I know, I know! It has been soooo long since I updated. We have had a lot going on these last few months, but I am finally back. I have been writing bits and pieces of this chapter since posting chapter two. I'll admit, Eleanor Gray is a difficult character to get right. Being in the right headspace to portray her with justice...I've had to ask my partner, Firefall several times if I was going alright. At this point of working for months, I feel I understand her character much better and should be easier to write from now on.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Let me know and I'll see you in the next update!

Chapter Three
Unofficial Assistance

Eleanor Gray
Crescentia Space Port

Surgeon Lieutenant-Commander Eleanor Gray found herself feeling out of place the moment her foot stepped beyond the threshold of the large, black iron gates of the Crescentia Naval Base. A feeling that was not such a familiar sensation anymore, but the second she left that bubble of familiarity, it left an uncomfortable tension in her shoulders.

Over the course of several years, Eleanor had grown tolerant of the people she worked with at the Crescentia Naval Hospital or those she frequently shipped out with – some more than others – that the outsider feeling died away. With all the familiar faces either on base or vessels, Eleanor never made it a habit to spend time off the base to explore the rest of Crescentia. Why would she? Everything she required to sustain herself was within the walls. Her small apartment building tucked away near the back of the housing district, the shopping market, and the large hospital she spent ninety percent of her time at were all tucked within the walls, so there was never interest to venture beyond…except for today when her old comrade Captain Amelia approached her on the way home from the hospital.

"Dr Gray?" Eleanor snapped her head to the left at the sound of her name. Amelia had stopped a few paces down the sidewalk to glance back at her. "Coming along?"

She gave a nod of her head, watching Amelia turn forward to continue her gait. Gripping the strap of her leather medical satchel across her chest, Eleanor turned to trail behind the shorter Felinid as she was led away from the naval base, heading for the Crescentia civilian ports where Amelia mentioned the RLS Legacy was moored. The Macropodian shifted her green eyes to glance at the unknown Canid civilian who had been following Amelia since meeting a bit ago. Lowering her brows as she took in the well-worn clothing he wore, from the frayed strings along the seams of his sleeves, to the erosion on the shoulders – most likely from moths. Eleanor looked away from him before he took notice of her investigation.

Eleanor glanced over at the bustle and obvious disorder of the Crescentia dockhands behind the Canid as they walked. To any other, they would be able to hear the shouts of orders, the creaking of the machinery lifting crates of cargo, the squawking of the manta birds hovering around, or even the horn of the carriages passing by, but Eleanor could not hear it the way she knew Amelia could. Being born deaf, her world of hearing was one of her own creations. Having to imagine what things sounded like in the unknown world around her until her parents took her to receive hearing aids at the age of five, no doubt her father's way of trying to make her normal in the public eye. But, thanks to the devices wrapped around her ears, Eleanor could finally receive the world, though never like a person of hearing. The aids offered muffled sounds loud enough to help Eleanor be conscious of her surroundings and follow a conversation without relying solely on lipreading. Conversations being heard as muffled voices – like they covered their mouths with their hands.

Eleanor focused away from the docks when a passing carriage whirred by unexpectedly, leaving a loud enough noise to make her ears twitch. She scowled in annoyance.

Digging into her coat pocket for a small notebook, she wrote a hasty message and quickened her pace to hold it out in front of Amelia. The captain staggered in her step when the note appeared before her, blocking Amelia from the path forward.

WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO TELL ME WHAT HAS HAPPENED? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE? Eleanor had written.

Amelia turned her eyes to Eleanor, a look of hurt on her face – feigned, however, indicated by the smile. "What makes you say I've done something?"

Eleanor lowered her brows to show her seriousness, shoving her notebook in her pocket to free her hands to sign – a faster means of communication she preferred with others she knew could follow along. Amelia was not as fluent as the two others she knew, but Amelia had studied enough to converse with her in longer sentences than the short-written responses Eleanor used with everyone else.

'The Nebula War and Capra come to mind.' Eleanor signed, studying Amelia's body language. 'You and trouble have a habit of colliding. You've barely recovered from a recent injury as well.'

Turning her body just slightly so her hands were visible to Eleanor's eyes, Amelia began to sign. "That was not my fault, to be fair."

'All the same. How are your ribs doing, by the way? You missed our last appointment,' Eleanor incorporated her irritation in her hand gestures, glancing at the Canid who stepped closer while glancing back and forth from them both.

