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When she noticed the Benzite for the first time, Autumn hesitated, but only for a moment. Her training quickly took over and she attempted to act as if she'd been expecting the Benzite the whole time.

"Ah. Actan said you'd be around to assist me. My associated and I are conducting business with your boss."

"Fine, we can talk. But first...Kodor! Refreshments!" Actan shouted over his shoulder at some unseen assistant before turning back to the pair. "What do you want?"

The Bolian's voice carried from the other room, as he shouted for someone – probably his Benzite assistant – to join them at the front of the store.

He didn't move right away though, eyeing Autumn with suspicion, his gaze lingering in the polarium cases.

"We're saving those for another buyer," he said.

Autumn pretended to be a little disappointed.

"What about the—"

Actan's voice interrupted them, as he summoned his assistant again.

"I better go," the Benzite said, scurrying away.

Autumn took a deep breath.

She had the data she needed. Before heading out of the storage area though, she took a small transparent trace (which looked a bit like a bit of selotape, and would be invisible except to the most dedicated observer, and placed it at the bottom of a couple of the polarium cases. They would be able to trace the polarium, now that they knew what they were looking for, but the patches would let them know that they had the right boxes. She would still need to modify their own supply of kemocite with platinum, but for that, she needed to return to the shuttle.

Actan nodded at the refreshed glass in Alex's hand. "That there's a token of his appreciation. If he's happy with you, might be a couple extra bottles for you too. Best get going. Kodor, watch the front. Where's that pointy-ear you came in with?"

Ardy nodded as they made the deal.  Ideally, they  would be able to get some potential contacts and then with enough evidence, send the whole operation crumbling down. Now that they were VIPs in this guy's mind, all the better to loop him in. "I'm sure she's just looking at the merch and got lost in the deals. You gotta lot of good stuff here. She's a bit of a tech junkie. Always looking for the best of the best  in terms of  stuff to upgrade our ship, y'know? She can compare the stats for parts for hours." she smirked, trying to keep him from questioning about  Autumn for a bit longer. "Why don'tcha take us over to the Rock since you know him so well? Would help our mutual prospects to get to know him personally, y'know? she asked.

Autumn went back to join the others, casting a meaningful look to commander Wu. Kodor was still looking at her with a little suspicion, as he layed a tray of drinks on the counter, and whispered something into Actan's ears. The Bolian's visual augmentation became fixed on the young science officer.

"So, found anything you want?" he asked

"The nanoprobles. And maybe the telomeric regenerator you have, if there's a discount. The screen is broken." she said firmly.

Since Kodor was probably telling Actan about her interest in the biomimetic gel, it was a good move to pretend she was also interested in medical equipment in general. That might be sufficient to placate their suspicions.

[Marketplace - Actan's Gear and Rare Goods]
Ardyn nodded when Autumn confirmed their suspicions.  Disruptors, Empathetic enhancers, and all sorts of goods towering high in the back rooms of this shop.
Guns? Enhancers? I think we might have found the jackpot. Ardy smirked, sending that thought to Alex, all the while looking at who she assumed was Actan himself.
That one eye of his seemed to bore into her as he scrutinized the three. Could his implant see through them? She wasn't sure, and she didn't really want to find out.
"Whaddaya want I don't have all day." He said, glaring dismissively.
"Got some Stuff to sell or trade. Whole cargoload full and everything so there's a whole lot more where that came from," she said,  placing down a Hor'ghan and a small fragment of the Kemocite.  The Bolian's one good eye seemed to go wide at the sight of the Kemocite.
"You don't see that every day, that's for sure.   he said, eying the rare material.
"You said that right.  Mind if my Partner and Associate here take a look at your wares first before we make a deal? See if we can find something.... equivalent? " she asked, opening up Alex and Autumn to snoop through this guy's stash.

"What are you looking for?" The Bolian asked, piercing Autumn with his eyes.

He caught Autumn by surprise, and she would have expected him to direct his questions to Commander Wu instead, but it only took her a second to recover from that moment.

"I will know it when I see it," she said, in that learned Vulcan way that always has a hint of I-challenge-you-to-doubt-my-logic.

The Bolian eyed the science officer from head to toe with his ocular augmentation. Then he grunted, dismissively, nodding and indicating the back of his store with a quick movement of his head. Before long his attention was back on the items that Lieutenant Jaeger had placed before him. Autumn had time to see Actan pulling out a scanning device from under his bench before making her way to the back of the store.

The place was smaller than she would have expected, and it seemed smaller still by the amount of items stacked in piles that stretched all the way to the ceiling creating corridors so narrow she could only walk in sideways. There was a small table near the entrance, though, and that's the place she chose to place the cylindrical transverse bag that contained another Hor'ghan and a second sample of kemocite. Her job was to tamper with the contraband, to make sure they'd be able to track the kemocite to wherever the Bolian moved it. The best way to do that would be to insert traceable amounts of platinum, a common element on Earth that tended to be absent in most alien planets for some reason, but Autumn had to make sure that the Bolian wasn't smuggling anything else with platinum in it, or that might confure their sensors.

Autumn pulled out her scanner from the pocket of her trench coat, abandoning all pretence and scanning the wares for signs of platinum, as well as her second and third choice of traceable metals. The plan was to do a detailed scan, then pierce the bottom of the Hor'ghan in her bag with a platinum needle, and run a simulation to see if her scanner, and more importantly, the ship's sensors, would be able to track the material without mistaken it by anything else. For now it was only a model, as she didn't have access to either Challenger or Calindra's Dream, but it would have to do.

