<USS Avalon> "An Inch or Three Closer"

"An Inch or Three Closer" 
By: Ensn. Melanie Redgrave
 
Melanie stood in the far corner of the ready  room for a third time in less 
then twenty four hours. She’d finally figured out  the small detail she’d 
been 
missing in her recreation. It had come to her after  she’d been reminded by 
Georgia, who’d commed her to see how she was doing, that  skipping meals and 
sleep wasn’t going to help keep her sharp and alert. So  Melanie had agreed 
to 
eat something and to get some sleep for a while, but when  she’d seen the 
crewmen in the mess hall the missing piece of her equation  slammed her in the 
face. The suspect was left handed. Melanie had forgone sleep  and the rest of 
her 
dinner to try out her new valuable, and sure enough when she  had the blank 
humanoid hologram hold the phaser in it’s left hand the beam of  light hit 
it’s 
target perfectly. 
 
Now came the grueling part of any investigation.  Melanie had to formulate a 
list of possible suspects and begin working with  Security. If these Security 
officers were anything like the ones she’d worked  with in the past, Melanie 
knew she wasn’t going to enjoy this part of her job at  all. She liked 
working 
on her own or with a small group of her peers. In her  option most cases would 
be solved much faster and with less of a chance of the  perp walking if her 
kind were just left alone. 
 
Melanie looked up from the padd in her and took  in the dynamics of the 
hologram again. “Average build, between 6’1 and 6’4,  male, humanoid, 
left handed. 
That isn’t much to go on, Mel. Oh yeah and the  cheap shoes with the bit 
missing. So who do we have in the scans that match that  profile.” Melanie 
looked 
down at the padd again. “Well Skyler can be crossed off  the list for the 
simple fact she’s not male.” For a moment Melanie’s thoughts  turned to 
her 
sister and the mess that had formed between them. She wondered if  Skyler would 
come around, and if she’d ruined things between Skyler and Georgia,  and not 
for 
the first time she wondered if she was being selfish for wanting to  know the 
only blood family she had left. Melanie shook her head to clear it and  then 
returned her attention to her padd. 
 
Commander Sierra, Lieutenants Manson and  Shimbrodus, and Doctor Idrys were 
all in the room and all fit the profile to a  point. Lieutenants Manson and 
Shimbrodus were both under the six foot two inches  Melanie was pegging the 
suspect at so she put them on the bottom of the list.  Both Sierra and Idrys 
were 6’
2 but were either of them left handed? Again  Melanie’s thoughts touched 
briefly on her sister since the Doctor was her  husband and implicating him in 
a 
murder wouldn’t be the push in the right  direction that she and Skyler 
needed. 
 
All thoughts, both personal and professional,  were cast away from Melanie’s 
mind at the sound of the ready room door opening.  She looked up from her padd 
and watched in silence as a young man in a cream  colored uniform walked in. 
The young man stopped just inside the door and looked  around quickly. He 
gasped out loud when he saw Melanie. 
 
“I’m sorry Ma’am I didn’t know anyone was in  here.” 
 
Melanie held out her hand when she noticed the  young man was about to come 
closer. “Please don’t move around in here. This area  is still of limits 
Petty 
Officer..?”
“Kendrick, Ma’am.” He answered. 
 
Melanie took the young man in as she spoke to  him. “This area has been 
restricted to the forensic and security team working  the case and your uniform 
clearly isn’t either department. So my question Petty  Officer Kendrick is 
what 
are you doing here?” 
 
The young man became uneasy and Melanie wondered  how old the boy was. ‘
Barely out of school I’d bet.’ She thought to herself as  she watched the 
young 
man stiffen under her gaze. 
 
“Commander Skyler would like to reclaim the  office, Ma’am. It use to be 
hers and until the Captain relocated  her.”
 
Melanie’s face was expressionless and her voice  crisp. “Commander Skyler 
will have to wait until we have finished with our  investigation. Until then 
Petty Officer tell her she’ll have to put up with  where she is.” 
 
The young man nodded. “I’ll inform her, Ma’am.”  Kendrick paused a 
moment 
and took another look around that was meant to be  casual but Melanie knew 
better. Then he asked, “Do you know who did this yet?” 
 
“I can not share any information with you Petty  Officer.” 
 
Kendrick nodded. “Of course Ma’am. I apologize  for asking, it’s just 
that 
the crew has so many questions. It’s kinda wired to  have something like this 
happen here.” 
 
Melanie nodded. She understood how it must be  unnerving to have a murder 
happen in a place so many called home, not to mention  a murder of one of their 
own. “I assure you Petty Officer we’ll find out who did  this.” Kendrick 
only 
nodded. “Now if you’ll excuse me Petty Office I have work  to do. You are 
dismissed.” 
 
Again the young man nodded and then he quickly  left the room. Melanie 
sighed. There wasn’t much more she could do in the ready  room so she 
collected the 
holoemitters, her kit and padds, and the recording of  her latest session. 
Then she headed to the labs with every intention of dropping  off her gear and 
then heading to her quarters for a few hours of sleep.  Something told her that 
Georgia wasn’t a person to reckon with and the last  thing she wanted to do 
was ignore her ‘advice’ to get some sleep. 
 
Her intentions once again few by the wayside  when she walked up to her desk. 
Her terminal was blinking and without thinking  Melanie turned it on. The 
computer had IDed the last two scans from her first  sweep of the ready room. 
One 
was a Nurse Brandt, “She would have been with the  Doctor when medical was 
called to the scene.” Melanie said aloud. The other name  caused Melanie’s 
left 
brow to fly up. 
 
“Well well well. Petty Officer Lol Kendrick.  Seems the bloke’s been in the 
ready room more then once in the past seventy two  hours.”
 
Melanie added the name to her list. She’d talk  to each one of them, Sierra, 
Idrys, and Kendrick in the morning, but first a  nap. She would need to be on 
her toes after all. Besides, men seemed to talk  more freely to an attractive 
looking woman and not a sleep deprived one.

Other related posts: