Star Trek: Starbase 777

The lounge had various cozy seats, the glass coffee table ornamented with a vase exactly like the ones in the banquet hall, the only difference being a white tulip, which was dipped in scarlet. A fireplace centered the room, leaving a warmth lingering like the fire had been abruptly snuffed out mere seconds ago. Space floated just beyond the window. There was only one thing labeled with a yellow evidence card, #1 on the fireplace beside a long object leaned against it, cued by the trill of a bell.

Being away from the group was a bit scary… This was about murder after all… hm. Unless the person who put out the fire was super quiet and still right now, there was nobody in here to put out that fire. Strange… They heard someone walk into the room with them, and they jumped. “Yo! If you’re not the murderer or something, can you help me out? Is there a creepy dude standing in the corner of the room right now?”

Nobody there. Must have been the wind?

Kaylee had followed Tally into the room, and heard them shout. "Hey! Its just me, my friend. Don't worry, I'm not the killer!" Kaylee insisted, raising her hands up slightly. That is.....almost exactly what a murderer would say....well done Kaylee.

Tally made some exploratory beeps. Chairs, a table… “Oh! Hi Kaylee! I trust you don’t kill people, I think. Is there anything in this room worth noting? I’m picking up some strange objects but I’m not sure what they are…”

Kaylee was a little confused. She didn't quite remember introducing herself, but then again, maybe she didn't have to... "Hi....you...? I don't, I promise, just a simple, Earthen Engineer. But aside from the fireplace, I don't see anything that looks out of place...did...did you put it out?"

Tally laughed, recognizing their confusion. “Sorry, lieutenant! I recognized your voice, I overheard someone saying your name a while back, and connected it with the crew roster. I’m Tal! And no, I didn’t put that out. That’s what led me to this room— I heard it being put out, but there’s nobody here… strange, right?”

22:16

They fully processed what Kaylee had said. “Oh, I’m from Earth too, by the way! Twinning!”

Kaylee nodded slightly as Tally introduced themselves. "It is nice to meet you Tal, twinning for sure. But please, call me Kaylee, only Lieutenant if there's some other people around." Maybe she could get to know Tally better later. Now they should focus on the task at hand. Kaylee walked over to the fireplace and began to investigate it, gently lifting some of the things on the mantelpiece to investigate further. "Hm....you sure you didn't put it out...?"

Not wanting to crowd a group that already had a lot of people in it, Niwa had followed behind a few stragglers and ended up here. She peeked around the doorway before entering - just in case there was a murderer, you never knew. Although... If one of the attendees was the murderer, then it really could be anyone hiding in plain sight. "Is there anything out of the ordinary in here..?" She asked the two who were currently inspecting the lounge, trusting that neither of them were the designated murderer. She walked in and took a look around as well, taking in the room.

“100% certain!” Tal also investigated at the fireplace. That strange, long object… they couldn’t identify it on shape alone. “Kaylee, what is that?” They pointed it its direction.

The source of the ringing sound. An audio cue to the first clue in the room.

They turned to the person who entered the room. “Hi! We’re not sure yet! That ringing might have something to do with it though, not sure why I tuned it out until now!”

Kaylee picked up the thing making the noise to investigate further. "I'm not sure, Tal. I'll...find out though." She turned her head to Niwa. Who had entered the room? Where they the killer? "Hi...Ma'am. I hope all goes well here, as we find out.."

Looking closer, it was a rapier dipped in blood, intricately designed and carelessly abandoned. The wall beside it- or where it had been-- had a bit of an indent, like a slot, or a keyhole.

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"Well, this will look very suspicious if someone happens to walk in as I'm holding this." Kaylee said, as she examined the rapier. A murder weapon perhaps? Maybe she should take it back to the group? But she'd touched it now. Maybe it could be used against her? She should've come alone. Finding this could....go badly..

To begin with she took note of the white flower that was dipped in a red colour that would have been pretty had they not been in a murder mystery. She then opted to join the other two at the fireplace - seemingly the source of the chiming noise. "Oh. Well that's unsettling," she mused simply as she caught sight of the object that the other attendee had picked up. At what seemed to be discomfort from the rapier's wielder, she turned her gaze from it to Kaylee. "At least you have people to vouch for you - that you only found that here... And that you haven't tried to use it on either of us."

