Ask Coruscant The Room Where It Happened

[Amos McCord]

​

It hadn't taken long for word of Chancellor Ro's assassination to get out, but all anyone seemed to know was that he was dead. Rumors ran wild in the aftermath of the news breaking; some said it was Za Fenn who was responsible, some that the Jedi had killed him, still others that it was a disgruntled member of his famed harem that had murdered the New Republic's Chancellor.

Amos McCord was one of those tasked with finding answers.

The Sector Ranger hardly deemed himself the type to do criminal investigations like this- he was, after all, a psychoanalyst and not a field agent- but with the Sector Rangers stretched thin everywhere he had no choice but to wear a different hat today. Very important and very influential people were demanding answers, and Amos barely had time to fill his thermos with tea before racing off to the scene of the crime.

At least he wouldn't be alone in his search for clues. The analyst been told to expect a team of three, and while Amos was the first on scene he knew it wouldn't be long before the other members of the team arrived. The body had been removed and the cause of death quickly determined, but thankfully the crime scene was still secured. Amos McCord hoped it might provide answers; he'd been promised every resource the Rangers could spare in the search for the killer, but initial reports had painted a bleak picture, indeed; the killer had clearly been a professional.

"What exactly do they expect me to do?" he muttered to no one in particular.



((OOC note: Linked the assassination thread to give us a clue as to what little evidence might be left behind, let's see if we can glean any clues!))

@Die Shize @Howie Boy

 

[Bak-Ru Shooska]

Bak-Ru was still somewhat amazed at what his life had become since taking his oath as a Ranger. The young Weequay that had barely ever left his home world had now seen many parts of the Galaxy! The most recent excursion being that to the world of Coruscant. Just to think of it! A city that stretched an entire planet. Not a single inch uninhabited. However, what should have been a trip to visit the Headquarters of the Sector Rangers had quickly been turned upside down.

The Chancellor of the New Republic...dead. Murdered to be more accurate. The news had torn through the Galaxy as quick as warp speed and the rumors just as fast. What the Galaxy needed now was cold hard facts. A show of force by law enforcement in a time of turmoil and warfare. To show those that wished to dominate worlds and tear apart alliances that they'll be brought to justice. Be shown to the Galaxy as nothing more than the criminal scum they were. It had came as quite the shock when Bak-Ru had been assigned to the task force to investigate the murder, but he wouldn't hesitate when duty called.

He walked the hall of the 500 Republica, freshly polished boots clopping against the floor. A reddish-brown jacket partially covered a black blaster vest, a Sector Ranger badge pinned neatly to his chest. The leather utility belt that held his blast pistol and stun baton helped to hold up a pair of dark trousers. With a flick of his hand his neatly tied blonde braids would swing behind his back at he prepared to report. A flash of credentials would see him onto the crime seen, another detective already on the case.

"Bak-Ru Shooska. Reporting for duty." He announced his presence. "Have you begun?"

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[Zad Ruzed]

Spoiler: Music OOC

Zad Ruzed, Sector Ranger of the Outer Rim, usually had no business on Coruscant. Whether that was the brass’ call or not, well, he just didn’t really care for the world. He didn’t really like cities, didn’t like big cities, really didn’t like entire worlds covered in cities. They gave him a headache and, that night, he already had a headache.

Zad had already been on Coruscant for reasons and, by fate or chance, was close enough to be tagged as a first response Ranger. A job was a job, the badge was the badge, and the assassination of the Chancellor of the New Republic was a job he didn’t hesitate to raise his badge to.

Upon which the guards outside the late Emil Ro’s apartment permitted the latest Ranger entry. He walked in to find the other two, raising his coffee to either man in place of greeting them with fair weather. Though, the night was cold; a cool draft creeping in through the open balcony.

“Zad. Zad Ruzed.” That was just to confirm what either man would already know. Nope. I just like saying it. Taking a sip of hot java, he looked from his colleagues to the apartment. No stranger to murder, and no huge fan of politicians, his immediate attention was on how sweet living in this suite must have been. The political and wealthy elite. 500 Republica and then some.


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[Amos McCord]

Amos needed more tea.

