Sickbay Revisited (part 1)

Posted on Thu Sep 20th, 2012 @ 2:30pm by Commodore Samantha York & Lieutenant T'Lada & Sergeant Amarylis Beckinsale
Edited on on Thu Sep 20th, 2012 @ 2:38pm

936 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: The Enemy Within: Lying in Wait
Location: Columbia Sickbay (part 1)

ON

Corporal Peters and Sergeant Major did a quick sweep of sickbay, checking each exam room before clearing it for the others to continue searching. The last place they looked was the CMO's office. "Hey, there's a dead Doctor in here!"

"How'd exactly did our unlucky doc die?" Amarylis asked entering the office upon hearing Peters' call.

"Looks like she suffocated. Her larynx is busted, uh, ma'am," Peters replied.

"Honey you suffocate when you are shot out of an airlock, a busted larynx is someone trying to suck the air out of you." she replied kneeling down to examine the body.

Amarylis ran her fingers along the doctor's neck. Her larynx had sustained a massive trauma from a direct frontal blow. She surveyed the area for the cause of the blow but no objects surrounding the doctor could have caused the trauma, this was done by a professional...someone with a great deal of experience in stealth. She would have to speak with the Commanding Officer upon their return.

"Is something wrong?" Peters asked. "Is she not dead yet or something? With that sort of damage I can't see her living for more than a minute."

"She's quite dead darling." Amarylis stated flatly in her southern accent. "I was just trying to figure out what killed this little doll. It seems she musta hit something on the way down. "

She did not like lying to her team but she didn't want any rumours starting. If indeed the doctor had been murdered the investigation would have to be kept under wraps.

"Well," Peters said, looking around. "Maybe she got hurt out there and came in here to get help, but it was too late?"

"It's certainly a possibility." Amarylis replied knowing full well the woman never left this room. Her leg was severely broken and there were no signs of dragging leading into the room. Years behind the scope had tuned her senses to notice the smallest details and photograph them in her mind.

"Well, since she's dead there's nothing we can do to help her." Peters made a note of the body and where they found it, then he took some holographic images. "Okay. Got her. Anyone know her name?"

"The computer would be a great place to start Corporal. She was the Chief Medical Officer."

"I wouldn't let Peters touch the computer, ma'am," Major piped in. "He's fragged more computer than I can count."

"No, I haven't," Peters argued. "Watch. Computer, how did the doctor die?"

"I'm sorry, Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that."

Major wanted to laugh, but knew it would be a very bad idea. "See? Give him a rifle and a target and he's great. Give him a computer and ... it's A Space Odyssey."

Amarylis walked over to Peters and placed her index finger on his chin leading his gaze into her eyes. "Watch and learn Corporal. Computer who is the Chief Medical Officer?"

"The Chief Medical Officer is Lieutenant Commander Pauline Purdy."

"And how did she die?" Amarylis asked.

"I'm sorry my responses are limited, you must ask the right questions."

Amarylis' sly smile suddenly faded as she was curious of the computer's remarks. The system was able to respond to voice command yet it could not determine the death of an officer.

"Computer, who killed Commander Purdy?"

"That Sergeant, is the right question."

Amarylis scoffed, although the computer could reply although it appeared the data was damaged. "This rust bucket ain't gonna tell us anything. Let's move to the main area and search there.

As they left the Chief Medical Officer's office Amarylis could not help but wonder about the familiar technique used to kill the CMO and the cryptic responses from the main computer. Something was definitely not right....but somehow part of her felt comfortable with this.

"If you say so, ma'am." Peters wasn't sure what it was about the computer, but there was something oddly familiar about its response to his question. "Shouldn't we be gathering forensic evidence or something?"

Major rolled his eyes. "Like the Sergeant said, we continue our search." He looked at the Vulcan. "You're the scientist, what do you want to look at now?"

"Peters is correct." T'Lada said. "Lock this scene down. Completely. Register your fingerprints on this PADD, so I can exclude you from my evidence findings." She tapped her comm badge. "T'Lada to all away team members, has anyone been in the Chief Medical Officer's Office, since we have arrived?"

"I don't know. We just got here," Peters replied. 'But no one's been in there since we got here."

Again, Major rolled his eyes, but chose to say nothing this time.

Amarylis placed her finger on the PADD. "Ma'am, do you have all the people from your team here?" she asked T'Lada.

"All that I am certain could not have been involved, based on their locations at the time." T'Lada said. She paused over a name, but refrained from voicing it. She noted several odd items, and attached it to the original item that caught her attention. "Regardless, Tell Doctor Bowen that the body is ready for transport. I have not touched it in any way. HOWEVER, Amarylis, here, needs to remember that a pulse can be checked via tricorder, and should not, under any circumstances, touch a body, without scanning it first. I'll make sure the Chief of Security gives her an indepth, and long-winded retraining session on Crime Scene Procedures."

(To be continued...)

Lieutenant T'Lada
Chief Science Officer

Sergeant Amarylis Beckinsale
Platoon Leader

Ensign Mandy Lane
Medic

Sergeant Majors
Marine

Corporal Peters
Marine

 

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