[OOC: If you click 'Subscribe Topic' at the top left of the thread, then you'll get an email whenever someone else posts in the thread. You can also set it in your User control panel to subscribe you to replies to a thread you reply to yourself by default if you want - save having to remember to set that option each time]

| May 15th, 2155
| Medical Lab, Sickbay, E-Deck, Discovery NX-04, Deep Space
| 1000 hrs[/b]

Behind the set of double doors marked with caduceus symbols on E deck was the Discovery's sickbay. Laboring in the medical lab was a lonely figure in a surgical gown. Laying on a table before her was the prone and still body of late Commander Dewitt Cayne. An autopsy is generally a solemn occasion and when the medical examiner is a Vulcan it didn't add the slightest bit of cheer. Crewman 1st Class Maria Ribbons was standing nearby in surgical scrubs assisting.

"I still can't believe somebody's died," Crewman Ribbons babbled, "and it's the first officer no less! Good God, if this is how our trip starts how is it going to end?"

"It will likely end with my calling Petty Officer Mercedes in here," Doctor Maya quipped dryly. "I understand your anxiety, Maria, but I find it distracting."

"You understand my anxiety?" Maria Ribbons blinked. "Really? I thought that Vulcans didn't have..."

"My apologies," Maya interrupted. "I really don't understand your anxiety. I was merely being polite."

"Oh," the medical orderly muttered.

The door hissed open behind them.

"It seems we have a visitor," Maya commented dryly.

Leo was feeling tense as he strode through the sickbay doors, his jaw set tight and his lips thin. Since the explosion and his unexpected battlefield promotion to first officer he had done the same thing he always did when faced with a high stress situation; he gritted his teeth and focused on the job at hand. Whether it was conducting an experiment ahead of a high pressure deadline or leading an investigation into an attack on a starship, Leo would dive in head first and get the job done.

After issuing orders to the security teams and taking a brief report from the engineering department, he made his way down to sickbay for the next, grim step in his investigation. The body of Commander Cayne - it helped not to think of him as Dewitt - lay on bed in the centre of sickbay attended by two medical staff, one of whom Leo immediately recognised as the ship's Vulcan CMO.

"Doctor Maya," he said, getting the doctor's attention as he walked toward her and her junior colleague.

"Commander Carpegiani, welcome to sickbay," the little Vulcan replied while clasping her hands and gracing him with a formal nod. "It is unfortunate that we haven't gotten better acquainted before now, and a greater pity that it was not under more pleasant circumstances. Crewman Ribbons and I were examining Commander Cayne and attempting to recover any bomb fragments that could aid you in identifying the explosive."

Leo looked down at Cayne's body as he approached. He had barely knew the man, but there was a growing familiarity there; enough to make seeing his lifeless corpse send a shiver of grief through him. He swallowed and kept his composure, looking back to the doctor. "What have you found?" he asked, focusing on the job.

"Most of the damage inflicted on Commander Cayne was cosmetic," Maya informed him, "nothing that he couldn't recover from. The true culprit was a small splinter of metal that punctured his jugular vein. I understand that on your planet the phrase 'to go for the jugular' is an expression used to convey a decisive attack at a target's weakest point, an idiom that conveys viciousness as well as tactics. Miss Ribbons, could you give the commander the fragments we've been able to recover please?"

"Here you go sir," Crewman Ribbons murmured as she handed Leo a clear sealed bag containing tiny shards of metal with suspicious reddish brown stains.

"Given the relative weakness of the explosion I don't think that homicide was the motive," the little Vulcan continued. "If Commander Cayne would have been standing a centimeter to the left he would have recovered, and quickly. As it was it he bled out before I arrived. Did you know the commander?"

Pure luck, Leo thought to himself. A little over this way, a little over that way. That was all the difference it made. He looked down at the metal in the bag and turned it over, peering at the sharp points, the blunt edges, the twists, the scrapes and the blood stains. How fickle fate is, he thought.

He looked up after a moment, realising that the doctor was waiting on an answer. "Not very well," he replied, deliberately looking the doctor in the eye and avoiding looking down at Cayne's body. "I hadn't met him before joining the Discovery. Have you been able to recover any other evidence from his body?"

"If you're asking for foreign matter, Crewman Ribbons gave you what we've been able to recover so far," Doctor Maya replied. "The commander's last meal was bacon and eggs and an overcooked slice of bread that I believe is called 'toast' as well as orange juice. He also has burns on his face and a trace a residue that likely came from whatever substance caused the blast but that will come out in chemical analysis. There is no trace of such a residue on his hands, so it is unlikely that Commander Cayne set the explosive."

Leo nodded and tucked the evidence bag into the pocket on the left sleeve of his uniform. "Very good, Doctor," he said. "See that you forward me the chemical analysis as soon as it is ready. Grazie." With that, he turned and headed for the door.

Leo had almost left sickbay when he heard Maya's mezzo-soprano voice behind him.

"Commander, a moment please."

The science officer stopped and turned on his heel to face the doctor again. He cocked his head slightly to the left and raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything.

The little Vulcan tilted her head slightly to the right and also raised an eyebrow. It was as if the two of them were performing a 'mirroring exercise' in a performance class. "Commander, I am not familiar with the doctrine and tactics of Terra Prime. Thus far, my only exposure to them has been through the reports of the Associated News Media Service on your planet. Could you please enlighten me?"

Leo stiffened gritted his teeth every so subtly. He had little first-hand experience with Terra Prime, but it was hard to be in Starfleet long and not be affected by their atrocities in one way or another. For him, it had been former colleagues maimed or murdered and he had developed a very hard line against them. He considered his response for a moment, his thoughts coalescing through his mind, condensing all of the rage and anger he felt towards them into some sense.

Maya squinted as she attempted to read Leo's face and body language. He was attempting to conceal his aggression, but was his aggression caused by the death of Commander Cayne or the presence of an alien invading his personal space?

"Doctor," he said after a moment's thought. "They represent the absolute worst of humanity. Their doctrine is one of hate and theirs are the tactics of terror. We thought we'd dealt with them when their leader was arrested, but this -" he gestured to the medical lab doors that concealed Cayne's corpse "- would suggest otherwise."

Maya turned her head to glance in the direction of the doors to the medical lab before returning her catlike gaze to the human. "Yes, regretfully xenophobia is not unique to your species. My own people recently uncovered a xenophobic faction that had taken over the High Command. Is it possible that they have infiltrated Starfleet as well?"