While she was immerse in her first scanner though, Autumn noticed something unusual. Her disguised tricorder was picking up clear indications of polarium. She followed the signal, and sure enough, there they were, polarium cases on a shelf at the back, so heavy they caused the shelf to become curved in the middle. But that couldn't be... Polarium was only used in one very specific circumstance, and it wasn't possible that... Autumn pulled one of the cases from the lowest shelf and placed it in the floor, kneeling in front of it. She opened it.

This was a problem. The Vulcan/Andorian science officer was staring at what looked like eight cannisters of biomimetic gel, one of the most regulated substances in the Federation, if for no other reason because of it's potential to be used in metagenic weapons.

For a moment, the whole reason why she had started that scan had fled her mind. The Bolian had at least thirty cases like this one. Biomimetic Gel was too dangerous a substance to have in store like this, which meant he had to have a buyer and the cannisters would be moved soon. They had to do something.

She turned her head to see if Commander Wu had followed her into the back of the shop, but before she could look back Autumn's gaze stopped at a young Benzite who seemed to have only just emerged from a decaying door just a few steps away from her. From the way he was dressed, it was safe to assume he worked for Actal, probably a poorly compensated servant, or an apprentice of some kind. When Autumn met his eyes, he was pulling up the zipper of his trousers, and before she could close the polarium case in front of her, the benzite spoke:

"Who the hell are you?"

[Wu, Ardyn, AutumnBathân, Trading Centre]

[Bathân - Landing pad > Trading Centre]

[Bathân - Landing pad > Trading Centre]

The confrontation seemed to dissipate as rapidly as it had begun, leaving nothing behind but a dead body and green blood trails. It took Alex far longer to get his heartrate and breathing back down to normal, the adrenaline still pumping through him. "Right. Autumn, help me with this." Together, they carried the body up the ramp and out of view into the Dream's cargo bay. Even though Alex did his best not to get bodily fluids everywhere, drops of blood dripping onto the deck were unavoidable. "Sorry Neva, we'll have to worry about where to deposit him after. Do you have a body bag or container we can keep him in till then?"

Kneeling next to the recently deceased, Alex efficiently went through the clothing, looking for anything which may be of value, moreso intelligence-wise than monetary. Noting a strange tattoo on the Romulan's neck but finding nothing else of interest, he returned a few slips of latinum into the corpse's pocket. "We're too new here not to attract more attention. Stay frosty. Come on, Autumn."

Autumn held the ankles of the body in front of her, helping commander Wu get it out of sight, while two drips of thick green blood rolled down the side of her boots. It wasn't lost on her that she had never had to do anything quite like this before, and that there was already a casualty, after they had only just set down on this place seemed a bad omen for the future of their mission.

"You should probably call me Ice, sir," Autumn reminded the commander gently, using her assigned codename for the mission.

Once they had put the body down, she watched closely as he kneeled down next to the body, noticing as he searched the body that his eyes lingered on the curious tattoo in the Romulan's neck. Autumn often observed her superior officers closely, much more closely, she though than most  other cadets in her class. She knew, from a young age, that there was more to being a Starfleet officer than one could learn at the academy, no matter how many seminars on temporal mechanics or comparative exoanatomy she squeezed into her overcrowded schedule. Beyond all of the scientific disciplines she had under her belt, beyond even the challenging modules of first contact diplomacy and subspace battle strategies, which she didn't expect would be needed until much later in her career, being a Starfleet officer required a non insignificant amount of interpersonal abilities. Starships – even the largest flagships of the Federation - were no different from small towns in that everybody on board knew everybody else, and they spent an alaarmingly large amount of time together. Try as she might to hide away in her quarters or in some of the science labs, running models to enhance the ship's sensors, Autumn had to interact with a lot of people every single day. Getting people to like you made life easier, in innumerable ways, but this was not an area where Autumn shined. It wasn't something that came naturally to her as it did to so many other officers. So she observed. She watched her superiors closely, noticing how they conducted themselves, how they moved, how they spoke, hoping to learn by example, to mimic their antics until they became her own. She was so accustomed to doing so that she used every opportunity, even if was a few seconds, right after carrying a dead body by the ankles, to get it out of the way.

Sadly nothing on her research about the smuggling in this part of space told her anything about the strange tatoo on the Romulan's neck. She thought Commander Wu would have appreciated that information, but perhaps Alhanju would know. She made a mental note to include indument and body art information on her next mission's preparatory research pack.

[Bathân - Landing pad > Trading Centre]

Heading back out onto the landing platform, they quickly caught up to Ardyn who was speaking with some of the locals. Unsurprisingly, most seemed warily unhelpful after the lightshow they'd just witnessed. Eventually, they did manage to get directions towards the nearest trading forum, and Alex led the way down one of the busier concourses. "Finding the big fish in a place like this won't be easy...maybe the best place to start would be to keep working on the 'Dream. Call out any vendors you'd like to check out, Rynn. Autumn, any chance you're able to scan for traces of energy readings without making it too obvious? Radiation that might be connected to banned weaponry or equipment?"

Autumn reached for the scanning device inside one of the pockets of her trench coat. It looked like the kind of standard portable database that Ferengi traders used to consult prices and stock updates during negotiations, but that was simply a shell, with the core of a standard Federation scientific tricorder. Autumn had even been careful to add scruff marks to the edges of the device to make it seem battered and old.

Acting as if she was consulting an entry in a database, the science officer did a broad range radiation scan with only a few easy key strokes, focusing on a panel of panel of specific electromagnetic frequencies known to be associated with illegal items.

"I'm detecting traces of particle radiation, 800 meters in that direction," she said, putting the device away as soon as she gazed at the results, interpreting them to her superior officer. "The information is nonspecific. Likely sources are Varon-T disruptors, Tallonian empathic enhancers and Remat detonators, all of which are strictly regulated in Federation space under the highest security level."

She swallowed hard. Autumn had seen a Varon-T disruptor in action only once before in her life. It was a frightful weapon, one she wished she never had to use even on her worst enemy.

Wu, Ardyn, Autumn
Bathân, Trading Centre
'Actan' was an overweight Bolian sporting a nasty looking facial scar that went through one eye. The eye had been replaced with a bionic replacement that doubled as a scanner. He was boisterous and loud, conversing with the locals and potential customers as to deals to be done.
Actan was the owner of Actan's Gear and Rare Goods shop. A popular destination for traders of all types. Perhaps he would be interested in purchasing some of the Dream's cargo.

The trading center was unlike anything Autumn had ever seen.

A multitude of stalls spread across narrow corridors extending as far as the eye could see. It started not too far away from the landing pad, and the "streets" – if indeed they could be called that – intersected each other at unexpected places. There was noise everywhere. Aliens of species that Autumn had only ever read about in Leonard McCoy's comparative alien physiology stood behind counters and windows that displayed what she could only estimate were millions of items of many different types and origins.

As she started making her way towards the from which she had detected the radiation emissions, she couldn't help but marvel at the wealthy and diversity of elements all around her. On one stand, dozens of vials with powdered and leaves of many different colours were on display – spices, she realized, from a hundred different worlds. Next door, a Rigelian woman selected large yellow fruits from baskets of assorted vegetables, and two stalls down from her, a webbed-fingered Zaldan explained the many functionalities of his D-type robots to a potential customer. There was conversation, laughter, shouting and movement everywhere. Since some of the stalls sold livestock, animals too were roaming those corridors, and Autumn had to get out of the way fast when some type of spiked boar ran through the trading center's corridors, chased by three Ferengi merchants that seemed entirely out of breath.

When they were getting close to the place indicated by her scanner, Autumn noticed the Bolian with a bionic eye, clutching a jar of reprogrammable borg nanoprobes that he insisted were too valuable to part with for any less than twelve bars of gold press latinum. The neon sign above him said "Gear and Rare Goods" in Romulan, or at least, she thought it did, and behind the man, on the corner of a narrow shelf, she saw the unmistakable crystal at the center of what could only be a tallonian  empathic enhancer. She indicated the stall to Commander Wu with her head.

"Disruptors, and empathic enhancers," she said in a low voice.

She waited for the commander to start negotiations, wondering if the Bolian's bionic enhancement could see through her pack, the samples of Kemocite and the Risian artifact.

[[Calindra's Dream, approaching Bathân]]

[Calindra's Dream, approaching Bathân]
"There's no outrunning or fighting this one. Guess we'll have to play gracious hosts and get this over with. Everyone, arm yourselves. at the first sign of this going south - don't hesitate to neutralise them."
Malik tapped the communication system to reply.
"This is the Calindra's Dream. We're enroute to Bathân with a hold full of scrap for trade."
"Your ship registry is not recognised. You will submit for inspection and face the mandatory trade registration fee. Prepare to be boarded. Cooperate and this will go smoothly. Try anything stupid and we'll destroy you."
"We will comply. If you could kindly transmit your ident code to prove you are who you say you are."
After a moments pause, the reply came via a transmission to Autumn's terminal. Before they could verify it a trio of Romulan's beamed aboard the bridge of the Dream. Dressed in uniforms with 'trade authority' emblazoned on them. Disruptor pistols were holstered on their hips. They appeared legitimate at first glance.
"Welcome aboard. As you can see, we are simple scrap traders. We did not realise there was a registration fee."
The Romulans looked around the bridge and looked at Wu's and Ardyn's consoles.
"This ship doesn't look space worthy, even for scrappers."
"I'm afraid we are just starting out in this business. Feel free to inspect our hold, you'll find we're only carrying basic scrap."
"We'll see. The registration fee to trade on Bathân is five bars of gold pressed latinum. Payable now."
Malik remained calm, five bars was worth a hundred times the scrap they were carrying. But everyone needed their cut.
"Of course. Cheng, if you'd be so kind as to pay the man."
Meanwhile down in the cargo hold...
Three more Romulan trade agents beamed in next to Calindra. They were carrying a range of handheld inspection scanners. Seeing the containment field, they spoke to Calindra.
"Lower the field, for inspection, now."

Autumn straightened her back on her seat as soon as the intruders beamed on board the ship. She proceeded to start verifying their credentials with a series of standard decryption algorithms but the verification would take 85 seconds to complete. Prior to the mission, the crew had been provided with modified weapons that had the same settings as Federation phase pistol, but looked more like standard disruptors, so as to go with their cover. Autumn had one such weapon on the inner breast pocket of her trench coat, another on her belt and a knife hidden on the lateral aspect of her boot.

Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying much attention to the science station, Autumn used her console to put up a second energy field around their contraband. The first energy field was designed to jam sensors... The second was a little different. Instead of jamming sensors this field was designed to project a false signature. As soon as Cali dropped her field, the second one would be triggered and anything behind it would read as the scrap they were supposed to be carrying. But it would only work while the intruders remained on the bridge.

She kept her attention on Commander Malik, on hand discreetly on the weapon in her belt, ready to pull the pistol out at the smallest signal

Autumn was a little surprised by Cali's question. People didn't generally ask her that kind of thing... She'd spent much of her life between Vulcan and Andorian, and those were places where people didn't really ask that sort of question, unless you were really close, and Autumn wasn't close to anybody. Later, at the academy, she did her best to attract as little attention as possible, and she came to find out that most young cadets weren't all that interested in much other than themselves... At the academy, most of the conversations she had were variations on people saying saying things like "I am such a good pilot," or "Of course, I'm taking advanced astrometrics"... As a rule, most of them were far more interested in themselves than in getting to know someone new. Especially someone who was quiet... It was one of the reasons she hadn't enjoyed her time at the Academy very much.

Her eyes met Cali's and Autumn noticed, for the first time that the other woman had been observing her for a while. Her cheeks flushed with green and she averted her eyes, sinking a little deeper into the thermal waters.

"My parents were Starfleet officers," she said. "Mother was chief engineer, and father was a science officer. But I don't remember them very well. They died when I was little."

Autumn spoke in a low voice, but the quiet in the glaciers was such that every word seemed almost as if it was whispered next to the ears of the person listening. It created a wonderfully intimate atmosphere.

"After that I was sent to my mother's family on Vulcan, for a time. I was educated by Vulcan masters until it was time to formalize my betrothal to a boy from an appropriate family, but during the ceremony, I couldn't form the bond. I didn't... The touch telepathy that allows Vulcans to mind meld... I didn't have that at the right time... Because I wasn't fully Vulcan..." Autumn saw the words tumbling out of her, even though they were difficult to say... "After that, they sent me to my father's family, in Andoria. They enrolled me in a military school. But if I wasn't Vulcan enough to remain on Vulcan, turned out I was too Vulcan for Andoria..."

Her words were cryptic, but not by design... Autumn simply didn't know how to express what was on her mind. Instead, she shrugged  simply,

"I don't really belong anywhere," she said, with something of a sad smile.

Little Luka, seeming to sense the loneliness of his owner had run back to the lake at this point. He approached her from behind and lick the lobe of her ear a couple of times before laying down on the snow.

[[Kelly Oren - Bridge - Calindra's Dream]]

[Kelly Oren - Bridge - Calindra's Dream]
Having exorcised her demons, Calindra finally made it top side as they were hashing options on their approach.
"We can even expand on her idea by picking a random space rock and matching its course and speed," Cali suggested as she found her way to the ship's comm systems. She nodded at Takil, Rynn, Kal-El, and Autumn as she slid into her seat.

[Calindra's Dream, Bridge]

The smugglers were quickly proving themselves to be a resourceful crew, coming up with a bunch of smart ideas to overcome the problem of being detected by Outpost 30. Which was less than a light-year away now. No doubt they were already being picked up by whoever was keeping watch there.

"Blend in with the scrap field, using the patrol routes to our advantage, then coasting using our inertia when required. Let's go with that."

Kal-El took a seat in the worn, (but not as worn out as the others), command chair. Malik made a mental note to refer to their aliases only from now on, it would take a bit of getting used to.

"Power down all non-essential systems. Let's get that course plotted. 'Cheng', is there anything we know about those old outposts that we could use to aid our plan?"

Malik listened to 'Takil's' idea with interest, "Scan the debris field, is there anything worth taking?"

Autumn immediately started relaying her information about Starfleet's sensor network in this sector, along with telemetry from the sensors to the helm. She sent in her plotted course for the first part of that plan, messaging the helm that she was doing calculations for the best point to exit the orbit of the junkyard. It was a blessing that the ship had such a good internal messaging system between bridge stations. Otherwise, the constant chatter between different stations would create such cacophony as they tried to keep the sheep on course that no one would be able to think.

Other than Commander Malik's – No. Kal-el, she corrected herself. Other than Kal-El's orders, the bridge was mostly quiet, and Autumn was settling into her role as a smuggler. She had to say, she was enjoying this chance to be someone else for a while, and she was particularly fond of this trench coat and the way it fit her. In fact she might not want to recycle it after the mission was done. She smiled briefly at Cali, when she joined the bridge, and greeted Alhanju with a nod, thinking of their time at the holodeck after the Ferengi mission... It was a welcome change of pace to actually be familiar with some of the new faces in this ship... Perhaps her former Captain was right. Perhaps the Challenger would come to feel like home to her one day...

[Calindra's Dream - Bridge]

"It's an older Earth outpost station constructed on an asteroid, initially built in the late 22nd century as part of an early warning system to monitor the Romulan border. More of a listening post than anything else, but their sensors would've been continuously updated, rivaling those of our most modern starships. That being said, those sensors should be calibrated to look for cloaked Romulan ships coming in from the border side, not so much from behind them." Alex took the seat that Calindra just vacated, there not being enough workstations or really even space on the diminutive bridge for everyone to be there at once.

"If we come up with something which could emulate a Romulan energy signature, shoot it off somewhere not near us, it might distract the outpost long enough for us to get by without attracting too much attention. Lesser of two weevils, a Romulan trying to sneak in is a far bigger problem than a freighter trying to sneak out. I wouldn't advise staying too long in that debris field looking for scrap though, we won't be the first to have thought about going through it. Who knows what kind of nasty surprises the previous scavengers might've left behind."

"Romulan cloaking devices release a small but detectable tachyon signature. I believe we could target one of these pieces of degree and hit it with a concentrated tachyon beam. It is likely that upon detecting the tachyon residue, the outpost would then proceed to scan the area for a cloaked Romulan vessel," Autumn offerered.

[Calindra's Dream, approaching Bathân]
Malik had taken the decision to head for the planet of Bathân. It was a prime target to gain some smuggling knowledge, but also very dangerous, akin to old Earth's pirate Tortuga. The supplies they were carrying including the salvage from earlier would fetch a nice price here.
"Bring us in for a landing approach, Rynn. There seems to be a large landing port on the northern continent."
Before the freighter could enter the planet's vicinity however they received a hail.
"This is the Bathân Trade Authority. Power down your engines and prepare for inspection."
A venerable Romulan corvette decoaked off their starboard. It seemed to be a relic from the 2350's; having seen better days it still appeared formidable.
Malik turned to the bridge crew.
"What's our threat assessment on that ship. Do we have any intelligence on this 'Bathân Trade Authority'?"
For all they knew, there was no 'trade authority' and they were about to be pirated.
Down in the Dream's cargo hold, the scrap collected from space earlier was still being sorted by Neva and Takil. What they didn't know was the severe risk of radiation and chemical leaks as they poked about. The Dream's internal sensors just weren't as good as those on the Challenger.

Autumn immediately started to search her database, using a series of queries with multiple Boolean operators.

"No information of a Bethan Trade Authority, sir. Bethan is a small system under the authority of the Romulan Empire. I suggest we ask for them to transmit proof of their identity before boarding, as would be standard in any legitimate inspection. If they're legit, they'll have the Romulan Imperial Seal on a photolytic data rod. Impossible to forge. Even if they do have it, the delay will give security time to set a trap."

Their sensors were picking up some interesting information about what was stored in the newcomer's cargo bay. Autumn relayed that information to tactical as well.

[[Calindra's Dream, Bridge]]

[Calindra's Dream - Bridge]

Autumn's research had provided a veritable mountain of information from which to choose her outfit. She went for a long brown trench coat, over black clothes, making sure that the fit of the coat followed a Xepolite tailoring design, as that would be more appropriate for a smuggler in that part of space than something of Federation origin. Additionally, her trench coat had enough pockets that she could conceal a scanning device.

Once she had suited up, the young science officer made her way to the shuttle bay, where she supervised the transport of Kemocite to the freighter, even as works for the refit continued to take place. Autumn made sure to place the ore inside magnetic containers that would shield it from long distance scanners, as requested by her superior officer, and while she was at it, the science officer ran a scan on the Risan artifacts, to make sure they didn't contain any metals or other materials that might be detectable long-range. Everything checked out. They were on the clear.

[Calindra's Dream, Bridge]

Kal-El surveyed the space outside the cockpit window of the Calindra's Dream. The border was ahead. They course would take them between Earth Outpost 30 and station K12, far outside the safe transit corridor. This had its positives and negatives. They would avoid the mandatory scanning and inspection of the corridor. However, if they were caught crossing the border outside of the corridor it would raise immediate red flags.

"Whats our ETA to the border, anything showing on the scanners?"

"Engineering, what's our scanner profile looking like, is there anything we can do to make us seem smaller and less smuggler-like?"

When the commander spoke to Engineering, Autumn swiveled her chair from her spot at one of the lateral consoles – the freighter didn't have a proper science station.

"Commander, I may have an alternative. We have access to the schedules of the Federation patrol ships in this sector through the computer database," she held up a tricorder in which she had downloaded a chunk of the Challenger's memory with data about this region of Space, as was routine for science officers in away missions "If we can anticipate their movements, we don't have to appear smaller. We simply have to move when their backs are turned."

She took a PADD with a preliminary sketch of a course in which the freighter would slowly move towards an orbiting junkyard in the vicinity of Earth Outpost 30 during a window in the wide sensor array, pass as another dead ship in the junkyard for 270 degrees of its orbit and take off on the other side, taking advantage of another 10 seconds window in the sensor array. It required some expert navigation, but it was definitely a viable plan. However, the commander had called the engineering team and she awaited for his signal to get out of her place and hand in the PADD.

"Great work, it can be stowed right away. Ensign, this is Hyperion our resident AI consultant. We were just discussing the best crossing point of the border." He gestured to the holographic display of the local border.
He addressed both then, "What are we thinking for the 2nd product? And we'll need a way to shield them both from scans should we be intercepted or inspected."

"Well, my first suggestion would be something like enolian wine or romulan ale," she said. "Both are leisure alcoholic beverages which are forbidden but not as strictly regulated as Kemocite. Therefore, in case of need, smugglers can use them as a decoy, to keep the more profitable substance hidden. Additionally, Enolian wine has been known to be used as a bribe to make certain patrol officers look the other way."

[Astrometics - USS Challenger]

As Hyperion turned to face Autumn, he accessed the ship's personnel records to find the unfamiliar to him ensign and on finding her, he said.

"It is a pleasure to meet you Ensign Kala. I have seen your proposed modifications to the sensor array and they show promise. I would suggest inverting the theta band through the lateral sensor array to gain even more resolution.

"As for a likely cargo, antiquities are a popular item to smuggle. If you can obtain actual artifacts on the Starbase, that would be best, but very detailed artifacts can be replicated as a ruse."

Autumn raised an eyebrow at the AI consultant's suggestion. She didn't comment on his sugeestion about the sensor array, but it sounded intriguing and she would look for the consultant later, to discuss this is more detail, once her duties related to this mission were completed. Their suggestion about antiques was also interesting.

"I had not considered that. I did find a supplier for the alcohol – a Bolian trader, who's a regular at one of the starbase's drinking establishments. But antiques would be easier to obtain, especially if we are willing to make replicas. They would not be as effective as a diversion though."

She looked at the first officer again.

"About the shielding, we can build magnetic containers that shield Kemocite from long-range detection. An inspection party would have to board the ship and be in the same room as the containers to know what was inside. Wine and antiques would not require any shielding, as most starships carry supplies of legal beverages and artifacts that would show the same readings."

"Hyperion has given me the perfect idea. Ensign Lira. Head to my quarters and grab my collection of antique horga'hn. Replicate them and stow them aboard the freighter."
Malik's collection contained some fine artefacts of fertility statues. Some were several hundred years old and were rare and valuable to collectors.
"Crewman Azsayak. Head to the shuttlebay. We need a way to hide our contraband from external scans. Either a special alloy compartment or a shielding of some sort. Ensign Kala has the Kemocite already enroute."
The plan was coming together nicely.
"Dismissed."

Autumn watched the orders and used her PADD to send instructions to the cargo bay holding the kemocite, to move the containers with the substance to the freighter. Then she excused herself to make her way to the freighter, but not without stealing a glance at hyperion and saying.

"Your suggestion about our sensors is intriguing. I will study the modifications and report back for a discussion once the mission is through."

[Astrometrics - USS Challenger]
Hyperion ran multiple calculations on both options using several variables, Malik only had to wait seconds as the powerful computing capability made the assigned task a trivial matter.
"Commander, simulations of both options produce different results. Using the Safe Transit Corridor has the greatest chance of you being searched. I am unaware that you are carrying anything illegal, the logical option is to use the corridor and let the authorities search you.
"If you are carrying contraband, although riskier, avoiding the corridor makes more sense, although the consequences are higher if you are detected. Are you carrying contraband?"

It was only after Autumn had spoken that she noticed the ship's AI consultant at the Astrometrics lab. She was disconcerted.

"Greetings," she said, to Hyperion, and then added, apologetically and more than a little abashed "I didn't mean to interrupt."

Thank you for the welcome!

A fellow scientist! Welcome o/

[[Calindra Hejaran - Holodeck Two - USS Challenger]]

At the shoreline of the springs, he sighed at feeling the fumes from the springs. He instantly sat in the springs close to Autumn, feeling relaxed, before turning his head toward Autumn with a grin. "Jolan Tru, Autumn," he said, given his customary Romulan greeting. "Impressive with the program."

He looked at the dog frolicking about and smiled all the more widely. "Cute little animal. I used to have a similar canid companion. And there are canid-like animals I knew at my home planet, Andgarr...I think I'll explain further about Andgarr when Cali and Tora get here, save to tell twice."

"Jolan Tru," Autumn replied, thanking his compliment on her program with a simple nod of her head. She was submerged all the way to her neck now, and the warm vapors emanating from the surface of the water created a pleasant sensation on the skin of her face.

She opened her mouth to ask Alhanju about his planet, but closed it again when he said he would explain more in front of the others, exercising control over her curiosity. She had noticed the ensign's feral appearance earlier, and had been curious about his background.

[Calindra Hejaran - Holodeck Two - USS Challenger]

Cali smiled at those already assembled in the pool, she nodded politely at Alhanjhu's formal greeting. "Jolan Tru, my new friends," she repeated before giving them both a slight bow, turning just in time to feel the weight of their gazes upon her. It was unusual for her to feel self-conscious, but the weariness of the day left her more vulnerable than usual.

Even Autumn's eager puppy had stopped frolicking in the snow and seemed locked on her every movement.

Trying to hide her reddening cheeks (though who would notice in this weather?), Calindra focused on a nearby wooden hut serving as a sort of clothing station. There, she slipped off her clogs with practised grace, shivering slightly at the cool touch of the stones beneath her feet. With a fluid motion, she untied her kimono, allowing the delicate fabric to cascade from her shoulders. She draped it carefully over a wooden post, its silken folds catching the soft, ambient light.

She turned around and made her way through the crisp night air, finally reaching the edges of the pool where Alhanjhu was waiting for her, offering a hand. His offer seemed courteous, almost gallant, and she found herself smiling at the unexpected chivalry.

"Thank you, kind sir," she murmured, reaching out and letting her hand settle in his. She felt the strength of his grip, firm yet gentle, as he guided her down into the warm embrace of the water. The transition from the crisp night air to the heated pool was refreshing, and she sighed contentedly, relaxing as she settled into the pool opposite the two.

Shortly after he said that, Cali entered the holodeck. It was impossible not to notice how beautiful the other young woman was, draped in a silk kimono that seemed to match the texture of her skin. Autumn smiled to Cali as she arrived, noticing the way she pulled her robe around herself, greeted by the cold Andorian air, and the way in which she moved across the snow, barely leaving her footprints. There was a confidence in her, in the way she moved, the way she carried herself... A confidence that Autumn lacked in herself. She was drawn to it, as perhaps everyone was, and in the span of a few seconds, she imagined years of friendship and trust alongside this woman, whom she had only just met.