Kaylee looked up at Niwa. Her tone seemed calm...for now. Kaylee gripped it tighter. Her heart pounded, why was she so nervous. Its not like she killed anyone. She just happens to be holding what is likely the weapon. "But would I use it when there is more than one person about?" She said in a panic. She didn't mean to say 'I'. She meant 'they' as in, the killer. Suggesting that it was stupid that she'd try to use it. Kaylee, my girl. You are making yourself look incredibly suspicious for no reason right now.

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The Vau N'Akat's eyes narrowed a little in response. Of course the murderer would be acting normal, hiding in the crowd and pretending to investigate just like everyone else. This attendee could have purposefully picked it up, part of some plan to make herself look less suspicious... And then slip up with some particular word choice. "I don't know," she asked, tone neutral but gaze a little suspicious. "Would you?"

And this was the moment when Kaylee would make possibly the most stupid decision ever. She turned to face Niwa, rapier in hand. "I don't know.....would I...?" she repeated. Her heart was racing, a fear in her eyes like no other. Girl, calm tf down. You are not the killer!!! You just happen to be in a very strange scenario. And if someone where to deus ex machina-walk in, this would look very bad.

That response was just as unsettling as the rapier itself was. Stood behind Kaylee, it was quite a sight when the young officer turned now with the rapier in hand. So, how was this supposed to go? She had never done a holodeck programme like this before. "So... What happens now?" She asked, quite certain that Kaylee was the murderer, given the way she was acting. "Do you pretend to kill us, and we stay here and play dead in case someone else comes in?"

What? No. Kaylee doesn't know. "I don't...I'm not...I swear to you....I'm not....I couldn't....I-...C-..." Kaylee hadn't done one either. She didn't even know. Would they lie on the floor, awaiting discovery? Or leave, and wait for someone to realise they're missing? Why is she even thinking about it? She's not even the Killer!! "Please, I swear to you, I'm not the killer. I....couldn't even kill...even in a holoprogram. Why I'm an Engineer, and not a tactical officer." Kaylee said, still holding the bloody rapier. Girl, you are not helping yourself by going quiet mid-thought. (edited)

What on earth was happening right now…?

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The rapier continued to ding like a bell in Kaylee's hand, the evidence card firmly stuck to it.

“Erm. Guys. The bell? Can we talk about the bell instead of…”

Though Tally would hear another bell nearby, close to the fireplace where the rapier had been found. It sounded muffled.

Another bell? Strange. One only they could hear… “Wait! There’s another one, like, stuck in the wall or something! Does anyone else hear that?” They examined the fireplace again, digging their hands into the bricks, trying to find any sort of opening. They felt bad for Kaylee… this seemed to be genuinely getting to her a bit… but alas, the task at hand!

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"Maybe put the sword down and you'll look less like a potential murderer..?" She suggested, still a little suspicious... But this young officer seemed to be genuine enough. Then Tally spoke, and she turned her attention to this other person -- the one with the very interesting appearance. "Can you see anything?" She asked while moving to where Tally was, picking up on the muted bell chime as she got closer. A cautious glance was thrown back over her shoulder as she did... Just in case Kaylee was the murderer after all.

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Kaylee heard Niwa's words and suddenly, as if by magic, her common sense came back to her and she started to set the rapier down on the table. There we go. Calm down girlie. It's okay. No one thinks you're the killer. That is, until she stopped. What if Tally or Niwa were? She couldn't leave a weapon unsupervised. Maybe its better to just....hold on....to it..? She also approached the other two, rapier still in hand and tried to see the source of the bell. (edited)

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There was a slot in the wall, or perhaps a keyhole. The bell dinged insistently inside.

“I’m blind!” They said with a bubbly smile. “But I’m trying to feel around… maybe there’s a hidden button or something cool like that.” They remained blissfully unaware of the dagger situation.

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"Oh, sorry!" Was the simple reply to quite a simple mistake, no reason to feel awkward about it. "Be careful - just in case there are... Red herons?" What an amazing grasp on Standard she had. Evidently, she had missed the explanation of what a 'red herring' was. While Tally searched, she looked back to Kaylee again -- only to find that she was still holding the rapier. "Would you please put that down? You're not doing a particularly good job of convincing us that you're not the murderer..."

