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

Graham calms his breathing to a whisper and listens carefully for any movement or activity. To the extent possible given the layout, he moves along a wall, phaser sighted and ready, toward the life sign's apparent location. He gestures for T'Var to keep some distance behind him: his objective is to be within line of sight to the door or doorway beyond which the suspect is, without actually crossing the doorway yet--ideally, to be alongside it, while T'Var has line of sight on it from two to three meters away at an angle.

If he reaches a position where it seems sensible to address the suspect's location...

Graham's poised to shoot or move, but otherwise freezes. "Admiral Hardin, I presume," he says loudly and firmly--however, as he speaks he's pausing just a bit more than one otherwise would so he can listen carefully for any sound of movement or activity. "Ensgin Graham, Starfleet Security. You shot me earlier today."

"No hard feelings, although I confess I wouldn't mind returning the favor. But I hope that's not necessary: this building is surrounded. Step out with your hands visible and there's no need for anyone to get hurt."

Hsu seems genuinely taken aback by the news of his wife's attempted escape and later phaser-stunning. His jaw moves several times, as if he's trying to come up with something to say, but he finally slumps into a chair and mumbles, "I... I have nothing to say more. I want to talk to a lawyer."

Graham hears a small sound - he can't be sure what it is - from the other room, which in the dim light looks to be the farmhouse's living room or common area. There is no response from whoever is in there. T'Var, glancing at her muted medical tricorder, silently gestures with her phaser directly towards (Graham presumes) where their quarry is, forward and to the left.

"A wise choice, Mr. Hsu." Kylah turns to Velir. "I am leaving. We are wasting our time."

Kylah walks out.

As Kylah finishes, Rangin lets her leave before walking across and sitting down near to the distraught man on the side of the bed with a hot cup of coffee from the replicator. Feeling slightly sorry for the man in front of him, and for the first time since they have met, Rangin decides to call him by his first name.

"Here Mr Hsu, Lionel," Rangin offers him the coffee, before continuing calmly and soothingly, "this must be hard for you. I know a lot of things have happened over the last couple of days, events which don't make a lot of sense, people not reacting they way you would expect. It's difficult. But I willl say this, through it all you have been a great help, you and your team have been invaluable in helping us try to uncover what is going on here. "

"Look you're entitled to a lawyer, but I don't believe you have done anything wrong, even though those around, and in some cases those you care deeply about, may have been less than honest about this situation. And we still need your help to finish this, to work out who killed Mr Wilson, your boss. Please, we need your help. It would be a tragedy if you held back something that could wrap up this horrible mess and someone else was hurt."

Rangin stands up and pats him on the shoulder. "Look, take few moments to think about it, clear your head and remember that all we, both Starfleet and the resort, are here to do is the right thing. I know the questions were painful, but they had to be asked and be assured we will find out everything eventually. I'll have someone contact you when your wife is awake and let you know she is alright. She will be fine, but she has much to answer for, but I would rather we had the answers, clear honest answers, from you."

Rangin walks to the door and just before he leaves turns back. "Please, Lionel, don't add accessory to the list, you still have a chance. If you know anything which can help, well, you know how to contact me."

Hsu holds the coffee in his hand but does not drink from it, or even look up, before the door whooshes shut on Rangin.

Russell and Harper look a little surprised to see the pair reemerge from the bedroom so fast. Harper also raises an eyebrow, apparently at Rangin's damp and muddy uniform. Russell says, "I should've mentioned, we brought Mr. Hsu here because I didn't like the reaction of the WR&R resort security guys when we took him to the office. Didn't seem like the best place to keep him."

Kylah stops in her tracks at Russell's explanation. Right now she is beyond fed up with everyone whose job title includes the word security. Indeed, at this point she might very well attack someone who merely carries a security blanket.

She turns and glares at both officers, but particularly Russell. "It did not seem the best place to keep him," she repeats coldly. "Tell me, Ensign. If Booker Graham were here, would you dare give him that excuse for not informing him of this opinion before you disregarded his orders in favor of your own plan? Is it not correct protocol to request permission for such a change of plan?" She steps closer, fists clenched. "I believe it is. And I am sure you would not have behaved this way with him.

"Well, for right now, at this moment, I am him, for all intents and purposes. And you know that because he told this to you earlier--he told this to everyone. But since this is not the first time his order has been disregarded, I see I shall have to refresh the team's memory as to where things stand."

Whipping her communicator open, she stalks from the suite and says in a fierce, firm voice: "Ensign Kylah to Kjaerstad, Garcia, Barbour, Nelson, Russell, Harper, Coringu, Rawlings, and Rangin. It has been repeatedly drawn to my attention that I must remind you that Ensign Graham, the commander of this mission, has given the express order that as long as he is out in the field searching for Vice Admiral Hardin, I am in charge of operations at this resort.

"Despite this, lives have been put in jeopardy--my life, to be precise--due to certain members of this team choosing to ignore my direct commands. Similarly, others have also unilaterally decided to ignore my instructions--instructions that were recommended to me by Mr. Graham himself--to keep our suspects and witnesses as close together as possible to avoid our diminished crew having to cover a wide area of this resort."

Kylah looks back at Velir, almost pleading with him not to chide her for displaying her anger. "I have no doubt those of you who made these decisions had reasons for what you did. Nevertheless. I am de facto head of this mission, at least as far as this location is concerned. That means that regardless of my lower rank and non-Security status, or whatever you think of me personally, you will obey my orders as you would Mr. Graham's. I am well aware that most of you are far more experienced than I, and I greatly value your opinions and advice. However, I must be informed and my permission sought regarding your actions. I do not want any more surprises, I do not want any more crew members confused by conflicting orders. So until Mr. Graham returns and informs you otherwise, I am to be treated just as you would any mission commander. And that means you do not. Change. Orders. Without. Telling. Me." She takes a deep breath. "Kylah out."

Her face burning, Kylah snaps her communicator shut and strides to the elevator, hoping against hope that Velir will follow and support her.

All right, to hell with this, Graham thinks, feeling fed up with Hardin, WR&R, and the entire litany of missteps and hassles that has plagued the past couple days.

He holds up a hand indicating T'Var should wait, and quietly slips back toward her. He draws her back as far as he can while still being able to keep an eye on the entrance to the common room or living room where the life sign is located.

He draws T'Var close and indicates they should both have eyes on her tricorder. He hails St. Croix and Gelil and whispers into the communicator. "Thirty seconds from my mark, you will force entry through the exterior wall...one making a hole, one covering. Dr. T'Var's transmitting coordinates from her tricorder so we're all working off the same map." He points to indicate a spot on the wall not directly opposite the door and at least a couple meters away from the life sign's location--no sense accidentally disintegrating the guy, he thinks, although I wouldn't shed many tears--and points out the location of the door. "Everybody take note of the angles of fire."

If there are no questions, he nods to T'Var to trigger a count on her tricorder and says "Mark."

He indicates to T'Var they should take position to enter the room almost simultaneously. "Boom, go" he whispers, readying his weapon.

As Kylah leaves Rangin addresses the two Security Officers. "Gentlemen, when you carry out an action without informing the person in charge it is considered customary to apologise as well as having a damn good reason for it. If you had said that you had to move Mr Hsu because his staff had openly threatened violence towards him, it would be perhaps more understandable that his safety overrode your need to inform Mr Kylah. But as it stands, once you moved him you still failed to inform Mr. Kylah as and when you carried out that action. That gentleman, is lax behaviour. I am certain that both Ens. Graham, Lt JG Collins and even Cmdr. Vargas would expect to be informed when such an action was carried out, whether before or straight after. It appears disrespectful to not do the same for any other person in charge."

"As for this, it's a little wet outside, you may have noticed."

Rangin turns and leaves for the door behind Kylah.

Rangin hears one of the Security officers make a disgusted-sounding whistle behind his back just as the door whisks shut.

The seconds tick by, and then Graham and T'Var hear the hum of a phaser from outside. Everything seems to happen at once... A hole appears in the living room wall with a crash, followed by a gust of cooler air and rain from outside. The wooden farmhouse catches fire around the rim of the hole. St. Croix and then Geilil jump through the hole into the room, phasers at the ready. In the light of the flames Graham can see Vice Adm. Hardin slumped on the floor, seated and with his back against the wall. He looks around for just a moment, and then raises a phaser-1 to his mouth.

Aw hell. Graham has enough experience with impact of phasers on humanoid bodies that unless Hardin mis-sets his phaser, having the Doctor nearby won't make any difference if the Admiral is able to pull the trigger.

Graham does yell "drop the weapon, drop the weapon," but he's already trying to stun Hardin as he starts to say it.

Kylah's communicator beeps repeatedly before she opens it again, to hear a chorus of voices saying "Understood," "Aye, aye, ma'am" and "Acknowledged." Most, but not all, of them sound sincere.

Graham is just able to make the shot, and stuns Hardin before the older officer can press his own firing key. Hardin rolls flat on the floor, on his back, arms splayed out. Dr. T'Var runs over to him.

Kylah is leaning wearily against the wall near the elevator when she listens to the replies. She is grateful for those who seem to accept her meager authority, but can tell the crew's acknowledgements are not universal. Naturally; she did not expect them to be.

While she waits for Velir she concentrates on what their next move should be. She does not trust Palver, never has, and further is not thrilled by the idea of interviewing him in the library. Of course, if anyone is likely to request an attorney, it is a billionaire businessman with a crooked reputation. Still, he is an unknown quantity in a public place. He must be dealt with safely.

After some thought, she opens her communicator. She swallows back her anxiety at speaking with the Security team again. "Kylah to Kjaerstad, Rawlings, Coringu, Harper and Russell. Lt. Kjaerstad, I have you listening in because you are the senior Security officer here, and I believe you should be aware of what is going on." And to teach you what courtesy is like, she adds silently. "To the rest, I wish to make some adjustments to your current duties. Ensure that no witnesses or suspects are within listening range." She waits a few seconds so that Harper and Russell can, if they have the wit, move away from Hsu.

"First: Mr. Harper, I believe Mr. Hsu can be guarded by you alone. Unless you disagree, I would like to leave you in place while I shift Ensign Russell. If Mr. Hsu leaves, make no effort to stop him; we have no current right to do so. However, should he leave, please keep him in sight as best you can."

She inhales. "Mr. Russell," she says without emotion. "Please leave the hotel tower and join Mr. Nelson; you are to replace Mr. Rawlings, whom I wish to use in a different capacity. I am sure you will welcome the chance to view the outdoors again." If only I could send you outside entirely.

"Ensign Coringu. All I need from you is to please keep a close eye on the surveillance feeds nearest the infirmary and the library--assuming the latter area is indeed covered by a camera. Can you confirm?

"Finally, Ensign Rawlings. I would like to use you for backup while we interview Fellim Palver. Once Russell has relieved you, please go to the area outside the resort's library and station yourself nearby--in view of the doors, but preferably not visible to those inside. Actually," she corrects herself, "you should probably perform a quick reconnaissance to see whether there are multiple entrances. Our goal is to make certain that Palver does not leave without our knowledge--that is what you and Mr. Coringu should keep in mind. So if there is more than one door, try to find a position that gives you the best access to both. Ensign Rangin and I will meet you there shortly, after which we can discuss our next move."

Kylah rubs her temple. Her left eye is again throbbing. "Acknowledge, please? I welcome any recommendations or questions if you have them."

"How very, very unprofessional," remarks Rangin as he rejoins Kylah, "I was not aware they thought so very little of Mr Graham, as they appear incapable of following his orders. As for you, I said earlier you were brave, and you haven't changed my mind. It takes a lot to call people out when they think they can get away with it.

Rangin pauses slightly as if addressing a superior, "If it is acceptable, I would like to contact Dr Halsey and arrange to at least keep Mr Harper informed of Mrs Hsu's condition, so the detail can be passed across to her husband?"

"St. Croix, assist the doctor--and make sure Hardin has no other weapons," Graham says, stowing his weapon. "Gelil, see if you can tamp those flames down."

He hails Delaney and Friedman. "Hardin's secure. You can get out of the rain," he adds.

He shakes his head, cursing his--what, bad luck? Poor decisions? Clearly as it turns out Hardin was more of a threat to himself than them, while conversely in the meantime Kylah's already had to deal with one dangerous suspect and now perhaps another--while I kept the ex-V'Shar officer and sent her a veterinarian. And if the transporter's still unavailable, I need a suicide watch on Hardin, and potentially to wait around here until he's able to be questioned...

He frowns, anxious to get a status report. Given all screw-ups with poorly timed communications on the mission, he sets his communicator to deliver the traditional soft beep of a hail to Ensign Kylah.

All the Security personnel acknowledge Kylah's orders; they have no recommendations or questions. The Elasian officer recalls that Ji Coringu is a Specialist First Class ("Spec/1"), not an ensign.

Rawlings soon reports that the library has three access points: the main door, a side door, and a service entrance. He takes up a position near the main door.

St. Croix searches the unconscious Hardin and finds his phaser-1, a Starfleet-issue communicator, a small gadget she doesn't recognize, and a pocket datapad with clipped-in stylus. Geilil has nothing which which to tame the fire, which is now getting bigger, despite the light rain. Graham realizes that the wooden house, baked dry by years of exposure to Berthold rays, is at some risk of burning down. Dr. T'Var looks up from her scan of Hardin, noticing the flames, and says, "We should move the Vice Admiral outside."

Graham can't help but laugh at T'Var's deadpan delivery. Either she's got a hell of a dry sense of humor, or she thinks I'm even dumber than Rangin thinks I am...

He suppresses a sigh, assuming even odds given how the mission's gone so far.

He gestures back toward the direction they came to the farm house. "Let's take him back to the last house we searched." He starts to move to help carry Hardin and then checks himself, given that he's waiting for a response to his hail. "Gelil, St. Croix, help carry the Admiral. Hand me his stuff--I'd like to take a look at that data pad."

Of course, if it's encrypted Garcia's back at the main area of the resport...probably engaged in a heavy firefight equipped only with his IQ...

While still waiting for the others to respond to her, Kylah hears Velir's voice. His words fill her with such gratitude that she wants to either burst into tears, capture him in an embrace, or flat-out kiss him in front of the entire resort. Since none of those are options considering she has an open connection to several members of the team, she just gazes at Velir with a warm, albeit weary, smile.

Once the officers acknowledge her orders, she closes and starts to put away her communicator. "Thank you," she says at last. "You have no idea how much that means to me." She quickly fills Velir in on the instructions she gave the various officers, and when the elevator arrives she presses the button for the lobby floor. By the time they arrive, Rawlings has given her the news about the library entrances. The layout does not sound ideal, but there is nothing to be done except hope there is no need for complete exit coverage.

She (and presumably Velir) leaves the elevator, intending to ask Rawlings exactly where the library is, but then she feels the pulse of her communicator's silent hail. Frowning, Kylah lifts the device again and feels her heart race when she sees who is contacting her. At once she returns the hail with a soft "Yes, sir," nearly a whisper--she cannot know what his situation is--and adds: "Clear to talk on this end." She mouths It is Graham to Velir.

Graham didn't intend to telegraph any worry but he can't help but exhale in relief when Kylah responds. He does notice her quiet tone of voice: "It's all right, clear to talk here too, Hardin is secure. We're...ah, we set some things on fire, but we're all fine," he says, shaking his head slightly. "It turns out Hardin was more of a danger to himself than us, after all."

"I'd like a status report, Mr. Kylah..." he pauses. "But, ah--are you in a position to speak freely?"



EH I proceeded under the assumption we wouldn't be trapped in the burning house since we could just blast our way through another wall if necessary... :)

Graham's report is almost too much to take in. Fire? How could they-- but the important thing is that Hardin is not a danger. Kylah's hand clasps to her chest as she takes a deep sigh of relief. "Yes, yes, I can--oh that is very good news, Mr. Graham." She sends a triumphant gaze to Velir, knowing he will understand. "As for us... When I confronted Mr. Hsu with the news of his wife's escape attempt, he refused to speak without an attorney. Harper is watching him. Mrs. Hsu is in the infirmary, probably still incoherent, under guard as well. We--Mr. Rangin and I--are about to speak with Palver. Rawlings will be with us."

She hesitates. "Finally, I contacted Lt. Thalen to make sure someone is in contact with the resort's office manager. I fear the hotel is running out of leadership, and the workers are uneasy. But that is not our concern. Is there anything you need, sir? The fire... you do not need any extra medical help?"

Graham's concerned Kylah's report feels a little scattershot, but it is efficient--a fair bit seems to have happened but at the same time it seems clear the situation is under control. Control enough.

That wasn't his only concern, however.

"Good--and, no we don't need anything--on our side, we have Hardin's data pad--if it's encrypted I may need to track down Garcia." He pauses. "It, ah, sounds like the situation's under control, Ensign, but aside from the details...I just want to make sure...I know I put you in a difficult situation earlier. Are you all right?"

The fire soon gets worse. The interior walls are quite dry and highly flammable. Geilil and St. Croix pick up the unconscious Hardin and carry him back to the previous farmhouse, where the entire Starfleet group takes shelter. Delaney glances back and sees that the house is now fully ablaze and smoking heavily in the intermittent rain. It does not appear close enough to any other structure for the fire to spread, fortunately.

Graham soon learns that Hardin's datapad is indeed encrypted.

Rangin remembers where the library is from having passed it before, and he and Kylah soon arrive there on foot, still drawing some odd looks from guests and staff due to his damp and muddy uniform. The giant Ens. Rawlings, even less inconspicuous, is near the library's front door, and nods a friendly welcome.

Kylah's communicator beeps again. It is Cmdr. Vargas, who asks for a status report and says, "The starbase JAG officer has authorized you to arrest whoever you think necessary, if you believe you have probable cause. We're still waiting on those search warrants."

The emphasis of Graham's question makes Kylah pause before responding. She does not want to reveal just how scared she was, or how angry she was at having been left alone--and now is definitely not the time to mention that Mrs. Hsu was armed with a phaser set to heavy stun. Knowing Graham's tendency to treat her like a glass object, he will order her to do nothing more than watch the surveillance feeds in place of Coringu.

"Yes, I am fine," she says with quiet strength. Something impels her to look away from Velir as she continues; she knows how he feels about Graham. "But with respect, I must correct you. You did not put me in that difficult situation--Mrs. Hsu did. You helped get me out of it, by showing confidence in me and talking me through it all, at least as long as we could remain in contact.

"Once all this is over I will have a full report for you, because there are some details that I need to share. But for now, I will just express my gratitude. I am indeed all right, thanks to your support, my own good fortune in shooting well, and--" Her tender gaze returns to Velir. "And the swift arrival of Velir and Harper. I...I have scarcely been happier to see anyone."

She shakes her head slightly, not having meant to speak so personally. "As for decrypting the datapad, you will find Lt. Garcia in the infirmary guarding Mrs. Hsu. We will head there immediately after speaking with Palver; Mrs. Hsu will likely have recovered enough for a proper interrogation."

About to sign off if Graham has no further questions, Kylah suddenly tilts her head. "One final thing just struck me, Mr. Graham: might Hardin have had a reason for heading off to the Colony other than temporary escape? He had a significant head start on the team, and could have hidden or tried to destroy evidence anywhere. We have still not found those extra knives. Perhaps the Berthold Rays were preventing us from scanning for them properly. If you have not done so yet, perhaps all the houses should be searched, just in case."

If Graham has nothing further to add--and if Velir does not indicate that he needs to speak to Graham himself--Kylah will end the conversation with a promise to contact the mission commander once the Palver interview is through.

She and Velir arrive at the library and she has returned Rawlings's nod when her communicator beeps a second time. Yet again Kylah wishes someone would invent a way to make these devices more convenient and mobile. The news from Vargas is most welcome indeed.

"Thank you, sir. I am sure we have probable cause on Mrs. Hsu. I am less certain of her husband; he has requested to speak to an attorney, and is not cooperating with the investigation although I know he has knowledge that will confirm his wife's lack of an alibi. Other than that... I am not sure he is fully aware of her involvement. Meanwhile I am about to speak with a third suspect and I am very glad to know we now have the imprimatur of the law to enable an arrest, if it should become necessary."

If Vargas has nothing further to say, she will disconnect. Then she looks at Velir with a mix of excitement and nervousness, and she starts off to approach Mr. Palver.

Will heading across Rangin contacts Lt Garcia to pass updates on Mrs Hsu to Harper, so he can feed them on to Mr Hsu. He ignores the various stares he is getting for the state of his uniform.

As they reach the library, he nods to Rawlings, and as Kylah turns to him, he smiles, "Ready when you are, following your lead." and gestures for her to go first.

Garcia says, "Mrs. Hsu is still unconscious. Dr. Halsey thinks she should come out of it in the next few minutes."

The library is a beautiful, well-lit, wood-paneled rectangular room, about twice the size of a Yorktown rec room. Old books line all the walls; there are also flat display pads on stands. Palver is sitting in an overstuffed leather armchair, reading from a hardcover book. A glass of something dark is on the table by his side. An older Asian couple is talking quietly together across the room.

Graham's taken aback by Kylah's response. Because you assume she must feel like you screwed up, Booker, or because you feel like you've screwed up? He's not sure he has a clear answer in mind.

At the same time, he's glad to hear it: sometimes you don't know what's going to give people the opportunity to step up and realize their potential... He puts this aside for the mission post mortem...wow, that's going to be a long one, he thinks, reflecting briefly on multiple uses of force, all the interpersonal conflict... He shakes his head clear and takes a second to capture a picture of the burning farmhouse.

It was partially for documentation but mostly for shits and giggles back on the Yorktown, but it causes a pang. He remembers being razzed, a long time ago, taking pictures of places he was assigned to transmit to Elizabeth--usually not about the job itself, instead sunsets, weird plants, spaceports...

Hey, Booker, you're snapping boring stuff. How about "Daddy shot this scumbag" or "Medics pulled this slug from your Daddy's ass?"

"Dear Lizzy, Daddy set a historic building on fire."

Graham hails Yorktown to make a status report, explaining that Hardin is in custody and had apparently intended to take his own life. "I intend to hold him on assault charges if nothing else, for the moment, and keep him here until we have safe transporter access again--although I'll defer to Dr. T'Var's medical judgment. If she believes it is necessary we'll carry him to the resort's medical facility."

Regardless, his assignments are T'Var, St. Croix, and Gelil with responsibility for Hardin. Delaney and Friedman, to the extent possible, to scan, and, if it burns itself out, search the burning house for any other evidence--but to drop it for now and return to the CP if it looks to be impossible at the present time. He also gives Delaney the strange object taken from Hardin.

"Try and figure out the pedigree of this device--might give us some idea of whether he was working with anyone else. Uh--but, 'Lucky'--don't stun yourself or set anything on fire," he adds, smiling slightly.

"I'm going to take this padd to Garcia," he informs the team. "I'd like to read it before anybody interviews Hardin." Also, he notes, I'll back up the cryptologist guarding a suspect we had to take by force.

