<<Engineering>>

Modifications to the security visors are completed and have been distributed to security. The modules found in the replicators in 10- forward and the ambassadors quarters are activated by specific energy patters are activated. Thus far several Cardassian beverages have been identified to activate the module. Wherein the module will contaminate the beverage with the chemical compound used to kill Vedek Tow.

<<Security>>

All ambassadors have agreed to wear the modified comm badges with biosensors.

<<Medical>>

In your meeting with the LBH you have found that Ambassador Atylori ordered two drinks from the 10-forward replicator before the Vedek died; 1) Bajoran Sweet fruit ale chilled, & 2) Cardassian Hempik tea hot.

David stirred from his sleep... "Whoa. That was one weird dream."

Commander Nganga wasn't that surprised his sleep was fitful. Still he thought he'd better make some kind of recording of it...

"Computer. Personal Log. I just had a very strange dream. The images were strange, perhaps even frightening. I should probably talk to Dekelley about them. Maybe Jayngo as well.

There was fire, and death, and hospitals. Lots of hospitals. Some being closed due to "money problems". Did they really once treat cancer patients with radiation? And computers were unreliable machines. If our computers were as unreliable as those in my dream, the whole Cochrane would be at risk. And through it all though there was hope. A sense that through it all there would always be new life."

Nganga checked his chronometer. Good there was time for a nice long quiet sonic shower.

Bzzzz ... Bzzzz ... Bzz

**WHAM!!!**

Although the ship had automated alarm functions installed in all the sleeping quarters ready to "serve its crew in all the necessary capacities in order to provide a natural extension of the daily living activities and structure of regular routine while serving onboard a starship" ... David always felt partial to something that reminded him more of a "real home" ... something he could physically touch.

"Urhhhmm mmhruur ..." David removed his hand from the bruised and battered shell of the clock next to his bed. Cracking open one eye, (his other buried in the soft darkness of a pillow) he stared at the numbers on the screen, as though trying to intimidate them into being wrong.

The numbers stared back at him in unblinking protest. Slowly, the numbers advanced on his position, adding another to their count ... and then another.

**I'm losing this battle ... I really should get up**

"uurrmmg hmmmrrrs" David instead pulled the sheet over his head, retreated to the other side of his bed, and curled himself into a ball. **He who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day** D.J. began drifting off again. **Just another couple minutes ...***

Zzzzzzzz ... zzzzzzz

Bruno was yet again unable to sleep, it was nearly time for him to get up and he had slept maybe ten minutes. But, he now knew there was two hundred and 12 screws visible in his room. He sat up in his bed and rolled over to find Elroy sound asleep. He walked over to his desk and sat down again. He picked up a small puzzle box and examined it closely. Paul, his twin, had given it to him on his last birthday, it was said to be just short of impossible to figure out. Bruno opened the box, you were suppose to be able to change it from a box to a perfect sphere, with the right code, however, the code changed at random.

<Ten Minutes Later...>

Bruno's alarm beeped, and he put down his box, all it had been doing was frustrating him. He walked over to his nightstand and opened his prescription bottle. He took one large pill inside than nearly jumped out of his skin as Elroy put a cold wet nose on the back of his elbow.

Tiny: Watch it, boy, *Scratching him behind the ear* You scared me.

Elroy licked Bruno's hand and Bruno attached a leash onto the large puppy's collar.

Tiny: Want to go for a walk? Want to? Speak, boy.

Elroy barked lightly once, then gave a loud bark.

Bruno smiled as he scratched Elroy behind the ears again. Bruno put the leash over his chair and walked to his closet to find a jogging out-fit.

<Five Minutes Later...>

And they were off, well they had always been a little off, but now it shows. Bruno and Elroy were off jogging, getting their blood pumping, and nearly squishing poor passersby as they did.

After leaving 10-Forward, Doctor Jayngo began to debate his next move when he realized that it was time to attend the Captain's meeting. Knowing that both Klaus and Tiny would be present, he started down the hall.

Upon reaching the Ready Room, Jayngo stopped and waited, hoping to run into either the Chief Engineer or Chief of Security before they had the chance to enter. Leisurely leaning against the bulkhead, he waited.

Bruno had taken Elroy back to his quarters after their quick jog, and slipped on a new uniform just before he had to leave for the meeting. He ran down the corridor and saw Dr. Jayngo leaning against the bulkhead just outside the ready room.

