At first, Garner Cole was disoriented and didn't know where he was. Without thinking, he had a gun tightly gripped in his hand: The reflexes of a former soldier. He listened carefully and then heard it again. It was a soft door chime. His eyes tried to adjust to the dark but the only illumination was a faint glow of a holographic clock on a side table. Where am I? The digital clock indicated 3:30 AM. There was an insistent knocking and a muffled sound of a voice from outside.

His implant was off so he could not access his personal AI or any other network. Did I turn off my Artificial Intelligence? Normally Jem, the AI implant would kick in and situate him to time, surroundings and any other data. In truth, the clock on the table was a visual conceit to help create the impression of date and time via the senses. Just as the dimming of lights helped facilitate artificial day/night cycles, the clock was just another reminder of time and place. Even with an internal AI, the mind sought out sensory indicators. Clocks and wrist watches continued to exist to satisfy that need.

"Lights," called out Cole in a gravelly voice. "Low," he said, acting in precaution. Illumination faded in enough to make out the surroundings.

The room was small and there was a slight thrum under foot. I'm aboard a ship, thought Cole. He was still groggy and his entire body ached. He stood and surveyed the room. The cabin had a single bed with the covers still on. He must have slept atop of them. There was a datadesk across from the bed with an empty coffee cup upon it. The insignia on the cup was for Blue Star Lines and beneath that read the words: Niagara.

At last it came to him where he was.

The knocking continued at the cabin door. "I'm coming," Cole said. He looked at himself in the mirror. His dark hair was unkempt and his face was bruised. Several days growth of beard covered some of the battering he had taken but not all. Several recent surgical scars crisscrossed his bare chest. How he looked didn't compare to how he felt though.

His mother used to say of high height in the old way of measuring: Not quite six feet! Today though, his 1.8 metre frame was slumped over in pain. The nanos in his body struggled to heal the many injuries he had. It is why he had shut down his AI: to assist healing as he slept. The AI derived power from his body to interact with the brain even in sleep so some cases such as injury, it was best to turn it off.

A nanomed tank would have better regulated pain, dissipated bruises and nearly erased evidence of scar tissue but he'd chosen not to be treated that way. Three days submerged in the tank would have left him more or less renewed but he wanted to be as far away from the public furor back on Arcturus. It was just too much.

In the dim light, he made his way to the door and tucked the gun into the back of the waistband of his pants. His hand passed the control panel and the video lit up revealing Miguel Rodriguez, steward of the deck.

It had to be something important as the young Venezuelan had pretty much let him to recuperate in his cabin. Meals were brought silently inside and left on the table. It'd been five days since he'd come aboard and the routine had not changed till today.

Cole opened the door. Miguel shifted uncomfortably.

"Sorry, Marshal." Miguel began. "Wouldn't have disturbed you unless it was urgent."

"I know, Miguel," Cole replied. "What is it?"

"The captain has called for you. We have a situation in one of the passenger cabins."

"What sort of situation?" Cole asked.

"Someone is dead," Miguel said. "Or at least we think so. You need to come regardless. It's just...it's very strange."

Cole blinked. He hadn't expected to be on active duty so soon. However, being a Commonwealth Marshal often meant he was expected to be on call at a moment's notice. "I'll get dressed and be with you in a moment."

For Cole that meant strapping on a gunbelt around his waist and sliding his Clarkson & Koora Mark III pulse pistol into the low slung holster. He had slept in his clothes so the only thing he grabbed for was a duster that effectively covered the star on his chest and the gun on his hip. He activated his AI and immediately connected with the ship-wide computer and AI system Blue.

Miguel led Cole down the passenger corridor. The Niagara at 245 metres long, 60 metres wide and 70 metres high was not the biggest of the Blue Star lines but it wasn't the smallest either. At 13 decks, it was fairly straight forward in its lay-out. Passenger decks comprised 10 decks, crew deck including bridge, engine room and quarters took up 2 decks and there was a very large cargo deck at the bottom of the ship. On the frontier, there were no pleasure cruise ships. Cargo was paramount in terms of importance and all passenger ships had large holds to supply the burgeoning growth of humanity beyond the fringe.

The Niagara had a full passenger and cargo manifest on the present voyage. 2,600 passengers were assigned varying classifications of compartments from standard cabin to suite. The compartments were also set up for humanoid and non-humanoid lifeforms and different atmospheres and gravity settings were available on some decks. The crew of 600 had cabin assignments all over the ship as befitting their jobs which served the ship operations or passenger service. Lastly, there were nearly 500 robots and droids aboard the Niagara of various sizes and tasked with various duties.