"Is everything alright?" He asked, looking at Amelia with a frown of worry.

She didn't turn her head to acknowledge his question. Instead, Amelia lifted her hands to sign her words. "Everything will be explained once we reach the Legacy."

Eleanor got two gestures with her hands before Amelia turned away to continue her saunter towards her ship just ahead – Eleanor counted two piers ahead of the Legacy while she watched the Felinid. The Canid side glanced unsure at Eleanor before he went to follow behind the captain, using a quick pace to catch up. Adjusting her glasses on her prolonged nose, fixing the collar of her white coat, she sighed and set off with long strides to draw near Amelia once more. It took her little effort to resume her place just beside the captain with her longer legs.

Neither of her company offered any more conversation to her nor to each other, so they all traveled the rest of the distance in silence, her hearing aids falling as deaf as she was.

With the short walk, Eleanor decided to pull out her notes from the previous work night and review them, arranging them in the proper order of urgency – not that a broken arm, flesh wound to the leg, or vomiting were considered imperative. She took care of them all when they arrived during the night and left their care to her colleague at shift change. Eleanor suspected it would be easy for them, only one of them was an inpatient while the other two just needed to be sent home after their latest labs came back.

By the time she had gotten her notes in a somewhat orderly manner, the Legacy finally came into full view. Shoving her notes in her bag, Eleanor glanced over the large scale of the heavy scout reserve ship – not as large as some of the ships she's served on, but it still surprised her with its size. The familiar wooden build painted in blue, gold, and red. Her sails were furled up against the yard arms, unable to move in the breeze blowing through, but the Royal Navy Jack flew freely at the top of the mainmast – Mantabirds finding a nice perch in the tops. They remained unbothered by their presence as Eleanor followed the pair into the vacant pier towards the gangway hooked on the ship's port side. Amelia stopped just before the gangway and motioned with a hand at Eleanor.

"Doctor," she said, a slight lift in the corner of her mouth.

With her brow cocked upward, Eleanor headed up the gangway first, not bothering to use the ropes that acted in place of a railing. Walking up without much trouble, except for the slight sway from the breeze coming in from the Etherium beyond, Eleanor gave a glance behind her to find Amelia had followed up with the Canid coming from the rear.

Eleanor stepped free of the gangway to land on the solid timber of the Legacy's main decking, adjusting her glasses that had tilted from the short drop. A sudden, harsh gust blew over her fur, slipping through the short wayward strands of hair around her ear that had escaped her bun, but even with that airstream, the overwhelmingly familiar smell of rotten organic matter filled her nose the moment her feet carried her on the deck. Lowering her brows, she looked towards her left, just past the mainmast, to find a wooden crate placed atop a large tarpaulin in front of a hatchway.

Not waiting for Amelia, Eleanor headed off for the crate – where the smell was emanating from. She briefly heard the tap of Amelia's boots hitting the deck and following behind her quickly. Eleanor rounded the crate to find the source of the smell. She didn't flinch, not like any normal person would at such a sight, she simply stared with a twitch of her ear. With all the straw, she couldn't see much, but what she could see were parts of bodies jumbled within it.

She turned her head to Amelia when she approached beside her. Raising her brow with question in her eyes and the slightest tilt of her head.

Amelia raised her hands to her chest, hesitating for a moment with a struggling thought in her eyes before she hesitantly began signing. "They were discovered in the crate while the cargo was being unloaded, to put it simply."

Eleanor straightened her face, reaching for her notebook and pen from her pocket, then wrote quickly. SO…NOT CREW.

Amelia read her short note swiftly then shook her head. "No, they are not. Everyone was accounted for during the headcount. The CPA said they're stowaways, most likely boarded the ship we took this cargo load from at Briga." She stated.

Eleanor dropped her brows in confusion. CPA HAS ALREADY BEEN HERE FOR THE BODIES? WHY DID YOU BRING ME HERE THEN?

Amelia smiled thinly. "I was under a mistaken assumption regarding their capacity."

MEANING?

"I had assumed that being in charge of the spaceport they'd want to know why a load of corpses turned up here."

Eleanor gave a single nod, pulling a face. AND THEY DO NOT?

"Apparently, it's not their concern. Nor is it anything to trouble the Customs Service or the Montressorian authorities." Amelia half rolled her eyes. "But after a most informative conversation, this is still a Queen's ship…"

Eleanor gave a look of understanding while she nodded. SO, BRINGING ME HERE…YOU'RE LOOKING INTO THE MATTER YOURSELF.

