High Law and Low Justice, Part 4

[Seonaid]

Ruzz'koff:[sblock]Ktarle isn't sure she believes Ruzz'koff, or at least the captain's acceptance, but she shrugs. "I suppose." She settles into a chair for a mere moment before getting up and looking around the captain's room. In her agitation (which isn't really visible other than this), she picks up random objects and turns them over in her hands before placing them back. "What's the deal with Green? Have you had the pleasure of meeting her? Is she an ISS agent? She was fairly hostile with me."[/sblock]

 

[doghead]

Saanath, male human merchant

Maerdwyn: [sblock]Saanath is silent for a while as he absorbs the implications of The Lt Commanders conclusion. He's not sure which is worse, being bait or being a demonstration.

Be fore he can reply, the Lt Commander begins again. Saanath is rather startled by Lt Commander Green's accusations against one of his companions. But he holds his tongue and hears her out.

When she's done, he shrugs tiredly.

"Its got little to do with loyalty, more to do with survival. None of us would be here if everyone in that group hadn't been willing to put their lives in the hands of others. You might be right, I barely know them, we only met at the spaceport the day of departure. But I never saw anything to suggest that any of them had a hidden agenda. At least, I don't remember seeing anything. All I know is that we were in a corner, and the only ones who could be relied on to protect our backs were those in the same corner.

"Perhaps Ktarle did bring some blood on board. I brought copies of every damn file I could get my hands on. Anything to use to fight back with if the fix went in. You can see them if you wish. If you haven't already," he adds with a grin.

"I'm glad you think you can trust me. Because I think I am going to have to trust you."[/sblock]

 

[doghead]

Treleleaweiro, male aslan mercenary

[sblock]"None taken, Marine. The 5073rd is an assault and boarding unit - And you know what that means, in terms of how well they're keeping us in the loop with all this intrigue . SoI haven't heard it all, but I gather they helped you outrun a GA Cruiser in a neutered corsair held together by bubblegum, or some such . That right? My guys just want to hear the rest of the story from you all over entirely too much alcohol, and I gather the Navy boys are mostly thinking along similar lines. It's the damned intelligence officers with the poles up their asses. They got Force Commander Quinn locked away in the goddamned brig, which don't sit too well with me - he outranks the lot of 'em, or did, before he retired. I don't what the hell the bastards are worried about, thoughI'm betting it's got something to do with a ship we lost a few days ago - other than that, I got nothing to go on. I do have a little clout, at least with Captain Keyes. If you can give me something, I might be able to get him to call off the ISS dogs."[/sblock]

Maerdwyn: [sblock]Trel growls quietly at the news of what has been done to Quinn.

"The Force Commander was a tough man to like, but a hard one not to respect. While there was no formal hiearchy, I got the feeling that the Force Commander was very much the bedrock on which the team was built.

"I don't know anything about a missing ship. But there was a GA Cruiser and two fighters hot for our atmosphere. Personally, I would have prefered to board the bastard than run. But given the shape we were in ... running was the better option."

The Aslan frowns for a moment.

"There were already too many dead, and there were too many passengers who deserved a chance to go on living. But if you find the Cruiser sir, its all yours. Give the Captain a kick in the goolies for me when you're done.

"Sir, I don't know what is going on. I have no idea why they have the Force Commander in the brig. If I didi, I'd brief you. But whatever is going on, it is big, and goes up high by the looks of it. While everyone else was running scared of the idea of the ISS getting involved, Saanath seemed to think they might be just the people to talk to. Saanath is just some weird dirtball farmer made merchant, but I get the feeling that he might be right. So I'm going to fill out my forms like a good citizen and give the boy time to do his stuff.

"I appreciate your time and your support, sir. I would happily join the whole goddamn crew of the Empress for a drink. And if ISS come through, I'll buy them a drink too."

Trel salutes the Captain and is about to request permission to leave when he remembers something.

"And it was duct tape, sir. Never under estimate the value of a roll of duct tape."[/sblock]

 

[Guest 11456]

Trelene Scrautigue : Luriani Navy 2/Prof 7/Trav 1: Retired Makhidkarum Vice President

[sblock]As the interrogator mentions that both she and Nells-Corzine were added on the same day, Trelene gets a very shocked look on her face. As she shakes her head she begins answering. "I do not know the circumstances of Mr. Nells-Corzine's addition. I only met the man while we were already underway. As for my late addition, I was added due to my clout as a retired Makhidkarum Vice President, I believe. There was nothing special other then that I had connections I suppose. It comes as a complete surprise to me that Nells-Corzine and I were added on the same day."
[/sblock]

 

[Maerdwyn]

Maerdwyn: [sblock]

"Perhaps Ktarle did bring some blood on board. I brought copies of every damn file I could get my hands on. Anything to use to fight back with if the fix went in. You can see them if you wish. If you haven't already," he adds with a grin.

