Jan Svelha slowly walking his way through the garden, Rangin decides on what to do next.

"Kylah, he hasn't noticed you, he's concentrating on whatever he's reading. I want you to slowly get up, stay on the other side of me, and we will walk around that way." Rangin gestures off in one direction, "It's away from him and we can swing back round to the exit."

He stands up quietly betwen where Kylah is sitting and where Jan is walking in the distance, offering a hand down.

Kylah swallows and nods. She takes Velir's hand, rising to her feet with a murmured "thank you." Once she is steady, she lets go and walks with Velir as he suggested until they have re-entered the resort.

"I am sorry, I knew I was over-reacting," she says. She feels weak and embarrassed. Hiding from a man is not how an Elasian woman behaves. Even a fearful child learns to face one's enemies... and Jan is not an enemy. Not exactly. "I appreciate your patience."

Kylah hurries from the back of the restaurant through the entrance, and then to the lobby and the CP. The sooner she can get her mind back on work, the better.

"Don't worry. Sometimes, it's better to walk away and think about it." replies Rangin. "Let's see what Ensign Graham has in store for us this afternoon."

Of course, Rangin is not thinking about the case, he's still wondering what it is Kylah has to tell him this evening, if she gets a chance.

Kylah and Rangin return to the CP without incident. There, they find Dr. T'Var, Lt. JG Delaney and Crewmen Dobson and Markovich.

Rangin heads in and looks around at the rest of the group. "Afternoon all, Ma'am, Sir, Everyone feeling better, more relaxed and so on. Anyone know where Ens. Graham is?"

"He didn't say, did he?" Delaney asks no one in particular, looking around. "But I'm sure he'll be back shortly. The half hour is almost up."

Dr. T'Var gets a cup of redleaf tea from the replicator.

Since Graham has not yet arrived, Kylah excuses herself to find a restroom, hoping to wash her hands and rinse her face. As she passes Velir she murmurs a soft "thank you" matched by the grateful look that catches his own gaze briefly. Before, she was too shaken and embarrassed by her reaction to Jan to express herself, but she wishes to thank him profusely for lunch, for the pleasant twenty minutes spent in his company, for his protectiveness, for his understanding... for everything she never requested but that he provided, unthinkingly, automatically, simply because of his kind nature.

Of course, all this cannot be conveyed in a quick, furtive glance. Perhaps later there will be time. Or maybe he understands this already--what she can not say in front of the others.

Kylah looks for a washroom. When she finds one, she catches her reflection in the mirror. Evidence of how exhausted she is: she cannot even care how awful she looks. At least I need not fear that Velir only likes me for my appearance, she thinks dryly when she bends over to let cold water fill the sink basin. Once her hands are free of the dirt smudged on them from sitting on the ground, she splashes her face to get some blood flowing back into it and wake herself up. Her eyes are closed and for an instant she imagines Jan--not far away, as he was outside, but close, closer than Velir has ever been.

Quickly she flings more water on her face and opens her eyes to extinguish the vision. Kylah dries herself off and looks at herself again. Her face was pale before, now it is a bright pink. She turns, disgusted at her inability to forget this, and storms through the door to return to the CP.

Dobson helps herself to some ice water before sitting down.

As Kylah passes, Rangin hears her whispered thanks and nods discretely in return, hoping she was beginning to recover from the shock.

While waiting, he wanders up and gets another coffee.

Realizing the half-hour (that he declared as the time limit) is almost up, Graham curses under his breath and double-times it back toward the CP - fast enough, and still wondering whether he should have gotten the soap or just given up on the whole gift-for-Bennett-idea enough that he does not notice Ensign Kylah bursting out of a restroom doorway immediately in his path until it's too late to stop...

Kylah feels rather than sees the muscular male figure slamming into her side and nearly knocking her down. Thoughts of her helpless and victimlike behavior from earlier crash into her just as this man did, and this time instinct rather than fear takes over. She clasps her hands together and uses all her pent-up anger to slam both elbows into apparent attacker's chest.

The apparent attacker's Starfleet-uniform-wearing chest.

She freezes and stares in open-mouthed embarrassment at Ensign Graham, her hands and elbows in almost a prayerful gesture quite at odds with the sharp blow they just delivered. "Mr. Graham! I--I--am--" Kylah is so horrified she cannot think of an adequate way to end this sentence.

"Gaaah....UNGH..." Graham starts an inchoate shout, appalled at the prospect of barreling into anyone out of carelessness--most of all Ensign Kylah--that turns into a grunt and explosive exhalation of breath as she hammers her elbows into his chest. His face turns bright red.

He starts to reach out to make sure she's OK, but pulls his arm back so he can massage the knot in his pecs. "Ehhhh... ah, up-to-date on your self-defense training," he wheezes. He clears his throat. "That's...good, good work, Ensign, always good to be on your toes" he grunts. "I'm--are you....I didn't see you, are you OK?"

Kylah's hands now cover her mouth--fingers ice-cold against her burning face. "Yes. No. I mean... I am... I am sorry. I thought you were--" No, she cannot continue that line of thought. "Please forgive me, sir. I mean Mr. Graham. I did not mean to hurt you." She backs away and points inarticulately at the CP door. "Please. Go inside. I will follow."

Graham can't help but smile. If anything he's gratified and proud of her given his worries about what might have happened when she was left on her own the previous night."It's OK. I've had worse." He gestures and shrugs. "Ah, at least you didn't go for the knives. I appreciate it."

Despite the fact that his face is still red and he's absently rubbing his chest, he can see that Kylah would rather have a moment of space so he heads in to the CP.

Kylah stands and looks at the CP door as it swiftly closes behind Graham. She was pink-faced before, but now she knows mortification has painted her face red. It was the right move, but the wrong person and wrong situation. Or at least, the wrong situation. When Graham grabbed her earlier--then would have been a good time to defend herself, but no, she was paralyzed. This mission seems destined to highlight every stupid decision she is capable of making.

It could have been worse, she supposes darkly. It might have been Vice Admiral Hardin.

Knowing she cannot stall any longer, Kylah brushes her hair away from her face, aims her gaze firmly at the floor, and enters the room. She avoids looking up until she reaches the nearest empty chair, which she pulls out and nearly collapses into. Her hands are in her lap, out of sight, as if she's hiding a guilty weapon.

Delaney looks from Graham to Kylah and back again. "Are you two all right?" he asks.

It is all Kylah can do not to flash her furious gaze at Delaney. Sometimes his open, guileless nature makes him seem as tactless as a particularly dim-witted, slobbering puppy, no matter how well-meaning. As a superior officer, however, he deserves an answer. "I am fine, sir," she says as evenly as possible.

"Yes, fine, thank you sir," Graham replies after Kylah. "Couldn't be better," he adds dryly, realizing that to back that claim up he should probably stop rubbing the sore spot on his chest.

"I hope everyone was able to get something out of the short break....ah, before we get started, Mr. Rangin, could I have a word with you privately, please?" he says, gesturing toward the hallway.

Rangin watches the pair of them enter the room and wonders just what happened. Especially now that Graham is asking for a private word. Rangin blows across the top of the coffee before nodding, rising from his chair and heading for the door.

Once in the hallway Graham scratches his head, wincing slightly - moving the left arm is going to hurt for a couple days, he thinks.

"Look, obviously you didn't appreciate my attempt at humor earlier. So I, ah - I apologize." He shrugs. "I guess that's it, I just wanted to say I was sorry one-to-one."

Rangin doesn't say much, just takes another draft of the coffee.

He's apologising because I don't appreciate his jokes - not because what he said was pretty pathetic; passive-aggressive indeed.

Rangin looks up at Graham and with a sinking feeling realises he is trying to be honest and apologetic - he's just not very good at it. It's not worth dragging it out, it wouldn't be fair on the rest of the team, but Graham is still a sad case to behold, certainly if that was his idea of an apology.

"Understood and accepted", says Rangin clearly with a nod but without a hint of his thoughts crossing his face, "time to see if we can catch a murderer. Let's see what you have planned for us."

He turns and heads back through the door to the CP to retake his seat.

"Well, I know everyone is tired, but you've all done some great work...we know more than we did," he says to the group. He clasps his hands behind his back and starts to pace. "But we still haven't found a smoking gun, so to speak, for who and why would want to take out Wilson. We have interviews of Fastolfe and Mr. Hsu, for sure, high on list. Before that...I'd like to hear from everyone your thoughts on the new information we've uncovered so far. Also, you've all more than earned the right to innovate and be creative - if you have a preference for which of our tasks you tackle next, please share that with the group as well."

Kylah waits for a few seconds before saying quietly, "It would appear that Mr. Wilson was killed elsewhere than the park, presumably the conference room. Although such a small amount of blood seems odd. Someone did a remarkable job at cleaning what must have been an extremely messy stab wound--unless Wilson was beamed out as soon as the knife struck him. If I may ask: Lt. Delaney, Crewman Dobson, what if any fingerprints or other DNA traces did you find in the conference room?"

She keeps her gaze away from Mr. Graham, still embarrassed. "In any event, I would guess it is likely the reason for moving him was to further the impression that Lord Fastolfe, or one of the other guests, was the guilty party, rather than... someone with a great deal of knowledge of and access to the resort's internal layout and technical systems. It seems to me, although I am hardly an expert, that if we ignore the knife replica and the location of the body, everything else indicates an insider--more than one, in fact.

"If I may make a recommendation, it would be that we speak with Lord Fastolfe as soon as possible. I believe his ship is still nearby, and he could easily leave at any moment, since we have not prohibited anyone from departing. And of course it is he who is the person most implicated by the evidence, falsely or not.

"I would also be interested to know if anyone has heard from Mrs. Wilson. It has been more than forty minutes since Mr. Graham contacted her. Allowing for her understandable reaction time to such terrible news, I would expect her to be in touch some time this afternoon. We will need to know if she has any idea about the contents of the safe. Although the safe may be a mere distraction--just as I suspect Mr. Wilson's affair is. Which does not mean I wish to forego the interview and scheme with Mr. Hsu. He is, at least in my opinion, the most likely suspect of anyone here--not because of the affair, but because of all the alleged security breaches necessary for this murder plan to have taken place."

Kylah takes a deep breath and falls silent for a second before adding, "And looking into his financial records, along with his wife, and Dr. Halsey, and--and anyone else, including guests--should be another priority for anyone who has the ability and time to do so. Perhaps someone back on the ship."

Delaney says, "There were no fingerprints in the conference room next to the resort's transporter room, and the only DNA trace evidence we found was the stain on the carpet."

Dr. T'Var says, "The knife is not necessarily a replica, as such, but part of an offworld craftsman's set. But I agree that we should speak to Lord Fastolfe soon. His ship remains in orbit, the last we heard."

Graham knows that the widowed Mrs. Wilson has not responded to his subspace message.

"Perhaps it would be worth checking to see how clean the conference room is. If there was a lot of DNA present that had been cleaned up, then it would make certain areas a lot cleaner than those around as people try to hide the evidence. " muses Rangin out loud. "In terms of the knives, there is supposed to be a third one around somewhere and an interview with Lord Falstofe may uncover its whereabouts."

Rangin taps on his tricorder and pulls up the list of tasks,that Kylah and he had created earlier on.

"Short of checking the security footage for that area for last night, the only other major items are the two interviews, oh and before I forget, lets see if we can set up some tests by Dr Halsey and Dr T'Var for our guests who appear to have lost the effect of the spores to see if there is anything in common."

Kylah nods at T'Var. "I remember that those knives are sold in sets of three, but we have no proof that this knife is part of Lord Fastolfe's set, or an imitation, or really anything. The fingerprints could have been added in a few different ways--and he need not have been conscious. I do not remember if anyone has seen him today at all." Gnawing her lip in thought, she looks over to Velir. "We should also learn from Ensign Mahmoud if your questionnaires have been distributed, and if any have been returned yet."

"Well if it's an imitation, its a very close one. The two I've scanned look pretty much identical, as if they have come from a set." Rangin responds to Kylah, "as for the witness statements, I think that might be a couple of hours or so away."

"I haven't heard back from Wilson's widow yet," Graham says. "I suppose a confession is too much to hope for."

He shakes his head. "Yeah, so we're looking for a tech-whiz neat freak with insider access and maybe a big financial interest in how access to the planet falls out...it does feel like we're talking about more than one person, a conspiracy..."

He frowns and takes out his communicator. Contacting the Yorktown, he asks for someone with the appropriate skills to run, to the fullest extent possible as part of a criminal investigation, computer analyses of the financials of the staff and guests including major transactions among any of them, short and long positions in WR&R and its competitors, and any unusual transactions or patterns.

"Good idea," he says glancing very briefly at Kylah. "Well, no more than three folks should handle interviewing our old buddy Fastolfe. I'm...well, I'd be inclined to participate, but we have a whole capable team here. I'd like to hear what folks want to focus on next."

Rangin wonders what's changed. A few hours ago, Graham was quite capable of laying out a plan to Lt. Collins stating who should be doing what...and now he isn't leading, but waiting for people to assign tasks to themselves.

"Well, I'd like to focus on topping up my tan, maybe go for a swim." Rangin smiles back at Graham, "But failing that, I'd like to focus on testing the various guests who have lost the spore effect. Either something has gone wrong, or they are not being honest with us and a few medical tests should help explain things either way. I don't think I will be much use in an interview with Lord Fastolfe."

Graham shakes his head and says with mock seriousness "I forgot to mention acting mission commander has dibs on pool duty, Mr. Rangin."

He smiles--just a little, as he's not entirely sure Rangin doesn't think he's a thug or a fool or both--"But seriously, I appreciate you expressing both where you think you would--and would not be--most valuable. It's already a long day and it's not nearly over yet--we need everyone engaged and at their best. It's on me to tell folks what to do if it comes down to that but I don't...ah... pretend to be perfect."

He pauses. "Anyone else? And no you can't tan or hang out in the pool bar--at least not until we catch the murderer. Maybe then I'll buy the drinks."

Kylah shakes her head free of its distraction. Graham's earlier reference to investors with a stake in the planet sent her mind wandering back to Jan and his interest in colonial bonds. Could he be involved, somehow? She does not know enough about financial matters to understand the nuances of whether there are any such bonds related to the planet. But someone must wish to invest in more than just a resort. The planet is large and with the proper technology to offset the Berthold rays, the land could be ripe for additional properties. Which leads back to the Jan question. How can she approach him when she nearly broke down at the sight of him? Maybe it was just being with Velir, she thinks hopefully. The possibility of how Velir might have acted... The revolting things Jan could have said about her without uttering a false word. It was too much to bear.

