-Chapter 2, Part 1: Haven-
"So this is the Jane Doe?" The detective asked the Coroner as he lifted the sheet.
"Yep, no ID, the witnesses say she was called Jan but the destroyed ship was registered under a different name, and the body's pretty badly burnt. We can get DNA from the bone marrow, but it's going to take time to find a match, if she's on record." The Coroner held up an evidence bags, "The medic for the mercenaries pulled out a lot of bullet fragments, and several needles. Her insides would have been a mess."
The detective nodded, "All the witnesses agreed that she was badly wounded. But she could have been saved if she went straight to a hospital..." The Coroner shook his head.
"The internal damage from the bullets was too severe, she would have died on the operating table before she could have told anyone, and she likely knew it. Going to such a crowded place was a good thing actually, otherwise there would be no clues about why she came to Mars." He looked over at the gun in its own evidence bag, "She likely used the gun to stop anyone from taking her to a hospital, took the back streets to get to the bar, and knew how to get there, so she had to have visited Mars in the past."
The detective picked up the bag, "We have the ship coming in to land and we have her face, so we're running a facial recognition search now. With any luck she should come up in the records even if the genetic record doesn't pan out." He was about to say something else when his phone rang and he put the gun down, "Excuse me."
He answered it, "Detective Snow."
"Detective, we got a hit on the facial recognition, a woman called Janice Trackman arrived on Mars a few months back apparently on vacation, she's an exact match for the Jane Doe."
"Any family?"
"A sister working for the Triax Corporation, Sarah Trackman. We tried to get in contact with her but she refused to speak with us about the deceased. Her parents apparently died back Daneside a few years ago as well and the only other relatives that we found, a brother and his wife living on Venus, also refused to speak about her."
"Sounds like Janice was the black sheep of the family. Can you pass the info on to Venus, see if anyone there can get info on the deceased and what she was doing before she broke contact with her family?"
"I'll do what I can."
The detective hung up and turned to the Coroner, "Looks like the family situation wasn't exactly rosy, they're refusing to speak to the police about the deceased."
The Coroner grimaced, "A pity. But at least her last moments were with a friend."
The detective nodded, "Call me if anything new is found."
As the detective left the morgue, in space the Black Talons were on approach to a lonely asteroid floating in the Main Belt as Miranda Petite waved a hand at it, "There it is people, Haven. What was supposed to be a place where we could live our lives and forget about our pasts. Make a fresh start in Fenspace."
"It sounds like it was a nice place Commander." Hound spoke up from his seat, "I bet it was real pretty before all this happened."
Miranda nodded, "It was." She rose from her seat, the Black Talons rising as well, "Suit up and prepare for landing, it's time we got some answers."
"So this is the Jane Doe?" The detective asked the Coroner as he lifted the sheet.
"Yep, no ID, the witnesses say she was called Jan but the destroyed ship was registered under a different name, and the body's pretty badly burnt. We can get DNA from the bone marrow, but it's going to take time to find a match, if she's on record." The Coroner held up an evidence bags, "The medic for the mercenaries pulled out a lot of bullet fragments, and several needles. Her insides would have been a mess."
The detective nodded, "All the witnesses agreed that she was badly wounded. But she could have been saved if she went straight to a hospital..." The Coroner shook his head.
"The internal damage from the bullets was too severe, she would have died on the operating table before she could have told anyone, and she likely knew it. Going to such a crowded place was a good thing actually, otherwise there would be no clues about why she came to Mars." He looked over at the gun in its own evidence bag, "She likely used the gun to stop anyone from taking her to a hospital, took the back streets to get to the bar, and knew how to get there, so she had to have visited Mars in the past."
The detective picked up the bag, "We have the ship coming in to land and we have her face, so we're running a facial recognition search now. With any luck she should come up in the records even if the genetic record doesn't pan out." He was about to say something else when his phone rang and he put the gun down, "Excuse me."
He answered it, "Detective Snow."
"Detective, we got a hit on the facial recognition, a woman called Janice Trackman arrived on Mars a few months back apparently on vacation, she's an exact match for the Jane Doe."
"Any family?"
"A sister working for the Triax Corporation, Sarah Trackman. We tried to get in contact with her but she refused to speak with us about the deceased. Her parents apparently died back Daneside a few years ago as well and the only other relatives that we found, a brother and his wife living on Venus, also refused to speak about her."
"Sounds like Janice was the black sheep of the family. Can you pass the info on to Venus, see if anyone there can get info on the deceased and what she was doing before she broke contact with her family?"
"I'll do what I can."
The detective hung up and turned to the Coroner, "Looks like the family situation wasn't exactly rosy, they're refusing to speak to the police about the deceased."
The Coroner grimaced, "A pity. But at least her last moments were with a friend."
The detective nodded, "Call me if anything new is found."
As the detective left the morgue, in space the Black Talons were on approach to a lonely asteroid floating in the Main Belt as Miranda Petite waved a hand at it, "There it is people, Haven. What was supposed to be a place where we could live our lives and forget about our pasts. Make a fresh start in Fenspace."
"It sounds like it was a nice place Commander." Hound spoke up from his seat, "I bet it was real pretty before all this happened."
Miranda nodded, "It was." She rose from her seat, the Black Talons rising as well, "Suit up and prepare for landing, it's time we got some answers."