With a phaser, a tricorder, handcuffs, a flashlight, and a pouch on her belt filled with energy bars, Izi and the medical team she was escorting, a doctor, a nurse, and two orderlies, beamed down from the Mercy, appearing in one of the colony business districts. The shock of the devastation made her antennae go rigid. Buildings were in various stages of damage, from almost none, to completely leveled. Smoke from a fire billowed into the air, floating on the wind like a menacing spirit seeking someone to possess. Bodies lay in the street. Izi could hear people crying. She had never seen anything like it and it made her stomach churn. Even the medical people were stunned. Doctor Ben Parker was the first to speak, addressing the orderlies.

“Check the bodies first.” He began scanning the area, moving closer to the damaged structures.

Izi watched the orderlies. They checked six, but all of them were gone.

“Lieutenant.”

Izi was so overwhelmed, she hadn’t sensed the doctor approaching her.

“There’s someone in that building. We should start there.”

Izi nodded. “I’ll go in first.” Taking a last look at the orderlies and their grim task, she moved to the place Doctor Parker indicated, a restaurant called, Pam’s Place. The door was ajar, so she peered inside. The interior was a mess, with tables strewn about and chairs spread across the dining area, but what mattered most, was a woman lying on the floor, a man sitting next to her, and a Romulan with dried blood from a gash in his neck. A disruptor and a dagger lay on the floor next to him.

The woman, a Human in her thirties, was wearing a blouse that was torn and bloody. Her eyes were open in a blank death stare. The man gazed at nothing, probably suffering from shock.

Izi went inside, secured the weapons, and confirmed the Romulan was dead. looking around and satisfied no one else was there, she motioned for Doc Parker and the nurse to enter. While they worked, she stood in the doorway, keeping an eye on the orderlies.

In Starfleet Academy, there were training scenarios that simulated relief efforts like this, but no matter how realistic a holo exercise was, everyone knew they weren’t real. The emotional and psychological impact just wasn’t part of it. There was no preparation for the real thing.

“Lieutenant, a word outside please.”

Izi went back onto the street with Doctor Parker.

“The man is in shock; he barely spoke,” said Parker. “The woman is his wife. She has a disruptor burn on her chest, but my scans detected something suspicious.”

“Oh?” Izi was intrigued.

“Her cause of death wasn’t from an energy weapon. The burn is post-mortem.”

“What are you saying, Doctor?”

“She was stabbed in the heart.”

“By the Romulan?” said Izi, her antennae moving in slow circles.

“Maybe, but that doesn’t explain the burn,” said Parker. “I’m a doctor, not a detective. This is your mystery to solve.”

“Thank you, Doc.”

Back in the restaurant, when the nurse finished treating the man, Izi asked him to go outsde with her.

“I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you.” The man’s voice was quiet.

“I’m Lieutenant Iziraa. I’d like to ask you some questions. Anything you can tell me could help with who did this.”

“Isn’t it obvious? It was the Separatists.”

“I still need to investigate.” Izi activated her PADD. “Can you tell me your name?”

“Daniel Blair. That was my wife…” He began to choke up.

“What happened inside, Mister Blair?”

“We were attacked by a Romulan. He killed my beautiful wife. I fought as best as I could. He was stronger, but I was able to get his dagger from him. I.. I…”

Blair’s story wasn’t adding up. Izi also noticed he wouldn’t look her in the eye. Since he was emotionally compromised, she decided to come hard at him, certain he would rattle and break.

“Mister Blair, before we go any further, I must inform you that you have the right to remain silent. You also have the right to legal representation.”

“I don’t have anything to hide.”

That surprised Izi, as she expected Blair to not answer her questions anymore.

“There’s something here I’m not seeing, Mister Blair. You see, Doctor Parker scanned your wife and she didn’t die from a disruptor, she was stabbed. The disruptor wound came after she was dead.”

“What? Your doctor was wrong.”

Blair’s reaction and accusation was so comical, Izi almost laughed.

“Mister Blair, did you murder your wife and try to make it appear as though she was killed by an energy weapon?”

“How dare you! I’m done talking. Who is your captain? I’m filing a formal complaint.”

“Maybe you’ll meet him. Turn around. You’re under arrest for the murder of Pamela Blair.”

A few tense moments passed. Blair swung at Izi, but she blocked it, held him in an arm lock, kicked his leg out from under him, bringing him to the ground. While she cuffed him, Blair screamed obscenities, vowing to have her thrown out of Starfleet.

“Lieutenant Iziraa to Mercy.”

“Mercy here. Go ahead.”

“I arrested one of the colonists for murder. I need him transported to the brig.”

There was a pause. “Please repeat that, Lieutenant.”

Izi said it again.

“Stand by.”

Once Blair had been transported to the Mercy, Izi noticed the two orderlies staring at her.

“That was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen!”