Tiny: Good morning, Doctor.

Jayngo: Good morning, Commander. How are you doing this morning?

Tiny: Pretty good, though I am thoroughly convinced my brother has an evil sense of humor. I spent over an hour on one of the puzzles he gave me and I still haven't cracked it. How are you?

Jayngo: A bit perplexed by the puzzle that has been put before is as a crew. I must say that I do not like the idea of a murderer running around the ship freely.

Tiny: Yes, that does complicate things. And my mom said this would be a pleasant change. My team has been working with Security all night long and are still pretty much clueless. I got to my quarters about 0300.

Jayngo: May I ask what you've come up with so far? Do you know what foods were poisoned?

Tiny: Cardassian beverages, makes me glad I never developed a taste for them.

Jayngo: That's odd. I just finished speaking with the LBH in 10- forward. He said that Ambassador Atylori ordered two drinks, a Bajoran Sweet fruit ale and a Cardassian Hempik tea. Unless they switched drinks, it should have been Atylori that we found, not the Vedek. Not that this brings us any closer to the killer.

Tiny: Either that or they just had odd tastes. I've met a few Cardassians who like Bajoran drinks. But you're right, it doesn't bring us any closer to the killer. But if he steps foot in my Engineering I'm going to get mad.

Jayngo: And something tells me that they won't like you when you're angry.

Tiny: Probably not, I've been told I'm just awful when I get mad... I dunno, I've never seen myself from anyone else's point of view. Though, if I'm as bad as my brother, I would have to say they wouldn't like me.

Jayngo smiled. He wasn't quite sure what the statement made reference to, but Xiam had said it to him the day before, and it fit in so well again here. He'd have to as the Ops Officer what he was referencing.

Jayngo: Well, we better head inside. I'm sure the Captain must be waiting.

Tiny: Yeah. *Walking into the Ready room with his fellow giant*

"Hold," David Nganga said. The turbolift doors stopped their closing motion and reopened. "I assume you're headed my way."

"Yep," Ned McGintly said as he stepped into the lift. "Bridge. So did you get any sleep?"

The little lights in the wall panels started moving downward, indicating that the turbolift was headed upwards.

"Yes, but I had some strange dreams. Have you ever been to Chicago, on Earth?" Nganga asked.

"You could say that," Ned replied, "I'm from right around there. My family has lived around Milwaukee and Chicago for at least four hundred years. Why do you ask?"

"Well, in my.." Nganga started to say right as the lift stopped, "I'll talk to you later about it. Are you headed to the meeting?"

They stepped off the lift after the doors opened.

"No. With you two in the meeting, someone should be on the bridge," Lt. Commander McGintly said. "Who knows what else could happen? I don't want to take chances."

"Thanks McGintly," Commander Nganga said, as he headed towards the Captain's ready room.

The meeting with the Vedek's entourage went about as well as one would expect; that is, difficult and unpleasant. Yures' presence and Dekelley's empathy and training greatly helped the situation. But nothing could stop the pain, the hurt, and the outrage they felt. Starkin kept her own anger at the situation in check, quelling her defensiveness to "How could you let this happen, Captain?" She felt that she couldn't really blame them, and she did her best to reassure them, pushing away her own uncertainties with a smoldering determination.

Danielle had stopped by Starkin's ready room, bringing a warm cup of tarkanay (a Garman drink made from tarkan bark/pulp). She could tell how upset Uriell was. Uriell was in relative control of her anger, showing a quiet resolve. And as much as Danielle wanted be with her and soften her partner's mood, she knew Uriell would want to use that determination to stay focused. And neither one of them wanted the Captain's ire accidentally misdirected towards her. So she left quickly. Nonetheless, Uriell greatly appreciated the gesture, was again reminded of why she loved her so much, and hoped that things would resolve soon so they could get more time to actually enjoy being together again.

<0800 hours - staff has assembled in the Captain's Ready Room>

Klaus entered the Ready Room first, followed by Skepti, waiting quietly. It was no surprise when Jayngo walked through the door, but she wasn't expecting Tiny to be following him. Starkin quickly realized that given the nature of the technical glitches that were involved in the incident, it made perfect sense for him to be there. Nonetheless, the sight of a large sentient followed by a slightly larger sentient through a relatively small door into a relatively small room, crowding the relatively small humans was somewhat humourous. ::They fill these rooms pretty quick. When I have these two in the same meeting, I'll have to be sure to do it in the conference room. :: Nganga then found his way into the seemingly crowded room, and the meeting began.

