The West Sea

Chapter 20: Coma

A deafening alarm sounded off within the corridors of the Mulawin. A team of medical officers rushed through the crowded decks and pushed their gurney towards the room just beside the Admiral's deck. They opened the cabin door and saw an officer pressing Commander Ezekiel Manawari's chest in alternating compressions; The Commander's blood trailed from the bath room floor to the edge of the room where the comm-relay was. The medics took over for the officer who sounded the alarm as they carried the bleeding Commander onto the gurney and headed for the Mulawin's Medical facility in haste.

The rumbling commotion outside the Admiral's personal quarters annoyed Isagani Amihan who was quietly relaxing on top of his reclined chair. It took a while for him to see what the noise outside was about as he didn't really much care what was going on. When he finally heard a stern knock on his door, the Admiral got up and answered it immediately.

"What the hell's happening out there?" cried Amihan as he confronted one of his guards standing by the doorway.

"Sir. There was an incident regarding Commander Manawari. The Commander was seen bleeding in his room, Admiral."

"Wait, what? What?! What happened?" Amihan was clearly confused as the guards saw his expression paled dramatically.

"The Commander was found bleeding inside his quarters, sir," reiterated the guard as the Fleet Admiral grabbed his garishly long white coat and rushed to the scene of the crime.

Fleet Admiral Isagani Amihan had just met with Commander Ezekiel Manawari a few hours earlier inside the secret room behind his quarters. They talked about the Crimson Legion's plans about bringing down the New Republic. As the Admiral stared at the vacant room, he noticed the tracks of dried blood painted on the metal floor.

"Where is the Commander now?" inquired the Admiral.

"Sir, we have the whole deck on lock down. The Commander was taken two floors above."

"I want to see him. Unlock the doors and raise the Admiral's deck to the Medical Bay."

"Sir, that's impossible. We have to follow protocol. Who ever did this to..."

"Now listen to me, boy. Once I'm done looking around here, you better have the lock down dealt with when I come back. Now!" The Fleet Admiral pushed his guards away from the door and tried to enter the Commander's bloodstained quarters. Isagani felt a firm grasp pull him back and turning him around.

"Hold your horses, Fleet Admiral." The Master-at-Arms was right behind the Fleet Admiral when she tugged him back from the doorway. The two guards were also caught by surprise as they had instinctively drawn their Hydro-Rifles at the Officer by mistake.

"At ease, boys. I'm here to investigate the crime scene. Put your weapons down before you poke someone's eye out. So what happened here? Any suspects?"

"None as of yet ma'am. I mean, Master Dumas," said one of the guards as Ms. Dumas pushed them aside so that she can start her investigation.

Master-at-Arms Sophia Dumas, responsible for law enforcement and overall discipline inside the ship, entered the crime scene while tilting her square-shaped eyeglasses as she inspected the room. She had dropped by to investigate the unusual setting that took place inside the Commander's private room. She took a pen out of her pocket, grabbed her long red hair, and twisted them both to make an improvised knot. She looked at the two guards who were still a bit taken back by her stern demeanor.

She took out her dataphone and started recording the scene of the crime while narrating the details of the entire room. Sophia cautiously walked through the Commander's room while taking mental notes of any unusual items that was present. She pressed a button on her device and pressed her red lips on the transmitter.

" At four fifteen pm of October 2nd aboard the NRS Mulawin, comm-relay officer received an alert signal from the victim Commander Ezekiel Manawari. thirty nine years old. Head of the intelligence division. Officer Pala was first to respond and gave immediate cardiopulmonary resuscitation to the victim until medical personnel arrived to take Commander Manawari to intensive care. It appears that there was no forced entry and that the victim was alone when he was dragging himself from the bath room to the middle of the lounge."

Sophia moved in closer to inspect the contents of the room and any other valuable evidence, still holding the dataphone's transmitter near her mouth.

"Master-at-Arms Sophia Dumas now entering the room through the front door entrance. On the floor of the doorway is a pool of blood approximately two meters in diameter. Upon further surveillance, the room is secure and clear with no other person inside the vicinity."

Master Dumas then looked at the guards behind her, thoroughly impressed by her preliminary survey of the scene.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Check the recordings of this hallway and send it to my dataphone after you find it. Me and the Admiral here will have a nice chat while your off and about." Sophia directed the guards to the communications deck as she knelt down and inspected the dry burgundy mess on top of the victim's floor.

"Uhmm, uuhh... Yes, ma'am." Isagani's personal guards ran off towards the end of the hallway. Master Sophia looked up at the Fleet Admiral, contemplating the crime that had just happened.

Sophia Dumas continued to evaluate the room while she tried to make small talk to the clearly frustrated Fleet Admiral Amihan, who was fidgeting by the door way.

"So, Admiral... Such a shame what happened to Manawari. All this blood on the floor. Must have been quite a wound. I bet he's going to have a fit once he sees what's he's done to his room, being a clean-freak that he is."

"What do you mean? He's alive?"

"Well, barely. He lost a lot of blood from what I've heard. You know, blood, oxygen, brain, whatever. He's unconscious right now. Probably in a coma or something. Don't think he'll wake up anytime soon even if they put a butt load of Aquagel in his wound."

"Well, that's fortunate. At least he's alive. This is the first time I'm hearing any of this. I hope the Commander will be alright."

"Hmm... I guess... Tell me, Admiral, Do you have any idea what might have happened? I mean his quarters are basically right next to your command station. I'm sure someone must have heard something, right?"

"I don't know what you mean, Captain. None of us heard any gunshot or anything."

"Gunshot, huh? I don't think I told you it was a gunshot, "sir". Well, I'll have a look-see and I'll let you in on the report once I'm done. Thanks, Admiral."

"Well, uhmm... Alright, Master Dumas. I'll leave you to it. Let me know at once if there's anything I can do to help."

Inside the intensive treatment unit of the Medical Bay, Commander Ezekiel Manawari laid in his bed peacefully surrounded by all types of medical equipment; Vines of tubes and wires cris-crossed above his body and connected to every extremity while a large bundle of Aquagel was strapped around his chest as it repairs his wound gradually. The nurse who had just checked his vitals stepped out the door when her patient showed signs of consciousness.

The Commander's pupils started to flicker beneath his eye lids while his heartbeat was increasing. He was trying to speak but the intubation mask running down his mouth making it hard to even make a small grunt. He's consciousness was fading in and out and after a few seconds, his eyes relaxed and his heart was steady once more. It had been four hours since the near fatal attack on Ezekiel Manawari, and everyone on board wanted to know what happened and who may have done it.

Master-at-arms Dumas had just finished her examination of the crime scene when the Admiral's guards returned from the communication's deck. The data was erased, said one of the guards. Sophia, with an unsurprised look in her face, dismissed them and looked back at the horridly bloody room.

Sophia Dumas felt defeated as she closed the lights while slowly pulling the door handle to a close behind her. As the door's shadowy gap closed, a soft, bright light gleamed from across the dark room, catching Master Dumas' eye for a moment. It was coming from Commander Manawari's bath room.

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