“Did you hear what happened aboard Serenity this morning?!” Chief Petty Officer Geoff Morrey asked as he blazed into the staff offices of the Polaris Squadron JAG. He was more than a bit worked up. “Apparently, the lieutenant shot himself in the head.”

“Come again?” asked Commander Drake, setting down his copy of the Eridani Law Journal, where he’d just been reading an article on protectorate trade rights. “Who shot themselves in the head?”

“Lieutenant Jace Morgan.”

A pin drop could have been heard in the silence that followed. The attorneys, investigators and adjutants milling about the office were all more than a bit familiar with that name. Jace Morgan, an operations officer from the USS Serenity, was one of the three officers they were preparing to charge for war crimes perpetrated on Nasera during the Lost Fleet crisis.

“Are you sure?” Commander Drake asked, caught aback by the news. He didn’t doubt that the Chief had done his research first, but it was a shocking development if true.

Lieutenant Commander Terok, the team’s forensic medical examiner, had already pulled up the latest medical logs from the USS Serenity, and he quickly confirmed what the chief had heard:  “According to latest report from Lieutenant Feyir, medical staff reported to Lieutenant Morgan’s quarters at approximately 0500 hours, and he was declared dead upon arrival.”

“What was the cause of death?”

“The preliminary autopsy finds cause of death to be a single polaron discharge to the right parietal,” Lieutenant Commander Terok explained. “And security is tentatively considering it a suicide after they matched the resonance frequency to that of Lieutenant Morgan’s sidearm, which was found at his side.”

“What’s curious is who stumbled upon the lieutenant,” Chief Morrey noted. “Chief Petty Officer Ayala Shafir.” That name was also familiar to them all.

“Captain Lewis’ intelligence specialist found him?” Commander Drake furled his brow. “That is certainly curious.” Lieutenant Morgan was, by far, the most likely to flip from Lewis’ goon squad, and his death was thus quite convenient for Captain Lewis and Dr. Hall. To suppose that this was an intentional cover up would be a stretch, but Commander Drake had learned that, when dealing with people like Captain Lewis, anything was possible. “Terok, get over to the Serenity and insert yourself into the investigation.”

The Vulcan nodded and headed for the door. If anything was amok, he’d find it.

Commander Drake turned back to Chief Morrey. “Do we know anything else? Did the Lieutenant leave a note or a log? Did he say anything to anyone?” If the lieutenant had legitimately taken his own life, there should have been warning signs. “And for that matter, have we even confirmed he was right handed?”

“Yes, he was right handed,” Chief Morrey chuckled, amused that he and the Commander had gone straight to the same place. “And no, nothing so far as to his mental state, but tonight, I’m going drinking.” Everyone knew what that meant. The gregarious chief was notorious for digging up evidence while knocking them back with unsuspecting subjects.

“If there were any doubts about the guilt of Captain Lewis and his team, I think we can put those to bed now,” Commander Drake addressed the entire team. “Lieutenant Morgan’s death is either a guilt-ridden escape or a dirty cover up, and neither of those happen when everyone’s innocent.”

Around the room, there were only nods of agreement.

“Lieutenant Kel’don,” Commander Drake asked as he turned towards the Rotciv attorney who was leading drafting and would serve as his second chair when at last the case went to trial. “How soon can you turn a final on the preferral of charges?”

“I can flip it back to you before you’re up tomorrow,” the lieutenant nodded dutifully. It would be a late night, but that sort of came with the territory. The opportunity to serve as second chair in a high profile case like this made it more than worth losing a bit of sleep.

“Very well. I’ll get time on Reyes’ calendar first thing in the morning,” Commander Drake smiled. “It’s well past time justice be delivered.” In less than a day’s time, they’d be leveling formal charges against Captain Lewis and Dr. Hall, and then he’d get to work ensuring neither of them would ever commit war crimes in the name of the Federation again.

“Do we know who our preliminary hearing officer will be yet?” asked Lieutenant Kel’don, fully aware the first hurdle they would face would not be the trial itself, but rather the hearing to determine if the charges had merit to move forward to a general court martial.

“Yes, I just received notice that Captain Eleazar Adler has been assigned as our PHO,” Commander Drake confirmed, drawing a series of nods from around the room. Eleazar Adler was a name known to all of them, and it indicated just how seriously the case was being taken. “I’m told he will arrive in just over a week’s time.”

“Do we want to consider waiting until he arrives before we show our hand to Captain Lewis and Dr. Hall?” Chief Morrey suggested. “It might give us time to solicit more testimony.” It was not lost on any of them that the physical evidence they had was more than a bit circumstantial, and while Commander Drake was an excellent litigator, Chief Morrey was still hoping he might be able to conjure up an admission from one of the witnesses.

“And leave more time for our witnesses to turn up dead or our evidence to get lost?! Fuck no,” Commander Drake retorted. It came off a bit more aggressive than he meant it, but the news of Lieutenant Morgan’s suicide has shaken him a bit. “There’s nothing else we’ll surface keeping the status quo in place. But look on the bright side… a week in confinement might be good for our dear captain and that sick excuse for a counselor.”