Act Two, Scene One

[a magical taco]

OOC Narrator Note: Anyone can post up their finding or their actions. Currently the Thunderchild is stationed at Starbase 74. It will be departing to assist the Repulse. I gave a laps in time to give everyone a chance to hammer out the results of their investigations.

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Commander Bonham followed the Captain in to his ready room. There was a serious tone as he spoke, "Okay Sir, I have the results of my review in to your background." He paused as he activated the data pad and started to read his notes,

"My first stop was to speak with your father. I discovered that he is currently serving the Federation Humanitarian Relief Effort in what remains of the Cardassian Union. I made an attempt to reach him, however I learned that he had led a team of humanitarian workers in to the devastated northern region of Cardassia Prime a few months ago. I spoke with a member of the HRE staff on Cardassia Prime. I was assured that he is well but does not have access to a sub-space communicator. They said that they will relay a massage to him for me. As of this date, he has not had a chance to reply or is unwilling to reply to that message."

"Instead I did manage to reach his secretary on Mars, a Mrs. Liliana Elder. Based on my background search, she has worked with his department for the past twenty five years. From what I have found out, when your father took over the department some fifteen years ago he made Mrs. Elder his personal assistance. So the information that she offered should be considered reliable. She remembered the year that your parents moved to Mars. She had the date on file, Stardate 35077.08. She recalled at first you hated Mars and had always talked about going back to Earth. A few months after your family moved to Mars you ran away from home. Your father searched with the local law enforcement till you turned up back on Earth. He skipped an important meeting to make sure you were okay. A few months after that, your parents were investigated for a crime. She didn't know the nature of the crime but was able to give me the name of the Chief Investigator from a Federation Grand Jury. Mrs. Elder said that nothing official came of the investigation, as the case was closed."

"She did say that during that time, a Vulcan by the name of L'tus came to see your father. This stood out cause your father cleared his calendar for the entire day. Something that he only did on very rare occasions. The two of them left the department to speak in private. Shortly after that meeting, the Chief Investigator informed your father's boss that they were dropping the charges due to the case taking a different course. Your father's boss was informed that your parents aided in the investigation greatly and they had the thanks of the Federation Grand Jury."

"After that everything returned to normal. One thing that stuck out in our conversation was how she made sure to point out how caring your father was towards you three. He always took time off during the months of January, April, and May. She had been tasked on a number of occasions to get birthday gifts wrapped. Gifts that your father hand picked for each of you. A task he never trusted with anyone else. The running joke around the department was that he had a son and two daughters."

"When I showed her a pictures of the three of you. Maura, Seona and you sir, she was able to correctly identify all of you as early teens and up. However she never personally met Seona. She mentioned that you had shown up at the department a few times. She said she only met Maura once. It was sometime during Maura's Marine training. She mentioned how sharp Maura appeared in her dress uniform. Your father introduced Maura to everyone around the department as one of the daughters he always wanted. She remembered how proud your father was of her. But the visit was a surprise to your father. As you know, your father had always wanted to keep his family and professional lives separate. Maura showed up unannounced because she had gotten entangled in a legal issue. Your father suggested a personal friend who was an attorney and who could help her. When Maura left, Mrs. Elder noticed the two in a loving embrace. It was clear that he felt deep emotions for Maura. I looked up this attorney, he specializes in family law."

"Regarding what she knew of your father's personal life. On his desk, he has a number of pictures of you three. His most favorite picture is of you three as teens sitting on a rock. She thinks it might be somewhere on Earth. The picture always goes with him when he leaves for assignments. He also has the graduation pictures of each of you when you graduated Starfleet. She often said how he speaks so highly of you three. I believe her when she says that he is very proud of you and the MacConnell sisters. Yes, I know how close you are to your mother and the rift that was caused by your joining Starfleet."

"From a distance, he is so very proud of you despite his displeasure that you joined in the first place. It is my assumption based on what Mrs. Elder said, that it was his personal desires that you not join Starfleet. Though Mrs. Elders couldn't explain why he didn't want you to. He didn't really want any of you to join Starfleet. Regarding your father's relationship with your mother, Mrs. Elder did say that for as long as she could remember your father and mother were always estranged."

"On the surface, everything seemed normal. They made a point to keep this from you. But he never took time off for her birthday nor could she ever recall one time he spoke of his wife in casual conversation. There was a researcher in your father's department who made it clear she had personal interest in your father. Despite not showing any love for your mother, he never once cheated on her. The research eventually transfered out after being rejected a number of times by your father. Mrs. Elders didn't know the reason behind the rift between your mother and father but she often suspected it had something to do with the MacConnell sisters. The majority of their arguments that Mrs. Elders witnessed seemed to circle on them."

