S6 E5 - The 48th Rule of Acquisition

[Neva Cordon]

[The Pit - Unknown Planet]

"Bloody hell!"

Ian gasped as first Malik and then Dersch went flying from what looked like casual backhand slaps from the Gorn. Wu then called out a weak spot in the Gorn's armor. As Alex parried the Gorn's attack, that left Ian able to make a move. He used the Gorn's distraction as he fought Alex to slid behind and then curve into a flank attack. As the Gorn thrusted at Alex, that left the spot under the arm open just long enough for Ian to stab the vulnerable spot. The spear bit hard and in response, the Gorn clamped his upper arm down and twisted. This was enough to snap the spearhead off the spear. Ian stared at his broken weapon for a moment, then pulled back and shifted to holding the haft like a quarterstaff.

"Bugger all the Ferengi that have ever existed!"

Ian growled. He knew things weren't going well, but the Gorn was hurt now and could no longer swing his sword with a spearhead lodged under his arm, so things were not hopeless. Ian just hoped Malik and Dersch weren't badly hurt.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Main Engineering - USS Challenger]

Before Autumn, Neva, or Lahr could execute the plan, The sounds of some approaching turned into four Nausicaans. They raised their disruptors and immediately began firing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[ACEO Lt.JG Neva Cordon]

When shots started firing, Neva reflexively hit the deck and winced in pain upon hitting her injured shoulder. "By the Gods of Light this just got fun! Head for the Jeffries Tubes! Might be safer!" Without waiting for a reply, Neva started crawling on her forearms toward a neighboring wall with access. There was more than one access point in this place!

Neva managed to reach just high enough to open the Tube and slide in, pushing herself down the ladder as quickly as possible. She looked up once, waiting for the others to arrive at her entry point. She prayed silently to see familiar boots above her coming down.

[Main Shuttlebay - USS Challenger]

When the crew that were being held in the shuttlebay became aware of Maddy, Gero, and the EMH, they quietly discussed how to take down as many guards as possible with the hyposprays. The problem was, there were thirty guards in the shuttlebay and the hypos, the three of them, each only held enough sedative for five uses.

[Ardyn Jaeger - Wu]

Jeffries Tubes]

[As Maddy]

Maddy crawled through the tunnels and found herself looking through the vent.  There was a bunch of people's feet and she was really hoping they didn't see her. It was like some game of hide and seek, but this time she couldn't hide in some closet or behind a tree.  She saw the holo-Doctor opening the panel and nodded as she crawled out, then tugged at someone's jacket before quietly handing them a vial . "I got you medicine.  Be careful. " she whispered.

[Arena]

A GORN? Ardy breathed heavily as she fingered her weapons, one broken, the other not.  Her side  still feeling raw from getting skidded across a hard dirt floor. and the fight had already takin quite a bit out of her.  She wasn't going to be any good in a close fight .  Scooting close to Grippen to act as some sort of barrier between the Gorn and him. He didn't look too good . But so did the others.

She rushed over and ripped a strip off her undershirt with the knife she was wearing, making it more of a cropped  top . It was mostly clean. And if Malik was going to make it, more of his blood would have to stay in him than out of him. Tying a rough tourniquet around Malik's wounds, she nodded to those huddled around. Alex brought up a really astute point. "I have no idea. If he wanted to keep the Federation away from going guns blazing to rescue us, they wouldn't have basically put it all over the holonet.  Sounds like some sick bet if you'd ask me."

The gorn rushed out towards them and Ardy dodged, much like a matador in the ring. She nicked it with her knives, but it would take a lot more than just a few nicks to take down this hulking menace.

"I'm going in to distract him. You guys get that weak spot in his armor " Be careful she said mentally to Alex before she dodged , aiming for the low parts. At least, she hoped it was the Gorn's sensitive parts.

[Calindra Hejaran]

[Bralok's Compound]
Whenever there was an arena fight, Bralok's compound was always less guarded. Almost everyone in the city attended the fights. The few that didn't were usually the servants, like those in the kitchen.
Approaching the kitchen a lot of activity and voices could be heard from within. The cooks were preparing the post-arena feast for Bralok's entourage. There was no escape that way.
"I know another way, through the maintenance exit..."
Lian led the way through the empty corridors of the compound. They arrived at the door and she pushed it open to reveal the compound's exterior gardens. They were large and open with a high fence surrounding them.
"The fence is tall, but if we work together maybe we can scale it. The city is just on the other side!"
What Lian didn't spot was Bralok's pet targ. It looked at them and stood, snarling from its position next to the fence.

[Ensign Hejaran - Bralok's Compound - Exterior Gardens]

The cool evening air hit them as Lian pushed open the door to the exterior gardens. The vast, open space was a stark contrast to the dark, claustrophobic side corridors they used to escape Bralok's compound. The high fence loomed ahead, separating them from freedom and the city beyond. One of the women quickly assessed the fence — it was tall, but not impossible to scale if they worked together. Her mind raced, already planning how they'd get over it without raising an alarm.