Kylah walks over to the area near Palver, nodding at the couple as pleasantly as possible, although she devoutly wishes they were not here. When she approaches the Rhaandarite, she pauses and gives him a moment to notice her before speaking.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Palver. I apologize for interrupting your reading, but I was hoping you might grant us a favor. We are nearing the end of our investigation, I am relieved to say, and you could be a great assistance to us. Would you mind if I asked you a few questions?" She gives him a self-deprecating smile. "They may seem familiar, but I need to make certain our notes are as accurate as possible. I must also share some information with you that I hope will not be too unsettling, but... well, it involves a suspect's attempts to flee, which involved you, at least peripherally." if there is a chair nearby, she will gesture toward it and ask if she might take a seat beside him.

Vargas hears Graham's report, asks some questions, and orders him to bring Hardin and the entire search party back to the resort. "I'll tell WR&R about the loss of the house to fire," he says. "Meteorological scan shows the storm dying down. We should have safe transporter capability in the next half hour. Carry on, Mr. Graham."

Palver gestures to a nearby seat and says, "Help yourself. I think I've told you everything I know, though."

"All right, you heard the man," Graham says as he begins countermanding his previous orders. "We've done enough damage out here, let's get back to the resort." He's not sure carrying Hardin through the rain when the transporters will be available soon is the best course of action--but getting into a pissing contest with Vargas probably isn't the greatest idea at the moment, he thinks.

He asks St. Croix and Gelil, under T'Var's direction, to search the house for anything like blankets or a cot to make the driest and safest jerry-rigged stretcher to carry Hardin. "Doc, feel free to draft any of us if you want a four-person team," he adds. "Friedman--go on ahead and rendezvous with Rawlings by the library. Lt. Delaney--we may as well get critical mass at the resort's security office. Take the admiral's gizmo back there."

Graham will accompany the remainder of the group to the resort's medical facility.

Deleted - duplicate post.

"Thank you," Kylah says, taking a seat. Of course she has not missed that he has expressed no worry about her comment referring to the suspect involving him in an attempt to flee. Filing away this odd lack of emotion, she eyes the glass nearby. "That looks soothing on a stormy day. If I were not on duty..." She busies herself by taking out her tricorder. "What is it, if you do not mind my asking?"

- "First, I understand this seems repetitive, but one never knows what one might remember after a couple of days. According to my records, you mentioned that this was your first visit to OC3, and you knew none of the staff. You had never met or had business dealings with Mr. Wilson?"

- "Since you have investments in a company that might bid for the contract, if WR&R's license is not renewed, you probably have heard of Vice Admiral Hardin. Have you met him, either during your stay here or earlier? For example, I understand your chartered ship was at Starbase 27 a few days ago. Hardin was also at the Starbase at the time, so you might have seen him there..."

- "Now, to return to the night of the murder--your first night at the resort--can you confirm your account of your activities? To refresh your memory, you mentioned that you had dinner, then went for a walk until..." she glances down needlessly at her tricorder's tiny screen. "Until 8:45PM, when you retired to your cottage. Is that correct, sir? Do you recall seeing Mr. Wilson at any time before you returned?"

St. Croix and the others are able to jury-rig a stretcher for Vice Adm. Hardin, and head towards the resort bearing him. Dr. T'Var is close at hand with her medical tricorder. The rain is tapering off again. There are distant rumbles of thunder but no lightning within sight. Graham glances back and sees that the house in which Hardin was hiding is now nearly burned down. Friedman and Delaney go faster, and move ahead of the group. They are already at the top of the hill as Graham and the others reach its foot.

Palver takes a sip from his glass. "It's Saurian brandy. If you decide you'd like some after all, just say the word." He calmly, almost off-handedly, responds to Kylah's questions:

"First, I understand this seems repetitive, but one never knows what one might remember after a couple of days. According to my records, you mentioned that this was your first visit to OC3, and you knew none of the staff. You had never met or had business dealings with Mr. Wilson?" - "That's correct."

"Since you have investments in a company that might bid for the contract, if WR&R's license is not renewed, you probably have heard of Vice Admiral Hardin. Have you met him, either during your stay here or earlier? For example, I understand your chartered ship was at Starbase 27 a few days ago. Hardin was also at the Starbase at the time, so you might have seen him there...." - "I had heard of but not met Hardin, as I recall, until we got our dose of the spores when we arrived. I was at Starbase 27 briefly, but was working aboard ship and didn't go ashore, and didn't meet him then."

"Now, to return to the night of the murder--your first night at the resort--can you confirm your account of your activities? To refresh your memory, you mentioned that you had dinner, then went for a walk until..." she glances down needlessly at her tricorder's tiny screen. "Until 8:45PM, when you retired to your cottage. Is that correct, sir? Do you recall seeing Mr. Wilson at any time before you returned?" - He seems a little abashed. "You know, I've been thinking about that. I might've misremembered what happened that night, and misstated it to you. The timing of things is all mixed up in my mind. I took that walk and came back, yes, but after working for awhile, was restless and decided to go out again. I went to the nightclub and was there until... after 11, I think. Maybe later? I'm just not sure. I did see Wilson there, and we spoke briefly. He just asked if I was enjoying the spores, if my house was satisfactory, and so on. Nothing terribly weighty or important." He shrugs, and takes another sip of his brandy. "Sorry. I almost wonder if the spores were playing tricks on my memory...?"

"I see. I am glad to have that cleared up, as we have recently uncovered footage of the nightclub that shows that you were actually there from before 8PM until a little past 11PM. The discrepancy between this and your account has been worrying. I have not heard of the spores having such an effect on someone's memory--to make one forget three hours of activity. Have you, Mr. Rangin?" Kylah glances up at Velir before returning to Palver. "Ensign Rangin is a xenobiologist, you see, and knows a great deal about the spores and their effects.

"Of course," she adds slowly while noting his latest version of events on her tricorder, "when you originally told us of your activities, it was the next morning, when the spores had worn off. Perhaps you should get a thorough check-up from Dr. Halsey, as your memory appears to have been affected even after you were no longer under the spores' influence."

"Speaking of the spores... you were introduced to them earlier that day, although I understand you actually arrived at the resort the day before. Do you remember the reason for the delay? We have been trying to determine the cause of the spores' lost effectiveness, and I wonder if you were given any explanation for why you were not introduced the same day as your arrival, like everyone else?"

"As I mentioned, there is one suspect who has attempted to evade further questioning, and in fact, made a great deal of effort to escape the planet itself--to get to the Trimalchio. We have wondered why this person chose that yacht in particular."

An idea springs forward, and Kylah looks up at Palver intently. "...And it occurs to me that, given that there were a number of suspicious transporter uses the evening of the crime, it is just possible that some evidence may have been secretly beamed aboard. Indeed, it might even be deadly--one of the suspects, a possible collaborator, possessed unusual and dangerous technology, and was willing to commit suicide to prevent capture. To help protect anyone on board from any hazardous material, would you give us permission to search the ship?"

Kylah looks up at Velir. "Do you have any questions, Mr. Rangin?"

Palver says, "It is indeed a matter of concern for me that my memory seems to have been so faulty." He does seem especially concerned, however, Kylah observes. "I intend to speak to my own physicians, other Rhaandarites, about this when I leave. I was not immediately treated with the spores because I was engaged in some business negotiations via subspace radio - the same matter which concerned me at Starbase 27 - and did not wish to immediately go under their influence." He thinks a moment. "I have been in touch with the captain of the Trimalchio recently, and he did not report anything amiss. I don't think a search would be necessary, but I thank you for your concern. Who tried to go to the yacht?" He seems very curious about that.

Graham and his party reach the crest of the low hill and start down. They can see the lights of the resort not far away. Hardin has not stirred on his stretcher.

Rangin is happy to stand back and watch Kylah at work questioning Fellim Palver, firmly and fairly, paying polite attention to the questions and the answers and enjoying just what a good job she is doing, despite everything that has occurred over the last few days.

"Yes I do, thank you Mr Kylah," Rangin picks up the questioning. "Given what is known about the spores, forgetfulness is not one of the usual symptoms, indeed for most species it should improve the ability of the brain to function as the spores repair any damage. There is a large amount of research in this, that may be worth looking into, but I believe you had a meeting with Dr Halsey yesterday in which you were examined and that not only had the effect of the spores had been lost, but that there was also no adverse effect from them."

"Now, following that, the spores are removed are in a particular manner as I am sure you are aware."

"My first question is can you think of any circumstance you encountered last night that could have resulted in the loss of the spores effect?"

"Secondly, can you think of the first time that you were aware of the loss of the spores in your system?"

"Thirdly, from the time you left the nightclub to the moment of realisation about the loss of spores, can you think of anything unusual or untoward that you felt, anything more vivid than usual, something more emotional than expected?"

Rangin politely awaits the answers.

"Hell of thing, isn't it, Doc," Graham says to T'Var quietly, trying to make sure Hardin wouldn't be able to overhear even if he were conscious.

"It may be that somebody other than him whacking Wilson spilled the beans on his whole kickback scheme..." Graham shakes his head. "I've seen people feeling trapped and desperate...well, some people do things for which a quick death is nowhere near justice. But to kill yourself over this kind of thing... " He shrugs. "I'm glad I made the shot."

Palver responds to Rangin's questions:

"My first question is can you think of any circumstance you encountered last night that could have resulted in the loss of the spores effect?" - "No, I really can't, as I said before."

"Secondly, can you think of the first time that you were aware of the loss of the spores in your system?" - "When I woke up that morning. I was under their influence when I went to bed, but wasn't when I awoke. Very odd."

"Thirdly, from the time you left the nightclub to the moment of realisation about the loss of spores, can you think of anything unusual or untoward that you felt, anything more vivid than usual, something more emotional than expected?" - He thinks for a long time and then shakes his head. "No, I really can't."



Dr. T'Var nods at Graham's remark. "As am I, Mr. Graham. I would not call myself an expert on Human psychology, but as I understand it, it is not uncommon for one who is accustomed to power and influence to react negatively to an abrupt, dramatic loss of status. Contemplating disgrace, loss of office and prosecution could not have been easy, especially for one of the Vice Admiral's advanced age and ill health."

"Even to the extent of, well, suicidal despair?" St. Croix asks, turning her head.

"It is possible," Dr. T'Var says. "But for the moment, I concede, speculation. Any definite answers will have to await his interrogation."

Delaney and Friedman have now entered the resort. Graham and the others are just a few minutes away.

Kylah concentrates very carefully on Palver. His lack of concern about his health is... strange. A high-powered businessman having lost three hours, including time when he was supposedly checking his own stock interests and getting some bad news as well, and he is not worried? She gathers all her empathic strength and aims it squarely at the man's bulbous head.

"I understand that you are more comfortable with Rhaandarite doctors, sir, but perhaps the Starfleet medical staff over at our research lab would be the best people to investigate spore-related phenomena? They are the only people who would know anything about these particular plants. I would be frightened to have lost so much time--not just losing the time, but apparently replacing it with other false memories the morning after. As I recall, you said you were most concerned about a stock, which you had been following carefully--and your comments were in such great detail.... let me see." She looks down at her tricorder. "You originally said, 'I went to bed around 10pm, after checking the latest stock market reports - New York, Carolus Prime and Deneva, my usual routine - but I didn't fall asleep for at least half an hour or so. Not good news on the markets lately, I'm afraid.'" She returns to face Palver. "You were at least an hour off, since you did not return until nearly 11:15, I would think. So apparently there was little time for you to made such extensive research into those multiple stock markets. A successful businessman such as yourself must find that disturbing, and I would think you would be in a rush to ensure nothing else has wreaked havoc on your memory over the past few days. Perhaps you will reconsider and let our doctors help you?"

"I also would respectfully ask you again, somewhat more urgently, if we may search the yacht ourselves. We are searching for evidence to find a killer, someone who seems to have remarkable skill with a transporter, given all the activity displayed the night of the murder--and, in fact, the day before the murder. The same day your ship arrived, in fact. So something may indeed have occurred without your Captain's knowledge."

"Speaking of whom, you mention that you spoke with the Captain... when was this? And, if you do not mind my asking, why? Was this before the attempted boarding of the ship?"

"Can you think of any connection anyone on the ship might have had with Mr. or Mrs. Hsu? Because, you see, sir..." Kylah doubles her efforts to track his emotions. "To answer your question, the person who attempted to beam aboard your ship was Mrs. Hsu. And she was armed. Can you think of a reason she might have to threaten someone on board--or even you?"

While Kylah picks up questioning Fellim Palver again and taking his full attention, Rangin steps quietly off to one side to speak into his communicator.

Rangin first contacts Lt. Kjaerstad in the Security Office to get them to check the original footage before midnight and confirm Palver left at 11:00, went to his guest house and did not leave before midnight when the tapes were wiped.

He then contacts Dr Lucy Anderson at the research station about the effects of the spores on Rhaandarites and in particular if there have been any cases of their mental faculties being affected.

Hopefully they can respond promptly while they are still talking to Palver.

Palver takes another sip of brandy. "No, thank you, I still think I'll wait to consult with my own doctors. I have not been terribly impressed by the physicians here. I again decline your request to search my ship. I spoke to Capt. Morris earlier today about, well, this and that - nothing of any consequence. I suppose it would've been before Mrs. Hsu, as you say, tried to beam aboard. I know of no one on the Trimalchio crew with any connection to the Hsus, but most of my dealings have been with the captain, and I don't know much about any individual crewmember - of whom there are eight, by the way, not counting the captain." He seems only mildly surprised by the news that Mrs. Hsu was armed, and says, "I know of no reason why Mrs. Hsu would want to threaten someone on the yacht, or me, in particular."

Lt. Kjaerstad says he will begin reviewing the footage immediately, but it will take a few minutes.

Dr. Anderson checks both the Starfleet research station's and the resort's medical databases. She soon reports that four Rhaandarites had undergone OC3 spore treatment before Palver, and none reported any memory loss.

Rangin returns to Kylah and Mr Palver hearing his response to her questions.

"Mr Palver, I'm afraid I have some bad news. It appears that of all the Rhaandarites to have undergone spore therapy, you are indeed the only one to apparently suffer any ill effects. In fact, they should have been beneficial to such matters. Also, every other resident here who lost the effect of the spores has been able to account for it, in some fashion or another. But as you have said there is nothing you can think of that could have caused this, then I can only assume that whatever caused the spores to lose effect was so great it has caused short term memory loss as well." Rangin looks sadly at the businessman. "Oh dear," he concludes on the news before continuing on a different theme.

"On the topic of the Trimalchio: Given that you last spoke to the Captain a few hours ago, but that someone did try to board the ship even more recently, we would like you to consider allowing us to speak to the Captain to get their witness statement on what just occurred. Given the nature of the attempt, it would be remiss of us not to interview everyone who is involved, whether they knew it or not."

Kylah almost smiles at Velir's words, but she merely turns to him and says calmly, "That is very true, but we need not bother Mr. Palver with that request, Mr. Rangin. He has only rented the Trimalchio, he does not own it. We do not have to badger him further, when we can go speak to the captain and crew ourselves. Their cooperation is their own responsibility, not Mr. Palver's. He may continue to relax here and recuperate from what seems to have been an extraordinary reaction to the spores."

Now she does smile at Palver, adding a trace of worry in her eyes as she looks him over. "I do thank you for your assistance, and I hope you are making the right choice to wait for medical assistance. I was not aware you had been treated by Starfleet in the past--of course you realize that our medical officers are not related to the ones here at the resort, correct? But if you have somehow been ill-disposed to Starfleet medical personnel, I am sorry for that.

"In any event, I do hope you reconsider. Our team at the research lab is second to none in knowledge of the spores. Too, there is the matter of the knowledge that you have been impaired by this situation. If news were to get out that your mental processes are faulty, it could be devastating to your reputation, and contribute to a lack of confidence in your business acumen. We will do our best to keep that confidential, of course. But we have already had to consult with several people here regarding your unusual condition, and I cannot vouch for their discretion. In any event I am glad you are resting quietly here."

She turns back to Velir. "We should go, I believe. Mrs. Hsu will be waking soon, if she is not up already. She will be able to explain why she chose the Trimalchio, and if she had any reason to threaten Mr. Palver or the ship's crew. That should help us determine whether there is any further need to protect Mr. Palver. And there is Vice Admiral Hardin to interview now, as well. I am sure he will have much to tell us."

With only a glance back at Palver, she adds, "Thank you again, sir. I wish you good luck. If your memory continues to improve and you have anything further to add, please do not hesitate to let us know."

Kylah nods a farewell and turns away, flashing Velir a secret crooked smile before heading to the library exit. When she reaches Rawlings and sees Friedman there as well, she greets both of them and murmurs, "He is still a suspect--not definitively, but his responses and actions make me uneasy. Since you are here, Mr. Friedman, I assume Ensign Graham is back? That means I have no further authority to give orders, but I do at least suggest you both keep a close eye on Palver--preferably without being noticed, which may be easier for one of you than the other," she adds with an admiring little smile up at the massive Rawlings.

Palver's air of calm is undented by Kylah's and Rangin's parting shots. He smiles and raises his glass to them as they leave.

Friedman, who is even wetter than Rangin, says, "Mr. Graham and the others weren't far behind us. They should be here shortly."

Lt. JG Kjaerstad in the Security Office confirms Palver left the nightclub at 2306 hours and went to his guest house, and was not seen again before the system went blank at 2400.

Graham and the rest of the search party enter the resort complex, and are soon met by Officer Peters, whose eyes bug out a little at the sight of them. He directs them to the Infirmary with Vice Adm. Hardin. Dr. T'Var says to Graham on the way, "It would be advisable for the party to change out of their wet clothes as soon as possible to avoid being chilled. The resort has laundry or replicator facilities, I presume."

Rangin nods at Fellim Palver as he leaves and follows Kylah before receiving Lt. JG Kjaerstad's response.

"Well it looks like Mr Palver's second account of his movements ties up with the footage we have available." Turning to Kylah he nods, "I agree, we should go and see what Mrs Hsu has to say for herself, though I do need to check with Mr Young, the Finance Officer to see if he has made any progress on the resort accounts. Actually, while we are in the Infirmary we can check with Dr Halsey about Palver's checkup yesterday."

Rangin places a call to Hiram Young to get an update on the WR&R accounts and any discrepancies that may, or may not, have been found.

He looks across at Friedman, "You have my sympathy, I suggest drying off sooner rather than later. I've only just manged to do so myself."

"Actually Kylah," Rangin says before they move off, "if Mrs Hsu was trying to get to the Trimalchio, we should at least see if there was a good reason for picking that ship instead of any of the others. One moment." Rangin calls Mr Conringu in the CP.

"Mr Coringu, with Mr Hardin under arrest, I don't believe there is any need to monitor the Cameras quite as closely. As you are in the CP, can you start a search for any cross links between Mrs Hsu, Fellim Palver, Vice Adm. Hardin and the Trimalchio including any of the crew on board that ship, if you can find that out. If you need me to get Mr Graham or Ens Kylah to authorise it, I can do so."

Listening to Velir as he makes his contact with Young, Kylah contemplates everything they have just heard from this somewhat eerie man. Something about him unnerves her; his manner, his... his smugness.

She walks with Velir but focuses ahead, paying little attention to her surroundings. "I remember Dr. Halsey's comments about Palver and the others affected by the spores. He said quite clearly that all those who lost the spores' effects reported nothing else out of the ordinary. Would Palver really have neglected to report that he did not remember anything that happened the night before he lost the effects? And the scans were normal." She shakes her head and looks up at Velir. "Either Halsey is lying--which seems pointless--or Palver is. It must be Palver. But why? Why?

"At any rate, I am calling his bluff. I will not be satisfied until the Trimalchio is searched and ruled out. As you say, there might have been some reason Mrs. Hsu chose the Trimalchio rather than the Chariot. She seems to have believed she would find a safer harbor there. Then there is the fact that it was at Starbase 27 along with Hardin, and--"

Kylah cuts herself off and thinks. "Velir," she says slowly. "There is something that has never made sense for either Hardin or Mrs. Hsu. The attempted security breach, coming from some subspace source. Mrs. Hsu... she was with our staff the entire time that breach would have occurred. Indeed she was with some or all of us all day, since after lunch until after the breach was discovered.* How would she manage this?" Her eyes widen with a possibility. "But it would be entirely possible if that subspace attempt came from the Trimalchio. Do you not agree?"



* See posts #905 through #978.

Rangin thinks back over that day. "Well I spent a lot of that with Drs T'var and Halsey in the Infirmary, but if she was with someone all day, then she couldn't have carried out that breach. Then who did? Hardin, perhaps trying to find out something, but he didn't have access to a subspace setup, otherwise we would have seen it beamed down with him. Perhaps it was someone else, and that really only leaves Fastolfe or Palver who have their own ships in the area."

"I think you're right, I think looking over the Trimalchio is a very good idea."

Kylah nods, smiling. It is truly rewarding working with someone whose mind is as quick as Velir's. "I will need to contact Yorktown, probably Cmdr. Vargas, and ask him about the Trimalchio. I had better include Graham in this as well--my brief time as this resort's mission commander is at an end, and I doubt either Security officer will appreciate my subverting their authority."

She lifts her communicator. "Ensign Kylah to Commander Vargas and Ensign Graham. We have just interviewed Fellim Palver, whose chartered ship is the Trimalchio. He has changed his alibi and lied to us, twice now. He is acting extraordinarily suspicious as well, claiming medical issues that are not borne out by the examination by Dr. Halsey or any previous experience with Rhaandarites. Further, not only was it that particular yacht that Mrs. Hsu chose for her attempted escape, but it is a strong option for that subspace beacon that attempted to breach the hotel's security. Mr. Graham, you can confirm this--Mrs. Hsu was with all or part of our landing party for the entire time, from after lunch until the breach was reported. She could not be responsible. The Trimalchio is a good bet. Further, the yacht was at Starbase 27 when we picked up Hardin, which could be another link to our three suspects.

"I know we believe Mrs. Hsu guilty of the murder, due to her escape attempt, but given Palver's demanor and lies... well, I believe it is possible for all three to be connected. Palver invests in a competitor; Hardin arranges for the competitor to win the license; Mrs. Hsu stays on as Administrator. It works rather neatly."

Taking a breath, she concludes: "I would thus like to request an interview with the Captain of the ship, and the ability to go on board for a search as well. There is a good reason to do so, anyway--Mrs. Hsu's attempted escape. With all the transporter activity, there could have been something secreted aboard without their knowledge. Fastolfe's knives, for example," she adds with a sudden knowing look at Velir. "So would you consider making such a request, Commander, and see if I can talk to them, or go on board? And in the meantime, could you also begin the process for a search warrant for Palver, please?" She suddenly remembers, abashedly: "That is, if Mr. Graham concurs with my assessment. What are your thoughts, sir?"

Graham nods to the doctor. "Good point." He already has his communicator out to sort out a rotation for people to change--and, for that matter, eat, he thinks, noticing how hungry he is--when he receives Kylah's hail.