"Those arguments came to a head shortly after Maura's unannounced visit. Mrs. Elder recalled the argument as did your father's staff. The argument took place in his office behind closed does. It was so loud and heated that they could hear through the closed doors. If anyone knew what the nature of the argument was, they did not tell me. It was the last time, Mrs. Elders noted that your father spoke of your mother and the last time she saw your mother visit him at the Department. However your father did keep in contact with Maura and Seona on a regular basis. Even reaching out to them when they were stationed on Deep Space Nine."

"The last bit regarding your father. When Muara and Seona were laid to rest, Mrs. Elder accompanied your father to both funerals. She said that he was shaken very deeply at their deaths. For days before and after, witnesses said that he often cried deeply and was visible depressed. He mourned their loss for days after the funerals. When she asked about why your mother or you didn't attended either funeral, he said that it was better this way for everyone. He confided in her saying that your mother had created this rift in their family that it could never be healed. In a one of the very rare times, he took to drinking."

"During that night on Earth, in a drunken state, he said he blamed your mother for everything. It was because of her they had to deal with the devil himself. Your father didn't go in to detail as to what was done or why. He only said it was a dark family secret that was finally put to rest. He had said that he wanted to do it all over again. She did tell me something that was meant to be a secret till your father returned from his current assignment. Before your father left for his humanitarian mission to the Cardassian Union, he instructed Mrs. Elder to search and retain for a good divorce attorney. He told her that he could no long bare to be with his wife."

"After my conversation with Mrs. Elder I reached out to Severus Couture, the Chief Investigator of the Federation Department of Justice. To my surprise, I learned that he filed for early retirement in 2357. He is currently living on Risa with his family. I was told by his predecessor that Mr. Couture had taken a Orion Gambling Cruise and won big. When I inquired about the case against your parents, they said that it was in regards to stolen regulated genetic material back on stardate 19530.28. The case had been in an ongoing investigation for nearly eighteen years without any leads. The case led them to your parents because of a credible lead but didn't inform me about that lead."

"However, shortly after they started to look deeper in to your parents. Then some time after, Mr. Couture ordered that the case against your parents be closed and no charges were filed. It turned out that solid evidence turned the investigation towards a researcher who was already in custody. When presented with the evidence, this researcher confessed to the crime. He was charged and sentenced for that theft as well. This researcher had since been release from custody after serving his time. I attempted to contact Mr. Couture, in hopes that he might have some more details for me. I tracked him down and attempted to follow up on this. At first he was pleasant and open to talk. However he seemed to become difficult when I pushed the questions regarding this one case. He informed me that your parents were not guilty of any wrong doing and disconnected the channel with me."

"I dug in to your supposed life on Earth. I found at least two dozen people who all correctly identified you within age appropriate photos. What the Priest told us seemed to be accurate to the most part. There were dates and times where he was most likely confused about. I do not suspect that this was done out of any attempt to mislead us. The Priest is well known for his failing memory. Still, many people do remember you. I spoke with a neighbor how could recount a story of how you injured your arm during a horse back riding accident while out with the MacConnell sisters. You had gloated that you were attempting to impress Maura with a new trick. Your medical files from Starfleet supported the childhood injury.

"Everyone I spoke with was more than familiar with the fact that you had an illness, which you shared with Maura. No one knew just what the nature of the illness was, but it was serious and often required Maura to be hospitalized. There were a number of times where Maura barely made a recovery. As I spoke with them, I noticed a pattern forming. While each separate story seemed to be unlinked, I noticed that Maura's hospitalization occurred roughly the first week of the month. Though she could go two to three months without needing to be hospitalized. But when she did, it was always the first week of the month. These visits and the severity of her illness increased over time till they stopped all together around stardate 30158.64. It would appear that your mother was the only treating Doctor for both you and Maura. Confusingly, your medical reports do not support these facts. I would suggest that the Doctor perform a much more deeper investigation in to this matter as well as in to your own health."

"I also looked in to this Krussk Syndrome. It is a very rare genetic disorder that is nearly always fatal to the new born child. The child's death is a very painful and is a drawn out ordeal that can last up to five years after birth. There has been a few reported cases where the child survives the first five years. However those cases are rare and far between. Even less cases were reported where the child survives in to adulthood. Those that do survive, the effects of the illness are crippling. Loss of eye sights, motor controls limited mental capacity and weaken physical structure. You clearly do not have any of these symptoms, so I am not sure what to say about these findings or how much trust we should put in to them. Aside from the Old Priest, I have been unable to locate anyone that can confirm that you had this genetic disorder. Even your medical records from your place of birth do not reflect this."

