Iquizzil glances at Rion to confirm there is no subtle prior cause of death, followed by the neck mutilation, or that the body is still warm. Like Rast he keeps his focus on Callom. On instinct he tends to believe this man is telling the truth, or at least part of it. But he has been known to be wrong in the past.

"So back to the earlier answer, you say you were down here on the same business as us. Presumably your Lady sent you? What is her interest in Baselock?"

"I couldn't tell you that if I wanted to. We have the highest level of security restriction from the Republic government placed on our actions, and that's all I can tell you. Strictly speaking you and I should be in front of a firing squad right now just because I told you we worked for the Republic, and I'm not the gene-forged sap of a high-end noble, but I'd say the circumstances allow it. Our interest in Blaselock is circumstantial - we were coming home from a mission on Nal Hutta when he appeared, ranting and raving about us. 'My Lady' was interested enough in the man to follow up on him - and here we are."

Rast keyed his internal comlink. "Captain Kozik, we've found Blaselock dead, just here inside the life support section. What would you like us to do?"

"He's really dead?" Callom nods, and you confirm it. "****. Right, stay there. We're going to quarantine the whole section. I'll move the guards from engineering over to secure the area; the killer might still be in there. I'll get medical teams in immediately, but I don't know about our investigative ability."

"Affirmative," Rast says into the comm. "But the killer could be anywhere now. I'd advise you to impose an immediate curfew on the ship, put your guards on duty in the dormitories, and let us sweep the area, since we're here already."

He switches off his comlink to speak to the others present. "Seeing as we're stuck on board this vessel, and we don't want the killer to have another chance at killing, it might make sense for us to investigate?" Rast suggests to the group.

As soon as Callom turns to address Rast, Iquizzil immediately clutches his shocked antenna, wincing and rubbing the sensitive appendage like some giant ant. Seeing Rast taking decisive action puts him more at ease and he begins to relax and focus on the situation more clearly.

"I agree, killers running loose is generally bad. I have no idea of the political movements of the deceased, so I'm afraid I can't help much with any deductions based on those motives." He pauses, and fidgets with a set of headphones hooked on to his utility belt. "It may be nothing but Calloms estimation of the time of death would put it around the same time that everyone was attending the dinner and entertainments last night I believe. The two Twi-Lek dancers were absent from the show. They may be worth questioning?"

"Very well then," Kozik responds. "I would bow to your judgement on the allocation of personnel. I'll have non-essential personnel confined to quarters for the time being, they should be secure there."

"Finding the killer = Top priority. Secondary priority = Apprehending killer. Re-routing all power to search protocols."

Rion inspects the body, noticing only that the crumpled figure has a very obviously broken neck. His robes are soiled with machine oil, however, and damp from the clammy atmosphere within the room. He looks to have had quite a chase through this area before he was brought down.

"A killer cannot be allowed to roam around the ship freely," Jeren states simply. "If for no other reason than the fact that he will be gone as soon as we reach our destination if not apprehended."

"Of course deciding where to start looking may pose a bit of a problem."

"It's likely to have been one of the guests or crew members," Rast says to Jeren. "So first we make sure that everyone is accounted for. There is also the possibility that we have a stowaway assassin. And that is what we have you for, Jeren! Your use of the Force, combined with some thermal imaging tech like my scanner goggles, should help us as we sweep the area.

"So, how many of us have thermal imaging capabilities? We can divvy up, have some of us question the legitimate passengers & crew while the rest of us search the ship for any possible...less-legitimate passengers."

"That sounds like a plan," Iquizzil replies to Rast.

"I'd like to be part of a team looking into any unaccounted crewmen, and the entertainers, if that's ok. Something about them makes my carahide itch. It may be helpful to have a technical expert with me in case there are any data or security access issues, I'm not much of a mechanic. Tee-nine, Rion, either of you guys up for it?" He looks hopefully at the Mirialan and droid.

Rion's inspection of the body reveals only that the broken neck is the most obvious cause of death, and that the poor man's robes are streaked in oil and dust - it is likely he gave the killer quite a chase before he was run to ground.

"Nothing here," Rion says. "And I think we ought to start our investigation with that noblewoman--something about her seemed off."

"Good idea. Marcelus, you should probably go with Rion and Iquizil.

"Jeren, care to accompany me on a sweep of the area? I'll be your backup set of eyes.

"Tee-Nine, what if you logged into the security holo system, and see if you can find anything worthwhile?"

"Got a job for me? Or am I confined to quarters with the others?" Callom asks.

"By all means Rast, lead the way," Jeren agrees with a nod and a smile. "The Force does help make me a little more difficult to fool. Furthermore, I can use it to sense the emotional state of others, though I have to be quite close to them to do that."

For what it's worth:

Medicine: 3eA+3eD 1 success, 1 threat

It looks as if the body has been dead for close to fourteen or sixteen hours, placing the death just before the dinner started. Rion stands and turns to the others as Callom nods in assent. "Very well. We should move out as soon as is expedient."

Iquizzil nods his agreement and adds,

"I think Marcelus should join us, he has a... 'flowery' way with words that we may lack. TeeNine I'm not sure which group is easiest for you to log in for a holo net sweep?"

Rion, Marcelus and Iquizzil head off to find the noblewoman.

"Okay, Marcelus, how do you want to do this?"

You head back towards the exit from the room, resolute on finding who was responsible for this. Outside in the hall you meet a fire team of marines led by a Corporal. "Sirs, my unit has been seconded to you from engineering security detail to assist your investigation. We can sweep this part of the-" his words are cut off as the ship suddenly jolts under deceleration. Artificial gravity may be useful, but as the guards are sent flying you are likewise caught by your own momentum.

Could I have an Average Coordination check from each of you please?

A sudden jolt.: 4eA+2eD 2 successes

The ground lurches beneath his feet, but spring loaded legs and a youth spent growing up in an asteroid field is enough to ride the quake. Dropping into a crouch Izzy checks his companions, and instinctively gets ready to draw his blaster on Callom.

"Everyone ok?... "