He nods, and has you lead the way to the medbay.  You're aware that he takes the box gun with him.

Inside the medbay, he fumbles around a bit, and carefully follows directions to wake Cpl. Luna Mills back up.

Her eyes open, and hope and beauty gives way to sadness in her eyes, and then to puzzlement as she sees you.

   Just maybe, there was a little satisfaction involved here.  Miles took her best cheap shot at me and still lost.  All right, there was a lot of satisfaction here.  And although being satisfied was a really good feeling, what I still needed was answers.  I focused on trying to read her thoughts.  I was reasonably sure she wasn't going to freely volunteer anything verbally.

   "Corporal Miles, I was glad to learn how resilient you are.  You weren't quite finished answering questions.  I know that you are still recovering from your last bout of stupidity, so I'll try to keep this short.  Some very good circumstantial evidence points to you as being the Emissary's murderer.  Let's start with the big question.  Did you damage the Emissary's cooling unit and cause him to die?"

"NO."
:: No, I mean, really.  I was in the hall that night. Don't remember how I got there.::

 :: Just sleepwalking.:: She argues back to herself.  Her mind seems a bit different than others, in that with her, she has several voices in her head that argue with each other.

A third drier voice says.  ::Cyborg Marine candidates with a propensity for sleep disorders are not allowed to complete the program.::

::So I developed them after I got unborged. So what?::

::Maybe it was something Kenner did to me. He kept hinting he'd cracked the coding.::

::Anyroad, not going to tell this snot-nosed detective anything.::

"Are we done, now?" She asks levelly.

   Well, I found the murder weapon.  And it looks as if I'm closing in on the person who pulled the trigger.  I sighed.  "Corporal, since you're obviously not going to talk to me, you're wasting both of our time.  Trust me, Marine.  We're not done, yet."

   I turned to the Security Chief as I kept an eye on Miles.  I tend to have trust issues with people who try to kill me.  I'm funny that way, but it's not a character flaw that I'm working to change.  "Put her back under.  She isn't going to help us."

   I waited until Miles was put back away.  "Chief, I need a followup interview with Kenner.  I'd like you to be there for it.  I've got a feeling that I'm getting close to some answers."

::Should say 'Boo' just to freak her out. Yum, pies...:: And as she goes under her mind shifts to a dreamscape of doing a marathon run while drill instructors shoot cherry pies at her.  You withdraw.

The Security Chief nods, and brings Kenner to your partially wrecked day office.  He has Kenner sit, which makes him loom less, and 'just casually' he leans against the wall near Kenner.

   "Mr. Kenner, I just have a few follow up questions.  This shouldn't take very long."  At least that is what I hoped.  I was starting to run out of crew members.  "I would like some background on the kind of engineering training you have received."  By listening to both what he says and doesn't say, I'm really hoping to hear some useful answers.

In reply to Misty (msg # 170):

He nods smiling.

"At age fourteen, I was a soloist in a children's orchestra, and a recruiter from the Navy pointed out to me the possibilities.  So, I was already doing pretty well in school, but I hit the books extra hard on anything related to engineering.::
::Had to pass up on some fun, but good thing I work pretty fast, and efficiently so i was able to get some fun in there too.::

His mind is again colors.  And while he and Miles express themselves very differently, you'd say the Ship's Engineer is only a little brighter than the Ship's Supply Officer/retired Marine.  Both are smart, but not geniuses.

"I passed the Boards."
::Almost had to take them again, but when I said I wanted Stutterwarp, they made the problems go away.::

"I sang in the All-Navy Chorus.  Sadly, not good enough to solo, but you should hear Lew McReady...the man will bring tears to your eyes...he was a friend of mine, and the lead soloist.  Helped me improve a good bit.  I passed the course with a solid B plus. Enough to get En Honoriam added to my graduation.::
::Took two years of Intensives on Computer Programming, and a Double Stack of Intensives on Stutterfield Topology.  My stars, I still have nightmares about waking up in my underwear in class, and not remembering to study for a quiz.::

But his nightmares seem an altogether lighter thing than Patches' bone deep terrors.

