(D7 EM) Special Delivery

[Nekoinu]

A package was checked in early in the day, the label for one 'Captain Alderaan.' A private grabbed it and took it straight to Niall's room. "Sir, a package for you!"

[Niall Organa]

The door to Niall's room slid open. In a hurry, he almost ran into the private delivering it. "Thank you." He accepted the box, stepping back into the room, leaving his door open.

Niall frowned down at it. A package wouldn't have been left been given to him without being scanned for explosives. And yet, he couldn't shake the strange sense of foreboding he had when looking at it.

Slowly, and carefully, trying to ignore his steadily mounting sense of dread, he opened the package.

[Nekoinu]

The sense of foreboding was correct. At the top was a typed-out message on a plain piece of paper: "There is another message below the gift." Beneath that was the severed head of Talara, marred by explosives, hair mangled by decapitation, eyes and mouth gaping open in death.

[Niall Organa]

Niall stumbled back, gritting his teeth. It took a few moments of concentration, and taking deep but ragged breaths, before he is sure he is not going to choke on the bile rising in his throat. And another few moments beyond that before he is calm enough to open his eyes again.

"Damn them." He whispered. Another few moments passed as he finished gathering himself. One more glance at the horrid object, and he stepped to the commconsole in his room, putting in a call to the Republic compound's front desk.

"This is Captain Niall Organa. I've just been sent a head in a box." His voice was calm now. "I need a medic with a forensics kit, if we have one, to check it out. And then have it returned to the woman's family."

(OOC - offering medic spot to Cole; awaiting answer)
(EDIT - Cole accepted)

[Cole Ormont]

Cole usually looked like he'd just rolled out of bed, perfectly pressed uniforms hanging off his lanky frame in a rumpled manner and curls untidy. But today he was unshaven and there were shadows around his eyes. He presented himself at the Captain's door and pressed the chime.

"Petty Officer Ormont for Captain Organa, as requested."

[Niall Organa]

Normally, Niall looked like one of those terribly annoying morning people. In fact, the sharpness of his uniform, and the clearly recent shave and shower he'd had were all obvious signs of that. His expression was grimly serious, however.

He stepped back, waving Cole in, waving towards the box on the desk. "It's over there. Wait!" He suddenly said urgently, his eyes wide. "They told you what I called you for, right? It's a head. The woman from yesterday that I couldn't save." He swallowed, then shook his head. "I imagine they wanted me to feel bad. Redundant, anyway."

He sighed. "Anyway, there's a note under it, but I didn't want to... contaminate the evidence. I thought you had some medical thing..." He waved his hands vaguely, uselessly.

[Cole Ormont]

Cole blinks at the Captain a few times. This is a bit much on four hours sleep...

He sighs gently, "slow down, sit down," gesturing with both hands. Cole takes a moment to gather himself and process what Niall has just said. "No, they didn't tell me anything about a head." He's reaching for his belt, pulling on a pair of disposable gloves, "what did you touch?"

[Niall Organa]

Niall did not sit down. It did seem as though he calmed down a little. "I touched the outside of the box is all. I suppose a tiny bit of the inside as I pulled the flap back. That's it."

He shook his head, smiling darkly. "And of course they didn't tell you. Glad I thought of it. It isn't a pleasant surprise, I assure you."

[Cole Ormont]

Cole slowly, significantly, looks the Captain up and down, "I've seen worse."

His tired eyes are gentle, but his voice is not. "Sit. I need to work, you need to be in that chair," Cole points a slender digit, "and not interfere." Crossing to the box, Cole peered inside, not touching anything. "You didn't touch this note? You only opened the box?"

He draws his mediscanner, but also a compact multi-scanner, turning them both on and linking them to his diagnostic computer.


---
[D7 EM] Checking for Air-Borne Toxins (Medicine): 2eP+2eA+1eB+2eD+1eS 2 failures, 5 advantage

[Niall Organa]

Niall frowned, but reluctantly complied. He sat as he nearly always did, stiff and straight.

"Yes. That's correct." He folded his arms across his chest. "It only took me a moment to read it. And take stock of the situation, so to speak."

[Cole Ormont]

Cole softened and looks at Niall, "sorry, Captain," smiling a little; he'd known that the soldier would respond to authority, and hoped he would forgive him for it.

Discovering nothing so far, he carefully scans the top of the box and the letter inside, paying special attention to the spots the Captain would have been most likely to touch.


---
Gain +1 Boost from Advantages
[D7 EM] Checking for Contact Toxins (Medicine): 2eP+2eA+2eB+2eD+1eS 4 successes, 3 threat

[Niall Organa]

Niall gave a vague wave with his fingers.

"Really, I'm most concerned with seeing if the criminals left any sort of evidence behind. You can check for that sort of thing, can't you?" He said. He sat a little straighter, frowning, trying to see what Cole was doing.

[Cole Ormont]

Visibly relaxing, "I can, and I will. But I spent the better part of last evening trying to undo the damage the Crescent Shadow inflicted on bunch of people's lungs and nervous systems. You'll have to forgive me, sir, if evidence wasn't at the top of my list of priorities."

From his kit he took out several hermetically-sealed packets, tearing one open and unfolding the sterile sheet, spreading it out carefully next to the box. He removed the head from the box gingerly, the dismembered part eliciting curiosity without disgust. The gore didn't bother him, but there was something that did. Softly, without looking back at the Captain, "what happened to her?"

Laying the head on the sterile sheet, he set the pair of scanners close and began. With patience and precision, he systematically examined every strand of hair; he checked her eyes; he looked into her ears, her sinuses, her mouth, checking inside her cheeks and under her tongue. He probed her throat, from both ends. He noted the nature of her wounds, of her dismemberment, and all of this he did the gentle and professional touch he'd use on any patient that was alive.

