Bad Blood

Posted on 30 Mar 2020 @ 1:56pm by Lieutenant Commander Amelia Warner & Commander Kristiana Petrova

1,788 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Changing Faces
Location: Sickbay
Timeline: MD 03 - 2300 hours

When Kristiana got word that Amelia was putting the final touches on the autopsy she headed over directly to sickbay. She had her own idea, but wanted to know the official cause of death before proceeding. Plus, she'd hoped that Ambassador Camilla Rau was still present, so she could combine getting information with getting information, she had questions for the Ambassador as well.

"Well?"

The loud, demanding voice of Camilla Rau could probably be heard from half the ship away. It was coming from inside the lab, which had an open door.

The strained tones of Doctor Warner followed. "Asking again won't make the computer work faster, Secretary Rau."

Kristiana heard the tail end of that conversation as she entered the space, giving those present a nod. "Secretary. Doctor." She had changed in her normal uniform by now. "Secretary Rau, might you have a few moments to answer some questions while the computer works?"

Camilla let out a low, cat-like growl from somewhere deep in her throat, sneering at the doctor. To her credit, Amelia just looked back coolly. The shapeshifter snorted with frustration and turned toward the officer. "Certainly," she said, her tone somewhere between disgust and concession. "Where would you like to speak?"

"Here works, if that's ok with you." Kristiana replied.

"It's fine," Camilla said laconically. "What do you want to know, Commander?"

Kristiana produced a PADD, opening a new file to make notes in. "First question, do you have of any political, ideological or social rivals? Any information you might give could help us narrow down a list of possible suspects."

The shifter arched a brow. "Well, we were at war with the Terran Union for decades. The truce is comparatively short-lived, and I'm on a ship with several of them now. We are the one can changes shapes, but the union is made of snakes all the same."

"I believe this is more targeted than just 'the war', though." Kristiana ventured. She pulled out a PADD and brought up a photo of a small device in a metal lined case that worked as a faraday cage. "Is this device or this technology familiar to you?"

"Wars never really end, Commander," Camilla said, her tone a blend of offhand and dark as she took the PADD and looked at the photo. She frowned. "It is familiar but also...commonplace in power and electrical systems." She handed the device back.

"This device was found on a power conduit. We believe it to be responsible for the blackout." Kris mused. "So you can't say with certainty whether that's Seelie or Terran Union tech?" Beat. "Though I suppose whether it's one of the other it could be planted, used to cast suspicions on a specific group, they must've known we'd find it. Why do you think they would go after your aide instead of you directly?"

Camilla folded her arms and pursed her lips slightly. "Do you believe that I was the target, then?" She asked the question but didn't wait long enough for an answer. "We are almost all long-lived races, and Madison was no different. She had lived centuries. We all have had plenty of time to make enemies."

"The intended target says a lot about any assassination. If you were the primary target that would suggest more of a political motive than if Madison was the primary target, which would hint more at a personal motive. Wouldn't make much sense to target Madison in public like this if the intent was to remove her to make place for a plant, a mole to get near you." Kristiana mused. "Do you agree, madam Secretary?" Mostly Kristiana was thinking out loud, hoping to gain some insight either through her own verbalized thoughts or Rau's additions.

"It's possible," she said simply. "Or the fact it was in public was simply a matter of it being the only opportunity they had to reach Madison, or myself."

"A risky public assassination in a crowded room on an alien ship where you yourself dismissed the idea of armed security escorting you? They would've had ample opportunity." Kristiana raised a brow. "Speaking of which, anywhere you go on this ship from now on except your personal quarters will be a security officer escorting you, no ifs, ands or buts."

"A crowded room, yes, Commander," Rau said flatly. "We have kept mostly to ourselves otherwise, and thus managed our security properly. However in attending your diplomatic function, we were less able to do so. What good would your security have done there? Were you not there? Other security? Was the room not meant to be safe for us? How would you have prevented it, yes?"

"The security presence at the banquet was there to prevent the event from developing into a glorified barfight and I was there in my capacity as acting ex-oh. Standard operating procedure for a security officer assigned to a dignitary is to remain close to the assigned dignitary and in case anything happens, like for example a blackout, take the dignitary by the arm and escort them with ... considerable haste to the nearest exit." Kristiana sighed, shoulders slumping a bit. "This might have prevented your aide's death. Might not. But right now I'm more concerned with what happened than what didn't."