At least the wait for the forensics droids afforded him the chance to observe and meet his fellow Sector Rangers; they likely wouldn't be able to make much headway until it returned to cross-reference the data from the autopsy with the evidence of the crime scene. The first thing that had struck Amos about the murder was how clean it was; no signs of a struggle or a fight, or even the sense that the Chancellor was aware that he was about to die. Aside from the spilled drink, there was nothing in the apartment that seemed particularly out of place.

In fact, the only thing out of place in the apartment was Amos himself; standing alongside Bak-Ru Shooska and Zad Ruzed made Amos want to blend into the furniture and just let the other two Rangers conduct the investigation, but he was expected to help lead this investigation.

Amos glanced over the Weequay, noting the immaculate attire and the well-projected confidence; somebody had clearly chosen caf this morning. "Amos McCord" replied the analyst, reaching out a hand. "Not yet, still waiting on the 3rd and the forensics droids." Amos didn't know much about Bak-Ru; the Weequay was new to the Rangers and this was their first meeting.

Zad Ruzed was a slightly more familiar face, having worked with Amos in the aftermath of the Mon Cala terrorist attack in order to coordinate resources against Za Fenn on Coruscant. It was, Amos concluded, an interesting group; Shooska seemed like a by-the-book type while Ruzed was known to favorably interpret a rule or two; hopefully both approaches would be helpful at some point in the investigative process.

Amos decided to fill time before the droids arrived by making conversation. "Where would you like to begin our search?" he asked his compatriots; Amos knew that he would be leaning heavily on them for this part of the investigation; fieldwork was decidedly not his comfort zone.

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[Bak-Ru Shooska]

"Pleasure to meet you." Bak-Ru would say as he shook hands with Amos and offered a courteous nod to Zad. He would take a moment to look them over. A chance to try and get a read on either one of them in hopes to get a feel for how this investigation might go. This was his first major assignment and the weight of such a high profile murder was heavy upon his shoulders. He wanted this to go right, no, he needed this to go right. It was a chance to prove himself not only to his fellow Rangers, but also a chance to bring some stability to the New Republic. If they could put a face or an organization to whatever evil had snuffed out the young life of Chancellor Ro it would give them something to rally behind. It was crucial in times of chaos.

Amos seemed a bit more formal than other. Perhaps more by the books just like he, but there was an air of experience that surrounded Zad. His comfort and ease in such a dire situation told Bak-Ru that this was hardly his first rodeo. There was much to learn from either of them and he hoped to gain as much experience as he possibly could. "Thank Quay we can get our hands on a forensic droid." The mention of a deity was purely our of habit and had little to do with any religious fervor. However, they may need the help of the gods as well as the droid with how clean the crime scene was. No sign of struggle, no visible physical evidence at first glance. They had their work cut out for them.

"We could search the balcony while we wait?" Bak-Ru offered to the others. "There seems to be little disturbance here. Perhaps the sign of a professional? Initial reports said the call came in from passing speeders. I'd assume this means he fell on the balcony?"

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[Zad Ruzed]

Spoiler: Music OOC [Recurring]

As his two partners conversed, Zad stood there blinking at who the hell Quay was. Oh, right. It clicked as he sipped. Weequay. Wee. Quay. Punish Zad Ruzed for not being the brightest bulb in the shed, sure, but often the dim bulbs were only so because they were so busy shining the light on everything else. And I have no idea what the hell that means.

Moving on, Zad moved on to stand before the balcony, though had not entered it just yet. “Sounds like a plan.” He raised his coffee to lips, sighed with leisure, suddenly realized he was blocking the entrance to the balcony. “Oh. Right. Sorry.”

Clearing his throat, the Ranger who some called Rough and Tumble, namely Corran Velt, entered the balcony. The cold air, so high up, countered his black leather jacket and hot cup.

“Speeders spotted him, yep,” Zad confirmed to the others as much as to himself as he played scenarios out. “No disturbance out here either, not really, 'cept the murder o'course. Neighbors would have reported shouting though, scuffle and stuff. They didn’t.”

Emil had been shot from afar, heartbeat silenced just as quickly, no doubt about it. “Speeder’s still here. Didn’t have time to escape to it. Or he had no desire to.” If the shot had been that out of the blue then why would he? Because he's a bored politician, maybe, and they're always looking for a way out.


