New Scotland Yard

[Victor Steiner]

Incident Report

⇒ Case Number: 27B8D
⇒ Incident/s: Murder
⇒ Location: Planet Sydney, New Holland & Planet Baden Baden, Stuttgart, Rheinland.
⇒ Reporting Officer: Police Commissioner John Steiner

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Following a message sent to me personally, I traveled to Rheinland to meet with the wanted individual Doctor John Holiday. In a meeting with him on Plant Baden Baden, he confessed to the Murder of Chancellor William Mortimer, reported missing last month by the University of Cambridge. However he denied any knowledge of the Nuclear detonation that happened soon after his departure. Likewise he denied (and refused) to know and/or reveal any information regarding the whereabouts of his daughter (Emiko Holiday) or his Lover, Alessa Sampson. Given the Location of this meeting, I could not arrest him at the time and he remains at large.

Conclusion:
► Warrant for the Arrest of Doctor Holiday has been released, Rheinland Government to be contacted regarding extradition. Emiko Holiday to be removed from suspects list (Minor). Alessa Sampson to remain on suspect list.

Officers in attendance:
►Commissioner John Steiner

Callsign of the suspect vessel/s questioned are:
►N/A

Evidence:
►

Letter from Holiday offering to meet in Rheinland

Spoiler

Transcript of Conversation

Holiday: On the table near you is a folder. In it are legal documents, all signed by my lawyer turning over all of my remaining assets on Gran Canaria to the University of Cambridge. I do not know what it will do with the one thousand acres that I purchased long ago to keep Canaria as unspoiled as possible. It is where I did a lot of riding on the back on one of my steeds. One document turns over a fully functioning hospital. I build Canaria Medical at a time when we were going through a bad time with the Corsairs. Minus some experimental and top secret items, it is surgery ready. As to who remains to staff it, I do not know. Another is my resignation from my speaking role and occasional teaching roles at Cambridge Medical Institute. That will fully remove my presence, minus an occasional pass through for goods, from Bretonia proper. Congratulations, Sir. Bretonia has finally beaten John Holliday. It will no longer have to deal with me. I am a man of peace, of diplomacy, and Bretonia has no desire to work with me so I am finished with it. Now, the issue of William Mortimer I honestly wish that I never met that man. William Mortimer came to my home just after the failed summit which was a bad idea on my part. He tried to talk me into signing my estate over to Cambridge Institute, explaining that if I agreed that my home would not be touchable by the Bretonian crown. I was already in a foul mood from the conference and the very thought, the very suggestion, of giving up what I worked so hard to build only incensed me further. I do not remember all of the details of what I said to him but I am sure it was not pleasant. No doubt it was my dislike of the Bretonian Crown that shaded out anything that he said to me. I just wanted him to know what it was like to be in my position, to have years of hard work and diplomacy being destroyed right in front of you and knowing that there was absolutely nothing that I could do about it. I wanted him to know what diplomacy was like with the Bretonians. That is the gun the killed William Mortimer, It is old but very deadly, an 1863 Colt dual action Thunderer and for today, I purposely kept it unloaded to make a point. It has saved my skin many times as it was modified to be sensitive to the touch. On most days, I am in full control of it but on that day, in my enragement [SIC], I was not. I cannot bring back William Mortimer nor will I allow myself to be jailed as my life's work will continue on. That is why I have signed over all of my assets from Omega 49 and resigned my roles on Cambridge. I will continue my work elsewhere. In Bretonia's quest into the Omegas, I am sure that the hospital will come in quite handy. Financially, I have little as I have invested in Med Force Enterprises to work elsewhere. Again, I cannot bring back William Mortimer but signing over these assets and naming a wing of my new hospital in his honor. It is the least that I can do. As to the explosion, I will never know who did that. Granted, the timing of it makes me look guilty. There was a lot of hard work, a lot of memories and my beloved piano in that estate that I am upset about. Memories of my late wife, Midori, littered the whole place. Every room and every hallway had her in it be it a picture or a memory. I still do not know that status of my security detail that was there. Did they get out? If they did, where did they go? I do know that they spoke of joining the resistance. As with many in my staff, I told them that they were free to do so. I do know that my eldest daughter is somewhere out there. She was terrified not at the murder but at how I became so unhinged that day. It has been years since that happened, the last time being against a Corsair diplomat. I last told her to not contact me and to find her own way for awhile. Alessa has done much the same. Do with me what you will but leave those two alone. This is my cross to bear.

Steiner: Obviously you know that this isn't over. There are a few questions that I need to have answered before we can go anywhere. Namely, who killed William Mortimer? You said you were not in control, you said that the firearm in your hand was the gun that killed the chancellor, but you have failed to expressly state that you were the one to pull the trigger, so, who did? Was it you?

