The new Strategic Operations Officer slid a slip of latinum to the shopkeeper on the Promenade and moved past him into the back room and waited. Thirty minutes earlier, Ra’Ti had walked into the shop, a mid-range jewelry store, and perused the wares until he happened upon a gold and iridium necklace on a heavy chain. He lifted it off the display and spoke to the shopkeeper, a heavy set human male of Arabic heritage, and after showing him his credentials walked around the shop for a few minutes before another persona came in. Xam walked past the customer and softly bumped into him, and the necklace vanished into the customer’s pocket. Xam looked a few minutes more before finding his way into the back and settling down to watch the shop security vid.

Ten minutes later the customer went to leave and the shops alarms went off. Being an average person, the customer stopped and looked confusedly at the merchant. “Sir!” the jeweler said loudly. “Stay right there! Do not move. Station Security is on the way. We do not tolerate shoplifters on this station!” he yelled and pointed at the Bolian. “Shop- .... Oh no! No no no! I didnt take anything! I swear! I just looked around! I promise!” The merchant began berating the customer and the customer was adamant as to his innocence when less than three minutes later Security arrived.

“Not bad response time… could be better.” Ra’Ti mumbled as he watched the scene unfold.

The lead Security officer, a Deltan woman, spoke up over the din of shouting. “Enough! Enough enough, please…” and the two civilians lowered their voices slowly. “Now… please tell me what is going on.” she said calmly. “This man stole something and tried to exit the shop!” the merchant exclaimed. “That isn’t true! I was just shopping for an anniversary present for my partner! I swear!” The Lieutenant Junior Grade held up her hands for quiet. “Okay… okay… we can settle this. Please stay calm, both of you.” She pulled a tricorder form her belt and looked at the Bolian. “Do you consent to a scan of your person, sir?” In the back room, Xam smiled. “Solid. Nice… nice. No illegal search if he agrees. Well done.”

The Bolian looked defiantly at the merchant and said “Of course I do. I have nothing to hide!” The Lt.JG began to run a scan of the Bolian, and stopped outside of his right pocket when the scanner chirped. “Sir, please empty your pockets.” she said firmly but politely. The Bolian looked confused but slid a hand into his pocket… and his jaw dropped and he went a lighter shade of blue. Pulling out his hand, the necklace came with it. The Bolian looked like he was in shock and stammered “I-I-I-I-I… I dont know what this is. I didn’t put this in there. I-I-I-I-I d-d-d-didn’t! I swear! I have no idea how that got there! I promise! I’m not a thief!” The Lt.JG took the necklace and looked at the Bolian. “Sir, I am placing you under arrest for petty theft. You have the right to remain silent and not implicate yourself in anyway. You have-” and she was interrupted by a voice. “Hold up hold up hold up… Dammit. And you were doing so good up to then.” Xam said and walked out from around a partition.

He had not introduced himself to the Security staff yet, but he walked forward and nodded at the Security officers. “Lieutenant Xam Ra’Ti, new Strategic OPs Officer.” The Deltan looked at him and came to attention. “Sir. Lieutenant Junior Grade Brelenn, Patrol Leader. This is Ensign Bolls and Petty Officer Hale.” she said as way of introduction. Xam nodded to each as they were introduced. “Sir.” Brelenn continued, “We knew you had arrived a few hours ago, but we hadn’t be told you were on duty yet. Our apologies for not reporting to you.” Xam waved her off and shook his head. “No worries, Brelenn. And stand easy, this isn’t a parade ground.” he said informally. “Now… what’s going on here?” Brelenn relaxed slightly and said “Shop security systems alerted us to a breach, possible shoplifting. As we came in, these two were arguing. After a few questions, the suspect agreed to a scan after which we found stolen merchandise on his person. We were in the process of detaining him when you arrived, sir.” Xam nodded and said “Oh, okay… and you are comfortable that you have a clear picture of what is happening, then?” Brelenn looked a little confused for a second and then said “Well sir… we… we found the evidence on him. That gives us probably cause for the arrest.” Xam nodded and said “Oh absolutely. Of course… but um, and just play along with me for a sec… but what if he telling the truth?” and he cocked his head at the JG and waited. “Well sir… that… That would be for the Magistrate to decide.” Xam nodded in agreement again and said “Sure… sure… but that could take days or weeks, right? And that whole time people are gonna think this guys a criminal even if he’s found not guilty… right?” Brelenn looked at Xam and said slowly “Maybe, Lieutenant… but is that any of our concern?” Xam tooka breath and then said “And there it is… okay.” He looked at the merchant and said “Mind if we talk for a bit? Don’t want to take over your store?” The shopkeeper shook his head and said “I was going to close for lunch. I’ll be in the back while you all talk this out.” and he left.