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[Amos McCord]

Amos nodded in agreement with Zad, grateful that he wasn't having to stand and give his expert advice on what had occurred. Both Bak-Ru and Zad seemed much better suited to the whole investigative portion than he was. Still, when the veteran Ranger mentioned the lack of a disturbance, Amos had to question.

"There was a broken drinking glass found by the Chancellor's body" he said, gulping down some tea to cover the fact that he had no idea how to interpret it. "Might that be a sign that a struggle occurred?"

Amos really hoped that the forensics droids would show up soon. They certainly held the keys to a deeper understanding of what had transpired.

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[Bak-Ru Shooska]

Bak-Ru followed the other two rangers out onto the balcony, his dark eyes squinted against the cool wind, their elevation only intensifying the natural effect. His gaze would shift between the spot where the chancellor fell and the surrounding city scape. Someone out there knew something, someone was to be held responsible for this atrocity. If only they could find a clue.

"Amos is correct." He said with a nod. "The chancellor held a glass in his hand when he fell. The initial reports claim that he was killed by a single blaster bolt. Nothing else here suggests any further sign of intrusion." There were no broken locks or hacked keypads. No overturned furniture or any other signs of struggle. "It would appear that the chancellor was taken by surprise. If only we could find out where the shot came from."

Just then one of the guards would enter to announce that the droids were here. Hopefully they could shine more light onto what had really transpired here. An SP-4 unit would make its way onto the scene, its little metal feet tapping against the floor as its ocular receptors began to whizz around inside their sockets. Without hesitation it would reach behind itself and remove the R00M-8A droid it had attached to its back, placing it on the ground before it began hammering away on its data pad. "SP-4 Unit 387 reporting for duty. Crime scene scan commencing now." The droid announced in it digitized voice. Hopefully it would find something useful.

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[Zad Ruzed]

Spoiler: Music OOC [Recurring]

Zad cocked a brow at Amos’ deduction and was supported by Bak-Ru. “Not the kind of disturbance I’m referencin’, really. Guy’s standin' on the balcony,” Zad stood on the balcony. “Enjoyin’ a drink,” Zad lifted his cup as though it was a glass. “Gets shot and drops his glass.” Zad wasn’t as good an actor to pretend to get shot so simply shrugged. “I guess you could call that a struggle as much as getting shot is a struggle.”

That little enactment had yet helped Zad to picture Supreme Chancellor Emil Ro in the scene before it had become a crime scene. It was far from unusual for anyone to enjoy a drink on a balcony, but made it that much more apparent that the man had been caught unawares. Defenseless. Dead. Do, done, did, Zad Ruzed.

Rubbing his chin with one hand, thinking of where the shot had come from, Zad cocked both brows just then at the arrival of the forensics droids. About karkin’ time. As the droids got to work, the Ranger sipped some more caffeine, enjoying the crisp air against his more fleshy face.

It would take some moments for the R00M-8A to process the evidence and for the SP-4 to project it, though, truth be told, there was at least one Ranger who didn’t expect much in the way of results besides what kind of alcohol was in that broken glass. “Hey, Speedy, can I call you Speedy?” Zad asked SP-4.

“Sector Ranger may refer to this unit in what manner is best for Sector Ranger.”

Right. Damn droids. “Make sure you two focus on triangulating where the blaster bolt came from. If we can narrow down at least a few blocks then we’ll have as good a lead on the shooter as any.”


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[Amos McCord]

Amos McCord was embarrassed; he'd opened his mouth in an attempt to appear knowledgeable in front of his team, and it had backfired. "Ah. Yes, of course" he said, politely agreeing with the other Rangers before hiding his shame behind a large gulp of tea. This was why Zad, Bak-Ru, and (thank the stars!) the SP-4 droid were here; to investigate the crime scene and draw conclusions based off of the evidence that was presented.

That was, Amos realized, a distinctly different approach than the one he took. While interpreting data was part of his job, his position as a psychoanalyst meant that he often found himself working with feelings and thoughts. The Ranger found himself wishing that he had more tea as he realized that he was here to figure out not how the murder had occurred, but why.

Armed with that deduction, Amos stepped aside to let the droids do their work.