But first things first. She looks in Graham's direction, though closer to his shoulder than his eyes. "My preferences coincide with my orders," she says quietly. "I have been assigned to the interviews, and of course Lord Fastolfe is our highest priority."

Delaney says, "I'd like to check back on Wilson's quarters and see if my tricorder's made any progress in opening the hidden safe. It's supposed to let me know when it does, but I prefer to see for myself."

Dr. T'Var sips her tea. "I am at your disposal, Mr. Graham. Lord Fastolfe... intrigues me, somehow, so I would not be averse to taking part in his questioning."

Markovich says, "Likewise, sir, I'll go where I'm needed."

Graham chuckles. "'Intrigues' isn't the first word I'd use when Lord Fastolfe comes to mind, Doc, as opposed to, say, 'pisses off,' or 'nauseates'--sorry, Lt. Delaney--but so be it...Kylah, T'Var, you're with me to interview L.F. Dobson, you're with Rangin. Markovich, you're Delaney's wingman."

Graham claps his hands together--wincing inadvertently as doing so aggravates the bruise on his chest. "Like I said, I know it's been a long day, but you've all done great work and we're making progress. Somebody picked the wrong place and time to commit a murder. Let's go show them why."

Kylah nods and turns her head slightly to look at Velir, just wanting to see his face again before having to go off with the others. She then murmurs, "Excuse me, Mr. Graham, I forgot to ask. Do you know if the announcements have been sent yet? To the staff and guests?"

"I am available to whomever needs me, sirs" Dobson jumps on the bandwagon.

The door chimes. You see from the monitor that it's Mr. and Mrs. Hsu.

"Well, I wonder what news they have." says Rangin, "and didn't we want to interview Mr Hsu at some point anyway?"

He stands up and heads for the door, before turning to Graham at the last. "Shall I let them in?"

"Confession?" Graham says, shrugging and smiling just slightly, although he drops his right hand to his phaser and confirms it is properly positioned to be drawn quickly. "Go ahead, Mr. Rangin."

The Hsus enter. They both look tired and drawn. The security chief is holding a data pad.

Kylah is startled and worried to see the Hsus, especially Mrs. Hsu--the woman almost radiates sadness. Mr. Hsu is trying to cover his own feelings, as far as Kylah can tell; he does not seem much better than his wife, but he is more able to keep himself together.

Shifting slightly in her chair, Kylah looks sympathetically at Mrs. Hsu with a tiny nod. She tries to hide her own feelings of guilt. Did she tell him? Did I force her into revealing something she was not ready to do? Although she perceives no further emotions, Kylah's own instincts suspect that the Hsus are about to deliver bad--or at least extremely difficult--news.

"Good Afternoon." Rangin greets them with a smile, "please come in, take a seat, how can we help you?" as he guides the pair of them towards a couple of chairs.

They both look as if they have had a bad half an hour, Mrs Hsu certainly looking worse than when Rangin had left her office. He wondered what effect Kylah's conversation would have had on her and what the repercussions may have been.

The Hsus take the seats offered. Mrs. Hsu says, "The announcement of Mr. Wilson's death went out to staff and guests. There've been a lot of questions, but nothing out of the ordinary or unpredictable."

Mr. Hsu nods and reports, "Staff at the Starfire nightclub have been sworn in by Mr. Mahmoud and are filling out their witness statements. I expect to have them back soon."

"Thank you for your help," responds Rangin, "I hope we get something useful out of all the effort that everyone has put in."

Rangin looks back across at Graham, waiting for him to take the lead, before Rangin heads off to talk to Dr Halsey.

"Thanks for your help," Graham says to the Hsus in a professional tone--not brusquely, but not warmly either.

He's aware he's probably going to play right into Rangin's image of him as a bullying thug, but with Rangin all smiles and especially knowing Kylah positioned herself as a sympathetic listener to Mrs. Hsu, he knows someone has to represent a part of the investigative team who'd be tougher on them as a foil.

He remains standing, moving away from the wall and just slightly closer to them. "Do you have any new information for us?" he says, directed at both of them, in a matter-of-fact tone.

"I don't think so," Mrs. Hsu says, glancing at her husband. "We'd hoped to see if you'd made any progress."

"Some," Graham replies.

He pauses and frowns. He shakes his head and gestures in a broad semicircle with one hand. "The fact is that whoever did this worked the resort's systems like they owned the place." He pauses and continues slowly. "No disrespect intended--but I'm struggling with who besides senior resort staff could have managed it...or how anyone else could have gotten their hands on so much access and information."

He exhales a deep breath. "Any further ideas that could help us make sense of this?" he says quietly.

"I think we need to interview Lord Fastolfe as soon as possible," Mr. Hsu says. "He's still the prime suspect, isn't he?"

Kylah notices that he seems to be purposefully not looking at his wife.

Kylah doesn't wait for Graham to respond. "The evidence certainly seems to point to him," she says evenly, then looks from Mr. Hsu to his wife. "Thank you for making the announcement, Mrs. Hsu. If I may ask, how are you both faring? You have been up longer than we have. I understand there is much business you must undertake as a result of this tragedy, but I hope you will find time to get some rest, or at least some quiet time to allow yourself to contemplate all that has happened."

She glances back to Mr. Hsu. "Did you have something on that datapad you wished to bring to our attention, sir?"

Mrs. Hsu chuckles a little shakily and says, "Well, we're both exhausted and dealing with the murder of our boss, which is the biggest crisis this place has ever faced, but I guess we're doing all right. I could definitely use a nap."

Mr. Hsu glances at the datapad. "No, nothing in particular. Just trying to keep track of what's going on."

"Of course," Kylah says, and turns to Mr. Graham. "I wonder if in addition to the nightclub employees, it might be useful to get depositions from all other staff members who worked during the period in question--security guards and cleaners, any restaurant staff who worked late to close up, people like that? Perhaps the Hsus could assist with gathering those names and sending them to Ensign Mahmoud?"

"That's a fine idea, Mr. Kylah," Graham replies. Midway through his response he smiles and almost laughs out loud, as an image pops into his head of he and Kylah having an otherwise normal conversation with their hands up in guard position like boxers, each wary of an unexpected sneak attack by the other.

He clears his throat and regains his composure. Turning back to the Hsus, he shrugs slightly and adds, "You never know who might have seen what."

"Mr Graham, would you like the rest of us to continue with our other assigned tasks?"

Rangin isn't sure why they are all waiting around and is eager to go and find out why the spores lost their effect, if indeed it was caused by something more than just a shock. He will not be much use in any interviews, whether it be of Lord Fastolfe or Mr Hsu, and would prefer to be doing more than exchanging pleasantries.

Graham is momentarily irritated, but resists the urge to ask Rangin if he was planning instead to hang around chit chatting or perhaps making the Hsus some tea...of course everyone should continue is the first thing that comes to mind.

But as far--at least as far as he can tell--Rangin is not being intentionally snarky. Graham takes a second to make sure his voice is modulated like a polite answer to a perfectly reasonable question. "By all means," he replies, nodding slightly.

Kylah clutches the edges of the table, preparing to stand up while trying to determine whether Graham plans to allow Mr. Hsu to join them, or if he'll tell them to leave the interviewing to Starfleet. She most definitely does not want Hsu along with the Fastolfe interview. If Hsu himself is guilty, he's been trying to frame someone else for this crime. He should not be allowed to join in to sabotage an innocent man--no matter how obnoxious that innocent is.

She makes up her mind to address this herself. "Mr. Hsu, Mrs. Hsu," she says with a nod to each of them as she rises. "We thank you for keeping us updated. If you could please coordinate those additional staff questionnaires with Ensign Mahmoud, we would greatly appreciate it. And perhaps after that, you might be able to find some time for a brief rest," Kylah adds with an understanding look at Mrs. Hsu before returning to her husband. "Later, we will need to speak with Mr. Hsu in person, but until then, we will contact you via communicator if anything urgent comes up."

Finally her attention grazes the mission leader. "To save time, Mr. Graham, perhaps you, Dr. T'Var and I should discuss our tactics for the next interview while the three of us are on the way?" She knows she is taking far too much control over the meeting, but Graham does seem oddly detached and passive--which, admittedly, is somewhat of a relief from his more aggressive behavior. Kylah certainly hopes he agrees with her pointed omission of the Hsus.

"Right," Graham replies. "No point wasting time." He nods toward the Hsus and extends a hand toward the door. "We appreciate the help. We'll be in touch later. Doc, Mr. Kylah, we should be getting along as well."

The Hsus look at each other and then leave. Before she goes, Mrs. Hsu says, "I'll provide the witness forms to all employees, then, and not just those in the nightclub, as Ens. Kylah suggested."

Rangin looks across at Crewman Dobson. "Ready?" he enquires politely.

'Aye, Sir" Dobson responds as she rises. "On your six."

After thanking Mrs. Hsu, Kylah starts to the door herself. She feels a twinge of discomfort at leaving with Graham, although it is allayed somewhat when she remembers T'Var will be with them. She nods a goodbye to Delaney and Markovich, and then turns to Velir and Dobson with a quick farewell look, her gaze taking in the other woman courteously before alighting on Velir.

She cannot keep some of her nervousness from showing through, as well as regret. He may think that he would be of no use during their meeting with Fastolfe, but Kylah greatly disagrees. Velir's calm, rational and compassionate demeanor, coupled with his quick-thinking intelligence, would make his presence an asset to any interview situation. And it would certainly make her feel better--not that Kylah's nerves should be a factor in allocating personnel.

But it seems that she and Velir are not destined to work together on this mission. It is a shame, for she genuinely believes they would make a good team. We took on a Denebian slime devil; I should think we could handle Lord Fastolfe.

Mrs. Hsu returns to her office. Mr. Hsu and Delaney decide to return to Wilson's suite.

It takes Ens. Rangin and Crewman Dobson only a few minutes to walk to the Infirmary. Dr. Halsey is working at his desk, and looks up. His expression at once becomes guarded. "Yes? May I help you?"

Ensigns Graham and Kylah, and Dr. T'Var, walk towards the guest house occupied by Lord Fastolfe. They have the chance to talk along the way.

Remember that you may ask as many questions as you wish in a single post, and then follow up based on any answers given.

"So, ah...that was weird," Graham says to T'Var and Kylah. "Are the Hsus anxious? Fishing for information on what we've found? Is it innocent because they're just worried and feeling under pressure because they're in charge, or something else?"

He shakes his head. "And pointing at Fastolfe...I do have a hard time squaring the circle on how Fastolfe could be impulsive enough to attack Wilson in public, then methodical enough to pull off the complex plan we're uncovering... Thoughts?" he asks, glancing at both of his crew mates.

Kylah gives T'Var a swift sidelong look before returning her gaze to the path ahead of her. "To address the Hsu question, did you notice that Mr. Hsu never looked at his wife? I do not recall having seen such distance between them before. It is possible she has just told him of the affair--perhaps due to our meeting," she adds regretfully. "Or he already knows of it and is under such stress that his anger is showing. Whichever the case, their impromptu visit seemed to me like an attempt both to gain information and to present a united front, even though they are very much apart. If I do speak to him alone, it will be instructive, to say the least.

"As for Lord Fastolfe," she goes on flatly, "I have never believed him guilty of the crime. His persona--real or feigned--is that of an arrogant, petulant, spoiled, egomaniacal peacock. But he is not a fool, and he would have to be a halfwit to leave his own highly-identifiable knife behind, courteously including fingerprints as well." She shakes her head in dismissal of the notion. "As you say, there is too much calculation in this crime. I would only believe his involvement if he were an accomplice, to create a plausible diversion that covered up whatever the real motive and whoever the real killer would be. If he is innocent, on the other hand..."

She hesitates and walks a little faster, her thoughts spurring her onward. "If he is innocent I think he may be in danger of more than a mere frame-up. The real killer would have every reason to get him out of the way in some method that cements his apparent guilt--a death that looks like suicide or drug overdose, for example. I do not recall if anyone has seen him at all today." Kylah tucks her hair behind her ears nervously. "In any event, sir--Mr. Graham--I know you are likely to be assertive with him, and it is not for me to tell you your job. But I hope you will keep in mind that an unlikeable personality does not make him a murderer." Now her eyes shift to give him a pointed look. "Even someone whose temper occasionally lapses into violence may not be guilty of someone's death."

"Good afternoon Dr Halsey, I certainly hope you can help us." Rangin answers cordially, "We are here to ask for your assistance in a matter you will probably find of interest. As you are, no doubt, aware of the issues concerning a couple of your guests and the fact that they appear to have lost the effects of the spores for no apparent reason."

Rangin wanders casually up to the desk to get a closer look at the Doctor.

"What we would be interested in is running some medical diagnostic tests to see if there is any untoward reason as to why this may have occurred, above and beyond the usual cause. especially given that of the ones we know about, none have admitted to any kind of trauma that would cause such a loss. Our hope is that you would be able to determine whether such an event passed unnoticed to them or perhaps some other coincidental action has been at work. "

Rangin smiles down at the Doctor in his seat. "What say you Dr Halsey, interested in trying to work out what happened?"

Dr. T'Var says thoughtfully, "It has been my experience that those who seem impulsive or foolish may actually be quite cunning. Once when I was on Elysium... but no, that is a tale for another time, perhaps. I am not necessarily ready to declare Fastolfe our prime suspect, given the other individuals who had both motive and opportunity, but he is the only person we know of who displayed a definite physical hostility towards Mr. Wilson, and the willingness to use a weapon to try to get his way."

In the Infirmary, Dr. Halsey smiles and reaches for a data pad. "Certainly. I was just preparing a study protocol, as it happens. I'd like to bring in each of those who lost the effect of the spores overnight for a battery of tests and scans."

