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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dobson helps herself to some ice water before sitting down.

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

While waiting, he wanders up and gets another coffee.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Some," Graham replies.

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

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

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

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