The “Milli-Cochrane Caper" 3.2a

Posted on Sat 13th Nov, 2021 @ 9:04pm by Commander Paul Graves PsyD & Lieutenant Commander Andrew Eberstark & Renato Solis
Edited on on Sat 14th May, 2022 @ 6:37am

2,461 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: A Good Day to Hunt
Location: Eberstark's office
Timeline: TBD

{Interrogation suite- Eberstark's office}

As Eberstark waited for Lt. Commander Graves and Renato Solis to arrive, he read over the formal report sent to the Station's relevant senior staff regarding the events that occurred in Brown Sector. He'd only ventured there a few times and from what he was able to observe, was surprised he hadn't heard of any other suspicious or illegal activity before this. Andrew chalked that up to the people living and operating in the Sector to handle things "in the family" rather than complicate the situation with Starfleet personnel. He can't say he blamed him for handling their own business but it did bother him that civilians were doing that on a Starfleet station. Andrew was thankful, however, that this particular situation was recognized to be one that supersedes the want of being left alone. He read the report from Solis a few times to make sure his imagination wasn't playing tricks on him. Murder. Ghosts. Mad science experiments. If he didn't know better, he would have thought Serena wrote this report as a practical joke, yet the evidence and witness accounts suggest a very real threat.

He had only minor conversations with Commander Graves and no previous meetings with Solis. Nevertheless, he was eager to hear their thoughts on both the events in Brown Sector and of their impressions of the ex-wife of the person of interest on the Station. Their initial findings made it seem like she was in the dark for most, if not all, of her ex-husband's dealings but Andrew wanted to confirm that for himself, for nothing else than being thorough. At the very least, Andrew hoped a second meeting with her may jog a few memories she may have forgotten. They were scheduled to contact Ms. Dresdione within the hour and expected Graves and Solis sooner than that. In the meantime, he drank his coffee and read their account once more.

Out in the corridor, Paul and Renato paused at Eberstark's door, and Paul pressed the chime. "I will be interested to see if there is anything else Ms. Boule can tell us," Paul said.

Nodding in reply, he secretly wanted to shut down and let things happen around him, anxiety was pressing in rather hard.
Outwardly though, he made a brave show, "I think so, she was important to him, and something changed him. She has the key to understanding what it was."

Andrew heard the chime and put down his PADD, "Come in." Seeing the figures of the Lt. Commander and Renato enter, Andrew stood, "Thank you both for coming," extending a hand in the direction of Renato, "I don't think we have formally met. Andrew Eberstark."

Renato winced internally at the hand, and considered gloves for the hundredth time. Human generosity of spirit could be exhausting. Renato took the opportunity all the same, bowing slightly at the waist.

"Renato Solis, pardon if I don't shake your hand but I prefer to get to know people before seeing their whole life flash before my eyes. I thank you for entertaining our investigation."

Andrew nodded and shrugged, "Of course. Force of habit really. Please have a seat. I've been reading over the file you and Commander Graves filed with the Starbase. Based on that and the uneasy speculation that was formed at the recent staff meeting, I'm hoping the wife can provide us with any indication or confirmation as to what exactly he is up to."

"Presuming that whatever Boule is up to now is the same thing he was doing before his wife divorced him--which I think is a reasonably safe bet," Paul said. "Research takes a while, and my read of Boule is that he isn't one to give up on an idea once it takes hold."

Andrew nodded in agreement, "Well then, let's get started, shall we?"

Tapping a few buttons on the keypad at his desk, Andrew spoke, "Computer, establish connection on this frequency." Within a few moments, the unmistakable symbol of the United Federation of Planets that filled his main monitor was replaced with the face of Ms. Dresdione Boule. She had shoulder-length sandy hair and looked on the downhill side of middle age. She also looked intensely worried.

Nodding while giving his best disarming smile, Andrew spoke, "Hello, Ms. Boule. My name is Andrew Eberstark. I'm the chief tactical and strategic officer on Starbase 109," motioning across his desk, "I believe you already know Commander Graves and Mr. Solis."

