Locked In (Part 2)

Posted on Sun Nov 30th, 2025 @ 1:38am by Lieutenant Commander Rebecca Bluegarden & Commander Irene Vincent "Rally" & Lieutenant Commander Damien Maillet & Lieutenant Commander Malcom Hunt & Lieutenant Kathryn Dallas M.D. & Lieutenant Freya Michaud
Edited on on Sun Nov 30th, 2025 @ 1:39am

1,033 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Season 1, Episode 2: War, Peace, And All That Jazz
Location: Deep Space Station K-9- Conference Room, Deck 9
Timeline: After 'Locked In (Part 1)'

Previously, on Star Trek: Deep Space K-9:

Rally pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "Do you see what I mean?"

"Forgive me for not jumping to your point of view." Rebecca said. "Like I said, my theory is still actively being tested."

"Don't let it get to you, Madame Commandante!" Damien said cheerily. "This one speaks more of him than you!"

As Freya walked in she caught the exchange between the officers, and shrugged mentally. She had learnt a long time ago that there was little point in getting het up about things. A long drive on the bike, or talking to her therapist were the solutions for her.

'Shame Zaigraev moved on,' she deadpanned, 'probably had just enough time to warm their seat somewhat.' Slapping her PADD down on the table, she took her seat. 'I'm sure Command will have a replacement sent out as soon as possible.'

"Oh, they'd better," Rally grumbled.

And now, the continuation:

Sighing to himself, Malcom began to wonder if he should put in a transfer request himself. Upon accepting this assignment, he brought along his wife and toddler son. It was as if people arrived, found something very troubling and hightailed out of here. "I know this isn't the reason why were probably meeting. But it's clearly the elephant in the room. Senior staff have left this station at an alarming rate. Probably as good as time as any to address that."

'Well, it's a frontier posting, right?' Michaud shot back across the table. 'K-class at that. It's not exactly a comfort cruise. Add to that that they built that shiny new facility a couple of star systems away.' She shrugged casually, 'there's plenty to lure away officers who have more ambition than grit.'

"One can only imagine the absolute ghost town this place is going to become once that shipyard they've been alluding to building in the Algonquin system is completed," Rally sighed. "Probably where they've been diverting our staff...

"Apologies for my tardiness, all," Kate offered as she entered. She truly hated to be late but she didn't feel comfortable leaving the Infirmary until she had taken care of her responsibilities related to poor Vulpie's murder. Given the diplomatic implications of all this, she hoped she'd be forgiven for being a little late. Taking in the faces of those who looked her way, she got the feeling she'd just missed a tense moment and was reminded she couldn't afford to lose sight of the health and well-being of the living crew members who also counted on her. "Is everyone holding up? I know we've got a lot happening right now, but I am here if anyone needs to talk privately about anything later."

Dallas did not allow her gaze to linger on anyone in particular, as she didn't want anyone to feel singled out, especially Vincent, but she didn't need to hear her speak to know she could use some help to manage her stress.

"No worries, Lieutenant, we were just getting started," Rally acknowledged before turning her attention towards the senior staff. "Right, then- Lieutenant Zaigarev's absence here notwithstanding, all senior staff members are now present and accounted for, so we'll hop straight into why we're here."

She leaned forward. "At approximately 0700 hours this morning, the Eifie Delegates congregated to discuss matters pertaining to the establishment of the first major Eifie/Rheuysian trade route connecting the colony worlds of Umbre and Ko'Baa. At 0715, they were alerted to the absence of Ambassador Vulpie, a representative from the colony of Flayr; when efforts to reach the Ambassador's quarters failed, a guard was dispatched at 0720 to investigate. At 0724, Station Security was alerted to reports of a, quote, "potential homicide" in room 1864, where the Ambassador was housed; by the time the first security team arrived to survey the scene at 0730 hours, they found the guard in hysterics and the Ambassador deceased in her bed:"

Rally directed everyone's attention to the viewscreen, where a series of images depicting the crime scene were shown; the gruesome message incriminating some unknown party of the savage act a particular point of interest, amongst several.

Damien stayed quiet but shifted uncomfortably as he studied the images. He had not been present at the crime scene earlier; this was his first exposure to them.

Simply sighing, Malcom rubbed his forehead. This just added a whole new level of issues to a very volatile situation. It was sad to see a life taken in any manner.

Face twisting into a sour expression, Michaud reflected she had already seen this firsthand, but the retelling didn't stop her stomach from folding in on itself. It was a bad situation all round.

Rally shifted her attention to Rebecca. "As Chief of Security, I'll let Commander Bluegarden take it from here."

"Thank you, Commander:" Rebecca nodded, standing up. "Now, the Ambassador was known to take a sleep aid regularly, and security found a jar of it spilled as if the ambassador had overdosed. Aside from a few other personal effects knocked off the nightstand, there didn't appear to be any further signs of struggle."

Rebecca directed everyone's attention to the image of the gruesome message streaked onto the bulkhead.

"However, if the attacker's goal was to make it look as if the ambassador had overdosed on her sleep aid, a melee weapon wasn't the way to do it." She continued. "Based on security's findings, pending Lieutenant Dallas' autopsy report, we have reason to believe that Vulpie's cause of death was a fatal stabbing. Furthermore, her attacker went a step farther and seemed to use her blood to smear a message onto the bulkhead: You did this."

Rebecca turned back towards the meeting.

"At this time, security and medical are cross-referencing Rheuysian-made melee weapons to determine if any of them are consistent with the Ambassador's injuries." Rebecca reported. "Right now, the Rheuysians are cooperating with the investigation, but if Vulpie's death was by a Rheuysian blade, I suspect that they will cease their cooperation and get defensive."

To be continued...

 

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