Graham frowns and rubs his chin. "The court didn't grant us a warrant for Fastolfe's ship earlier, but I'd argue we have a better case with Palver at this point: one, he's lied about his alibi, and his loss of the spores is...anomalous; two, we have hard evidence Hsu was trying to get to his ship; three, there's at least the chance of a connection to Hardin, who we now know for sure is dirty, via Starbase 27; and four, the subspace attack and the disappearance of the knives are consistent with use of a ship." He pauses. "We haven't cracked Hardin's data pad yet, I suppose it may be a lot to hope that Palver's name is on it. In any event, I support a request for search warrants for both Palver and his lodgings and the ship."

He pauses a moment. "Excuse me Commander--Mr. Kylah, while you and Mr. Rangin are momentarily free, please use the resort facilities to get yourselves dried off at the least. We're all overdue to get out of cold, wet clothes."

Relieved that Graham agrees with her and Velir's ideas, Kylah nods along with his recitation of the facts. She is tempted to emphasize Palver's disconcerting demeanor, but it is so nebulous that it would hardly count as a worthwhile piece of evidence against him. She is still uncertain why he bothered her so much.

Then she hears Graham's suggestion about changing clothes, and she suppresses a smile when she glances over at poor Velir. "Yes, I will pass that along to Mr. Rangin. But you are forgetting, I was not outside, Mr. Graham, and--" She looks down at the uniform temporarily dampened from Velir's embrace. Her efforts at drying it back in the CP seem to have worked well enough. "--and I have no need to change. I do think many of the team must be quite hungry by now. I had some soup while researching earlier, but the rest of you need some sustenance. Oh--I should mention that Mr. Rangin has asked Mr. Coringu to research any links among Hsu, Palver and the Vice Admiral, or the ship itself. And Friedman and Rawlings will be keeping watch over Palver."

As she talks, her mind pictures the Rhaandarite sitting there in that chair, drinking and reading a book for all the world as if the library was his own private sitting room. His calm and disingenuous attitude again rankles her--more than that, it made her want to smack him. Why he should trigger such emotions, she has no idea.

...Until she connects the image with an older one in her memory. Of course, she recalls with a slight shudder. When her uncle first told her of that he had been making inquiries on where her future in Starfleet would take her, and how he planned to utilize her skills--that day, she had found him in what used to be her father's study, her father's chair, enjoying some tea. He was so pleased that his efforts to get her a post aboard a fine starship were about to reach fruition, although he again alluded to the fact that she could still back out, if she chose another path: his path. His self-satisfied attitude--knowing she would still be under his thumb whether on Elas as his wife or lightyears away on a Federation starship--had made her ill.

She swallows and ignores the unbidden recollection, waiting for Vargas's decision.

Hiram Young has not been able to find anything out of the ordinary in the resort financial records. He says, "If there's anything there - and I'm not convinced there is - it's either buried really deeply, or it's very well-concealed."

Spec/1 Coringu begins checking on any links between Mrs. Hsu, Fellim Palver, Vice Adm. Hardin and the Trimalchio and her crew.

Vargas says he will contact the captain of the Trimalchio. Still no word on the earlier search warrant requests.

All of the wet and muddy Yorktown personnel are given access by WR&R Security Officer Peters to two unoccupied suites. Soon each has had a chance to bathe and to don clean, dry uniforms. Graham feels like a new man. He is just pulling on his boots when Dr. Halsey calls to say Mrs. Hsu is gaining consciousness.

Graham can't help but laugh as the phrase thought "I feel like a new man" comes to mind. What would it mean for me to be a 'new man?' he muses. Well, according to Rangin using opposable thumbs, I suppose.

I'll settle for not fucking anything else up. He realizes there are already two use-of-force reports to file: one for Hardin and one for Mrs. Hsu. The latter will be more complicated--I should help Ens. Kylah with it. But...and I grabbed Ens. Kylah... She may want to drop the whole thing, but should that matter? He frowns. I swear to god it was like she was reading my mind. He shakes his head. Just coincidence, and me being...in a bad place.

He's ruminating while he pulls his boots on when the communicator demands his attention. "I'm on my way," he replies. "Please minimize conversation with her if she wakes up before I get there."

He realizes he hasn't checked in with all the Yorktown personnel on-planet since Hardin's apprehension. He transmits to the group. "This is..." he wonders whether to say "Ensign." Am I being obnoxious by rubbing senior officers' noses in it, or by leaving it out? He decides to go with the path of fewer words. "This is Graham. I'm back on the grid for operational command. Please continue with your current assignments. We'll make arrangements for check-ins and relief shortly."

He double-times it to Sick Bay. If he doesn't see T'Var in person on his way out of their temporary suites he hails her, indicating he'd like her with him with Mrs. Hsu. Likewise, if he hasn't had a chance to give Garcia Hardin's datapad he asks the lieutenant to come get it from him.

After the discussion with Vargas finished, Kylah told Velir about Graham's suggestion.* She then hurries along to the infirmary, both anticipating the interview, and dreading seeing Mrs. Hsu again in a weak state after recovering from being stunned. Guilt flares up again. The idea of hurting someone is still fresh and shameful.

She had her own phaser; she was probably going to do the same to me, Kylah tells herself when entering the medical facility. But 'probably' does not satisfy her.

Kylah takes deep breaths to clear her thoughts. She will ask whomever she finds about Mrs. Hsu's condition. The woman will probably not be in full mental capacity immediately after waking up--that's what Kylah was told earlier--but she wants a full report on Mrs. Hsu's health and how she is currently feeling. If it is anything like the way she herself felt after Hardin's attack...

Thinking of Hardin reminds her that the Vice Admiral is also likely here, recovering from his own stunning. She feels less concerned about him, considering what he did to her and Graham. At least with the Vice Admiral, they had already been attacked. Mrs. Hsu is a less certain call.

She looks around for Dr. Halsey and, particularly, Garcia.



* Whether Velir accepts Graham's suggestion, or mutters a suggestion of his own, is entirely up to CIAS.

Graham hands off the datapad to Garcia, who takes it to the CP to try to crack its encryption.

Dr. Halsey has moved Mrs. Hsu to a private room near the Infirmary, which was otherwise becoming too crowded once Vice Adm. Hardin was brought in under guard. He allows Graham, Kylah and Dr. T'Var to meet privately with her. Mrs. Hsu seems a little disoriented at first, but soon is able to focus. Her expression clouds when she sees Kylah. "I have nothing to discuss with you all," she says faintly.

Shaking her head slightly in genuine regret, Kylah backs up slightly. "Mrs. Hsu," she says in a soft voice, "I understand why you would not wish to speak with me, in particular, in light of what has transpired between us. I--I regret causing you pain, and only did so because I felt there was no other choice.

"You were rushing toward the transporter console. I thought you were trying to beam out, or beam someone--perhaps Vice Admiral Hardin--into the resort. It was only after I stunned you that I learned there had been a third possibility: that you had a phaser and planned to use it against me. Except your weapon, unlike mine, was set to heavy stun... the most vicious non-lethal setting."

She looks toward Graham for a moment, then back at Hsu. "My colleagues know all that I do. The affair, your false alibi, the video footage of your conversation with Mr. Wilson at the nightclub... all of it. There is cause enough to arrest you.

"But I will say this before I go. I am... I am not as antagonistic toward you as you probably think. I believe you know what happened that night, how Mr. Wilson died. But I am not convinced that you are the one responsible. All the evidence does point to you, and your attempt to flee while armed does not help matters. As I said, we have the authority to arrest you. And yet..."

Kylah looks deeply into the older woman's eyes, trying her best to read Mrs. Hsu as well as to show her own sincerity. "I think there is more going on. And that you could clarify the truth. For this reason, if only to help yourself, I hope you will speak to us. Or at least, to my colleagues, if you despise me too much to stomach talking further in my presence." Her voice lowers still. "Justice should be done, Mrs. Hsu. If you cared for him and did not commit this crime, please consider your voice his own, and let him speak so that justice may be done."

She takes another step toward the door, but before she leaves she adds, "I will be available if you do wish to talk with me. And again, I am sorry to have harmed you."

Turning, she murmurs to Graham that she will be nearby waiting for Hardin to recover if he needs her. Then Kylah exits the room.

At hearing Graham's suggestion about changing clothes Rangin rolls his eyes. When it was just Rangin, then Graham was totally oblivious. Now all of Security including Graham are wet, no change there then, its a good idea. Nevertheless, Rangin is happy to get out of the mudstained and now only slightly damp uniform he has been traipsing around in for the last hour or so.

"Give your self a pat on the back, Kylah. That was a good stint in charge from what I could see. You've held it together and handed it back in better condition than it was when Graham left. Well done, indeed." Rangin congratulates her. "Now, if you will excuse me, I'm going to get changed...at long last."

He looks down at the tatty uniform wishing he could change back into something more relaxing, but he knows he is still on duty and will present a correct and proper face to the world.

"I'm going to check with resort security, find out what the local thoughts are on the Hsu's and then I will meet you across in the Infirmary I guess."

After Rangin has changed, he pays that side visit to the Security Office as he wants to find out what the resort's security team think and then he will tackle Dr Halsey about confirming the current state of Fellim Palver from the last examination Halsey performed.

Mrs. Hsu avoids eye contact with Kylah and says, "I have nothing to say; I want to talk to a lawyer," just before the young Elasian woman leaves.

Rangin feels much better after bathing and changing into a clean uniform. WR&R Security Officers Bortne and Hammond, a short Rigellian male and a tall Human female, seem wary of him, however. "What did you want to know?" Bortne asks.

Rangin scratches the side of chin wondering the best way to put it, before leaning back casually. "I'm sure by now, you've heard what's happened. I'm just looking for opinions; free, frank and off the record..."

"...and please don't make me drink the coffee to find out how or why you managed to get two Security officers bundling Mr Hsu out the door?"

Graham's treated to a little emotional roller coaster just a few minutes after getting back on the clock. He's surprised to see Kylah come to interview Mrs. Hsu--on reflection he's not sure why. He chides himself again on not knowing enough about her (or the rest of the team's) service records: he assumed she's not an old hand at using force, so she might not want to deal with Hsu yet.

Then he's concerned and has to hold back annoyance as Kylah charges forward to...what the hell is he doing, a therapy session? Asking forgiveness? He gets as far as furrowing his brow, but a moment later is glad he kept his mouth shut.

He almost smiles as Kylah finishes up talking to Hsu. Well that was a pretty good "good cop," performance, he thinks. It's certainly better than anything Hsu would have gotten out of me at this point, as far as I'm concerned she was willing to heavy stun one of my people...

That line of thought obliterates any inclination to smile: he only tangentially hears Kylah apologize to Hsu because by this point he's thinking about Kylah lying in a med lab being treated for the after effects of heavy stun.

That's not pretty, he thinks, remembering incidents over the course of his career he'd like to avoid repeating. It doesn't help Kylah was only put in that position because of me, and...

Kylah murmurs something to him as she moved to leave.

Tiny. Elizabeth's age...

He has an image of his daughter lying in a medical bay suffering the aftereffects of a heavy stun shot.

As he steps toward Hsu he has to make a conscious and deliberate effort to not come across as an immediate physical threat, given how he feels at the moment.

"Mrs. Hsu," Graham says tightly, moving closer to the bed. "As of this moment, you're not only our prime suspect for the crime of murder, but as far as I'm concerned you were ready, willing, and able to put one of my people's lives at risk." His arm is taut as he points toward her in a sharp motion. "You can call in your lawyer if that's how you want to play it, but while you're waiting bear in mind there's a whole team--a whole ship--highly motivated to focus all their attention on proving that you did it."

He peers even more closely at her. "If I were you, I'd want to give us something else to go on real quick. I doubt there are a lot of jobs for resort administrators with an arrest record for murder, even in the absence of a conviction."

He steps back. At this point he'd just as soon arrest her, but he knows it's their point of leverage. Fuck it, she got the good cop already.

"Think about that," he says, turning away. "But not too long."

He gestures over his shoulder. "And let the doc know if you don't feel well," he says with no trace of sympathy, giving Hsu only a moment to say anything before he leaves.

Kylah asks Halsey for an estimate on when the Vice Admiral might recover. Afterward, she finds a chair to sit in and slowly massages her temples with her eyes closed. I should not have gone in to Mrs. Hsu, I may have ruined any chance of her communicating with us...

Some moments pass before she senses that someone is near. When she opens her eyes again, she sees that Graham has left Mrs. Hsu's room. His anger is evident and she quickly lowers her hand.

"I apologize, Mr. Graham," Kylah says at once. "We did not have a chance to talk, or I would have given you the full report about what happened in the transporter room. I know I should have told you about her having a phaser once I discovered it, but you were still looking for Hardin and I did not want to waste your time unnecessarily. It was not definite she planned to use it, and besides, you had more important things to think about..."

She swallows and glances toward the private room. "Presumably she did not talk to you either? That does not surprise me, after being confronted by the person who shot her. I hope my presence was not--" Kylah cuts herself off and shakes her head. "I should not have gone in at all. That was poor judgment, I am sorry."

Graham's taken aback by her apology, but then realizes that she doesn't have to be a mind reader to see that he looks really pissed off, while she would have to be one to know that 0% of his anger is directed at her.

Quite the opposite: he's concerned. The thought of Kylah recovering from a heavy phaser shot--on his orders--is only marginally less disturbing than the image of his daughter.

If push came to shove, if I could, I'd take the shot instead for either of them, he knows, and the fact that he wasn't in this case or might not in any other case there to do it is a failure that frustrates him.

With no avenue to vent his anger, he takes a deep breath and, bending his arms, clenches both fists tightly in front of his chest, tensing, then relaxing his shoulders.

OK, get it together and calm down, Booker, he thinks, tensing again briefly then relaxing as he lowers his arms to his side.

"It's OK," he begins, realizing he's still speaking too quickly and sharply. He takes another breath. "It's--you did just fine." He shakes his head and gestures toward the room. "I didn't have much 'good cop' in me back there." He pauses a moment. "Ah, look..."

He realizes he looming over her, looking down at her as she's sitting. He takes a knee so they are on more of a level plane. He spreads his hands open in front of himself. "Look," he says softer voice, partly so he comes off as less of a madman but also so she doesn't feel it's being overheard by everyone around. "After ah...situations like this," he brings his hands together, steepled, in front of his mouth as he thinks for a moment, then lowers them. "Even veterans who've been in lots of ah, tough spots often need some time, or to talk to somebody."

He pauses, trying to gauge her reaction but realizing he's generally hopeless at it--although he's no longer totally clueless about what might press her buttons.

"I'm giving you same talk I'd give to anybody right now--hell, even a grizzled old bastard like me, or a tank like Rawlings--just, ah... I don't want to put you on the spot here, but just take a few to think about whether you want to talk to someone, or have a little time..."

He is no longer angry, and suddenly feels a little awkward down on a knee. "I'm here if you need me" comes to mind as a thing to say... But grimly he recognizes another likely parallel between the young woman and Elizabeth: There's probably nothing she could give a shit about less.

He clears his throat. "Ah, yeah, OK," he mumbles.

Listening to Graham, seeing his expressions and gestures, Kylah is somewhat surprised by his restraint. And, even, his gentleness. He does seem genuinely concerned. He is in many ways an enigma to her, so many dichotomies between his tough, violent and sometimes unpredictable nature, and then moments like this--his need to protect her. He said he has a daughter. Maybe that is why.

"Thank you," she says, each word careful as she continues. "I am not sanguine about hurting people, or any living thing. I cannot be," she adds ruefully, though she knows she cannot reveal how deeply she feels others' pain. "And as I told her, I do regret having to stun Mrs. Hsu. But I know it was necessary. Even without knowing she had a phaser nearby, she had to be stopped from transporting herself or someone else. And, yes, it is easier to justify now that I know she was capable of harming me--in fact, given that I had only recently been badly stunned by Hardin, if she had used that phaser on that particular setting, I believe it might have been lethal. So while I am sorry to have hurt her, I will not let that weigh on my conscience--only the possibility that it may have prevented her from trusting us enough to reveal what she knows."

Kylah ponders whether to continue, and she gives in. "You probably do not know this, Mr. Graham, but my first mission ended only a few weeks ago. I had never fired a phaser except in training. On that mission, there was no expectation of violence. But we were on a research station where people were used in experiments, horrible experiments, that went very wrong while we were there. They turned into... hybrids, cannibals. There were only a few of us left to face them down: Collins, Delaney, Velir, and some others. We were cornered in a transporter room--"

The words suddenly strike her, and she laughs somewhat harshly. "Yes, I have had very poor luck with transporter rooms since joining the Yorktown," she mutters. "Anyway, there were dozens of these altered people, attacking us--waves and waves of them. We had to defend ourselves. I killed multiple times, these--these people who through no fault of their own, were now monsters. I shot from only a meter away, some even closer."

Her eyes close briefly. "That was a nightmare. Is a nightmare. I do not think what happened with Mrs. Hsu will haunt me that way. I gave her two chances to back down, to stop what she was doing. She had a choice where those poor Sakathians did not. It was necessary."

Kylah looks back at Graham. "I meant what I said before, you know. I would not have been prepared to shoot her, if you had not talked me through entering that room, every step of the way. Even earlier, the day before when you taught me how to enter those houses. Having your voice in my head, as I did, grounded me, as much as possible. So I have to thank you again. I was afraid and I was alone--except not entirely alone, thanks to you."

She lifts her chin slightly. "There are things about that incident I need to report to you. I did not get the support I needed, and this time--you may think I am reckless and I understand why, but this time, it was not my fault. I was expecting backup. I ordered backup. But for whatever reason..." She shakes her head. "No, now is not the time," she says with a sigh. "This mission has been one attack or betrayal after another for me, and I have disappointed myself as well. And there was one very pleasant surprise," she murmurs, feeling her cheeks turning pink when she thinks of Velir.

Quickly she goes on. "So yes, I will need to... to process things. But I cannot worry about that until it is over. I hope you will let me see this through, Mr. Graham. I am young and inexperienced but I can do this. I want to do this. So please, do not worry about me. You and I are very different but my goal is the same as yours: I want to help solve this crime."

Before Graham leaves, Mrs. Hsu declares, "I didn't kill Tony. That's all I have to say."

Bortne and Hammond look at each other, both clearly reluctant to talk to Rangin. Hammond finally clears his throat and says, "Nothing to report, sir. We just want to do our jobs and protect the guests and staff, you know. That's all."

Dr. Halsey reviews Hardin's biosigns and tells Kylah, "Should be another 20 minutes or so. I can bring him around with a mild stimulant sooner, if necessary, but I wouldn't advise it."

Rangin smiles ruefully and nods his head, "Yes, that's all that can be asked for. I quite understand. I will say that as a group you have been considerate and willing to help out as best you can, which, given the circumstances, is all we could have hoped for. Quite frankly, you all deserve a drink on us for all you have had to put up with, so thank you from myself at least."

Rangin leaves the Security Office and heads quickly across to the Infirmary to confer with Dr Halsey about Fellim Palver's medical checkup as well as catch up with the others to see what steps they are taking next.

Dr. Halsey says, "Other than his no longer being under the spores' influence, which I still can't explain, I could find nothing wrong with Mr. Palver." When asked, he says, "No, he said nothing about memory loss."

"Sanguine about hurting people." The phrase strikes Graham.

Is that what I bring to the team? he muses, thinking about the others--if T'Var was ex-V'Shar, she's probably sanguine about hurting people. But aren't Vulcans sanguine about everything? That may not count...

In a few moments the younger officer has given him a lot to think about, good and bad--little or none of which makes sense to follow up on at the moment.

She ends by asking to see things through. Graham stands and nods. "Of course...." After an awkward pause he adds, "Speaking of which I suppose we should get to interviewing Hardin shortly, as soon as he's able." He rubs his chin. "I'll ask Mr. Rangin to join us--we ought to bring as full a perspective as possible into this."

Graham hails Rangin and asks him to join them in the Infirmary.

Given Graham's terse response to her expression of gratitude, right after he told her to speak to someone--which she assumed meant him--Kylah vows not to waste time expressing herself any further. In fact, she does not know why she bothered. Everything she felt from him--the protectiveness, the concern--must have been phantom emotions. Wishful thinking, most likely.

She then glances over to where Velir is standing, talking to the doctor. Apparently Graham thinks so little of Velir he cannot even notice when the other man is in the room.

"Dr. Halsey said it would be twenty minutes until Hardin recovers," she says tersely, getting to her feet. "And Velir is right over there. I am afraid you will actually have to address him personally. Meanwhile, where is Dr. T'Var? Did you leave her in there with Mrs. Hsu?"

She walks away and looks at Mrs. Hsu's door. "If it is not too presumptuous, may I suggest putting an extra person to guard Mrs. Hsu? Your fellow security officers will be delighted to have one of their own back in charge and no doubt will be here in a trice."

Rangin looks down at his communicator and then across to Ensign Graham from where he is standing with Dr. Halsey. "Mr Graham. What can I do for you?" he asks politely across the room without using his communicator.

Dr. T'Var left Mrs. Hsu's room with Graham.

Well shit, Graham thinks.

His confidence that he and Kylah were on the same page--that, as she had said, "now is not the time" to talk further--is shaken, as she seems curt and perhaps pissed off.

But given how he ended their conversation, the train has left the station on that, he thinks. Likewise, the same phrase occurs to him when Rangin answers his hail verbally, seconds after he'd used his communicator, almost on auto-pilot, without looking around to see if the xenobiologist was already in the Infirmary.

He sighs to himself. I'm sure Rangin thinks I did that on purpose just to be an asshole. Or maybe that I'm just too dumb to process changes in the environment in real time.

He stows his communicator and rubs his head. "The three of us, at minimum, ought to participate in interviewing Hardin." He pauses for a moment.

"We've got twenty minutes of so--I'm going to scare up some food for the group. Probably I'll just step outside and club some sort of herbivore, just to get that out of my system," he adds dryly.

He looks for St. Croix and asks her to assign the Security team on hand to monitoring Hardin--constant direct supervision, in his case--and ensuring Mrs. Hsu doesn't leave. He mentions that he'll find something to tide them over as well.

He contacts the resort's staff to ask how he can get some snacks and drinks sent to the Infirmary.

Since no one is guarding Mrs. Hsu at the moment, Kylah nibbles at a thumbnail in thought while staring at the entrance. Deciding, she knocks lightly to let the woman know she is about to be visited, then slips quickly inside as the door whooshes open and shut.

"Do not be distressed," she says quietly, and lifts her palm up in a hushing gesture. "I am not here to ask you anything about the murder, Mrs. Hsu. You said you wish to speak to an attorney, and I respect that choice. So I will ask you nothing about the crime, and do not expect you to speak unless you wish to." Kylah brings her hand down and clasps both in front of her, a guise of serenity.

"I know I am the last person you wish to see. Or..." She searches Mrs. Hsu's eyes, hoping for something, any emotion, to reach her. "Perhaps that is not wholly true. I wonder... I find myself wondering if there is someone else whom you fear, or hate--or both--even more than you do me."

She hesitates, very careful to pay attention to any slight variation in the woman's feelings. Then she continues, her voice still soft. "No, I am not asking you to name anyone. The reason I am here is just that I wanted to let you know that this room will be well-guarded. Not only because you are a suspect and because you are a flight risk. But also--and this is my doing, though you may not believe me--to keep you safe.

