Star Trek: Discovery: Drastic Measures by Dayton Ward

Author:Dayton Ward
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Gallery
Published: 2018-02-06T00:00:00+00:00

21

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By design, the interrogation room was a dull, uninviting box. Formed from thermoconcrete, its walls, floor, and ceiling were painted a drab gray. A single lighting panel was set into the ceiling, sealed behind a seamless, translucent screen. The panel also housed sensor equipment that allowed for the monitoring and recording of interview sessions. A single door in the east wall, also painted gray, was the room’s only exit. A rectangular table, formed from some composite material and painted to match the room’s monotone scheme, sat in the middle of the room, flanked by two chairs on the side closest to the door and a single chair opposite them. Even the chairs were gray.

Sitting in the single chair, his hands secured to the armrests and his yellow jumpsuit providing the room’s only other source of color, was Alexander Simmons.

“Nice job, catching this guy,” said Georgiou as she stood before a small viewing screen set into the wall of a control room adjacent to the interrogation room. Here a member of the security staff was able to oversee all interviews, making a record of each session and ensuring that such activities were carried out in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

Standing next to her, Lorca replied, “Thanks. He did a pretty good job hiding, but his mistake was staying in the city. Once Soltani had a trail to follow, it was inevitable we’d track him down.”

“My compliments to your team.” She studied the array of small monitors dominating the wall to her right. Each screen offered a piece of the biometric puzzle that was the process of monitoring the interview subject’s vital signs and reaction to any stimuli, be it a change in the room’s lighting or temperature or an introduction of various sounds designed to place the person on edge. There also were indicators that could reveal the subtle changes in respiration or pulse rate that almost always accompanied a subject’s attempt at deception.

“What do we know about him?”

Lorca said, “He’s a watch commander at one of the larger precincts in the city. I’ve pulled his personnel file and it shows that he arrived on Tarsus IV from Earth with the same group of colonists that included Kodos. He’s been a civilian security specialist for fifteen years, mostly at various facilities on Earth and Mars. Coming here was the first time he’d even left the Sol system.”

Georgiou was surprised by that bit of information. Given the relative ease and convenience of modern space travel, it was rare to encounter someone who had never ventured beyond the confines of their home solar system. Even her own parents had traveled to Vulcan, as that planet along with other Federation planets was always expanding its capacity and willingness to host “outworlders” curious to experience firsthand the culture of another world and civilization.

“What about his girlfriend?” asked Georgiou.

“Joanna Robarge. She’s a local. Already told us everything she knew, which wasn’t much. Simmons came to stay with her the night of the massacre and took off a couple of times in the middle of the night.

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