Xam leaned against a display and crossed his arms on his chest. He looked at the assembled officers and the still-in-shock Bolian and said “Ok… let me ask you officers this. You know what to look for for when someone is lying, right? You’ve been trained in that?” The three nodded and Xam said “Okay. This is a good skill to have, but it’s only one side of it.” He looked at the Petty Officer and said “Physiological signs of deceit in Bolians… go.” The Petty Officer blinked a few times and then thought in silence for a few long moment before saying “Okay… um… constricted pupils, lowering of respiratory rate, and subconscious ticks like blinking rapidly or running a hand over their head.” “Good.” Xam said. “Well done. Now… what are the signs a Bolian is telling the truth?”

The Petty Officer blinked several times with a blank stare on his face. “Uh… sir? I’m confused. I don’t think… uh… when would we have been taught that, Lieutenant?” Xam smiled at the officers and then at the customer.

“You weren’t. Thats the problem.” and he pushed off the display and began walking in slow circles. “All species have a way of displaying actual surprise and shock. Stammering. Loss of mental focus. Eyes widening. All of those are pretty universal.” and he jerked his head to the ‘suspect’. “And all displayed by your perp. So there was a really old fictional character on Terra in books back in the nineteenth century. His name was Sherlock Holmes. Great books, you all should really read them.” and he glanced up at the Bolian. “You too. Solid reads.” and went back to his slow walking. “See, Holmes was a detective. And a brilliant one at that. And on of his core philosophies for detective work was this. When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. So… if the suspect had the necklace on him but shows none of the signs of deception, then what conclusions can you draw?” and he stopped walking and looked at the Security officers.

The Ensign spoke first. “Maybe he is a good liar, sir?” Xam nodded and said “Sure. Absolutely that could be true. Does anything else support that premise?” he asked. The Ensign thought for a moment and then said “Well… I could run his record. See if he has a history.” Xam nodded emphatically and said “Yes. Good. Do that.” and the Ensign stepped away and tapped his commbadge to get the needed information. A few seconds later he returned. “No criminal record. Not even a moving violation.” Xam said “Ok… so we can safely assume he isn’t a career criminal, right? At least, not someone who makes a living off of criminal acts, right?” The three nodded. Brelenn spoke “But he had the necklace on his person, sir? He says he has no idea how it got there! How would you explain th-” and she paused for a moment and then said “Unless he really didn’t know it was there. Which would fall in line with the lack of tells of deceit.” Xam smiled at her and said “Okay… so how would the necklace get there, then? Magic?” Brelenn thought for a moment and said “There are two ways that I see. One, it fell in accidentally. Statistically highly improbable. So that would leave… someone else put it there.”

Xam grinned and stopped walking. “Ding ding ding! We have a winner! Well done. And all of that discovered simply by taking a few moments and thinking things through.” Xam turned to the Bolian and said “Sir, my sincerest apologies. I put the necklace in your pocket. The store owner was aware the entire time. I simply needed to see how my Security team reacted to an incident.” and he glanced at the three officers and said “And they did pretty good, but we have some spots to work on.” Looking back at the Bolian, Xam smiled and said “In appreciation for your unknowing assistance, please… find a piece for your partner. It’s on me. The least I can do.” The Bolian stared in shock for a few moments and then slowly turned away and began trying to process what the heck just happened while absent-mindedly looking at jewelry.

Xam turned and looked at the Security team. “Listen, you did okay. But contrary to popular belief, our main goal isn’t to make arrests. It’s to arrest those that need to be arrested. So… take your time. Ask questions. Figure out the truth. Then, we act in accordance with the law. But remember… every time you put restraints on a suspect… you are altering that individuals life forever. And if they are innocent? They will carry that shame of having been arrested with them forever. And that will color every single interaction they have with you or security officers anywhere they go. So let’s make sure we get it right the first time, got it?” The three officers nodded and then Xam said “Go on. Get back to your duties. And make sure you document this in your reports, got it?” “Yes, sir.” Brelenn said handing him the necklace and the three left. Xam waited for them to go and then looked around the shop and then went to the Bolian. “Hey, look a this. I don’t know your partner’s tastes, but this is a great piece. And it has a story with it now. That tends to make things more special.” The Bolian looked at him for a minute and then said “You scared the crap outta me.” and glared. Xam nodded in acknowledgement and said “Yeah… I did. But I needed a genuinely innocent reaction or my team wouldn’t have learned anything. And that was the goal. But, if you feel that you need to file a complaint, I’ll suggest you send it to the XO. She doesn’t like me anyway, so it would probably get me in hotter water if you go that route.” The Bolian laughed slightly and shook his head. “You know, I work for a risk management department. When I look at it from that perspective, I can see what you were doing. And yeah, I’m a little pissed. But I get it. Just… don’t pick me again for your lessons, okay?” Xam smiled and held out a hand and the Bolian took it and they shook. “Deal. I hope they enjoy the necklace.” and the Bolian laughed. “Oh, I’m sure. And the story.” and he let go and left the store.

Ra’Ti, SOO