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[Bak-Ru Shooska]

Bak-Ru paced the balcony back and forth as the droids set to their work. A slight grin would catch his lips as Zad further explained himself, making it clear that he had a bit more experience with this sort of thing than Amos. Although McCord seemed to be slightly embarrassed, Bak-Ru would meet his gaze and give him a reassuring nod. No harm in talking through everything, even if your first deductions were wrong or obvious. In his small experience with crimes scenes it had proven to be the most successful when every detail was poured over. Talk it out, over and over. The slightest details could make or break a case.

Speaking of details. "Speedy." Bak-Ru agains spoke through a grin as he adopted the droids new nickname. It was good that Zad brought sense of comedic relief. With a scene as dire as this one it kept the mind from staying on one track, promoting a more open thought process. "Please tell us any details you have from the initial autopsy report." Bak-Ru commanded.

"Chancellor Ro was shot from the rear." The droid wasted no time before reporting. "The blaster bolt leaving an entry wound through the occipital bone of the skull. Initial ballistic reports were unable to match the bolt to any known weapon, suggesting that the blaster used was unregistered. However, the size of the wound and the proceeding damage to the Chancellor's head would suggest that a high powered rifle was used for the assassination." The SP-4 unit would end its report until further questioning was provided.

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[Zad Ruzed]

Spoiler: Music OOC [Recurring]

The droids were underway but they were just droids. The Rangers had to solve this case, among whom were two field agents for the ‘how’ complemented by one psychoanalyst for the ‘why’, but the first came first.

The back and base of the skull, or occipital bone to be precise, was a sure way to kill someone in an instant. And, if it wasn’t, the kind of blaster the killer used was. An assassin, all right.

“Stating the obvious,” Zad stated while lighting up a cigarette. “But you ain’t likely to acquire an unregistered sniper rifle from your local gun shop. That’s if it’s from Coruscant to begin with.”

He sipped then sighed out a cloud of smoke, straining to peer through the haze. Firearms tracing wasn’t going to get them far, especially without the weapon itself. No, its angle is our only angle.

Roomba was working hard to determine that trajectory, approximating between where the body dropped and the distant skyline. Cigarette smoke curled toward, carried by the wind like a laser bolt losing its velocity.

In line with that, Zad figured the assassin couldn’t have been too far when pulling the trigger. A high-end sniper rifle was also not much use if buildings and vehicles were in the way. Killer was either on the tallest tower or close enough to not need as much vantage.

“No assassin pulls a high-profile hit like this while risking their face for the holonet, even a mask, so money’s on them finding a building with less surveillance. Still, we could tap into traffic cameras. High speed footage, slow down enough to catch a laser.”

Zad was just as much musing aloud. His idea might prove to be as long a shot as the one that took out a chancellor, but the Ranger reckoned that investigating was kind of like gambling, and this one had his wins and losses.


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[Amos McCord]

For Amos, it was fascinating watching the droids work. Smiling slightly at the moniker "Speedy" for the SP-4 droid, Amos remained silent as he tried to sort through the information that he did have available. The Chancellor had obviously been shot; by a sniper, specifically, if Amos trusted Zad's assessment- and he saw no reason not to.

The next step appeared to be locating where the Chancellor had been shot from, and Amos realized that he'd been focusing on the problem from the wrong perspective. "Would a laser on a stationary camera help us determine which angle and direction it came from?" It seemed too good to be true, but then again, Zad and Bak-Ru were the pros here. Amos turned to address the bipedal droid while the puck-shaped one continued canvassing the floor. "SP-4... er, 'Speedy', please pull all public traffic camera feeds in a two block radius. See if you can find a blaster bolt from around the time that the Chancellor was killed." The results of the autopsy would narrow that search to a couple hours' window, he hoped.

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[Bak-Ru Shooska]

Bak-Ru nodded along with Zad. The droids facts were mostly obvious and there was no way in hell they were going to track an unregistered weapon on a planet like Coruscant. The whole freakin planet was covered in a city and filled with billions of people. This was only further cast into doubt when Zad suggested that the weapon could have come in off world. If this was a professional hit, which there was little doubt of that now, it was highly likely that any equipment used would have been smuggled in. Again, more of the obvious. They needed a break.