Miguel brought Cole to the Central Plaza. At this time of night, it was not very busy but during regular hours, it was a gathering place of restaurants, lounges and other entertainment facilities. Only the casino remained a hive of noisy activity at far end of the plaza. They entered an elevator and Miguel punched the key to the Main Deck. This was where the first class compartments were and just below the superstructure of the Command Decks which encompassed bridge, environmental systems, communications and officers compartments.

"Main deck?" questioned Cole.

Miguel nodded grimly. Criminal infractions usually didn't happen on the top deck. If it was to happen anywhere, it happened on the lower decks where they'd just come from.

The lift was very fast. The doors slid open to the Main reception desk and Miguel led Cole out and towards the passenger compartments beyond. There was a lot more activity at the horseshoe shaped desk. A number of ship's officers were present and seated in a number of chairs nearby were stewards and housekeeping staff. They looked scared. Several robots and droids appeared to be waiting as well.

Cole was annoyed. If a crime had taken place, it was very likely that his crime scene and witnesses were being thoroughly tainted.

Miguel led Cole down one or two corridors. The colours in first class area were rich and the carpets luxurious. With one final turn, they arrived at a cul-de-sac with doors to three cabins positioned in a semi-circle. It was a nodule on the port side of the ship offering breathtaking views for those rooms to the outside.

It was in the nodule's roomy alcove that a large group of people had congregated. Cole noted that Captain, First Officer and Security Chief were present. He recognized the security man who was turned away from the marshal as he and Miguel entered.

There were engineering staff, security officers and a droid or two present as well. The security officers had the door keypad off. The engineers were assessing the bowed out door to cabin 105.

Miguel stepped up to Captain, a man who seemed capable of smiling based on the laugh lines on his face but now appeared grim-faced and even a bit angry. His gray hair gave him a distinguished look and it was obvious he commanded authority in the ship. Beside the captain was a personal aide droid called Boz.

"This is Marshal Garner Cole, Captain," Miguel said. He turned Cole. "Marshal, Captain Harris Cutler."

The Captain stepped right up to Cole and looked him up and down. "How is that you're aboard my ship and this is the first I've heard about it?" Cutler's tone was confrontational. It was obvious that he was eyeing the visible bruises on Cole's body.

Miguel intervened. "Sir, the Marshal was in his cabin recovering from wounds but was listed on the passenger manifest as law enforcement. I was bringing meals to his cabin. I informed Boz about it."

Boz was a standard bi-pedal aide droid separate from the Captain and the ship's AI. Cutler gave the droid a withering look that didn't register with the unemotional droid.

Cutler grunted in disgust. "Look, we have someone barricaded in their cabin under questionable circumstances. We don't have time for burn outs. Go back to your cabin and sleep whatever it is you're sleeping off."

Miguel was horrified. "Sir, the Marshal isn't..."

However, Cutler was not listening. He motioned for two people to come forward. His First Officer Commander Anna Chung and his Chief of Security Gunter Volks approached.

Chung stepped up curtly not even looking at Cole. Her eyes were only on her Captain.

"Mr. Chung, you will continue to handle the logistics of getting the door open," Cutler said.

"Aye, Captain," Chung answered, turned on her heel and re-joined the team at the door leaving Gunter Volks standing there.

"Mr. Volks, you will handle the investigation," Cutler said. "See if you can spare someone to escort the Marshal back down below."

"With pleasure, Captain," Volks replied.

This was going way too far and Cole, who had been silent to this point, could not be silent anymore. He stepped in front of the captain. Volks moved to intercept but Cole pointed a finger at him. "Back off, Volks. This is not a fight you want."

Volks froze and his eyes widened. The security chief had once been a police officer on the planet Capri, one of the major jumping off points for the frontier. Cole knew the man well and they'd clashed several times in the past.

Cole moved past Volks and blocked Cutler from leaving.

"Step aside, Marshal," Cutler said, eying Cole. The Captain looked like he had been in a few scraps in his day. Cole didn't back down but he wasn't there to fight. He wanted to make a point and it had to be made strongly.

"Captain, with all due respect, I am the senior law enforcement officer present, not Mr. Volks. If a crime has been committed, I'm the investigator tasked by law to do the job."

"Marshal Cole, you look..."

