Vessel Control Part III

Vapor trails issued from the stick. Gunnar Mayser walked the passageways. His gummy footwear never made a sound. He puffed on his vape stick. More of the smoke-like stuff puffed out and swirled about him like a morning mist.

A crew chief walked by and waved her left hand.

“Excuse me sir, there’s no vaping in this quadrant,” Chief Tollia Polla corrected.

“Pardon me,” Mayser replied and placed the vaporizer into his inside jacket pocket. Coal black skin wrapped around his bones. His frame remained at six foot six inches. He towered over her five foot four inch frame. He wore a brown fedora hat and an oversized gray coat. He tipped his hat to Tollia. Her brown skin glistened under the lights. She smiled and returned to her duties. It was a warm, knowing smile and Mayser knew exactly what it meant. When the corner of the mouth goes up just enough and the eyes sort of squint, that registered as a genuine smile.

He kept going. He looked at his digital display to find the captain of the ship, Melita Vereen. His trek led him past the first few doors. Tollia remained in shouting distance.

“Hey, wait!”

Tollia stopped and turned around. “What is it, sir?” she asked.

“I’m trying to find Captain Vereen….”

“That’s no problem. She’s on the executive deck. I can take you there,” Tollia flashed that same real grin. She used her body as a key to open the hatches that led to the executive suite on the Diamond Cutter. Before each hatch opened, the analyzers scanned her entire body and ensured she had been Chief Tollia. Mayser followed behind. His eyes darted around like fireflies, lighting up when he saw pictures of the late Rear Admiral Rodney Carr. Vereen’s photograph appeared so he knew he inched closer to the woman he wanted to see.

“Alright, Mr….”

“Mayser. Detective Gunnar Mayser.”

“Yes, well, you just go past that porthole, make a left and you’re there.”

“Thank you.”

“My pleasure.” The authenticity of her voice and the authority which stayed in it made him even more welcome aboard the spacecraft.

As he ambled to the officers deck, he had the burning feeling to take a drag on his vape stick. He just held back, however. He walked up to the hatch and it opened upon entry. Captain Vereen stood with her hands relaxed at her sides. A small streak of gray appeared in her hair. The shock appeared white against her deep brown locks cascading down her back.

“Welcome aboard the Diamond Cutter.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” Mayser replied.

“We’ve been expecting you. I hope you didn’t have too much trouble finding me.”

“My guidance system stopped working, but one of your crew chiefs showed me the way.”

“Chief Polla.”

“Yes.”

“Well, come into my inner sanctum,” she invited the detective.

The energy in the room moved Mayser. It propelled him to continue to Melita’s office. The spacious room afforded him the chance to take in the trophy where her team had won a volleyball championship. Another recognition seemed more serious. It showed her shadow box of achievements that looked like a stack of colors bursting through the glass on the wall.

“Please have a seat. Now, Detective Mayser, you know why you’ve been called here since we last spoke,” Melita mentioned.

“Yes, ma’am. After talking on the comms with you, I’ve been able to become more informed about Lieutenant Kathleen Kull. She had been called upon to assess the spacecraft that got lost in space.”

“And you remember the reason?”

“There had been a misunderstanding in units. The Imperial and Metric units had been confused. The difference in numbers was slight but significant. So important that it cost the lives of all souls aboard. Lieutenant Kull had discovered this early but no one believed her.”

“And she was found with a bedsheet around her neck….” Melita intoned.

“She was just about to disclose her findings. This would’ve saved lives and millions of dollars. I know you believed her and sent out the message. The Ruby Runner received the comms but wanted to speak further with Kull regarding her discovery.”

Melita rocked slightly in her chair with her fingertips pressed together.

“Absolutely. She was about to pick up lieutenant commander in a few months,” Melita explained.

“Yes, and what we’ve found out about the idea of her ability to seek data and apply it to save lives and money. She had a sincerity to her as I’m sure you well know.”

“Yes, I know.”

“What I’m here for is to get in touch with some of her friends. There’s not been an arrest in any of this, still, no?”

“That’s why you’re here.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Can I get you anything? Coffee? Tea?”

“No, I’m fine.”

“You can vaporize on this deck,” Melita suggested.

“Thank you.” He withdrew his stick and launched to his feet. The cloud hovered over his head like a laurel.

“What can you do for her family? Her husband and baby girl?”

“I’m trained to gain knowledge by reason alone. I endeavor to uncover the truth and deliver not closure, but a comprehension. I have her family in mind because I know her character suggested justice and integrity,” Mayser observed.

