Suspicious Minds

Posted on Wed May 19th, 2021 @ 11:11pm by Captain Bethsabée Leroux & Petty Officer, 3rd Class Callistus 'CJ' Jackson & Commander William Gerhard & Chief Petty Officer Manishie Karalo

Mission: Mission 4 - Eden
Location: The Caelestis
Timeline: Day 166 19:00
2035 words - 4.1 OF Standard Post Measure

Beth sat on the floor of the strange and alien ship still watching people come and go but no one spoke to her and she spoke back to no one who attempted to make eye contact with her. Everyone kept giving her the same pity look that she felt like she was feeling herself as she stared at the blood that was caked in our hands. Someone murdered him. Someone had murdered Aurelius and they have never fixed what had gone on between them. She glanced over seeing the dead body again and flinched. The man lay on the cold floor and there was nothing that anyone could do to fix it. They were hours too late.

Manishie had been called up to report to the Caelestis with her forensics kit but without further explanation. It was standard procedure for incidents to not inform people over the comms channels, to protect information in the investigation from prying ears. She had seen the blood trail lead into the room and once inside found a large group of people, probably officers nearby when the incident first occurred or when the aftermath was first found. She saw the Captain on the floor, avoiding eye contact, shuddering. She opened her case and grabbed a sampler before stepping closer to the commanding officer of the Atlantis.

Beth sighed heavily when that thought crossed her mind again. She closed her eyes for a moment, to keep the tears that had started to occupy her eyes from falling when she suddenly felt the presence of someone staring at her. She looked up at the people finally wanting to take her statement.

"Let's get you cleaned up, shall we?" Manishe gave a warm smile, putting a hand on the Captain's shoulder to give her an encouraging pat, hoping to put her more at ease and to pull her back out of the foggy state she was in.

William held his scanner and made sure he had the readings he needed for the forensics report. He had already had the scene photographed and the position and state of the body documented. He made sure he had everything he needed before he nodded to the medical team so they could take his fallen crewmate back to the ship for an autopsy. As they unfolded the body bag, he spoke to the leading petty officer, "Once you have him secured, take him to sickbay so Dr. zh'Kenarh can start the autopsy. Treat him with care, someday we are going to return him home."

Beth noticed the comment and frowned a little. Beth had not expected the voice and looked up at Manishe confused for a moment before recognition hit her. "Chief Petty Officer? Sorry, I um... what did you say?" Beth wondered softly putting her hands down from where she had been looking at them listening to what William said. They were going to be running out of Morgue space at this rate.

Moving the device over the Captain's hands cleaned them and more conveniently gathered the biological evidence that was on her hands. Though it was clear that it had come from her rushing to a friend's aide, it was good to gather these sorts of things to avoid any scrutiny when files were reviewed by HQ. Although Manishie realised that HQ probably would see these files for another hundred years.

Rossi arrived a few moments later, and took in the scene before him and frowned. He walked the exterior of the scene quietly, and methodically, as he listened to the discussion occurring around him.

William saw Rossi enter and made his way over to him. He placed his scanner in his pocket and stood with his arms across his chest and surveyed the scene. He waited while the ensign walked the scene and then signalled him over. "Well, what are your initial thoughts," he asked quietly so as not to interrupt the Captain's statement.

CJ was no sure what was needed but stood to the side looking over at everything. He had never been involved in anything like this but it was all hands to the deck with the situation the way it was first with them being lost in space and secondly with the current situation with a murder. "Do you need me Chief? Lieutenant? Captain?" He asked respectfully even if she was a suspect.

Manishie looked up at CJ, "Could you get the Captain something to drink, water preferably." She turned back to Beth, "could you start by walking us through to what led up to you finding the victim?" She tried to make it sound clinical in the hopes that it would help her have an objective run down of the events. This was only the first time of a couple of times where the Captain would be asked to recount the events. This helped them filter out the truth, which was often unknowable and guaranteed to be messy in these sorts of events.

CJ nodded as Captain seemed to stir now that there was no longer as much blood on her hands. He quickly disappeared off to find a canteen of water. "I think we all need to listen in on the Captain for obvious reasons," CJ whispered to the two men who were stood whispering as he returned with water just in time for Beth to open her mouth and hopefully start to explain what has happened.