"Good morning," the Captain began and started pacing behind her desk. "You are all aware of why you are here right now. We've had a rough morning. I've given Vedek Tow's entourage, as well as Starfleet Command, my assurances that we will find and stop whoever is responsible for Vedek Tow's death and bring them to justice. I hope you've been able to find the information we need to shed some light on this matter, and prove my assurances to be true." She looked across at her crew. "While I already know some of the information, I want to be sure we are all at the same dataentry. Your reports, please."

Tiny began, describing the sophisticated looping program that caused the problem in 10-forward, and that it was likely to be sabotage. His crew is still trying to figure it out (with security.) He also reported that the replicators in 10-Forward and Ambassador Atylori's quarters had been modified to cause the chemical changes that poisoned the Vedek.

Jayngo then explained the exact cause of the Vedek's death: the triple dose of the Cerebus II "rejuvenation" elixir that the tampered replicators produced. He also said how they would be examining all the ambassadors for exposure. Tiny mentioned that the chemicals were found specifically in Cardassian beverages, and Jayngo described his conversation with the EMH, particularly what drinks were ordered.

Klaus conveyed his suspicions that Ambassador Atylori may have been the true target. He also told how he's tightened security, particularly with the dignitaries and their use of the modified communicators with biosign monitoring and relay capability.

When asked of the likelihood of the murderer still being on board, Nganga reported that thorough short and long-range scans gave no indications of any kind of any other starship activity in the area, cloaked or otherwise.

Klaus then explained the indications of the perp's use of the cloaking suit, and security's use of the modified visors to detect it.

Starkin gave a positive nod to Klaus. "That's good, especially if our murderer makes any kind of move." She paused. "But if possible, I'd want us to get this one before any move is made and any more harm is done. Do we have any leads? Any suspects? What about the Boardwalk personnel, have they all been cleared?" She looked towards Skepti.

Commander Nganga spoke up, "Excuse me Captain, but there are a few matters I'm still trying to understand.

"The Vedek was found partially under a platform. And this was while the power was out to Ten-forward. But he was killed by, effectivly, a poison that was put in his drink as it was being replicated, if I understood correctly.

"There is a major flaw here. He had to get the drink before the power went out. Even if the poison was replicated earlier, and added to his drink as they sat, why the power outage. Isn't poisoning suppossed to be a stealthy kind of murder? Why draw attention to it with the power outage and moving the body under the platform.

"Unless he crawled there in his death throes, the location of his body would suggest that it was partially hid. But why? Or why not do a better job of it?

"And the only people around were the Cardassian ambassador and the LBH. Given that the history of Bajor and Cardassia, this alone seems odd. But as far as I know, the Cardassians didn't hate the Bajorans. They were cruel and inhumane, certainly, but I thought that it was because of indiffernce and neglect, not hatred. At this point, what would the sloppy murder of a Bajoran Vedek gain Cardassia?"

Realising he was running off at the mouth, David shut up so people could answer.

Doctor Jayngo raised his hand politely, waiting to be called upon. Once the Captain acknowledged the large doctor, he turned to the First Officer.

"As for the who's and why's, I wish I knew, and hopefully we will all learn soon enough to stop them. But as far as the poison goes, it was a relatively slow-acting chemical compound. The chemical's intended use was to decrease a person's age, but often caused great strains upon the subject and is considered highly dangerous and unpredictable. But, in its intended form, it was meant to work over a period of several days or weeks. The dosage the Vedek received was tripled, but would still have caused at least a fifteen or twenty minute delay between ingestion and death."

"If it was truly the Cardassian ambassador that was the intended target, as has been supposed, then it is quite probable that the power outage and hiding of the body was done as an afterthought, in an attempt to cover up the error made. As to why it was done in such a sloppy manner, I can't say, though I would guess that it was because the killer was also in the dark and was unable to fully tell how much the body was exposed. Of course, this is all just supposition on my part. I could be wrong."