"Alright, we'll need to work fast," Calindra said, her voice hushed but urgent as she scanned their surroundings. "If we boost each other up, we can—"

The low growl stopped her mid-sentence.

From the shadows by the fence, Bralok's targ emerged, its eyes gleaming in the dim light. The creature stood, muscles tense and hackles raised, snarling as it slowly began to stalk toward them. Its teeth glinted as it snarled, a predatory growl vibrating in the air.

"Shhee-it..." Calindra muttered under her breath, instinctively stepping in front of the group. Her eyes locked on the targ, sizing it up. This was no ordinary pet — targs were brutal, dangerous, especially when protecting territory.

As Calindra considered their options, one of the wives, Kaitia, calmly brushed past her, startling her.

"Hey Credits! Who's the good girl?" Kaitia cooed softly. "Who's the good girl, huh?"

Calindra blinked. Was Kaitia seriously trying to coax a targ? It sure seemed that way. The targ, clearly curious, sniffed at Kaitia, its snarling quieting for a moment. Kaitia, undeterred, slowly reached out as if to scratch its ear.

Calindra didn't wait for the distraction to go south. "C'mon! Next!" she urged, turning to help one of the wives up the fence while the targ sniffed at Kaitia. "Move fast, or we're all done for!"

The first woman scrambled up with Calindra's help, her hands shaking as she grabbed the top of the fence. The others followed quickly, climbing one by one. Lian was already straddling the top of the wall, waiting to help pull the rest over.

Soon, only Kaitia, the targ, and Calindra remained on the ground. The targ was lying down now, enjoying belly rubs from Kaitia. Calindra watched in disbelief, but she had no time to question her luck.

"Erinyes, come on, give me your hand!" Lian called from the top of the fence, urgency in her voice. "Kaitia will go up last. I'll wait for her."

Cali rose an eyebrow, taking her attention away from the satisfied targ to very serious looking Lian. 'Erinyes?, she wondered, 'Oh yes! I didn't give her my name.' But there was no time to dwell on it. She leapt up, grabbed Lian's outstretched hand, and with a quick hop, was soon over the fence.

Kaitia, still petting the now content targ, finally made her move. She sidled away from the beast and scrambled up the fence with Lian's help. Once they were all over, they paused briefly on the other side, adrenaline pumping in their veins.

They were free — but not out of danger yet.

"Alright," Calindra said, taking a deep breath. "The city's close. We keep moving, stay low, and don't stop until we're far enough away from this place."

The group nodded, and together, they slipped into the shadows, heading toward the city and their long-awaited freedom.

[Malik Grippen]

[Ensign Hejaran - Bralok's Compound - Exterior Gardens]

The cool evening air hit them as Lian pushed open the door to the exterior gardens. The vast, open space was a stark contrast to the dark, claustrophobic side corridors they used to escape Bralok's compound. The high fence loomed ahead, separating them from freedom and the city beyond. One of the women quickly assessed the fence — it was tall, but not impossible to scale if they worked together. Her mind raced, already planning how they'd get over it without raising an alarm.

"Alright, we'll need to work fast," Calindra said, her voice hushed but urgent as she scanned their surroundings. "If we boost each other up, we can—"

The low growl stopped her mid-sentence.

From the shadows by the fence, Bralok's targ emerged, its eyes gleaming in the dim light. The creature stood, muscles tense and hackles raised, snarling as it slowly began to stalk toward them. Its teeth glinted as it snarled, a predatory growl vibrating in the air.

"Shhee-it..." Calindra muttered under her breath, instinctively stepping in front of the group. Her eyes locked on the targ, sizing it up. This was no ordinary pet — targs were brutal, dangerous, especially when protecting territory.

As Calindra considered their options, one of the wives, Kaitia, calmly brushed past her, startling her.

"Hey Credits! Who's the good girl?" Kaitia cooed softly. "Who's the good girl, huh?"

Calindra blinked. Was Kaitia seriously trying to coax a targ? It sure seemed that way. The targ, clearly curious, sniffed at Kaitia, its snarling quieting for a moment. Kaitia, undeterred, slowly reached out as if to scratch its ear.

Calindra didn't wait for the distraction to go south. "C'mon! Next!" she urged, turning to help one of the wives up the fence while the targ sniffed at Kaitia. "Move fast, or we're all done for!"

The first woman scrambled up with Calindra's help, her hands shaking as she grabbed the top of the fence. The others followed quickly, climbing one by one. Lian was already straddling the top of the wall, waiting to help pull the rest over.

Soon, only Kaitia, the targ, and Calindra remained on the ground. The targ was lying down now, enjoying belly rubs from Kaitia. Calindra watched in disbelief, but she had no time to question her luck.

"Erinyes, come on, give me your hand!" Lian called from the top of the fence, urgency in her voice. "Kaitia will go up last. I'll wait for her."