Leo sighed heavily, the thought having occurred to him previously and it still filled him with dread. "It is absolutely possible, Doctor," he said before expanding his thoughts a little, even if he didn't know why. "As your people were once so quick to point out to us, human beings are very emotional creatures. Throughout our history people have manipulated the emotions particularly fear of others for their own political purposes. In particular, they use fear. Fear of difficult economic circumstances, fear of different cultures and, more recently, fear of alien cultures. An organisation like Terra Prime would not even need many of its sympathisers to be a part of Starfleet to wreak a great havoc on us. All it takes is one individual in a crowd of a thousand to do a lot of damage."

The first officer paused and mulled the implications, allowing the silence to linger between him and the doctor until finally breaking it. "Whether they have or not remains to be seen," he said, reverting to his more comfortable empirical outlook. "But it is possible."

[TAG]

[OOC: My problem is real life getting in the way . The subscribe topic function is useful, but it doesn't get me free time. I keep truckin' though]

| May 15th, 2155
| Medical Lab, Sickbay, E-Deck, Discovery NX-04, Deep Space
| 1000 hrs[/b]

Behind the set of double doors marked with caduceus symbols on E deck was the Discovery's sickbay. Laboring in the medical lab was a lonely figure in a surgical gown. Laying on a table before her was the prone and still body of late Commander Dewitt Cayne. An autopsy is generally a solemn occasion and when the medical examiner is a Vulcan it didn't add the slightest bit of cheer. Crewman 1st Class Maria Ribbons was standing nearby in surgical scrubs assisting.

"I still can't believe somebody's died," Crewman Ribbons babbled, "and it's the first officer no less! Good God, if this is how our trip starts how is it going to end?"

"It will likely end with my calling Petty Officer Mercedes in here," Doctor Maya quipped dryly. "I understand your anxiety, Maria, but I find it distracting."

"You understand my anxiety?" Maria Ribbons blinked. "Really? I thought that Vulcans didn't have..."

"My apologies," Maya interrupted. "I really don't understand your anxiety. I was merely being polite."

"Oh," the medical orderly muttered.

The door hissed open behind them.

"It seems we have a visitor," Maya commented dryly.

Leo was feeling tense as he strode through the sickbay doors, his jaw set tight and his lips thin. Since the explosion and his unexpected battlefield promotion to first officer he had done the same thing he always did when faced with a high stress situation; he gritted his teeth and focused on the job at hand. Whether it was conducting an experiment ahead of a high pressure deadline or leading an investigation into an attack on a starship, Leo would dive in head first and get the job done.

After issuing orders to the security teams and taking a brief report from the engineering department, he made his way down to sickbay for the next, grim step in his investigation. The body of Commander Cayne - it helped not to think of him as Dewitt - lay on bed in the centre of sickbay attended by two medical staff, one of whom Leo immediately recognised as the ship's Vulcan CMO.

"Doctor Maya," he said, getting the doctor's attention as he walked toward her and her junior colleague.

"Commander Carpegiani, welcome to sickbay," the little Vulcan replied while clasping her hands and gracing him with a formal nod. "It is unfortunate that we haven't gotten better acquainted before now, and a greater pity that it was not under more pleasant circumstances. Crewman Ribbons and I were examining Commander Cayne and attempting to recover any bomb fragments that could aid you in identifying the explosive."

Leo looked down at Cayne's body as he approached. He had barely knew the man, but there was a growing familiarity there; enough to make seeing his lifeless corpse send a shiver of grief through him. He swallowed and kept his composure, looking back to the doctor. "What have you found?" he asked, focusing on the job.

"Most of the damage inflicted on Commander Cayne was cosmetic," Maya informed him, "nothing that he couldn't recover from. The true culprit was a small splinter of metal that punctured his jugular vein. I understand that on your planet the phrase 'to go for the jugular' is an expression used to convey a decisive attack at a target's weakest point, an idiom that conveys viciousness as well as tactics. Miss Ribbons, could you give the commander the fragments we've been able to recover please?"

"Here you go sir," Crewman Ribbons murmured as she handed Leo a clear sealed bag containing tiny shards of metal with suspicious reddish brown stains.

"Given the relative weakness of the explosion I don't think that homicide was the motive," the little Vulcan continued. "If Commander Cayne would have been standing a centimeter to the left he would have recovered, and quickly. As it was it he bled out before I arrived. Did you know the commander?"

Pure luck, Leo thought to himself. A little over this way, a little over that way. That was all the difference it made. He looked down at the metal in the bag and turned it over, peering at the sharp points, the blunt edges, the twists, the scrapes and the blood stains. How fickle fate is, he thought.

He looked up after a moment, realising that the doctor was waiting on an answer. "Not very well," he replied, deliberately looking the doctor in the eye and avoiding looking down at Cayne's body. "I hadn't met him before joining the Discovery. Have you been able to recover any other evidence from his body?"

"If you're asking for foreign matter, Crewman Ribbons gave you what we've been able to recover so far," Doctor Maya replied. "The commander's last meal was bacon and eggs and an overcooked slice of bread that I believe is called 'toast' as well as orange juice. He also has burns on his face and a trace a residue that likely came from whatever substance caused the blast but that will come out in chemical analysis. There is no trace of such a residue on his hands, so it is unlikely that Commander Cayne set the explosive."

Leo nodded and tucked the evidence bag into the pocket on the left sleeve of his uniform. "Very good, Doctor," he said. "See that you forward me the chemical analysis as soon as it is ready. Grazie." With that, he turned and headed for the door.

Leo had almost left sickbay when he heard Maya's mezzo-soprano voice behind him.

"Commander, a moment please."

The science officer stopped and turned on his heel to face the doctor again. He cocked his head slightly to the left and raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything.

The little Vulcan tilted her head slightly to the right and also raised an eyebrow. It was as if the two of them were performing a 'mirroring exercise' in a performance class. "Commander, I am not familiar with the doctrine and tactics of Terra Prime. Thus far, my only exposure to them has been through the reports of the Associated News Media Service on your planet. Could you please enlighten me?"

Leo stiffened gritted his teeth every so subtly. He had little first-hand experience with Terra Prime, but it was hard to be in Starfleet long and not be affected by their atrocities in one way or another. For him, it had been former colleagues maimed or murdered and he had developed a very hard line against them. He considered his response for a moment, his thoughts coalescing through his mind, condensing all of the rage and anger he felt towards them into some sense.