"To try to get his way, yes, Doctor," Kylah says. "But that was a threat over his desire to attain the house--and even that attack seemed like a performance to me. More showmanship than genuine rage. Consider how quickly he returned to his indolent attitude." She turns T'Var's comments over in her mind. "If you are suggesting some sort of double-bluff--where Fastolfe has made the crime point so obviously to him that we dismiss it as a frame-up--then he would be extraordinarily reckless. This is no spur-of-the-moment crime, Doctor. He would have to have such an air-tight alibi that this carefully constructed crime scene would be unraveled to 'prove' his innocence. He might indeed fake an attempt on his life. He must do all the things another murderer would do to frame him, and yet be so certain that his allegedly obvious guilt would be disproven."

Kylah scowls in doubt, shrugging. "I grant that this is all possible, just as almost anything else is possible. But for this to be true, he would have to be an entirely different creature from the person apparently known throughout the Alpha Quadrant. Lord Fastolfe the superstar musician would also have to be a security expert and stealth criminal extraordinaire, with a premeditated reason to kill Mr. Wilson, the technical skills to attempt to breach the security via subspace, the ability--despite his notoriety--to stealthfully access the security video system in order first to show a pre-recorded image to the guard on duty... and of course, he would have had to record that data in the first place as well... and then to replace that image with static for some reason I still cannot fathom.

"Then he must also somehow arrange a meeting with Mr. Wilson, who would presumably be on his guard from someone who'd attacked him earlier that day, meet him in a conference room again without anyone noticing, kill him without getting blood on himself, and then go to the transporter or have it programmed to transport both the weapon and the body. Finally, after all this--he would go back and clean the room to such a degree that there is not only no speck of blood nor DNA remaining, but none of the fingerprints or other trace elements one would expect to find in a regular conference room! And he must return to his quarters, still unseen or recognized despite being one of the most famous men in the Quadrant!"

Kylah pauses and takes a deep inhale, having said all this in practically a single breath. "If Lord Fastolfe managed all that despite having only arrived on the planet the same morning we did? With respect, Dr. T'Var, while I appreciate laws against murder, this would be a man of such intelligence, technical genius, tenacity and cunning that rather than arrest him, I hope the Federation elects him President."

...her eyes shift to give him a pointed look. "Even someone whose temper occasionally lapses into violence may not be guilty of someone's death."

Graham freezes and an image of Elizabeth--younger than Kylah is now, but not all that much in the grand scheme of things--with a similar type of look.

Those looks were prompted by his occasional attempts to act like a real father despite being absent most of the time and worse a brooding fool or a drunk when he was around. He doesn't really remember the specifics--asking her about some friends of hers who seemed squirrelly.

She stared up at him, all elbows and eyeballs: "I don't have anything more to say, am I free to go, officer?"

He can't think of anything to say and is grateful when T'Var speaks in her typical thoughtful and steady manner.

He clears his throat when she's done. "Ah, you and Delaney both, I guess," he mumbles in response to Kylah's comment. He rubs his jaw. "He's an actor," he adds, more confidently, addressing both of his colleagues. "Maybe what we saw with the knife was an act somebody paid him to put on--or maybe he did it for his own amusement." He exhales a deep breath.

Shrugging, he adds "we'll have a go at finding out soon enough."

Dr. T'Var smiles at Kylah's final jest. "You make excellent points, Ensign. But he would have to take a pay cut to serve as President, and I suspect he would be reluctant to do so. Of course he would not be the first celebrity with political aspirations, in any event."

The three soon make their way to the park and the guest houses around it. Fastolfe's house is large and ultramodern.

"Excellent, I'm glad to hear it Dr Halsey. Would you mind if I had a look at what you think is appropriate." Rangin gestures to the datapad.

"I believe there are currently three guests how have been affected. That is correct isn't it? It should be simple enough to ask them to visit. I'm aware of at least one guest who would be willing to be examined in the name of finding out what may have happened. Perhaps I could assist in asking them here for the medical exam?"

Rangin waits to see what Dr Halsey has planned but realises he is being slightly rude and turns round to face behind him. "Crewman Dobson, if you have any ideas, I'd like to hear them." he mentions politely.

"Sir" Dobson is tentative for the first time this mission. "If the spores' influence is lost during great stress or extreme emotion, couldn't all three be involved in the crime?"

Rangin is no doctor, but the resort medico's study seems appropriate to him, at a glance. Dr. Halsey says, "It was four guests, wasn't it - Vice Adm. Hardin, Lt. Cmdr. Ebling, Rosemary Calvin the author, and the businessman, Fellim Palver - who had lost the effect of the spores?"

Kylah almost smiles at Graham's reference to Delaney's highly odd esteem for Lord Fastolfe, but she is still too edgy around him to appreciate his humor. T'Var, on the other hand, surprises her by displaying a sense of humor. She's never seen a Vulcan show much propensity for wit, even dry wit.

When they arrive at Fastolfe's house, she defers to the mission leader and waits for him to initiate the contact. Perhaps he will at least attempt civility in order to get along with this potentially difficult man? Besides, if Fastolfe is still under the influence of the spores--bucking the trend of almost all the other newcomers from yesterday--he might actually be relatively pleasant. The change in his demeanor once he inhaled the spores was quite stark.

She stands looking at Graham with eyes wide in hopeful expectation.

"I'm not including the Vice Admiral," Dobson states, then adds, "Perhaps we should."

"Do you have the details of when the guests registered the loss of effect and anything else they might have said about it, please Doctor, and I'm curious as to why Lord Fastolfe is perhaps not on the list as well as the only other person who was also present at the initial introduction meeting."

Rangin turns to Dobson, "We should keep all our options and ideas open until they can be firmly and thoroughly ruled out. We will also need to gather all four of them here, though I am tempted to suggest we test them one at a time privately to prevent any contamination of the results. "

Graham still isn't fully used to such jocular behavior from a Vulcan, but finds it less disconcerting that Kylah staring up at him.

He flushes slightly and quickly turns toward the door to Fastolfe's house. "Uh, all right, he's a suspect, that's how we play it. Nothing, ah, extreme either way kissing his ass or busting his b-- ah, never mind."

"Ready?" he asks and if there are no objections he rings the chime.

"Ready," says Dr. T'Var, after adjusting the strap on her medical tricorder.

Dr. Halsey frowns thoughtfully. "I haven't heard anything about whether Fastolfe is still under the influence of the spores. I assume he is. Has anyone in your group talked to him since yesterday?"

Kylah gives the door a quick glance, as if it's another member of the team, before saying "I am ready too, sir." She realizes her mistake in address and, swallowing, turns to address the insignia on Graham's chest. "Before you correct me--I know you are not a superior officer. But I think it is proper to address you thusly, especially in front of suspects and witnesses, as long as you are acting mission commander."

And hopefully you'll start acting like a mission commander as well, she adds silently in almost fervent prayer. Kylah still feels guilty insulting Collins, even merely to herself, but the truth is the truth, and Kylah cannot fathom how anyone would believe Collins or Graham were good candidates for leadership. So why is a highly respected captain like Singh making such unfortunate choices? Is there some unspoken de facto belief that Security officers are the only ones capable of leading? The First Officer's bias toward Security makes sense, but Singh should know better--unless she too was once Security as well. Kylah makes a mental note to learn Singh's Starfleet career history.

She pushes her fleeting thoughts aside and forces her gaze back to Graham's. "I hope that is acceptable to you, even if it is not Starfleet policy. I just believe that, psychologically speaking, it will help our dealings with these people if they are aware there is a hierarchy. We need them to afford you the respect that yo--the position deserves."

Graham pauses, his finger just a few centimeters away from the chime. The position deserves respect.

Not necessarily the person--as an officer or a father.

He turns toward Kylah and he imagines a conversation with Elizabeth. She'd be graduating this year, and assuming she even wanted me to attend he could see her looking up at him: "Look, I'll call you 'dad' in front of everyone because otherwise it would be weird, but don't let that go to your head..."

He frowns just slightly. Kylah, maybe T'Var too are probably worried I want to take Fastolfe for a walk around the block, when all I want to do is...

What?

It hits him with some force: make up for everything. That's what I want to do.

But how?

He blinks. Well, not by standing around, anyway, he thinks.

"Right," he says, quietly, his mouth dry, slightly emphasizing the word "position." "The position deserves respect."

He turns and hits the chime.

"Not yet, I believe some of my colleagues are doing that now." Rangin says while still facing away towards Dobson. He frowns thinking that if Fastolfe had lost the effect of the spores he would probably be shouting it from one end of the resort to the other. Unless he was guilty of course, but then it would be easy enough to find that out anyway.

Rangin turns back to Dr Halsey. "Doctor, the list of times when the guests reported in, please? We may as well use that as the order in which we see them. If you are ready to set up the tests, it would be no problem for one of us", Rangin gestures at Dobson and himself, "to escort each guest here and brief them on the way as to what is going to occur, so that hopefully they will be willing to undergo such tests."

The chime sounds and there is no response from within Lord Fastolfe's guest house.

Dr. Halsey checks a data pad. "All of them went through spore introduction yesterday at 2pm." He taps on the screen. "I've sent messages to the comm account of each, asking them to stop by anytime this afternoon for testing."

Kylah grows more and more uncomfortable the longer they wait. Anxious, she glances over to find a window, both to peek inside as well as to see if she can sense anyone through the glass. Of course, the house is large enough that she knows it is unlikely she would feel anything but a particularly strong emotion.

"He might be anywhere at the resort," she says over her shoulder to Graham and T'Var, more to reassure herself that nothing need necessarily be wrong. "Can he be contacted or located by the hotel staff? Or perhaps his ship's crew? His yacht is still here, is it not?"

Graham unlimbers his tricorder and scans Fastolfe's house for life signs.

Dr. T'Var says, "The last report we had from the Yorktown, his yacht was still in orbit. I'm sure we would've been told if he had left, or tried to."

Graham sees from his tricorder scan that there are seven life signs inside. He rings the chime again and, after a long time, a man in dark business clothes answers the door. "Yes?" he asks, a little crossly.

Kylah is somewhat relieved and returns to the doorway, apparently not having seen anything from the window. She must clamp on her tongue not to speak up, however. Graham is the leader and is considered to have expertise at this sort of thing; he will, presumably, wish to handle the initial contact.

"Good afternoon," Graham says professionally. "Ensign Graham, Starfleet Security. We're here to speak with Lord Fastolfe." He pauses and cocks his head slightly. "Something got you out of sorts, Mr...?" he asks.

Kylah could see nothing through the curtains at the window, and sensed nothing with her psi talent, either.

"Do you have an appointment?" the man asks Graham.

"I'm afraid it's a matter of some suddenness and urgency," Graham says, shaking his head sympathetically. "He's inside?" he asks, pointing with one hand about waist height, and taking a half-step forward.

Kylah watches both men closely. When Graham closes the gap between him and the--bodyguard, gatekeeper, manager, Kylah isn't sure what this person is to Lord Fastolfe--she keeps her breathing as even as possible. It appears the Security officer is holding back information, perhaps intending to surprise his suspect, but Kylah doesn't see the point under the circumstances. With the softest voice she can produce that might be audible to Graham, she murmurs to him: "They may have already seen the announcement, sir."

Rangin looks across at Dobson with a concerned look. Dr Halsey seems to know exactly who has been impacted, but despite being asked twice has not produced the details he was asked for. How we would he know these details unless the residents had come forward. Either that, or one of the Hsu's had told him.

Rangin wanders across to Dobson and speaks to her quietly out of Halsey's hearing. "Dobson, head out, find a nurse and see if you can get a hold of the list of people who have contacted the infirmary as having lost the impact of spores."

He then wanders back to Dr Halsey, "So have you had any response to your requests, Doctor?"

"Yes, sir" Dobson goes looking for a nurse as ordered.

The man in the doorway doesn't budge. He stares back at Graham, who has the impression he's no stranger to confrontations with authority. "I'm sorry, you'll have to be more specific. Why do you wish to see Lord Fastolfe, exactly...?"

Dr. Halsey looks a little annoyed as Dobson steps around him, but she finds no one else in the Infirmary. He says to Rangin, "Let me check these reports again. There's been so much going on today I feel like I'm just at sixes and at sevens."

Graham tilts his head just slightly toward Kylah, acknowledging her comment. "The resort's administrator was murdered last night." He spreads his hands disarmingly. "We'd just like to clear up a few questions about Lord Fastolfe's contact with him yesterday."

"Certainly Doctor and if there is anything I can do to help, please let me know." Rangin waits to see what Dr Halsey does next.

Dobson reenters the infirmary. "Sir,' she address Rangin, "I couldn't find anyone else. Perhaps I could help retrieve the files from the computer?"

The man in the doorway does not noticeably react to news of the murder. "Wait here," he says, "and I'll see if His Lordship wishes to speak with you." He closes the door in Graham's face.

Dr. Halsey snaps, "I'm perfectly capable of accessing computer records, thank you." He picks up a data tablet and scrolls through its display. "Hmm. I guess there were three people who lost the spores' effect: Hardin, Palver and Calvin. Just three. Not Ebling; my mistake." His comm panel beeps, and he reads the screen. "Mrs. Calvin says she's free now and is coming to be scanned. The vice admiral and Mr. Palver haven't responded yet."

While they are waiting, Kylah thinks of Rangin and wonders if his interview with Halsey is going any better than her own. And then she realizes he does not even know she met with the doctor--she only told Graham and T'Var. Fool! she thinks, angry that her distraction over the incident with Graham prevented her from doing her duty. She excuses herself from the others and quickly sends a message to Velir.

"Now, now, Doctor," Rangin admonishes him gently, "we are only here to help out. There is no need to take that tone with Crewman Dobson. I would suggest taking a moment to compose yourself before Mrs Calvin arrives. Now, perhaps you might like to say why Lt. Cmdr. Ebling was on your mind..."

Rangin looks down at his communicator and sees it alerting him. "If you would excuse me a moment, I'll just take this.", he comments before heading somewhere more private.

"Rangin, this is Kylah," Kylah says with a quick glance at her colleagues. "I just have a moment--it is not an emergency, but I did want you to know about a conversation I had with Dr. Halsey earlier. I should have briefed you before, but I was--I forgot. Is this a bad time for you?"

"Hello Kylah. No, don't worry about forgetting, now is fine. We are just waiting for some of the guests to turn up for a medical check about the spores. Ok. I'm listening."

Kylah thanks Velir and quickly mentions that she told Halsey about Hardin losing his reaction to the spores, and asked the doctor why such a thing might happen. "Other than calling it 'strange,' he displayed no curiosity regarding the cause of this issue, nor did he seem intent on discovering it. Even though his job depends on the spores' effectiveness."

