Watson, I think our quiet rest in the country has been a distinct success and I shall certainly return, much invigorated, to Baker Street tomorrow

November 4, 2006

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<h1 id="title">Watson, I think our quiet rest in the country has been a distinct success and I shall certainly return, much invigorated, to Baker Street tomorrow</h1>

<h8 id="author">Arrain Sar'vek and Ne'Arrain tr'Khev</h3>

At the supply depot

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As Arrenhe began walking the second quadrant of the circuit around the depot, he looked back at the science officer and guaged her. Then, turning his attention back to his multicorder, which swept to and fro looking for clues, he cleared his throat and spoke.

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"I guess we have the usual questions here. Who, what, where, why, when and how. And considering the who tried to yy'a us, with the what of mines, I'm more inclined to try and answer those questions. What about au, rekkhai?"

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Sar'vek inclined her head slightly, still, well, paranoid about where she was placing weight. "Ie, I agree." She smirked slightly. "I do na care for mysteries, especially those of the lethal nature."

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"Ie, so," Arrene began after a nod, "the who. Daise Erei'Riov N'Dak mentioned something about the Tal'Shiar soon after we were... immobilized. I am na that familiar with their mode of operation, but he seemed most confident in that analysis, and likely knows more about this situation than we do. So, in that area, at least," he made sure to preface that, "I am inclined to trust him."

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The edges of the scientist's mouth curved upwards slightly. "As am I." She paused a moment. "I have na had much dealing with the Tal'Shiar, either. I'm afraid that I'm as in the dark as au in such matters."

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"Tal'Shiar, then, on N'Dak's word. So that leads us to the what. Galae grain depots raided, then mined. That would certainly lead io to believe that the grain is of na importance to the raiders save as bait." He paused, not just in conversation, but physcially also as he looked over the readings on his multicorder. "If io is thieving, one doesn't try to yy'a the investigators. That only leads to more pressure to find the suspect. Therefore, they are trying to yy'a someio." He then resumed the slow, plodding pace around the depot.

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"It's possible that it was na directed at us, personally, or any of the Talon crew, for that matter. Perhaps they did na even expect the Galae to be involved?" she offered, lifting an eyebrow.

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Arrenhe pursed his lips for a moment, contemplating. "Since the grain belongs to Galae, they must have known that we would investigate and not merely leave it to local authorities. I would say at the very least, Galae is a target. To target the Talon, or anyio on it, they would have to know in advance that we would be the ship charged with the investigation. Certainly I know enough about the Tal'Shiar to know that nothing much in the way of information gets by them without notice... The other questions may shed light on that."

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As they completed the second quadrant, it was his turn to take a rest against the wall. Standing in one place for hours is na difficult; however, standing in one place for an extended period without being able to move io's legs to avoid pain and death is very tiring.

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"Where and when are obvious. This sector at this time. How: stealth, certainly in space. But the operations at these depots... That would indicate some bribery and/or coercion, na? To pull this off without alarm."

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"Which would point to someone at one of these facilities knowing something about the incidents. I assume tr'Psichore and tr'N'Dak will attend to their questionings."

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"Ie. Both seem much more suited to that task than au or I. That leads to an important point, though. That is a lot of effort and expense of time and resources. It seems like a waste to do that without having a specific target, to me."

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"Perhaps even io of them...." Her voice trailed off. "But a circular argument; it would require prescience that Talon was the vessel to investigate."

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With a sigh, Arrenhe pushed himself off the wall and resumed the circuit. "True. But that leads back to Galae, doesn't it? Who else could assure the Talon was assigned?"

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"An informant in the Galae's upper echelon, perhaps na the Galae in general. Someio in league with the Tal'Shiar?"

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"That does na bode well for Galae, if that is the case. That leaves re major options, then: the Tal'Shiar does na have a specific target, or they do, someio on the Talon. It does na seem like they would have much to gain from a generic attack on Galae, performed in this manner. Plus, there are names on this ship worth a good deal of attention," Arrenhe said, thinking of N'Dak, and the prominence of that family.