Maya squinted as she attempted to read Leo's face and body language. He was attempting to conceal his aggression, but was his aggression caused by the death of Commander Cayne or the presence of an alien invading his personal space?

"Doctor," he said after a moment's thought. "They represent the absolute worst of humanity. Their doctrine is one of hate and theirs are the tactics of terror. We thought we'd dealt with them when their leader was arrested, but this -" he gestured to the medical lab doors that concealed Cayne's corpse "- would suggest otherwise."

Maya turned her head to glance in the direction of the doors to the medical lab before returning her catlike gaze to the human. "Yes, regretfully xenophobia is not unique to your species. My own people recently uncovered a xenophobic faction that had taken over the High Command. Is it possible that they have infiltrated Starfleet as well?"

Leo sighed heavily, the thought having occurred to him previously and it still filled him with dread. "It is absolutely possible, Doctor," he said before expanding his thoughts a little, even if he didn't know why. "As your people were once so quick to point out to us, human beings are very emotional creatures. Throughout our history people have manipulated the emotions particularly fear of others for their own political purposes. In particular, they use fear. Fear of difficult economic circumstances, fear of different cultures and, more recently, fear of alien cultures. An organisation like Terra Prime would not even need many of its sympathisers to be a part of Starfleet to wreak a great havoc on us. All it takes is one individual in a crowd of a thousand to do a lot of damage."

The first officer paused and mulled the implications, allowing the silence to linger between him and the doctor until finally breaking it. "Whether they have or not remains to be seen," he said, reverting to his more comfortable empirical outlook. "But it is possible."

"The fact remains that I am the only extraterrestrial aboard the Discovery," Maya replied, "and I have not been able to eliminate any of the ship's personnel as potential suspects. As an alien, I am a possible target for a xenophobe who believes that cooperation with my people weakens your species. Using empirical data, who can I trust aboard this vessel?"

The Earth-man had twenty centimeters of height and over twenty kilograms of weight over the Vulcan. From Leo's perspective, she looked very small indeed. The irrational humans aboard the Discovery must have looked very threatening to Maya. She was alone on a new ship, completely unfamiliar with the crew, and somewhere aboard this ship there was someone who considered her people the enemy. From her perspective who could she trust?


[TAG]

[OOC: My problem is real life getting in the way . The subscribe topic function is useful, but it doesn't get me free time. I keep truckin' though]

[OOC: I don't have as much time as I pretend to either.

| May 15th, 2155
| Medical Lab, Sickbay, E-Deck, Discovery NX-04, Deep Space
| 1000 hrs[/b]

Behind the set of double doors marked with caduceus symbols on E deck was the Discovery's sickbay. Laboring in the medical lab was a lonely figure in a surgical gown. Laying on a table before her was the prone and still body of late Commander Dewitt Cayne. An autopsy is generally a solemn occasion and when the medical examiner is a Vulcan it didn't add the slightest bit of cheer. Crewman 1st Class Maria Ribbons was standing nearby in surgical scrubs assisting.

"I still can't believe somebody's died," Crewman Ribbons babbled, "and it's the first officer no less! Good God, if this is how our trip starts how is it going to end?"

"It will likely end with my calling Petty Officer Mercedes in here," Doctor Maya quipped dryly. "I understand your anxiety, Maria, but I find it distracting."

"You understand my anxiety?" Maria Ribbons blinked. "Really? I thought that Vulcans didn't have..."

"My apologies," Maya interrupted. "I really don't understand your anxiety. I was merely being polite."

"Oh," the medical orderly muttered.

The door hissed open behind them.

"It seems we have a visitor," Maya commented dryly.

Leo was feeling tense as he strode through the sickbay doors, his jaw set tight and his lips thin. Since the explosion and his unexpected battlefield promotion to first officer he had done the same thing he always did when faced with a high stress situation; he gritted his teeth and focused on the job at hand. Whether it was conducting an experiment ahead of a high pressure deadline or leading an investigation into an attack on a starship, Leo would dive in head first and get the job done.

After issuing orders to the security teams and taking a brief report from the engineering department, he made his way down to sickbay for the next, grim step in his investigation. The body of Commander Cayne - it helped not to think of him as Dewitt - lay on bed in the centre of sickbay attended by two medical staff, one of whom Leo immediately recognised as the ship's Vulcan CMO.

"Doctor Maya," he said, getting the doctor's attention as he walked toward her and her junior colleague.

"Commander Carpegiani, welcome to sickbay," the little Vulcan replied while clasping her hands and gracing him with a formal nod. "It is unfortunate that we haven't gotten better acquainted before now, and a greater pity that it was not under more pleasant circumstances. Crewman Ribbons and I were examining Commander Cayne and attempting to recover any bomb fragments that could aid you in identifying the explosive."

Leo looked down at Cayne's body as he approached. He had barely knew the man, but there was a growing familiarity there; enough to make seeing his lifeless corpse send a shiver of grief through him. He swallowed and kept his composure, looking back to the doctor. "What have you found?" he asked, focusing on the job.

"Most of the damage inflicted on Commander Cayne was cosmetic," Maya informed him, "nothing that he couldn't recover from. The true culprit was a small splinter of metal that punctured his jugular vein. I understand that on your planet the phrase 'to go for the jugular' is an expression used to convey a decisive attack at a target's weakest point, an idiom that conveys viciousness as well as tactics. Miss Ribbons, could you give the commander the fragments we've been able to recover please?"

"Here you go sir," Crewman Ribbons murmured as she handed Leo a clear sealed bag containing tiny shards of metal with suspicious reddish brown stains.

"Given the relative weakness of the explosion I don't think that homicide was the motive," the little Vulcan continued. "If Commander Cayne would have been standing a centimeter to the left he would have recovered, and quickly. As it was it he bled out before I arrived. Did you know the commander?"

Pure luck, Leo thought to himself. A little over this way, a little over that way. That was all the difference it made. He looked down at the metal in the bag and turned it over, peering at the sharp points, the blunt edges, the twists, the scrapes and the blood stains. How fickle fate is, he thought.

He looked up after a moment, realising that the doctor was waiting on an answer. "Not very well," he replied, deliberately looking the doctor in the eye and avoiding looking down at Cayne's body. "I hadn't met him before joining the Discovery. Have you been able to recover any other evidence from his body?"