"Terrible," Cole said, finishing the Captain's sentence. "I know, sir."

Before another word could be spoken, a woman stepped up and intervened. "Marshal, what are you doing up?" It was Doctor Kendra Kripisov, ship physician and chief medical officer. She was tall, elegant and had a touch of gray hair which she refused to change.

"You know this man, Kendra?" Cutler asked in surprise.

"Yes, of course. I treated his injuries when he came aboard," she replied.

Captain Cutler shot a glance at Cole and then turned again to the doctor. "What kind of injuries?"

Kripisov smiled. There was a hint of mischief in her look. "Normally doctor-patient confidentiality would apply but as you're the captain and this appears to be of critical interest, let me just say that it was injuries sustained while apprehending a suspect."

Miguel chirped in from the side. "He captured Kentwort Foley."

The captain was taken aback but he didn't soften towards Cole. He fixed a cool look at him.

"It is why I stayed in the cabin, sir," Cole said. "Doctor's orders."

"Which I am displeased to see he isn't following," Kripisov said. "I had Miguel bring his meals and meds directly to his cabin. Hoped that he'd be fully recovered by planet-fall."

Cole figured it was time to get back on topic. "Captain, I need to know what we are dealing with and why I was called up here."

Gunter Volks took a step forward seeing that he was being outmaneuvered in terms of the investigation but the captain waved him off. "Some time this morning, the housekeeping staff heard loud noises. One of the maids arrived just in time to see this."

The captain pointed to the door of cabin 105 and the enormous indentation bent out past the hatch. Something had obviously hit the door with enormous force. Since the hatch doors slid to one side, it was impossible to open the door with the bent out material.

"Has there been any contact from the passenger inside?"

"No," the captain replied tightly. "And when we couldn't get a reply, we did a life signs scan and found nothing."

The Commonwealth Privacy Act generally allowed for a scan for life signs in emergencies. However, such monitoring was not allowed where people had a reasonable expectation of privacy. The blocked door and the lack of a response gave the captain probable cause to go ahead to conduct a scan. The fact that no life was detected meant in all likelihood the person inside was dead. However, it didn't necessarily follow that a crime had taken place.

"No chance the room is empty?" Cole asked.

"No," said Volks sourly. "There is a heat signature inside that is cooling."

Cole eyed Volks. They were near the same height but the security chief was wiry, had thinning hair and thin lips. On Capri the man had been a rather thuggish law enforcer. His investigative skills had been sub-par. Aboard the Niagara he was valued more for his ability to quell any trouble in the lower berths rather than his crime solving abilities in the wealthy sections. In any event, the Artificial Intelligence and security systems on the ship were equipped with forensic and investigative tools that even non law enforcement could use.

A man like Volks was hired for his military training which Cole knew was considerable and particularly brutal. Increasingly piracy was taking on bigger and bigger ships and even passenger liners were doing more to protect their ships inside and out. Part of that was to make sure hijackings did not take place out in deep space. While he was not likely ever to be a thinking man's detective, the man was good in a fight. His specialty had been close quarters combat with the Special Forces.

Dr. Kripisov stepped forward. "The heat decay is consistent with human death. I took the readings myself."

Cole nodded. "You will be sending in a forensic pod?"

"Commander Chung is preparing one now," Kripisov said motioning to the Glasgow's First Officer who placed a tube at around head level on the hatch. It adhered to the surface using nanites. A hotshot puck consisting of nano-technology robots was inserted in the tube followed by a silver orb in the tube. The puck activated and began eating a hole in the cabin wall. Nanite waste was pushed back down the tube past the pod and formed a new wall that began forming a plug.

A forensic orb was commonly used aboard starships to determine the status inside and outside the ship. The pod was able to travel swiftly and magnetically as if weightless. It was particular effective in determining what was on the other side of a bulkhead.

"It is set up and good to go, Doctor, Captain" said Chung, stepping back from the door.

"Let's proceed with this then," Captain Cutler said. He fixed his stare on the door, face grim.

Chung unfolded a briefcase controller atop a hastily set up work table. The manual operating system consisted of a number of small joysticks although the orb was able to function on its own based on the tasks at hand. On the back of the briefcase was a holo-emitter which was able to project a three dimensional image about chest level near the case.

"The orb should be through in a few moments," Kripisov announced as she powered up the module.

"Too bad we can't use nanites to eat past the whole door," said Miguel marveling at the speed the microscopic robots worked.

"Only the military has breaching rings like that," Chung said matter of factly. "We'd not have much use for them on a passenger liner."

"Except now," Miguel said, grinning. Chung shot him a sour look.

"An orb is better in this case," Cole said. It preserves a possible crime scene integrity and collects a wide range of data."

"In what way?" Miguel asked.

"It will tell us what the quality of air was inside, identify poisons or toxins. It will record heat signatures and create a 360 degree holographic image of the room..."

Cole was cut off by a beeping.

"The orb is through to the cabin inside, captain" Chung said.

"Confirmed," Kripisov said. "Data streaming in now.

The captain nodded and a semi-circle assembled behind Chung at the controls. A three dimensional video was thereafter projected in front of the gathered crowd. The floor to ceiling image shown was just inside the cabin door. It was dark but farther ahead appeared to be sparks of some kind emanating from the corridor wall light. The orb rotated slowly around. To the left was the wall and to the right was an alcove leading to a walk-in closet. A mirror on the wall reflected an image of the orb at head level.

"See how the other half lives, Marshal?" Miguel said with a tight smile. "This is a suite. Much larger than your standard cabin."

Cole ignored the young steward. "What are the readings inside?"

Kripisov looked at the data stream coming from the orb. "Air is normal, no sign of contaminates, toxins. Temperature is cooler; perhaps broken or malfunctioning heating system. Most of the lights are broken or not operational. I am switching to a low light filter."

"Can you scan for particulate matter?" Cole asked.

"Yes, what are you looking for?" replied Kripisov.

"Evidence of nano-technology," Cole stated.

Everyone around Cole shared looks. "You don't think nanites assembled and dissembled in there, do you?" A wide-eyed Miguel asked.

"I don't think anything," answered Cole. "We're gathering any and all information. We don't know what we have here."

"Where next? Kripisov asked. The orb was still pointed down the corridor

The orb could do a 360 degree view but for the purposes of the search and to make it easy for those watching, the image was a straight ahead shot.

"Pan right to the closet," said Cole. The camera view turned right. A few items of clothing hung from the hangers "Tilt down now."

Kripisov did as instructed. There was a murmur of surprise when the twisted metal was seen on the floor. Something had been yanked off its moorings.

Cutler leaned and frowned. "Turn the cam around. Let's see the door."

Kripisov rotated the orb so that it was looking back at the entry door.

"It's close," Cutler said. "I can't see anything."

"I'll move the orb slowly into the cabin and widen the shot," Kripisov replied.

The orb moved slowly and the camera view became wider until the entire door came into view. A few gasps escaped lips.

"That's the room safe smashed into the door!" exclaimed Chung who stood a step behind her captain. "But how's that even possible? The safes are anchored to the floor. Four crew members couldn't move that assuming they could even squeeze into the closet to try."

"Doubt there is anyone on this ship who could pull that thing off its base," concurred Miguel.

Boz, the Captain's droid chimed in. "The crew member is correct. No lifeform could physically twist the safe from an anchored position."

"What about artificial lifeforms?" Miguel inquired. "Droids, for example."

Boz took a moment to compute before answering. "No ship droid, robot or artificial lifeform on the ship's manifest appears to be capable of removing the safe in this manner."

Cole's brow furrowed but he did not appear flustered by this information even as those around him reacted in surprise. In fact, he seemed determined to move on. "Rotate the orb and proceed farther into the cabin.

Kriprisov set the orb deeper into the cabin. Everyone watched as the picture revealed damage to walls and furniture ahead. And blood. Blood was splattered everywhere. In addition to video, the orb had audio capabilities but all you could hear was the hiss of re-circulating air. The cabin opened up beyond the corridor and the camera did a slow pan which revealed the king-sized bed. It was hard to see amongst the debris but a swirl of bloody sheets covered a female form. Shards of glass and other objects were embedded deep into a naked back. Clothes lay in tatters all over. Blood was pooled on the floor.

Miguel broke the silence. "What does this mean? She was killed? Murdered?"

Volks smacked his lips in disgust. "I've never seen anyone who could stab themselves in the back... several times."

"But how?" Captain Cutler asked. "The door is barred. If she was killed, where is her killer?"

Cole stepped from back from the console and looked again at the bowed out door where the safe crashed through. He scratched his chin. "Captain, I think you have a genuine mystery here.

Miguel's eyes widened in wonder. "A murder mystery in this day and age. Wow."

Captain Cutler looked positively disgusted at that prospect.