"I said before I believe you might not be guilty of Mr. Wilson's death, and I meant it. If I am right, I also believe you know or strongly suspect who the guilty party is. You may have been involved in some plan, some scheme affecting the fate of the WR&R contract. But you might not have guessed the full extent of what this plan entailed. You might not have known what was at stake. Not until Anthony Wilson was killed."

She shakes her head, wishing she could divine precisely what Mrs. Hsu is thinking. "Were I in such a position, I would feel betrayed, guilty, angry... and terrified. That is why I wanted to tell you that you are going to be protected. If I am right about this scheme, and what you are now afraid of, I know why you believe you must remain silent. I understand fearing someone who is both powerful and dangerous." Kylah looks down briefly. "I understand it very, very well."

Swallowing, she glances up at the woman on the bed. "But we will identify the murderer, and he or she will be caught. I wish you would help us do so. But again, I do not expect it. If you change your mind I will listen. I want to listen to whatever you have to say. But until it is your choice, I cannot ask you about this crime.

"That is all. I am sure you want me to go. Before I do, I will ask two questions--no, they will not be objectionable or make a liar of me. I just want to know... first, other than your attorney, is there anything else you need? Food, drink, anything?" She pauses. "And second, we must inform your husband that you are in custody; perhaps you wish him to be the one to contact your attorney for you. Is there... is there anything you want us to say to him?"

Mrs. Hsu looks at Kylah suspiciously and finally says, "Some hot coffee would be nice. And yes, please tell my husband I'm here. If I can meet with him, I'd like to."

Officer Peters arranges for snacks and drinks to be sent to the conference room nearest the Infirmary, as there is not enough room for the entire Yorktown landing party to gather there. St. Croix assigns Security guards to Hardin, Mrs. Hsu and Mr. Hsu. She seems a very capable officer.

"That might be tricky Mr Graham, given the lack of animal species on Omicron Ceti III." Rangin says dryly, "however, the offer of food is welcome."

"Once we have eaten, how do you want to tackle Vice Adm. Hardin. I would suggest you do the majority of the talking seeing as your are the Mission Leader. I would recommend starting with questions about the here and now, like why he decided to attack you and where he thought he was going. I would rather find out if there was something else we need to pick up now, rather than later."

Graham blinks, somewhat entertained by Rangin's use of the word "tackle." I wouldn't have expected a violent metaphor, he thinks.

He shrugs. "Well, I figured you'd hold him down while I beat the old man until he answered Mr. Kylah's questions," Graham replies. He decides not to push the gallows humor too far. "Actually, I agree with you--let's start with what just happened and try to back into what the hell's really going on, as opposed to trying to begin again from the start. Hopefully Garcia will come through before the admiral's awake and we'll go in armed--ah, equipped--with some additional evidence."

Garcia, when asked, says "it could be awhile" before he cracks the code on Vice Adm. Hardin's gadget. It has top-level encryption.

Chief Engineer Cheverez calls from the ship to say that normal transporter operations can be resumed in about ten minutes as the storm passes.

While grabbing a bite to eat Rangin catches up with Kylah, while he is waiting for Vice Adm. Hardin to be ready to answer questions. "How are you doing and how are things going here? I stopped by the Security Office to find out why they shifted Mr Hsu, but the local security team aren't feeling that friendly at the moment. Probably an understandable reaction to their boss being implicated in all of this. However, other than a few unhappy glances, they didn't say anything much. How about Vice Adm. Hardin? Other than trying to find out what he was doing, is there anything else we could be asking him?"

Kylah slips out of Mrs. Hsu's room and is grateful that no one seems to have seen her, although she is not entirely sure why. There was no reason to hide her visit, even if she got little from it--as usual, it seems. As frustrated as she is that Mrs. Hsu said nothing to her, right now Kylah is more distressed by her inability to know what the woman is truly feeling.

Kylah is aware of disturbing sense of distance, of emotional disconnect, from the others around her. The empathic powers that have been such a blessing and a curse have waned considerably over the past few hours, despite her having rested somewhat and eaten the soup. She could not even pick up on regular nonverbal signs that anyone else should be able to see: whether Mrs. Hsu blinked or otherwise reacted to Kylah's suspicion that there is someone else she fears. Even those obvious cues seem impossible to read.

Although she always used to dream of being normal, the truth is, without her insight into others' emotions, she feels at a loss to understand what to say or how to react. She feels vulnerable, too. It is like being trapped by a blinding fog. In such unpredictable surroundings, anyone could leap out and shock her. I hate this. Could it be the Berthold Rays? Am I just that tired? I do not understand...

She brushes her hair away from her face and, after looking around, spots Velir talking to Graham. Apparently a supply of food has also been brought in. Kylah realizes she forgot to ask how Mrs. Hsu likes her coffee--before today she probably would have been able to guess--but nevertheless she goes over and starts pouring a cup.

When Velir approaches her she picks up the coffee cup, which warms her hand slightly. "You are right," she says when he finishes. "The hotel staff are probably at a loss and resentful of our presence, even more so than before with Mr. and Mrs. Hsu now in custody. Word has probably reached them about Mrs. Hsu's injuries too." She hesitates. "I am.. not feeling especially well. It is nothing, just a headache," she adds quickly before it sounds as if she is complaining. Velir is likely far more tired than she is, with all the running around he has done today. Besides, she can hardly explain to him exactly what ails her. The headache is enough. "How--how are you feeling? Better, I hope, thanks to your change of uniform."

The impulse to touch him draws her a step closer, to see if her dim empathic sense is improved by touch, as it usually is. But she cannot possibly do so in front of Graham. Velir would think it inappropriate too, even if under the guise of an accidental brush of her hand. At least she assumes he would. Even Velir is an unknown, she thinks miserably.

Although she has never purposely reached out to gauge his emotions, those that radiate off him have usually been enough to give her a general sense of his state of mind. Of course she can see the concern in his eyes and his relatively close stance, but it is not enough. She wants to feel the warmth of his affection that usually bathes her in comfort. But there is nothing there for her. She is alone again. Well, there is still a job to do.

"I have no idea what approach we should take with Hardin. It depends on his mood when he wakes. If he was willing to kill himself he may have reached a point where he is in such despair and fear of revealing his secrets, he could either tell us everything, or nothing at all. Honestly if Mr. and Mrs. Hsu have invoked their right to speak to an attorney, I cannot imagine Hardin will not do the same. In fact it beggars belief that he did not simply do so once Graham started to arrest him, instead of reacting so violently and escaping. A powerful man in such a position? Very strange behavior."

She shrugs and looks down at the cup in her hand. "I am just fetching some coffee for Mrs. Hsu. She has also asked to see Mr. Hsu. I am not sure how much to tell him, or whether allowing a visit is a good idea. Neither is under arrest now, as far as I know, and... I suppose Mr. Graham will know best whether she should be allowed to visit with her husband, or if we do let her see him, whether they may be alone. It does not seem a good idea, considering her strange behavior and without knowing what he knows, or if he is a danger to her--or vice versa.... Someone should be inside to guard. What do you think?"

If Graham comes near, she will ask him as well.

St. Croix, overhearing, says to Graham, "I think we have enough to go on, sir. If we want to keep them from just walking away, we ought to go ahead and arrest all three."

The minutes pass and Dr. Halsey finally says, "Vice Adm. Hardin is coming around." He provides you with a private room in which to talk.

Rangin can see that Kylah is tired, the adrenaline of the day looking as though it has worn off. Feeling relaxed and calm within himself, he wonders what he can do to help her. He can't just tell her to take a break, she probably wouldn't listen and she would probably consider it inconsiderate if she was just sent away because she looked unfit after all that had happened.

"Well, if it's just a headache, you're in the right place to get it seen to quickly. There should be enough Doctor's around to assist. I can take a look if they are all busy as well. You probably do not wish to, but I can take that coffee across to Mrs Hsu for you. Myself, I'm doing much better. I have no idea where the uniform came from and I'm too tired to care to ask, but its clean, warm, and above all not damp."

"For Hardin, I think it best we take it simple. Start with the questions we know the answers to and build up from there. Who knows if he will respond or just clam up or, far more likely, ask for yet another lawyer to attend. For the Hsu's, I think you're right, any visit should be supervised, if only because she is a suspect. Her current condition should not blind us to that fact. But I see no reason, why she should not be allowed to talk to her husband. And being supervised would head off any unpleasantness that could occur. "

If Kylah goes to get checked out, Rangin will take the coffee to Mrs Hsu. He will also say the same thing to Graham about the Hardin and the Hsu's, but it is Graham's call after all.

"No, I will be fine, I have had enough examinations on this mission," Kylah says unthinkingly with a wary glance at Halsey's office. She turns back to Velir and hands him the coffee. "But Mrs. Hsu probably would prefer not to see me again, so if you could bring this to her, please, I will ask Graham about Mr. Hsu." She smiles weakly at him and, after a hesitation, walks up to Graham.

"Sir," she says without inflection. "Mrs. Hsu wishes to speak to her husband. I do not know that should be arranged, but I am sure you know best. Velir and I agree that they should not meet alone. In fact I do not think Mrs. Hsu should be left alone at all, given her state. Perhaps Dobson or one of the other female officers could stay in her room whenever one of us is not in there."

Graham's pleased to see--and hear--that everyone appears to be focused on moving the mission forward as team.

I even made a joke and Rangin didn't freak out, he thinks. He's puzzled as he noticed Kylah appears to have popped back in and out of Mrs. Hsu's room. He debates asking her what she was doing: given that she was just all apologetic and worried about what she'd said, why would she go back in...

On the other hand, he thinks, she's doing fine now and has responded a hell of a lot better to reinforcement than criticism. He decides to let that ride and instead responds to St. Croix's comment on arrest and detention discussion.

"Hell yes, nobody is going anywhere," Graham says to the group. "Of course we're going to arrest Hardin, but we can do that after or during our interview as needed. For the Hsus--let them visit, but under supervision. We don't need to eavesdrop on their conversation, let them whisper or whatever. Maybe they'll talk each other into cooperating--I know that's a slim hope. But let's leave the arrest hanging out there until they want to leave. At which point we'll arrest and detain each separately."

Kylah listens without much reaction to Graham. "Perhaps you or Dr. T'Var should contact Mr. Russell to have Hsu brought down, then, sir. I think your officers will react better to you," she adds with a slight edge. "Also, if we knew what Hardin was carrying--that item Lt. Delaney is investigating?--that would be something to add to the interview. I presume it is the weapon with which Hardin stunned us, but that is only a guess."

Graham nods in response to Kylah's suggestions. He gestures to St. Croix. "Make it so," he says, "and relay the rest of my instructions to Russell and the other Security staff."

He hails Delaney. "Lt. Delaney--any insight into the, ah...thingie...we took off Hardin?"

St. Croix nods and steps away, taking out her communicator.

Delaney says, "It's definitely a stun device of some kind. Very sophisticated - I've never seen anything this small but powerful before. The components are by Remington and Chandra, both of which are Starfleet contractors, although they also make weapons and other products for the civilian market."

"Understood", says Rangin as he accepts the coffee from Kylah, "I'll see she gets it."

Rangin walks into Mrs Hsu's room quietly and nods to her. The last time he had seen her she had been unconscious in the transporter room and the experience had not been good to her. But still, he was glad it was Mrs Hsu here and not Kylah.

"Your coffee, Mrs Hsu." Rangin informs her as he places the cup by the side of the bed within reach. "They are contacting your husband now."

He looks at her once again, shakes his head sadly and leaves the room to get ready for the interview with Hardin.

"Ready when you are Mr Graham."

Mrs. Hsu politely says "Thank you" as she takes the coffee.

Graham was at peace with whatever Kylah had in mind popping back into Mrs. Hsu's room, but he can't help a momentary flash of annoyance as he turns around and notices Rangin coming out of it.

What the hell is everybody doing...exchanging recipes? Game of pinochle? he thinks.

As Rangin approaches him and indicates that he's ready to interview Hardin, Graham quashes it, however.

All right, Booker, you certainly gave Hsu 110% 'bad cop,' odds are whatever Kylah and Rangin are doing is at least a little if not a lot nicer...maybe it'll give encourage her to play ball.

He simply exhales and nods to Rangin. "Ah, Doc," he adds to T'Var. "Would you like to join us? Hardin's old and he's just been stunned...if nothing else, it wouldn't hurt to have an expert's eyes on him, if only to provide ammunition if his lawyer accuses us of exploiting a weakened condition..."

While waiting for Mr Graham to decide on the best way to tackle Vice Adm. Hardin. Rangin reminds Dr T'Var about his idea of a small device beamed in and out of the guests houses causing the loss of the effect of the spores and wonders if she would be able to confirm with Lt Delaney as to whether the device in question would be capable of such a feat and, if it was, had it been transported within the narrow timeframe required for it to do so, assuming Lt. Delaney would be able to accurately measure the time and determine that it was carrying out such a nefarious purpose seeing as it would also have been transported down to the planet's surface only a few days ago.

Then Rangin takes a breath and goes back to waiting for Mr Graham.

Obviously the thought of having to string three sentences, let alone three questions was taxing the poor chimp's brain, well gorilla given the size of Mr Graham, but then both those animals had more intelligence than Mr Graham and the effort the causing him to look blank and still attempt to make stupid jokes, sincerely the sign of a man whose total thought process was still firmly fixated on the devouring of some local herbivore, which, given that this was Omicron Ceti III, would indeed take Mr Graham an incredibly long time to find, let alone kill and dismember, but given that it would keep him out of trouble for the foreseeable, and indeed distant, future then such a hope was a worthwhile one to have that Mr Graham could spend many happy hours romping over the local scenery with club in hand and scratching his proverbials while grunting obscenely at anything vaguely female that crossed his path and raising his fist as some dire act of warning towards any male creature who would happen to go near him, threatening his territory and his ability to find food to feed his starving belly, which would still leave Velir and Kylah the onerous task of having to cover up for yet another of the Yorktown's not so finest engaged in an act of wilful stupidity which would again lead to a further breakdown in communication, more trouble and leading to Velir rolling his eyes once again as Mr Graham continued his ego-driven, overbearing and downright idiotic attempts to get a rise out of him which led to the paradox that it was not a worthwhile thought and perhaps just once in all the time they had been on this planet, Mr Graham would actually manage to perform a professional action in Rangin and confirm that he was indeed a fine upstanding citizen and not the buffoon he kept playing.

Rangin thinks to himself that if he is thinking like this then either Graham is getting to him or he is certainly tired from the day's exertions. Regardless the answer to both is simple. Rangin pours another coffee for himself and goes back to waiting for Graham.

And then to Rangin's great surprise, Graham suggests a reasonable course of action. This was a day of surprises after all.

Kylah does not fail to notice the stare Graham is giving Velir as he exits Mrs. Hsu's room. She waits for Graham to finish speaking to T'Var, then says calmly, "Thank you for taking her the coffee I offered her, Velir."

With a return of her attention to the mission commander, Kylah continues. "If I may make a further suggestion. I think one of us should be with the Hsus while they meet. Not that I hold the other security officers in anything but the highest regard," she says in a monotone, "but we know the Hsus better than they do. Mrs. Hsu is our prime suspect and there is a significant possibility that her husband is an accomplice, or at least knows something. So perhaps their meeting should wait until we are done with Hardin.

"I wonder if Lt. Delaney could find out what company provides these deadly weapons to Starfleet--who was contracted to create such things? Do any of the suspects, particular Palver, have a connection to this company? And why has none of us ever seen it before, including someone with your long experience, Mr. Graham? What purpose do they have, if they are not being provided to Starship security officers?"

She walks toward the area where Hardin is being kept--since no one else seems to be taking any initiative to get this interview started, she might as well--and gestures toward him. "May we go now, sir?"

"Whoa, hold on a sec" Graham says as Kylah moves toward the room where Hardin is being held. "Clearly, the two of you have some, ah, ideas about getting Mrs. Hsu to open up." He glances from Kylah to Rangin and back.

He quickly holds up a hand. "I don't have a problem with that." After a second he adds, "I appreciate the initiative."

You could have asked me first, he thinks, but he deliberately let's that go--after all, it's not like they don't have reasons they wouldn't seek your sage advice, Booker.

"But let's make sure we're all pulling together and do it right," he continues. "I take it the two of you have been continuing 'good cop'--so, why don't we stick with it." He gestures toward St. Croix and indicates she should listen in.

"So here's what I propose. When the mister arrives, 'Starfleet Security' won't let him see Mrs. Hsu. Not like a matter of policy or anything--you know, Ens. Graham's orders. And of course you can't do anything without checking with me, and I'm not to be disturbed--while we're with Hardin. So the two Hsu's can get their panties all in a knot and good and pissed at me. Once we're done, one or both of you can prevail on me to let them talk--how about with one of you present," Graham says.

"Thoughts? Other ideas?" he asks the group.

Kylah keeps her eyes level with Graham's. "It was not Ensign Rangin's idea, so do not blame him; he had nothing to do with it other than offer to take the coffee in to her for me. I went in myself. I asked her if she needed anything other than her attorney, particularly if she wished to speak to her husband. I also offered her something to eat or drink."

Of course she does not mention that this is not the entirety of the story, but at this point Kylah is not willing to say anything more than necessary. She adds: "I did not think any of these were beyond the scope of detaining her, especially as she has not been arrested yet. My apologies for overstepping myself as usual."

Kylah looks at Velir, wondering what he thinks of Graham's ploy. He is unlikely to approve of listening in on the Hsus' conversation. She is willing to do it, although she wishes it were not necessary. She should be able to identify their emotions without having to intrude on their exact words. Intrude. Is that not what I do every time I exercise this so-called gift? She ignores her guilt, especially since right now she cannot even utilize the talent that makes her a constant spy.

A sudden thought occurs to her. What if she cannot get it back? What use will she be to Aldaan then? He might leave me alone. Or he might throw me to the law. Kylah's chest feels tight and she takes a deep breath.

"Your plan sounds fine to me. I would have thought Mr. Hsu would be aware of such a ploy, but as he reminded me both in word and deed, he is not the sharpest arrow in the quiver. Of course that could be obfuscation, but..." Kylah shrugs. "As long as one of us is in there, I do not care." She turns back to Velir, her voice softening slightly. "What do you think?"

Dr. T'Var says to Graham, "I would be glad to take part in the Vice Admiral's questioning. I am very interested to learn what led him to this point."

She says to Rangin, "Yes, as I've been thinking, it is possible that some sort of aerosolized drug dispenser was beamed overnight in and out of the rooms of those who awoke to find they'd lost the effect of the spores. I will check with Mr. Delaney about that later."

St. Croix looks skeptical as she listens to Graham and the others talk. The redshirt finally clears her throat, puts her hands on her hips and says, "Well, there's nothing wrong with playing good cop/bad cop. But with respect, sir, I think we should arrest both the Hsus, as I said before, and not let them talk to each other. I don't see what good would come of that. It'll only give them a chance to get their stories straight, and to buck up each others' spirits and make our interrogations more difficult."

"Fair point," Graham replies to St. Croix. "Mitigated if we keep them under direct observation, but you're right the point is to advance the case, not make nicey-nice with them. What do you think, Mr. Rangin--does letting them meet have a shot at helping the investigation, or are we just dancing around the inevitable need to arrest them?"

"They have both asked for lawyers, which probably means that they both have something to hide, or they want to make sure that nothing they say can be used to incriminate the other. Sad state of affairs really. You have enough to arrest her, him I don't think you do. He can plausibly say he slept through the entire lot."

Rangin sighs sadly. "Unfortunately, we need to interview the pair of them again, For Mrs Hsu to find out what she was doing, for Mr Hsu to find out why his story does not match his wife's. I think it would be unwise to let them speak, for even if we were listening in, we may never know what other conversations may pass between them, no matter if we hear every word. Until those interviews have taken place, they should be kept informed of each other's condition, but I don't think they should be meeting. That's my opinion."

Kylah shakes her head. "Yes, as you say, they have asked for their lawyers. Unless my knowledge of Federation law is ill-judged, which is possible, we are not allowed to ask them questions without any attorneys present. That will take days, unless some subspace link can be arranged. Besides, their interests may not be entirely mutual, in which case they should have different attorneys."

With a glance at Mrs. Hsu's door, she bites her lip. "I... I wish you would at least let him visit her, even if we do not allow them to interact in private or go close to one another. I would want to see how they react to each other. It might show me--" The words are cut off when she remembers that she will not be able to discern their true emotions. I am useless. I have no experience, I have no instincts, what am I trying to accomplish? Kylah takes a step backwards, almost shrinking into herself. "It does not matter, I should not have said anything. You are probably right. But--but at least can we wait until we interview Hardin before you decide?"

"I concur, we can decide for certain after our interview with Mr Hardin," agrees Rangin.

Graham knows from his training in Federation law that Kylah's understanding is correct. Neither Hsu can be further interrogated until they've had the chance to speak with a lawyer. Doing so via subspace communications is somewhat common in serious cases, given the vast scale of the Federation and the fact that many outlying worlds do not have lawyers.

Graham listens attentively and in the end nods. "All right, St. Croix, politely keep them waiting in separate rooms until after we're done with Hardin. Then we'll see if we can arrange a 'chance' walk by...and figure out how they can access legal counsel."

After a moment's pause he adds "And...thanks everybody. I appreciate the good thinking. Let's get deal with Hardin."

St. Croix nods briskly, her communicator still in hand. "Aye, sir. I'll check with the ship if you'd like me to begin arranging for counsel."

A nurse shows you to the room where Hardin is. He is sitting up, in bed, with a dark-red blanket drawn up to his waist. Two chairs are nearby.

Graham remembers the first time he saw the aging flag officer, at Starbase 27 less than a week ago, and the man did not look good then. He looks even worse now: clean and dry thanks to Infirmary staff after he was brought in from the storm, but gray-faced, downcast and... shrunken, somehow. Despite her own fatigue, Kylah has a powerful empathic impression of Hardin's deep sense of shame and despair.

Graham gives St. Croix a thumbs up to indicate she should proceed before they enter Hardin's room.

As they enter, he's struck by the admiral's appearance. Graham feels sorry for him: it doesn't excuse anything he's done, or change anything, really, but the old guy looks like hell... And to feel...trapped, like there's no way out, like you've ruined everything...

Yeah, been there.

When she feels the sudden wave of Hardin's emotion rushing at her, Kylah takes a sharp gasp--his feelings all the more powerful after her having almost no empathic response for longer than she has ever experienced before. She puts a hand to her throat as if to contain her own reaction.

His feelings do not match with the man whom she remembers smiling at her--and Graham too, of course--before attacking with a powerful weapon. The smile had been tinged with a dash of regret, but then it had felt more like a casually tossed-off "Sorry it has come to this" sort of expression. Not genuine reluctance.

But now, combined with the knowledge that he was apparently willing to kill himself, Kylah does not doubt the shame emanating from the Vice Admiral. She is just not certain whether it is shame for what he has done, or shame for having been caught.