Amelia grinned after reading her note, seeming to enjoy that Eleanor didn't phrase it as a question. "For now, yes, my own investigation. Unless and until I can find something significant enough to draw the CPA's interest. But I'm going to need help to do that. Specifically, your help, Eleanor. This…" Amelia waved at the sorry scene before them, "…is not really my area of expertise."

WELL…IT'S A GOOD THING YOU KNOW ME ISN'T IT.

Eleanor shoved her notebook and pen into her pocket after Amelia's chuckle. Despite the pungent smell of rotting meat, Eleanor stepped closer than anyone else dared to peer at the bodies beside the crate. Setting her satchel on the deck beside her leg to grab something, she surveyed the scene with her practiced eye behind her glasses. Having spent years in the field as a military surgeon, there were few sights these days that had the power to shock her…and this one did not – especially witnessing the horrors at Badlanding. Slipping the gloves over her hands with a snap, Gray leaned further forward to move the straw around carefully to get a better look at what she was observing. She took mental notes of the bodies she observed. Anything she found mixed in the straw with them she mapped so as to find them later and bag. Eleanor lifted from her crouch to glance inside the crate itself.

"Let me ask you," Amelia pointed to draw Eleanor's attention to the holes at the top of the crate, "what do you make of these? I'd bet my rank they were drilled from the outside."

Eleanor moved further inside the crate to get a better look, lifting her finger to trace the groves in the wood the tool left behind. Making more mental notes in her initial assessment. Several minutes came and went before Eleanor felt confident she scrutinized everything she could in plain sight, then dug into her pocket for her notebook once again. She wrote in rapid pen strokes, turning her upper body to face where Amelia waited at the mouth of the crate.

THERE ARE THREE BODIES. ALL HUMANOID. Eleanor had written, handing the book to the Felinid while she crawled out of the confined space.

Eleanor caught the curious, watchful eye of the Canid while she conversed her findings with Amelia. Noting the embarrassed tint to his cheeks at being spotted. The brief introduction Amelia gave back on base told her little about him beyond the fact that the Canid was a dear friend – she suspected he was more than that – who often helped her update the Legacy's ancient star charts when returning from a voyage. Her first initial impression of him was set after the fool opened his fumbling mouth to great her, not knowing of her deafness, and stumbled some more upon his mouth when Amelia informed him about her lack of hearing after she wrote her greeting down. Though, she gave points of respect once she learned of his intelligence for the space they often traveled. Even Eleanor respected another who held a doctorate – even if it was a different kind.

"What else can you tell?" Amelia asked.

Eleanor shrugged. 'Not all that much to tell you the truth. At least not at the present moment. I'd have to forensically examine them to give you any real answers regarding their deaths.' Eleanor pushed herself to stand straight. 'But I do agree with your observation on the air-holes. They were drilled from the outside in.'

"What would you require to examine them?"

'I need time, proper space, and the right equipment to do the autopsies.' She looked at the bodies briefly before returning to Amelia – who had followed her gaze. 'The state of decomposition is rapidly destroying whatever evidence is left. Being left out in the open and the maggots aren't a big help either. They need to be stored in a place that slows that down until I have all I need, or they need to be brought to the hospital at this very moment if you want as many answers as possible.'

Amelia nodded her understanding. Tapping her chin with her finger. "I see."

"Amelia? What is it?" The Canid spoke, stepping up beside her.

"Dr Gray can examine the bodies to better understand who they are and how they died, but she needs the bodies moved to stop the decomposition that's destroying what evidence remains."

Eleanor watched the pair interact with each other, doing her best to follow their lips while she removed her gloves inside out and stored in a bag until she could toss them into a bin.

"Well, doesn't the Legacy have a cold storage compartment that's used to preserve food? Would that be cold enough to slow the decay?" The Canid offered up.

Eleanor raised a brow at the suggestion.

"Quite brilliant." Amelia signed, turning her eyes to Eleanor. "You could examine them there?"

Eleanor looked down to the bodies while she thought about the suggestion for a moment, then turned back to give a single nod. ACCEPTABLE.

The Canid suddenly raised a hand. "Um…does that mean we have to…move the bodies ourselves?"

Amelia chuckled at the look of disdain Eleanor formed at the bloke's obvious hesitancy to touch the remains, so she shook her head quickly to ease them both.

