10 is Better Than 01 Page 5

  Alban shifted in his chair, clenching and unclenching his hands, occasionally pausing to run his fingers through his unruly brown hair or fiddle with his ear where his earring would be, were it not for Starfleet dress codes.

  Watching him made Winter feel antsy. “Is there a problem, Ensign?”

  “No, sir,” Alban said, straightening up and folding his hands in his lap. In spite of his immaculate uniform, he had a rumpled, just-got-out-of-bed air about him.

  “Tell me about Lieutenant Brewster,” Winter said, sliding the stylus out of its holder on the side of the padd. The conversation would be recorded by sensors, but he liked being able to note observations while he was interviewing a potential witness. “How long you’ve known her, what’s she like as a commanding officer, how she’s seen around headquarters…”

  Alban’s eyes dropped to the floor, then shifted up to Winter’s face before settling on a spot just to the right of Winter’s nose. “I’ve only been assigned to personnel for five months—since graduation. I’ve seen Lieutenant Brewster around. Been in a few meetings with her. I’m hardly an expert. You should talk to someone at Headquarters.”

  Winter raised his gaze from the padd and studied Alban. “I don’t expect expertise. I want your thoughts and observations.”

  The ensign colored crimson, took a deep breath, and began again. “The lieutenant got her promotion about the same time I joined the group. She’s never been a screamer—always polite about issuing orders, though—”

  Winter leaned forward. “Yes?”

  “She’s always showing up to check on her direct reports without warning. Looking over their shoulders, watching everything they do, correcting them in public. She uses this sweet, soft voice, but she makes people nervous.”

  “Is she resented?”

  “Not so much resented. When Lieutenant Brewster wants something done and she doesn’t think she’s being taken seriously enough, she will invade every moment of your life until she’s satisfied.” Alban shrugged. “Maybe…”

  “Yes?”

  “Maybe she’s overcompensating. Trying to prove she deserved her promotion so she’s always pushing too hard, putting too much pressure on herself and others.”

  “Is that why she wanted to be sent to Bynaus?” Winter had yet to identify why a young, attractive officer with a relatively cushy career for wartime was so bent on visiting a planet that most of the Federation forgot was a member. “To accomplish what no one else had done by bringing more Bynars into Starfleet?”

  “That was the rumor,” Alban said. “But Lieutenant Brewster is passionate about her work. She absolutely believes in what we’re doing in Starfleet and she’ll do whatever it takes to make sure Starfleet’s interests are protected. Fond of the phrase patriotic duty.”

  Leaning back into his chair, Winter jotted down his impression of Alban’s statement: idealistic, determined, inexperienced. Certainly seems to be a formula for a major judgment error. So she didn’t plan on killing anyone—these tendencies could lead to unintended consequences. “You want to guess what my next question is, Ensign?”

  Alban swallowed hard. “You want to know if, based on what I knew of her, I think she was capable of murder, especially last night since I was one of the last people to see her before she went into custody.”

  “Good call.”

  “I don’t want to make her sound guilty,” Alban said, his shoulders noticeably slumping. “But the lieutenant was angry last night after we left the recruiting meeting.”

  Winter took no pleasure in Alban’s misery, but the ensign’s obvious reluctance to provide specifics sent up all kinds of red flags. “Angry ‘I hate it when I spill coffee on my uniform’ angry or ‘someone is going to pay if this doesn’t get fixed’ angry?”

  Alban exhaled loudly. “The latter. I’ve never seen her so…unhinged. She could be snippy if you disagreed with her or you failed an assignment. But this was near stratospheric outrage. I couldn’t reason with her because I was afraid she’d report me for insubordination. If she hadn’t calmed down by morning, I was going to contact Headquarters and ask for advice.”

  “Was her outrage directed at anything or anyone specifically?”

  “Lieutenant Brewster had a finally honed sense of justice and fairness. She felt that Starfleet’s efforts weren’t given a chance to be successful and that the Bynars assigned to help us out were obstructing us.”

  Winter asked for clarification and Alban provided it, going into detail about what had happened during and after the recruiting meeting. A less experienced investigator might have found little of significance in the series of events. To Winter, a sense of unease refused to abate—all was not as it appeared to be. Subtext abounded, but whose subtext and why he had yet to ascertain.

  After he dismissed Alban, he signaled the CS agents assigned to the case, 110 and 111, and asked them to see him at their earliest convenience. Winter wanted to rehear their version of events in light of what Alban had told him. He also checked with Security Services and discovered they had yet to figure out where Lieutenant Brewster had vanished to. Until his client could tell her side, he would do what he could to reconstruct her point of view. So if she couldn’t speak for herself, what she left behind would have to speak for her.

  What little evidence he had was strewn over his desk where he could pick up and contemplate each item or report. Winter, a visual thinker, believed the evidence functioned like an incomplete puzzle: if he could see how the pieces related to one another, logic might help him fill in the gaps. Unfastening a lid to a polymer container, he emptied the contents—Brewster’s personal effects from her guest quarters—where he could see them. Most of what he saw was marked with an official Starfleet insignia; he surmised that she must have brought the things with her from Headquarters. A generic padd drew his attention; he reached for it, activated it, and discovered that it contained information on the Bynars who attended the recruiting meeting.