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"Quite a few names, really," she said, glancing at him. "Even aur family name is na entirely unknown, is it na?" Sar'vek asked, na malice in her tone.

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With a snort, he nodded. "True, my father is ne'Deihu, and is garnering some support. Though, if I were a target, they could have yy'a me as I traveled to meet the Talon. Which is another reason that I believe that there is a specific target on board. I had to travel from ch'Rihan to meet the Talon at ch'Davron. Though, once I arrived, I had to wait a week before au arrived. From what I garnered in the navigation log, that was na the most... efficient of options. Therefore, somio knew the Talon would be heading there very early on."

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"I am tending to agree that whoever it was did have a victim in mind. I'd be curious to see if any of our prominents had any family enemies on this world that may have even willingly agreed to collusion without monetary recompensation."

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"Even more disturbing, but na without precedent, unfortunately," Arrenhe responded. "The motive remains in doubt, however, because the identity of the victim remains in doubt. The gain would be different based on the target." After remaining silent for a moment, in thought, he continued. "Are the mines one of the weapons, or is blowing up a security team merely more bait?"

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"Too imprecise to be the primary forms of destruction," she dismissed. "I suspect, as au put it, just an effort for more bait."

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As they completed the third quadrant and moved into the final section of the circuit, he let out a harsh laugh. "Ie. There was no way that anyio could have known who would be on this team. Any dheno could have come down, and as au said before, au do not come on away teams often. Also, there seems to be too much instability in the command staff to figure out who would lead that. Every time I go to the oira, there is someio different in command, so which would lead the team, if any, would be too variable."

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She chuckled. "I've all but ceased attempting to keep track of the command staff, for the time being. I assume they'll work it all out -- or fight it out -- eventually. Until then, I'm planning on doing whatever is currently assigned at the moment, by whomever assigns it. And from an outsider's perspective, it must seem like a terrible conundrum to decipher even moreso than to us. Na, the mines were definitely na Plan Io. Which makes me ask... what is?"

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"Hm," he said, after a chuckle of his own. "There was suppose to be yy'a here. If au'r crew were murdered in such a way, au would expect a bit of anger, na? Determination to catch the culprits? I would expect some sort of ruse to draw us in immediately... 'There is the kllhe! Get him!' Thas sort of thing. Though, assuming we make it off of this planet alive, that plan may change if they are notified. We will have to monitor communications, and block them. Our enemies must na know that their plan did na succeed."

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"Or perhaps," she paused to consider, tilting her head to io side. "Perhaps it should even appear as if it did, indeed, succeed."

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"Ie, rekkhai. They may get a reaction they did na expect, and that is to our advantage. The first step to avoiding a trap, my di'ranov always said, was to know it exists. If that was na clear before, it is now." He nodded. "I do na think their next step is the end game, which is good, but another way to draw us in. If we go in with our eyes open, perhaps we can turn the tables sufficiently to get enough data to solve this puzzle. Data is always good, na?" He said, smilling at the scientist.

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Offering him a slightly mischievous grin in return, she nodded. "Always. And I think, with proper care, data we will find."

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For Arrenhe, his music was a puzzle that he had too look at from multiple angles, fitting pieces together experimentally until they fit correctly. For the first time, his life and the events around him were his composition, and he could start to see the big picture, and he could hear it more clearly with each moment. Finishing up the circuit, he came to a stop where they had started some time before.

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"I did na find a single thing on my multicorder or with my eyes, rekkhai. Though I think we discovered a good deal on our walk, regardless. I suppose we should report in."

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"Ie, I concur. I'm sure that Psichore and N'Dak are wondering whether or na we are again frozen in place, just waiting for them to discover our second mishap..." She snickered quietly, winking.

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Title from <cite>The Reigate Puzzle</cite> by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Text in the public domain

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Watson, I think our quiet rest in the country has been a distinct success and I shall certainly return, much invigorated, to Baker Street tomorrow

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