"If you're asking for foreign matter, Crewman Ribbons gave you what we've been able to recover so far," Doctor Maya replied. "The commander's last meal was bacon and eggs and an overcooked slice of bread that I believe is called 'toast' as well as orange juice. He also has burns on his face and a trace a residue that likely came from whatever substance caused the blast but that will come out in chemical analysis. There is no trace of such a residue on his hands, so it is unlikely that Commander Cayne set the explosive."

Leo nodded and tucked the evidence bag into the pocket on the left sleeve of his uniform. "Very good, Doctor," he said. "See that you forward me the chemical analysis as soon as it is ready. Grazie." With that, he turned and headed for the door.

Leo had almost left sickbay when he heard Maya's mezzo-soprano voice behind him.

"Commander, a moment please."

The science officer stopped and turned on his heel to face the doctor again. He cocked his head slightly to the left and raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything.

The little Vulcan tilted her head slightly to the right and also raised an eyebrow. It was as if the two of them were performing a 'mirroring exercise' in a performance class. "Commander, I am not familiar with the doctrine and tactics of Terra Prime. Thus far, my only exposure to them has been through the reports of the Associated News Media Service on your planet. Could you please enlighten me?"

Leo stiffened gritted his teeth every so subtly. He had little first-hand experience with Terra Prime, but it was hard to be in Starfleet long and not be affected by their atrocities in one way or another. For him, it had been former colleagues maimed or murdered and he had developed a very hard line against them. He considered his response for a moment, his thoughts coalescing through his mind, condensing all of the rage and anger he felt towards them into some sense.

Maya squinted as she attempted to read Leo's face and body language. He was attempting to conceal his aggression, but was his aggression caused by the death of Commander Cayne or the presence of an alien invading his personal space?

"Doctor," he said after a moment's thought. "They represent the absolute worst of humanity. Their doctrine is one of hate and theirs are the tactics of terror. We thought we'd dealt with them when their leader was arrested, but this -" he gestured to the medical lab doors that concealed Cayne's corpse "- would suggest otherwise."

Maya turned her head to glance in the direction of the doors to the medical lab before returning her catlike gaze to the human. "Yes, regretfully xenophobia is not unique to your species. My own people recently uncovered a xenophobic faction that had taken over the High Command. Is it possible that they have infiltrated Starfleet as well?"

Leo sighed heavily, the thought having occurred to him previously and it still filled him with dread. "It is absolutely possible, Doctor," he said before expanding his thoughts a little, even if he didn't know why. "As your people were once so quick to point out to us, human beings are very emotional creatures. Throughout our history people have manipulated the emotions particularly fear of others for their own political purposes. In particular, they use fear. Fear of difficult economic circumstances, fear of different cultures and, more recently, fear of alien cultures. An organisation like Terra Prime would not even need many of its sympathisers to be a part of Starfleet to wreak a great havoc on us. All it takes is one individual in a crowd of a thousand to do a lot of damage."

The first officer paused and mulled the implications, allowing the silence to linger between him and the doctor until finally breaking it. "Whether they have or not remains to be seen," he said, reverting to his more comfortable empirical outlook. "But it is possible."

"The fact remains that I am the only extraterrestrial aboard the Discovery," Maya replied, "and I have not been able to eliminate any of the ship's personnel as potential suspects. As an alien, I am a possible target for a xenophobe who believes that cooperation with my people weakens your species. Using empirical data, who can I trust aboard this vessel?"

The Earth-man had twenty centimeters of height and over twenty kilograms of weight over the Vulcan. From Leo's perspective, she looked very small indeed. The irrational humans aboard the Discovery must have looked very threatening to Maya. She was alone on a new ship, completely unfamiliar with the crew, and somewhere aboard this ship there was someone who considered her people the enemy. From her perspective who could she trust?

Leo considered that for a moment. With all that had happened, he hadn't considered her position as the only alien aboard. While the Discovery was hunting a member of a xenophobic human organisation, any non-human would inevitably feel isolated and uncomfortable. He didn't know Doctor Maya from a bar of soap, but at the same time he didn't want her to be isolated. He considered for a moment, feeling uncomfortable himself with having to provide some measure of comfort to someone he'd just met.

"On the evidence, I don't know who you could trust among the crew. You know that there is someone aboard who holds hostile feelings toward extraterrestrials and until you know who that is everyone is suspect." He paused and crossed his arms before adding, "That being said, none of us can operate as part of a crew - part of a team - without having some trust in our crewmates. You can trust the captain. You can trust me. You can trust the vast majority of your crewmates, Doctor. If you have any trouble, or feel that you are in danger, call me or call the captain."

[TAG]

[OOC: My problem is real life getting in the way . The subscribe topic function is useful, but it doesn't get me free time. I keep truckin' though]

[OOC: I don't have as much time as I pretend to either.

[quote="Leo Carpegiani"]| May 15th, 2155
| Medical Lab, Sickbay, E-Deck, Discovery NX-04, Deep Space
| 1000 hrs[/b]

Behind the set of double doors marked with caduceus symbols on E deck was the Discovery's sickbay. Laboring in the medical lab was a lonely figure in a surgical gown. Laying on a table before her was the prone and still body of late Commander Dewitt Cayne. An autopsy is generally a solemn occasion and when the medical examiner is a Vulcan it didn't add the slightest bit of cheer. Crewman 1st Class Maria Ribbons was standing nearby in surgical scrubs assisting.

"I still can't believe somebody's died," Crewman Ribbons babbled, "and it's the first officer no less! Good God, if this is how our trip starts how is it going to end?"

"It will likely end with my calling Petty Officer Mercedes in here," Doctor Maya quipped dryly. "I understand your anxiety, Maria, but I find it distracting."

"You understand my anxiety?" Maria Ribbons blinked. "Really? I thought that Vulcans didn't have..."

"My apologies," Maya interrupted. "I really don't understand your anxiety. I was merely being polite."

"Oh," the medical orderly muttered.

The door hissed open behind them.

"It seems we have a visitor," Maya commented dryly.

Leo was feeling tense as he strode through the sickbay doors, his jaw set tight and his lips thin. Since the explosion and his unexpected battlefield promotion to first officer he had done the same thing he always did when faced with a high stress situation; he gritted his teeth and focused on the job at hand. Whether it was conducting an experiment ahead of a high pressure deadline or leading an investigation into an attack on a starship, Leo would dive in head first and get the job done.