Holiday: Yes, it was me. When I was out of control it is because I was enraged. I did not want to kill him. It was not my intention. William Mortimer was the Bretonian straw that broke John Holliday's back. As I said before, Bretonia has finally defeated John Holliday. So what now? I would never see a fair trial in Bretonia.....or anywhere for that matter. All the good that I ever did will go forgotten. The care given to the refugees of Port Jackson, going through the pain of attempting to negotiate with the Crown and getting Bretonian children out of that burning hulk known as Leeds. None of it will matter now. Your Queen has made a mockery of me over the years, my home world taken and my home destroyed. I can tell you this, I will take my own life before I sit in a Bretonian cell or even let your people execute me. I have too much left to accomplish. By your pen I will be damned. You have what you want and the crown will have what assets I have left.

Steiner: When you shot the Chancellor, where was your daughter and Lady Alessa? Walk me through the events of that day.

Holiday: Leave them out of this

Steiner: Mister Holiday, I'm going to be very frank with you. I don't actually care about politics. Zoners mean very little to me, I don't hold them in contempt, I don't dislike them for political or cultural reasons, I just don't care. I am totally indifferent to a great many people, my job is to find the truth. Now you have just admitted to killing a man and I need to ensure that it's not a lie, I cannot leave your loved ones out of it because like it or not they are actually involved. Your actions, not mine, ensured that. For the sake of Justice, for the sake of a dead man's family, for the sake of your family and for the sake of your immortal soul, you ought to tell me what happened. Where was your daughter and lady Alessa when you killed the Chancellor? Were they in the same room? did they see what happened?

Holiday: Emiko was in the other room when the shot was fired," he explained. "She had retreated there when the meeting between the Chancellor and myself became escalated. By the time she had come into the room, she saw the gun on the floor. As to Alessa Samson, she was standing next to me as she was trying to keep me from doing something rash. I guess she failed. My security detail was also present, all five of them, scattered about the room. As to where they are now I have no idea. As a matter of fact, I have no idea where Emiko or Alessa are. I couldn't even speculate.

Steiner: So there are witnesses to the crime, alright. Considering your daughter wasn't there per se, I think we can rule her out for the time being...well we'll have too regardless because we don't know where she is, Lady Alessa as well. Your security detail will have a few things to explain but I'll get to them later. In the meantime, tell me how you knew the Chancellor. Correct me if I am wrong but these are the events of that day so far as I understand them. You held a public meeting prior to the invasion of Planet Gran Canaria, this meeting failed to establish anything of note or anything worth while. I know this because my Brother was there. When this failed, you were obviously and understandably upset. A day or two later, the Chancellor of the University of Cambridge arrived with the intention of purchasing your estate for the University, things got a bit out of hand an argument ensued and you shot him. That about right?

Holiday: Chancellor Mortimer came to my estate unannounced, at least, as I remember it he did. Forgive me as my memory of that part is shady. My security detail even asked if I should turn him away. I said no. But yes, the subject was turning over my estate to Cambridge Institute to protect it from Bretonian rule. Then as with now, I did not trust him at all. I do not trust Bretonia. I never have and doubt that I ever will, not after their actions of late.

Steiner: What did you do once you shot Mortimer?

Holiday: I froze. I was shocked and even a bit scared. I have never killed a man that did not deserve it until that moment. The only sound was my terrified daughter when she had come in and seen what had happened. I panicked. I then told my daughter to leave, to go somewhere and hide where she would not be found and to not contact me as I would find her when things settled down. I told Alessa much the same although she refused. I ordered my security detail to give him a proper burial and then to do as they will as I knew they all had intentions of joining the resistance. Did they bury William Mortimer? I do not know. Where did my men go? I do not know that either. I do know that Alessa left Gran Canaria with me on my shuttle with no intention to return.

Steiner: The Nuclear device that detonated not long after your departure. What can you tell me about that?

Holiday: That I do not know. How it happened or even who or what could have done that I just do not know. Considering how badly the summit went two days prior, there is a lot of people who might have done that as a response. I saw the blast as we were going through the atmosphere. Both Alessa and I were in total shock as was the rest of the crew. If one good thing came of it was the orbital shield that I long ago had installed over the estate activated. I would contain the blast enough to keep it limited to the mansion and guest houses. All of those memories....gone.

Steiner: That's what strikes me as unusual. That shield was designed to prevent an orbital assault, at least for a while. Which rules out a missile strike or Orbital drop. Which therefore suggests that it was already on your estate, ground Zero is measured at your House. So either someone smuggled it on to your estate during the summit, which I find unlikely considering that a Nuclear device isn't easy to smuggle anywhere, or it was already there. Maybe some months or weeks before hand...what's more, the timing of the detonation, just as you were leaving. Odd, don't you think?

Holiday: Indeed it is odd, Mr. Steiner. Indeed it is. One thing of note on the shield. It was designed and installed by the Coalition government back when Alvin Katz was premier at a time that we were having our issues with the Corsairs. It could take a bombardment for hours I was told. Only the Coalition would have record of it as the estate never did get bombarded. Still, it was there. No one else would know of its existence either. Perhaps you may have ideas now on suspects?

Steiner: So you deny any knowledge of how the Nuclear device came to be and deny any responsibility in it's detonation? That's correct?

Holiday: That blast was not of my doing. I have nothing to deny

Steiner: Fine. That's it

(End of Interview)

This concludes my report

Commissioner John Steiner
Insp. J. Steiner
Bretonian Police Authority

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