She takes a deep breath and reveals Halsey's harsh reaction to the idea that someone thought he seemed happy despite Wilson's death, and that he had recently argued with the man. "All Halsey would say was that Dr. Wilson did not show enough respect for his department. When I asked him tactfully--and I was tactful, for me," Kylah emphasizes, a bit embarrassed, "--why anyone might have had the impression he was happy, Halsey ordered me out and threatened to call security. He never even asked who had told me such things! He only seemed afraid of me, and rather desperate to have me gone. His reaction was completely out of proportion to my behavior."

After a pause, she adds quietly, "I know I have shown a certain... propensity... for inciting others to threaten me with expulsion or punishment. But I promise you, I did not rate such a heated and sullen response. This time," she admits.

Rangin smiles at the last statement, aware of how forceful Kylah can be.

"Thanks for that Kylah, I'll keep it in mind and if anything happens here I'll let you know. Good luck with Lord Fastolfe. Rangin out."

He puts the communitor away and heads back in.

Ebling is a lieutenant commander, not a lieutenant.

Dr. Halsey says with a shrug, "I don't know why Ebling was on my mind. Because she's the vice admiral's aide, I guess I just sort of think of them together." Rangin notices that the physician seems nervous and is sweating slightly, although the Infirmary is cool.

The door to Lord Fastolfe's guest house remains closed. Graham can just barely hear voices within.

Kylah smiles inwardly, glad simply to have been in touch with Velir. Then, sober once more, she returns her communicator to her belt and goes back to the others. "Forgive me, I needed to report my conversation with Dr. Halsey to Ensign Rangin..." she explains in an undertone, although even as she speaks her attention is drawn to the closed door. Still no response? Will Graham ring the chime again? After casting a quizzical glance at the Security officer, Kylah cocks her head toward the door and closes her eyes, wondering if she can hear or sense anything.

Graham glances at T'Var and Kylah. "'His lordship...' He said it with a straight face." He shakes his head. "I don't think I could manage it."

He taps a finger on his lips. "Plan A is the dude in the suit lets us talk to Fastolfe. Plan B...I think we have enough to get a warrant to enter the premises. I was going to try to be diplomatic and offer the 'carrot' of not having to officially declare Fastolfe a suspect and keep this all low key...rather than the 'stick' of forced entry and detaining all these assh--uh, people--while we search the place." He shrugs. "But I'm not inclined to let these clowns waste our time...any thoughts, team?"

Kylah watches the door as if she can force it to open by sheer will. "I would ring again, at the very least, to let them know of the urgency. If this person says we may not enter, I think we might suggest that we have reason to believe Lord Fastolfe is in danger and we must speak with him; he is at the minimum an important witness. After all, the planet is under our jurisdiction and we have enough just cause to require him to answer our questions. The danger is no lie; he is in danger of being framed or being locked up as a murderer."

She purses her lips in thought, then shrugs. "I hope he will see reason. If not, there is nothing more to do than demand an interview with this material witness."

Graham can't help but chuckle. "Heh - we ll I suppose he's in danger of being framed and then locked up as a murderer by us. Can't say I'd shed many tears about that, but even a Constitution-class jerk doesn't deserve a false homicide conviction..."

Graham hits the chime again.

The man returns to the door after about a minute, and opens it. He doesn't look happy. Without a word, he gestures for you to enter, and leads you through a grand entryway with a gleaming, black-and-white tiled floor into a wood-paneled study. Everything you see in the house is opulent and luxurious. A striking young black woman with a large afro is in the study. She sets aside a data pad, stands and says softly, "I am Melanie Adjetey, Lord Fastolfe's manager. May I help you?"

Oops, consider it amended. I thought Lt. was a little too low for the aide

"Really Doctor. I would have thought your mind would have been on the conundrum of the missing spores and the affected guests that you are aware of in particular."

Rangin decides to ask a few quick questions of Dr Halsey and see what reaction he has.

What's your main theory on the effect being lost?
Have you met any of the group today?
Are you going to reintroduce them one at a time or all together?
As for Lt. Cmdr. Ebling, have you heard from her at all?
Have you heard from Lord Fastolfe?
Have you heard anything further about the incident last night?
Have Mr or Mrs Hsu been in touch at all?
Is there anything els ewe can do to help here?

Rangin especially wants to see how he reacts to the questions about Ebling and Fastolfe.

Kylah nods politely at the other woman, then decides to take matters into her own hands before Graham bullyrags the woman and sets up a confrontational atmosphere.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Adjetey. We are from the Federation ship Yorktown. I am Ensign Kylah, and this is Dr. T'Var. This gentleman here is our Mission Commander, Booker Graham, who has come to speak with Lord Fastolfe personally." Her respectful tone when using Graham's name--but not his rank--is purposeful; she hopes the manager will presume him to have greater stature among the Starfleet hierarchy. "As we told your associate, the resort's administrator has been murdered. As the Federation's Starfleet representatives we are investigating this crime, and since Mr. Wilson's body was discovered in the courtyard nearby, we must speak with all the guests residing in this area."

Kylah lowers her voice slightly. "I am afraid Lord Fastolfe is of particular importance to the investigation for a variety of reasons that we can only reveal to him in person. There are aspects of the crime that indicate a potential threat--" She cuts herself off as if regretting saying too much. "No, I apologize, this really must be discussed with Lord Fastolfe himself. Please tell him we must see him, as this is a highly urgent matter that must not be delayed further."

Graham shuts his mouth before a fly wanders in--or it becomes obvious that he's completely flat-footed by Kylah jumping in and taking the lead in his place.

His inclination to be annoyed passes quickly, however. If your intention was to take a diplomatic approach, he thinks, then in point of fact you probably should have asked your comms officer to take the lead...

Plus she's making me out to sound like I command half the fleet in the sector, he muses. That's both entertaining and bittwersweet: you know what it means to be a senior officer, Booker. That includes looking the part as well as acting the part, representing what Starfleet leadership means to others and your team.

He controls his breathing and assumes the posture and demeanor he so diligently observed--and practiced--when he was on his way up to Lt. Commander.

Dobson has only one question for the doctor. "I'm curious, Sir, why you're so agitated?"

Dr. Halsey responds to Rangin's questions.

What's your main theory on the effect being lost? - "Uh, too soon to say. It is unusual, quite unusual, as I mentioned earlier."
Have you met any of the group today? - "No."
Are you going to reintroduce them one at a time or all together? - "Well, for the moment, none of them, as I was asked to halt all spore introductions while your investigation is underway."
As for Lt. Cmdr. Ebling, have you heard from her at all? - "No, I don't think so."
Have you heard from Lord Fastolfe? - "No."
Have you heard anything further about the incident last night? - "The incident? You mean Mr. Wilson's murder? No."
Have Mr. or Mrs. Hsu been in touch at all? - "Yes, we've spoken a bit during the day, and they've kept me updated by comm messages."
Is there anything else we can do to help here? - "No, thank you. Just let me get on with my work."

His demeanor and tone of voice in responding to questions about Ebling and Fastolfe are not noticeably different from any other.

To Dobson's question he snaps, "I've never been involved in something like this before, and the tone of your questions has me on edge, quite frankly."

Melanie Adjetey, Lord Fastolfe's manager, thinks for a moment and says to Kylah, "All right, I'll suggest that he see you. Wait here a moment, please." She leaves, and the door silently slides shut behind her.

Kylah exhales silently in relief, then says softly to Graham--careful not to be too candid, just in case others are listening--"I am sorry for speaking out of turn, sir. I thought, diplomatically speaking, it would not be appropriate for a mission commander such as yourself to speak with anyone but Lord Fastolfe. Your time should not be wasted by going through not one, but two gatekeepers, however much this man warrants it." An amount that is too small to measure. She barely manages to keep her face from showing her disdain.

As she speaks, she shifts her gaze around the room, if nothing else but to learn more about the sort of belongings someone like Fastolfe would take on a vacation.

"Doctor, given what has happened over the last few hours, I would be amazed if you weren't on edge. What with the resort up for renewal, the murder of your superior and a medical effect that just shouldn't happen. Well, these just aren't everyday occurrences. I would probably be frantic if I were you, seeing as the consequences could be the loss of the resort." says Rangin conversationally.

"Don't worry, I'm sure that once we catch the murderer, everything will turn out fine." Rangin smiles broadly at the Doctor, "Of course, until then, everyone is a suspect." Rangin stops as if considering something. "You have given a statement haven't you Doctor? I can't remember if we have one on file, though I'm sure any alibi you have will be fine." He nods as if agreeing with his own statement, that the Doctor is blameless.

Kylah sees nothing in the room that suggests it was brought there by the aristocratic rock star/celebrity/bad boy or his entourage; the furniture, thick carpet and exquisite objets d'art on the shelves all look like they go with the place.

Dr. Halsey crossly says, "No, I've already been questioned several times. I haven't given any written statement."

"That's fine Doctor, I'm sure it won't be a problem", Rangin encourages him. "So, when is Mrs Calvin arriving then?"

Dr. Halsey is literally just opening his mouth to answer when the elderly author walks in. Her eyes widen a little at the sight of two Starfleet personnel in the Infirmary. "I can come back, if you like, Doctor...?" she begins to say.

"No, no, that's all right, Mrs. Calvin," he replies. "Please have a seat. If there's nothing further, Ens. Rangin...?"

Graham looks around with something of an imperious demeanor, as if he's a flag officer. He nods acknowledgment of Kylah's comments--only slightly, as if there were a great difference in their ranks--but he can't resist a little smile. He clasps his hands behind his back in parade rest and waits to see what kind of entrance Fastolfe will make.

"Mrs Calvin, so good to see you again. How are you?" Rangin begins conversationally as she walks through the door. "We were just discussing the tests, the spores being one of the reasons I'm here in the first place, and I'm certainly interested to see how they go and I'm looking forward to Dr Halsey's report on it when he has finished, purely from a scientific interest point of view."

Rangin turns back to the Doctor. "Thank you once again, Doctor", he gestures with an agreeable nod, "I'll leave you to it. Crewman Dobson, we should leave the good Doctor to his work."

Rangin heads for the door.

Dobson nods to the doctor and the author, saying "Sir. Ma'am" respectively, then as she follow Rangin out, says to him "On your six, sir."

As Rangin and Dobson leave the Infirmary, a young man in WR&R overalls walks in. He nods to them.

After a long wait, Miss Adjetey returns. "Thank you for waiting. His Lordship will see you now." She ushers Graham, Kylah and Dr. T'Var up a grand staircase to a sitting room that is, if anything, even more opulent than the room on the first floor that you were just in. She knocks quietly on a closed door to an adjoining room, and then takes a seat. The door opens after a few seconds and Lord Fastfolfe enters, fastening a richly brocaded dressing gown around himself as he does. He is otherwise nude, and Graham inadvertently gets a glimpse that confirms a popular rumor about the rock star. Kylah sees, just before the door closes behind him, that the adjoining room includes a bed, and that the bed has a beautiful Human woman and a lanky Caldonian male in it.

Fastolfe eases into a chair, leans back and sighs tiredly. He says, "You had some questions for me...?"

http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Caldonian

"Excuse me," Dobson says to the staffer, "May we see your ID?"

Kylah is more than a little embarrassed at the evidence of Fastolfe's sexual activities (most likely very recent sexual activities) but tries not to show it. She does wonder if he arrived with this pair of... bedmates... or if they are fellow guests.

Then she switches her attention to Fastolfe himself. After a hesitation, Kylah pushes forward a bit with her mind, tentatively--fearfully, if she is being honest--to see if Fastolfe is still exhibiting the effects of the spores. She has somehow managed not to be this close to any spore-affected guest all day; after last night, she is reluctant to experience the sensation again. But she tries anyway because the truth is too important to rely on Fastolfe's own word.

As she does she absently gives Fastolfe much the same greeting and introductions she gave to his manager, including the reminder of why they are there. This time she concludes with, "...And we thank you for taking time away from your--from your vacation to speak with us. But the reason we are here, Lord Fastolfe, is not simply that your house is near the place where the body was found. I am afraid the circumstances surrounding Mr. Wilson's death appear to imply some connection to you." Kylah turns toward Graham and addresses him respectfully. "Sir, perhaps you wish to continue?"

Graham nods. "Ah, yes, thank you..." He turns to Fastolfe. "You...lordship," he begins, choking down his gag reflex. "How are the spores treating you?"

The WR&R staffer stares at Dobson, laughs once, says "No," and continues into the Infirmary.

Lord Fastolfe yawns elaborately. "It's the damnedest thing. When I woke up this morning, the spore effect was gone. I think I'm going to need another dose." Kylah confirms from her psionic probe that he does not appear to be under the influence of the spores any more.

Kylah feels herself relax, glad not to have encountered the spores again. Still, his reaction... "That is a shame. I am surprised you did not complain to the staff at once to let everyone know of this failure. The spores are the main reason for your coming to WR&R, are they not? It is laudable that you are taking this in your stride, but I would have thought you would be outraged to find the influence gone after only a day. Especially after you were so riled simply because the resort could not accommodate your housing request yesterday. Unless you can account for a reason why the spores might have failed. Did you have any emotional upheaval or distress that could have caused their effects to wear off?"

She hesitates. "You have been told that Mr. Wilson, the administrator with whom you argued yesterday, was murdered. His body was found just outside in the courtyard. May I ask if that upsets you at all, sir? I know you had your disagreement, but still..." Kylah keeps her focus on his emotions carefully. Does he ever get shaken from this façade of disinterest?

"Meanwhile, we have been asking everyone residing here whether they heard or saw anything late last night through early this morning--say, after 23:00--and to let us know of their activities during those times. This will help us track down everyone's movements. May I ask, what were your plans last night, early this morning? Were you ever alone, or were you with--" Kylah glances at the bedroom door, feeling her cheeks turn warm, then gets a hold of herself and sends her gaze back to Fastolfe. "That is, does your--your entourage follow you at all times?"

