‘There was some fire damage to the equipment, but not enough to prevent us from recovering the games software, plus the recordings taken of various bouts, including the one to the death, which you are about to see here. I should say we believe these bouts were recorded so that participants might view themselves later . . . some were also made commercially available online via various virtual gaming platforms.’

Most of the police personnel had already viewed Rhona’s footage of the crime scene, the route through the maze to the arena and the virtual audience. All of which had been taken after the event. This promised to be something quite different, as the tension in the room suggested.

There was an intake of breath as the first image appeared on the screen.

A seemingly frightened female was being dragged by two men through the maze and then abandoned in the centre of the arena. Rhona recognized the victim, but here, she was alive.

A roar from the virtual crowd signalled their mounting excitement at what was to come.

It resembled a scene from a gladiator-type movie, just as Chrissy had suggested. However, the female combatant appeared not to want to be there, which threw up an alternative interpretation of the crime scene to the one she and Chrissy had imagined.

Chrissy’s current task involved comparing DNA samples from the female victim with those collected from both the staff and visitor quarters, in order to hopefully establish her role aboard the ship. Had she perhaps not been a paying guest, after all, but someone brought on board to take part in the scene they were now viewing?

The virtual audience fell silent as all eyes turned to a lone male now entering the arena. He strode in, effectively giving a bow to the adoring crowd. He appeared to be the favoured one, the ‘hero’ of whatever game was being played out here.

The appreciative roar from the balcony emphasized that.

In contrast, the watchers in the strategy room were completely silent. Whatever happened next would result in two actual deaths, and that wouldn’t be comfortable for anyone there to watch.

The female, although possessing a weapon that looked like the one found at the scene, kept it by her side. She appeared not to want to fight, which obviously angered her opponent, and the watching crowd, who proceeded to boo and shout obscenities at her.

Egged on by the male, they continued to call out for blood to be spilt. The male, obviously aroused, was eager for that too. He began prodding her, the point of his short sword nicking the skin on her arms, then her thighs, culminating in her exposed breast. This led to a roar of approval.

And still the female didn’t defend herself or retaliate.

Rhona thought of her own interpretation of the manner in which the scene might have played out, and suspected something was about to change.

And change it did.