“That’s good. That’s good. I’m going to be available to you.”

“Great. Now, these units…they relate to the distance from a spacecraft to planets, other craft, the like…?”

“Yes. It was a conversion error. One set of data got gummed up with another set and the vessel just got obliterated.”

“And if the numbers get jammed together from competing units, there can only be a catastrophe for the people calculating as well.”

“Absolutely, as we saw. As Kathleen saw.”

“Right, so who could’ve wanted her to be silent about all of this? Who could’ve sought to try to squash her findings and allow the vessel to crash into the asteroid?”

Melita cleared her throat and spoke plainly. “Yes.”

“I’m just trying to make it make sense. Lieutenant Kull had the capacity to understand the difference between the units. She discovered all of this on her own and wished to tell somebody, anybody about what she had found.”

“That’s right.”

“And you knew nothing about this?”

“I knew only that the lieutenant had been frustrated and requested mast. But this was more serious than that. I could tell it in her voice. When she came to me, it was like she had been in an ice bath. Her eyes darted. Her breath seemed irregular. It was if she knew her calculations would lead to her demise. The crew made an intrepid effort to save the Ruby but it was too late. All of her work had been for naught. The next morning she was found with her body rocking back and forth.”

Mayser effused vapor. “And they ruled it a suicide….”

“That’s what the on board ME classified it as later.”

“Later?”

“At first the report read homicide…then suicide…now, well, you’re here.”

“I’m just concerned with the lieutenant’s family. I want to be more than sure about this one.”

“I trust you.”

He rose and shook hands with the captain. He tugged on his fedora.

“There’s an extra cabin for visitors in the officer’s quarters. A clean shower space and fresh linen ought to give you comfort on this voyage.”

“I thank you.”

After sitting on his rack, wracking his mind about the details of the case, Mayser finally took the captain’s advice and took a shower. The hot needles didn’t sting but soothed his aching frame. He changed into the spacecraft’s fleet pajamas fitted just for his tall size and rested on the three hundred thread count sheets. He rested easily. When he woke, he noticed the members of the crew created a low buzz. He dressed in officer’s clothes without rank insignia, signifying he held no position despite the uniform. Junior grade crew members, nonetheless, still stood at attention and called him sir. He waved it off and showed his private investigator badge. They scurried away like squirrels after the revelation.

He journeyed back to the captain’s office. Melita had already been briefed about the day, ate her breakfast, and played a game of chess before Mayser entered.

“I’d love to know how you slept….” she suggested.

“Like looked over talent,” he answered with a grin.

“Today is D-Day. I’m sure you can create a tapestry of truth. Here, download the ship on your mobile device, it should be working now. I should’ve given it to you earlier. I’ve been so busy with the lieutenant….” she intoned.

“Of course, Captain, thank you.” He wanted to salute her. He restrained himself.

Mayser walked out of the office and down to the ship’s medical examiner.

Dr. Retroax Bettis had short red hair on his head with hints of gray. He was a few shades lighter than Mayser and wore glasses. He bought contacts but preferred to be bespectacled.

“Sheila could you get the––” once looking down then up at Mayser.

“Detective, I’ve turned into a hound trying to find a truffle in looking for you.”

“Here I am in all my fungus-like self above ground, as you can see.”

“Yes…well, if you want to see Lieutenant Kull, you’ll have to fill out this digital form. Should only take a minute.”

Mayser did just that and signed his initials.

“Okay,” Dr. Bettis sighed. He opened one of the refrigerator doors. “She was a pretty woman. Beautiful.”

Mayser looked at the ligature marks around her neck. Her shea butter colored skin looked purplish around her neck and bluish elsewhere. Dr. Bettis shook his head.

“And you think someone did this?”

“I know it. Look here. See those are lines someone deliberately made in the back of the neck to make it appear as if she had expired by her own hand.”

Mayser glanced over the body with a grave look and took out his vaporizer. Dr. Bettis folded his arms. The detective grinned and put away the device. Then his face turned solemn again.

“I’m going to need a log of everyone who had access to Kull’s cabin the night of her death.”

“I can summon that up for you,” Dr. Bettis replied. He showed him the log. Ensign Joselyn Ecko, Ensign Truman Wright, and Lieutenant Commander Peckham Davies.”