After issuing orders to the security teams and taking a brief report from the engineering department, he made his way down to sickbay for the next, grim step in his investigation. The body of Commander Cayne - it helped not to think of him as Dewitt - lay on bed in the centre of sickbay attended by two medical staff, one of whom Leo immediately recognised as the ship's Vulcan CMO.

"Doctor Maya," he said, getting the doctor's attention as he walked toward her and her junior colleague.

"Commander Carpegiani, welcome to sickbay," the little Vulcan replied while clasping her hands and gracing him with a formal nod. "It is unfortunate that we haven't gotten better acquainted before now, and a greater pity that it was not under more pleasant circumstances. Crewman Ribbons and I were examining Commander Cayne and attempting to recover any bomb fragments that could aid you in identifying the explosive."

Leo looked down at Cayne's body as he approached. He had barely knew the man, but there was a growing familiarity there; enough to make seeing his lifeless corpse send a shiver of grief through him. He swallowed and kept his composure, looking back to the doctor. "What have you found?" he asked, focusing on the job.

"Most of the damage inflicted on Commander Cayne was cosmetic," Maya informed him, "nothing that he couldn't recover from. The true culprit was a small splinter of metal that punctured his jugular vein. I understand that on your planet the phrase 'to go for the jugular' is an expression used to convey a decisive attack at a target's weakest point, an idiom that conveys viciousness as well as tactics. Miss Ribbons, could you give the commander the fragments we've been able to recover please?"

"Here you go sir," Crewman Ribbons murmured as she handed Leo a clear sealed bag containing tiny shards of metal with suspicious reddish brown stains.

"Given the relative weakness of the explosion I don't think that homicide was the motive," the little Vulcan continued. "If Commander Cayne would have been standing a centimeter to the left he would have recovered, and quickly. As it was it he bled out before I arrived. Did you know the commander?"

Pure luck, Leo thought to himself. A little over this way, a little over that way. That was all the difference it made. He looked down at the metal in the bag and turned it over, peering at the sharp points, the blunt edges, the twists, the scrapes and the blood stains. How fickle fate is, he thought.

He looked up after a moment, realising that the doctor was waiting on an answer. "Not very well," he replied, deliberately looking the doctor in the eye and avoiding looking down at Cayne's body. "I hadn't met him before joining the Discovery. Have you been able to recover any other evidence from his body?"

"If you're asking for foreign matter, Crewman Ribbons gave you what we've been able to recover so far," Doctor Maya replied. "The commander's last meal was bacon and eggs and an overcooked slice of bread that I believe is called 'toast' as well as orange juice. He also has burns on his face and a trace a residue that likely came from whatever substance caused the blast but that will come out in chemical analysis. There is no trace of such a residue on his hands, so it is unlikely that Commander Cayne set the explosive."

Leo nodded and tucked the evidence bag into the pocket on the left sleeve of his uniform. "Very good, Doctor," he said. "See that you forward me the chemical analysis as soon as it is ready. Grazie." With that, he turned and headed for the door.

Leo had almost left sickbay when he heard Maya's mezzo-soprano voice behind him.

"Commander, a moment please."

The science officer stopped and turned on his heel to face the doctor again. He cocked his head slightly to the left and raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything.

The little Vulcan tilted her head slightly to the right and also raised an eyebrow. It was as if the two of them were performing a 'mirroring exercise' in a performance class. "Commander, I am not familiar with the doctrine and tactics of Terra Prime. Thus far, my only exposure to them has been through the reports of the Associated News Media Service on your planet. Could you please enlighten me?"

Leo stiffened gritted his teeth every so subtly. He had little first-hand experience with Terra Prime, but it was hard to be in Starfleet long and not be affected by their atrocities in one way or another. For him, it had been former colleagues maimed or murdered and he had developed a very hard line against them. He considered his response for a moment, his thoughts coalescing through his mind, condensing all of the rage and anger he felt towards them into some sense.

Maya squinted as she attempted to read Leo's face and body language. He was attempting to conceal his aggression, but was his aggression caused by the death of Commander Cayne or the presence of an alien invading his personal space?

"Doctor," he said after a moment's thought. "They represent the absolute worst of humanity. Their doctrine is one of hate and theirs are the tactics of terror. We thought we'd dealt with them when their leader was arrested, but this -" he gestured to the medical lab doors that concealed Cayne's corpse "- would suggest otherwise."

Maya turned her head to glance in the direction of the doors to the medical lab before returning her catlike gaze to the human. "Yes, regretfully xenophobia is not unique to your species. My own people recently uncovered a xenophobic faction that had taken over the High Command. Is it possible that they have infiltrated Starfleet as well?"

Leo sighed heavily, the thought having occurred to him previously and it still filled him with dread. "It is absolutely possible, Doctor," he said before expanding his thoughts a little, even if he didn't know why. "As your people were once so quick to point out to us, human beings are very emotional creatures. Throughout our history people have manipulated the emotions particularly fear of others for their own political purposes. In particular, they use fear. Fear of difficult economic circumstances, fear of different cultures and, more recently, fear of alien cultures. An organisation like Terra Prime would not even need many of its sympathisers to be a part of Starfleet to wreak a great havoc on us. All it takes is one individual in a crowd of a thousand to do a lot of damage."

The first officer paused and mulled the implications, allowing the silence to linger between him and the doctor until finally breaking it. "Whether they have or not remains to be seen," he said, reverting to his more comfortable empirical outlook. "But it is possible."

"The fact remains that I am the only extraterrestrial aboard the Discovery," Maya replied, "and I have not been able to eliminate any of the ship's personnel as potential suspects. As an alien, I am a possible target for a xenophobe who believes that cooperation with my people weakens your species. Using empirical data, who can I trust aboard this vessel?"

The Earth-man had twenty centimeters of height and over twenty kilograms of weight over the Vulcan. From Leo's perspective, she looked very small indeed. The irrational humans aboard the Discovery must have looked very threatening to Maya. She was alone on a new ship, completely unfamiliar with the crew, and somewhere aboard this ship there was someone who considered her people the enemy. From her perspective who could she trust?