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They felt the slot in the wall. It was small… like a keyhole, maybe? “Oh! Oh! I found something! I think? Look at this!” They pointed to the hole in the wall. (edited)

23:07

“Kaylee, you’re such a silly goose… Hmm… speaking of that, put the dagger in the hole! I have a hunch!”

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Kaylee, almost protectively now, held onto the rapier. It was her sword now. She couldn't trust the other two. She had it in her mind that they could be the killer. But, before she could even say anything, Tally might've just saved her. "Oh, okay?" She lifted the sword with both hands and pointed it towards the hole, which she squinted to see. Quite....small, isn't it? She unfortunately didn't realise that this could look like she was gearing up to stab the other two as she slid the rapier into the hole.

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...Didn't budge, the end of the rapier was too thin.

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“Damn it! I’m supposed to have, like, super cool algorithms that help me be smart with this!” Tally pouted. Why put a bell in a hole, anyways? Was it in the chimney? Could someone go up inside and see?

23:16

“Maybe this is a red herring. Or, heron, I should say.” They giggled, looking to Niwayiva. “I dunno, mystery gang. Any ideas?”

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"I got nothing..." She pulled the rapier out of the slot. "Maybe one of the other groups does? They've investigated the other rooms, they might've found something that could help us." Kaylee said, taking a few steps back into the main area of the room. "So maybe we should head back to the hallway and regroup with some of them?"

“Yeah… probably a good idea!” Tally made for the door, but stopped in the doorway, face turning to : - |. “Dude. Are you going to hold that sword all night?”

"I mean...do you want the killer getting a hold of it? I can't just leave it here alone!" Kaylee said as she started to walk to the doorway, the rapier still in hand.

They made a face on their screen: ಠ_ಠ

"Okay....maybe I shouldn't take it with me..." She set the rapier down on the table in the room, and walked back to the door, eyeing it suspiciously as she did so.

They heard a voice in the #┊-hallway ! They exited the room.

And Kaylee followed!

Zero nyoomed into the lounge, grabbed the vase with a tulip dipped in red, then left to check out the ballroom.

Lapan walked into the lounge, key in hand and Liaxaho on his heels. "Did anyone ever say where the keyhole was?" he asked her, looking around the room. He noticed the rapier and the evidence note near it, and the fireplace, and the different seats and the now empty coffee table. He didn't immediately spot the keyhole they were looking for.

Liaxaho followed Lapan, looking for the keyhole herself, thinking that it would be near the rapier. With her eyes narrowed slightly, she stepped closer to the fireplace. "Perhaps this is it?" she asked as she pointed at a small hole in the wall.

"Oh, could be!" Lapan approached where Liaxaho was pointing, and slid the key in easily to open the secret compartment. "You and I make a pretty good team, miss," he commented good-naturedly, chirping as if to reinforce his statement.

"I would say so," Liaxaho said with a bright smile on her face, waiting to see what this new clue might be.

The lock clicked and a small door in the wall opened up. Less a room and more a hidey hole, really. Inside was a music box, intricately painted in shades of red and gray, shut with....another lock on the front. A much smaller one, of course.

"It looks like it needs another key, shall we go back to the hallways and see if anyone knows about where we could find one? Though perhaps we should investigate this box a little beforehand so we have more to report," She looked over the box, checking for any marks or places that might hide a key -- she remembered seeing boxes like that before and she wanted to see if this was one of them.

No sign of any secret compartments on the box.

Lapan grabbed the box carefully... he'd seen other people running around with evidence, so that was probably okay, right? He didn't really know what else to do. "Yeah, let's meet with some other people, see if they know something." And so he started making his way back into the hallway.

Liaxaho nodded and walked back to the #┊-hallway , slightly saddened by the treatment of evidence -- though keeping it to herself for the time being.

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Grabbing the rapier! Clue time clue time!

Tally entered the lounge to recuperate by themselves for a bit. This had been fun, but also quite stressful… a lot of people talking, a lot of information— things Tally normally liked, so they weren’t sure why they felt so dizzy. Tal hated it when there was no clear answer to things, so that was probably why. It’s a game with clear mechanics! It should be easy for him! So why did the answer elude him? It could be Liaxaho… but the red herrings and clues being confused for puzzles… he didn’t know! The quiet calmed him easily. It had a tendency to do that. Whenever everyone else was ready to make the final accusation, he’d be there. He’s not sure why he was so in a twist— it’s supposed to be a fun game, after all!

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