"Everyone in the little village you grew up in outside of Edinburgh can confirm that you and Maura were sick. But none of them can tell me what the illness was. Everyone did seem to hold the impression that you and Maura got better around the same time. I spoke with the local hospital and asked for your medical records. At first they were not going to release them to me. However after a long and rather painful conversation, I finally got them to agree to at least gather some information from your files to be forwarded to your own doctor here aboard the Thunderchild. I told them that this was just in case of future remissions. However to their surprise, the files they had on record had all been cleansed. I do not suspect that they had anything to do with these missing files."

"Lastly, I found that the Priest was mistaken about one major detail. I am not sure what to make of this, but the estate that he mentioned where Seona grew up after you were moved to Mars wasn't what he said it was. I asked the local magistrate to take a drive out there and report back his findings. He reported back that the family that lives there now were pleasant and open about what they knew. They said that from what they were told, the place had been vacant for decades before they bought just a few years ago. Without a much more deeper investigation, I don't think we will be able to learn much more. However based on what I saw so far, I am not sure what there will be for us to find anyway. When I searched the Starfleet Medical database, according to their records they never had or operated any facilities in that region of Scotland. I have no reason to discount this information nor that the priest was being dishonest to us. I suspect that he was telling us what he knew to be true. I suspect that the estate was abandon after Seona 'escaped' by who ever was operating it at the time."

"I searched and found your original birth certificate. You were born Jackie Fionn Campbell on Apr 06, 2340, Stardate: 19976.19 in Edinburgh, Scotland. What I found for the MacConnell sisters was a bit more surprising. I did locate two Federation Report of Birth Certificates. These are different from birth certificates as it is only a report that it happened. The signing doctor or agency didn't actually verify the birth or the information given in the report. Maura's Report placed her birth on Jan 12, 2340, Stardate 19763.26. The location of her birth was reported outside of Federation space. Though it was not stated where. Seona's report of birth is more strange. Her first report of birth was much the same as Maura's and both were signed on the same date, stardate 24808.17. Seona's Report placed her first birth date as May 09 2345, Stardate 24650.38. However I found a second actual birth certificate placing her birthday as May 09 2351, Stardate 30158.64. This certificate placed her place of birth as occurring in the city of Edinburgh."

"When I contacted the hospital of her birth, I was unable to find anyone that could recall her birth. This doesn't prove anything though but the documents do give rise to some questions. The attending Doctor who signed all three documents for the MacConnell sisters was killed in action during the Dominion War. So I was unable to find any more answers to these questions. I will tell you this, your mother was well known in that hospital. She worked there for nearly ten years and her romance with your father up to the day you were born is the subject of fond memories."

"One such tale was when your father showed up out of the blue a few years before you were born. He had hidden a puppy in the pocket of his jacket and pretended to be sick. Your mother went out of her mind thinking he was infected with a massive parasite. When she discovered the puppy, there was a ring tied to his collar. Most of the older staff recall the story with great fondness. It was assumed shortly after your birth, you had passed away from Krussk Syndrome. I spoke to a nurse who worked with your mother during her time there. The old nurse told me that when your mother learned that you had Krussk Syndrome it destroyed her. Your father was off world and your mother choose not to tell him about it. Your mother and father moved from Edinburgh shortly after the time of your birth. It was assumed to give you all their attention during the final months of your life. They broke off contact with their former lives around the same time."

"As I dug in to your mother, I found some strange things. Your mother is not only one of the best geneticist on Earth. She is most likely one of the most brilliant geneticist of her time. She wrote a number of papers regarding the endless possibilities of curing genetic diseases and disorders through gene therapy. She is hailed as one of the most brilliant scientists of her time. However her potential was always cut short by Federation laws that banned genetic research on sentient beings. Her political career took off when she lead a major push by the Federation science community to get some of those laws limited to allow genetic engineering to correct existing genetically related medical conditions. While these were huge steps, according to a paper your mother wrote, she claimed these new limitations were nothing more than drops in the bucket that was the Federation's potential to end suffering from disease."

"While your mother may have opposed these restrictions on moral grounds, she supported the law passionately. In the same paper as well as many others, she stated that to disregard the laws of the Federation simply because one doesn't agree with them would open the flood gates to chaos. She called on all members of the scientific community to support the laws while still fighting in the political areas to change them. She led two major organizations which were paramount in changing Federation law regarding medical research. Their single claim to popular support was that they practiced what they were preached. Support the law while striving to your convictions. Your mother also worked closely with the Federation Science Council to help locate persons known to be genetically enhanced who were serving in Starfleet or within Starfleet Medical. She personally help bring dozens of offenders to justice and ended their professional careers."

