CSI

Posted on Fri Apr 17th, 2015 @ 7:54am by Lieutenant Rianna DiMarco & Lieutenant David Windsor
Edited on on Fri Apr 17th, 2015 @ 12:51pm

Mission: The Night Cries
Location: Elsa Gunning's Hotel Room - Crime Scene
Timeline: 2278.46: 0800hrs.

David took the lead down the hallway to Elsa's room, case full of scanners and bio-analysis machines. He could see the crimson suited security officer standing outside as they approached, "Have you ever done and crime scene investigation?" He asked over his shoulder as they walked.

"Noooope.." DiMarco responded, not at all regretting that she'd skipped breakfast. She'd been to one before, yes, but not at all because she'd wanted to. "I'm an engineer. Specifically a structural engineer. I have no idea what I'm doing in this situation."

"Certainly no slight on you, my dear, but I was wondering the same myself. Are you willing to play scientists flunky for a bit until we figure it out?" He asked her earnestly.

"That won't be a problem. Just tell me what you need me to do and I'll give it my best." She fidgeted a little as they neared the door, lowering her voice a little so it didn't carry. "I just wish we had a bit more information coming into it. We're not the first ones in, so who knows what's left over or messed with.."

"The truth remains, my dear. It's downright biological," He said with a grin and a wink.

As he approached the door, he stuck a hand out to the security officer there, "Lieutenant David Allan Windsor, Chief Science Officer aboard the USS Farragut. I've been asked to investigate the crime scene." He explained, matter of factly.

"Yeah, you're on the list. Go on in," The man said brusquely.

David waggled his fingers in the air uncomfortably and dropped his hand to his side, "Of course... thank you." He nodded his head for Ri to follow, with a mildly annoyed look on his face.

In order to not chuckle at David's odd little hand dance, Ri stepped in the door first and let herself get adjusted to the overbearing ambiance. Of course there wasn't a body- just the outline of one now- but that didn't take away impact of the scene. Death was an ugly thing. It had a smell that crawled up into your nose and just hung out for hours. Stuck to your hair, threaded into your clothes.. She'd seen plenty of that in her younger years and then again on the Ursae. Every time.. every time: it never ceased to simply 'feel' ugly. Especially when you knew the person who had died.

"Mind your nose," she warned as the scientist followed her in, distracting her from her line of thought. "Breathe shallow and it won't be as bad."

"Darling, I'm a biologist. I don't smell this aroma anymore," He quipped as he sat his case down on a table and began pulling out various scanners. He turned back around to set to work as usual, but stopped short seeing the blood and a few remaining small chunks of flesh stuck in the carpet. His mouth curled into a grimace and for a long moment, just staring at the spot. There were no tears in his eyes, but that... just barely. So much for maintaining professionalism.

Ri bowed her head slightly and turned her eyes away. People crying always made her feel strange- like she should do something about it, but she never knew what to do- and even after going through a course on sensitivity, she still tended to freeze and back away. Especially if it was a man tearing up as it brought up dark bits of memories that she'd rather stay forgotten. "You going to be alright or do you need a minute? I can.. step outside if you need me to or somethin'." she asked softly, giving the far corner's carpeting a lot more attention than it needed.

David cleared his throat and shook his head, "No... it's just... it seems a little bit more real now." He said, quietly. "That's... that's what's left of the woman I served with, you know? She was an utter bitch, but lord if I didn't appreciate her."

"She's got no more troubles any longer." It was the closest that Ri could offer to comfort without sounding dismal. She paced to the other side of the room and inspected the carpet there, too. Peeked under the bed skirt. Glanced along the side table between it and the bed. Nothing so far. "That's something, right? No pain, no hunger, no stress, no reports to file.."

"It is, you're correct," David said, nodding his head. "Perhaps we should thank her killer?" He asked, his tone was mildly bemused, though he appreciated Ri's helpful nudges. He took a deep breath and composed himself. "I apologize, my dear. I didn't expect to be so shaken from this. Let's focus on the task at hand, shall we?" He asked.

"Listen, I don't mean to be callous. The way I see it, when you die, you're gone. It's a shame- it's a damn shame- but that's it. Everything stops except for those left behind, so mourning becomes this weird ritual of self-comfort. I don't know what to do with it." DiMarco rounded the bed again and stood to the side of the outline neatly marked in crisp lines. "What do you need me to do?"

David eyed her for a moment. He was a man of science, but working with biology had left him with a strong sense of the spirit of man and the world around him... he couldn't quite fathom the idea of death... simply being the end. After all, energy doesn't simply stop existing. No... death must simply be the next grand adventure.

Shaking free of his contemplation he motioned around the room, "Start a 3D scan of the room, I want to make sure we can view it to scale aboard the Farragut later if need be. I'll start analyzing the evidence that's here and trying to figure out what's blocking it," He explained.

"Got it." Going through David's carry-along, Ri rooted around until she found what she was looking for: the scanner and its stalk-like tripod. "So what about the jacket?" she asked as she set up the tripod, keeping a bit of background chatter going so she could stave off thinking too much about the blood in the carpet. "The shell casing? The commander mentioned a projectile, right? If it was a slug, it'd have a casing.."

"That appears to be what has set everyone aflutter on this case. The physical evidence is completely gone. Something removed it or has hidden it, but we need to find it somehow, or whatever else is going on. Evidence doesn't just go away," He replied, quietly.

He rummaged through his case until he found the device he was looking for and activated it, "Let's start sleuthing, shall we?" He asked with a world weary smile.

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Lt. David Allan Windsor
Science Officer, USS Farragut

Lt. Rianna DiMarco
Engineering Chief, USS Farragut