"I've been rather busy so far today, and haven't had the chance to arrange for another spore exposure," he says, "but I will. I don't know why they might have failed; I'm not a doctor, my dear. Wilson's death is... unfortunate, I suppose, but I can't say I'm very upset. He struck me as a petty corporate functionary who was not especially interested in seeing that I got what I wanted. What I was entitled to. As to my schedule, I was at the nightclub until late, and then came back here with some friends. I saw and heard nothing amiss." He smiles slyly. "Was I ever alone? Yes, I suppose I was, now and then. Even I need my rest. I don't have an 'entourage,' as you put it, but I do like to have friends about."

Graham rubs his chin. "Yes, well, your lordship," he says, getting used to using the word because the concept that this joker is some sort of royalty is becoming positively entertaining, "about your, ah, relationship with Wilson. I can't say I'm surprised you aren't shedding a tear, but the awkward thing is that you threatened Wilson with a knife at the spore introduction session." He shrugs. "Carrying a concealed weapon, drawing it in anger over a room assignment..." He spreads his hands. "Some might say that would point to you as a suspect...especially if there was other evidence linking you to the crime scene."

Kylah returns Fastolfe's smile with her own. If she can obey her uncle's orders to 'amuse' someone like Herennius, a vile, oily young upstart in Romulan politics with the same politically powerful friends as his late father Decius, Kylah can certainly pretend to be charmed by Fastolfe. And the truth is, she now better understands the superstar's charismatic hold on his fans. Despite his indolent manner he seems neither dull nor ignorant, and there is little denying his physical attractiveness.

Graham takes over and quickly changes the tone of the questions. Alert to Fastolfe's possible reaction, Kylah aims a seemingly worried frown at Graham. "But with respect, sir, there could be some explanations for all of these things. There is no law against concealed weapons on the planet." She turns back to Fastolfe. "The mission commander is of course correct, however, regarding some troubling evidence found near Mr. Wilson's body. I hope you will understand why we must clear matters up.

"Can you tell us about all of your contacts with Mr. Wilson yesterday? Was the matter of the house and the--the knife incident--the first time you had reacted violently with him? You see, his leg had been injured just before that argument, and given how easily Mr. Wilson could have been physically overwhelmed by your obvious... strength and power, and willingness to use them in...various ways..." Kylah glances shyly and furtively at Fastolfe's shoulders, arms and legs, "I thought perhaps you might have had an earlier conflict, as well."

She hesitates and adds, as if distracted by her own internal musings about Fastolfe's power, "Could you also tell us, please, if you have noticed any belongings missing since you arrived?"

Rangin looks at Dobson with amusement. "You know Dobson, if you're that interested to find out who he is, we have the full staff list of WR&R available. We needed it for all the fingerprint analysis. We should be able to see if he is legitimate just be looking him up. Here, let me find him..."

Rangin opens his tricorder and starts looking through the list of staff to find the person who just went passed.

"Once we have done that, we may need to pay a little visit to Lt. Cmdr Ebling as she seems to be the only person not affected pending, of course, the result of our colleagues chat with Lord Fastolfe." Rangin muses while he searches.

Speaking of gag reflex... Graham thinks as Kylah gets flirty and flattering toward Fastolfe...

In point of fact he's pleased as she slips smoothly into good-cop-bad-cop, although he has to correct his initial assumption that her wiles would naturally be more effective than his as he notices that there's also a dude in Fastolfe's bed. However, he notes, that doesn't change the fact that communications is both her specialty and from he's observed her natural element.

Fastolfe looks at his manager, then back to Graham. He says firmly, "I didn't kill Wilson, if that's what you're driving at, and I don't know who did. I didn't have any earlier conflict or altercation with Wilson, other than the one you saw. Our dealings before that time had only been through Miss Adjetey. I don't know how he might have injured his leg. I've noticed none of my belongings missing."

Rangin runs a facial-recognition program on the WR&R personnel roster and finds that the man who just went into the Infirmary is Victor White, a medtech.

See post 2523. Kylah saw that Fastolfe had company in his bed, not Graham.

Kylah looks at Fastolfe keenly, not surprised by the speed with which he has shed his languid, effete façade. She then kneels down slightly to be closer to his seated height--not too difficult considering her own short stature. "Lord Fastolfe," she says quietly, her wide, black eyes focused squarely on his. "I cannot speak for Mr. Graham, nor Dr. T'Var, nor anyone else but myself. Yet I tell you, with all sincerity, that at this time I personally do not believe you killed Mr. Wilson--and not because I am a besotted fan, for in truth, I had not heard of you before we arrived here. That is no insult to your fame, of course; merely a reflection of my own sheltered existence as part of the Elasian royal family."

She hesitates before continuing. "Nevertheless, there are valid reasons why we ask you these questions, and it is not just your attack on Mr. Wilson yesterday. Your knife--the one we confiscated? Can you please tell me where you purchased it, and if you own others like it? It is my understanding such knives are sold in sets. If yours is one of a set, do you know where its partners are, who else might have access to them--and if possible, could you please confirm that they are where you believe them to be?"

"Also," Kylah says, still as gentle yet intense as she knows how to be, "Do you know anything about any of the other guests who are your neighbors here--for example, Fellim Palver, Rosemary Calvin, Admiral Hardin, Lt. Commander Ebling, or Sylvia Audrey? I understand it is unlikely that someone like you would have much direct connection with the staff, but--forgive me, I do not recall how often you have been to the resort before--have you had any dealings with Mrs. Hsu, who was Mr. Wilson's assistant director? Or Mr. Hsu, the Security Chief? Dr. Halsey?" Kylah twists her head briefly to include his manager in her questions. "I ask you the same things, Miss Adjetey."

Fastolfe looks surprised. "Yes, the knife is part of a set of five which I bought on Pelden VII. I have the rest of them in a box in the other room; anyone who'd been in there might've had access to it - would you get them for me, please, Melanie?" He thinks a moment. "I know none of the other guests other than having met them yesterday when I was introduced to the spores. This is my first time visiting the planet. I've had no dealings with either the Hsus or Dr. Halsey."

Adjetey stands and says as she heads for the door, "I don't know any of the other guests, either. I spoke to Mrs. Hsu several times in arranging for Lord Fastfolfe's visit, but not the others."

"See, he's a medtech, his job is in there." states Rangin holding up the tricorder for Dobson to see. "Nothing that strange about it, really."

He taps the back of the tricorder a couple of times. "You know, the one thing I haven't done is ask an expert," Rangin grins at Dobson, "not Dr Halsey, but a proper set of experts from the research station. I need to get the readings I took verified. Not just the ones from this morning, but those from yesterday as well. Other than that, if you have any good ideas about what to do next, let' s hear them. Otherwise it's talk to the research station and then track down Lt. Cmdr Ebling again."

Graham makes a mental note to add an "attaboy" for Kylah in his mission log if she keeps up this excellent questioning of Fastolfe. Given that they now seem to have his attention, he decides it's best to keep him engaged on multiple angles--victim as well as suspect.

"Your lordship," Graham asks as if thinking deeply on the matter, "is there anyone who might wish you harm...or who might, for example, benefit from framing you for a murder?"

"I'm sorry, Sir," Dobson says almost sheepishly, "I don't have any ideas at this time. But I will gladly take on any task you see fit to assign me."

Despite the seriousness of this interview, Kylah nearly smiles in amusement when she hears Fastolfe's request to his manager. So the obnoxious, supercilious narcissist says 'please' to an employee, she thinks, satisfied. I knew it was an act. Would his fans be delighted or disappointed to learn he has manners after all? I shall have to ask Delaney.

She is about to ask another question--why did he bring those knives down to the planet in the first place?--but Graham speaks up and takes charge as he should. His tone is pleasingly non-confrontational, and Graham sounds almost genuine when he speaks of the possibility that Fastolfe is being framed. Kylah has felt alone in believing this to be the case all along, but perhaps the others are coming around at last. Although Kylah isn't certain that the answer will be fruitful. A frame-up need not require anyone to have wished Fastolfe specific harm. Fastolfe's actions prior to the spore introduction might have simply provided the killer with an ideal opportunity to frame a seemingly unlikeable, violent man.

Kylah examines Fastolfe's face. He undoubtedly reaps the rewards of his glamorous, larger-than-life persona--the two people in his bed are proof enough of that. But she finds it a shame he must cloak his true self, whatever that may be. Speaking of the pair in the bedroom... if he knows no other guests, did those two arrive here with him? If so, why did they not get the spore treatment? She sets the thought aside until Fastolfe responds and the knives are--or, as is very likely, are not--accounted for.

"Ok Dobson, we'll go with those two ideas and see what happens next."Rangin thinks Of course, the other thing we haven't looked for is anything that might kill the spores other than our assumed emotional reaction. Perhaps an anti-Berthold Ray device, or maybe even the spores given had been treated to have a very short lifespan."

Rangin gets out his comminucator and contacts the research station for assistance. He wants to get his readings from the plants that morning as well as the readings he took the day before of the plants and the spores taking effect analysed to make sure that nothing is wrong with them and the are genuine.

Dr. Lucy Anderson, the chief scientist at the Starfleet research station, responds to Rangin's call. She agrees to look over the data he's gathered, and will be back in touch once she's had the chance to do so. It might take a little while.

Fastolfe shrugs. "I have bitter musical and acting rivals. I have obsessed, psychotic fans. I have former bandmates, business associates, clingers and lovers who'd love to see me framed for murder, or dead. I get lots of hate mail. So yeah, there are many, many people who might try to set me up or kill me."

Adjetey returns from the other room in moments with a beautiful box of handcrafted, pearl-inlaid dark wood. She hands the box to Fastolfe, who unlatches it - it is otherwise unlocked - to reveal a purple-velvet-lined interior with one long knife - apparently identical to those you've already seen at the murder scene and in the resort vault - and four empty spaces.

"What the fuck...?" the rock star says.

Staring at the empty slots, Kylah straightens up slowly. She--and almost certainly her crewmates--expected two knives to be missing: the confiscated blade and the murder weapon. But four? A ripple of unease snakes down her spine, and she has to prevent herself from visibly shuddering. "Lord Fastolfe," she says quietly. "When did you last open this box? Why did you bring such weapons to the planet in the first place?" After a quick look at Graham, she returns to focus on the rock star. "And we will need to know the names of everyone, including those who work for you and those with whom you spent the night, who had an opportunity to open--or even merely handle--this case."

Her voice is steady but her mind races even while trying to discern if Fastolfe is genuinely surprised. Two more knives. Two more, out there somewhere. Where are they? Why so many? What is this killer planning?

Fastolfe does, she perceives, seem genuinely surprised.

"I last opened the box yesterday," he said, "after we came here to this house. And I brought them here because I'm almost always armed - as I said, I have a lot of enemies." He thinks a moment. "Everyone in this house might have had access to the box, at one time or another. I haven't kept the door to that bedroom locked."

Rangin thanks Dr Anderson for taking the time to look over his results. He expects all the results to be completely valid, but it is always worth getting an expert to check.

"Ok, Crewman Dobson, let's go see if we can locate Lt. Cmdr Ebling. We don't need to necessarily greet her, just get within view." Rangin makes a few adjustments to his tricorder to detect all the spores in an area and he wonders if the spores the aide said she still had will still appear on it...only one way to find out.

"Aye, Sir" Dobson says dutifully.

Rangin and Dobson go to Ebling's guest quarters, but no one, including her two-person Security detail from the Yorktown, is there.

Kylah nods. "Of course," she says in response to Fastolfe mentioning his enemies. Act like a Targ with a pair of infected tusks and one is unlikely to make friends. She realizes that this could apply to herself as well, and moves quickly past this unfortunate truth. "Am I correct in presuming that all the other knives were in place when you removed the one you used during yesterday's..." She flips a hand over and lets herself smile briefly. "...Display of temper, shall we call it, with Mr. Wilson? Can you or Ms. Adjetey tell us exactly when this house been vacant since that time, if any? There seem to be several others who accompanied you to the planet, or at least are currently visiting--" After a slight hesitation, she frowns. "Indeed, when we rang your door chime earlier and received no immediate response, we scanned and found seven life forms. You and Ms. Adjetey are two; then there is that large man who opened the door for us--who seems such a natural bodyguard that I am surprised you must worry about arming yourself--is another, and I believe I saw two others in the bedroom."

She feels her face flush, which annoys her to no end. Embarrassed? After what you yourself did? "Speaking of whom, did you meet them here on the planet, or are they traveling companions? At any rate, that makes five. May I ask, who else is in the house? And could you or Ms. Adjetey please tell us all their names? We need to know when this house was vacant and thus possibly vulnerable to a break-in."

She looks from Adjetey to Fastolfe and tilts her head. "Are you not curious why we are asking you to account for your weapons, Lord Fastolfe? Perhaps you have already gleaned this from our questions. Regardless, I shall tell you: A knife matching yours was found beside Mr. Wilson's body." Kylah lets a heartbeat pass before she adds softly: "With Mr. Wilson's blood... and your fingerprints."

"Hmm, not here, time to go and look around the resort to see if we can find her. Perhaps ask at reception if they know where the good Lt. Cmdr may have gone."

"On it, Sir" Dobson rushes off to the reception desk. Once there, she will ask whoever is on duty if they know the whereabouts of, or can help locate, Lt. Cmdr. Ebling.

As soon as Dobson is gone, Rangin realizes he might just have called Ebling on her communicator, or that of one of her guards. Dobson asks at the reception desk anyway and they page Ebling, who answers a few minutes later on Rangin's communicator. By that time Dobson has returned to his side. "I'm out for a walk outside, just east of the resort," the Tellarite officer says. "What can I do for you, Mr. Rangin?"

Fastolfe says, "When I last looked in the box last night, there were four knives remaining. Someone's been here in the house ever since we arrived, I think. Even when most of us were out for a meal or going to the nightclub last night, at least one of my staff was here - and there's been no sign of a break-in. The people now in the house include me; Miss Adjetey; Caleb Hotchkiss, my bodyguard and valet, whom you met at the door; Dan Stimmons, my personal assistant; and Paula Goldman, my publicist. The two next door are guests whom I met this morning at breakfast and invited back. I'd really rather not drag them into all this. And yes, of course, you foolish girl, I already guessed I'm a suspect in Wilson's death."