When Cali came to the wooden hut, however, Autumn averted her eyes. She had taken care to arrive in the holodeck before each of the others, for she knew how self-conscious she would feel of being observed while she disrobed, and because she wouldn't wish to intrude, to witness something she hadn't been invited to watch or to cause such discomfort in another, no matter how hypnotic their presence seemed to be.

She slid herself to the side, putting a few more inches between herself and the others, so as not to touch them by accident, and not to expose them to that uncomfortable experience... When Cali was in the water, however, she spoke again.

"These springs are about the contrast. The cold of the winter air and the warmth of the water, heated by the hot burning lava traveling under a thin crust at the bottom of the lake," she explained. Like a Vulcan and an Andorian, sharing the same body, she thought, not expressing those thoughts aloud. Instead, she spoke about the medicinal properties of the water, explaining that those springs had properties that restored muscle tone and strength after strenuous exercise. The vapors were beneficial to the skin. She spoke in a low voice, almost a whisper. The snowy landscape around them seem to extend for many miles, but the silence was so beautifully profound that they would be able to hear each other, even if none of them did anything more than whisper.

And then she added, almost without realizing it:

"But my favourite part are the twin moons..."

[Calindra Hejaran - Holodeck Two - USS Challenger]

"You know, I was almost born on Cor Caroli V," she said suddenly as she adjusted to the water. "My mother was on a trade delegation that wanted to profit from the goodwill everyone displayed at the end of the Dominion war, and was heavily pregnant with me. I was born a 12 hours after the trade negotiations were concluded."

"Sounds like a dynamic woman," Autumn said softly, with an unmissable note of respect in her voice. She admired strong women, and aspired to become one. "Alhanju was just saying he wasn't born on Romulus"

[Ensign Alhanjhu Jei'Jendak | Holodeck Two | Deck Six | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]
Alhanjhu smiled, glad to see that the etiquette lessons he got from Uncle Anju paid off. He offered Cali his hand and gave space for her, guiding her to the water.
"You're most welcome, Cali," he said, and he sat next to her. He listened to her with interest.
"Very interesting circumstances," he said. "I was born in interesting circumstances as well. I lived some of my childhood on Romulus, but I was born on the planet Andgarr. Then, after the destruction of Romulus, I was on a ship heading to Andgarr, but we crashed there. I've lived in the wilds ever since. Then the Subanax, my adoptive uncle Anju Jindak, hence my name somewhat, took me in and civilized me, in a way. Yes, I used to be a feral child," he added with a grin.
"Still, I heard plenty about this ship. I knew it was at Andgarr a year ago, and while there, it saved Andgarr from a planet-killer."

They both had such interesting lives... She couldn't help but ask questions.

"How old were you, Alhanju? It couldn't have been easy for a child, to fend for yourself in the wild..."

[USS Challenger, XO's Office]

USS Challenger, XO's Office

[USS Challenger, XO's Office]

Malik took the padd and reviewed its contents, the report was meticulously detailed and exactly what he needed.

"This is excellent work, ensign. Take a seat."

Malik studied the report further nodding with approval.

"Sensor efficiency is more Lieutenant Randell's territory, if you bring those to him. I'm planning an away team for our pending operation. I heard good things about you on our last mission. Tell me, if you were a smuggler, what would you try to bring over our side of the border into Romulan territory? Secondly, what would be a maximum sensor range to detect those items?"

Autumn noticed the approval in the first officer's demeanor and a little spark lit up inside her. It was a warm feeling, the feeling that she was exactly where she was supposed to be, doing her job as well as she possibly could. But she didn't allow the moment to distract her and as soon as he asked her those questions, the ensign considered her options for a moment.

"Kemocite," she replied. "It commands a hefty price because of its multiple applications, and there's a broad market for it, which means larger profit margins. Also, because of the broad market, it moves fast, and there's less of a worry of being caught transporting the substance."

Then she thought about the question about the sensor range.

"Well, in the case of kemocite, the long range sensors don't have the resolution to distinguish it from other similar compounds. I estimate that the ship would need to be at a maximum of 3.74 light years from the vessel carrying kemocite for it to be picked up by our sensors, presuming they were carrying a large enough amount, and that they don't have the special magnetic containers that shield the substance from subspace detection."

After a brief pause, she continued:

"Tricorders would be more precise and wouldn't be tricked by the containers, but they'd need a considerably shorter range. No more than 5.15 kilometers. This shouldn't be a problem if we boarded the smuggling ship for inspection," she continued presuming that this was the sort of operation that was in the Commander's mind.

USS Challenger, Astrometrics lab (later that day)

[USS Challenger, Astrometrics Lab]

Malik fired off the briefing pack to the away team.

The freighter had to be ready.
The away team had to be prepared.
Autumn had to source 'smuggled goods' as per her report and stock the freighter.
Malik needed a drink.

"Commander Grippen to away team. Mission begins in 72 hours. Review your briefing packs. Any problems, report to Astrometrics."

The message came through shortly after Autumn had handed the report on her sensor modifications to her direct superior in the Science division, and she immediately opened up a copy of the research for her report on her computer terminal, looking for the information she needed.

