Murder on Atlantis

Posted on Fri Jun 24th, 2022 @ 5:34pm by Captain Bethsabée Leroux & Commander William Gerhard & Ensign Michael Sloan
Edited on on Wed Jun 29th, 2022 @ 7:22pm

Mission: Mission 6 - Memory
Location: Starboard Nacelle Access Hatch
Timeline: Day 300 20:00
Tags: Monthly Challenge - Gerhard
1637 words - 3.3 OF Standard Post Measure

If there was one thing the new Warp V engines hated more than anything, it was an imbalance in the nacelles. Just a bit of uncorrected interference would cause disruptions to the warp bubble and slow down the ship’s speed. As part of his duty as Chief Engineer, Sloan’s job was to investigate such inconsistencies.

Climbing through the Jeffries Tubes offered equal opportunities for Michael. On one hand, it allowed him to get away from people for some needed solitude. On the other, it ramped up his paranoia as there were countless possibilities for an opportune assailant to rid themselves of Starfleet’s biggest traitor. Shaking away such thoughts, the Chief Engineer went back to his PADD as he cataloged each component of the plasma transfer.

As he crawled through the hatch to section B31, a shape that did not belong immediately caught Sloan’s eye. As he illuminated the area with his flashlight, he gasped. Not only was it the shape of a person, but the immobilized ship’s first officer and pilot. He knelt beside her to check her vitals, confirming his fears. Moving to the nearest communications panel, he announced, “Captain Leroux and Lieutenant Gethard, report to Section B31 of the starboard nacelle access at once.” As he removed his finger from the comm board, his Armory trining kicked in as he immediately moved to seal off the area to preserve whatever evidence remained.

Beth glanced across at William as they both heard Sloan's voice and shrugged at him as if to say no idea. Neither of them had left the room where they had been going over the shuttlepod's information waiting for Leyton to turn up to assist in the efforts, especially with her flight experience she would be better at plotting the course the thing had taken. "Section B31 of the starboard nacelle access? What a random place." She commented.

William nodded before furrowing his brow. He could tell by Sloan's tone that there was something amiss. His knowledge of ship systems told him there was nothing overly vital in that area, but even so. He looked back up at the captain, "Sounded urgent though." He pocketed the PADD he had been holding before nodding towards the security officer posted in front of the pod, "Hopefully this won't take long. Only authorized personnel allowed in here." The security officer nodded as William turned and headed with the captain towards the exit.

“Yeah.” Beth said darkly not having missed the tone at all but she was trying to not think about what was going on now. “Well both of us are authorized personnel.” She reminded. “Maybe on the way we can find Sam.” She added hopefully.

William looked over at the captain and nodded in agreement. They found the nearest turbolift and took it to the appropriate deck. Soon they were outside the ladder up to the Nacelle. He opened the hatch and began the long climb up.

Beth had a lot choice words as they climbed up to where the Starboard Nacelle Access Hatch. It was really starting to show that she needed to maintain her fitness but also work out what was causing the nose bleeds. Maybe she was anaemic that would cause breathlessness after all. “Sloan?” She called not able to see where he was.

Having been waiting for the pair to arrive, Sloan shined his flashlight toward the ceiling of the area to better illuminate the area while not blinding anyone. "Over hear," called out the Chief Engineer as he carefully walked toward the sounds of Beth's voice. Not wanting to hold anyone in suspense, he looked between Beth and William as he explained, "Lieutenant Leyton's body is over there." He pointed his flashlight to indicate the area. Speaking in his old Chief Armory voice, he added, "Scene was clear when I arrived, no one has been here since I reported the incident. I arrived to check on a fluctuation in the plasma flow to the nacelle and found her there."

“Lieutenant Leyton’s body.” Beth repeated taking the torch from him to take in the scene. She took a step past the two men and gasped at the scene getting flash back to Aurelius and the irony that the woman he had been with before his death was lying there dead. “There are no wounds.” She commented dispute the blood she could see but it all seemed to be coming from her nose, there was no other mark on her.