"No. Remember that the CPA was sending people to help remove them from the ship? We'll just ask them to-" Amelia turned to look around towards the gangway, and Eleanor followed her line of sight – not yet able to hear what the Felinid obviously did. Turning back with a smile, Amelia rested her hands at her lower back. "Speaking of which…"

Eleanor glanced at the short man wearing a rather large tricorn hat who stood at the edge of the gangway. She recognized him as the commissioner of the Port Authorities on Crescentia. Eleanor had never spoken with the man personally, but she had heard about him in passing. Mott was his name?

He touched his hat before speaking. "Permission to come aboard?"

"Granted, Mr Mott. I'm grateful for your assistance." Amelia nodded while the commissioner stepped onto the deck, followed by four larger people of the sort mostly chosen for their strength rather than intellect. Eleanor reached up behind her ear to adjust the volume on her hearing aid, feeling she will need the extra advantage to follow the conversation.

Eleanor watched the new arrivals cross the deck towards them as she shoved the bag of used gloves into her satchel and adjusted her glasses. Mott made a grimacing look when he came upon the bodies and the smell was it's strongest. He lifted his hand to motion at the men behind him.

"All right, go ahead gentlemen. Gather the stretchers and body bags and let us get these out of here."

Amelia adjusted to stand tall. "These bodies are staying aboard."

Mott blinked; perplexity written over every inch of his rounded face. "Pardon, Captain?"

"These bodies are remaining aboard." Amelia stated.

"I…but…who's order-" Mott stared at the captain like she just spoke a foreign language.

Eleanor watched Amelia take a step closer to the tangled bodies – like she was standing her ground against an enemy. "By my order. I am claiming naval jurisdiction over this vessel."

Mott was taken aback. "The Duty Director said they were to be removed."

"Yes. He did, but while it may be his port, Commissioner Mott, this is my ship. Or more importantly, it's the Queen's ship. The CPA's authority ends at that gangway over there." She pointed briefly behind them then returned her hand at the base of her spine.

"Well, yes, that's obviously true, but-"

"Good. Now that that matters settled, have your men carry the bodies down to the ship's cold storage area." Amelia crossed her arms. "Then you may go. Report to Mr Coleridge and tell him what's happening."

Mott gripped his portfolio tightly, Eleanor wondered if the papers stuffed inside were crinkling. "My orders from him-"

"Were your orders. They weren't mine."

"I…" the confused man looked around at the three of them, then to the men waiting behind him before he returned to Amelia, "what do you propose to do with them?"

Amelia gestured at Eleanor. "The Surgeon Lieutenant-Commander will be conducting an examination."

"Examination? Why? I thought there wasn't going to be an investigation…"

"The CPA won't be investigating, no, but as I said, this is not the CPA's ship." Amelia raised an eyebrow pointedly, and Eleanor knew that look. "Have you any objections, Mr Mott? Do you wish to tell a Queen's officer what they can and can't do aboard the Queen's ship?"

Eleanor was not the only one to look towards Amelia from the tone of voice. The Canid looked to her with a tension of unease in his shoulders. Eleanor noticed his arm twitch like he was going to reach up and touch her arm.

"I – well, no, of course not." Mott finally answered, looking uncomfortable under Amelia's gaze.

"Then you will do me the courtesy of lending your hands' assistance in moving the bodies down to the ship's cold storage." Said Amelia, stating as if there was no possible alternative option. Eleanor shifted her weight slightly to the other foot.

"I – but – oh," Mott stammered before subsiding with a heavy sigh and waving to his men, "very well, Captain. It's your ship, as you say. Do as she tells you, men."

The dockhands were quick about starting their work with an enthusiasm that surprised Eleanor, until she realised that Amelia's curt commands meant that they only had to carry the bodies down a couple of decks instead of all the way back to a morgue somewhere ashore. Once they gathered the supplies needed, the men divided into two teams of two. Laying out black body bags either side of the pile before they started pushing the straw clear from the bodies. Eleanor watched the first body being lifted carelessly from the others, their arms catching with another's and their foot getting caught in the meaty ribs of another – loosing their shoe from the pulling force. Eleanor was about to step in and show those insipid git's how to properly handle a body, but a sudden hand on her shoulder pulled her attention to Amelia and the Canid.

"I know better than to get in your way while you work, so are you alright for me to leave you?" Amelia dropped her hand to rest at her side again.

Eleanor straightened out the collar of her white coat and nodded.

"When do you suspect you'll be able to report any finding to me?"