Leo considered that for a moment. With all that had happened, he hadn't considered her position as the only alien aboard. While the Discovery was hunting a member of a xenophobic human organisation, any non-human would inevitably feel isolated and uncomfortable. He didn't know Doctor Maya from a bar of soap, but at the same time he didn't want her to be isolated. He considered for a moment, feeling uncomfortable himself with having to provide some measure of comfort to someone he'd just met.

"On the evidence, I don't know who you could trust among the crew. You know that there is someone aboard who holds hostile feelings toward extraterrestrials and until you know who that is everyone is suspect." He paused and crossed his arms before adding, "That being said, none of us can operate as part of a crew - part of a team - without having some trust in our crewmates. You can trust the captain. You can trust me. You can trust the vast majority of your crewmates, Doctor. If you have any trouble, or feel that you are in danger, call me or call the captain."

"Very well," replied as she tilted her head to the right instead of nodding. "In the meantime I would like permission to peruse the records of the Discovery's personnel. Even if I do not find the saboteur it should be possible to eliminate suspects."

[TAG]

| May 15th, 2155
| Medical Lab, Sickbay, E-Deck, Discovery NX-04, Deep Space
| 1000 hrs[/b]

Behind the set of double doors marked with caduceus symbols on E deck was the Discovery's sickbay. Laboring in the medical lab was a lonely figure in a surgical gown. Laying on a table before her was the prone and still body of late Commander Dewitt Cayne. An autopsy is generally a solemn occasion and when the medical examiner is a Vulcan it didn't add the slightest bit of cheer. Crewman 1st Class Maria Ribbons was standing nearby in surgical scrubs assisting.

"I still can't believe somebody's died," Crewman Ribbons babbled, "and it's the first officer no less! Good God, if this is how our trip starts how is it going to end?"

"It will likely end with my calling Petty Officer Mercedes in here," Doctor Maya quipped dryly. "I understand your anxiety, Maria, but I find it distracting."

"You understand my anxiety?" Maria Ribbons blinked. "Really? I thought that Vulcans didn't have..."

"My apologies," Maya interrupted. "I really don't understand your anxiety. I was merely being polite."

"Oh," the medical orderly muttered.

The door hissed open behind them.

"It seems we have a visitor," Maya commented dryly.

Leo was feeling tense as he strode through the sickbay doors, his jaw set tight and his lips thin. Since the explosion and his unexpected battlefield promotion to first officer he had done the same thing he always did when faced with a high stress situation; he gritted his teeth and focused on the job at hand. Whether it was conducting an experiment ahead of a high pressure deadline or leading an investigation into an attack on a starship, Leo would dive in head first and get the job done.

After issuing orders to the security teams and taking a brief report from the engineering department, he made his way down to sickbay for the next, grim step in his investigation. The body of Commander Cayne - it helped not to think of him as Dewitt - lay on bed in the centre of sickbay attended by two medical staff, one of whom Leo immediately recognised as the ship's Vulcan CMO.

"Doctor Maya," he said, getting the doctor's attention as he walked toward her and her junior colleague.

"Commander Carpegiani, welcome to sickbay," the little Vulcan replied while clasping her hands and gracing him with a formal nod. "It is unfortunate that we haven't gotten better acquainted before now, and a greater pity that it was not under more pleasant circumstances. Crewman Ribbons and I were examining Commander Cayne and attempting to recover any bomb fragments that could aid you in identifying the explosive."

Leo looked down at Cayne's body as he approached. He had barely knew the man, but there was a growing familiarity there; enough to make seeing his lifeless corpse send a shiver of grief through him. He swallowed and kept his composure, looking back to the doctor. "What have you found?" he asked, focusing on the job.

"Most of the damage inflicted on Commander Cayne was cosmetic," Maya informed him, "nothing that he couldn't recover from. The true culprit was a small splinter of metal that punctured his jugular vein. I understand that on your planet the phrase 'to go for the jugular' is an expression used to convey a decisive attack at a target's weakest point, an idiom that conveys viciousness as well as tactics. Miss Ribbons, could you give the commander the fragments we've been able to recover please?"

"Here you go sir," Crewman Ribbons murmured as she handed Leo a clear sealed bag containing tiny shards of metal with suspicious reddish brown stains.

"Given the relative weakness of the explosion I don't think that homicide was the motive," the little Vulcan continued. "If Commander Cayne would have been standing a centimeter to the left he would have recovered, and quickly. As it was it he bled out before I arrived. Did you know the commander?"

Pure luck, Leo thought to himself. A little over this way, a little over that way. That was all the difference it made. He looked down at the metal in the bag and turned it over, peering at the sharp points, the blunt edges, the twists, the scrapes and the blood stains. How fickle fate is, he thought.

He looked up after a moment, realising that the doctor was waiting on an answer. "Not very well," he replied, deliberately looking the doctor in the eye and avoiding looking down at Cayne's body. "I hadn't met him before joining the Discovery. Have you been able to recover any other evidence from his body?"

"If you're asking for foreign matter, Crewman Ribbons gave you what we've been able to recover so far," Doctor Maya replied. "The commander's last meal was bacon and eggs and an overcooked slice of bread that I believe is called 'toast' as well as orange juice. He also has burns on his face and a trace a residue that likely came from whatever substance caused the blast but that will come out in chemical analysis. There is no trace of such a residue on his hands, so it is unlikely that Commander Cayne set the explosive."

Leo nodded and tucked the evidence bag into the pocket on the left sleeve of his uniform. "Very good, Doctor," he said. "See that you forward me the chemical analysis as soon as it is ready. Grazie." With that, he turned and headed for the door.

Leo had almost left sickbay when he heard Maya's mezzo-soprano voice behind him.

"Commander, a moment please."

The science officer stopped and turned on his heel to face the doctor again. He cocked his head slightly to the left and raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything.

The little Vulcan tilted her head slightly to the right and also raised an eyebrow. It was as if the two of them were performing a 'mirroring exercise' in a performance class. "Commander, I am not familiar with the doctrine and tactics of Terra Prime. Thus far, my only exposure to them has been through the reports of the Associated News Media Service on your planet. Could you please enlighten me?"

Leo stiffened gritted his teeth every so subtly. He had little first-hand experience with Terra Prime, but it was hard to be in Starfleet long and not be affected by their atrocities in one way or another. For him, it had been former colleagues maimed or murdered and he had developed a very hard line against them. He considered his response for a moment, his thoughts coalescing through his mind, condensing all of the rage and anger he felt towards them into some sense.

