A Red Herring?
Posted on Sun Jun 25th, 2023 @ 7:09am by Lieutenant Siadra Molaur & Lieutenant JG Andrew Griffin
Edited on on Fri Jul 14th, 2023 @ 12:38am
1,154 words; about a 6 minute read
Mission:
The Sins of History
Location: Forensic Science Lab 1 - Deck 12 - USS Artemis
Timeline: MD003 1200 hrs
Andy had been here before. But this was the first time he had come on business. The Captain had asked him and Sorine to look through a pile of cases. Anything that would give a clue to what Holmes wanted from them.
In one of the files regarding a farmer who had vanished in suspicious circumstances. An evidence bag containing a sample had been attached. But the label was missing. Andy decided to show it to Lieutenant Moluar.
He rang the bell and the doors wooshed open.
"Enter if you dare!" came the cheery voice of Siadra. "Oh wait that didn't sound ominous did it." She was standing at a table where several pieces of what looked to be like they could be part of a small bolw.
"What can I do for you, Lieutenant Griffin?" Siadra asked looking up from the bowl she had been examining.
“ We were going through some files and I found this evidence bag with no label. I was hoping you could help with the contents? It’s looks like a soil sample taken from the missing farmers land. But why was it so important to take a sample of? The file says the farmer was doing well his crops were growing perfectly. He just went out as usual in the early morning to tend to them and never returned.” Andrew said.
"Well it may have either traces of his blood if he was killed or dragged away. Where there any photos taken of where he had been? And maybe the soil can also contain a chemical which could tell us more who may have been involved." Siadra remarked.
“ The thing is this was taken over five months ago. Would the blood sample of degraded by now?” Andy asked
"Possibly and it would also depend on the soil. If it has the property of a clay like soil, the evidence would have been soaked into it therefore if he has the normal iron content in the blood we'll still be able to see if he had been injured or even met his demise right here. Lets run it through diagnosis right now." Siadra remarked, carefully taking the sample from Andy.
She got two test tubes with liquid in it to check the density of the soil then she headed towards the electronic microscope to check on the composition of the soil, then go even further into seeing if there was biological material there.
“ It’s a strange case. The farm was doing very well. The missing guys wife was three months pregnant with their first child. Considering what happened to him during the occupation by Cardassia. The guy was doing very well and had no reason to just vanish. He was well thought of by his friends and neighbours. Even first minister Holmes had a keen interest in him. Judging by the way he studied this file.” Andrew said.
While Andrew spoke, Siadra began running the soil sample through the various tests, "I do wonder if he disappeared for some reason other than if he were killed." her brow furrowed as she watched thhe machine whir and make its selection, then peered into the microscope. There was a beep and Siadra took a look at the results. "Oh my looks like there is Cardassian blood there, not Bajoran."
“ Cardassian? Why would there be Cardassian blood? Unless either the farmer was one in disguise which has been done in the past. Gul Dukat changed his outside appearance so he could walk around Bajor plotting to realise the Parr Wraiths from the Fire Caves.But also this could mean the farmers kidnapper or murderer was a Cardassian. Then again they could have been in disguise as a Bajoran. We did uncover Gul Dukat’s false signature on Gul Vancet’s death certificate. This looks like another cover up murder.” Andrew said
"You do have a point, this makes things interesting. Or even something that is staged, just so a person could leave and also put blame on someone else. That has happened as well. Staging one's death in order to go some place else." Siadra replied. "We probably will either prove there was foul play in one form or other or, just someone wanting to leave due to their assignement is all over."
Andrew shook his head.
“ No this smells of foul play. The farmer under went a medical operation a few days prior to his disappearance. If he was anything but a Bajoran male it would have showed up. If only we could identify who this blood belongs to.” Andrew said
"Where was this sample picked up from?" Siadra was wanting to know, just in case this blood sample had been registered.
“ Dahkut. There is a small farming community. Our missing or murdered person has or had a farm there. Although I am puzzled at the time no one noticed any strangers around. Which is odd for such a small community. This is also odd. The investigating officers took samples from all over the farm. But this was the only one that is on file. The rest were destroyed in a plasma fire at the Bajoran Military Headquarters. This survived because Minister Holmes had the file at the time.” Andrew said.
"So this seems to lead us to Bajor Prime then? That seems to me a good place to start. We should be going in that direction already therefore we can pursue this further. What do you think?" Siadra giving a bit of a smile.
“ There is one other thing. We recently spoke with the Captain and a new theory presented itself. Gul Vancet had a son and knowing how Cardassians feel about family. It looks quite strongly that he could be involved in this. It would fit in with the blood but a non-altered Cardassian skulking around Bajor. Would stand out like a Klingon in a pink pallet dress. How do go about searching a planet for an altered Cardassian or three?” Andrew asked
Siadra gave a look at the sample then looked towards Griffin, "Well then it will end up being a cold case until we find something more. Sadly that is what happens. This one we will need to let sit for awhile until we find where this happened and so forth and so on. At this point can't do anything more."
Andrew nodded sadly.
Siadra looked once more at the sample and carefully placed it into where the cold case file was located. What a way to start a beginning. However she was confident that it will be cracked open someday.
A Joint Post By
Lieutenant Junior Grade Andrew Griffin
Criminal Investigations Officer, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
Lieutenant Siadra Molaur
Chief Forensic Science Officer, USS Artemis
Starfleet Criminal Investigations Unit
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