She swallows back her instincts to say something. It is not her place to speak and even if it were, she has shown no aptitude for getting anyone to respond usefully. From the Hwuen and Halsey to the Hsus and Fastolfe, all it takes is a few words from her and people either grow angry, fall silent, or literally attack.

Kylah takes a deep breath and reminds herself that not everyone has reacted that way to her on OC3 - the staff at the Starfleet research station, Jan (although that leads to other thoughts she quickly pushes aside), the older Frenchman she spoke to, and several others. But murder investigations do not lend themselves to cheerful conversation.

Hardin sees Graham, T'Var, Rangin and Kylah standing there, and his face falls.

Rangin slips in around the side of the others unnoticed by Hardin. He can see the frail figure there and can see that same haunted look of someone who was not only caught but was never expecting to face the consequences. Strange really, if you do something you should really try to know what you are getting into, whether dealing with corrupt officials or falling in love. Rangin had made that mistake before and wasn't going to repeat it. Looking across at Kylah, Rangin tries to see how she is holding up, as she had been attacked not a few hours ago, by the same frail, pitiful man in the bed. The only other thing coming unbidden to Rangin's mind is that Hardin could really use some spores about now. Their loss, perhaps, another side effect of his dealings.

Rangin waits out of Hardin's eyeline for the interview to begin. The other three will be much better at it. Rangin would only be there if there forgot a question or two and besides he had already prepped Graham with the line to take and it would be better coming from Graham than Rangin himself.

Graham looks at Hardin for a moment. Still without speaking, he takes one of the chairs and firmly but gently brings it near the bed at a forty-five degree angle to Hardin's straight line of sight and turns it around so the back is facing the bed. Graham straddles it and sits, resting his arms on the back of the chair.

"Well, now that we've both stunned each other, I feel we can talk like old friends," Graham says. "I'd say this visit to OC3 hasn't turned out like most anyone's expected, wouldn't you, Admiral?"

"No," says Hardin, his voice hushed. "It hasn't."

"It seems like we have a lot to talk about," Graham replies. "But first, as you might expect, there are some formalities we need to get out of the way." He keeps his voice quiet and even. He tilts his head in Rangin's direction. "Mr. Rangin, if you'd be so kind as to start recording this conversation with your tricorder."

He rubs his chin for a moment, then folds his hands on the top of the chair's back. "You are under arrest, sir, for the murder of Anthony Wilson and assault on two Starfleet officers. You have the right to remain silent. Any statement you make may be later used in evidence against you. You have the right to counsel. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be provided for you at no cost. It may harm your defense if you do not mention something which you later rely upon in court. You may end your statement at any time. Do you understand these rights, sir?"

After the briefest moment's pause Graham leans forward and asks "And--just out of curiosity--why did you stun me and young miss Kylah here?"

Rangin begins recording.

"I understand my rights, yes," Hardin says, calmly but quietly. "I'm willing to make a statement. It's... it's too late for anything else." He holds his head in his hands briefly, and then looks up, his eyes bloodshot. Kylah is struck anew by his unhappiness and exhaustion. "I stunned you because... I still hoped to escape then. To get away from my mistakes. But I know now that it's impossible."

Rangin looks up from his tricorder in astonishment? Did Graham really just mention arrest for murder of Mr Wilson? Considering the footage showing a very real alibi for Hardin?

Rangin wasn't disappointed that Hardin had been giving them the run around the compound for the last few hours through the pouring rain - they were all exhausted and he would be worse than most given his age. Hardin reminded Rangin of some of the Orion Syndicate when they get caught with their hands in the wrong pile of money. And he had precious little sympathy for them.

No, what hurt worse, was the total betrayal of the trust that the Federation had placed with this man. Rangin had joined the Federation in the hope it could help with the corruption of his own planet. It was sad to see that there was no differences, no shining standard at all, they were just as rotten as any from Coridan.

Graham nods slowly. "Well, you are right about that. There is no escape."

He spreads his hands. "As we speak our crewmates are still working away on the investigation--my Security colleagues, crypto guys, a whole gang. Right here, right now is your chance to tell us some things we don't know--yet. Whether you want to do that for the sake of your dignity, your legacy or family, or just to try to finagle a lighter sentence--hell, any or all of the above is all good with me. But right here and right now is your window." He pauses. "Every little bit helps."

Why'd you come here, now, on this trip?
How'd you get started with Wilson?
How long has this 'relationship' been going on?
Who knows about it?
Now why don't you walk me through the night of Wilson's death...

Hardin's voice is hushed but audible. He says, "My dad always told me that confession is good for the soul. I just can't go on like this any more. Killing a man... it changes you. I thought I was ready, I thought I could do it, could live with it, but... I was wrong."

Why'd you come here, now, on this trip?
"I needed to either keep Wilson paying me, or... make sure that he didn't tell anyone what we had been doing."

How'd you get started with Wilson?
"I met him on a cruise on the liner Phryne about three years ago. We hit it off and became friends. He was very interested in my work, and wanted to find a way that we could help each other, financially and in our respective careers. I was... noncommittal, at least at first."

How long has this 'relationship' been going on?
"After the Sandoval Colony was evacuated and Starfleet decided to develop Omicron Ceti III as a resort and medical research center, WR&R was obviously a contender to land the contract to build and operate the resort. Tony contacted me again - I hadn't heard from him for almost a year at that point - and was eager to ensure that WR&R got the job. He was determined to become the director of the resort. He hoped it would win him a seat on the corporate board and, in time, leadership of the company as CEO. He offered me two million credits to pull what strings I could to see that WR&R was awarded the contract, and another half a million a year so long as WR&R kept it. I'm... ashamed to say I eventually agreed. I spoke privately with several of the officers on the selection committee and made sure that WR&R would win."

Who knows about it?
"Some of the committee might have suspected something was up, but none of them said anything to me. I didn't pay them anything; I just tried to persuade them that WR&R had the best bid. Hell, I even believed it myself. Mrs. Hsu figured it all out about eight months ago; I don't know how. She contacted me privately. She seemed to know everything that had happened up to then. She told me that Tony was convinced WR&R would win renewal of the contract on its merits and that he didn't need to keep paying me. I had... made some bad investments, and had come to depend on his payments. I needed the money more than ever."

Now why don't you walk me through the night of Wilson's death....
He takes a deep breath. "Mrs. Hsu was correct; Wilson had told me in a coded subspace message before I arrived that I'd received my last payment. I replied, asking to meet him privately. I said I'd come here, making it look like a much-needed vacation... which it was, actually. He agreed to meet me late at night, or very early in the morning, rather, in the conference room adjoining the resort's transporter room. He said it was an underused space and that we wouldn't be interrupted. He thought I was still under the spores' influence, but I had taken a time-release epinephrine capsule just before my introduction to the spores, so within a few hours I was back to my normal self. We saw each other briefly at the nightclub and he obviously didn't realize I wasn't under the influence. If he had, I would've changed my plan, somehow, but instead I decided to... proceed. I went to the transporter room before he got there, scanned Fastolfe's quarters for the Argelian knives, and beamed one to me, and atomized another as a distraction. A 'red herring,' I guess they call it in the old mystery stories."

He grimaces and asks for a glass of water. Kylah senses the toll this is taking at him. She believes - but can't be sure - he is being truthful, or mostly so.

Rangin looks up at Graham waiting to see what questions he asks next, because Vice Adm. Hardin's statements read like the confession of a man taking the fall for someone else.

Especially, since Mr Wilson was killed between 11:30pm and 12:30am and the transporters power surges that Lt Delaney found, all seven of them, took place after Mr Wilson was killed. Not to mention that is still left a missing knife from the set of five that Lord Fastolfe had, which Hardin wasn't accounting for. Ditto, the appearance on the tape.

Of course, not to mention the final question of how did frail old Hardin even manage to stab Mr Wilson who was a lot younger and fitter.

Nope, Hardin's statements stank like the birdhouse at Cordas Zoo.

"Here you go, Sir." Rangin passes across a glass of water to the old man, while keeping his voice inflexionless.

Graham nods at various points as Hardin talks, keeping his expression neutral but attentive, trying to keep the old man's apparent confession rolling along.

When he has a chance, though, he casts a quick glance at each of his colleagues, trying to briefly catch their eyes.. He was hoping Hardin would sing like a canary--that was part of his rationale for arresting him for the murder itself. His gut told him Hardin was at the end of his rope and possibly too exhausted to protest his innocence if he was indeed guilty. And he was certainly guilty of something--however, Hardin's emerging line about being a one-man-show is starting to feel damn hard to square with all the evidence.

Graham decides to keep him going...give him enough rope, as the saying goes, he thinks.

Graham gives him just a moment to have a sip of water. "So you had yourself a knife--and a plan. What came next?"

Hardin sets down the glass of water, his hand slightly trembling as he does so.

He says, "I had earlier hacked the resort's security surveillance system. The first time I wasn't able to get in without being detected; the second time, I did. I used R33 encryption, and did it through the resort's own subspace transmitter to further mask what I'd done. I knew no one would see anything on tape after midnight. Wilson met me in the conference room at 0130. The meeting didn't start well. He was laughing at me... arrogant bastard." He frowns. "Thought he had no further use for me. I tried to persuade him to keep up the payments, tried to explain how much more we could do for each other. No good. He said he was going to expose me to Starfleet. I surprised him when I pulled out the knife. He laughed at me again - didn't think I could do anything, still thinking I was under the spores' influence. When he saw I was... in earnest...." He passes a hand over his eyes. "We struggled, very briefly. I was so angry at him... almost out of my mind. He was surprised and off-balance. I stabbed him... twice, three times, maybe? He fell down with a terrible cry, but... died... almost immediately. After that... I was shaking but knew what I had to do. I went back to the transporter room and beamed his body out of the conference room, setting the controls to keep it in the transporter buffer for an hour before rematerializing it, and the knife, in the park near Fastolfe's guest house. I knew that would throw off any estimates of time of death. Then I used the transporter to beam up and atomize all the... blood... spilled on the conference room carpet."

He suppresses a sob and takes another sip of water, spilling a little as he sets it down this time.

Rangin listened to him and sighed quietly in the background, beginning to wonder if the old man had gone completely if his rocker.

There was something wrong about his statements on the transporter timings, something just seemed wrong, and anyway, how could Lt. Delaney not notice the power draw to the Transporter. Also...that was it...Hardin couldn't have carried out that last action to atomise all the blood, because they found it in the conference room.

Rangin wondered it carrying out a medical scan would be of use.

Kylah bites her lip and glances at Velir and Graham. This is not adding up. The transporter, the premeditation, the incorrect facts...

She senses Velir has doubts and is less certain about Graham. Hardin may seem truthful but at this point she has no faith in her empathic abilities--one moment they exist, the next they don't, and now they are back again. This planet is wreaking havoc on her physiognomy.

But it is the incredibly convoluted nature of this recitation that is setting off such alarm bells. It is something a cadet with an overactive imagination would come up with, not an intelligent, experienced man.

Swallowing, she tries to think of a way to get the others in a conference. She does not want to raise any questions in front of Hardin, who is apparently determined to reveal every last iota of his supposed guilt despite the fact that they had nothing on him whatsoever. It makes no sense, none of his behavior is consistent with who he is or what he claims to have done...

She must wait to speak to the others in private. What worries her is that Graham may be so pleased to have an apparent solution to the crime, to have caught such a large trophy, that he will not be receptive to any qualms she may have. No. Collins is about winning and competition. Graham... Graham is about justice, even if he defines it differently at times. He will want the truth. Kylah prays she is not overestimating the human.

Casting a meaningful look at Graham and Velir, she hopes Graham will take a break whenever the opportunity seems ripe. With Hardin under heavy guard, she thinks with a quick look around to see whether there is anything Hardin could use to harm himself.

Graham catches the glances being shot at him by Rangin and Kylah. We need time to talk and compare notes...and, he thinks, I don't want to push Hardin over the edge here.


Graham nods. "Your cooperation is duly noted," Graham says to Hardin. "Why don't we take five here...Doctor," he says to T'Var, "would you be so kind as to take the Admiral's vitals before you join us outside? We'll resume in a few."

As he stands he adds one more question, putting on a puzzled expression. "One thing 00I'm confused about Mrs. Hsu's role," he says. "Obviously, as you said, she didn't go to WR&R or Starfleet herself ...what game was she playing, Admiral?"

In any event before the party leaves the room Graham makes sure St. Croix places an officer in constant visual supervision of Hardin, operating under suicide prevention protocols.

Dr. T'Var unlimbers her tricorder and begins a scan of Hardin.

Kylah sees nothing that the vice admiral might use to harm himself.

St. Croix begins the first watch, as ordered by Graham.

Once outside and huddled away with Graham and Kylah, Rangin shakes his head. "It appears that Vice Adm. Hardin is confessing to a crime he did not commit. There are far too many inconsistencies: Storing a body in the transporter buffer doesn't change the time of death like that, it makes it later, not earlier. Also, if it was stored in the buffer, I'm amazed Mr Delaney didn't notice the power drain required to hold it there. Finally, he can't have transported the body away before atomising the area, because we found blood in that room which could only have happened if the atomising was done first."

"It's like he is reciting someone else's story of what happened and not getting it quite right."

"Just for sanity's sake, has anyone done a full scan of him and actually confirmed it is Vice Adm. Hardin? Because he doesn't seem at all like the person we escorted to OCIII?"

Kylah listens carefully to Velir and, when he describes the transporter issue, nods vigorously. "Of course! I knew there was a fault in his explanation of the anomalous time of death, but could not articulate it." Working it out mentally, she continues: "Placing Mr. Wilson's body in such a temporal buffer would 'freeze' the time of death at a certain point, so the normal processes of decomposition would be suspended for however long he was in there. Thus that should have given the doctors the impression that Mr. Wilson was killed later than he actually was, not earlier. That is what you are thinking?"

She nods, because she already suspects that was precisely Velir's point. "If the Vice Admiral truly did as he claims, the death would have occurred an hour before the autopsy results showed us--from 2300 to 2330, or 2345 at the latest. But that cannot be. The video footage shows Hardin in the nightclub until past 0030. And Mr. Wilson did not even leave his suite until 2312. This is a lie. It must be. But why?"

Turning to Graham, she stares intently at him. "Further, I agree with Velir that Hardin's behavior is astonishingly mercurial. You saw what he was like when he--when he shot us. He smiled at us. Smiled. That was not a man about to crumple with guilt. He claims he ran thinking he could escape... On an uninhabited planet? Without, allegedly, access to a ship?

"And this epinephrine pill... What was the purpose of it? We have been reminded again and again that people can be violent while affected by the spores. Besides, why the need for yet a second method to remove the effects? After all, he somehow removed the spore effects from Calvin, Palver and Fastolfe. Why did he not simply use that? And why, if he planned everything to such a remarkable degree, did he forget to duplicate the transporter signals in his own hotel room, or Ebling's for that matter? Someone wily enough to have killed a man and supposedly placed him in a transporter buffer, was so astonishingly stupid as to forget to give himself an excuse for losing the spore effects?"

She shakes her head. "Speaking of this extraordinarily convoluted plan. As he states it, and as we know, it was very, very clearly premeditated. Whoever went to that conference room went there planning to murder Wilson. But why would Hardin do such a thing? He needed Wilson and his money, so he says. Desperately. Wilson had not threatened to expose him yet. Why plan to kill such a vital source of funds?"

Kylah purses her lips, thinking of Wilson again. "I do not even believe Mr. Wilson would have been so reckless as to threaten Hardin with exposure. Why, it would only expose him to an even greater threat: imprisonment for decades of embezzlement and bribery." She looks down for a moment. "I am familiar with such corrupt but highly successful men. They are usually in such regarded positions for a good reason--they are neither foolish nor impulsive."

With jerk of her chin, she gestures to Mrs. Hsu's room. "Is she involved? If he is speaking the truth--at this point I cannot trust anything he says--she was in contact with him before her affair with Mr. Wilson began, at least according to the timeline she gave me, which put their relationship beginning six or seven months ago. If he is accurate, she may have invented Wilson's supposed belief that WR&R would get the contract on its own merit. She may have planned all this to get Mr. Wilson murdered, or to give Hardin a believable reason for killing Wilson.

"The flat truth is that without Mrs. Hsu's actively involvement there is no possible explanation for her to have attempted to escape, much less arming herself. And I cannot help but think Mr. Palver is involved somehow, considering his own behavior."

Kylah sighs and massages her temple. This case may have caused a permanent headache. "Is there... is there any way Hardin could have been controlled in some way? His memories altered? Because something seems to have happened to him between the time he shot us--an overreaction considering we had no proof of anything except the bribery, which any good attorney could have explained as, for example, a sting operation--and your finding him, apparently ready to commit suicide.

"Mr. Graham, I am sorry to have spoken at such length, but... this just seems so very wrong." She folds her arms across her chest, cynical, tired and frustrated. "What do you think, sir?"

Graham listens attentively to both Rangin and Kylah.

By the end he's nodding as he weighs what he's heard. It's enough that he when he says "You don't have to apologize" in response to Kylah it's almost instinctive rather than forced--as if he were talking to a familiar comrade like Mahmoud.

He rubs his chin. "So, you're right, there's stuff here that doesn't make sense. One option is that he's being controlled or otherwise coerced to take the fall. Anther angle is the fact that, as you say, some of the fine details don't add up. But the bigger point seems to me that if we believe some of the most fundamental things he's saying, the 'how's' and 'why's' don't make sense. One: he says he needed--needs--money. So unless he's a total idiot, he had to have an angle for how to get money after Wilson was dead. That points to Mrs. Hsu--and maybe this Palver character--for sure. Two: if Mrs. Hsu didn't go to WR&R or Starfleet she had to have some angle on this." He shrugs. "I don't see how there's any other explanation than that she had some kind of play--I mean, maybe she was trying to help Wilson and things went south for all I know, but she still had an angle. Finally--if he's desperate for money maybe somebody promised him cash to take the fall. If he owes money to bad dudes like the Orion Syndicate, or he's trying to save family, that could be the leverage over him."

He frowns. "Again, Mrs. Hsu and maybe this Palver could be behind this--although Mrs. Hsu certainly isn't in much of a position to make good on any promises at the moment--although Hardin doesn't know that..."

He shakes his head. "I don't like shooting people, but I'm better at it than this shit... Well, we know what Hardin's told us, none of the other suspects do. Likewise, he doesn't know the full story about Mrs. Hsu yet. So now that everybody is either in our custody or someone who, like Palver, we can prevent from reaching the others, we can try to play one against the other." He sighs. "With the obvious problem that the missus has asked for a lawyer. Maybe this is where we arrange perp walks for each of them to pass in the hallway..."

"Thoughts on next steps?" he asks. "I think we're all on the same page it's convenient Hardin seems willing to take 100% of the fall if our priority was closing the case and getting massages while we're here, but that we don't believe he acted alone..."

Dr. T'Var emerges from the room. You recap your discussion so far. She says, "DNA shows that the man in there is definitely Vice Adm. Hardin. He suffers from heart disease and is exhausted and depressed, but appears to be of sound mind. I see no indication of brain damage. It is possible he is under some kind of mind control, but that would not appear on any tricorder scan."

Lt. Thalen calls from the Yorktown. "Mr. Graham, Mr. Wilson's brother-in-law, Frederick Miller, has sent you a subspace message."

Finally, someone from his family. His widow never did get back to us, did she? In addition to reminding Kylah of Mrs. Wilson's curious lack of communication, this mention of Wilson's brother-in-law gives her a little mental nudge. "Oh! That reminds me, sir," she says to Graham in an undertone, her hand reaching out as if to touch his arm--but then withdrawing before making any connection. "Unless I am mistaken, we have never found or discussed a will--or indeed any such legal documents among Mr. Wilson's belongings. The distribution of his estate ought to be considered in any such death. I do not know why I did not think of it before." Kylah shakes her head irritably but then continues: "Perhaps you can ask this Mr. Miller when you reply, he might know about such things."

Rangin nods at Kylahs more comprehensive explanation about the transporter and smiles deeply. It was exactly what he had had in mind

"Let's see what Lt. Cmdr. Ebling has to say about Hardin's confession, see what her reaction is. Of course, we could also just turn around, go back in and confront
Hardin with the truth, however he may find it. Actually, it mihg tbe worth asking how he came up with this plan. If it was someone else's it's unlikely he would be able to say"

"There is one other piece of evidence we have, we haven't looked at yet, that might be easier than Hardin's datapad, and that is Mrs Hsu's datapad, the one she was carrying when she was trying to escape. It's currently back in the CP, in the safe. Might be worth setting Lt. Garcia at it. It might give us something more about Hardin if it is the case that she knew in advance."

With nod, Kylah gives a grateful glance back to Velir. She wants to return his smile but is too aware of Graham's presence.

"You are right," she says quietly, just in case Graham needs to speak to Thalen or hear the message. "There could well be something valuable on that datapad. After all, Mrs. Hsu was so desperate she escaped through a crawlspace in a bathroom. In such circumstances I can understand grabbing a weapon, assuming she was in such a frantic state of mind. But taking a datapad? It must have something she needed or was afraid to leave behind."

A thought occurs to her. "Except... we must still wait on the search warrants, mustn't we?"

Graham nods. He reads Miller's message to the others: Thank you for notifying my sister of Tony's death. She was away from home at the time, offworld, and your message only just caught up with her. She has taken the news very hard, as you might expect. We're all in mourning. Please do your best to find Tony's killer and let us know if there's anything at all we can do to help.

Graham shakes his head after reading the message. "Hell of thing, isn't it," he says, posing the question to everyone and no one at the same time. "Is it better or worse for the widow and kids not to know Wilson was a cheating scumbag or not?"

He sighs. "All right, good points all around. I'll ask Miller--couching it gently, as leaving absolutely no stone unturned--to provide us with any will or related documents...of course, he'd be dumb to have anything openly incriminating, but it could still be useful." He grimaces. "You're absolutely right about Hsu grabbing the datapad--but our hands are tied until we get that warrant. Likewise, I want to know what the deal is with her trying to get to Palver's ship. Now that we have both Hsu and Hardin in custody, it opens the door to taking another shot at Palver..." he shrugs. "We could go in with the angle they both are incriminating him, if we think it might create an opening. I'd appreciate your input on whether that's likely to work, given your interaction with him," he says, glancing at Kylah, and then Rangin. "And Mr. Rangin, I like your idea..."

He pauses for a moment, almost smiling in amusement as he realizes realizing what he just said. "Ah, I mean talking to Ebling. She obviously knew more than she was telling us. Before we take another crack at Hardin, let's see if we can get more out of her."

He rubs his chin. "Unless anyone has strong feelings, I'd say we keep folks in custody while giving Garcia and hopefully our warrant requests some time to bear fruit while interviewing Ebling first. Now that this storm is clearing we should have plenty of personnel so anybody who needs a break can take five or rotate out."

Chief Engineer Cheverez shortly calls from the Yorktown to say the storm has passed enough for normal transporter operations to resume.

