Several crewmembers moved furniture into Conference Room Five when Leo approached the hatch. He carried his PADD in one arm and flattened himself against the bulkhead as more crewman approached and departed the room. They stared at him as they walked by.
An unfamiliar masculine voice offered an explanation. “They’re not used to seeing an officer get out of their way, sir.”
When the corridor cleared, Leo returned to the middle and saw the rank insignia of a chief petty officer on the shoulders of a tall broad-shouldered barrel-chested human male, with receding black hair, dark brown eyes, and dark complexion. “I suppose not,” Leo agreed. “But they were doing a favor for me, so it seemed like the right thing to do.”
“A ‘favor,’ eh?” the chief mused. “Around here, we call them ‘orders.’”
Leo chuckled. “I suppose so.” He extended his hand. “I’m Leo Verde.”
“Oh, I know who you are, sir,” the chief replied with a grin. He gripped Leo’s hand. “Chief Boatswain’s Mate Tanner Covington.”
“Pleasure to meet you, Boats,” Leo said. He smiled through the pain of the larger man’s intense grip. When they released hands, he flexed his to make sure he got all his fingers back in working order.
As more boatswain’s mates arrived with another desk, both men stepped aside. Covington noted, “I think that’s the last one, sir.”
“Well then, do you have a moment to speak with me?” Leo asked. “Or are you needed somewhere else?”
The chief grunted. “We’ve been ordered to provide full cooperation to you and your team, sir. I’m at your disposal.” He turned his head and called out, “Bromin!”
The Bolian turned his head. “Chief?”
“Tell Chief Loyola I’m being interrogated by JAG until further notice, would you?”
Bromin huffed as he continued to carry his corner, then released when they reached the narrow hatch. He stepped back to allow the other two to continue, and nodded. “You got it, Chief.” His eyes settled on Leo, drifting downward to the JAG badge on his chest.
Covington faced Leo while Bromin went to the conference room to assist with placement. “I’m all yours, sir.”
Leo glanced down at his PADD and saw Bromin’s name on the list of potential witnesses from Taki’s report. “Excellent, Boats, I appreciate your time. As soon as your mates clear the room, we can have a proper discussion.”
“I saw the JAG team,” Bromin said as he entered the rear of the shuttle
Elk. Kawhena and Xosom held PADDs in their hands as they went through the inspection checklist. His voice betrayed his agitation. “It’s a commander, a marine captain, a civilian agent from SDCI, a chief, and a yeoman.”
“A
full commander?” noted Xosom. She shot a glance at Kawhena. “I gues they might send a high-ranking JAG officer out for a suspicious death.”
Kawhena sighed. “Did they say anything?”
“No, but the commander was talking to Chief Covington, one-on-one,” Bromin replied. “Is Leslie in trouble, do you think?”
Xosom shared a quick look with Kawhena. “Maybe. I mean… someone died by her hand.”
“She barely pushed him up against the wall. No one dies from something like that, do they?”
Kawhena said, “Not…
typically…” He wondered, “I don’t recall him striking a sharp-edge or anything. All she did was push him back with the food tray and he hit flat against the bulkhead.”
Xosom and Bromin exchanged glances. The Bolian asked, “Should we head down there and see what we can find? It could help Sutton.”
“If we’re just going down there to look, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt anything to check it out. Right?” Bromin added his thoughts, but his eyes were on Kawhena.
“I don’t know,” Kawhena admitted. Then, after a moment of consideration, he added, “Maybe.”
Leo sat at the head of the table, his workstation positioned behind him in the conference room. Team members had assigned desks, but could easily engage or disengage from discussions. After Zenn confirmed that their devices were air-gapped to
Detmer‘s network; secured to only communicate with one another in a closed-circuit.
“So, what do we know?” asked Leo, addressing the room.
Ursula spoke first. “Sheriff Taki brought me up to speed on her investigation. They gathered evidence at the scene, took a lot of holographs for me to view.” She called up information on her screen and kept speaking, “We also have a witness list and it’s short. Three other boatswain’s mates were in the mess when it happened. Sending their names to you all, now.”
“Bromin,” read Leo. “He was one of the petty officers moving furniture in here.”
Reter said, “I recommend, propose, and advise that we split up into pairs when interviewing the witnesses.”
Chief Saego said, “I concur.”
“One of them is going to have to be a trio, then,” Ursula pointed out. “Unless I’m mistaken?”
Leo considered that. “I’ll sit out the interviews for now. Urs, you and Yeoman Zenn. Reter, you’re with the Chief. Questions?”
No one said anything.
“Chief, you’ll portion out the balance of the witness sheet among the two teams,” Leo ordered.
“Aye, sir,” Saego replied. “I believe we should begin by approaching them in a familiar setting, Major.”
Ursula nodded. “The enlisted mess. It’s large enough that we could use the opposite sides if we have overlap.”
Everyone agreed with her suggestion, which led Leo to volunteer. “I’ll coordinate that with Rai and have it setup for you in an hour.”
“While we’re in interviews,” Ursula said, “what are you going to be doing?”
Leo smirked. “Various administrative things.”
Leo found R’raia on the bridge, standing at her normal watch. She looked up from the center seat and smiled.
He grinned back at her. “Might I have the privilege of the bridge?”
She raised her right hand and gestured for him to approach. “Skipper says you have full access, so I’m sure the bridge is part of that. What do you need?”
He moved closer to her so they could have a discreet conversation. “Now, why is it you think that I need something whenever you see me coming?”
“Because I know you well enough. You’re too driven to just make a friendly call,” she accused him with a clawed finger against the maroon fabric of his chest. “So, out with it.”
“Aw, I missed you, Rai,” Leo chuckled. “We’re going to set up to do the interviews this afternoon. We need one more room for privacy. Is that going to be a problem?”
She whipped out a PADD to send written orders. “The office across from your conference room is yours for the duration. What else?”
He scratched his cheek. “You wouldn’t have the visual record of the mess hall when the incident occurred, would you?”
“Sheriff Taki will have that filed away somewhere,” she said. “Fair warning: it’s pretty grisly.”
Leo blinked. “You’ve seen it?”
R’raia nodded. “Kind of wish I hadn’t.” When the doors from the lift opened, her eyes tracked the visitor. “Hello, Master Chief.”
He turned to see the hardened expression of Esumi Benten. As before, in the transporter room, his very presence worsened her mood.
“XO,” greeted Benten. She locked eyes with Leo and, with the barest of respect, acknowledged him with a simple, “
Commander.”
“Master Chief,” Leo replied with a succinct nod. “How are you doing today?” He tested the waters a bit more.
Benten clenched her teeth as she flashed him a scornful frown. “Fine, thank you,
sir,” she managed, before moving off without another word to either officer.
R’raia watched her move to a side station and begin talking to a petty officer standing watch. She then turned back to Leo and asked, “What the hell was that?”
“Okay, so it wasn’t just me?” Leo asked, relief in his tone. “I have no idea. I’ve never met her before in my life.”
“She wasn’t on
Hansen or anything?”
He shook his head.
She frowned. “Then, I got nothing.”
End of Part Two