Maya squinted as she attempted to read Leo's face and body language. He was attempting to conceal his aggression, but was his aggression caused by the death of Commander Cayne or the presence of an alien invading his personal space?

"Doctor," he said after a moment's thought. "They represent the absolute worst of humanity. Their doctrine is one of hate and theirs are the tactics of terror. We thought we'd dealt with them when their leader was arrested, but this -" he gestured to the medical lab doors that concealed Cayne's corpse "- would suggest otherwise."

Maya turned her head to glance in the direction of the doors to the medical lab before returning her catlike gaze to the human. "Yes, regretfully xenophobia is not unique to your species. My own people recently uncovered a xenophobic faction that had taken over the High Command. Is it possible that they have infiltrated Starfleet as well?"

Leo sighed heavily, the thought having occurred to him previously and it still filled him with dread. "It is absolutely possible, Doctor," he said before expanding his thoughts a little, even if he didn't know why. "As your people were once so quick to point out to us, human beings are very emotional creatures. Throughout our history people have manipulated the emotions particularly fear of others for their own political purposes. In particular, they use fear. Fear of difficult economic circumstances, fear of different cultures and, more recently, fear of alien cultures. An organisation like Terra Prime would not even need many of its sympathisers to be a part of Starfleet to wreak a great havoc on us. All it takes is one individual in a crowd of a thousand to do a lot of damage."

The first officer paused and mulled the implications, allowing the silence to linger between him and the doctor until finally breaking it. "Whether they have or not remains to be seen," he said, reverting to his more comfortable empirical outlook. "But it is possible."

"The fact remains that I am the only extraterrestrial aboard the Discovery," Maya replied, "and I have not been able to eliminate any of the ship's personnel as potential suspects. As an alien, I am a possible target for a xenophobe who believes that cooperation with my people weakens your species. Using empirical data, who can I trust aboard this vessel?"

The Earth-man had twenty centimeters of height and over twenty kilograms of weight over the Vulcan. From Leo's perspective, she looked very small indeed. The irrational humans aboard the Discovery must have looked very threatening to Maya. She was alone on a new ship, completely unfamiliar with the crew, and somewhere aboard this ship there was someone who considered her people the enemy. From her perspective who could she trust?

Leo considered that for a moment. With all that had happened, he hadn't considered her position as the only alien aboard. While the Discovery was hunting a member of a xenophobic human organisation, any non-human would inevitably feel isolated and uncomfortable. He didn't know Doctor Maya from a bar of soap, but at the same time he didn't want her to be isolated. He considered for a moment, feeling uncomfortable himself with having to provide some measure of comfort to someone he'd just met.

"On the evidence, I don't know who you could trust among the crew. You know that there is someone aboard who holds hostile feelings toward extraterrestrials and until you know who that is everyone is suspect." He paused and crossed his arms before adding, "That being said, none of us can operate as part of a crew - part of a team - without having some trust in our crewmates. You can trust the captain. You can trust me. You can trust the vast majority of your crewmates, Doctor. If you have any trouble, or feel that you are in danger, call me or call the captain."

"Very well," replied as she tilted her head to the right instead of nodding. "In the meantime I would like permission to peruse the records of the Discovery's personnel. Even if I do not find the saboteur it should be possible to eliminate suspects."

Leo looked at her for a moment and furrowed his brow slightly. "Doctor, you are the chief medical officer aboard this ship. You already have full access to the crew's records. If you wish to get any higher access, you should speak directly with the Captain."

[TAG]

[OOCMC: I think this is about ready to post. What do you think?]

| May 15th, 2155
| Medical Lab, Sickbay, E-Deck, Discovery NX-04, Deep Space
| 1000 hrs[/b]

Behind the set of double doors marked with caduceus symbols on E deck was the Discovery's sickbay. Laboring in the medical lab was a lonely figure in a surgical gown. Laying on a table before her was the prone and still body of late Commander Dewitt Cayne. An autopsy is generally a solemn occasion and when the medical examiner is a Vulcan it didn't add the slightest bit of cheer. Crewman 1st Class Maria Ribbons was standing nearby in surgical scrubs assisting.

"I still can't believe somebody's died," Crewman Ribbons babbled, "and it's the first officer no less! Good God, if this is how our trip starts how is it going to end?"

"It will likely end with my calling Petty Officer Mercedes in here," Doctor Maya quipped dryly. "I understand your anxiety, Maria, but I find it distracting."

"You understand my anxiety?" Maria Ribbons blinked. "Really? I thought that Vulcans didn't have..."

"My apologies," Maya interrupted. "I really don't understand your anxiety. I was merely being polite."

"Oh," the medical orderly muttered.

The door hissed open behind them.

"It seems we have a visitor," Maya commented dryly.

Leo was feeling tense as he strode through the sickbay doors, his jaw set tight and his lips thin. Since the explosion and his unexpected battlefield promotion to first officer he had done the same thing he always did when faced with a high stress situation; he gritted his teeth and focused on the job at hand. Whether it was conducting an experiment ahead of a high pressure deadline or leading an investigation into an attack on a starship, Leo would dive in head first and get the job done.

After issuing orders to the security teams and taking a brief report from the engineering department, he made his way down to sickbay for the next, grim step in his investigation. The body of Commander Cayne - it helped not to think of him as Dewitt - lay on bed in the centre of sickbay attended by two medical staff, one of whom Leo immediately recognised as the ship's Vulcan CMO.

"Doctor Maya," he said, getting the doctor's attention as he walked toward her and her junior colleague.

"Commander Carpegiani, welcome to sickbay," the little Vulcan replied while clasping her hands and gracing him with a formal nod. "It is unfortunate that we haven't gotten better acquainted before now, and a greater pity that it was not under more pleasant circumstances. Crewman Ribbons and I were examining Commander Cayne and attempting to recover any bomb fragments that could aid you in identifying the explosive."

Leo looked down at Cayne's body as he approached. He had barely knew the man, but there was a growing familiarity there; enough to make seeing his lifeless corpse send a shiver of grief through him. He swallowed and kept his composure, looking back to the doctor. "What have you found?" he asked, focusing on the job.

"Most of the damage inflicted on Commander Cayne was cosmetic," Maya informed him, "nothing that he couldn't recover from. The true culprit was a small splinter of metal that punctured his jugular vein. I understand that on your planet the phrase 'to go for the jugular' is an expression used to convey a decisive attack at a target's weakest point, an idiom that conveys viciousness as well as tactics. Miss Ribbons, could you give the commander the fragments we've been able to recover please?"