"Was posted six months to a system tub, the good old Mickey Jenkins, and then got my first outsystem run on Merriweather Lewis, a first generation explorer.  One term there as an assistant, then here, on a third generation explorer for the last eight years.'

   I was making progress.  Kenner had the know how to be able to reactivate a shut down bionic system.  Now all I needed was the why...

   "It must be quite an accomplishment to be able to do things few others can even comprehend."  I gave him a moment to think about that, then continued.  "But I do have other questions.  How do you feel about the Roux?  Did you have any reason to want their Emissary dead?"

He smiles.

"Well, thanks, but there are quite a few engineers..."
::Not that many, maybe a thousand people in the Union can do what I do...why is she buttering me up....oh!....she likes me....course how many of them could have broken the codes on the Marines borging....hah, they say its super-tough....its easy.  I did it with hardly trying.::

He gives you his best charming smile.  Its relaxed and cheerful.

"I'm worried about them.  I know what you're doing and I hate it, but its gotta be done.  We can't sacrifice a human colony full of innocents."
::Why did someone do this? I can't see the point?:
"No, I wish he were still alive."
::And I wish the universe was not so full of bloodthirsty aliens, and I wish that I got ice cream for breakfast instead of Doc making me eat healthy stuff.::

   So...  Kenner unlocks the Supply Officer's hardware.  Miles sleepwalks while borged up and kills the Roux?  My head was starting to hurt.  Every time I seem to be winning this rat race, somebody changes the track on me.  Still, I now have one more piece of the puzzle than I had before.

   "Thank you, Mister Kenner.  I just have one follow up question.  Did you kill the Roux or knowingly set into motion a chain of events that resulted in the Emissary's death?"

"NO!"
His mental denial is not verbal, but emotional and even stronger.

   I was done here.  Kenner gave me enough to work with, even if he doesn't realize it yet.  "Thank you, Mister Kenner, for your cooperation.  I've taken up enough of your time."

   I waited until the drive engineer left before I spoke.  "Chief, I need to speak to the Roux Captain and England.  I'd like you to be there, too.  Please, ask them to join me in my office."  Then I headed out for my temporary office.

The Chief gives you a serious look, and then nods.

A few minutes later, England joins you, and in seven more minutes, Eight Stalk joins you.  The Chief is doing his best to be part of the wall, and as always, England with her quietness seems to take up less space than she does.

"You asked to meet us, Detective?" Eight Stalk flutes, his eight arms moving in complicated patterns.

   The Private Detective's Handbook has a chapter on revealing the identity of the subject to the Authorities.  I don't think it counts this time, since I am the Authorities.  Right now I'd feel a lot more confident with a trench coat and a fedora.  "Eight-Stalk, how do people on your world cope with accidents?  Do you dig until you find someone who is technically responsible, even if that being is actually not morally responsible?  Or, do you just call it some form of bad luck and let it go?"

"We are an ancient race, of vast domains, and our technicians control extraordinary powers.  We dig.  It would be irresosponsible to do otherwise. And if it is bad luck, we make sure it does not happen again."  His stalks rustle in a sinuous form.

The Chief raises an eyebrow. England just listens politely without a change.

   I took a deep breath, then slowly let it out.  "Supply Officer Miles was a cyborged Marine.  When she retired, her bionics were shut off.  She developed an abnormality called sleepwalking after she retired.  There's a fancier term for it, but I don't remember what it is.  The person moves around in a state of low consciousness performing tasks that they don't remember when they wake.  The sleepwalker can do complex things while asleep, even violent and dangerous ones."

   I stopped for a moment to catch my breath, then continued.  "Drive Engineer Kenner is a very smart man.  He has taken very intense training in computers and electronics to become a drive engineer.  He understands systems like few of us can.  He unlocked Miles bionic hardware because he thought it would be a challenge."

   "Miles didn't know Kenner was going to unlock her hardware, although she suspected it after the fact.  Kenner didn't know about the sleepwalking problem that Miles had developed.  Miles killed the Emissary, but she has no knowledge of the event due to her problem.  Miles would not have been able to do what she did had Kenner left her bionics untouched.  The Emissary's death is tragic, but it is also accidental.  No one planned to kill Ten Stalk.  It just happened.  That is my official report."