Dresdione blinked. "I've met them over the com lines, yes, Mr. Eberstark." She met the gaze of each of the three men. "What is going on? First, the second officer of a starbase calls me, and now the tactical officer is? What was Theo doing over there?"

"Quite frankly, we were hoping you could help us out with that," Andrew began, "We know Theo came here to use the Station's systems as a power source for some kind of transporter experimentation but beyond that, we don't know many specifics outside of what appears to be failed cloning experiments."

He paused, realizing how his next question would sound, "Do you recall him mentioning or obsessing over the possibility of immortality? Or perhaps something more relevant to his current situation at the time. Such as cloning to help him avoid any potential threats or enemies he made during his research to be one step ahead?"

Dresdione stared at each of them, her eyes going wide with alarm. "Did he--But, but that was just--pillow talk! You know--'Come on, Drez, wouldn't it be wonderful to live forever, not have to age, live the rest of our lives together, doing what we really want?' I never took it seriously! And I'd kiss him back and tell him it sounded marvelous--and it did, if life were a fantasy novel."

Glancing quickly at Graves and Solis, Andrew continued, "I don't blame you for thinking that out of context. It seems as though he took matters much farther than pillow talk," pausing thinking on recent events, "As a matter of fact, he may have been closer than anyone realized. Assuming for a minute, that what he told you was in fact his life's work, can you recall anything that would now seem suspicious? Any sudden changes in behavior or unusual patterns in travel?"

Dresdione's expression took on a far-away look, as if she was trying to remember something. "He was extremely interested in El-Aurians for a while. Read everything he could find about them, even medical books. He was forever talking to Adrian about them and transporters. The two of them could talk your ear off about various fascinating topics if you let them. Adrian, though, is a freaking genius, whereas Theo had to study things intensely to be able to keep up with him. Sometimes, I think half of Theo's problem was trying to be smart enough but never quite getting there." She sighed. "The only unusual travel I can recall is Theo visiting Adrian several times just before he left me--maybe six times in four months. Adrian must have footed the bill, because we sure couldn't afford it."

Andrew made a mental note regarding El-Aurians. He assumed Theo's interest in them was due to their well known long life expectancy but perhaps it went deeper than that. Switching his attention to this accomplice, Andrew continued, "Forgive me, Ms. Dresdione. Can you give any more information on this Adrian such as a surname or where he resided?"

Renato connected it to Dobbs right away, Eberstark was a genius and at the same time the danger was so real. Openly discussing this dangerous man had put Renato into an anxiety attack just a week ago where Paul convinced him to drop the matter. Remaining silent he admired the interrogation from afar, finding nothing to add. There were El-Aurians on board who could definitely be targeted. Renato tapped the message to Paul to make sure they got people to keep an eye on them.

Paul felt himself grow cold inside at Ms. Boule's casual mention of "Adrian." Lt. Ildaran, who saw Paul once a month, had told him much of what Dr. Addams had conveyed to him regarding her beliefs about the horrific goal of Dobbs' expeiments. A great leap of the imagination was not required to figure out how Boule's research could be to Dobbs' benefit. Still, all paths did not necessarily lead to--

"Adrian's a Starfleet admiral who retired a couple of years ago," Dresdione said. "He was a big name in biomedical research; did a lot of his foundational work during the Dominion War. He invented some of the limb prostheses that people use today. His last name is Dobbs."

Paul winced. "Thank you, Ms. Boule. Yes, we're familiar with Admiral Dobbs' work but didn't realize your husband was personally acquainted with him."

"Adrian was Theo's commanding officer early in Theo's career."

Andrew continued, "If he had the support of a Starfleet Admiral, covert or otherwise, that would give Theo much broader access to equipment," pausing to think on Theo's experiments, "...among other things." It didn't take a genius to see potential connections between Theo's cloning and transporter experiments to biomedical research. What the connection was specifically was still beyond them, however.