“The motive is clear…one of these or maybe all of these individuals wanted to cover up their miscalculation which led to the collision of the spacecraft against the asteroid. They knew that Kull’s data had been perfect but they had to execute their own numbers. After they couldn’t get her information, they just made it up, pulled it from a vacuum. Then, when the victim tried to warn everyone, that’s when someone or some people silenced her for good. She was just going to tell the truth.”

Dr. Bettis held a gaze of awe and astonishment at the detective. “Yes….”

“I’m going to need to interview each one of these individuals.”

“That’s what the captain is for, sir.”

“Thank you, doctor.”

Mayser looked up and down the passageway. He pulled out his vaporizer and puffed some. He tipped his fedora as he headed towards the captain’s office. Once he reached it, he noticed she had turned off her light and closed the door. He put away his vaping device and asked a chief where the captain might be.

“She’s probably in the ready room,” Chief Wayne Copley inferred. Mayser used the digital device which gave a virtual tour of the Diamond Cutter. In 3-D, he could see everything. He marched right up to the ready room and looked through the glass. Sure enough, Captain Melita Vereen addressed the small group of engineers, aviators, and other high-ranking personnel. He knocked on the door. Heads turned. Melita saw him.

“One moment everyone,” she announced. And stepped down from the platform. She walked down the center aisle and opened the door.

“Detective, this better be a touchdown and not fourth down on our territory.”

“I just need to ask about these three crewmembers.” Mayser looked at the faces in the digital book included in the guidance device. Ecko looked light, bright and damn near white; Wright seemed to have browned skin along with Davies. “I want to talk to her, him, and him.”

“What is this about with my crew? Did you make a breakthrough with Kathleen?” eagerness crept into the captain’s voice.

“If I could just have these three, I’ll be onto something substantial,” he remarked.

Captain Vereen looked back. She opened the door. On the other side stood Detective Gunnar Mayser. The silence chilled him as she ordered her subordinates out of the room. Back inside, the three shot to their feet and obeyed their leader’s command.

“This is Detective Mayser, he wants to chat with you.”

“Are we under arrest?” Jocelyn asked.

“No, not for the moment. No.”

“How about not at any moment. I know my rights. I don’t have to follow this,” Davies sneered.

“If I tell you that you must answer this detective’s questions, then you will do so.”

“Is that an order, ma’am?”

“You’re goddamn right it is,” Melita thundered.

The Lieutenant Commander almost looked frightened and straigthened up.

“What is this about?” Ensign Wright asked.

“If you three just come with me to the Captain’s office, with your blessing of course,” Mayser looked at Melita.

She used a remote. “I just opened the hatch. You all can talk there.” Melita returned to the other members of the spacecraft’s executive suite.

“Thank you.” Detective Mayser said and allowed a hand in the air to let them go before him. In the office, they sat down in the few seats while Mayser paced.

“You’re all guilty.”

“What?! Where’s your proof?!” Jocelyn demanded.

“We didn’t do anything!” Wright exclaimed.

“This is what the Space JAG is for….” Davies gave a sing-song reply.

“We don’t even have to go that far…yet. Let me tell you how you’re all not innocent. Firstly, Ensign Ecko, you never liked how precise Lieutenant Kull was in her numbers. I checked the log you made with erroneous annotations around Kathleen Kull’s work. And you, Ensign Wright, you didn’t want to seem like your calculations weren’t as sloppy as they were, so you forged the lieutenant’s signatures. And Lieutenant Commander you supplied the linens to stage Lieutenant Kull’s hanging. After you strangled her to death, the three of you actually did a fine job for a change of making it look like a suicide. Captain Melita Vereen, however, thought otherwise and asked if I’d hitch my ride to this glorious vessel. The spacecraft which killed all nine crewmembers can add a tenth person to that grim toll, Lieutenant Kathleen Kull. You will all be tried for murder in the first degree. That’s when the space JAG comes into play, Lieutenant Commander Davies.”

The three of them got up from their chairs and rushed the detective. “Guards!” Six beefy sentries descended on the crewmembers and brought them to the brig. Detective Mayser withdrew his vaporizer. Chief Tollia looked at the detective and shook her finger “no.” He abided. A smile stretched across her face and he tipped his fedora.

After about fifteen more minutes, Captain Vereen sat at her desk, her spine a metal rod. “So what happened here? Did you get them to confess?”

“They didn’t need to do so. The power of the twisted mind convicted them. Their ugly souls could no longer linger knowing the evil of their ways.”

“Thank you, Detective Mayser. It was just a hunch.”

“It was a good one. You’ve got good judgement.”

“Thanks, again,” she replied.