Episode 2.02: Rivulets of Copper, Eyes Aflame

[Nolmir]

OOC: Sorry guys. Had a busy week (and weekend). Tobin will attempt to contact T'Vaana Sath and leave a message if she doesn't answer.

For the forensic and autopsy reviews, I'll spend a Momentum for each task to obtain a bonus d20.

Forensic review: Reason + Security (11+1) vs. Difficulty 2

Rolled 3d20 : 2, 3, 8, total 13

Autopsy review: Reason + Medicine (11+2) vs. Difficulty 2

Rolled 3d20 : 19, 3, 10, total 32

[Davy, aka GM]

OOC: No worries.

Forensic review, 3 Successes vs. Difficulty 2. Success, plus 1 Momentum generated!
Autopsy review, 2 Successes vs. Difficulty 2. Success!

Do you wish to spend that Momentum on anything?

Current
Momentum 1 (1 pending, Tobin)
Threat 10
Limited Personal Data Complication (when analyzing victim background information & public records)

T'Vaana-Sath is still awake when Tobin calls, and she gets Thadis' pertinent information before stating she will travel to the detention facility in the morning.

The science officer spends the next several hours reviewing forensic and autopsy data. First, there is a distinct lack of evidence of any attacker at any of the crime scenes, not for any lack of thoroughness on the part of the VDF, but whoever the perpetrator is, they are downright tidy. Second, the attack on T'Kiri's brother includes the discovery of microscopic particulate of some kind of metal alloy. Tobin isn't initially familiar with the composition.

The wounds themselves were all definitely made with the same weapon, or, at least, the same kind of weapon. The more recent bodies confirm his earlier conclusion that the weapon is straighter and slightly heavier than an Andorian hrisal, and the force calculations from the wounds show that the wielder is likely bigger and stronger than Thadis (and, to be honest, most Andorians), based on the astronomer's most recent physical evaluations.

OOC: Hopefully, there's some room for a couple Obtain Information questions, if you desire.

[Nolmir]

OOC: Would it be possible to use Obtain Information to cross-reference the unknown alloy with the ship's database? For Tobin's bonus question from Studious, I'd like to know the same for the weapon, to see if there's anything in the database that would match the assessed physical characteristics of the murder weapon.

[Davy, aka GM]

OOC: Acknowledging spending of 1 Momentum on Obtain Information.

Tobin delves into the ship's archives and links to the greater library at the Starfleet station. His specimen doesn't seem to have an exact or even a close match in the many metallurgical databases, but one paper suggests there were alloys on ancient Vulcan that could be similar to his sample. Vulcan historical databases may shed more light.

His search also reveals that the murder weapon's characteristics lean toward the "hunting sword," a short, straight, dual-edged weapon historically popular on many worlds for finishing off prey (to save the time and cost of shooting the animal again). The length of these blades varied, but were usually no longer than 75cm, just beyond the upper edge of the length of the murder weapon itself.

Tobin finds an article discussing the "hunting blades" of various cultures, and it reports on the Andorian tlirra (a 40cm-long "finishing" dagger), the Terran hunting blade of the 17th-19th Centuries, and the Trill aptri'nena (a 70cm-long straight blade that was used in their ancient code duello, but later evolved into a sport hunting weapon). The article also makes a brief mention of an ancient master swordsmith on Vulcan named S'harien, whom is said to have produced a few hunting blades among his masterpieces (which have been lost to history).

At this point, Tobin is pretty beat.

[Davy, aka GM]

Sorak
Meanwhile, the engineer contacts his brother-in-law.

"Sorak," Storvant says by way of greeting. "I was expecting your call. You are following up on your inquiry about the emitter device I discovered?"

[Doug Burke]

Sorak nods, "I am indeed, Storvant. I wished to obtain a summary of your findings, as well as determine if you had any observations or insights beyond those I will find in the final report." The engineer pauses, "Your experience would be of great assistance in our current investigation."

[Davy, aka GM]

"Of course," Storvant replies. "Our initial findings were confirmed, that the ionizer emitter placed in proximity to the sensor was the source of the anomalous readings, and that the station remains in compliance with emissions standards.

"My technicians discovered that the emitter was, curiously, of Starfleet origin," he continues as Sorak's tablet buzzes to announce that it has received an attachment, in the form of Storvant's official report. "It's an older device, manufactured in 2256, and Starfleet's last inventory record of it was at Eridani Shipyards in 2279. There is no record of retirement or disposal for the device, but my contacts at the shipyard state that small 'consumables' such as this are rarely, if ever, tracked to disposal."

