Touch of the Eidolon

Starbase 989

Prologue

The USS Rosenante after returning from Irlix system is long overdue for some much needed Rest and relaxation time on Starbase 989.

The ship put into dock and Captain Salid held a briefing to bring his crew up to specs for the refit and resupply operations that would need to take place prior to the Rosenante's departure.

For a change it looked as if everything would go well, and that the crew wouldn't be drawn into any unwanted scuffles with station personnel.

It also seems that the reality of things is always different from the desired.

The Martial Arts Tournament

Word quickly spread through the crew that the Starbase was holding the Alpha-Beta Quadrant wide martial arts tournament. The prize was a substantial latinum prize as well as the title of Champion of two quadrants.

The following personnel from the Rosenante entered the tournament:

• Kimiko Ichijo
• Ben Soma
• Eian O'Neill

They each competed against their respective opponents and were each in turn disappointed with the scores handed down to them by the panel of judges, which included, Ieko Takawa

Murder and Suspicion=

The day after the arrival of the USS Rosenante reports were made of the discovery of the body of Captain Joseph Taylor, who was the commanding officer of Starbase 989. The captain was found dead in his quarters by a security officer from the station who had been dispatched when the Captain failed to respond to calls from his first Officer Lieutenant Krawl.

Almost immediately, Karawl contacted Captain Ahmed Ibn Salid and notified him of the grisly discovery. Citing Regulations, Salid, then assumed command of the investigation and assigned the Rosenante's own Chief Security Officer Ben Soma to investigate.

The body was recovered by the Rosenante team and a thorough study of the crime scene was conducted by Lieutenant Steven Wade Matrix, and Eian O'Neill. In addition to the survey of the crime scene, Doctor Kimiko Ichijo and Doctor Sam Lopez undertook an autopsy, to determine the cause of death.

From the combined results of these studies clues and mysteries began to form, throwing out a number of plausible scenarios as to how the murder could have been conducted. Among the most puzzling of these mysteries was the nature of the murder weapon, a hook shaped spike that seemingly dematerialized inside the wound after the deed was done. In addition, coupled with the fact that the Captain had secured his personal quarters, the scene of the murder, with a very high level encryption that could only be overridden by other Starfleet officers of flag rank or greater, left the crew wondering who on the station had the ability to reach the obviously paranoid captain.

To further complicate matters, the captain had no defensive wounds on his body, which would indicate that death was sudden and that the Starbase's commanding officer did not expect an attack.

A short list of suspects was assembled, after further questioning and DNA evidence discovered that the Captain had been having an affair with two of his junior officers. Early in the investigation, there were strong indications that Captain Taylor may have been corrupt and that his murder may have been caused by a business deal going poorly.

The chief suspects are:

• Braak
• Pez
• Quol Nor
• Doctor Gena Harvey
• Lieutenant Adraa Mosul
• Ieko Takawa

A Second Murder

The Romulan freighter Harveq

The following day, a second body was discovered by a Starfleet engineer on duty on the station. He discovered the body of the Orion Cargo Master Nargo of the Romulan freighter Harveq. The ship's captain was T'Sek, a Romulan merchant. T'Sek's grandfather is Vice-Chairman Somek of the Romulan Tal Shiar.

Before the Station security personnel could arrive, however, T'sek and some of his Orion crew recovered Nargo's body and took it aboard their ship. When Ben Soma and his team from the Rosenante arrived, Soma was unhappy with the turn of events and planned to take action to deal with the situation.

More to come.