"Doctor," Commander Nganga said in response, "The logisics of getting the stealth suit aboard and preparing the diagnostic/blackout programme, I think, indicate that they were needed for more than just cleaning up after a missed 'hit.'

"If treated within that fifteen minute period, is there an antidote to the effects of that compound?"

Nganga looked over to the Captain, and then to Skepti, and back to the Captain. Nganga didn't want her question to Skepti lost.

"Can the body be scanned for signs of the fruit ale or the hempik tea?" He added quickly.

Doctor Jayngo was slightly confused, but bounced back smoothly with, "I suppose we can pump the stomach for contents, though we avoided that through the toxicology scans. Before we go that route, however, I'll want to get permission from the Vedek's assistants to begin the rights of burial. According to Bajoran traditions, there are steps to be taken before funeral preperation can be started, and removing contents from the stomach falls under that function. I will get on it after the meeting, sir."

"Good," the Commander said.

He looked at Skepti. Rory could probably get a reading off of the semi- civilian. But Nganga wondered if he liked being off the spot. Temporarily.

"In order for Jayngo's supposition to work," David continued, "the killer would have needed to bring the stealth equipment on board, and have had some training in how our ship systems work. If its someone on the crew, or even any of the civilians, the latter isn't an issue. But given the limited uses of a stealth suit on a starship, that and the poison would indicate that the killer had at least two premeditated potential murder methods at his or her diposal.

"This would indicate a serial killer, or a person on a very dark mission. Given the fact that the victim, and possible potential victim are both ambassadors, I'd be apt to favour the latter."

Klaus was beginning to look uncomfortable. The Captain immediately picked up on this.

"Something to add Lieutenant?"

"Yes, Captain. Commander, with all due respect, I must disagree with your appraisal." Klaus really hoped he wasn't stepping on toes.

"By all means, Mr. Klaus. What are your thoughts."

"Well," Klaus started, "we have no indication of a serial killer.....yet. There has only been one death, and because of that, we have no pattern to study that might indicate this IS a serial killer we are dealing with. There are almost always ritualistic type behaviors associated with them that we have not seen in the evidence so far. Let me review the evidence as I see it. I cannot explain why the body was disposed of so poorly. Perhaps the energy disruption did not last as long as anticipated or perhaps the murderer was interrupted. Here is what we do know. Prior to departure from Mars, a former Obsidian Order member was arrested. Someone on board this ship had the technical knowledge to smuggle a stealth suit on board, reprogram 2 replicators and tamper with the energy grid. We have one witness with potential ties to the Obsidian Order and access to classified information and military technology. This person also happens to be the one who was with the Vedic just prior to his death. My prime suspect in this situation is Ambassador Atylori.

"I do not think it beyond the realm of possibility that the Ambassador could have reprogrammed her own replicator to remove suspicion from herself.

"Captain, you should know that the Ambassador has not yet been questioned. I would like your permission to have her quarters searched while that interview is taking place at the security office."

With that, Lieutenant Klaus looked to his Captain for a reply.

"Lieutenant," Nganga said, "I suggested 'serial killer' as the lesser of two options. And given your own additional knowledge, I'd concede to discount it completely. That doesn't remove my second option.

"I agree that Ambassador Atylori should be a suspect, but not the only one. It was the Cardassian drink that was poisoned, not the Bajoran. Unless she reprogrammed the replicator, there on the spot, in front of the Vedek and the LBH, how would she know ahead of time that the Vedek would drink a Cardassian drink. I could see where she might gamble that she could use her diplomatic skills to convince him to do so. But that would seem to be a huge gamble, for a fairly minor benefit."

"But you did hit upon another point," Nganga continued. "Galaxy class starships have been around for a decade and a half. As much as it may gall us, it is likely that many or our enemies may have learned its standard specifications. The Arcade is not standard. That's the one part of the ship that an assassain or spy could not study well in advance. That could explain why the assailant was lost in the dark."

Skepti cleared his throat a moment, "In this sort of situation, I can only wonder who would have the most to gain from their deaths? I'd also report that all Boardwalk Personnel and personnel files seem to be in order."