Kylah raises her eyebrow and murmurs, "I suppose we will have to wait until the murder is solved before we know who is the bigger fool--I, for believing you to be more human than caricature, or you, for disabusing me of that notion." She smiles before continuing. "Of course you could see you were a suspect, but if you are innocent, you could not have known why--that your knife was found at the scene of the crime and, presumably, used as the murder weapon. Surely you did not think your 'Lord Fastolfe' character's infantile performance yesterday was so convincing that we would suspect you for that reason alone?"

She steps closer to him. "Look, Mr. Fastolfe," she says, purposely dropping the artificial title. "I am grateful for the names you gave us, and it is most generous of you to wish to leave your new friends out of this situation. But like everyone else at this resort, they are involved, like it or not. We will be speaking to them. Further, now that you have described your morning, I am even more confused by your behavior. You arose, dressed, left your room to attend breakfast, picked up two strangers, and returned for a tryst. And yet at no point were you driven to complain that the spores--your reason for coming to this spa--had worn off?" Shaking her head, almost disappointed, she adds: "That is not consistent with your public persona, you know. Did you forget that your spoiled, hot-tempered alter ego would have raised an uproar about such an outrage?"

With a swift, apologetic glance at Graham, Kylah continues in a slightly sharper tone. "One more question from me, and then I must yield to our senior officers for now. Do you have any financial connections with this or any other entertainment/resort facility?"

Graham had been pleased by Kylah's diligent interview of Fastolfe, and somewhat bemused by seeing this other side of the actor displayed, but those feelings are cut short by a flash of anger when he calls her a "foolish girl." He physically twitches and has to restrain his instinct to face-plant Fastolfe on the floor and cuff him, then continue the interview that way.

She's bending over backwards to give you the royal treatment, and that's he kind of chauvinist bullshit you pull, he thinks, reminded, yet again without intentionally going there, of his daughter Kylah's age.

"You don't need to yield to anybody, Ensign Kylah." Graham says as he takes a step forward and jabs a finger toward Fastolfe. "Just for the record, you mentioned not wanting to drag those folks into it...We've got a murder weapon with your prints on it. If it weren't for Ens. Kylah's recommendation, that I took and respect, I'd have gotten a warrant and a dozen Security officers would've kicked in the doors here while the Yorktown commandeered your yacht in orbit. The whole mess would be all over the nets already. Everybody in this house would be sitting on the floor in cuffs. Would that be at the least rude? Even over the line? Would you be able to pull some strings to get somebody at Starfleet to bust my chops and maybe assign me to some methane-atmosphere craphole for the rest of my career? Maybe. But I don't particularly give a damn." He shakes his head. "So if you're going to throw insults around, your lordship, I'd suggest that directing them at the officer who's looking out for your interests here isn't the wisest course of action."

Outside, east of resort. mouths Rangin to Dobson and he heads off quickly in that direction.

"Ah, thank you sir, my apologies, this is just a courtesy call to see if you have been contacted by Dr Halsey at all today?" he asks politely, trying to keep his breath calm, while keeping his footsteps rapid. He wonders if he can get to the Lt Cmdr to find out if she is still feeling the effect of the spores or if she is not being as honest as perhaps she should.

Rangin begins to worry, a high ranking officer of Star Fleet. how could he be thinking that she would be anything other than upright and honest. Was he backsliding so far he might be seeing corruption when there is none? No, he would check and it would all be fine, the Lt Cmdr would have be as truthful as expected, and Rangin would feel relieved though guilty, that he had doubted a senior officer. But always better to be safe than sorry, anyone would understand that. Wouldn't they?

Dobson nods that she understands Rangin, then follows him when he heads off to meet Ebling

Lord Fastolfe's expression darkens and he says, "I will not be threatened or insulted in my own house, even a temporary one. I did not kill Wilson. I have nothing more to say, and this discussion is now over. Leave now." Miss Adjetey rises at once and gestures towards the door.

Ebling says, "Yes, I got a comm message from him but haven't responded yet." Rangin and Dobson find her without too much difficulty. She is in civilian clothes and hiking half a kilometer or so away from the resort, on trails crossing the rolling grasslands there. Her two plainclothes guards are not far away. A few other people, presumably also resort guests, walk by from time to time.

Kylah goes through a swift array of emotions when Graham speaks. First surprised pleasure that he would tell her she need not to defer to him; then vindication when he acknowledges that she was the one to convince him that Fastolfe should not be considered the prime suspect. And finally, rising worry and even anger, as Graham proceeds to forget his role as above-it-all Mission Commander and return to his tough, threatening, bullying demeanor--and, by making it all about Protecting Kylah from an Insult, Graham has made her look like some damsel in distress.

Fastolfe's reaction is utterly predictable. Of course, she elicited the same reaction in Jaxo and Halsey herself. But we need Fastolfe's cooperation! she thinks furiously to rationalize her own behavior, And I wasn't actually threatening anyone.

Kylah pushes her anger at Graham aside and focuses only on Fastolfe. "No--please, the Mission Commander is simply--he meant no threat. He is just being gallant. But he is right in that as I said myself, I did not and still do not believe you to be the murderer. I beg you to assist us, at least answer my last questions. The more you assist, the quicker we will be led to the real killer."

She swivels to Graham and sends him a sharp look. "I thank you for your defense, sir, but it is understandable that this man should be upset. He is likely being set up, his belongings taken from him and used to murder someone in his name. Of course he is being difficult!" And I do not need your bloody protection! she adds purely with her eyes, before returning to Fastolfe. She examines Fastolfe's face, hoping in some way she is getting through to him. "I am not seeking your help to find a murderer, because I understand you just wish to be left in peace. But this person, or a group of them, is trying to destroy you, either purposely or merely as a callous side-effect of framing you for this horrible crime. They are the ones at whom you should direct your anger. Do you not see that?"

Still staring at him searchingly, she lowers her voice. "Even if you are too angry now to finish the interview... will you not at least agree to answer my questions later? To help clear up your name and avoid any further disruption of your life?"

Graham's not sure if Kylah is doing an inspired job playing the role of "good cop" or if she's just really pissed off at him. Probably both, he thinks, somewhat glumly.

But he makes a mental note:Adjetey, Stimmons, Hotchkiss, Goldman. All by Fastolfe's own admission had access to the murder weapon. All in all, his own personal theory isn't that Fastolfe himself murdered Wilson - but there's enough evidence, he thinks, to get warrants for his house and ship and detain everyone he's named. There is, he thinks, more than enough evidence that Fastolfe is involved somehow, and while Graham has plenty of sympathy for poor and powerless people who might be innocent but panic when confronted with attention from law enforcement, somebody like Fastolfe should know better and help the investigation along, if he's truly innocent.

He wishes he'd worked out a plan B with Mahmoud so warrants would be working in parallel: for the moment, he stays silent as Kylah speaks, and does not move. Things would get easier if Fastolfe's people are stupid enough to assault an officer while we slow walk it out of his house, he notes...although that makes him worry about Kylah's safety...

"Interesting indeed, Mr Dobson. Why would Dr Halsey need to contact Lt Cmdr. Ebling? It's not as if she has reported a loss of the spores and he said earlier that he only had the three people coming in. Perhaps it was because she had not responded and nothing more. Then again, I do wonder if he had contact Lord Fastolfe as well." Rangin looks across at the Crewman, "We might want to find out what Dr. Halsey sent out, or perhaps when he sent out messages to the various people."

"Oh well, any ideas on how to wander up to a superior officer and scan her for an alien substance, or lack thereof, without her really noticing?"

Fastolfe does not look assuaged. "This way, if you please," Miss Adjetey says firmly, when Graham, Kylah and Dr. T'Var do not immediately leave.

Swallowing, Kylah is genuinely regretful--and worried. Does he truly not see the peril in which he is placing himself?

"I do hope you will reconsider, and contact us when you are calmer," she says to Fastolfe, her voice soft and small as she backs away. "On this planet there are far worse dangers than being insulted or threatened with detainment. Please do not let pride make you vulnerable to them."

She blinks, reluctantly breaking eye contact with the rock star, and turns to Graham. She cannot leave before he does. He must not make things worse, she thinks, wishing with all her might. Fastolfe will end up requesting an attorney, and will likely stand mute for the rest of our stay.

"You know, the funny thing is, if Wilson hadn't been so keen to paper over your assault and battery yesterday, we might have confiscated all these knives--he might still be dead by some other means, but the physical evidence pointing to you might not be such a slam dunk," Graham says, shaking his head and smiling slightly."Look, Fas--Lord--Fastolfe--I don't like your attitude, and I'm pretty sure you don't like mine. But truth be told I'd prefer we didn't turn this into a big public confrontation until or unless it's absolutely necessary." He shrugs. "Maybe you see it differently--maybe an arrest would bolster your image. For what it's worth, if my comments are what's got your back up, I apologize."

Graham feels sure that he has sufficient evidence to get an arrest warrant for Fastolfe--he's also sure that at this point that while he doesn't want Fastolfe going anywhere, that would be more hassle than it's worth, so he manages to be and sound sincere.

"At the end of the day it's your call how things go down from here. Just bear in mind that if somebody is trying to frame you, they're doing a bang-up job, so all of us just going our merry way is not one of the options at this point."

He gives a nod to Adjetey and starts to turn toward the door, gesturing for the team to do so as well. "Miss Adjetey. Doctor, Mr. Kylah..." He adds over his shoulder, "think about it, but not too long, I'd suggest."

"No ideas..." Rangin looks hopefully at Dobson, "oh well, maybe we will just have to try upfront honesty instead. See what kind of a reaction we get."

Rangin sets his tricorder to scan continuously for spores in the area, before heading up towards Lt. Cmdr. Ebling. There are not supposed to be any spores in the area other than those in the guests, so the only readings he should get are from the guests...he hopes.

Dr. T'Var nods at Lord Fastolfe and his manager, and follows Graham to the door.

Rangin's scan shows no spores around except those in Ebling and the other guests. They are consistent with earlier readings and indicate, as he was earlier told, that the five people within scanning range - other than the two Yorktown guards - are all under the influence of the OC3 spores. Ebling does not seem to have noticed you yet as she walks along.

With a last lingering look at Fastolfe and his manager, Kylah brings up the rear behind T'Var and Graham as they leave. Her emotions are skittering around, trying to settle on self-remorse or indignant anger aimed at Graham. She's able to handle both at once, of course, but she'd prefer for one to take precedence. She'd really prefer to turn her anger completely outwards--but she is not that unaware of her own mistakes. I should not have tweaked him for his idiotic attack display yesterday, she chants mentally, wanting to smack herself on the head for letting that "foolish girl" line get to her. Then she rallies. But even so! I was trying to give him credit, to acknowledge that he is better--or at least to let him think I believe him to be better--than the indolent, spoiled personality he puts on. And I might have convinced him if not for Graham!

She clenches her hands into fists and waits until the door closes behind them, then stalks forward as quickly as her shorter legs can manage so that she is in front of the other two crewmates. "Well, sir," Kylah says, her voice deceptively calm but eyes flashing with barely controlled defiance. "As someone new to investigations, I would be most grateful to hear your critique and summary of how that interview went."

Graham rubs his chin, hesitating a moment before responding to Kylah's question. "I thought you did a commendable job, Ensign, buttering Fastolfe up and persuading him to be cooperative," he says, nodding. "And even though he's chosen not to be for the moment, you elicited some valuable information that strengthens our hand if he decides he wants to do things the hard way..."

Graham shakes his head. "Question is, does somebody want us to spend a lot of time and effort on Fastolfe, when it's a total dead end? Or could we glean something out of getting him to play ball, or pushing him into cooperating?"

He scowls. "Doc, Mr. Kylah...interested in your thoughts. If I had my druthers, I'd fake an arrest of Fastolfe, with his cooperation, to draw out...well, somebody...I'm struck by the Hsus mentioning him earlier. But when it comes down to it, I think we have enough evidence to get search warrants for his house and ship, and even an arrest warrant for him to keep him on ice for awhile and persuade him to play ball... Not that I'm ruling out his involvement. But either way I think this is bigger than Fastolfe. What's with the extra missing knives...not to be morbid, but who are they for?"

"All things considered, I'm inclined to pursue warrants while hoping he comes around...other ideas?"

Kylah swiftly puts her hands behind her back so that she can make her fists still tighter. "I have no ideas," she says, still quiet. "I thank you for your compliments, sir, but I fear I still do not understand Federation law properly, for all I was required to study it at the Academy. I do not understand why we had to leave--the hotel owns the property, not Fastolfe. Did we not have the right to ask politely to speak to the two guests in the bedroom? Lord Fastolfe does not employ them and presumably they are not under his spell, however impressive his--his--" She is flustered for a moment, trying to think of a euphemism. "His prowess may have been," she finally says, hating herself for looking away and flushing, and thus forcing herself to turn back to Graham in renewed pride. "Do we need warrants for you or Dr. T'Var to scan the house for transporter traces? After all, someone could have transported in and stolen the knives that way. Would it have violated some law to have scanned the knife case for fingerprints, DNA, anything?"

She shakes her head. "I do not know. That is why I say it is beyond my understanding. In any event, it is too late now, for we are personae non gratae at the moment. The human 'spilled milk' idiom applies here." Kylah exhales, frustrated. "As for the extra knives, I too fear how they might be used. Although perhaps one of the missing ones was the true murder weapon--it would explain the lack of fingerprints other than Fastolfe's on the existing weapon we found by the body.

"For a useful suggestion... Perhaps one of us--Dr. T'Var, you are the only one who did not speak during the interview, you might be seen as an appropriately neutral party--perhaps we could contact Ms. Adjetey privately and ask her for a list of the comings and goings of everyone in the house. Any time that bedroom was unoccupied, it was vulnerable to someone either sneaking in or transporting in and snatching the weapons.

"Meanwhile, I suppose we could contact the Yorktown and request background checks on the entourage and employee names he mentioned. I would also be curious to see if Fastolfe's name appears in connection with any executives of either WR&R or its competitors, even though I meant what I said to him about not considering him a prime suspect--for what my instincts are worth," she adds harshly. "In fact, there is the bigger picture to consider. What companies are the most likely bidders for the license rights if WR&R is rejected? Or any other companies interested in colonization? Do we know that, other than the one with which Palver is involved?"