Bak snapped his fingers and pointed at the other two as they suggested looking for the bolt on traffic cameras. "Yes! Excellent idea!" He went to stand before the SP-4 droid. "Processing..." Speedy made short work of the request. "There is one video on record that matches the criteria. Available for you now on the data pad." Bak-Ru took the pad and went to stand between the other two so they could all watch the footage. "Look there." His leathery skinned finger pointed to the bolt that flashed through the video. "Speedy. Slow that down. Frame by frame." The footage would rewind and play back moment by moment. "Pause." Bak ordered. There on the screen they could see the bolt frozen in the moment it passed the busy speeder channel. His eyes flicked between the data pad and their surroundings. On the screen they could easily see a huge hologram advertising some new, swanky lounge. The very hologram they could see from the balcony now. "The shot, it came from that direction." Bak-Ru pointed to the right of the balcony.

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[Zad Ruzed]

Spoiler: Music OOC [Recurring]

Inwardly, Zad was smiling. As cliche as it was, this one was a lone Ranger, but on a crime scene like this he wanted a Ranger like Amos to feel as useful as the other two. No, he just proved it. Amos did not hesitate, taking his partner’s idea and running with it, speeding toward Speedy to pull traffic camera footage.

Then, like clockwork, their other partner got to work, pausing the droid’s projected footage to display the captured laser bolt. Laser bolt. Those things were fast but in slow-motion they were, well, as slow as a melting donut. Frame by frame, stuck at pause, they were pretty lasers indeed.

The three Rangers huddled to observe Bak-Ru’s datapad. No doubting it, the bolt had been caught midflight at the swanky lounge sign. Though, it was doubtful that the shot had come from that very building.

“Speedy,” Zad exhaled smoke, careful to blow it away from his partners. “Take that laser bolt where it’s at and calculate trajectory, velocity, drift, distance—the works. Use those variables to give us an idea where the bolt would have been fired from by the time it reached that sign and before it reached a chancellor.”

The Ranger’s speech was basic enough and, though a droid, Speedy was capable enough. It took some time, time that Zad spent trimming down his cigarette and coffee, but the results came to.

“There we go, pardners.” It was Zad’s turn to point. “Just some blocks away. That building block right there in particular.” Finally, they caught a break, having narrowed down buildings to just one block. The Rangers could live with that.

“How about we mosey on over and see if this useless Roomba can be put to better use?”


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[Amos McCord]

Success! Amos was beginning to understand why many agents found detective work thrilling; between the three of them (plus the droids), the Rangers now had a solid lead on where the shot might've come from. "Nice work, Speedy!" Amos exclaimed. "Can you extrapolate the trajectory and send the address of the building to us?"

"Affirmative" said the droid, "although by my calculations, when accounting for possible error, predict that this shot could've originated from two possible locations. Both addresses have been sent to your datapads, and R00M-8A as completed their investigation of our current location."