Soon after that, the First Officer calls. He says, "The Federation District Court has issued search warrants for Mrs. Hsu's person, office, and quarters, and the same for Mr. Hsu. Unfortunately, the court was unpersuaded by our affidavit as to Palver, either in person, his quarters, or his yacht - at least for now. You're authorized to arrest anyone you think necessary, but the Starbase 27 JAG officer strongly recommends you be sure you've got charges that can stick."

"Well, I guess that answers about the datapad and what to do about the Hsus as well. Looks like we are going to have more work going through their stuff as well. This does lead to one problem though, there isn't anyone in charge of the resort. I think Mr Young is going to have to step up and take charge unless there is anyone else more senior. Also, we might want to consider talking to whoever Mr Hsu's second is and getting them on board as well. You also might want to tell Russell and Harper not to let Mr Hsu go anywhere as well, just in case he gets the idea to go and delete something important."

"I'd suggest starting with Mrs Hsu's terminals to see what she has on them as well as that datapad. If she did know anything, I wonder if she noted it down as well."

Kylah scowls, frustrated but not surprised by the court's decision regarding Palver. They have little to pin on him. In response to Graham's suggestion about going to Palver and claiming that he was being named by one of the Hsus or Hardin, she makes a little grunt of disapproval. "You do not know how complacent and calm this man is, sir. He will see through our bluff, if we genuinely have no information from Mrs. Hsu or Hardin implicating him.

"The likeliest connection between him and the others--Wilson, the Hsus or Hardin--is financial. We need to know more about Hardin's financial troubles. He claims bad investments led him to take bribes. What precisely was he investing in that created such a deficit worthy of committing a crime? Multiple crimes, if he had any part in the murder?" She squints at the entrance to Hardin's room, thinking. "If he is willing to take all the blame for a murder he could not have directly committed, something or someone frightens him even more than a prison sentence. We must find out what."

She looks at Graham. "I think we should confirm with Delaney his findings from the transporter. We know there were several power surges that night, and unless Velir's and my recollections of Delaney's findings are mistaken, Lt. Delaney gave no indication that any of them was so powerful or lengthy in duration that it would indicate a body was being held in a buffer for an hour. Due to the timeline it is already certain that this part of Hardin's tale is false, but I would like to get definitive physical proof of it. Honestly, I do not understand how a knowledgeable man such as Hardin could have made such an elementary mistake by making this claim. How could he not understand what placing a body in a temporal stasis would do to the time of death? I am certainly no scientific expert and yet I worked it out myself.

"This sudden desperation to implicate himself only makes me more certain he is under greater pressure, pressure he did not feel earlier." Kylah gnaws on her lower lip. "Could something have happened between the time he shot us and his eventual discovery in a near-suicidal state? And he says he thought he could escape... Is it possible he spoke to someone after he bolted? Could he have contacted Palver, expecting to find refuge on his ship--just as Mrs. Hsu did--only to be turned down? And threatened with something worse than prison? Unless I am mistaken, Hardin's account--the one where Wilson was funneling money--was associated with a bank with links to both Orion piracy and other criminal syndicates. If Palver is connected in such a way, Hardin could very well be in fear for his life. Or his family's."

She frowns again as she checks her tricorder, where she has easily called up the data she has accessed so many times. "His biography told us nothing about any living relatives. We need to know if he has someone to protect in addition to his own life. And in looking at this, I realize there is a mystery we have not yet solved. There were two accounts at the Bank of Velssere--one 'H,' presumably Hardin, and one labeled 'Q,' which was more recently active than Hardin's. To whom or what does that last account refer?"

Kylah sighs. "More questions, I know. We need a plan. If I may suggest, sir, two of us should take on the search of the Hsus' suites, offices and any datapads or terminals they have used. Of course, Garcia will probably be needed for any decrypting. I also strongly recommend we stay away from Palver until we have something, anything, to connect him to this--right now all we have is Mrs. Hsu's attempt to flee to his ship. That ship..." Kylah shakes her head and looks up, as if she can see the Trimalchio through the ceiling. "The more I think of it, the more I want to test the possibility that Hardin assumed he could get safe passage on Palver's ship after fleeing. It seems the only logical explanation for that escape attempt. He did not come across as desperate or unhinged when we confronted him in his suite, even right before he stunned us--he seemed like a man with a plan. Do you not agree, Mr. Graham?

"But clearly the plan fell through, so perhaps if he hastily contacted Palver for help, when rebuked--and maybe even threatened--that is when he became suicidal. I do not remember, have we checked his communicator to learn of any incoming or outgoing activity? If so, I would like to do so. And if I can be armed with more information about his background, I would like to attempt to gain his confidence. He is broken now. Something might leak through."

Graham starts to pace. He grunts acknowledgment at several points as Kylah speaks.

"Good points, people." He punches a fist into his other hand. "OK, operating theory--doesn't mean it's right, but it feels like the right direction. One: something changed between when Hardin stunned us and we found him. Some plan fell through, or some threat emerged. If he's mixed up with Orions, well, the Syndicate is more than capable of making somebody wish they were in a Federation prison--or dead--rather than in their hands," he adds, his voice flat. "Two, something changed with Mrs. Hsu to make her up and--what? Attempt to flee?"

He scowls, wondering who to assign to which tasks. "Ah...all right, Mr. Kylah, Mr. Rangin, you two search the Hsus' stuff. Draft Garcia as you need him." He pauses. "I'll take care of some of this other crap--getting somebody officially in charge of keeping this place running. And I'll get with Delaney and go over the transporter data in relation to Hardin's story and check his communicator. If nothing else interferes I'll find Ebling as well." He pauses. "Doc if you think Hardin's fine without you riding herd on his condition, I'd welcome the company."

With a nod, Kylah agrees to the assignment. She adds: "I think I already know why Mrs. Hsu chose that moment to flee, Mr. Graham. I had just confronted her with the fact that I knew her alibi was false, and told her I would be speaking with her husband to determine why he was backing her up in the lie.

"It wasn't the mere fact that she'd lied about her alibi--such a silly lie anyway, so easy to unravel considering she spoke to Wilson in a nightclub full of people. But exactly why she left her suite to speak to Wilson, what she said to him... and the fact that the rest of her activities that night are up-in-the-air... The possibility that I would keep pressing her on these issues, combined with her husband getting involved, might have been enough reason to flee at that moment.

"Especially given that we were depleted of security staff, she may have the time perfect for an escape. What astonishes me is that she was willing to risk transporting through the storm. Even though it was nearly past, it was still not considered safe. I do wish we could know whether the Trimalchio was expecting her or not."

She darts a look at Hardin's door again. "Which reminds me, sir. If Palver's involvement--or that of any third party--is truly a possibility, then I think we need as many people as possible in both Hardin and Hsu's rooms. I almost preferred it when there was no way to transport between the planet and the ships. Now anyone could be removed from our grasp by a beam-out and it will take a few moments before we know where they have gone. In fact..."

Her attention returns to Graham. "We have Hardin under arrest, and we ought to take Mrs. Hsu into custody as well--she is involved, there is no denying it, even as a vital witness in the event Hardin's story is accurate and she contacted him directly and knew about the corruption. Should we have them beamed to the Yorktown for safe keeping?"

Dr. T'Var says, "We could do that, certainly, or we could set up transporter jammers near them here on the surface. We have them available on the ship."

Blinking at the doctor, Kylah tucks a lock of hair behind her ear in embarrassment. "Oh yes. I had hoped something like that was possible, but did not want to admit I was unaware of our technological capabilities." She suddenly smiles shyly. "Of course now I look worse. Thank you, Dr. T'Var, that would be ideal. It is far better for us to have them nearby and available for questioning."

Dr. T'Var says with a smile, "A Communications ensign cannot be expected to be aware of every single piece of equipment aboard. But I have had some previous experience with them, and thus knew."

"OK, OK, we've got a plan here--uh, for the moment," Graham says. He calls St. Croix over. "Our immediate next steps are to hope we uncover something good in the Hsus' files and Hardin's. Hardin is--obviously--under arrest, and..." he smiles grimly. "It's a slam dunk probably for more than he actually did."

He scowls. "If the JAG wants something that will stick--" he shakes his head and sighs. "They always do...we don't have jack, really, on Hr. Hsu, and if push comes to shove I'd go with threatening a Starfleet office on the missus, but with what we have in hand murder's a stretch...so, my point is, let's see if we can dig up something more, folks, before they either insist we let them move freely or we have to arrest them for something." He shrugs. "If we have to do it, and the JAG rips me a new one later for a crappy arrest...well, it won't be the first time."

"St. Croix, you'll secure this scene and our, ah, prisoners. With transporter jammers as suggested. If anybody tries to go anywhere, let me know immediately. And as you mentioned, let's help Mrs. Hsu connect with an attorney--unless she changes her mind about it, we're on thin ice talking to her again before she does so."

Graham bounces on the balls of his feet a little, trying to raise his own energy and add to that in the room. "We're almost home...something's got to give soon," he says. As he does so, he glances from person to person, his instincts momentarily thwarted by second-guessing himself...in the end after vacillating a second he gives Rangin an encouraging gently punch on the arm. "Let's get to it, folks!"

Oh grief, thinks Rangin to himself, Graham is in some kind of happy mode. It's probably for the best that Graham, at least, has a few tasks to occupy his brain. Perhaps if Rangin handed some rocks across, he could keep Graham amused for hours on end.

He turns to Kylah, "Ready when you are, I'd suggest starting with Mrs Hsu's office and see what we can find there. Or do you think there might be somewhere she is more likely to have hidden any secrets of her own."

When Graham makes his odd punching gesture to Velir, Kylah flinches a bit, but it seems to be meant without malice. Or if there is malice, Kylah cannot detect it. Not that she can rely on her mental powers at this point.

"Yes. I mean no, you are right that the office is the best physical location--it is where I last saw her before she escaped. But now that we have a warrant for Mrs. Hsu's belongings, that datapad is probably the most important item on our list. Of course it may be encrypted--but if it is, I might be able to handle it. I have some codebreaking skills myself. Should we stop at the CP first, or go straight to her office? It is up to you."

She turns to Graham and T'Var with a nod. "Good luck," she says, and glances over to St. Croix. She hopes more security officers will be placed around the infirmary, just in case. Then, with a tilt of her head to Velir--how nice to be paired with him again, she thinks with a little lift in her spirits--she exits to the corridor.

St. Croix takes out her communicator and calls for three transporter jammers to be beamed down from the Yorktown. She will see that the Hsus are given subspace communications access to a lawyer(s). She asks, "Shall we first advise both Hsus that they're under arrest?"

Kylah sees that Hardin and both Hsus each have two Starfleet guards. Another redshirt is posted outside the Infirmary.

Rangin and Kylah go to Mrs. Hsu's office; it is much as it was before. They have just arrived when Ens. Rawlings calls to say, "Mr. Palver is leaving the library. I think he's headed back to his guest house."

Kylah looks around the room while she listens to Rawlings. It is hard to believe all that has happened since she was here last. "Thank you, Mr. Rawlings," she says, turning to Velir automatically when she learns that Palver is leaving. "I am not in command any longer, but... I would strongly recommend you follow him discreetly. As best you can. But you should probably confirm that with Mr. Graham in case he thinks there is a better option." She pauses and then wonders what might happen if Palver were to beam away... "While you are speaking with him, can you please see if a transporter jammer can be placed near the guest houses? I have no idea if this is legal--but let our mission commander decide."

Assuming Rawlings has no further questions, she will cut the connection and maintain her eye contact with the man beside her. "What do you think of all this, Velir? How does all this connect? Mrs. Hsu is obviously involved, but I cannot shake the sense that she is not the murderer. And Hardin is out as well. Every word from his mouth is suspect, he will apparently say anything at this point no matter how absurdly impossible it is. I think he is ashamed and guilty, but also terrified--and only just became so, as well. As I said earlier, he did not display any of this desperation before he stunned us--not even when he overheard Delaney revealing his corruption to us, or even when Graham then attempted to arrest him, much less the moment he used that stun device."

Kylah looks through any file drawers in the room, trusting Velir to take charge of the terminals. She continues murmuring her thoughts: "And then Palver. He is proven to be lying about his medical condition, this selective amnesia he seems to have developed supposedly as a result of the spores, or whatever wore them off. Thus making his alibi a complete shambles, as well as the excuse for why he lied about being in the nightclub when we first asked him about his activity the night of the murder. And he also claimed not to have spoken to Wilson after the introduction, and that was proven to be a lie as well. As far as his attitude toward us when we spoke with him... well, you saw it. As near-hysteria as Hardin was, Palver was his exact opposite: he was far too calm and collected. Almost... smug. As if he was daring us to find some flaw, to prove our suspicions.

"Velir," she says, swiveling back to look at him again. "What do you think of my idea--the possibility that Hardin escaped with every intention of being beamed aboard the Trimalchio, once the weather cleared? If he and Palver were connected--if Palver planned to use Hardin's influence to gain control of the resort through that group with which he is involved--Hardin could have expected Palver to assist him. But if he got in touch with Palver as he fled and was then turned down... that could have been enough to make Hardin feel there was no escape. Especially if Palver threatened him with something worse than the Federation justice can mete out."

Kylah tilts her head, concentrating hard on Velir's face. "That explains how Hardin could have gone from the calmly assured man who stunned Graham and me to that--that pathetic creature we saw in the infirmary, babbling about using backwards temporal buffers to accept guilt for a crime he simply could not have committed. Do you agree this is possible?"

While Kylah speaks, Rangin listens to her while getting started on the terminals, bringing up Mrs Hsu's schedule, correspondence and everything going back a year or so, beyond the point that Hardin alleged Mrs Hsu found out about the bribery going on. As she outlines her theory, Rangin sits back in the chair and politely waits for her to finish.

He nods in agreement, "Yes I do agree it is quite possible. In fact, if its true, it is quite possible Fellim Palver has being playing more than one side in this affair. After all, it was his ship that Mrs Hsu was attempting to get on board. I wonder if we could find anything to link all four of them together. Let's see Hardin said he had already been in touch with both Wilson from several years ago and Mrs Hsu from a few months ago. Actually, as his flag officer, wouldn't or perhaps shouldn't Lt. Cmdr. Ebling be at least aware if someone like that had contacted Hardin? We know the affair between Wilson and Hsu, so we can link the three of them together. Of the three ships there, perhaps it does make more sen for Hardin to seek refuge on the Trimalchio."

"Of course, if Mrs Hsu was heading there, she isn't going to turn up empty handed, she needs to have something that Fellim Palver would want in order to get passage out of here. It may not prove a link straightaway, but she would have to have a reason for it. I mean given everything, why didn't she just demand to speak to Capt. Singh and give over all the evidence about Hardin, assuming she had any, of course. Maybe, she is as worried as Hardin is."

Rangin frowns as he looks at the huge lists of data he is going to have to trawl through. "We need that datapad, the one in the CP. It's likely to have what she could offer, if anything. I mean would you leave behind anything which might make you look culpable. Garcia is going to be busy on Hardin's datapad and I could have a lot to go through here. What do think? You cracked Wilson's datapad, do you think you could do the same for Mrs Hsu's? "

Tapping her fingers on the file drawers, Kylah considers Velir's points. "I only cracked Mr. Wilson's communicator," she corrects him absently, but still bobs her head. "But yes, I can certainly try--assuming her datapad is encrypted, which I think is rather likely. If I go to the CP I can link the Yorktown's decryption program in the same way as I did with the communicator."

She stands from her semi-kneeling position. "I wonder what connects them all. If Palver truly is behind all this... yes, Mrs. Hsu might have correspondence with him, and so might Hardin. I wonder... maybe Mrs. Hsu did learn about the corruption from Wilson, and she did contact Hardin about it--that part of his so-called confession might be true. Then, desperate for funds, Hardin decided to change allegiance to Palver, who had far more money than Wilson could ever offer him. He would have told Palver that Mrs. Hsu was a threat, and Palver could have offered Mrs. Hsu some inducement of her own. A chance to become administrator for the new resort, for example. Of course, Wilson would get cut out of such a deal, and perhaps that is what led to his death. Palver had to get him out of the way, and ruin WR&R at the same time, and..." Kylah runs a hand through her hair, the possibilities dizzying. "I am getting ahead of myself. First we must link Mrs. Hsu with either Hardin or Palver, and Palver with Hardin."

Moving closer to Velir, she tentatively touches his sleeve. "Does it sound as if we are, perhaps, making some sense of this muddle?" she says with a fleeting smile. "Either way, good hunting, Velir. You were the one to find Wilson's files, which implicated Hardin. I am sure if there is something to find, you will."

Rangin looks across at where Kylah is touching his sleeve and he gently pats her hand twice before removing his own, the contact reminding him of how he feels about her. "Thanks, and I have every faith in you that you can find something on Mrs Hsu's datapad."

"I'll be looking on here for any more hidden files, things changed or removed, any correspondence which might match up with what has been said, although I don't think I'm going to strike lucky twice as I did with Mr Wilson's files. As for Palver, lets see if we can find a link and work from there, although I do wonder who the Q account belongs to. Given Mr Young's inability to find anything, I'm wondering if Mr Wilson was running a dual set of accounts, so the day-to-day running wasn't noticed. But then who would he be paying. Hardin seemed to think he was the only one, maybe someone else is just as compromised as Hardin. And I wonder if Mrs Hsu also found out about it as well. With any luck, we could solve that part of the mystery as well."

Rangin smiles back at Kylah. "I'll contact Graham to ask Ebling about Mrs Hsu, see if anything is known that way. Good luck with the datapad."

With a final look at Velir, drinking in the confidence he has in her, Kylah hurries off from Mrs. Hsu's office back downstairs and the now-familiar route to the CP.

On the way, she mulls over the many unknowns in the case, including the curiosity Velir mentioned, just as she had earlier--that second bank account. Q. It is such a rare letter in Wilson's language. What names could begin with it? Quincy. Quinn...

She taps her thumbprint on the door and enters the CP. If Garcia or any of the others is still in there, she greets them and explains what she is doing. As she reaches the safe, she opens it and pulls out the datapad, her mind still working on the various puzzles. Taking the pair of evidence gloves she has kept with her, she removes the device and looks it over, taking her tricorder and doing a quick scan for fingerprints. There is no reason to believe anyone but Mrs. Hsu has handled it--well, outside of Velir and any of the others who may have touched it accidentally while removing it from Mrs. Hsu's possession.

Once through and noting any results carefully--even if they are just Mrs. Hsu's prints--Kylah begins the process of gaining access, first the easy route, and then taking the more aggressive options if necessary. Even as she does, her brain nags at her to figure out the Q conundrum.

Of course, the bank account label does not have to refer to a North American name. It need not even be a name, or for that matter, a Terran word at all. That opens things up. In fact, the first culture Kylah can think of--one with which she is extremely familiar--is rife with Q words and names. Even the planet itself.

She shakes her head and scowls, not liking the direction of her thoughts. Besides, she reminds herself. Humans know almost nothing about them. Willful ignorance and bigotry. She is certain not even Starfleet, an organization supposedly filled with explorers, ever refers correctly to the Klingon home world as Qo'noS. And what possible connection could Wilson have to Klingons?

Kylah redoubles her efforts to focus her attention on accessing Mrs. Hsu's data.

Rawlings says to Kylah via communicator, "Acknowledged. I'll follow Palver and will advise Mr. Graham. Rawlings out."

Kylah finds nothing of interest in Mrs. Hsu's office before leaving. Garcia is indeed in the CP and nods to her as she comes in. He asks, "Have we heard anything yet about the search warrants?"

Mrs. Hsu's datapad is, as expected, encrypted. Kylah establishes a subspace link to the Yorktown, brings up the decryption program and starts it running.

Rangin sees that there are several hundred files on Mrs. Hsu's terminal, and thousands of messages in her correspondence archives for the past year. Would he like to refine or narrow his inquiry?

Rangin starts to narrow his search.

For files, anything accessed in the last couple of days. Also, anything encrypted or generally hidden. Also anything related to financial matters especially amongst those already highlighted from Mr Wilson's datapad.
For messages, anything sent offworld and not to WR&R head offices.

Also anything in the above involving Vice Adm. Hardin, Lt. Cmdr Ebling, or Fellim Palver.

Kylah tells Garcia, "We have search warrants for Vice Admiral Hardin and both Mr. and Mrs. Hsu. None for Mr. Palver, unfortunately. At least, not yet. How are you doing with your own decryption?"

She uses the time while waiting for the decryption program to search all the data from the investigation for anything involving Palver and his background. Scrolling through the virtual reams of information, she comes across the first interview with Palver. Again she is struck by the ridiculousness of his claimed schedule for the evening of Wilson's death, which makes her shake her head. But it is the financial information that Collins elicited that intrigues her.

"Interstellar Leisure Group, Ltd," she murmurs, noting the name of the rival resort company Palver named for which he has controlling interest. She moves over to a new terminal and, connecting to the subspace net, enters the name to perform some research and see what, if anything, comes up.

She also looks over the info Graham learned about the Bank of Velssere. Along the Orion frontier, where an increase in hard-currency transactions have been noted in the past year, she reads, this time to herself. So someone, or some group, may have been undertaking a presumably profitable money laundering industry of some sort.

That probably accounts for some of the cash in Wilson's safe. And given the stated rumors about Palver's underhanded financial dealings, it is not impossible to believe he is somehow connected...

Her gaze down the screen freezes when she lands upon the highly classified information Graham mentions: rumors that the Klingon Empire might be conducting some kind of economic warfare against the Federation or its allies.

Only moments ago she had been thinking about Qu'onos. It is just a coincidence, she thinks grimly. Do not run away with yourself. You know why Klingons are a touchy subject. Still, sheer impulse leads her to run a search on the investigation data for any mentions of Klingons.

Immediately popping up: one of the witness statements. They thought Wilson was a Klingon agent, Kylah reads with her eyebrows raised. He... he did not seem the type the Klingons would do business with--not a human, surely?

The whole thing seems strange. Are the Klingons really engaging in some campaign involving finances? Such matters are far from their area of expertise. Waging bloodless battles is not the Klingon way--how would they boast of earning batlh--what Terrans would call 'honor'--in such scheming? Klingons are only known for war. Not--

Unbidden an image permeates her mind: the Yorktown Bridge, battered and damaged, with bodies everywhere... and a looming Klingon battle cruiser outside the viewscreen. That dream, she realizes, shuddering unconsciously. The one the night before the mission started.

Again she forces herself to clear her mind. Do not be absurd. Kylah knows dreams mean nothing before a fact. They are the mind's way of processing knowledge one already has, they cannot act as some gateway to the future. Besides, the only reason Klingons had been in her mind was simply the fact that only a few days earlier...

Kylah's eyes open wider, and automatically she reaches for her communicator. "Kylah to Rangin," she says quietly, not wanting to disturb Garcia--or to let him know where her conspiracy-theory-addled brain is taking her. "How are things going with your search? I--I am running the decryption program now." She swallows, not wanting to sound like a paranoid fool. "This may seem like a non-sequitur, but I just wanted to ask you... do you remember, while we were traveling to the planet, learning of an issue regarding Klingons in the vicinity? A disturbance of some kind?"