Starkin gave Skepti a small nod, grateful he finally had the chance to answer her question. "Thank you, Mr. Skepti." She turned to the officers. "The Cardassians are known for having their own agenda. Given all the tensions between the Cardassia and Bajor - and with the whole Federation for that matter - I honestly wouldn't be too surprised to find a Cardassian responsible for a Bajoran's death. Who knows? Maybe Ambassador Atylori's replicator was tampered with because it was her practice run." She glanced at Tiny. "Maybe it was networked through that console that the other console was sabotaged."

A thought hit Nganga, "Cardassians kill Bajorans, yes. But Cardassians have also been known to kill other Cardassians. We've seen that before too. Who else would have access to Atylori's replicator?"

The Captain nodded. "Her entourage, yes. We don't know that much about them."

"I was planning on questioning them as well. They shouldn't be there if and when we search those quarters." Klaus again looked towards the Captain for her approval.

Starkin turned and continued, "On the other hand, we can't just assume that _any_ of the Cardassians are responsible, just because they're Cardassians. This is a diplomatic ambassador and her entourage we're talking about. If we start making assumptions just because of their race..."

"It's NOT because of her race, and we have to start somewhere." Klaus said. "Whether she's an intended victim or a suspect, she was the last known person with the Vedek, so we have a reasonable reason to question her and search her quarters. If she _wasn't_ an Ambassador we would have been able to do this already. She could be using her ambassadorship as cover."

"So could any of the other ambassadors. And the Federation has certainly had its share of troubles with some of the other races as well. Maybe the Klingons want to prove how weak we are by getting away with murder on a Federation vessel. Maybe the Romulans did this to set to look like the Cardassians did it - A feint to distract us while they do something somewhere else. Or maybe someone wants to throw the Federation off by increasing the tension between the Cardassians and Bajorans AGAIN. Or maybe someone just wants to tarnish this ship and the whole Federation by having something like this happen."

The Captain sighed, then pressed on. "And what if she's not responsible? Ignoring her diplomatic status and doing that search could look like we're singling Ambassador Atylori just because she's a Cardassian, which could cause a major diplomatic incident, setting back Cardassian relations who knows how far. I'm sorry Mr. Klaus, but your request is denied."

Klaus was clearly frustrated. What the hell's wrong with her? She cares more about diplomacy than safety? How am I supposed to do my job if she won't let me?!? It was his discipline that restrained him from blurting anything out something he might regret.

"However," she continued, "It occurs to me that if she was in fact, the true target, the assailant may try again. For that matter, there may be more than one target. Any or all of the ambassadors could be in danger." She looked right at Klaus, as if to beckon him to follow her train of thought. "The assailant managed to get a cloaking suit on board. Who knows what else they managed to bring." She turned to Nganga. "I want you to assemble all of the ambassadors and their entourages. Bring them together to..." She paused, realizing a tiny irony, she gave a slight laugh-breath and shook her head. "Under normal circumstances, I'd bring them to Ten-Forward. But given the circumstances..."

"We could use the conference room," Nganga said. "At least for the Ambassadors themselves - the rest may fit, too."

"There's always the holodeck," Tiny added. "We could whip something up in there, they'd have plenty of room."

"Perhaps. I'd still prefer the conference room if possible. We'll have to see." She returned to face Klaus. "Anyway, Lieutenant, we can bring them together and then talk with them about what they know, one by one."

Klaus eased up. "And while we question them..."

"..you can have security teams do detailed searches of ALL the ambassadors' quarters to - of course - ensure that there's been no other sabotage that we might have missed before. We can't be too safe now, can we?"

"We can start with Atylori? She needs to be questioned about what happened... and... might especially be in danger."

"Of course. I leave the order entirely to your discretion, Mr. Klaus."

"I also suggest that we do in fact, use the holodeck as a meeting place, where we can have security officers concealed in a holographic 'duck blind.' That way we can.. protect... and monitor our guests unobtrusively."

"Yes... that seems reasonable, given the circumstances. Very well."

"I'll get Ensign Corbin's team on that."

Nganga shifted his weight. "Some of the ambassadors won't be too happy about all this."

"I'M not too happy about this, Commander." Starkin replied. "I can't single out any one ambassador. If I'm going to annoy one, I have to annoy them all."

Doctor Jayngo waited patiently for a pause in the conversation. "Captain?"