'No later than midnight, I'd say. It most likely won't be necessary to autopsy all three, so it could be sooner. Cause of death is highly likely to be identical in all.' Eleanor signed to Amelia.

The feline nodded her head. "Very well. May I see your notebook?"

Eleanor reached inside her coat pocket to fish out the small, beaten-up booklet and pen, placing it in Amelia's waiting palm. The feline scribbled something quickly onto the first page she flipped to then handed it back to Eleanor. The Macropodian gave the page a glance to find an address written at the bottom of the used page. She gave Amelia a questionable look.

"So you know where to find me when you have a report." Amelia answered her unspoken question.

Eleanor nodded her understanding while she bent the page to find it easier later. She walked over to where she had set her bag down and picked it up to rest across her chest.

"And Eleanor?"

She stopped and looked to Amelia – who lowered her voice, but thankfully Eleanor had turned her hearing aid up.

"Don't let this interfere with your regular duties. This is all…unofficial at this stage. We can't allow it to be noticed." Amelia reminded.

Eleanor nodded her understanding. 'Of course.'

"Thank you." Amelia turned to the Canid. "Well, doctor…there's nothing more for us to do here, and I've kept you up here long enough. Let's go and find a shuttle to take us planetside."

"You know I never mind, but you're probably right. Let us get out of the doctor's way." The Canid said, giving Eleanor a small, nervous smile.

She watched the pair turn away for the gangway, and as Eleanor was about to turn and head down to begin the examination, she caught the Canid raise his arm to rest his hand on her lower back to guide Amelia down the gangway first. With a smirk, Eleanor headed down the stairs to the galley knowing she was right about that Doctor Doppler was more to Amelia than she initially wanted to share.

"Ma'am if you would ju–"

Eleanor Gray shoved then slammed the wooden door of the Legacy's food storeroom in the incompetent man's face before he could finish his excuse. Turning her back and fixing her glasses upon her nose, she adjusted her coat on her shoulders in hopes that it would dispel some of her frustration.

Should have had the bodies bring themselves down here instead of those tools…

With an exasperated sigh, Eleanor walked through the tight path of the dry storage shelves either side of her then passed into the cold room made of insulated panels. She didn't bother closing the door behind her – more for allowing the warm air beyond to slip inside so she didn't freeze too much. Laying side-by-side on the floor were the three black body bags, all zipped closed. Eleanor placed her satchel on the ground and buttoned up her coat while she knelt to her knees. Reaching inside her bag, she dug out a fresh pair of gloves to snap over her hands and reached for the zipper of each bag to open them up and reveal the bodies within. Her frustration returned at seeing the body they had packed upside down.

No respect…

Before touching the decaying flesh, Eleanor pulled her notebook and pen from her pocket to rest on the ground – flipped to a fresh page. Tucking her loose hair behind her ear, she leaned over the first body – ignoring the horrid smell emanating – and began to run her medical eyes over every inch of the body's exterior. Reaching over to lightly touch the tattered clothing to reveal what was underneath or brush the exposed bone from the liquified soft tissue. Eleanor spent several long minutes looking over the first body, finding no signs of physical trauma – not that the state of decay would leave much of that evidence behind in the first place. Eleanor rested back on her heels, picking up her pen and notebook.

BODY ONE: DECEASED MALE – AGE UNDETERMINED – HEIGHT BETWEEN 175 AND 179 CENTIMETERS – NO PHYSICAL TRAUMA FOUND UPON INITIAL EXTERNAL EXAMINATION – STATE OF DECAY TOO ADVANCED – NO IDENTIFIABLE DAMAGE TO THE SKELETON – CLOTHING MOSTLY DECOMPOSED FROM THE BO–

Eleanor halted her pen mid word when something reflected light into her glasses. She turned her head to search the area the reflection had emulated from and grew confused when she found it had come from within the body. Not daring to look away, she placed her notepad and pen down somewhere beside her then reached over to the body, gently digging around in the clothing and liquifying flesh and organs. Thanks to her inadequate hearing, Eleanor couldn't grimace at the squishing noises the body would likely be making. After digging around in what was supposed to be the bodies stomach region, Eleanor's fingers finally touched something out of place. It had a strange feel to it, parts of it were thin and smooth like wet paper, but then other parts were rough and sharply pointed.