   I have a feeling that this is probably not going to end well.  I don't understand the Roux well enough to predict anything for sure.  I'm just trying to get as few people killed as possible.

There follows some questions on the nature of the ailment, and on human 'states of mind', and the Captain offers to send the information to the Roux ship.  Eight Stalk says that is unneccessary as he has access to the systems on Marcus Caine.  With a word, the data is transferred.  Its another intimidating display of Roux power.

At the end of two hours of close questioning, Eight Stalk describes himself satisfied with your conclusion.

"Ordinarily we would kill the responsible party.  However, we respect the Detective's point.  Miles and Kenner are to be denied leaving their home solar system for the duration of their lives as Inadvertent Threats to Peace." Eight Stalk says.

   I'm exhausted.  The two hours spent under questioning have left me mentally as well as physically drained.  Still, I wasn't too tired to take care the important stuff.  "Eight Stalk, now about my fee..."

"We agreed to barter for your services.  The People of the Winds are not ungenerous.  Make a suggestion, and we will listen to it with interest."

Chief DuBois and England leave you to your dealmaking.

   My mind went blank.  I don't know what the People of the Winds use for money.  I don't know how much the Roux pay for various goods and services.  I have no idea what time units they use to measure rates of exchange.  If I only had some item to use for a cross cultural comparison, like Big Macs.  But... just... maybe...

   "Interface, this is user designated Misty the Gray.  Query begins.  What would be the appropriate quantity of trade exchange units for the services of an Emissary of the People of the Winds for a seven day and night cycle period of time?  Query ends."

"That would One Interest Point.  It could also be a rather large supply of commodity generic goods.  Unfortunately such goods would not be designed to be compatible with Humanity although a number of items and raw materials are non-specific to species.  As an example, both species use blankets."

The interface goes on to explain to some limited degree a post-scarcity economy.  Its what happens when you have asteroid mining and robot factories that can build other robot factories and robot miners to go find asteroids.  The poorest Roux and there are tens of billions of them can have small mansions on multiple planets.  But customization, and specific goals is what costs more effort, and thats where IP come in.  IP is basically what Roux pay each other to work.

And 1 IP/wk. is a quite good wage. The most visionary Roux get around 10-12 IP/day.  The poorest about 5 IP/month.

Second post....

Roux economics and Big Macs....

You have two choices.
1. A year's supply of fresh, hot Big Macs prepared by robots. Each Big Mac costs. .01 cent.
2. The perfect bacon, blue cheese, hand made bread roll Kobe beef burger for Misty prepared by Emeril with Misty as a judge on the Iron Chef show.

   One Interest Point would be a very good payday for a gumshoe like me.  The Roux would have to agree to it, though.  "Eight Stalk, as a verser, I cannot carry all that much with me when I leave a place behind.  I need small, valuable goods to use as trading material.  Would it be possible to get an Interest Point, or whatever percentage of one that you deem appropriate, worth of diamonds, emeralds, rubies, and other cut gemstones as my fee?"  I wasn't out of gems yet, but since I was going to be doing this for basically ever, resupplying when I can is a good thing.

"That would be easily done."

He leaves, and later an object is sent from his ship.  Its a small locked, genetically, chest.  Inside are four compartments, each holding a pound of gemstones: diamonds, rubies, emeralds, and sapphires.

The Xenon Isotope drops away from you at an alarming rate of speed, and is soon invisible in the distance.

"Time to go home, face the music." the XO says.  "Engage the Stutterwarp, Mr. Kenner."

The universe hiccups.

And suddenly you're no longer in the bridge,  but in the cafe.

And then you're in the stutterwarp hall, and Kenner looks at you horrified.

"You're not synchronized to the..."

And then you're in space.  And you see the Marcus Caine dissappear and reappear over and over, faster and faster, and maybe its turning about, but...

======================

New world....

   The stars are...  so...  beauti...