Run In With Fate

Posted on Mon Jan 21st, 2019 @ 6:59am by Commodore Jane Saulitis & Lieutenant Commander Angus Murphy
Edited on on Mon Jan 21st, 2019 @ 9:32am

Mission: Run Afoul
1046 words - 2.1 OF Standard Post Measure

Jane caught up to Murphy in the corridor outside deck ten. "How are you Lieutenant?" She'd heard a few rumors that he'd been a little more vocal with his grumpiness than usual. No doubt it was stress over trying to discover who had damaged the ship, not to mention feeling inadequate in his abilities to keep such things as chickens out of his engineering. Or so she imagined. "I was just headed to Ambassador Vayr's quarters for a little tea if you'd like to join us. He's spoken very highly of you."

"I'm alright," Murph answered tersely as he kept walking, but slowed down a bit to make it easier to converse. "Oh. Uh. I suppose so," he relented. Tea was not his idea of a good time and the ambassador wasn't his first choice of companions. "I helped him with his replicator a few times."

"Yes, he mentioned that. He also thought you weren't comfortable with him for some reason. I think, if he had any influence on this ship, he would have recommended you for a promotion." Jane smiled at him and noticing how down he looked, continued. "i'm sure this investigation has taken it's toll on you . . . and your crew. But I wanted you to know, I'm very pleased with your work. I know the long hours are killer, we'll get a rest when we get to Bairl."

"That's what I keep hearing," Murphy said, flashing the commander a reassuring smile as they stepped into a turbolift. "Anyway. The ambassador," he heaved a heavy sigh and then admitted, "I have a thing. A thing about birds." His eyes shot up to the top of the turbolift doors as they closed and he refused to meet her eyes for a moment. "They just make me really uncomfortable."

Jane shrugged. "We all have a thing about something," she bit her tongue slightly to keep from smiling. "I guess I've never been afraid of a particular thing although I don't like spiders. At least now when I find them on me. Being on a starship though, we don't find many of those so it doesn't come up." She changed the subject. "Patrick's been really nice through this whole thing. I visited him for a bit the other day."

"We broke up," Murphy said suddenly as soon as Jane had stopped talking. "It's fine though," he assured her, fearing that she might try to make him feel better or something.

She looked at him, a little startled but the sudden admission. She placed a hand on his arm and held it there for a few seconds before dropping it, and the subject. Why did she always seem to open her mouth and insert her foot with him? The turbolift stopped. "Do you need some place to stay? Weren't your quarters heavily damaged in the blast?"

He motioned for her to lead the way out of the lift. "It's fine. I'm probably just going to bunk with Cravens and Delhue for a few days or talk to the Quartermaster and see about crashing with a junior officer."

She nodded. "Well I have a couch if you need it." Jane didn't want to make things anymore awkward between them, not that there was anything going on. The ship corridor curved to the left and just in the center Jane stopped outside a door, pressing the chime as she did so. There was no answer. "Odd," She tapped her communicator. "Saulitis to Vayr." Again there was no answer.

"Computer, override door lockout, room 2102," Murphy instructed urgently. The door panel blinked green in compliance and then the door slid open.

Jane rushed into the room and put a hand over her mouth. The Ambassadors body was in the center of the floor. There were feathers strewn about the room and his head lay in a pool of blood. She held her arm out to Murphy to instruct him to stay where he was and she approached the ambassador only to check for a pulse. Knowing which she should now call first she tapped her communicator. "Security to Ambassador Vayr's Quarters." She then let out a breath and glance at Murphy. "I am so done playing games."

Murphy's stomach churned at the sight of the dead ambassador and he raised his forearm to his mouth as he turned away. First the explosion in engineering and now an assassination right under their noses -- his mind was swimming with questions.

She looked over the scene, it looked to her as if he'd been hit over the head with something, but there definitely had been a struggle with the amount of feathers and other debris strewn around the living space. She examined everything she could from where she was, not wanting to contaminate the scene. Then it occurred to her that the killer might still be in the room and she instantly stiffened.

Murphy seemed to have come to the same thought when he met Jane's eyes and gave her a nod, immediately putting away personal unease and visually scanning the doorways into the adjoining rooms. He also didn't want to come too far into the quarters for fear of disturbing potential evidence. He jerked his head toward the corridor, thinking perhaps the Captain's safety was in question that they should wait for security out there.

Jane grabbed his arm, nearly dragging him into the corridor as well and standing in front of the doors so that no one could get past them either direction. "How could this happen?" She whispered to the universe, not expecting an answer.

It didn't take long for two security crewmen to come running down the corridor. Murphy met them a few steps away from the door explained the situation, quietly, motioning to the diplomatic quarters as he did. They both drew their phasers and headed in to secure the room.

"If you want to head up to the bridge, Commander, I can handle things here until medical gets here to deal with the body. I think you're going to have some difficult calls to make," he said, turning back to Jane with a grimaced expression. He did not envy her job in that moment.

Commander Jane Saulitis
Commanding Officer
USS Majestic

Lieutenant Angus Murphy
Chief Engineer
USS Majestic