Scrunching her brows, she grabbed hold of the item to carefully pull it free of the messy insides. Eleanor's face molded into further confusion at what she held in her hand. The material that felt like paper was soft plastic, something one would use to pack a sandwich for lunch. It was knotted in three places with a pocket in between. Two of the pockets were broken, but one was still intact and held what looked to be multiple-colored crystals. She grasped the bag with her other hand to bring the substance closer, investigating what it could possibly be.

What in the worlds are you supposed to be?

Eleanor looked back to the body.

And what were you doing inside there?

"Oh, good evening,Doctor Gray." The smiling face of the woman behind the tall desk greeted her upon Eleanor's approach.

Eleanor gave a single nod of her head in greeting before shoving her hand inside her lab coat.

"How can I help you today?" The Pantheraion woman – Marble – asked.

Eleanor pulled out a few small bags, clear except for the red and black biohazard logo on the front and placed them on the counter before Marble. Inside each bag held samples of tissue from each body she examined on the Legacy – placed in small, glass tubes of course. Marble opened her mouth to speak, but Eleanor quickly placed an index card atop the pile of bags, a prewritten note.

TOXICOLOGY REPORT RUN ON THESE AND THE REPORT HAND DELIVERED TO ME AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

Marble read the note quickly then glanced to Eleanor over the card. "We are a bit backed up right now, Doctor. The earliest we can get you your results is 24 to 48 hours, if that."

Eleanor shakes her head and hardens her eyes from annoyance. Taking the card from Marbles' hand, Eleanor tapped her finger under 'AS SOON AS POSSIBLE' a few times, slowly – not breaking eye contact. Marble closed her eyes, lifted her shoulders and dropped them like someone did from a sigh.

"Can you explain why?"

Eleanor shook her head.

Marble leaned over to take the sealed bags from the ledge and placed them in a basket. She grabbed a label from a large roll to place over one of the sides. After she grabbed a marker, her eyes lifted back to Eleanor.

"I'll let them know to put a rush on it…but I can't guarantee anything."

Relaxing her eyes, Eleanor pulled out another index card with a single word written in black marker.

APPRECIATED.

Marble gave Eleanor a quick smile and nod of her black-furred head, the silver mop of hair slipped from behind her ear, before she disappeared beyond a solid grey, metal door with a single window placed at eye level.

After the Pantheraion was gone, Eleanor adjusted her glasses then turned in the direction of her office. Following the unyielding walls of shaded greys, Eleanor slipped her hand into her satchel to pull out a crumpled and discolored slip of paper. Ink faded, but still visible enough to make out if she put it under her microscope.

Let us learn what secrets you have to hide.

With as familiar as Eleanor was with the base hospital, it only took her twenty-five minutes to navigate the hospital's maze-like halls to reach her private office – a small space equivalent to a modern sized closet. A square box with her desk taking up most of the usable space in the back half, facing towards the wooden door and single floor to ceiling window looking out into the hallway. Made of light solid wood, a surface that once was reflective until Eleanor marked it repeatedly with her pens. The navy-blue painted walls were lined with bookshelves behind her desk, overflown with medical binders, medical textbooks she held onto after attending university, and loose printed papers she gathered over the years. Eleanor always thought it was unfortunate the window wasn't placed to allow natural light, but she guessed the ceiling light and lamps offered enough to make her believe. At the present moment she only had the lamp set on the small counter turned on.

Eleanor had made a habit to keep a few lab instruments in her office for use during her workday to prepare various workups to be sent off to different labs. She had often found the interns that were assigned to her services to be slow and incompetent. She knew now they had improved since first working with her, but she found she still had to do things herself in order to be done sufficiently.

Bent over slightly above her personal microscope, Eleanor reached for the thin glass slide she placed the crumpled paper into and slipped it in the stage clips to secured it in place under the objective lenses. Removing her glasses as they tended to be more in her way than helpful, she took hold of the eyepiece tube before leaning over to hover her right eyes over the eyepiece. Once the magnification was clear, the paper's faded writing became blown up to a sharper view of what was previously written. Eleanor squinted to try and make out the letters, but it wasn't until she turned the objective lenses to the next magnification level that she could just about make up what the faded ink said. Once the image was positioned, Eleanor freed her hand by placing her glasses on the countertop to grab the pen next to her notebook. Without removing her eye from the microscope, Eleanor copied down what she read from the crumpled paper. After she wrote it down, she removed herself from the eyepiece, replaced her glasses on her nose, and lifted the notebook to read what she wrote. Her brows lowered at the unknown meaning of the message.