As Sorak peruses the report document, which provides no real insight beyond his brother-in-law's summary, Storvant adds, "My original liaison at the station was Verrin. On the second day of my investigation, I was told Verrin was not on site and was directed to a senior technician named Parrie-Ang, and it was to her I delivered my final report. I understand now that Verrin is one of your investigation's victims, and he was likely murdered that day."

[Doug Burke]

"These crimes touch us all, it seems," Sorak says, skimming over the report. "Thank you for your input, Storvant, it has proven quite concise and likely useful. I will contact you again if there is anything else I can share. Sorak out."

As he closes the connection, Sorak starts reading the report more in depth, at a speed most non-Vulcans would find astonishing. Among his people, the skill is taught to the youngest students as part of their elementary education.

Once this task was finished, he left his office in search of the Captain.

[Nolmir]

Tobin delves into the ship's archives and links to the greater library at the Starfleet station. His specimen doesn't seem to have an exact or even a close match in the many metallurgical databases, but one paper suggests there were alloys on ancient Vulcan that could be similar to his sample. Vulcan historical databases may shed more light.

His search also reveals that the murder weapon's characteristics lean toward the "hunting sword," a short, straight, dual-edged weapon historically popular on many worlds for finishing off prey (to save the time and cost of shooting the animal again). The length of these blades varied, but were usually no longer than 75cm, just beyond the upper edge of the length of the murder weapon itself.

Tobin finds an article discussing the "hunting blades" of various cultures, and it reports on the Andorian tlirra (a 40cm-long "finishing" dagger), the Terran hunting blade of the 17th-19th Centuries, and the Trill aptri'nena (a 70cm-long straight blade that was used in their ancient code duello, but later evolved into a sport hunting weapon). The article also makes a brief mention of an ancient master swordsmith on Vulcan named S'harien, whom is said to have produced a few hunting blades among his masterpieces (which have been lost to history).

At this point, Tobin is pretty beat.

Tobin leans back in his chair and presses his fingers against his eyelids before opening them to refocus on his terminal screen.

Could the murder weapon be of ancient Vulcan origin? But why would someone want to go around murdering people with an antique blade? he thinks to himself. And why did they seem to be setting up Thadis as a suspect? Many Andorians still bear resentment toward Vulcans -- could there be a fringe group on Vulcan that bears ill will toward Andorians?

The science officer reluctantly stops himself as he's about to begin a new search for information on such groups. Instead, he makes a note to look into it later. You won't be much use to Thadis if you're not thinking straight from exhaustion.

Scowling, Tobin gets up from his chair and crosses his quarters to his bed, setting an alarm for 5 hours later as he changes out of his uniform and crawls under the sheets, his head falling back exhausted against his pillow. So many questions, so little time.

[Davy, aka GM]

Once this task was finished, he left his office in search of the Captain.

Meanwhile, Treyva is in the office section of his quarters when his commpanel beeps. He taps a button and Asha appears on his desktop screen. Her bright smile fades to concern when she sees him.

"You look like the case isn't going well for your Mr. Thadis, love. Is everything okay? Do we need to postpone dinner?" she asks.

[Patrick Goodman]

Treyva rubbed his temples, then leaned back and smiled ruefully. "No, it's not, and no, we shouldn't," he replied. "I very much need the distraction right now, and perhaps a sounding board as well." He stood and pulled on his uniform jacket. "If you're ready, I can have you beamed right up."

[Davy, aka GM]

"Give me...five minutes, and I'll be ready," Asha says.

As Treyva heads to the transporter room, Sorak catches up to him at an intersection.

OOC: Okay, gents, take it away!

[Patrick Goodman]

The two men fell into step as they made their way down the corridor. "Good evening, Sorak," he said. "How goes your investigation into that ionizer at the eremology station?"

[Doug Burke]

"Quite well, Captain," Sorak replies. "Storvant was able to determine that the ionizer was the cause of the readings and that it was, curiously, of Starfleet manufacture and last reported in inventory at Eridani shipyards in 2279. Admittedly, such consumables are not tracked as comprehensively as we may have wished in this instance." He pauses, as if parsing information. "However, one thing Storvant mentioned that concerns me is that one of the previous victims of our killer was his liaison at that station. He had to be replaced during Storvant's investigation. I believe this is more than a coincidence. Perhaps the ionizer was a lure for one of the victims?"

[Patrick Goodman]

Treyva looked at him quizzically as they approached the transporter room. "I agree; that can't be coincidental." He shook his head. Stopping just outside the door, he said, "Asha is about to beam up for dinner; since I'm having trouble focusing on anything else, I was going to discuss some aspects of the case with her, see if she had any ideas. Would you and T'Kiri care to join us?"