"Thank you Petty Officer." She whispered taking a few sips before she shivered a little. "I needed a moment to myself and decided to wander from the amphitheatre of sorts. I started to walk down the corridor and spotted the red... red puddle... blood. Only one thing's that red in the whole universe or sticky." She looked at her hands again wringing them for a moment before she looked at the Chief. "I was on autopilot and followed the trail until you heard my scream when I found him. I should not have... I should not have tried to resuscitate him it was too late. He was cold." She hated how that sounded but it was not much more to it, she had been too late.

"Was there anything that stood out to you about the room or about him when you came in?" Manishie didn't take pleasure in having to ask probing questions about what were always traumatic experiences to these people, especially knowing that this was something that they'd have to do on repeat for the next few days. She finished cleaning up the Captain's hands and reached back with the device automatically assuming there'd be someone that would keep that separate for processing.

CJ took the item and passed back to the armoury chief. He wasn’t anywhere near as good as anyone else but he was a watcher and he was watching the captain intently from the way she stared at her hands in shock to the way she was shaking. There was no way she was a murderer in his opinion But his opinion was in the one that mattered it was the chief armoury officer and investigation officers. Beth looked up at them all and shook her head nothing seemed out of place. She wasn’t sure how she was meant to know what was in place and what was out of place.

“Nothing seemed odd, nothing seemed like you didn’t belong here this is another type of ship I don’t know what the norm is. It’s just... The only thing that seemed odd was the blood which is why I followed.”

William listened to the Captain's statement as she recalled the circumstances surrounding the discovery of the body. He could tell she was distressed. "You don't need to apologize for anything. As you said you were running on autopilot and you followed your training to render aid when you saw a member of your crew injured. You didn't know the severity of his injuries or how long he had been laying here," he said gently. He knew a person's natural instinct was to do what she had done. "Do you know why he would've been in this area, to begin with," he asked.

“No. He said he was searching out things to boost morale a few days back but I have not been speaking much to him last few weeks been letting him get on with things.” Beth said gulping down the water and the bile that was threatening to creep up her throat from all the emotions she was feeling over it.

Manishie sat back a bit, to allow for William to join in the conversation physically as well, "are there any other people he's close with that you know of, professionally or personally?" It was clear that the Chief didn't consider Beth a viable suspect so she would just have to investigate that angle when there weren't so many other people looming over her shoulder.

"Professionally I think he is close to all the pilots onboard and all the senior officers. Personally, we used to be close but he is now close to Leyton." Beth murmured wincing at the burning in her throat. She hated shock, it left her weak and vulnerable when she could not be like that even if she was a suspect. "How long was he dead before I found him?" She wondered.

William pulled his PADD out and made a few notes on it. He then looked back at the captain, "We won't know a definitive time of death until the autopsy is performed, but based on body temp and rigor mortis I would say a ten hours at the most." He then looked at Chief Manishie indicating he didn't have anything further for the Captain.

Manishie didn't want to comment on Beth's question, in her mind nobody had been cleared yet. Her time as a detective back on Earth had taught her enough about leaping to conclusions just because someone was able to produce the waterworks in situations like these, "we'll let the good doctor do her job and get back to us with a full report."

Avira had been standing in the corner the entire time, she would have to do a preliminary investigation on the scene but all the other people would have to clear out, and then a more thorough one back on the ship, "once we can get him back to sickbay I can tell you all you need to know, Commander." She tried to reassure her commanding officer.

Beth nodding that was all she needed to hear. She knew she would have more crew members questioned soon but she needed to get herself presentable to put on a front even if she felt a little broken inside. “And I am good to shower?” she mumbled slowly rising to her feet with the walls help.

"We have taken all the physical evidence we need," Manishie assured Beth as she rose back up from her squatted position, offering a hand to help Beth up from her position on the floor. Even though she hadn't ruled her out as a suspect it was better to come at those sort of conversations from a position of trust and friendliness. "Rest up, someone might be by with some additional questions as the situation becomes more clear."

William placed his PADD back into his pocket and made his way over to the captain. "I can escort you back over to the Atlantis Captain. Under the circumstances, i think it is best if all crew traveled in pairs on this ship until we know who or what was responsible for this." He then looked over at Chief Karalo, "Chief, you and Ensign Rossi go ahead and process the scene here, I'll take have a team on Atlantis seal Mr. Davis's quarters until your ready to check it. There may be some evidence to help with our investigation."

Beth nodded and took the offered hand pulling a self up before she left the other hand. Well I’ll let you walk me back then.” Beth could not argued with that offer. The ship was no longer exciting and new it was something to fear.