Graham grimaces at St. Croix's question. "Let's let the question of arrest ride for the moment: all Mrs. Hsu knows is she's probably on the verge of being arrested...let's leave it like that for the moment. But if she tries to leave...well, then we'll just make it so."

Directly or through the resort switchboard he asks for Mr. Young to meet him in ten minutes or so at reception.

Graham then finds Delaney and asks him if it's possible to get activity history out of Hardin's communicator, then lays out what Hardin said about use of the transporter and how it fits with Delaney's previous analysis: prior to the murder, beaming one of Fastolfe's knives and atomizing another; after the murder, holding the body and a knife in the buffer for an hour, then dropping it in the park; and atomizing the blood in the conference room.

Rangin finds that Mrs. Hsu accessed several dozen files in the last couple of days. Nothing is encrypted or hidden, but two folders appear to have been deleted in their entirety, and very recently - in fact, from the activity logs, it was just after Kylah left her office and just before Mrs. Hsu made a run for it. Mrs. Hsu did not access anything related to financial matters, other than routine and minor budgeting issues for the resort, in the past two weeks. It does not appear that Mrs. Hsu sent any offworld messages in the past nine days. Rangin can find nothing substantive relating to Hardin, Ebling or Palver except their being listed among other recent guests.

Garcia looks up from his work station and says to Kylah, "The encryption on the Vice Admiral's datapad isn't as robust as it was for Wilson's secret safe. I should have it cracked in, I dunno, ten minutes or so."

"Understood, sir," St. Croix says to Graham.

Young agrees to meet him in ten minutes at Reception.

Delaney looks at the ceiling, thinks a bit and says, "Everything about that claimed transporter usage sounds feasible except using the buffer to throw us off as to time of death. That's an hour going the wrong way, obviously. Low-level power consumption for a body and a weapon held in the buffer could be concealed and then wiped from resort records; I'd have to look into that further. Atomizing the blood - that kind of cleaning-by-transporter - might not pick up everything, as I said before. I wouldn't be surprised that very faint traces were left behind, as we found." He will get started looking over Hardin's communicator.

"Hello Kylah. Search not going so great, it looks like she deliberately deleted anything important just before she left the office which means its probably on that datapad. Nothing exciting over the last few days in her correspondence. I'm going to look further back in time to see if I can find anything in the last year or so."

Rangin thinks back over the journey to OCIII, "Sorry Kylah, I don't remember any details about Klingons causing trouble in the vicinity, though that's not to say they weren't. You would have to check with Security, I guess to see if they know anything, although Graham probably won't know if he was only getting settled in on the way here. I would have suggested asking Collins...but..." Rangin's voice tails off as he remembers what happened.

Rangin taps in a query on correspondence for the last year about Hardin, Ebling and Palver to see what turns up before responding.

"Kylah, do you think there may be something linking the Klingons to this at all?"

Listening, Kylah glances back at the terminal working on the decryption program. "I was afraid that she might have had time to remove data. But yes, if she did, it may well have been copied over to the device, in which case... The encryption is not as easy as Mr. Wilson's but I think I will be successful. Or at least, the program will."

When Velir mentions Collins, Kylah nods. She remembers the security officer being on the Bridge at the time. "I think I will send a message to her. Knowing her--as little as I do--I think she might be glad to be consulted, even during her recovery." And even if it is by someone she despises.

She hesitates at Velir's final question. "I... I have been pondering a possible connection. It is very far-fetched, and I--" Again she pauses. She can hardly tell him it is partly based on a dream or her knowledge of Klingon culture. Then again... it is no secret that Elas was a hotly contested prize between the Federation and the Empire. It still is, of course, but no one in the Federation can know that.

If anyone would understand a planet being vied for like an heiress with a massive dowry, it will be Velir. Of course he is not the only person in the room.

Leaning forward, she forces herself to stick to only the basic facts. When she is in private with Velir, she might feel more comfortable revealing more. "In addition to the incident I mentioned from a few days ago, I re-read Graham's report about the Bank of Velssere. In it, there is a reference to the possibility that the Klingons are using some financial scheme to gain advantage over the Federation. There is also a reference in the staff witness statements to some of them having heard that Wilson was a Klingon agent.

"They do not believe these rumors," she says hastily, "And frankly I find it difficult to credit myself--but it is precisely because it is so odd a juxtaposition that I have to wonder why anyone would have associated Wilson with the Klingons in the first place, even in a mere rumor. It makes me think something is in the air.

"So... If the Klingons really are engaging in what Graham's research report on the Bank calls 'financial warfare,' it occurred to me that an outsider would probably be involved. Ideally not a human, at least not directly, knowing the prejudices on both sides. And that leads me to Palver. A financial mastermind, with no real allegiance to anything but amassing money as far as I can tell. Would he not be ideal for their purposes? We need to find a connection between the Klingons and him--or particularly, the company in which he has a controlling interest, called ILG, which he told us is a rival for WR&R's contract.

"If WR&R loses their license in ILG's favor, and the Klingons really do have some connection to it? They could gain control over a portion of the planet, and access to the spores and plenty of Federation money, without firing a shot. It is not their standard behavior, but influenced by a financial insider such as Palver, perhaps they are changing their tactics."

Kylah feels her stomach begin to churn. What would her uncle say about her siding against the Klingons here? Her dual loyalties have never been challenged so baldly. Fortunately it is all unlikely to be true and she is worrying for nothing.

"But surely I am wrong," she says quickly, almost hoping Velir will agree. "I do not understand much about financial dealings and this sort of intrigue..." Her voice fades. She cannot pretend to be ignorant; Velir probably suspects she is not as naive as she is making out. "What--what do you think?"

Graham sighs. "Yeah, that hour's a pretty big cock up in the story," he says, shaking his head. He checks to see if T'Var's available to come with him and then heads to meet Young.

Rangin listens carefully to Kylah's theories as she spells them out quietly over the communicator. Something seems odd with the way she is talking, either she is embarrassed to be thinking such things or perhaps something else. But it was difficult to know over the tinny sound of the communicator as opposed to being able to listen to her voice and see her body language at closer quarters.

"Overall, I think you are perhaps reaching a little too far in what may or may not have occurred here, Kylah. We still have no proof that Palver is involved despite our beliefs in that direction, let alone that anyone else may be involved. I'm no expert in that direction, so I'm not sure what to say. You could try Collins, maybe she might appreciate being told what has happened here, asking for her insight, although you might want to check with Dr. Villa that she would be good to take the call."

Rangin shrugs as he watches the terminal tick over, "I guess keep it in mind, and we may find a link in the future. Who knows, but let's see what we can find on the Hsu's and see if anything leads in that direction. I'll keep looking here."

Chastened, Kylah thanks Velir and puts aside any thoughts of the Klingons. I am overstepping myself as usual, she acknowledges, and just waits for both the decryption program to run as well as search results on the Interstellar Leisure Group--although if Velir is doubtful about Palver's involvement it probably will come to nothing anyway, as he is usually correct about such things.

Confirmation bias, Kylah thinks, remembering the term from her Academy training regarding research. A few mentions of the Klingons, together with Kylah's own background that makes this a sore subject for her, has sent her on a pointless and paranoid tangent.

There is no point to bothering Collins either with a conspiracy theory run amok. The other woman, if she is truly recovered and back to normal, would only wonder what ridiculous thing Kylah is up to now. And of course Collins would be correct in doing so; even Velir said as much, only in his polite Velir-esque way. As far as updating Collins on the rest of the mission, that is Graham's responsibility, if he so chooses.

She does wonder why Velir has backed away from the idea of a third party. There may be no proof, as yet, but Mrs. Hsu's shabby alibi was all the proof they had on her as well, before she suddenly decided to escape. They have precisely the same issue with Palver, although unlike Mrs. Hsu he has lied to them twice: first with his false recounting of the night of the murder, and second with this spurious amnesia tale.

The only difference is that he has a better poker face than Mrs. Hsu. And he has no need to do anything similarly foolish as Mrs. Hsu's escape attempt when no one is putting any pressure on him.

With a sigh, Kylah leans her elbow on the table and rests her chin against her hand, watching the two terminals chug away in silence.

Graham arrives at Reception; Young and T'Var have not yet arrived. People pass by in the lobby, chatting amiably, and several guests go outside now that the storm is passing. Graham reminds himself that there are still many people here whom the murder investigation has not really affected. Delaney calls and says, "The Vice Admiral's communicator is a standard-issue Starfleet device. Nothing unusual about it. Its usage log is blank before today, when three calls were made with it."

Kylah breaks the encryption on Mrs. Hsu's datapad in just a few minutes. There are four files on it.

Garcia says "Eureka!" soon after; he has found ten files on Hardin's device.

Kylah sends a quick congratulatory smile up at Garcia. "May I see, whenever you are done with them?" she asks, before checking the files on Mrs. Hsu's datapad.

With nothing of interest on Mrs Hsu computer turning up, Rangin sighs and wonders if the others having any better luck this time. He opens his communcator.

"Rangin to Kylah. I've found nothing of real interest on Mrs Hsu's terminal unless its the day to day running of as resort. Nothing related to Vice Ad. Hardin, Lt. Cmdr. Ebling or Fellim Palver and nothing that might have shown any knowledge of any corruption. Hopefully, the deleted files will be on that datapad and show something we can work with. Have you had any luck decrypting it yet?"

Graham does his best to appear calm, professional, and amiable. No sense ruining these folks' day, he thinks. Although he's not keen on the idea of getting drugged, the transition to noticing all that's bucolic about the resort reminds him that it's a lovely and luxurious place. In other circumstances, a nice place to visit. A place suited to Bennett...

He clenches his jaw. Now all these people are going to be wondering why I'm standing around red-faced. Sure, Bennett would love to walk the grounds with me. Maybe the Sandoval buildings would remind her of cottages in the English country. 'Here, come see the one I burned down...!'"

Someone like her is more likely to associate somebody like me with a trip to the zoo rather than a visit to a resort.


Delaney's hail draws him back to the job at hand. Ah ha--he called his lifelines and came up empty...but who?

He replies in a low voice. "All right--any way to get more information on those contacts--time, duration, target?"

Kylah sees that Mrs. Hsu's datapad has files labeled H ACCT, WR&R ACCT, LIONEL and TONY.

Garcia shows her Hardin's datapad. It has the files WILSON 1, WILSON 2, HSU 2, OCG CORRESP, OCG MISC, OC3 RENEW, OC3 SPORES, OSI ACCESS, TAX and FNCL MGMT.

Delaney reports to Graham, "Of course. One call was to Palver; it wasn't completed. Looks like Palver didn't answer. Two were to Mrs. Hsu; they spoke for less than a minute each time. It looks like all three were after he, uh, stunned you and Mr. Kylah and before he was captured."

Dr. T'Var and Mr. Young arrive at Reception within moments of each other.

Kylah's mouth goes dry at the sight of the 'H Account' reference on Mrs. Hsu's datapad and the Hsus' name on Hardin's; it feels as desert-like as the Elasian Southern Continent when she spots OSI there as well.

She grabs her communicator when she hears the hail. "Yes," she says with a significant glance across the table to Garcia before returning to stare at the file names. "Yes we have had a great amount of luck. Lt. Garcia and I have access to both datapads and just from the file names I can see that the Hsus and Hardin are connected. I was just about to open them. There are some references here I do not recognize but..." Her distracted voice fades away in her hurry to open the documents.

Kylah's first instinct takes her to the H Account file, but she will run down each on Mrs. Hsu's device. With Hardin, she aims directly for the Wilson files first, then Hsu, and then the curiously named OCG files. Next will be the OC3 Spores and--the one that intrigues her the most--the OSI Access files.

Well hot damn, Graham thinks. This is starting to make sense. If Hardin needed money, there had to be a money man. And...did Palver throw Hardin and Hsu under the bus? Billionaire assholes didn't usually get and stay that way by playing softball... And who's on the hook right now? Hardin and Hsu...


He's eager to discuss with the team but sighs and addresses Young. "Am I correct that you're, ah, basically next in line in management at this place after Mrs. Hsu?"

Young looks up at the ceiling and then down. He says, "No, Mr. Brett, the office manager, would be next in line, I guess. But, you know, it's not as strict a chain of command as Starfleet has."

It will take Kylah some time to review each of the files. She tabs through each of them on Mrs. Hsu's datapad. H ACCT is an array of financial spreadsheets, what seems to be a tally of payments made to Vice Adm. Hardin, who is mentioned by name. In broad strokes, it confirms what Hardin has already told her and the others about his and Wilson's secret dealings. WR&R ACCT appears to show money taken from corporate accounts; it does not say by whom, but in context, she thinks probably by Wilson. LIONEL, she knows, is the first name of Mrs. Hsu's husband. This file is a collection of correspondence between them, some personal and some "all business," dating back more than two years. The TONY file is also correspondence, also a mix of personal and business; the oldest of these items is eight months old. In her cursory review, she does not see anything incriminating among the contents of either of the last two files.

Kylah reads all this when she gets Velir's hail. She picks up the communicator. "I am sorry you have found little success. Are you going to the Hsus' suite next? Meanwhile, I have definitely been fortunate, as has Lt. Garcia. I am looking at both of the datapads now." With barely a break in her words, Kylah quickly recites the filenames to Velir. "From what I have read of Mrs. Hsu's documents, none of this is new or incriminating--to the point where I cannot see why Mrs. Hsu was so desperate to take this along on her journey."

She switches her attention to Hardin's datapad. Instead of the Wilson files, which may be more financial data outlining the corruption they already know about, she starts with the HSU 2 file (And where is HSU 1? she wonders privately). She wants to see if there's another connection between Hardin and the Hsus, one or both.

"It will take a while to read these in full," she explains to Velir, "still, for now I probably only need to scan them for relevant names. I know you are not convinced there is a third party, but my instinct is still strong about Mr. Palver. I will search the data for either his first or last name, his initials, and even 'ILG'--the name of his company."

Her eyes flick to the files that most intrigue her. "There is a file called OSI Access. I think... that refers to Intelligence, does it not? Was someone investigating Hardin? Was he investigating something? I will open that next.

"But you might want to take a look at the file labeled OC3 Spores. Why does he have a file on the spores? I guess I will find out..." She clucks her tongue, a thought striking her. "Honestly, does it not seem... extraordinarily foolish, to put it mildly... for Hardin to have kept such details on his datapad, and brought them to this planet with him? Was the man that full of hubris? Unless someone convinced him to bring it."

She continues opening and searching the files as she speaks.

Graham sighs inwardly. Although he's still inclined to regard dealing with nicey-nicey bullshit in order to let others on the team continue with the investigation as the burden of command, he'd been hoping this courtesy call on whoever from W&R should take charge would take all of five seconds. "All right, well, the point is, as you may know I'm leading the investigation of Wilson's murder. In the interest of the happiness and well-being of your guests, I wanted to let you know Mrs. Hsu is likely to be unavailable to resume her duties for awhile, so somebody should step up to run the place for the time being," he replies. "If you want to contact Mr. Brett, I'm happy for him to hear it straight from the horse's mouth and answer any questions the two of you have--if I can."

Kylah looks through the files on Hardin's datapad. WILSON 1 has innocuous correspondence between Hardin and the late manager of the resort. WILSON 2 has a couple of transcriptions of subspace messages, with all identifiers deleted, about the selection of WR&R and later payments between... well, it doesn't exactly say. HSU 2 is a single cryptic message from someone to, it appears, Hardin, about Wilson and his bribing of Hardin. OCG CORRESP is correspondence to and from Hardin and the Office of the Comptroller General, while OCG MISC is files about the OCG's day-to-day operations; nothing in them appears to relate to the resort. OC3 RENEW is about the preliminaries (in-house OCG memos and evaluations) of Starfleet deciding whether to renew WR&R's franchise or award the contract to another company; ILG is prominently mentioned there several times. OC3 SPORES is a classified memo offering a layperson's overview of the spores and their effects, written by Dr. Lucy Anderson of the Starfleet research station here, dated seven months ago. OSI ACCESS is a series of brief notes about the Office of Starfleet Intelligence's armory and equipment inventories at both Starfleet Command and its secret research facility at Starbase 17. TAX is about Hardin's taxes, and FNCL MGMT is about his personal finances generally. When Kylah runs a search, Palver's name or initials appear nowhere in any of the files.

Young says to Graham, "Mr. Brett already knows about what's happened." He coughs delicately. "I think he's been in touch with Corporate and is, uh, waiting for further instructions."

"Possible blackmail," Kylah murmurs when she looks a the HSU 2 file. She looks up at Garcia and taps a finger on the datapad in her hand. "Is it possible to trace a seemingly anonymous subspace message? Or to retrieve deleted information?" She re-reads the references to ILG to see just how favorably, if at all, Hardin was disposed toward the organization. And this OSI information regarding weaponry. Is that where he got his charming little toy? Her hand massages her temple again at the memory of the agonizing aftereffects of the stun.

She also takes a closer look at Hardin's personal finances, curious about just how much trouble he was in. What was this bad investment he made?

After a while she glances back at the other terminal she was using to search the net for information about ILG. Surely something must be available on this company.

From the information presented on the datapad, Kylah can see no way to trace the source of the anonymous message, or to retrieve any deleted information. Perhaps a computer expert or data-retrieval specialist could do better. No memo in the OC3 RENEW file mentions Hardin by name. Several memos and notes by OCG staff and non-Starfleet analysts mention the Interstellar Leisure Group Ltd. favorably as a possible challenger to WR&R for the resort and spa franchise.

Hardin's bad investments appear to have been in dilithium futures, real estate in the Helena system, and cabroline refining.

Fednet financial and investment sources describe ILG as a large vacation and resort operator, about two-thirds the size of Wrigley Resorts & Recreation in holdings and revenue, but generally considered more nimble, better-run and more in touch with younger travelers than WR&R. Financial disclosure filings with Federation and United Earth authorities indicate that Palver is the biggest individual investor in the company but does not hold a controlling interest. He sits on the board but, Kylah sees from several news reports, does not always get his way.

Kylah frowns at the evidence, or lack thereof, culled from the datapads and from the net. She is curious about Hardin's poor luck with dilithium futures; since when could investing based on such a vital resource be a bad bet? Well, that is not entirely true, she thinks as she looks at the terminal. What little she knows about such things indicates that perhaps Hardin invested in some other entity--a planet, a mining operation--with a value entirely derived from whether dilithium could be found there. If there was less dilithium than expected, or the operation had some disastrous technical failure, the futures' value would decrease. At least I believe that is how it works...

She mulls over the information about ILG. Palver may not have controlling interest in the company, but he himself acknowledged that he 'nearly' had one. He may be in the process of purchasing more shares--or planned to wait until the deal was more certain.

Yes, the datapads show no precise link to Palver; perhaps she is being stubborn trying to manufacture a link. But she refuses to believe Palver's presence on this planet, at this precise time, is a coincidence. The thought is preposterous. I might be able to leverage the knowledge that Mrs. Hsu lied to me about not knowing of Wilson's corruption. Maybe that will make her admit to knowledge of Palver...

She shakes her head and relays all that she has found to both Garcia and Velir, and simultaneously copies the basic data to her tricorder and disseminates it to the team. Then, asking Velir to hold for a moment, Kylah opens up another communication channel to Lt. Thalen.

"Sir, I have a pair of datapads with information that may have been deleted, and other messages that need some expert tracing to see if we can identify the senders. If they are beamed back to the ship, would you or perhaps Lt. Cmdr. Roble be able to direct them to any experts in the field of data retrieval? I have copied the data, so we have access to it, but have of course not altered anything on the datapads themselves. I do not know if one of our transporter engineers can get a lock on them or if I should get them to the transporter room here and beam them up accordingly."

The communicator in her own hand, and the thought of the transporter room itself, makes her scowl further. When caught at the transporter, Mrs. Hsu seems not to have been in possession of her own communications device. She checks in the safe automatically even though she suspects her memory is accurate.

Depending on when she is done talking to Thalen, she switches channels again. "Lt. Garcia... Velir... The datapad and the stylus were the only items we found on Mrs. Hsu, is that not correct? Should she not have a communicator of some kind? Velir, her office seems to have been the last place she was before she went to the transporter room--there was not that much time for her to travel. Does she have a communicator there, or is it just a comm panel? If so I would be curious to know if she contacted anyone, or if anyone contacted her. Possibly after I interviewed her but before she fled. Did she contact her husband to say goodbye? Did she contact Hardin? I do not know but both seem possible. What do you think?"

Rangin listens to Kylah as she mentions all the information she has found. "I wonder if Hardin was looking for someone else to pay him instead of Mr Wilson. It's the only reason I can think of for bringing a lot of that data. It really does look as though Palver had a lot of reasons other than health to be here. He's lied to us already and if we can just find a link to Hardin or Hsu, it would be a start to getting access to him and his ship. If there is going to be any third party, some extra influence around, it would be him."

He waits while she talks to someone else and the starts looking arund the office as she asks about Mrs Hsu's communicator.

"I can't see her communicator it straight off. I'll look for it here and if not I'll check out the Hsu's apartment and see if I can find anything there that may assist enquiries. When I find it I'll let you know. Oh and Kylah, I knew you could do it. Rangin out."

Rangin starts scanning the office for the communicator, if not he will head for the suite and see what he can find there.

Thalen replies to Kylah, "Put the datapads a few meters away from you, and I'll have them beamed up. We'll see if we can recover any additional data." She does so, and in moments they disappear into the transporter beam.

Garcia says, "Yes, she just had the datapad and stylus with her when you caught her. And a phaser, of course." He thinks. "There must be a comm in her office, at least a couple along the route from her office to the transporter room, and one on the transporter console itself."

Rangin quickly finds Mrs. Hsu's small, WR&R-issued civilian communicator in the top desk drawer. There is also a desktop comm panel.

Well, thank you for the courtesy, officer, Graham pantomimes in his head. And fuck you too. Damn waste of time.

He mumbles something vague about getting back to work and as soon as he and T'Var can speak without being overheard says "I'd like to talk to Ebling again, given what we know now."

Rangin bags up the communicator in an evidence bag and then contacts Kylah. "I've found Mrs Hsu's personal WR&R communicator, although I wouldn't be surprised if she had her own personal one hidden somewhere. Once I have checked the comms panel in the office, to see if it has anything I'll bring it it to the you to add to the collection of items we have for evidence."

Rangin checks the comms pad to see if any messages were sent from it within the last few hours.

Warmth floods Kylah's cheeks at Velir's compliment. She did need some sort of reinforcement, and as usual Velir has come through. She thanks him and, after getting the datapads sent off, is surprised by his quick follow-up. "Excellent, Velir. Lt. Garcia has reminded me that of course there would have been comm panels along Mrs. Hsu's route to the transporter--once she extricated herself from the crawlspace," she adds with a touch of acerbity. "And naturally there is the transporter room comm panel itself. But you will be going to their suite--and there is Mr. Hsu's office to search as well. I wonder..."

She looks back up at Garcia. "Sir, since you are done with the decrypting, perhaps you might head to the transporter room and check the logs there, if there are any that identify incoming or outgoing messages? And you might retrace Mrs. Hsu's apparent steps along the way--you could coordinate with Lt. Kjaerstad back in the Security office to see if she shows up on any of the video footage. Might that be a good idea?"