  Nothing about the information struck him as out of the ordinary at first glance except…the last record activated on this padd belonged to the unit 1010/0101, one of whom was now dead. Last night Brewster had held this in her hands, studied the record, and left her quarters. She had also felt that whatever this padd said was important enough that she backed up the 1010/0101’s files to another device. Brewster remained the de facto suspect because no one else appeared to have a motive, yet there was something about the murder that didn’t work in Winter’s mind. Perhaps it was the straightforward logic of the theory of the crime. The Bynars could barely grasp the notion of crime, in part because of its illogical nature, so naturally, their version of what might have happened would be rational. But it doesn’t account for an irrational human’s behavior. If Lieutenant Brewster was as angry as Alban said she was, could she have behaved in such a cold-blooded, reasonable fashion? He examined the timeline:

  Brewster enters quarters; sends message (Sensor log record 83042-1)

  Brewster receives message (Sensor log record 93201-56)

  Brewster leaves quarters (Sensor log record 389925-20)

  Brewster arrives at Building 925/381 (Sensor log record 57120-92 )

  Security team arrives and discovers Brewster by the body

  The message. Winter scrolled through an evidence list, located a screen capture of the message and called it up.

  I CAN HELP YOU.

  The sender had been 1010/0101. Had the message been an answer to a request Brewster had made at the meeting? Or had 1010/0101 initiated the meeting?

  Wait a minute. A moment of clarity cut through the muddle in his mind. He focused on the message: the pronoun I was used. I referred to an individual. Bynars didn’t function as individuals, they functioned in pairs. If 1010/0101 had asked her to meet, wouldn’t they have used the pronoun we? For the first time since he’d been assigned the case, Henry believed he had proof that Brewster’s protestations of innocence may not been the burble of a guilty conscience afraid of consequences.


  When the Citizen Services agents arrived less than an hour later, he asked them once again to review their interactions with Lieutenant Brewster after the meeting. He’d get to his questions about the message later; he wanted to establish motive—other than guilt—for her to escape custody.

  The CS unit offered to provide Winter with a security feed recording that would allow him to view, for himself, all of the postarrest interactions Lieutenant Brewster had had with Bynar units, including her escape. Security Services needed a little more time, 110/111 explained, to gather and sort the relevant data before they would provide Winter with a comprehensive collection of all the audiovisual evidence that could be located. They expected that Winter wouldn’t have much longer to wait. The data was being reviewed by the sensor team supervisors for its final release as they spoke.

  This revelation prompted a sigh of relief from Winters; he would be spared having to interview and reinterview the same parties in hopes of having new tidbits of information emerge. He did have one more question for the Bynar unit as he attempted to finalize his personal timeline. “So that’s the only time you talked with her after 1010 was found—your on-the-record interrogation that I’ve already seen.”

  The unit paused, then said, “We talked to her—”

  “—after we arrived. She said—”

  “—she was innocent. She asked—”

  “—about the consequences if—”

  “—she was found—”

  “—defective and we provided—”

  “—that information.”

  “I think I managed to miss any record of this particular exchange,” Winter said, looking over the reports listed on the padd before him. “This is the first I’ve heard of this conversation, so why don’t you explain it to me?”

  The agent unit protested that all the footage would be available soon, but Winter cut them off and asked them to explain the conversation.

  He listened attentively as 110/111 provided him with the rudimentary outline of Bynar jurisprudence that they had shared with Lieutenant Brewster. When they got to the part where they told Brewster that either the defect that caused the misbehavior was fixed or termination occurred, Winter jumped out of his chair and asked the Bynar unit to repeat what they’d just said.

  “If a unit cannot be fixed—”

  “—and is no longer useful—”

  “—it must be terminated.”

  “And you said this to Lieutenant Brewster?”

  “Yes—”

  “—we did.”

  Winter groaned aloud. “Brewster took off because she thought there was a chance you would execute her.”

  “Execute—”

  “—her?”

  “Terminate her. She was afraid for her life. Damn it all, we have to find that woman and bring her back.” The Bynars, as sophisticated as they might have been technologically, saw the universe in such absolute, black-and-white terms that they failed to understand the subtleties of communication with other species. Simply put, they didn’t understand that everyone didn’t see things the way they did. In this respect, the Bynars had much in common with unsophisticated children.

  “We wouldn’t have—”

  “—terminated her.”

  “She didn’t understand it that way,” Winter said, loading his padds into his satchel. “Based on what you’ve told me, I’m inclined to believe that Lieutenant Brewster may have been telling the truth when she claimed she didn’t murder 1010.”

  “If that is correct—”

  “—then who did?”