William sighed as he took in the scene. Leyton was laying on the deck, but with no signs of a struggle. "Don't get too close," he told the captain before pulling his communicator from his sleeve pocket and flipping it open. "Gerhard to security, I need a security and medical team to the starboard nacelle access port, section B31," he said before clicking off. He then looked towards Sloan, "Did you see anyone leaving this area before you arrived?"

Shaking his head, Sloan replied, "No. I just arrived, no one has been in or out of this section for hours." Pointing at the William's communicator, he tired to offer some kind of help, "We could get history of the sensor readout for the last 24-48 hours. Kiyara de Vos is already running diagnostics due to some minor sensor ghosts that were picked up by damage control."

“Sensor ghosts explain?” Beth requested as she turned away from the body feeling the brewing sense of dread that something had happened onboard and from her look there was just a nose bleed.

"The Petty Officer reported that we had an unauthorized login to the system, yet there was no sensor log of anyone being in the room, nor was there any log of anyone in the adjoining areas of the ship that would have been able to access the systems," Michael explained. Looking to William, he added, "She is running a systems diagnostic now to determine if the system is at fault or if there is a security concern that would be escalated to your office."

"Unauthorized logins to the sensor grid are a security issue," William stated slightly annoyed he hadn't been notified. Any unauthorized access to ship systems were cause for concern, especially given their circumstances. He knew Michael of all people should've realized this, but he wasn't surprised.

Beth stayed quiet not quite wanting to break the uncomfortable silence that was now brewing from all the male ego that seemed to be passing between the two men. She had her own thoughts at she looked at the woman lying there looking like the only thing wrong with her was having a nose bleed. Beth could not help but think on the nose bleeds she had been having.

Within moments Lottie arrived looking tired and confused as she had been dragged out of bed after dealing with the pod occupants. “What is up ma'am?” She demanded as Beth opened the access catch to let everyone in as they would not have been able to get up there. She cast her gaze around before seeing Leyton on the floor. “Is that Leyton?” She wondered stepping forward with a scanner raised before she stopped looking at Gerhard.

William turned to the nurse. "It is. We need to process this as a crime scene," he said before turning to his security team. "I know quarters are tight, but I need a preliminary forensic work up. Take scans of the body and any evidence we can find. After that, we can let the medical team take over," he said as his officers nodded and set to work. He turned back to face Michael. "I'm going to need an official statement from you. Until such time I can take it, I'm going to have to restrict you to quarters," he said.

Nodding along at the official procedure, Sloan responded, “Understood. I am ready to give my statement at your earliest convenience.” Looking between the Chief Armory Officer and Captain, he said, “All of my readings are in the scanner, though I do not know how much help they’ll be. Otherwise, the sensor logs can fill in some of the gaps.” He was sure that William had either put in the order already or was just waiting for him to be out of earshot, but his training told Michael that it was in his best interest to be as cooperative as possible.

“William.” Beth said gently. “Take his statement now whilst your crew scan the crime scene and the petty officer gets us a time of death. We do not have any time to lose. I’m going to lock the ship down and tell the senior officers.” Beth ordered in a soft voice that despite its softness gave no room for argument.

William looked at the captain for a brief moment before looking back to the chief engineer. He nodded his head once before responding, "As you wish, Captain." He then motioned towards the hatch as more of his people arrived. "I recommend we continue this below to give my team some extra room," he said before stepping aside and allowing the captain and Sloan start towards the exit. As Sloan passed by him, William couldn't help but whisper so only the two of them could hear, "I knew you wouldn't be able to see it through."

“Blame me all you want, but make sure you follow the evidence and not your feelings,” Sloan replied, looking at the other man dead in the eye and speaking through gritted teeth.

Beth glanced back but did not see what had crossed between the pair. She was focusing on who she needed to speak to and how they were going to move forward now without Leyton.

It was going to be complicated.