When she wishes Velir good luck and thanks him again, she waits until he disconnects before gathering her thoughts, then contacts Graham. After assuring that he is safe to talk, she outlines what she has found--which is not really very much--on the datapads. "They do appear to corroborate Hardin's story of having been contacted about the bribery by someone--who he certainly seems to think was Mrs. Hsu since that is how he named the file. But it is anonymous. I have sent the datapads to the Yorktown for further analysis, but the information is copied to the team's database here, and you should have access to it all.

"But either way, Mrs. Hsu's datapad confirms that she knew about--or otherwise had very easy access to--Wilson's illegal ties to Hardin. Which makes her a liar, not surprisingly. The only missing piece now is Palver. Whom I believe to be guilty, even though I cannot find much to back it up. It is instinct. The company in which he holds a significant amount of stock was a close competitor for the WR&R contract. His presence here is unlikely to be a coincidence. I feel... I feel as if Hardin could be made to reveal something. I would like the opportunity to talk to him again, if I may."

She hesitates. "Oh, and did Mr. Rawlings contact you yet, sir? Palver has moved from the library to his house. I suggested that Rawlings continue to follow him, discreetly. Of course I also told him to ask you, first. I just wish we had more of a connection to better justify this theory." After a sigh, she asks hopefully: "I do not suppose you found anything on Hardin's communicator, did you?"

Dr. T'Var agrees to accompany Graham to see Lt. Cmdr. Ebling. Her guards show them in. The young Tellarite woman rises from her seat, greets them and says, "I've finally received a reply from Starfleet Command, and am now authorized to speak more freely. I am a Starfleet Assistant Inspector General. I was assigned to Vice Adm. Hardin's staff to investigate him when he fell under suspicion for corruption and influence peddling. I apologize for not being more forthcoming earlier, but at the time, I was under orders to avoid exposing the investigation prematurely." She shows the two her message from Starfleet; it appears legit and confirms what she said. It authorizes Graham to fully inform her about the murder investigation and any other information about which she inquires.

Rangin, on a hunch, finds that Mrs. Hsu's communicator is not codelocked. Its internal record shows she was in touch with Hardin twice, on the same timeline as Delaney described to Graham. Rangin suspects she might have left the gadget behind in her office so that she couldn't be tracked with it when she tried to make her escape. Her desktop comm panel was used several dozen times earlier that day; looking down the list of calls made and received, the xenobiologist sees nothing out of the ordinary - all were to or from subordinate resort staff, other than two subspace messages from Corporate.

Rawlings reports that Palver went directly to his guest house and is still there.

Garcia does as Kylah suggests; he finds no indication that Mrs. Hsu used any comm panel between her office and the transporter room. Kjaerstad reports that resort surveillance footage shows her walking quickly - not quite running - from near her office (not actually emerging from the service crawlway) to the transporter room, before Kylah's arrival and phaser-aided entry. The comm panel there has not been used in five days, Garcia further reports.

Listening to Kylah, Graham can't help but laugh. "You asked Rawlings to be inconspicuous?" he says, chuckling. He clears his throat. "Anyway, yeah, after our little head-ache inducing episode Hardin tried to contact Palver--no response--and then contact Mrs. Hsu twice."

He nods, even though he realizes Kylah can't see it. "Your instincts are good...like I've been thinking, if Hardin was desperate for money there had to be another potential source... So, here's the question--who was playing who? Was the missus blackmailing Hardin, or working with Wilson? My instinct is that Palver's playing them all for suckers."

He pauses. "I'm sure you're right Hardin's got more--or, ah, different--to say if we can get it out of him." He pauses, then adds. "If anyone can, it'd likely be you...but the Doc and I are about to talk to Ebling. Hang tight till we see if she can add anything that would help...help you...shake out the truth."

As they reach Ebling's door he hurries up. "Ah, OK, I'll let you know what we learn."

He hastily stows his communicator as the guards show him in. When she apologizes, he shrugs in a gesture of acceptance. "Regs," he says, spreading his hands for a moment.

After Ebling finishes, he rubs his chin. He glances at T'Var and then gives Ebling a high-level, bullet point briefing focused on the key events, such as: Delaney's discovery of the incriminating evidence, Hardin stunning them, fleeing, and apparently attempting suicide. He does not dive into deep details.

Then he pauses for a moment. "So here's the thing we could use your help with: Hardin seems to be copping to hands-on murder, but for the moment assume that it isn't true based on other evidence--we know Mrs. Hsu knew about the whole scheme and didn't go to the authorities, and also attempted to reach Palver's ship. We know this Palver character has money and an interest in getting OC3 away from WR&R--and that Hardin at least tried to contact him."

He shakes his head. "Posit one scenario is we tie up Hardin in a bow and declare case closed on fraud and murder--but that would be letting at least one and maybe more bad guys off the hook. Scenario two...we puzzle out who really plotted and did what." He shrugs. "Anything you've learned about Hardin and this back story on this scheme that would help?"

Rangin contacts Kylah about the communicator. "Well, it looks like a couple of calls to Hardin as expected. Nothing on the desk communicator. I'll bring it to the OP for safe keeping."

Following that he walks quickly to the CP, to drop it off and find out what everyone else has discovered.

Ebling says, "Hardin had some money of his own before he began rising through the ranks, but was, in recent years, leading a lifestyle that seemed considerably beyond his means, even for an admiral. Starfleet pays well but not extravagantly, as you know. All the information I have is consistent with what you say he admitted to you. I'd like to review the interrogation record, though, and have a word with him myself." She thinks. "You certainly have enough to arrest and hold Hardin and Mrs. Hsu for now; I'm not so sure about Palver and Mr. Hsu. Starfleet Command says an investigative team is already on its way here. You're to hand off the case, or cases, to them when they arrive."

Garcia fully briefs Rangin when he arrives in the Command Post, including the fact that Graham and T'Var are meeting with Ebling in her guarded suite.

It is now 1725 hours.

Kylah has just lowered her communicator, staring at the table while still mentally processing what Graham has just told her, when Velir enters the CP. She listens to Garcia's recitation through what seems like static roaring in her ears. Hardin called Palver. He was escaping and desperate and the first thing he did was call Palver.

Once Garcia is done, Kylah turns to them and darts her intense gaze to Velir. "So Palver is connected to this. There must be a way to get this information from one of them. We cannot speak to Mrs. Hsu without an attorney, and Hardin seems implacable and determined to take the blame. Perhaps he can be convinced otherwise, but with Palver free it seems dubious that Hardin will change his mind--assuming Palver truly is holding some horrible threat over his head." After a few seconds of thought she glances back at Garcia and thanks him for all he's done, adding: "I need to walk and think for a moment. Excuse me, sir?"

She passes Velir on her way out of the door, brushing her fingers lightly against his sleeve in what she hopes is a hint to him that she wants him to follow her.

"Right, not extravagant," Graham says, recalling how much the perfume he bought at the resort shop cost. He nods acknowledgment when Ebling is finished. "We'll pinch Mrs. Hsu then, make sure there's a nice bow tied up on her for the investigators."

He's not sure how we feels about handing off the investigation: the natural desire to get to the bottom of things and close the book bumps up against the fact that he's handed off dozens of investigations over the years. Just part of the job, he thinks.

"I'll go for murder and resisting with Mrs. Hsu unless you have an objection, ma'am--with what have in hand at this moment, I'm not certain we could make murder stick on her, but she's involved and the charge is motivation for her to please down to conspiracy. Of course we'll make all the records available to you--I'd like Ens. Kylah to be a part of interrogating Hardin, she's been our...uh..." he pauses for a moment, not sure what to say. "Ah, lead interviewer."

Garcia says to Kylah, "Of course. I'll hold the fort here."

Ebling frowns but says, "Whatever you think best, Mr. Graham. Ens. Kylah can take the lead and I will probably have questions of my own."

"Looks like there is a definite connection there. Why would Hardin contact Palver unless he had a very good reason at that point in time," Rangin agrees with Kylah.

As Kylah thinks, Rangin adds the communicator to the list of evidential items they have gathered and notarises it. When she brushes past, he feels the little touch on his sleeve. Turning to Garcia, "Thank you for the update, I think my next stop is the Hsu's suite to see what I can find there."

Rangin heads quickly out of the CP to catch up with Kylah.

Graham takes his leave of Ebling and hails Kylah and Rangin in order to give them an update.

"There's a Starfleet investigation team enroute, so let's try to hand things over in as good a state as possible. Mr. Kylah, Ebling wishes to question Hardin: you'll be in the lead however, so coordinate with her on when. Palver's the loose end here...if we could get him or Hsu to incriminate him, it might give us another shot at getting a warrant. I'm on my way to arrest Mrs. Hsu..." He shrugs, not that anyone on the line can see it, bit glances at T'Var. "Maybe she'll decide she wants to talk when the rubber hits the road."

Rangin and Kylah meet up in the hallway. No one else is around.

Graham and T'Var go to the room where Mrs. Hsu is being held, and the Starfleet guards let them in.

Kylah hesitates and says a slow "Yes, sir," to Graham. "I am not sure of what the best move should be. Are you... I need to ask this privately; I will send via text if that is all right." She switches to a text message: Are you absolutely certain of Ebling's creds? Anyone picking him up could be in league with him--or even put him in danger, if there is a bigger conspiracy involved. Am concerned about lack of any proof whatsoever for murder. We were not here to investigate fiscal malfeasance.

After typing, she looks at Velir. "I do not like this," she says flatly. "Ebling is suddenly given carte blanche to take Hardin away for the corruption. Mrs. Hsu... we can arrest her for... for what, exactly? She tried to leave the planet, yes, and we can assume she knew about the bribery. But we are here to investigate a murder. We have not a single iota of evidence linking either of them to that crime. Hardin's confession is utterly farcical--if Starfleet uses that to convict him for the crime, they are as corrupt as--" She cuts herself off before she says the word Coridan and flushes before continuing. "--As any non-Federation planet they disdain. And Mrs. Hsu has nothing but a poor alibi to recommend her as the killer. What motive does she have?

"As for Palver... unless Hardin has proof--and if he did, why would he have confessed?--his mere word is useless. Palver's attorneys would be able to excuse his accusations as the ravings of a desperate man. We need more. We need evidence." She steps closer to Velir. "What do you think? Perhaps contact Kjaerstad to check Mr. Hsu's office, and we can go to her suite, but... I am afraid of losing Palver altogether. I want another chance at him. Do you have any ideas on what we can do if we seek him out first?"

Just before entering the room where Hsu is being held, Graham scans Kylah's text and blinks.

Is this commendable diligence, or crazy paranoia? He's about reply--jokingly--that 'we didn't come here to investigate a murder either' but he's pretty damn sure that wouldn't go over well.

It's not like I can fault anybody for wanting to get to the bottom of things, to not let go...I've been there. But Wilson was kind of an asshole, he thinks, so fact is I'm not that invested.

Nonethelss, he's bothered. I'll get back to you shortly, he responds, wanting to take care of Hsu first.

He sighs, now more bothered: arresting Hardin for murder was a play he felt would pan out, at least shake things loose. Arresting Hsu for murder...Hardin had a clear plausible motive. Hsu...if they'd had a falling out, or...anything.

Fuck, he thinks. I can't concoct a good story, never mind come up with proof to back it up...

He frowns and glances at T'Var. Well, game time call.

"I'll keep this brief, Mrs. Hsu, since unless you change your mind we've got to abide by your request for an attorney before asking any more questions. I'm here to place you under arrest for..." he pasuses. Fuck. Dammit.

"Conspiracy to commit murder and failure to comply." There, he thinks, there's a good theory on conspiracy based on communicating with Hardin, and an obvious case of failure to comply....but I'm still not happy with this.

Ironically, he notes, he's consoled by the fact that this might soon be someone else's headache--something he realizes Ens. Kylah for one wouldn't appreciate.

Mrs. Hsu nods coldly. "Let me make it very clear: I am innocent on both charges. I'm waiting to speak with a lawyer by subspace radio. I have nothing else to say to you. Please go."

"I still don't understand why Hardin confessed like that." Velir responds after a moments thought. "To think all we were supposed to do was see how suitable WR&R was for running the resort? I think you're right, Palver is involved somewhere, otherwise why the calls to him. He's a major shareholder in an opposing group, all this is in his interest. Why else would Mrs Hsu try to get to his ship?"

Rangin shakes his head ruefully, "Perhaps we should go and ask him, why would he get calls from Hardin and why would Mrs Hsu try to get to his ship. Perhaps find out what protocol he has in that situation. After all, you don't normally let the captain of your ship just let on board any old person."

"Well, while we are waiting for Graham top get back to us, why don't we go and ask him. We should be looking at the Hsu's suite, but given their secrets I doubt we will find anything there. We would have better luck perhaps with Mr Hsu's office. Well As Kjaerstad is across there, lets ask him to do it instead. A little something to keep him occupied."

"What do you think Kylah, shall we get started, we don't really have much time. You might want to check with Rawlings as well to see if there is anything else about Palver."

Rangin waits for Kylah to join him before starting to walk in the direction of the guest houses and pulling out his communicator to ask Lt Kjaerstad to see if he can find anything in Mr Hsu's office in the Security area, given the warrants that came through.

Agreeing with Velir--especially that time is of the essence--Kylah joins him on a very quick-paced walk toward the exit and soon to the resort grounds. She looks up at the sky as they travel. Is the storm likely to return? Or are blue skies really ahead after all, in every sense?

She wishes she felt more complacent about Ebling, but the truth is, that recalcitrant woman allowed the team to chase shadows for nearly two days while she knew Hardin was a suspect. Why did Ebling wait until today to contact Starfleet Command? Hardin was a loose cannon ready to explode in their faces, and sure enough, he did. How can Graham not realize that if it were not for her keeping that precious secret, we would never have been stunned? The man could have killed us!

"And Hardin had that OSI file," she says aloud, unconsciously continuing a conversation from within her own head. "That is likely how he had access to that vicious weapon. Did she know about that as well? That only makes Ebling's refusal to inform us of Hardin's corruption even more irresponsible."

Now they are closer to Palver's red Victorian house--it suddenly strikes her as both coincidental and ironic that this house, the first one she visited after Wilson's murder, might turn out to be both the last stop in the investigation and the hiding place of the murderer. Kylah quickly looks around for Rawlings. She decides she might as well speak to him personally, especially if contacting him by communicator might give away his position.

She has been mulling over how to approach Palver. "Velir," she says softly. "We need to get into the house. It is just barely possible we might... we might see something, anything, out in the open. That should be admissible, I believe, as long as we are allowed inside and whatever-it-is turns out to be in plain sight. A file, a... a drop of blood, anything. It is unlikely, extremely unlikely since you were already there to inspect the house with T'Var, but perhaps he has grown complacent. And maybe he is packing to leave for his ship...."

It really is a long shot, but Kylah hopes they might be blessed with good luck. She is also feeling a bit better about her chances at reading Palver. Her abilities seem to have improved significantly considering how easily she read Hardin earlier.

"So in order to ensure that we are allowed inside," she continues hopefuly, "we should be as non-confrontational as possible to start with, do you agree?"

Rangin nods. "Agreed. Last time I was in there I was scanning to see if the transporter was active and noticed nothing out of the ordinary. I don't believe T'Var noticed anything either. Let's be as polite and as normal as possible. I'll let you take the lead, you'll probably have more luck than I. Last time with the Hwuen didn't go so well when I tried so here's hoping he is a little more hospitable and it's a little more successful."


When Kylah is ready, Rangin will press the bell at the main door into the guest house for her.

Rangin is of lower rank than Kjaerstad and not in Security. Kjaerstad checks with Graham by communicator after receiving Rangin's suggestion and, if Graham concurs, begins a search of Mr. Hsu's office.

The sky is gradually clearing and the storm seems to be truly over, Kylah thinks, although Omicron Ceti is dropping towards the horizon and the light is fading as the day draws to a close. She can check with the Yorktown for a weather report or run a scan with her tricorder, if she wishes.

The hulking Ens. T.T. Rawlings nods at Rangin and Kylah as they arrive at Palver's guest house. "Would you like me to come with you, too?" he asks.

There is no answer to the doorbell, nor the second time Rangin tries it, either.

"Mr Palver hasn't left his quarters here has he?" Rangin asks Ens Rawlings. "I'm hoping he's just asleep rather than having tried to transport off planet to his ship as a certain other tried."

Kylah thinks hard, then pulls her tricorder out to scan for life signs in the house. She does not want to waste her abilities when she may need them later--and when technology can do as good a job or better. Besides, she has other uses for her brain right now: a scheme.

"It seems to me," she says slowly as she eyes the device in her hand, "that Mr. Palver was displaying and complaining of distinct signs of brain damage, even if they were not detectible by our scans. As he said himself, Rhaandarites are unique and may not be familiar to Starfleet medical teams. There is no doubt someone with his unusual memory blackouts and anomalous behavior might be in physical distress. Perhaps he is in jeopardy--remember, he was apparently attacked via a device transported into his house, or via some other method we have not yet determined. And two murder suspects seem to show an interest in him, too."

Her innocent glance flicks over to Velir and Rawlings before returning to the tricorder. "Yes, I am quite worried about his welfare and believe we have a duty to ensure his safety. What do you think?"

At Hsu's protestation of innocence, Graham shrugs and says "Whatever" flatly, then turns and leaves.

He OK's the search of Mrs. Hsu's office.

Once outside he rubs his head. He thinks it is possible Hsu did not intend for Wilson do die--that somehow a game being played went wrong--but he's sure she's guilty of something and her lack of cooperation eliminates any sympathy. Who was playing who? he wonders, frowning.

For a moment, he's a t a loss for what to do next. How about some coffee, he thinks, not expecting it to do much other than occupy a few minutes to find and sip.

Rawlings says, "No, he went inside and I haven't seen him since." He slyly smiles at Kylah's question, and says, "Well...."

She finds no life signs in her tricorder scan of the guest house.

Graham can go to the CP for coffee, or to the resort Security Office, or to any of the restaurants or cafes.

"I'm going to go grab some coffee," Graham says to T'Var. "Think I'll try one of the cafes, take a moment to clear my head." He heads toward his best recollection of where he can find a cafe--stopping to ask someone if needed.

Kylah gasps. "There is no one there--at least, no one alive," she says with a rising feeling of dread. She turns around, her gaze searching for the transporter jammers she asked Mr. Rawlings to request, but knowing the effort is probably in vain. "Mr. Rawlings, did you remember to ask for a transporter jammer for this area from Mr. Graham?"

Before he has a chance to answer--and she suspects the answer is no anyway--Kylah grabs her communicator and almost barks into it. "Kylah to Graham. Rawlings, Velir and I are at Fellim Palver's house, where he was last seen entering. He has not answered the door and I am finding no life signs inside. He may have transported out, or something may have happened to him. Do I have permission to enter the building by force? I--I recommend contacting the Yorktown to see if they have noticed the Trimalchio evidencing any transporter activity or dropping their shields."

Graham realizes the perversity of perking up--actually feeling glad to hear some news, some reason to act--even though it may mean Palver is dead or fled when he hears Kylah reporting with urgency.

Perverse doesn't mean it ain't true, he thinks. But I was looking forward to coffee...

"Seen entering, no answer, no life signs?" he replies. "Sounds like a medical emergency to me, do what you need to enter. I'm on my way. And I'll check with Yorktown."

Graham starts into a trot toward the house, asking Yorktown for a status update on the Trimalchio and any signs of a transport from the surface.

"Yes sir, but-- perhaps if you question Hardin now, with Palver possibly missing, he might be less afraid. Ensigns Rawlings and Rangin and I are already... forget it, we will enter and you do as you think best." Kylah shakes her head and puts her communicator down, tells the others to stand back, and pulls out her phaser, setting it to disintegrate. Although she is both angry and afraid, she suddenly feels like laughing. How can she, of all people, have become the go-to team member for blasting her way past doors?

"Watch yourselves," she says to the others, staring down the length of her phaser. "Once it's down, Rawlings, you know how to enter and search better than I. You go right, Velir and I will go left." She waits for the others to back up with her, and finally, taking a deep breath and holding it, presses the trigger at the door.

T'Var nods. "I think I will go get some tea, then, if I may." She walks away.

Graham finds a cafe nearby but doesn't have a chance to get his coffee before Kylah's call comes through. He is about five minutes' trot from the guest house. When called, Cmdr. Vargas says from the Yorktown's Bridge, "Fastolfe's Chariot's shields are still up. Trimalchio dropped its shields about 20 minutes ago, with the Captain's permission, after they had a field coil malfunction. They're making repairs now. Sensors have picked up no transporter activity from either."

Rawlings does not know of any transporter jammer nearby. Before Kylah can fire, though, he asks, "Shouldn't we ask resort personnel to remotely open the door for us, or try to pick the lock first? It would only take a little longer."

It was St. Croix, not Rawlings, to whom Graham and Kylah spoke about transporter jammers. I understood from the last two paragraphs of post 3529 and the third paragraph of post 3533 that they were to be for the Hsus and Hardin - three suspects held separately, thus three jammers - and not Palver.

Kylah is too angry with Rawlings to answer him, but opens her communicator. "Ensign Kylah to any security personnel in the vicinity of the Security Office. This is an emergency: unlock the door to Guest House #2, Fellim Palver's house. Now. If it takes longer than ten seconds I am shooting this door down. Respond immediately."

Peters comes on the line after a few seconds and says, "Stand by... OK, that should do it." The door slides open.

Rawlings goes in to the right, phaser in hand; Kylah and Rangin go to the left. It soon becomes clear that no one is in the guest house. There is no body. Several drawers are open in the master bedroom; nothing other than guest house furnishings is there. Palver appears to have packed and gone.

Kylah feels like exploding with rage. Communicator in hand, she snaps: "Kylah to Cmdr. Vargas and Graham. Palver is gone. Packed and vanished. Recommend you contact the Trimalchio immediately. He is a murder suspect and a flight risk. If their shields are still down, a team should board in pursuit--I am willing to join them." I am also willing to slam my phaser into Rawlings's head. "How did they transport through shields? Was the Trimalchio not being monitored for transporter activity?" A thought occurs to her. Surely, surely Graham had instructed Security to shut down and monitor the resort's transporters, but at this point Kylah is ready to believe that no incompetence is beyond a Security officer. "Kylah to Peters. Has there been any activity in the resort's transporters? If so, we need details now."

After a brief pause, Peters says, "No indication on the systems board that our transporter has been used, ma'am. But I'm sending a guard and a tech to have a look now. Peters out." He breaks the connection.

Vargas says over the same Starfleet open channel to both Graham and Kylah, "We were already denied search warrants for Palver and his ship. Their shields are still down, but I won't order a boarding party under these circumstances." He thinks. "Given your past dealings with Palver, you are to contact him directly. See what you can find out that way, and then we'll consider next steps. In the meantime, we'll see that he doesn't break orbit. I'll brief the Captain. Vargas out."