"Here you go sir," Crewman Ribbons murmured as she handed Leo a clear sealed bag containing tiny shards of metal with suspicious reddish brown stains.

"Given the relative weakness of the explosion I don't think that homicide was the motive," the little Vulcan continued. "If Commander Cayne would have been standing a centimeter to the left he would have recovered, and quickly. As it was it he bled out before I arrived. Did you know the commander?"

Pure luck, Leo thought to himself. A little over this way, a little over that way. That was all the difference it made. He looked down at the metal in the bag and turned it over, peering at the sharp points, the blunt edges, the twists, the scrapes and the blood stains. How fickle fate is, he thought.

He looked up after a moment, realising that the doctor was waiting on an answer. "Not very well," he replied, deliberately looking the doctor in the eye and avoiding looking down at Cayne's body. "I hadn't met him before joining the Discovery. Have you been able to recover any other evidence from his body?"

"If you're asking for foreign matter, Crewman Ribbons gave you what we've been able to recover so far," Doctor Maya replied. "The commander's last meal was bacon and eggs and an overcooked slice of bread that I believe is called 'toast' as well as orange juice. He also has burns on his face and a trace a residue that likely came from whatever substance caused the blast but that will come out in chemical analysis. There is no trace of such a residue on his hands, so it is unlikely that Commander Cayne set the explosive."

Leo nodded and tucked the evidence bag into the pocket on the left sleeve of his uniform. "Very good, Doctor," he said. "See that you forward me the chemical analysis as soon as it is ready. Grazie." With that, he turned and headed for the door.

Leo had almost left sickbay when he heard Maya's mezzo-soprano voice behind him.

"Commander, a moment please."

The science officer stopped and turned on his heel to face the doctor again. He cocked his head slightly to the left and raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything.

The little Vulcan tilted her head slightly to the right and also raised an eyebrow. It was as if the two of them were performing a 'mirroring exercise' in a performance class. "Commander, I am not familiar with the doctrine and tactics of Terra Prime. Thus far, my only exposure to them has been through the reports of the Associated News Media Service on your planet. Could you please enlighten me?"

Leo stiffened gritted his teeth every so subtly. He had little first-hand experience with Terra Prime, but it was hard to be in Starfleet long and not be affected by their atrocities in one way or another. For him, it had been former colleagues maimed or murdered and he had developed a very hard line against them. He considered his response for a moment, his thoughts coalescing through his mind, condensing all of the rage and anger he felt towards them into some sense.

Maya squinted as she attempted to read Leo's face and body language. He was attempting to conceal his aggression, but was his aggression caused by the death of Commander Cayne or the presence of an alien invading his personal space?

"Doctor," he said after a moment's thought. "They represent the absolute worst of humanity. Their doctrine is one of hate and theirs are the tactics of terror. We thought we'd dealt with them when their leader was arrested, but this -" he gestured to the medical lab doors that concealed Cayne's corpse "- would suggest otherwise."

Maya turned her head to glance in the direction of the doors to the medical lab before returning her catlike gaze to the human. "Yes, regretfully xenophobia is not unique to your species. My own people recently uncovered a xenophobic faction that had taken over the High Command. Is it possible that they have infiltrated Starfleet as well?"

Leo sighed heavily, the thought having occurred to him previously and it still filled him with dread. "It is absolutely possible, Doctor," he said before expanding his thoughts a little, even if he didn't know why. "As your people were once so quick to point out to us, human beings are very emotional creatures. Throughout our history people have manipulated the emotions particularly fear of others for their own political purposes. In particular, they use fear. Fear of difficult economic circumstances, fear of different cultures and, more recently, fear of alien cultures. An organisation like Terra Prime would not even need many of its sympathisers to be a part of Starfleet to wreak a great havoc on us. All it takes is one individual in a crowd of a thousand to do a lot of damage."

The first officer paused and mulled the implications, allowing the silence to linger between him and the doctor until finally breaking it. "Whether they have or not remains to be seen," he said, reverting to his more comfortable empirical outlook. "But it is possible."

"The fact remains that I am the only extraterrestrial aboard the Discovery," Maya replied, "and I have not been able to eliminate any of the ship's personnel as potential suspects. As an alien, I am a possible target for a xenophobe who believes that cooperation with my people weakens your species. Using empirical data, who can I trust aboard this vessel?"

The Earth-man had twenty centimeters of height and over twenty kilograms of weight over the Vulcan. From Leo's perspective, she looked very small indeed. The irrational humans aboard the Discovery must have looked very threatening to Maya. She was alone on a new ship, completely unfamiliar with the crew, and somewhere aboard this ship there was someone who considered her people the enemy. From her perspective who could she trust?

Leo considered that for a moment. With all that had happened, he hadn't considered her position as the only alien aboard. While the Discovery was hunting a member of a xenophobic human organisation, any non-human would inevitably feel isolated and uncomfortable. He didn't know Doctor Maya from a bar of soap, but at the same time he didn't want her to be isolated. He considered for a moment, feeling uncomfortable himself with having to provide some measure of comfort to someone he'd just met.

"On the evidence, I don't know who you could trust among the crew. You know that there is someone aboard who holds hostile feelings toward extraterrestrials and until you know who that is everyone is suspect." He paused and crossed his arms before adding, "That being said, none of us can operate as part of a crew - part of a team - without having some trust in our crewmates. You can trust the captain. You can trust me. You can trust the vast majority of your crewmates, Doctor. If you have any trouble, or feel that you are in danger, call me or call the captain."

"Very well," replied as she tilted her head to the right instead of nodding. "In the meantime I would like permission to peruse the records of the Discovery's personnel. Even if I do not find the saboteur it should be possible to eliminate suspects."

Leo looked at her for a moment and furrowed his brow slightly. "Doctor, you are the chief medical officer aboard this ship. You already have full access to the crew's records. If you wish to get any higher access, you should speak directly with the Captain."

"Thank you," the little Vulcan replied with a respectful nod. "I will let you proceed with your investigation Commander."

[OOCMC: I think this is about ready to post. What do you think?]

[OOC: Okay, let me know if you want to proofread it first.]

Looks okay to me. Do you want to give it a once over and then post if you're happy?