Where does this lead?

Eleanor brought the notebook closer, thinking hard on what the message could mean, or more so where it was supposed to lead the deceased if they had made it alive. It looked like an address, but not one she recognized on Crescentia – they weren't written like this one was.

From the corner of her left eye, Eleanor caught a flashing light coming from the door of her office and she turned her body towards it. Over the years, there have been several different ways people tried getting Eleanor's attention, tapping her shoulder was the most common, others have waved things in the air in hopes of her seeing it, shouting her name as if she could hear it, and the most annoying was when people just step in front of her. But there was only one person who used a flashing light to get her attention – a trick Eleanor herself taught to them when she was teaching this person years ago. When Eleanor faced the now open door to her office, the woman standing there stopped clicking the button to her diagnostic penlight and tucked it back into the front pocket of her white lab coat.

With a soft greeting smile, a small woman dressed very similarly in a naval uniform under the white coat, long blue hair pulled back into a ponytail – messier now than it probably was at the start of their shift – and the very distinguishable silver tattoo of a daisy around her left eye. Surgeon Lieutenant-Commander Dandelion Rocca was one of the few colleagues for whom Eleanor was willing to make time for – not for the reason that Eleanor taught Dandelion nearly everything she knows, but because the younger woman offered intellectual conversation. She was also the other shift leader in the trauma surgery team.

Dandelion kept her soft smile while she lifted her hands before her chest, and Eleanor took notice of an envelope tucked under her arm. "I would say it's a surprise to see you here at this hour, but you practically live here, so…" The young woman signed while she spoke.

'Hello to you as well, Doctor Rocca.' Eleanor signed, putting her notebook down – out of sight.

Dandelion didn't seem to notice, the Alleas simply stepped further into the room and closed the door enough to make it seem fully shut. She tucked loose hair behind her tanned, pointed ear then pulled out the white envelope for Eleanor to see. She noticed that it had been opened, indicated by the two silver tabs pointed up and not pushed down to keep the flap closed.

'I was interrupted in the lab by a toxicologist searching for you. He knew you frequented the labs, but you weren't in any of them. He had asked where you could be found, I knew they were backed up and he looked to be in a hurry, so I offered to bring you the results.' Dandelion explained. 'Apparently you needed them urgently?'

'As soon as possible,' Eleanor interrupted.

'Same thing.' Dandelion softly rolled her eyes. 'Anyway, here are the reports you've been waiting on.'

Eleanor reached for the outstretched envelope to take it from Dandelion's hand. She placed it on the counter beside her microscope behind her. 'Much appreciated, Rocca.'

'Of course,' she replied, slipping her hands into her pockets then turning around to leave, but stopped just before and looked back to Eleanor, 'I know it wasn't professional, but I did happen to read the reports. Were all the samples from one person, or several?'

Eleanor looked at the young Alleas for a moment with hardened eyes, but not like she would with others she found annoying. They were softer, but her brow was still raised, and she felt it twitch.

'Three separate individuals.'

Eleanor watched as Dandelion's features slowly turned from the soft smile to deep thought then confusion. 'May I inquire from where they came?'

Eleanor adjusted her glasses upon her nose, giving her a moment to think of whether or not to reply to her former student. Eleanor didn't usually invest much into the students she taught, but Dandelion was one of the few exceptions. To the young woman's credit, she was very intelligent, one of the brightest minds Eleanor had ever taught – almost matching herself – but that also meant Dandelion was very inquisitive. She could always be counted on to ask question after question, and if something didn't quite fit then she would figure out what it was.

'Previous patients. Their families wished to know how they passed.' Eleanor explained as simply as possible, not wanting to give Dandelion any further suspicions.

Dandelion's blue brows drew towards her nose, the tattoo around her eyes creased from the expression. She was silent for a long moment before she finally lifted her hands again. 'I hope the reports give their families some form of peace…'

Eleanor didn't miss the hesitation of Rocca's hand movements during her reply, but it didn't seem like the younger woman was going to question further – her silver lined, tattooed arms lowered back to her sides then she slipped a hand into her coat pocket.

'I am sure it will give the answers they seek.' Eleanor watched Rocca's body language but could not penpoint if she believed Eleanor or not. 'Thank you for bringing the reports, Rocca.'

