"Ser Browning?" The official from the Colonial Marshal's office loomed over Owayo Browning's sickbed.
Owayo stirred in her cocoon of medical equipment. "Yes?" The black plastic of the oxygen mask attached to her face muffled her words.
The official hooked his feet underneath a bar to stop himself from drifting away. "I am Officer Mistry. I'd like to talk to you about Ser Miyagi."
"It's been so long ... ."
"Yes. But there is no statute of limitations on murder."
Owayo's breathing paused, and one of the machines arrayed around her beeped in protest. "Murder? No. There was an investigation. They said it was an accident."
"They did, Ser Browning." Officer Mistry's voice was calm and matter-of-fact. "But the inquiry reserved the right to reconsider if there was new evidence."
Owayo's eyes narrowed, and she glared at the official from just above her oxygen mask. "New evidence?"
"Yes." Officer Mistry pulled a dataslate from his knapsack, activated the screen and held it in front of Owayo. An image appeared on the screen. It was an old-model belter's pressure suit, the helmet visor shattered by some kind of impact. A heraldic design had been painted on the chest plate of the suit, identifying its owner to any observer.
"Leo!" Multiple machines around Owayo recognised her distress and activated a syringe loaded with sedative, pumping the medication into her veins. "Wha' happen?" she asked, the effects of the drug slurring her words.
"Ser Miyagi's body was found during a routine debris sweep. The sweeper crew provided us with enough data to do an orbital analysis."
Owayo fought hard against the drugs. "Told the inquiry," she panted. "Random meteoroid. Hit Leo. Suit malfunctioned. Engaged thrusters. Bad luck is all."
"Perhaps." The official fiddled with the dataslate's interface. "Our investigation showed there was still plenty of propellant in the suit's thruster array. That's one discrepancy with your report. Also, there was no sign of any meteoroid in the suit or Ser Miyagi. Finally, the orbital track of Ser Miyagi's body intersected with the position of your seeker."
"Told you - the thrusters malfunctioned!" Owayo hammered the side of her bed with her fist. The sudden activity set off alarms, summoning a nurse to the cubicle.
"Officer Mistry!" The nurse's tone was harsh and admonishing. "You are upsetting my patient. You have to leave!"
Mistry unhooked his feet from under the bar and retrieved his dataslate. "I'll go. For now. But - Ser Browning - remember. You may claim one thing, but orbital mechanics do not lie." The official flexed his legs and pushed away, drifting out of the cubicle. "I suggest you retain an advocate."
Owayo allowed the sedatives to take hold.
