Shore Leave: The Security Office

After she finally manages to politely leave the very awkward conversation with her parents, Alira makes her way to the security office. It is in view of the cafe but it doesn't look as if her parents are watching her. After she left the table, they want back to talking to each other as if they had already forgotten she was even there.

Alira enters the security office. It is much larger on the inside than the outside led her to assume. There are people working on desks, some in resort security uniforms, some in civilian clothes. After looking around for a moment, she spots Lt. Mars, who is sitting at a desk close to the back of the room, wearing uniform and chewing on a pencil as he is working on a computer in front of him. He doesn't notice Alira and she doesn't draw much attention from anyone. There is a front desk but the attendant there is talking with an older man in civilian clothes who seems very upset about something.

"Miss Vitan, it's not a problem at all. Thank you again for your help. There has been a disturbing development in the case and we will need your help in finding the woman that you told us about, this Neeza. A blood test on the cadets we arrested showed that they have been drugged. The specific drug is still being analyzed but from what he have gathered so far, it might have been used to influence their behavior, make them more open to suggestions. And unsurprisingly, we have no guest registered under the name Neeza on our lists."

"You can search through the visitor database and see if you recognize her face from the photos. Meanwhile, we can interview the bartender and see what he knows."
He rubs his eyes and you can tell that he looks tired. "We've been thinking about it, too. It really does sound more like an idea a drunk teenager would come up. Why would this woman, if it was her, drug a couple of cadets and convince them to steal a hover transport. The only way this plan makes sense is if this was only meant to be a test of our security measures, which in turn would mean that this Neeza probably has something else planned."

Mars doesn't reply right away. He turns to his computer and does something on it for a minute, then he hands you a datapad. "This is a full list of every registered guest on the planet at the moment. Have a look and see if you recognize her."
As you start browsing through the long list of pictures, he speaks up again. "A virus? If that was the goal then hacking into the hover transports wasn't the best choice. They are not connected to the main system on the island. She might not have known that, though. I will have someone check that out again."

Alira scrolls through the pictures for a while, sometimes pausing longer on one photo, quickly skipping through most of them. Eventually, she stops. She was already about to scroll past the picture but something in it catches her eye. The picture is of a woman that doesn't really look like the one Alira saw at the crime scene during the night but her instincts tell her that this is her. She inspects the photo closer. The woman in the picture has short brown curls, very different from the long black hair that she saw during the night. She is also wearing no makeup in the photo while she definitely was at night. But something about the shape of her eyebrows and the slant of her eyes sticks out between all the other pictures. This is definitely the woman you noticed at the crime scene. Alira is certain, despite the woman's disguise during the night.

He takes the tablet back and takes a look. He then types something into his computer and turns it around so Alira can see. The screen shows the same picture that she had seen on the tablet before. Below it, there is a name, Endra Learse, as well as some additional data. Apparently, she is 3/4 human, 1/4 Locan, born on a human colony not far from Earth. Her criminal record is completely clean.
It also lists her address, a cottage only a few houses from the one Alira is staying at.
"What do you think, should we pay her a visit?", Mars asks. "To find out what she wants"

"Give me five minutes to finish up here", Mars says and turns his monitor back to himself. Alira waits for him to get ready, then they leave the station together. Alira notices that Mars is carrying a phaser. He must be pretty nervous about this woman and what her plans on the planet might be.
Together, the two of you move into the village and walk to the house that was indicated on the profile. Only fifteen minutes after Alira recognized the woman on the photo, she is standing in front of her cottage.
There is no light on inside but it is the middle of the day so that gives no real indication as to whether anyone is home.
Mars hands Alira a commbadge. "I'll try the front door, you stand guard at the back entrance. Don't put yourself in any unnecessary risk and if you see anything, comm me."

Alira gets into position and shortly after, she hears Mars knock at the front door. He calls out: "Is anyone home?"
There is no response so he asks the same thing again. Still, nobody responds but Alira hears movement from the inside. Assuming the layout is the same as her own cottage, someone is moving in the living room.
Suddenly, the window facing to the back of the house breaks open as a chair is thrown through it. Immediately after, the woman from the photo jumps through the shattered window. She looks around and spots Alira who in turn notices a small handheld phaser in the woman's hand.

You tackle the woman but because you warned her right before, she manages to react to it on time.
She steps a little bit to the side and and then takes your arm and uses your own momentum against you to throw you to the ground. She raises her phaser at you and fires, then immediately turns around and sprints off.
Lt. Mars comes running around the corner of the building right after her phaser shot.

You manage to avoid the phaser shot narrowly by rolling to the side. Mars runs up and stops when he is standing over you. "Are you okay? Did she hit you?", he asks with a panicked voice. You notice that he has his phaser in his hand. After you confirm that you managed to dodge, he tells you to hide somewhere and call in for backup, then he takes off running into the direction you pointed out to him but because he stopped to check in on you Learse already has a significant lead on him.