Again she fleetingly thinks of Jan and his investment background, unpleasantly reminded of the need to speak with him. Her stomach roils in nausea but she swallows and goes on. "Cross-checking all of the guests with one another, as well as the employees, would be useful. Now that we know it is likely Mr. Wilson was not killed in the residence area at all, there is little use in confining our questions to those few guests near the courtyard. I suppose most of what I am suggesting is background research that can be done best by those on the Yorktown, but perhaps our security crew could be assigned the task of double-checking to see if anyone can corroborate Lord Fastolfe's movements last night. Whoever stole those knives and killed Wilson had to know that Fastolfe was not in a public place surrounded by fans."

Running out of energy, Kylah looks down at the ground in stormy thought. "That is all," she murmurs, distracted by the necessity of getting in touch with the man whom she would rather never see or speak to again.

Once Rangin is satisfied with his readings, he stops allowing Lt. Cmdr. Ebling to hike off into the distance and sighs.

"Oh well, as she said, still affected by the spores. I wonder why that is though, given the other three people. Come on Dobson, let's go back to the infirmary and see how Dr Halsey is doing with his tests. Hopefully he will have finished with Mrs Calvin and we might get a first look at his results. If you can access the information, you might want to check what appointments Halsey did make for this afternoon."

Rangin starts trudging back towards the resort and wonders how the others are doing. Probably better than Dobson and himself.

Dr. T'Var clears her throat. "With respect, Ens. Graham, the old Earth saying that 'two wrongs don't make a right' is a logical one. I believe the better course would have been to ignore Lord Fastolfe's insults and to press politely forward with our inquiries, neither insulting him in turn, nor threatening him. He is a proud and temperamental man, and we must bear that in mind. Ens. Kylah, I am not a lawyer, either, but as I understand Federation law, one who lives in a particular place, even if temporarily rented as Fastolfe is doing with regard to this guest house, has certain rights of privacy and exclusivity. I believe he was within his rights to ask us to leave and, in the absence of a search warrant, we were obligated to respect his wishes."

Rangin and Dobson find Dr. Halsey once more alone in the Infirmary. He does not look pleased to see them.

"Ah Dr. Halsey," Rangin says politely and quietly, "how did it go with Mrs Calvin? Was there anything of interest you could find, did you manage to find a reason as to why she lost the effect of the spores or is it still a mystery?"

Rangin wonders why Halsey looks so unhappy, perhaps because he found nothing, perhaps because they were just in the way or maybe Lt. Cmdr Ebling had responded to Dr Halsey's call and mentioned Rangin had been in touch. Either way, the Dr. eas likely to let him know shortly.

Kylah is so frustrated she wants to stamp her foot like a child. Instead she just shakes her head. "Then by all means, we must get a search warrant, so that we at least have the option available to us. I doubt we needed one to scan the knife case--Fastolfe would probably not have argued if one of us had pulled out a tricorder at the moment we discovered the additional weapons missing--but regretfully I did not think of that." Let us see if the officers representing science and security will take responsibility for that omission themselves, she thinks sullenly.

"In any event, surely the hotel staff can enter their own property if they believe something might be amiss. There are multiple potential witnesses in that house who can verify when the knife set was vulnerable--if it ever was. Unfortunately his employees are all beholden to Lord Fastolfe. And his two guests are... they probably feel a bond with him." Her face turns warm at the thought. She has no idea what sex is like for non-empaths, but the spores likely add something extra to any such... activities. Jan had indicated his satisfaction and pleasure despite her own lack of experience and even, at times, participation--

"I can say one thing," she blurts, desperate to get those excruciatingly awkward thoughts out of her mind. She takes a quick look at T'Var that only grazes the Vulcan's face before returning to a neutral spot far away. "For what it is worth, Lord Fastolfe did not expect what we found--or rather, did not find--in the knife case. I am certain his surprise was genuine." She brushes her hair away from her face in an attempt to cool her burning skin. "So... so what are your orders, Mr. Graham?"

Graham frowns. "Two wrongs don't make a right...fair enough, Doc." He pauses. "I think I can tell by your body language you think I screwed up too, Mr. Kylah," he adds. He takes a deep breath and exhales. "But in this case I wouldn't change what I did. Sometimes for the sake of an investigation you have to turn a blind eye to stuff that ranges from the obnoxious to the truly criminal... Yeah, it's true easier if Fastolfe cooperates voluntarily, but he's not holding many cards...and how much crap I think we ought to put up with is directly related to that... "

He shakes his head. "Anyway, we are where we are: first things first." He opens his communicator. "Graham to Delaney. Several more of a set of five knives, identical to the murder weapon, belonging to Fastolfe are missing. These are off-world products: is there anything about them that would enable us to find them using tricorders or the Yorktown's sensors? Access the one we have on ice and analyze it if that would help."

"Graham to Yorktown. I'd like to request a search warrant for the house occupied by Lord Fastolfe, for his ship, and for any records that might connect him to the victim and WR&R from the Starfleet JAG, ASAP. Multiple witnesses saw Fastolfe assault Wilson yesterday. A weapon matching those in his possession, with his fingerprints on it, was found by the body. By his own admission, he cannot provide witnesses to account for his whereabouts for the entirety of last night, when the murder occurred. Moreover, also by his own admission his staff had access to the possible murder weapons - I'd like them and their possessions on the warrant." Graham lists the staff Fastolfe named. "A transporter signature was detected near the body, possibly implicating his ship and necessitating an audit of its records."

He pauses and looks at Kylah. "Anything we scan without a warrant might not admissible in court...the biggest piss--uh, let down would be to detect something meaningful but have a judge throw it out."

He shrugs and addresses T'Var and Kylah. "In any event, fingers crossed Fastolfe changes his mind. If he doesn't, if this warrant comes through we sit him and his entourage down on their butts while we take our sweet time searching...that will give us some time to try talking to him again. In the meantime...you made some suggestions, Ensign, and Rangin and Dobson might have found something -- what would you each like to do?" he asks, while waiting for the Yorktown's response.

Kylah grinds her teeth in silence during Graham's multiple orders through his communicator, an entirely gratuitous display of how large his dicta is. Yes, why not threaten anyone and everyone, no matter how much cooperation is needed?

Finally he asks what she wants. What would I like to do? Best not to ask me such a question. But rather than give the truth, which involves her blade and his scruffy throat, she swallows and says merely: "I believe it is time for me to speak with Mr. Hsu. Your recommendations for how to accomplish this in private would be appreciated, sir."

Dr. Halsey says to Rangin, "Mrs. Calvin is entirely free of the spores' influence now. She can't explain it, and neither can I. She was not subjected to any stress or emotional stimulus that she can recall that would have triggered an adrenaline surge."

Delaney replies to Graham, "I have the scans of the knives from the murder scene and in the resort's vault, Ensign. Let me see if there are any unique characteristics to them." He calls back shortly. "Good idea, Booker. The two knives both have trace amounts of ridonium, an alloy commonly used in Argelian metallurgy. It doesn't naturally occur on OC3. Scanning now... hmm. My tricorder can only locate the two knives we know of. I see no sign of the other three anywhere."

Cmdr. Vargas hears out Graham's request for a search warrant, and says, "All right, Mr. Graham. I'll relay that information to the Judge Advocate on Starbase 27. It might be enough to get us a search warrant; we'd need several, actually, to cover all of those points - Fastolfe, his guest house, his ship and otherwise-private records. It could be several hours before we hear back."

Despite her annoyance, Kylah is surprised and curious about the apparently vanished knives. A thought occurs to her. "There is one place we have not been able to scan," she murmurs. "Could the knives... could they have been transported into the safe in Mr. Wilson's office?"

Delaney says, "Hmm. Could be. I hadn't thought of that."

"Well, interesting idea...hide the real murder weapon inside a safe only the deceased--and, apparently, you the murderer--knows exists and how to crack." Graham frowns. "Sure points to an inside job..."

He rubs his chin. "The Hsus were sure eager to hear about Fastolfe. Maybe..." he pauses, on the one hand not happy about potentially putting Kylah in danger but at the same time respecting the fact that she came up with the idea of trying to cajole something out of the Hsus one-on-one. "Maybe that's an opening for you to talk to Mr. Hsu, Ensign," Graham says to Kylah. "You could ask to speak off the record--because you're concerned I...ah, your new mission commander isn't taking Fastolfe seriously as a suspect...how far would he go to nudge things along?"

Kylah barely manages to avoid raising a cynical eyebrow. "With respect, sir, I cannot imagine it will be easy to convince Mr. Hsu that you are not taking Fastolfe seriously. Even if Fastolfe has not complained of the interview and threats, there was the altercation yesterday to consider, and Mr. Hsu knows we have two knives in custody, one of which you confiscated yourself; further, we have been focusing on the nightclub where Lord Fastolfe was last seen in public... No, he must know of your suspicions."

She pauses in thought. "But perhaps that is the angle that at least gets me in to see him. Of course we know the real motive is to ask about Mrs. Hsu, but for a way that offers some 'official' reason... what if I am worried that you are in fact spending too much energy on Lord Fastolfe? I can express my concern that the rest of the team is being led to blame Fastolfe, while only I believe he is being framed by someone with inside knowledge of the hotel. Then I might bring up Mrs. Hsu and... oh, I could carefully mention her messages from Mr. Wilson's communicator that are supposedly moved to my own communicator behind an encrypted password--something I should actually do, although of course it would be temporary and you would know the password."

Kylah's eyes gleam with calculation. "Indeed, if I am correct and Hsu is behind any of this, both my instinct about Fastolfe and my supposedly secret information about Mrs. Hsu give him at least two reasons to target me!" She smiles to herself in satisfaction, as if being targeted is actually a positive thing. And why not? She will be protected--heaven knows she cannot seem to shake free of Graham even when she wants to. She words things more diplomatically. "Before you cavil, Mr. Graham, I am sure there is no real danger. In the first place, this is a long shot--Mr. Hsu's guilt alone does not explain the spores' strange ineffectiveness--and in the second, I have no doubt you and the team will keep me quite safe." With a convinced nod, she clasps her hands in front of her. "Do I have your permission, sir?"

Rangin looks back at the confused Doctor with a grimacing nod., "How bizarre. Is there anything else that might have impacted the spores, some counteragent, perhaps something impacting the Berthold rays which might damage the spores as a side affect. Any extra planetary substances that would cause this kind of effect on impact?"

"Cheer up Doctor, its only a mystery until we solve it. Then again the only thing she did say, from speaking to her earlier was that she had had some very vivid dreams that night. Could they have been lucid enough to cause this effect, perhaps if enhanced by something else?"

Lizzy's hands are clasped in front of her. "Can I go dad? Please?"

Jane answers from just behind him and to his left. "Of course you can, dear. Go tell your friends."

Their daughter beams and runs out to accept her first invitation to an overnight trip away from home.

"You know you can't always be there, Boo," Jane says. "And you can't let that constrain how she lives her life." He can almost feel her hand placed reassuringly on his shoulder...unconsciously he raises his right hand to touch it...

His arm is halfway across his body when Graham snaps back to the moment and re-directs it, a little awkwardly, to rub his chin.

"I...no, I mean, yes, permission granted...it's a--ah, logical plan," he replies, glancing at T'Var and somewhat hoping she can come up with a reasonable objection, as he can't.

Heartbeat thrumming in excitement, Kylah catches Graham's look at T'Var and, with a flick of her eyes, takes only a second to examine the Vulcan herself before stepping backward--in hopes of drawing the mission commander's attention away from any problems T'Var might be likely to raise. "Thank you," she says a touch too loudly. But she cannot help her relief. At last a chance to do something worthwhile, to focus on the man she, personally, thinks most likely to have some involvement in the crime.

After the endless mistakes she's made--starting yesterday afternoon and evening long before the murder, and continuing blunders all through today--Kylah truly, desperately, needs something to prove she is not a failure. That she has worth. That she is more than just... whatever she has been considered by everyone except Velir.

"Well, then, perhaps you might work out a plan of how I should be covered, sir? And I can go to the CP to copy the messages to my communicator, so that I have them in case things lead in a direction where I might need proof. Also, it might be useful if I am seen by myself at some point. Presumably the security cameras have been fixed," she says dryly, although it does strike her that this is something they should have confirmed by now. "If Hsu is monitoring them, it could lend credibility to my claim of acting alone if he later checks and sees that I was indeed by myself at some point today. And nothing is more important than credibility to a potential blackmailer," Kylah adds with dark humor. Of course, she has more experience in blackmail than anyone might imagine. At least now it is for a higher purpose than her uncle's various machinations.

"What do you think, sir? I can go to the CP, transfer the data, and be done in less than fifteen minutes. You might return to the CP then, and you can tell me... whatever it is you might tell one of your security officers on such a mission." Kylah almost bounces on her heels when a thought occurs to her. "Oh! In the meantime, I wonder if it would be worthwhile for you to ask Ve--Ensign Rangin to ask Dr. Halsey for a list of any guests introduced to the spores two days ago? I just realized that we are all assuming that the problem is restricted to yesterday's batch--and with good reason--but one must be methodical about such things. Do you not agree, Dr. T'Var? Mr. Graham?" Her voice is almost merry, and she cannot suppress a rare genuine smile. Velir would be proud of me.

Rubbing his chin, Dr. Halsey says to Rangin, "No, I'm still baffled. I've never seen or read of anything like this happening before. The Vice Admiral should be here soon, and we'll see if my scans of him shed any more light on the puzzle."

Dr. T'Var says thoughtfully, "A calculated risk, but one worth taking, I think, Ens. Kylah. I suggest you keep an open channel on your communicator, and that we have at least two Security officers close at hand but out of sight for your meeting with Mr. Hsu. I do not personally suspect him, but believe it is better to be safe than sorry for one unaccustomed to interviewing a possible killer."

"If all other options have been eliminated, then whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth." quotes Rangin trying to remember if he got it right. If there is no other way for the spores to be removed other than the known stimuli, then Mrs Calvin must have been affected by the known stimuli. The only option remaining then if you cannot find anything else and she says that she has encountered nothing that would cause it, is that one part of it is false. Either your skills as a physician, or perhaps more likely, she is lying about the lack of stimuli."

Rangin pauses for a moment. "Oh wait, that's ... Occam's Razor, most likely reason is usually the correct one." before looking back at the Doctor. "Could you tell if she was lying or perhaps mistaken about any external stimuli?"