"Forgive me again, Ms. Dresdione, but you mentioned Admiral Dobbs to be a genius that wasn't shy on talking. Did you hear anything from him or Theo that would indicate a connection between their respective research? El Aurians could be the common thread between them theoretically, but was there anything more...tangible? Maybe sharing of resources?" It was a shot in the dark but if Theo did use anything that belonged to a Starfleet Admiral, perhaps that would be easier to track down.

"Mainly lab space," Dresdione Boule said. "Adrian encouraged his subordinates to pursue whatever sort of research interested them, and if it could be done in a place where he had a lab with extra room, he would sometimes make space available. It had to dovetail with his own research, though, or he wouldn't allow it, and you practically had to sign over the blood of your firstborn to be allowed in. If Adrian liked your line of research or found it useful enough, he would put in a good word at grant proposal time."

Renato typed questions for Andrew to consider,

"Understood," glancing to his side monitor, Andrew noticed Renato's comment, "Outside of Admiral Dobbs, do you know of anybody else he may have had a lot of contact with? Perhaps an El Aurian or another species with telepathic abilities that he could collaborate with on his research?"

"I wouldn't know an El Aurian if one bit me on the face," Dresdione said. "I'm not aware of Theo hanging out with telepaths, either, except sometimes at lectures. There's a university near our home, and any time it would host a Vulcan lecturer, Theo would attend the lecture. Didn't matter what the lecture was about, but sometime during the wine and cheese recpetion beforehand, Theo would find an excuse to chat up the presenter."

Renato’s eyes widened at a memory from within Theo’s files. He began typing furiously, needing to confirm a single name. The Vulcan toured the Federation as part of a shared knowledge program with Federation colleges and universities. Renato had seen stills from the video in Theo’s abandoned apartment, one of them was set to pause during a discussion of a synaptic stimulator.

Sannok was famous; a Vulcan who laughed and could relate cosmic mysteries was always entertaining. If Theo met with him, which was very likely now, it seemed, that would have been the topic of discussion.


Pulling up the reference materials for Sannok’s synaptic stimulation, the video he saw in Theo’s home monitor was there to see. The text took only moments to read through and his hunch was confirmed. He sent the batch to Paul for his review, just the stills and a simple message, < Was it Sannok? >

Paul read the information from Renato. Four Deities, it was possible, just as Chlamydia had postulated to Ildaran. He shot Renato a glance and nodded. If Sannok could demonstrate that katra transfer was a repeatable and verifiable phenomenon, possible to accomplish with a device--then Dobbs could do such a thing, too--and apparently had, Paul thought, as he remembered his encounter with a 'ghost' who Chlamydia had said did not behave as a ghost.

"Ms. Boule, did your husband ever express interest in something called a synaptic stimulator or a synaptic transfer device?" Paul asked.

Theo Boule's ex-wife blinked. "Is that what it's called? Theo took me to one of those Vulcan lectures. Very enjoyable evening, and that Sannok fellow was quite the entertainer. Anyway--yes, I think that's the device he used. He picked two people out of the audience--two people of clearly opposite personalities--and switched their identities with each other. Then he switched them back. That bit was frankly--disturbing to me." She gave a wry look. "Theo ate it up like it was hotcakes, though."

Their messages exchanged in secret as they finished the story.





The case was becoming airtight, and they knew what to look for, they just had to find him. This unfortunate former partner was not in league, so her part in this was done. He asked himself if they should let her know, wondering if any good would come of it. Since he had no control over the others, he resolved to control himself, and conslude the matter with her happy ignorance intact.



Andrew eyes flickered at the console and concurred with the last message. Looking back at the monitor, Andrew smiled, "Thank you for answering our questions, ma'am. You have been most helpful. We won't take up more of your time."

Dresdione blinked for a moment, "I want to ask, but you couldnt tell me anyway. Just... whatever this all is, let me know in the end if he is alive or dead, can you do that?"

Renato volunteered, "Of course, I will let you know right away."

The channel ended, and Renato very calmly said what they were al thinking. "We don't need to say his name, but this could be his mistake. We catch Theo, we can catch him too."

-End-

 

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