"Roughly around the time you were born, your mother quit both of her organizations that she help build. However she never stopped working with the Federation Science Council to locate genetically enhanced persons serving in Starfleet. Due to her determination in this service, she earned herself the nickname, the witch hunter. Her case files reads as if she was an uncaring and harsh woman. But I am sure you will agree with me that this is not the case. In fact your mother worked hard to find these persons new gainful careers in other endeavorers. She never supported the mind set that enhanced persons should be allowed to serve in Starfleet. Based on her papers that she published, she was very outspoken against enhanced persons serving in Starfleet."

"Your mother took over the leadership of the Mars Institute of Science in late 2356. While she continued to worked with the Federation Council of Science as a advisor, she all but quit her duties as lead investigator for the Council roughly around the same time."

"Talking with your mother's staff, I found that she was referred to as a lonely woman. Working late in to the nights on a regular basis. Though, as you know Sir, she was very proud of you. As a teen, she loved parading you around the Institute. Her office is lined with photo's of you throughout your life. When I asked them about Seona or Maura, no one seemed to know who they were. No one seemed to recognize either of them from photos. Your mother only spoke of one child, you, her son. She rarely spoke of your father and there are even those in her staff now that were surprised to find that she was even married. No one ever claimed to know of any affair or other intimate relationships your mother had or were having at the time. Those that did know, knew your mother loved your father very deeply."

"Most surprising was on Stardate 53619.47 (Nov 25, 2376) during a critical stage of an experiment carried out by her protégé, she received a communication. I could find no record of this communication but a number of people there recalled that she was called away to answer it. After that communication, your mother left the institute claiming she would be right back. After she left it was discovered that several data chips from the institutes's mainframe had been removed. These data chips contained personal files and logs belonging to your mother. She contacted the institute the next day claiming she was taking a sabbatical for the next few months. No one from the institute has heard from her since. I checked with Deep Space Nine and they have confirmed the message your received from your mother last month as authentic but currently no one can locate the point of origin of those messages."

"Off of a hunch, I asked a friend of mine who is stationed a Utopia Yards to check out your mother's home on Mars. At first he found the place secured but after he moved around to the backyard, he discovered a broken window. Through the broken window he noticed your mother's home had been ransacked. He suspected foul play and contacted Federation Security. They took his statement and gave him no details on what happened. My own requests have been stonewalled by a Mr. Orellana. He is running the investigation. This is all I have been able to uncover. It might be helpful to have our Chief of Security conduct a separate investigation over what happened at your mother's home. His background might give us some new and different details. I hope this is helpful Sir." On that, Commander Bonham handed the datapad over to Captain Campbell and waited to be dismissed.

The Captain did his best to sit, unflinching, during the briefing. The barrage of information, being of such a personal nature to the Captain was unsettling. Thinking of Seona, even if he did not remember her, made him feel as if someone had stolen a baby sister from him and then ripped the memory of it from his mind. He felt betrayed. He looked over the data pad for a moment to mask his pain, he would not allow his emotions to dictate his actions. A Starfleet officer had to duty to fulfill and for the time being it should not make a difference who the suspect is or who persons of interest might become, even if he became one of those people. In this moment he tried to imitate the Vulcans rather then the Klingons but the confirmation that half of his life was missing from his memory only to be preplaced by a lie, spilled over into his eyes, faint but present.

He looked up from the data pad to Bonham, sitting uncomfortably in the chair across from the Captain. Within moments the captain's mind switched to V'rol and knew that this had to be above board. The Captain knew V'rol would have no guilt about speaking up towards him or Starfleet Command if the Vulcan suspected him of being a collaborator. 'I'm going to have to share everything with the senior staff' he though, 'Let there be no doubt where my loyalties lay'. The Captain tapped his com-badge. "Mr. V'rol to my ready room please."

With that, his eyes fell back on to the commander, "Good work, Commander", the Captain said as Lieutenant Commander V'rol entered the room.

"Thank you, sir" the Commander Bonham answered turning to great the Vulcan with a nod.

"Are there any thing else that did not make it into this report? Minor details you might have excluded?" the Captain asked causing Commander Bonham to shift his eyes back towards the captain. The captain wanted to make sure to keep the anger he felt out of his voice. The question was not an accusation but permission to talk in front of the Vulcan. When he asked Bonham to look into this he had expressed his expectation of discretion.

Command Bonham shook his head, "No Sir. I left nothing out. All the contacts I made were recorded on that data pad as well. Just in case you wanted to follow up Sir."

The captain nodded, "Thank you again commander." He then turned his attention to Lt Commander V'rol and handed the data pad over to the Vulcan. "Mr. V'rol, I want you to take over this investigation. Within that data pad is all that Commander Bonham found. I need to make sure that this investigation is completely above board. Because of resent events, I do not want to appear as if my judgement is compromised. I will trust whom you report to, to your discretion. That said, I would like to know more about my past that has been taken from me. I would ask that you find out what happened to my mother and at my childhood home. I assume you have contacts that can get us more information about what is going on?"