The doctor shrugs. "She seemed to be telling the truth to me, and not mistaken. She seemed genuinely puzzled as to why the spores had 'gone away.' Hmm. Maybe there was some stimulus, internal or external, while she was sleeping? A very powerful dream might cause an adrenaline surge, but... for several people on the same night, and the very same people who had been introduced the spores as a group, less than a day earlier? I have a hard time believing that."

T'Var's words make Kylah frown slightly, stemming her excitement a bit. Her respect for the doctor adds gravitas to T'Var's opinion. "Yes, I will do whatever you both suggest, as long as it keeps me safe and does not hinder the success of the plan," Kylah says somewhat absently. She is less worried about the scheme--she doubts any problems will arise--than about T'Var's dismissal of Hsu as a likely suspect. "But Doctor, you... you truly do not suspect him, even as an accessory or conspirator? I do not understand. To me, the evidence seems to point to the involvement of someone with extensive technical knowledge as well as access to the resort's security and surveillance systems. Whom would you consider your prime suspect?"

"Lord Fastolfe still seems the most likely suspect to me," the Vulcan physician says. "He had motive and means, and likely opportunity, as well. Sometimes the most obvious theory of a criminal case is the correct one."

Graham's communicator beeps. It is Ens. Faisal Mahmoud, who says, "About two dozen witness statements have been submitted, Mr. Graham, and I've reviewed them. Most are from employees at the nightclub. What would you like to know?"

Graham can't say that he's thrilled T'Var didn't have any objection--on the other hand, Kylah is neither really frightened of nor pissed off at him, so he considers that progress.

"Couldn't hurt..." he starts to say in response to her suggestion when his communicator beeps.

"Well of course anything that smells fishy to you Fai--ah, Ensign. Specifically I'm interested in any rumors about Wilson, and any sightings or comments on the behavior of Wilson, Fastolfe, the Hsus, and Dr. Halsey." He glances at Kylah and T'Var. "Any specific interests or questions, team?"

Kylah blinks in surprise at T'Var's theory, but tries not to display her surge of disbelief. Motive? What motive did Fastolfe have? Temporary rancor about a house? Spoiled and temperamental he may be, but surely he does not murder everyone who disappoints him. There would be a trail of bodies throughout the galaxy! And Kylah finds the idea that Fastolfe possessed the means and opportunity dubious as well, despite his weapons and brief periods of solitude. It took much more than a knife and one or two hours to execute this plan.

No. There is a lot more in play here, and she cannot credit that such a simple solution is at all likely.

Distracted by the communication from Ensign Mahmoud, she listens to Graham and after some thought, nods. "Yes, sir: Ms. Adjetey and the other members of Fastolfe's group. If we cannot get a schedule from them directly, perhaps someone at the nightclub might know when and where they were seen with Fastolfe--or not."

Rangin considers the Doctor's words. "Well then, if she is telling the truth and the spores did lose effect. And others in the group had the same...then shouldn't all members of the group be similarly afflicted. Could you tell if someone has been re-introduced to the spores, or perhaps how long someone has been under the influence?"

Rangin begins to get a bad feeling about the Lt. Cmdr. once again.

"Also, if there were no spores available here, as they are under lock and key in the one room as far as I am know or you tell me otherwise, then how far would you have to walk to find a patch of them outside the resort perimeter?"

There is a pause as Mahmoud looks over the witness statements submitted thus far. "Let's see... several had heard rumors that Wilson had occasional affairs with some visitors, and two had heard rumors that Mrs. Hsu and Wilson were having an affair, but none knew anything for sure. Five had heard rumors that Wilson was due for a big promotion within WR&R; three heard that he was to be demoted. One heard that he was a Klingon agent, but didn't believe it. Wilson and Fastolfe were both at the nightclub last night but no one saw them talk at any point. Mrs. Hsu stopped into the nightclub for a few minutes and spoke to Wilson, but no one heard what they discussed. Wilson also spoke with Vice Adm. Hardin briefly, and a little later with Mr. Palver and some other guests. Uh... looks like Dr. Halsey wasn't there at any point. Fastolfe was with an entourage of four, and they shared a table."

Dr. Halsey tells Rangin, "After the initial introduction, there's no reliable way to tell how long the spores have been in the body, even when reintroduced. Anyone who wanted to find spores off the resort premises would probably have to walk at least half an hour or so away."

Delaney walks into the CP yawning. It is now 1733 hours. It's been a long day, and just about everyone feels very, very tired.

Kylah shakes her head at the conflicting rumors. "Mr. Graham," she says quietly, glancing along the path back to the resort. "I will go and transfer the data now. If I may make a final suggestion before I do: in addition to asking Mr. Rangin to confirm with Dr. Halsey the status of any new spore introductions from two days ago--assuming there were any--perhaps we should check directly with WR&R headquarters about Mr. Wilson's reputation. I apologize, this might have already been done; I do not recall if the Yorktown has already contacted them."

She steps away and looks somewhat furtively around. There is a miniscule chance that someone is watching them. If so, she does not wish to seem on good terms with her crew mates. Of course this is usually not a problem for her, but at this one brief moment things are relatively calm, even if she does wildly disagree with both superior officers on various points regarding the case.

"Please give me at least fifteen minutes before returning to the CP to meet with me. Twenty would be better," she mutters to T'Var, just in case Graham is listening to Mahmoud again. "If there are further plans to be made, we can talk at that time." With a tight shake of her head, she stalks away from the others. On her way back to the hotel entrance, she glances behind her at the others, then quickens her pace into the cooler, air conditioned building and almost jogs to the CP. A thought strikes her and she lifts her communicator and sends a very brief text-only message to Velir. I am going to the CP now. If you are not there already, please let me have the room alone until 17:50. I will explain. Kylah hesitates before signing: Yours, Kylah.

As she puts away her communicator, her thoughts are scattered: wondering how should she contact Hsu in the first place, whether her exhaustion will win the battle for her brain, why she feels the increasing need for Velir's reassuring presence, what lies behind all the contradictions in Mahmoud's report, how Collins is doing up on the Yorktown, whether all of this subterfuge is really serving any purpose--

Everything cuts off when Kylah opens the door to the CP and sees Delaney. Her heart sinks for an instant, but then she stands in the open doorway. "Excuse me, sir, I was not expecting to see you," she says in an awkward but clear voice. "I--I know this is a strange thing to ask, especially from a junior officer, but... would you possibly be willing to leave the room for a little while? There is... something I need to attend to in private." She lowers to a whisper. "Mr. Graham and Dr. T'Var are not far from the guest residence courtyard, if you wish to meet up with them. They will be returning here in twenty minutes. Or perhaps you could get something cool to drink, or... anything, really. Please?"

Rangin looks down at the communicator and sees the message from Kylah. "Thanks for the answers Dr Halsey. I hope you have more luck with the Vice Admiral's checkup. If you have any answers, please let me know."

He sends a quick message back to Kylah. "Understood. If you need me, call. Velir"

"Dobson, where do you suggest we try next? I have one idea of where to scan, but after that I'm drawing a blank." Rangin asks his stoic security companion.

Delaney seems a little surprised at Kylah's request but says, "Uh... OK. Maybe I'll sit outside in the sun a little." He leaves.

Dobson thinks and says, "Perhaps we might take one more turn around the park where all the guest houses are, sir? It's been awhile since we've been there."

Kylah looks after Delaney as heads down the corridor, then steps into the room and lets the door close behind her. For a moment she just stands there in the CP, at last truly alone for the first time since... since when? It feels as if has been ages. But no--it has only been since this morning, in the rest room near the courtyard, when she was tending to her bruises.

She shakes her head. So much has happened. It feels as if this day has lasted months, not hours.

When she moves to the evidence safe, Kylah is suddenly struck by a flash of concern--did Delaney ever bring the communicator back down from the suite, where he was using it to attempt to crack into Wilson's own mysterious safe? Oh, I am a fool! Why did I not ask him that before he left? Praying she will not have to delay things further due to her stupidity, she moves to unlock the safe and, hopefully, retrieve the communicator from within.

Kylah opens the safe with her thumbprint but finds it empty. She calls Delaney, who says, "Oh, yeah. Wilson's communicator is still in his suite; I'm still trying to crack the code of his safe to get it open."

Delaney next calls Graham and says, "If I may make a suggestion, Mr. Graham, it's been a really long day for us all, and I think we could all use an early dinner and then some shut-eye. We'll all be a bit more on our game in the morning."

Delaney disconnects so quickly Kylah has no chance to ask him a follow-up. Annoyed both at him and--especially--herself, Kylah contacts Delaney again. "Forgive me, Lieutenant, but I need access to that communicator to transfer the voice messages from Mrs. Hsu. Will there be a problem if I go to the suite for that purpose? I would imagine whatever your tricorder is accessing is different from the voice message storage and I will not need to interrupt your process."

Rangin heads out the door and waits until they are outside "Good idea Dobson, who knows what we might find." Rangin stifles a yawn, "there is one last place I want to scan if only for residue. The Lt Cmdr will be on her hike, so I just want to scan the general area of that floor for Wilson's blood. It's the same floor as Wilson's I believe. Don't expect to find anything around, and once we have done that we can try the guest house area."

Rangin heads off with Dobson trailing not far behind.

"That's..." Graham takes a moment, truly not certain how he wants to respond. We haven't been frosty even when we've been rested, he thinks. "That's sound advice, sir. Thank you. Stand by."

Graham sets his communicator to reach the on-site team. "This Graham. We've had a long day. Please wrap up what you are doing within the next 15 minutes and rendezvous at the Federation research station. Do not initiate any net new activity today..." He pauses. "That is not a request, that is an order. You've all been working hard, it's time to re-group and rest up. Contact me directly if you have questions or need clarification."

He then contacts Mahmoud. "Faisal, this is Booker. We're going to pack it in for the day: please rotate Security personnel as appropriate. Maintain the details on Ebling and the Admiral, and I want eyes on Fastolfe's house. Let me know if you need support requisitioning staff from the ship....Oh, and I believe Dobson's been working with Mr. Rangin--I'd like to keep her seconded to my investigative team."

He glances at T'Var. "I hope you agree--or at least don't object. I...ah, I want to apologize, Doc, you've been solid and I haven't necessarily been at my best...I just...well, it is what it is." He gestures toward the research station. "Onward?"

Delaney scratches his head and says to Kylah, "I'm not sure if there would be any impact on the decryption subroutine if you accessed voicemail while that was going on. I'll meet you at the suite to help you with it, if you like...?"

Rangin's tricorder scan of the hallway floor around Lt. Cmdr. Ebling's suite, and then the entire fourth floor, detects no signs of blood, either Wilson's or anyone else's. A scan of the area around the park, other than what was already noted where Wilson's body was initially found, also comes up empty.

Everyone hears Graham's message.

Ens. Mahmoud acknowledges his orders and says he will comply; Graham has complete confidence in his cabinmate and old friend.

Dr. T'Var chooses her words carefully. "I have noticed what seem to be some indications of fatigue and stress among the landing party, Mr. Graham. Although I, as a Vulcan, naturally have higher endurance, I believe a meal and a sound sleep would do us all good. And no apology is necessary, of course." She falls into step with him as they leave the resort, step out onto the grounds and begin to make their way towards the Starfleet research station.

Omicron Ceti is beginning to set, and the sky is turning reddish-orange. A few wispy clouds linger on the horizon, and the breeze is picking up.

Kylah takes a deep breath of relief. "No, thank you, Lieutenant. There is a specific reason I must be alone for this--Mr. Graham will explain if you see him--"

Graham's message interrupts her sentence. Kylah raises her gaze to the ceiling in frustration when she hears his order. Why in the name of all the known stars has he changed his mind when he agreed to undertake this plan in the first place? He is as indecisive as Collins.

Well, Kylah refuses to bend. This 'lone wolf' ploy will not work if it is tried twice.

Fifteen minutes. I will have to be quick. "Kylah out," she says to Delaney, and hurries out of the CP. She has to move as quickly as possible without attracting too much attention, and meanwhile also look as if she's trying not to attract too much attention. A bizarre line to tread, but if there is one thing Kylah learned under her Uncle's tutelage, it is the art of subterfuge.

She reaches the floor of Wilson's suite, and just manages to see Rangin and the crewman leaving in the other direction. Instinctively she backs out of sight until they are gone, then continues to Wilson's suite. If there are any guards there, Kylah greets them and explains that she has been asked to take a last check of the room for the night. Inside, her eyes take a hasty measure of the room searching for the communicator, which she expects to find near both Delaney's tricorder and the wall safe. And there it is.

Kylah yanks out her own communicator, simultaneously checking the time. Barely eight minutes left. She gnaws habitually at her lower lip while setting up a link between her tricorder and Wilson's communicator, accessing the voice messages just as she did early this morning. Hurriedly she hunts to find the two timestamps that she has memorized: the messages sent by Mrs. Hsu, one from three days ago and one from yesterday. A few tweaks later and the messages are transferred to her tricorder; she will transfer them to her own communicator later.

She realizes she is sweating despite the processed air--and despite the fact that she is not actually doing anything wrong. The nervousness amuses her, and her lips twitch as she fights the instinct to twist in a crooked smile. "Getting into the role," her uncle called it.

Once the messages are copied, Kylah hurriedly soft-deletes the corresponding messages on Wilson's communicator: a move only necessary in the off-chance that either of the Hsus get access to the device. She hides them carefully, password protects them, and replaces the communicator where Delaney left it. The entire process will be reversible once this plan is through, the evidence returned exactly as it was found.

Kylah takes a last look around before leaving. If there are guards, she wishes them goodnight. When she has left the resort again, Kylah checks her chronometer. Late. Rolling her eyes, she pulls out her communicator for a final time and contacts the mission commander. "Kylah to Graham. I am on my way, sir. I apologize for the delay but the assigned task took slightly longer than expected." Actually Kylah has no regrets whatsoever. The job went smoothly--once she finally located the communicator, that is--and she performed it with extreme speed and efficiency. It is only when she reaches the outdoors again, seeing the beautiful setting sun and feeling the breeze lift her hair from her neck and shoulders, that Kylah has an uneasy sense of deja vu.

It was almost exactly twenty-four hours ago she was on her way to the Italian restaurant to meet Jan. Looking forward to a pleasant evening, something to take her mind off her troubles.

Inhaling raggedly, Kylah starts jogging, then running in the direction of the research station.