Finally, when he was done, he used a second sterile sheet to cover the head and placed it gently into a biowaste bag. It felt disrespectful to do so, but the bag was sterile and could be completely sealed against contamination in case further tests were needed.


---
[D7 EM] Removing the Head (Medicine): 2eP+2eA+1eB+2eD+1eS 1 success, 2 advantage


[D7 EM] Forensic Examination of Head (Medicine): 2eP+2eA+2eB+2eD+1eS 5 successes

[Niall Organa]

"What? Oh." Niall nodded. "Yes, I see. Carry on."

He sighed. "I don't want to talk about it." His jaw tightened as he looked away.

After a few moments, he spoke. "It was at the wedding. The insurgents had released poison gas into the main room. They'd captured this woman, and were saying they'd kill her if we tried to help. Of course, a lot of people were going to die if we didn't. Baesal got to work right away. With the Senator. And I tried talking to their leader, trying to stall him."

Another pause. "It... only sort of worked. He mutilated her. He cut..." Niall grit his teeth, the muscles in his jaw working. "It doesn't matter. She was alive, but then the Senator blew up a console in the room. I don't know if that killed her, or if they killed her afterwards. But that's what happened." His face was more expressive than usual, but his voice less, flat and dead.

[Nekoinu]

From the analysis, it seemed that Talara was killed by the shrapnel from the terminal explosion. Her head was severed postmortem and spirited away. They preserved it as soon as possible after taking it so that it could be delivered to the compound.

Beneath the head there was a datachip in a sealed plastic bag covered in blood. However, the second message seemed to be completely clean.

[Cole Ormont]

Silence hangs in the air.

Cole would have given just about anything to turn around and cross the room and reassure Niall, his jaw tightening as he worked, tension clearly visible in his shoulders.

Finding the blood-soaked baggie at the bottom of the box, Cole picks it up. The box itself goes into another bag and gets sealed for later examination. He's a doctor, not a crime scene investigator. With saline, he rinses the plastic bag, wiping it dry with a sterilising wipe.

He produces a third biowaste baggie, this one for actual disposal, stuffing dirtied wipes and the empty saline bottle inside. He peels off his gloves and seals the waste bag, sanitising his hands to get rid of that powdery feel from wearing the disposable gloves.

Finally, he turns. He leaves the data chip in its bag on the table. Cole crosses to the Captain and, hesitantly, place a hand on the man's shoulder. He doesn't say he's sorry, but his silvery-blue eyes are worried, and concern etches lines on his exhausted countenance.

[Niall Organa]

Cole can feel the wiry muscles in Niall's shoulder tense. And then, slowly, moment by moment, they relax. Niall looked up, his grey eyes meeting Cole's blue. Pain was in them, but also gratitude, at pain recognized and therefore lessened. Perhaps he had a friend after all, of sorts.

After a few moments, Niall nodded, clearing his throat. "Well. There was supposed to be message in the box. Did you find it?"

[Cole Ormont]

Cole squeezes the other man's shoulder reassuringly, smiling gently. Without removing his hand, he offers the other one to help the Captain up.

[Niall Organa]

After a moment, Niall nodded, reaching his hand out to let Cole help him up.

[Cole Ormont]

There's no more than two or three inches between their heights, so Cole only has to lift his chin slightly to the taller man. Their eyes lock. The hand on Niall's shoulder, and the one clasped around his forearm, both give a comforting squeeze.

"You did what you could, Niall, don't carry that blame." Though he was haunted by a faint sense of hypocrisy, he was a cold-blooded murderer, after all.

Cole inhales deeply, and releases the Captain before the temptation to pull him in for.. well, not a hug exactly, but... maybe after a Sticktus Rectus removal, he thinks and he releases Niall, stepping back. "There was a data chip," he indicates to the table behind him.

[Niall Organa]

Niall gave Cole a smile, nodding as he returned the forearm grasp. "Thanks Cole. For everything, really." He let the moment last a few moments longer before letting Cole step away.

He moved to the table, frowning. "Well. I suppose it's time to see this message. Since they went through so much trouble to deliver it to us, after all." He pulled out his datapad. Carefully, he removed the datachip from the bag, inserting into his pad. He shifted, letting Cole see what he was reading.

[Cole Ormont]

Cole grunts as the Captain loads the data chip, "at least let me..." and he sighs. He folds his arms and shifts his weight onto his good leg.

[Nekoinu]

A video appeared on the screen with a man holding a machete. "Greetin's, Captain Alderaan. It appears you have received my message. It is a shame we did not get to negotiate on betta terms. I sent you her head so you could remember what is at stake. I knew da Senator or da Jedi would not care."

He paused. "I want you to tell your leaders that the attacks will start going to you embassy if they do not choose us over da Hutts.

"I 'ave also included instructions to meet if you want. But you would go alone. I do not blame you if you did not come. After all, we inspire terror, don't we?"

[Cole Ormont]

After taking some time to digest what they had just heard, Cole spoke, "do you recognise him at all?"

[Niall Organa]

"Yes." Niall said shortly. "It's him."

He turned off the datapad. "I suppose this should be examined. See if a location can be determined from it. Besides the meeting instructions they gave me."

Niall shook his head, grimacing. "If it weren't for this sort of thing, I would have some sympathy with them. The Hutts are terrible, and I should like to see the Republic without them. But choosing between the systemic injustice of the Hutts, and the wanton slaying of innocents that these people do..." He gestured with his datapad. "There seems to be no good options."