Once he had their attention, he continued. "I just wanted to point out that Ambassador Atylori did not arrive with an entourage. In fact, she was the only one who didn't." When caught in the questioning glance, he continued "I made note of the fact when they all came aboard. It always helps to know who your potential patients may be. In an official capacity, she is the only Cardassian that should be aboard. However, if you wanted to be doubly sure, you could probably have the computer scan for Cardassian life signs."

"Well, Captain," Nganga said, "Something that may cheer you up to a small degree, but we should keep from the ambassadors, is that I have an idea that may allow Mr. Klaus to narrow his search."

The Captain nodded, "Go on."

"As you know, the security sensors have been disabled down 'Ambassador's Row', to allow the ambassadors privacy. But, for fairly obvious reasons, we haven't disabled the passive sensors used by the Environmental Systems and Engineering."

"The controls that keep the temperature stable?" the Captain asked.

"Exactly."

"And with the different races having different comfort zones, that system is active a lot." The Captain added.

"It's standard procedure, in fact, for Engineering to increase the sensitivity of the temperature sensors in the rooms where diplomats will be," Nganga said. "A comfortable ambassador is a pliable ambassador."

Tiny nodded, even though it was his predecessor who had done the setup for this mission.

Nganga continued, "Every warm blooded being gives off some heat. If I have my quarters set to a temperature of 23 degrees, and I'm out, and then come into the room, with my body maintaining a 37 degree internal temperature, the room is warmed just a little. The EV system detects this and adjusts the controls to cool the room just enough to compensate.

(Kenn's note - The temperatures given are in degrees Celsius, which would be understood. They are the equivalent of 73.4 F and 98.6 F .)

"Assuming the ambassadors don't pay many diplomatic visits to one another at 0300, the bulk of the nighttime hours should give us a baseline. Between the temperature sensors, and data from the power systems and the routing couplings, we should be able to detect the murderer's movement when he moved to that section of the ship."

"Of course," Starkin said, "Telling us where the assailant stopped moving. Could we extrapolate from ... the amount of change in heat, the race of the killer?"

"We'd be able to tell how much heat was added, and that's going to vary between the size of a particular individual and his internal temperature and metabolism. I don't know the specifics of the various races, but I believe there are some wide variances. If someone from medical, familiar with the races," Nganga looked at Jayngo, "coordinated with Engineering when going through the Environmental System data," Nganga looked at Tiny, "we'd have a pretty good chance of deter- verifying the race of the killer."

"It sounds like a viable premise to me sir. I'd be happy to work with Commander Tiny on it. But," Dr. Jayngo catches himself, "I know that Commander Tiny is also Dr. Tiny, and could probably conduct the investigation himself. I will leave that up to him," turning to the other large man.

Bruno looked at Jayngo and smiled slightly. "I wouldn't mind your help, Doctor, I lean more to genetic sciences than the general area."

"Then it will be my pleasure."

"That sounds reasonable to me, Doctor," Starkin said. "Be sure to assign someone to determine which drink the Vedek had, so you are free to work with Commander Tiny on this."

"Yes sir." Jayngo turned to Nganga. "To answer your earlier question, Commander, I have generated a counter-agent to the rejuvination formula and have it on stock, so I could administer it anywhere from two to ten minutes after ingestion and hopefully stop the process. But it would of course depend on the original dosage given and how quickly the counter agent could be applied."

"Oh yes. That's good to know." It took David a beat to recall the question. In all the discussion, it was a question that was all but lost. "So, the body might have been hidden where it was to make sure no antidote could be given to him in time..."

"Commander," the Captain interjected with authority. The time for conjecture had clearly ended. "With the Doctor working on the temperature analysis, I want you to run the scan to check for additional Cardassian life signs. In fact..." Starkin paused. "Belay that. Work with Ops and run a shipwide scan for every sentient on board, Cardassian or otherwise. Cross reference that with the ship's manifest, and see if there's anyone on board who is not accounted for."

"Yes, sir," the Commander replied.

"Lieutenant Klaus, have Lieutenant T'Vala run the detailed searches in 'Ambasadors Alley'. I want you to be in charge of the questioning in the Holodeck after Ensign Corbin sets it up. Get Counselor Dekelley to be there as well - he's still counseling the Bajorans as well as some nervous civilians on board. His presence should hopefully help smooth things out with the ambassadors."

"He may also help take their focus off of security," Klaus added. "Very well, Captain."