Dandelion nodded her head with the return of her soft smile. The Alleas reached for the doorknob and made her way out of Eleanor's office without a look back towards her. Eleanor remained where she stood long after her fellow colleague walked out of sight, going over everything they had said, and the expressions Dandelion had made since entering then leaving her office. Trying to discern if she had given any reason for misgiving, but finally Eleanor decided she would only know that answer if Dandelion started asking more questions – or even go as far to follow her around like she's done before.

After rubbing her eyes, realizing she hadn't been to sleep since her nap around two a.m. during the quiet of her shift, she turned around to grab the envelope and finally pulled out the papers to see the results. Her eyes scanned the data printed on the sheets and not long her brows raised at what they revealed.

Crescentia Spaceport had passed behind the planet Montressor, blocking the sun's light and leaving the waning moon shaped station to the night of the Etherium, by the time Eleanor pushed open the door to the small house she owned in the lee of the base housing. Her face bore a frown of concentration the entire walk home and didn't dissipate when she closed the door with her foot, hanging up her coat on a free peg by the door and set her medical bag on the floor near a pair of black boots. Straightening out her uniform shirt, Eleanor made her way up the narrow staircase just before the front door. When she reached the top, there was a single light slipping free of the cracked study door and she peered her head in to find her companion working at their desk. Eleanor leaned against the door frame, knocking against the door to make them aware she was there – the door opening more to bathe Eleanor in the rooms light.

Sergeant-Major Charlotte Ko, a light grey and white Felinid with short hair as dark as the Etherium itself, looked up from the papers she was writing on and gave Eleanor a big smile. Eleanor watched the prominent scar disfiguring the left side of her face wrinkle in several places from the movement. Charlotte turned her chair to face in her direction.

"You're finally home, ma'am. They surely kept you well past your shift, didn't they?"

Eleanor pushed off the door frame and walked further into the room – heading for her own chair. 'Something had come up.' She switched to sign language.

Charlotte's smile dropped a bit. 'As it always does,' she replied the same way, 'but I'm glad you've come back…even if your shift begins soon.'

'Actually, I do have to leave again. Amelia's ship is in port.' Eleanor informed.

Charlotte raised her brows, and her smile grew. 'The old Legacy? I heard she was due into port this week.' Eleanor gave a single nod. 'What's so urgent that you'd go see our old colleague at this time of night? Couldn't it not wait until morning?'

Eleanor paused for a long moment, causing Charlotte to tilt her head slightly while waiting for her reply.

'Something came up,' she repeated.

Charlotte dropped her smile, leaving her lips parted as she nodded slowly, seeming to connect that phrase to its earlier use in the conversation. 'Are you…doing something for Amelia, ma'am?'

Eleanor simply nodded.

Charlotte pursed her lips. 'Anything I can offer help with?'

Eleanor hesitated then simply shook her head. Charlotte smiled wryly.

'Can I at least know what it is?'

Eleanor hesitated once more. Tilting her head to drop her eyes from her partner.

I know Amelia implied this situation was a need-to-know basis, she looked back up to Charlotte, who looked unease and hopeful, but if I couldn't tell Ko, then I can't tell anyone…

Eleanor took a deep breath then reached into her pocket, pulling out a folded piece of paper to hold out to Charlotte. The Felinid took the paper and unfolded it. Eleanor watched Charlotte read over what was written before looking up with her confused blue eyes.

'Do you happen to know where this is on Crescentia?' Eleanor questioned. 'I do not recognize the address.'

Charlotte looked down to the paper again, her brows furrowed for only a few seconds before her head popped back up with surprise. She dropped the paper in her lap to free her hands.

'Yes. I know where this address is! Why do you have this? Is Amelia asking you to go–'

Eleanor shook her head in interruption, signing immediately. 'We should talk in the kitchen. I think I need to fill you in on a few things.'

Charlotte was quick to nod her head, hair falling in front of her eyes only to be tucked behind her ear seconds after. 'I'll go put the kettle on…'

Eleanor saw her expressive eyes revealing her hesitation on the subject. She quickly gave her a soft smile in hopes of dousing her fear.

'That might be a good idea, it's quite a story to tell.' Eleanor agreed. 'A hot cocoa sounds amazing.'

Charlotte beamed with a smile of her own. 'One with whipped cream and chocolate syrup coming right up.' The Felinid pushed herself up from her chair, clutching the paper in her palm.

Eleanor stood up as well to head for the kitchen downstairs, but she didn't miss the serious look on Charlotte's face, and Eleanor hoped she could explain her role with Amelia well enough to stop her partner's concern.