"I'm glad you think you can trust me. Because I think I am going to have to trust you."[/sblock]

[sblock]Green gives him a nod at receiving permission and says, "Thank you, Saanath," in such a way that hopes, but fails, to convince him that they hadn't started looking already. When he continues she says, "Good." She sits down again. "That's very important for us both to realize, Saanath. Before I go upstairs, I need to ask you one more thing. It's about Mr. Blair. Or rather about his belongings. We have assembled most of them, and it is clear that some have been tampered with - by someone who knew exactly they were doing. We need to find out who did that, Saanath. It was certainly within Ms. Scrautigue's expertise, and we suspect Mr. Quinn's involvment as well. But we need to know for sure: Saanath, while you were on board the Dvonn, did you see anyone tampering with Mr. Blair's handcomp?" [/sblock]

 

[Maerdwyn]

[sblock]As the interrogator mentions that both she and Nells-Corzine were added on the same day, Trelene gets a very shocked look on her face. As she shakes her head she begins answering. "I do not know the circumstances of Mr. Nells-Corzine's addition. I only met the man while we were already underway. As for my late addition, I was added due to my clout as a retired Makhidkarum Vice President, I believe. There was nothing special other then that I had connections I suppose. It comes as a complete surprise to me that Nells-Corzine and I were added on the same day."
[/sblock]

[sblock] "I see. I suppose you have no idea that half of the security personnel added to the ship that day were assigned to your protection, as well, and that the other half was assigned to Mr. Nells-Corzine?"

Without waiting for her response, the man continues, shifting direction. From a briefcase by he side, the man produces the burned and battered handcomp that had been removed from the safe in Armand Blair's stateroom.

"This handcomp belonged to Armand Blair, deceased. Mr. Blair was an agent of the Imperial Secret service, and this handcomp was very special." He opens the partially melted bezel on the computer, lifts the motherboard and shows her the indentation where several small things have been removed. "Where is the chip, Ms. Scrautigue? Of those aboard the Dvonn, you are the only one with the expertise necessary to discover how to remove it safely, and it has indeed been removed." He stares at Trelene, waiting for response. [/sblock]

 

[Maerdwyn]

[sblock]"And it was duct tape, sir. Never under estimate the value of a roll of duct tape."[/sblock]

[Sblock] The marine captain chukles, "Ain't that the truth. Alright marine, you've had enough for a while. You're welcome to hang out with the men for a while if you want, or you can go back tot eh the other passengers. Let them give you a drink if you want, but stay sharp, people might want to talk to you later. I gotta find out what the hell is going on." [/sblock]

 

[doghead]

Saanath, human male merchant

Maerdwyn: [sblock]"I would imagine so. That," Saanath responds with a laugh, "was me."

For a moment he grins happily, a little kid impressed with his cleverness. Then suddenly the little boy is gone and Saanath leans forwards and considers Lt Commander Green through serious eyes.

"Quinn brought me the handcomp and asked me to look at the data crystal he had found inside. It was protected by some form of anti-tamper device. I managed to work my way around it. That was when we started to find holes in Armand's, Mr Blair's, story."

Saanath pauses for a moment, his head cocked to one side.

"I don't remember exactly, but I believe Quinn indicated that he suspected Armand of being ISS when he gave me the crystal, before we had cracked it. I don't remember if he indicated what had lead him to that conclusion.

"I don't know much about Quinn. He was a big man in the Marines. I got the impression that he had some experience of the shady side of things, the stuff you don't see in the recruiting brochures. Like what you do, but at the messier end. But he was alright by me. He almost single handedly faced down the thugs they call police in (insert name of city here). I would say he was key in helping everyone hang tight when things got rough on the Dvonn.

"Sounds like you are having a good look at Quinn."

Its as much a question as a statement.[/sblock]

 

[DrZombie]

Ruzz'koff:[sblock] "What's the deal with Green? Have you had the pleasure of meeting her? Is she an ISS agent? She was fairly hostile with me."[/sblock]

[sblock]"I haven't had the pleasure yet, but I'm sure that I'll get to meet this fair lady in the near future. And I won't try to hide anything. Well, at least nothing that has anything to do with this situation.If we try to hide something, they'll find out and that will make 'em even more suspicious. And I see no reason whatsoever to hide anything we've done. We've done nothing to be ashamed of, and we've done a whole lot of things I'm very proud of, and so have you. I don't care if the captain and the ISS lady are playing good cop-bad cop, and I even don't care that they're probably monitoring this conversation. I just want Nells-C's arse nailed to a signpost, and a whole lot of money for the poor doctor's child, and for all those who lost someone."
He suddenly grins:"And some salvage money for the ship and crew we've saved would come in handy as well."
[/sblock]

 

[doghead]

Trelelaweiro, male aslan mercenary

Maerdwyn: [sblock]Trel snarls as the Captains words bring back to him exactly what he has been through.

"Sir, no offence, but they killed my mate. What I've been through is nothing compared to what I would go though to see this to the end."

Trel considers the Captains offer to stay for a moment, then declines.

"I'll return to the other passengers. They are anxious enough as it is. And I don't want to bring any grief your way. But thank you sir. And good luck."

With that, Trel requests permission to leave (old habits die hard), and returns with his escort to where they hold the other passengers of the Dvonn.[/sblock]

Dorothy and co: [sblock]Trel returns to the stateroom about 15-20 minutes later. He takes a seat and settles into it. For a moment he considers the ceiling in silence.

"It seems something is up, but no one really knows what. At least, no one who knows is talking." Trel takes a deep breath and takes a tight grip on his emotions. "Right now the best thing we can do is fill out these damn forms as best we can."

Trel picks up a marker and begins filling out his form.[/sblock]