Amos could hardly contain his excitement, and turned to the other two Rangers. "What are we waiting for?"

~~~~~

About 20 minutes later, Amos was beginning to remember why he preferred office work. The first of the two buildings did not have an elevator, forcing the Rangers to trek up several dozen flights of stairs in order to gain rooftop access. He was just grateful that he wasn't the one carrying the R00M-8A droid. "It can't have been this one" he grumbled to nobody in particular. "The assassin would probably still be on their way down."

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[Bak-Ru Shooska]

"Excellent!" The young Weequay couldn't contain his excitement when the droid was able to give them a possible location of where the shot could have originated from. Although he had been on crime scenes before there was always a rush of adrenaline when there was a break in the case. The fatigue he felt both from the lack of sleep and the weight of the situation they found themselves in began to slip away. It was time to find some answers and begin to track down this assassin that sought to tear apart the already fragile stability of the New Republic. Bak-Ru may have called Free World Alliance space home, but any body of government that stood for freedom and justice was worth preserving. They were only a small group of Rangers, however, it was often the actions of a few that could shift the balance in a galactic struggle. A naive train of thought from Bak-Ru, but in the moment it would fuel him. "Lets go!"

---

That burst of adrenaline would only get the Weequay so far. He would huff and puff as the merry band of Rangers made their way up the unending flights of stairs to get to the roof. Why the hell did he grab the stupid R00M-8A?! Why the hell didn't they just take the damn speeder that was right there for them?! Tampering with evidence be damned!! At least Bak-Ru had age on his side as the young Ranger easily recovered after a moments pause. Without further ado he would make his way out onto the rooftop. Would this be the spot where they deadly shot was fired? Would they even find a shred of evidence? Perhaps their investigation would end here and now. Bak shook the doubt from his mind as it would serve him no purpose. "Speedy. Begin the scan." He commanded as he set the R00M-8A down.

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[Zad Ruzed]

Spoiler: Music OOC

Leaving the 500 Republica, Zad offered his partners a ride in his speeder if they did not accommodate their own means. He sure as sugar wasn’t going to walk. Though, he had to explicitly inform them that his was a smoking vehicle, not a non-.

Upon the rooftop of the first building of two potential prizes, so began the game of finding the right one, like sliding into first base in a ball game. Or going from first base to then some with your girlfriend.

The air was even cooler out here, a breeze picking up, and it felt good as far as Zad was concerned. Bereft of coffee or cigarette, he stood with his hands in his pockets as Bak-Ru set Roomba down and both droids got back to work.

Even if the chances were low that this was the right rooftop, the process of elimination demanded that the Rangers perform due diligence before moving to the next. The droids felt no differently. Ain’t got much choice. Speed it up, Speedy.

“Calculations complete,” Speedy affirmed after Roomba beep-booped the end of its collection cycle. “No evidence has been acquired at this location pertaining to the crime committed. However, the R00M-8A unit has uncovered…this.”

Speedy retrieved something from Roomba’s compartment and held it up. “Uh…” Zad blinked. “Yep, that’s a dead bird.”

“Sector Ranger Zad Ruzed is correct. Based on the variables, the avian unit appears to have been caught in a powerful updraft in rapidly decreasing temperatures, along with health. Upon falling to this roof, the bird broke both upper and lower maxillary from immediate impact, and death was further assured upon breaking sternum and tibia, triggering a lethal vibration toward ilium and vertebra."

Well pinch my nipples and call me a ninja. “Thank you, Speedy. Be sure to upload this data to the SR database designed for useless trivia, especially as gathered by droids.” Zad sighed. “Can we move along now?”


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[Amos McCord]

Amos McCord was unhappy. The trip all the way up to the floor had turned up nothing except for a dead avian. "Affirmative. Uploading now." responded the SP-4 unit, its strict programming preventing it from acknowledging the humor present in Zad's command. Amos sipped his tea, only to find that he had none left, taking a deep breath to calm himself. At least on the way down they would have gravity on their side...

"Let's go" Amos said, pulling up the rear. Perhaps then the fact that he'd not done this many stairs since Basic Training would be less apparent, and he wouldn't slow down the group. At least he didn't have to carry the droid... Bak-Ru deserved hazard pay or something for lugging that thing up and now down the several dozen flights of stairs.

Hopefully the next building would have an elevator.

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[Bak-Ru Shooska]

Bak-Ru Let out a long sigh as the droid made its discovery. As good as they were with finding clues there was always that lack of organic thought when it came to the machines. The very lack that would have it pronouncing the discovery of a dead bird with what almost mimicked joy. "Yes, let's move on." He agreed with his partners and made for the second rooftop.

"Speedy, begin." The lack of progress evident in his tone as he issued the droid a command. Bak had little hope of finding anything as his own search of the space came up with nothing. A sense of defeat began to wiggle its way through his guts as the much needed break seemed slip away. This only worsened when the droid reported back. "Rangers." The droid began. "R00M-8A has completed its sweep and has only found one object of interest. This screw." Bak-Ru rolled his eyes. A dead bird and a loose screw. How much did the department pay for these damn hunks of junk?! What the hell were they to do now?!

It would be then that he would realize the sensation almost tickling the back of his leg. It felt almost like a breeze that made the fabric of his pants flutter ever so slightly, but...warmer. A stark contrast to the cool night air that drifted across the back of his neck. Soon enough his eyes would be drawn to the source behind him. An exhaust port, right at the base of the rooftop wall. With swift motion he would kneel down and turn on the built in light of the data pad. What would he see? Grating plate that kept debris and critters out of the exhaust shaft. One screw missing out of the top, left corner. There, just an arm lengths in, the butt of a rifle. "Gentlemen." Bak called out to the other two. "Take a look at this!"

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