She still didn't know exactly what they would be doing in the mission but the information she had was that she was to stock the freighter with contraband, because they would be passing as smugglers on that area of the neutral zone. Based on reports of smuggling freighters arrested in the area, she calculated that most smugglers carried a minimum of two export products in their cargo bay, so it made sense to do the same thing. Kemocite would be the first, for all the reason she'd given the first officer earlier. Obtaining it was easy enough, as Federation patrol ship had apprehended dozens of vessels smuggling the substance, and therefore, kept large stores of it in a storage facility orbiting the station. Autumn knew it was important to leave no paper trail of this, and fortunately she knew one of the people supervising the patrolling of the region from her family's ship. Finding an excuse for some one-on-one time with her was easy, and there, in person, without any witnesses, Autumn made arrangements to obtain the kemocite containers she would need to fill in the freighter. Her contact would file in a report of a breach in a few days, and their cover, for having the substance, would be that they'd raided the federations storage. It was an elegant plan, containing just enough of the truth in it.

Now that everything was arranged, she proceeded to the Astrometrics lab. Commander Grippen was there.

"Commander, I have made arrangements to obtain the first of two products to stock the freighter. When can I have the containers transferred? "

She knew the freighter was undergoing refitting in one of the shuttle bays, but she wanted to know if it was at least ready enough that she could store the kemocite containers or if she needed to wait for the end of the refit operation.  Her initial impulse had been to go straight to the shuttlebay, but her instructions were to report to astrometrics.

Thank you, guys!

And congrats to all who've been promoted!

[[USS Challenger | Holodeck 2]]

[USS Challenger | Holodeck 2]

The programme was everything Autumn had expected it to be.

She was the first to arrive on the holodeck, wearing a standard Starfleet robe over her swimming clothes and carrying Luka on her left arm. As soon as the doors opened, she felt the cold wind blowing on her skin, and it immediately reminded her of long evenings in the snowy landscapes of Andoria. This programme was actually based on the hotsprings of Procyon V (Also known as Beta-Andoria, the second planet to be colonized by Andorians in their system), and as such, it feature Procyon's two moons, large and low in the sky. Procyon dandelions filled the evening air with perfume, and the pools of crystalline blue water emanated a soft hot vapor in the air.

Autumn put Luka in the floor and he immediately started running around the hot springs, splashing snow everywhere. Alone in the holodeck before any of the other joined us, she allowed herself a big smile watching the little dog have fun like that.

Then Autumn walked to the edge of one of the circular pools, let her robe fall and felt the fullness of the winter air, wearing nothing but a bikini stepping barefooted into the snowy ground. Then she went into the water, lowering herself slowly, feeling the warmth of the hot water immediately relax every muscle in her body, a well earned rest from all the crawling through Jeffrey's tubes from earlier in the day. She was close to the margins and Luka came by and surprised her, liking her ears before running off to a snowy hill to run up and down, playing around.

Autumn's question about the planet reminded Cali of the recent, bitter encounter she'd had there. She instinctively glanced down at her own ragged robes, evidence of her unexpected capture. "Yes, I was planetside," she replied, her voice carrying a trace of anger, softened by a smirk. "Got a little more than I bargained for with the so-called 'head pirate'. He thought I'd make a lovely addition to his harem — didn't take well to realizing I'm not one to play along." A spark of fierceness flickered in her eyes, fading as she reached down to scratch Luka behind the ears, smiling at the little dog's eager tail wag.

Autumn could read some of the anger in Cali's voice when she mentioned being down on the planet. It could not have been easy, Autumn had come across alien slave markets. She couldn't tell, from Cali's words just how far did the "head pirate" go, but she appreciated the boldness and the tone with which the other woman pointed out she had more than stood up by herself.

When she scratched Luka behind the ears, the little puppy put his tongue out and jumped on Cali, scratching her leg with his little paws.

"He clearly likes, you," Autumn, said, allowing herself a very subtle smile.

Alhanjhu nodded. "That's right. Although, off-duty, if you'd like to, you can call me Alhanjhu," he added after the blue woman introduced him to her blond human friend. He smiled at the invitation. "Actually, I'd be glad to. Hot springs will suit nicely."
He felt gladdened by the invitation. It was a good chance to make friends. "If you need to collect this Luka of yours, I'll get on some swimwear to go with the hot springs," he added, "and I could meet you at the holodeck."

Turning back to Autumn and Alhanjhu, Cali's expression softened, and she nodded at the holodeck invitation. "An Andorian hot springs program sounds like the perfect way to unwind. Andorian hot chocolate, too? Count me in! My friends call me Cali," she added, her eyes lighting up at the thought of some well-earned relaxation. "I'll admit, Andorian hot chocolate alone is worth the trip." She winked, adjusting her robes, still somewhat disheveled from her recent brush with the pirates. "And... Alhanjhu it is, off-duty," she added with a nod, appreciating his friendly gesture.
"Do I need to bring anything?"

"Did someone say hot springs?" She quipped as she walked up to them. As much as she was tired and would've loved to lay down and sleep in peace, a nice hot soak certainly wasn't out of place in her opinion, especially with company. "If there's room for another, of course. The name's Tora."

A lot of things happened in quick succession then. She nodded, acknowledging the Romulan's first name and before she knew it, both Cali and Alhanju were talking about getting changed to join the hot springs programme, Luka was chasing his own tail excitedly, and a third junior officer, a Cardassian woman who introduced herself as Tora came to join them.

"Actually, Alhanjhu," she started, picking up Luka in her lap once more. "I don't need to collect Luka, he's right here," she gave the little dog a kiss on the top of his head.

Autumn then turned to the newcomer, Tora.

"I'm Autumn. Of course, you'd be very welcome to join us. And Cali, there's no need to bring anything, just change into some swimwear." She spoke to the whole group. "Meet in holodeck 2 in three minutes?"