"As far as the hows and whys, I agree that it's a safe assumption that the killer had multiple avenues of murder; but we can fly around in circles debating all the possible motives and reasons it happened the way it did. We won't know the specifics until we catch and question the murderer ourselves. Which means we all need to get back to work. You have your assignments. Dismissed."

As the group could start filing out, the Captain said, "Mr. Skepti, a word please?"

The rest of the group left, leaving the officer and the civilian. The tension was evident.

"You seemed rather quiet during the meeting." Starkin paced towards the man.

"Yes sir."

"Any particular reason?"

"Not much to say."

The Captain sighed. "I was hoping you would have... contributed a little more, especially given your unique perspective and different background."

"I gave my report, Captain."

"Well, I hope that if you ever have more to report, that you will do so."

"You should have more faith in your crew, Captain," Skepti answered. "If there's anything you need to know, you'll know."

Starkin paused, taken slightly aback. "Very well. Dismissed." After Skepti left, she took a moment and stood there, contemplating what the enegmatic man had meant.

After filing out, Commander Nganga headed over to the command chairs. Then an idea hit him. He headed back towards the Ready Room, but avoided getting close enough to trigger the door chime.

When Skepti left, Nganga stepped close enough to the enterance that the door would stay open.

The Captain was standing, pondering something.

David waited several moments not wanting to interupt his captain. When she looked up, Nganga uttered a simple, "Excuse me, Captain."

The Captain broke from her reverie, shaking it off. "Oh... yes, Commander. What is it?"

Commander Nganga walked in, allowing the door to close.

"As you know, we disabled the sensors in 'Ambassadors Alley'. While accessing the evironmental sensors may give us some information, it is untried. Then it occurred to me, the runabouts."

Nganga paused.

"I thought I might take the Mozart out, and use its sensors to scan the Cochrane."

The Captain considered this for a moment. It would be a little while before the Ambassadors were herded to the holodeck. Besides, if the sensors remain off, an extra person could possibly remain hidden there. This way, they wouldn't have to break the agreement with the ambassadors unless they really needed to. "Yes.. good idea Commander. When you're ready, have McGintly drop us out of warp. You'll have to be relatively quick about it. Once you're back onboard, we'll continue traveling to Camp Khitomer. We'll also increase our warp speed to compensate. Meanwhile, have Ops still run the internal scans, then we can cross check the results. We'll also run an internal scan again, once the ambassadors are in the holodeck."

"I should probably bring a pilot."

"Agreed, if you're going to be running the scans." She tilted her head down with her eyes looking up to David. Almost hesitantly, she said, "You might consider Ensign Paxton."

With a raised eyebrow, Nganga replied, "Is that order, sir?"

"No no, just a suggestion. You can run this however you want, Commander." She looked at her desk then back at Nganga. "I have faith in you."

A slight smile came to his face. "Alright, Paxton it is." He tapped his comm badge and looked into the air. "Nganga to Ensign Paxton."

=^= Paxton here, sir. =^=

"Ensign, meet me in Shuttle Bay One." He looked at the captain and widened his smile. "You've got a ship to fly." Starkin nodded slightly in return.

=^= Uhh.. Yes sir. On my way! =^=

Nganga straighted himself, his body language asking for his dismissal. "Captain."

The Captain nodded in reply and watched her first officer turn and leave. After the doors closed, she muttered to herself, "I have faith in you."

Cal barely saw the second as he swept past him, his features set stonily. After a dozen steps he rounds a corner and glances around with an angry glare. Seemingly assuaged for the nonce, Skepti keys his com.

Striding purposely from Quark's, Mr. Falan paused as his communicator chirped =^=Skepti to Falan=^=. Xavier answering smile faded away and he blew out a deep breath before responding, **What now? What else can I do for this guy?**. "Falan here, Mr. Skepti."

=^=The Captain still had some questions, Mr. Falan. Some pointed questions, Mr. Falan. I'd know why.=^=

"I don't understand Mr. Skepti. I did all that you asked." Falan glances around with suspicious eyes, the young waitress passes his by with a questioning stare. "Something the..." Falan cuts her off and stalks away.

=^=Very well, Mr. Falan. Perhaps, our duties require a little more... coercion. Skepti out.=^=

Prologue	Part 1	Part 2	Part 3	Part 4	Part 5	Part 6
Entire story in one text file