EXETERRPG: (3 - 1130) FO Cmdr Ailynn Bracken

[Mark Howard]

Mission: Murder on the Exeter Express

Day:03

Stardate: 2554:12:03



(USS Exeter – XO’s Office - Commander Ailynn Bracken/Lieutenant Ire
Williams - 1130)

Ire tapped the admittance button on the office door, the door opened and he
entered.

“Commander Bracken. I have been told to report to you for debriefing.”

Ailynn looked up from the PADD that she’d been reading, and regarded
Lieutenant Williams. “Ire, of course, come in sit down.” she motioned to
the replicator. “Can I get you anything?”

“No thank you.”

She nodded. “So. I need to find out the events before Myself and the team
beamed into the holodeck last night. First things first Lieutenant, how did
everything begin?”

“I was in the Ops department and then all of a sudden we were transported
to holodeck 3. We were all placed in stasis fields by Maxine.”

“Maxine being Ensign Green.” Ailynn said carefully. “Did you recognise her
at all?”

“I don’t know she was I had not met her before she was not in my department
but some of the other seemed to know her.”

“I see. So you were kept in stasis fields, what happened next?”

“This Maxine seemed to take a dislike to David Clarke and Nesha Kervick.
Then out of nowhere she electrocutes Clarke because she said that he was an
absolute bore.”

“Just like that?” She asked puzzled. “The safeties were all off when you
arrived I assume?”

“Yes but we only found out when Clake died.”

“I understand. What happened next? How did Nesha end up being killed?”

“Something had happened between Cortez and Maxine. I was dealing with Greta
at the time but Maxine was going to make Cortez pay for her insolence and
she killed Nesha like she had Clarke with electrocution.”

Ailynn nodded, a gentle frown of concern and concentration on her face.
“I’ve jumped a step it seems. Forgive me, tell me about Greta, Greta was in
there too?”

“Yes Greta. Maxine though it would be funny for me to fight her to the
death. So she made a hologram of her and made it attack me.”

Ailynn nodded. “I understand. So she made you fight Greta, killed Nesha to
spite Lieutenant Cortez. Did she give any indication about how she knew so
much?”

“She spoke a lot but I did not hear everythings she was saying. She did
talk about body swaps and wishing she had picked the captain and talked
about being an empress.”

“And the others, how where they tortured?”

“She made Ensign Sleeford hold his breath for one moment as she tried to
drown him. She then electrocuted Lieutenant Cortez anyway even after making
her watch Nesha’s death. Lieutenant Corsixa, Ensign More and the Intern Wakeman
had to do truth or die questions while Ensign Sleeford was drowning. I am
sorry that I am not more specific but I was not concentrating on what was
happening to them at the time.”

Ailynn smiled gently and shook her head. “It’s perfectly okay, the more
information that we have, the better, but it’s understandable that you’ll
have gaps all things considered.” She paused a moment. “You have no
recollection of the questions that were asked?”

He paused for a moment thinking back on all the crazy things that Maxine
had said.  “ She was goading Ensign More telling him that he was a bully
and that he was a petulant child and that he was his own worst enemy.” he
paused again. “He was the reason for Lieutenant Cortez for getting
electrocuted.  Intern Wakeman was asked if her potential was going to be
awakened or would she not be enough and if she was wasting her time in
starfleet. Ensign Hammerfield was asked why she transferred from
engineering from tactical? Was she afraid of death or was she weak.  I can
not remember any other questions she asked the others.”

Ailynn nodded, making a mental not of a couple of things. “Okay so I think
that we’re into the home stretch.” She drew breath, An oblique thought
crossing her mind, before we go further, can I ask a silly question? Did
you recognise anything about Maxine at all? The words she used, her cadence
of speech perhaps?”

He shook his head.

“No I did not. Nothing she said or did was familiar to me.”

“Hmm. Nothing that compares in any way to anything that you may have heard
recently?”

“No.”

Ailynn nodded, shifting her thoughts once more. “Okay, last couple of
questions. You managed to kill Maxine. Can you tell me the events that led
up to this.” She shifted in her seat. “And can I impress on you to be as
exact as possible.”

“She was taunting me about killing Greta. She told me that I had a free
shot, then dropped the stasis field and I took the opportunity. She had
already killed four people, tried to drown another and hurt others. This
looked like the only option and as I was the closest person I took the
opportunity to stop her from hurting other people.”

He paused for a moment.

“I stopped her but she had some kind of failsafe which dissolved her body
once she died. As soon as she died the holodeck shut down and you all
transported in.”

“Are you able to tell me what you used to make the strike? And where?
The….Free shot as you say?” Ailynn looked at him, regarding him calmly,
though her full intellect was switched on.

“I used one of the two dagger that she had given to me and Greta for the
fight. It went through her ribs and into her heart. She died and then  very
quickly dissolved but she did say something before she died.

He paused for a moment as he tried to recollect what maxine had said.

“She said ‘My time is at an end. I underestimated you Exeter, and I paid
the price. All because I needed to make sure Tyko Nix died. And now here I
am dead. I was to be an empress, in the end, I was just a footnote in
history. Sad. End program.’ and then you all came in.”


“So...you stabbed her, and after she spoke those words...she dissolved to
ash? Sounds awfully like you used a phaser Mr Williams. Where did you get
it?” In her mind she knew he hadn’t, she just wanted to see his reaction.
Her face remained utterly expressionless.

“I did not have a phaser. I would have used the phaser earlier if I had had
one. I had the dagger which was my only option.”

Ailynn nodded. “So she was stabbed by you, gave her swansong, and
then...the next bit I saw on my arrival into the room, but I want your
take...she ‘dissolved’ Your thoughts?” she pushed him.

“Some kind of fail safe that activated when she died. She knew that she was
going to get caught so she needed to die so that we could not catch her.”

“I understand.” She drew breath, and held his gaze. “With all this fresh in
your mind, what would you do differently?” her tone was gentle, but her
gaze impasse as it was, was reading his every response.

“Choose truth not death.”

Ailynn nodded, and once more held Ire’s gaze, with a gentle smile fixed to
her face. “I have nothing more, If there’s nothing else you need to add
Lieutenant? Anything at all?”

“No Commander.”

“Then you are dismissed.” Ailynn nodded a friendly dismissal. “If anything
else occurs to you Ire, anytime. You can talk to me….Ire. you hear me?”

“Yes.”

“Dismissed Lieutenant.” She nodded toward the door, her eyes deep in
thought.

Ire stood up from his chair, turned and left the office without a backward
glance.

Sighing gently, Ailynn leant back in her chair, and watched the doors close…

(Reply none)

(Posted by Mark and Robbie)
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