Camilla made a noncommittal noise. She had her own thoughts on the matter and it was hard to keep from voicing them, given she wasn't used to having to be too politic these days, but...ah well. "What else do you want to know? We have not left our quarters since we arrived yesterday, so why the party? It was a good opportunity. Who would want to hurt me? Could be any of the union. Maybe some are not so interested in peace. Who would hurt Madison? Same.

"If your ship is as new to our space as you claim, I cannot imagine anyone on your crew wants us dead..." She frowned and looked at the doctor's back. "Though I know you have...guests from this universe on here. Speak to them, perhaps."

"Speaking of, did you recognize anyone in particular? Anyone that might have had a personal grudge against you, Madison or your people outside of the war?" Kristiana asked, still her voice calm, not letting the Secretary's attitude get to her.

Shaking her head slowly, Camilla said, "Nothing I'm sure of. I thought I saw a familiar face, a man, but I can't be certain. I'm sorry." For once, she was mostly genuine. She wanted to help figure out what happened to Madison. She had a mind to investigate on her own, but she wasn't going to tell this woman that."

Before either said anything else, Amelia turned. "The results are in."

Kristiana simply nodded to Camilla before turning to Amelia. "Let's have it." She had her suspicions, a nerve agent delivered via hypo or needle, but that's only how she would do it. You know, if the situation called for it. In rare and dire circumstances.

Amelia took a deep breath, looking between the two women soberly. "Your aide died from a massive dose of a very, very powerful hemotoxin. Something like the venom on a snake but far stronger than anything I've ever seen. It will take some more time to try to match where it came from, but I can tell you that it wasn't injected."

"Then how?" Rau snapped.

"It looks like it was ingested," she said. "I found a high concentration in her stomach, but the liquid was so viscous that it burned through the organ and got into the bloodstream."

Kristiana made a face. "What a nasty way to go." she quietly spoke. "Amelia, any idea how they got the timing down so perfectly on something that was ingested? How could they be sure it activated at the moment of the blackout?" This also shifted the possible list of suspects. Proximity at the moment of death was not required, but proximity to the food supply would be. "And how could they have targeted the Secretary's aide without affecting anyone else?"

Amelia considered for a minute. "With the amount of this I saw in her bloodstream? I'm betting she would've been affected pretty quick, although there was something else..." She pulled up the PADD. "Whatever it was, she was also allergic to it. There was an anaphylaxis response. The two together? Could've done it fast."

"An allergy..." Camilla said, brow furrowing with confusion. "She was allergic to a type of snake venom ever since she kept them as pets."

"What type of snake?" Amelia sat up straight, like an overeager hunting dog.

"From a planet called Anara," Camilla said. "She and I lived there several years ago and she kept them as pets. That's when the allergy developed."

"Sounds to me like key information the assassin likely would've used against her when deciding what poison to use. Does away with my theory that Madison might not have been the intended target." Kristiana mused, rubbing her chin. "How common knowledge was this?"

Camilla sighed and shook her head slowly. "That's hard to say. It wasn't broadcast on any sort of news networks, but it wasn't a secret. Anara was a neutral world at the time we were there, so there could have been both Seelie and Terran Union persons that may have learned about it."

Kristiana sighed and nodded. "I see." she considered a moment before continuing. "It's easy to tell you are a proud and stubborn woman, madam Secretary, and I doubt anything I say can stop you from making your own inquiries. So instead I'll just ask that anything you discover, you share with me. And in return I'll do the same. Maybe together we can solve this."

That was unsettling, Camilla determined, and she wasn't sure what she thought about this woman. Was she a mind-reader? "Maybe," she agreed reluctantly, but that was about as much as she would say. "Are we done for now? You know where I am if you have more questions."

"For now, yes." Kristiana admitted. "I'll be sure to find you when I have more questions." she added, turning to Amelia. "Thank you, Doctor."

"Just doing my job, Commander," Amelia said with a nod. "I will see what I can find out about this planet Anara and its venomous snake populations. I'll let you both know when I know more." She bowed her head politely to both women before turning back to her devices.

Camilla blew out a frustrated breath. "Solve this, Commander," she said simply before stalking out of sickbay.

"That depends on how much cooperation I get." Kristiana spoke, her voice still calm, at Camilla's retreating behind.

 

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