  “I’m coming to that. I have one more question for you both. Examine this message that 1010 and 0101 sent Lieutenant Brewster and tell me what you make of it.” He shoved the padd across the desk toward the CS unit.

  A flurry of high-pitched gibberish erupted between them.

  Winter sat back in his chair, palms together, fingers flexing, and watched, not entirely surprised by their reaction.

  “Not possible.”

  “Bynars do not—”

  “—communicate in—”

  “—this way.”

  “Contact the Medical Center where 0101 is resting,” Henry said, gathering up the evidence padds and stacking them in his satchel. “Let them know that they need to bring her back to consciousness. We have to ask her whether her mate was dead before or after contacting Lieutenant Brewster.” He’d hardly begun his request before 110/111 started issuing unintelligible orders into their comm units. When he rediscovered the padd holding the personnel records, he paused, cradling it in his palm before placing it in the satchel alongside the others. The document he’d been reading remained on the screen; he scanned the contents from a new perspective. An involuntary grin split his face. We may have our answers…

  Citizen Services Employee Report

  Agent Unit 110/111

  Assignment: Starfleet Recruiting Visit on Behalf of Starfleet Corps of Engineers

  The search for Lieutenant Brewster continues. Visual sensor records indicate that the lieutenant left her holding room, rendered a Bynar security unit unconscious, and proceeded to look for a planetary locating device. Since we have ascertained that the device was taken, sensors and security units are studying the planetary grid to find the planetary locating device. No sign of the device has appeared. It is possible that in her efforts to hide, Lieutenant Brewster has gone to the only place on Bynaus that is not linked to the locating system: the tunnels and chambers far below the surface that are associated with the master computer preservation and maintenance. The grid analysis is only seventy-five percent complete, however. We will not go into the tunnels until all other possibilities have been ruled out. Commander Winter has indicated that he will be part of any search party.

  The evidence logs regarding the death of 1010 are complete and have been placed in the custody of Commander Winter. While we are waiting for 0101 to be brought back to consciousness, we have discussed the inconsistencies we have discovered. Of most concern to Citizen Services is the apparent use of a singular pronoun in communication. Such a usage may exist but only in the intimate interaction between mates, never in public forums or with individuals of other species. This unit found this discovery to be uncomfortable as Bynars and as CS agents. We are searching for data that may support such a violation.

  We have examined the personnel file given to Lieutenant Brewster and have discovered that 1010/0101 had recently received counseling after problems at a work assignment. The unit in question had been in their current positions only six time sectors. This assignment was the third in eight time sectors, a highly unusual circumstance. Not only did 1010/0101 move work locations, the unit moved residential areas as well. The diagnostician believed that 1010 may have been on the verge of malfunction and so required a complete change of circumstances. The irregularities in 1010’s behavior patterns showed increasing discontent and inefficiency in the work environment. Examination of 0101 indicated a growing agitation and antagonism in the unit relationship. 0101 had been a model worker in previous work situations and had repeatedly stated how much satisfaction the work situation brought to the unit. The work transfer instigated to address concerns posed by 1010’s behavior and work performance was not encouraged by 0101, though 0101 failed to file an official protest. In private sessions, not available to Commander Winter but open to CS agents because of 1010’s termination, we have learned that 0101 expressed confusion regarding 1010’s behavior but supported the transfer in the hope that 1010 would improve and that the previous assignment could be resumed. Within the past ten planetary rotations, 0101 learned that the unit 1010/0101 would no longer be eligible to return to their former duties due to instability in 1010’s reasoning processes. We conclude that the recent denial may have provided the 1010/0101 unit with a motivation to attend the Starfleet recruiting meeting. We believe 0101 will affirm our conclusions. 0101 should be ready to interview by 18:56:432.

  Starfleet JAG Report, Commander Henry Winter

 
After several delays, the relevant evidence came into my custody and I’ve had a chance to review it. Most of it affirms what is already known in terms of timeline. What came as a surprise was the video surveillance from Building 925/381 that showed Lieutenant Brewster aiming her phaser at 1010. The building entry records indicate that 0101 was on the premises, but was apparently not in the room at the time Brewster drew her weapon. This is different from the original report because security reported that they awoke 0101 in quarters. Additionally, this puzzles me because it is my understanding that the Bynars work together, not separately, so it doesn’t make sense that 1010 would be accessing the records alone. Still, the message that Brewster received said, “I can help you,” not “We can help you.” Could 1010 have acted independently of 0101? Or did 0101 refuse to go along with 1010’s plan and by so doing, sat mutely by, allowing 1010 to die? 0101’s story will be critical to assembling the full picture of what happened.

  The only audio we have has Brewster stating, “I’ll do whatever it takes to help Starfleet win this war.” The assumption is that Brewster held 1010 at gun-point to force 1010 to access the forbidden personnel files. As much as I’m inclined to believe that Brewster feared for her life and took off to protect it, this evidence casts aspersions on the self-preservation motive. Brewster had a meeting with 1010, a reason to force 1010 to access the record, and we can place her at the crime scene.