Cali rose an eyebrow, taking her attention away from the satisfied targ to very serious looking Lian. 'Erinyes?, she wondered, 'Oh yes! I didn't give her my name.' But there was no time to dwell on it. She leapt up, grabbed Lian's outstretched hand, and with a quick hop, was soon over the fence.

Kaitia, still petting the now content targ, finally made her move. She sidled away from the beast and scrambled up the fence with Lian's help. Once they were all over, they paused briefly on the other side, adrenaline pumping in their veins.

They were free — but not out of danger yet.

"Alright," Calindra said, taking a deep breath. "The city's close. We keep moving, stay low, and don't stop until we're far enough away from this place."

The group nodded, and together, they slipped into the shadows, heading toward the city and their long-awaited freedom.

[Ferengi City]

The Ferengi city sprawled out before them bustling with activity. Merchants hawked their wears, people browsed, others stared at the odd collection of women. Above the noise of merchant activity was that of the arena in the distance. The crowd could be heard cheering.

There were shops and amenities available of every sort, even subspace communication. Calindra spotted signage that indicated they were on a moon in the Ferengi system.

Many Ferengi eyes were watching them now. Seeing such a large group of females, dressed, without their husbands out in public was uncommon to say the least. They were drawing unwelcome attention.

[The Pit]

Malik pushed himself up again using his gladius as a crutch. His side was burning with pain, he knew at least a few ribs had been fractured from the Gorn slap. He saw the others trying to find a weak spot in the gorn's armour. Ardyn's targeting of the Gorn-groin seemed to work, catching the beast off guard. It wailed in pain, its confidence slipping for a moment as it became surrounded.

Malik willed his body forward then and used the distraction to move behind and grab the thing's helmet. He yanked with all his might and managed to pull it off, leaving the gorn's head fully exposed. In exchange the Gorn grabbed the Risan's forearm and bit down hard. Malik screamed in pain as he felt his bones crunch under the pressure.

"Kill it!"

[ShranLahr ch'Verret]

CPO ShranLahr ch'Verret
[USS Challenger-A - Deck 13 - Main Engineering  (during initial takeover)

[Main Engineering  - USS Challenger]

As Lahr, Neva, and T'se talked, they could hear shouts and knew they'd run out of time. Whatever they were going to do, they had to do it now before the Ferengi arrived in force.

The noise down the hall only made his point for him.

[ACEO Lt.JG Neva Cordon|Main Engineering]
At Lahr's suggestion, Neva grinned wide. "OK. Autumn, how fast can you get that going?" She lost that grin and looked to the doors and swore under her breath. "Lahr, while Autumn does her thing, let's make things hard for our guests as you've suggested." That said, she went to work.

With the Lieutenant's go ahead to scuttle and hearing the running steps, Lahr knew that they were out of time for anything fancy.  He began backing towards the Jeffries figuring that was going to be their exit route.  He fired on the pool table.. disabling it's interface.  He fired on several other 'non-critical' consoles.  The damage would slow the hijackers, forcing them to find work arounds, but it wouldn't put the ship at risk of an warp core breach.

[Main Engineering - USS Challenger]

Before Autumn, Neva, or Lahr could execute the plan, The sounds of some approaching turned into four Nausicaans. They raised their disruptors and immediately began firing.

Lahr crouched by the last console closest to the Jeffries hatch and fired back at the Nausicaans.  "Time to go!" he called to his companions, giving them covering fire.

[ACEO Lt.JG Neva Cordon]

When shots started firing, Neva reflexively hit the deck and winced in pain upon hitting her injured shoulder. "By the Gods of Light this just got fun! Head for the Jeffries Tubes! Might be safer!" Without waiting for a reply, Neva started crawling on her forearms toward a neighboring wall with access. There was more than one access point in this place!

Neva managed to reach just high enough to open the Tube and slide in, pushing herself down the ladder as quickly as possible. She looked up once, waiting for the others to arrive at her entry point. She prayed silently to see familiar boots above her coming down.

Lahr continued to give covering fire so that the medic could reach the Jeffries tube.  He alternated his firing... one phaser, then the other... so that there was barely any break in his discharges, keeping the Nausicaans at bay.

[Autumn]

[ACEO Lt.JG  Neva Cordon|Main Engineering]

"Oh-kay then, Ensign Kala." Neva managed slowly. "Why don't you and CPO ch'Verret get going on that then? I'll give you a hand in a minute."

Autumn suppressed a sight at the lieutenant's impatience, and immediately headed to the nearest console alongside the Andorian crewman, wiping the blood on her arm on the way. Feelings were running high on engineering, and she wasn't sure if the lieutenant's attitude was merely tempered by the urgency of the situation, or if it had the first notes of panic. All of these considerations, however, took less time than she took to grab a chair, and access the control terminal in the engineering console.

CPO ShranLahr ch'Verret
[USS Challenger-A - Deck 13 - Main Engineering  (shortly after initial takeover)

"Low priority or not, the Captain's lockout is still gonna be in effect."

ch'Verret stated something obvious about the Captain's lockout still being in effect, but she didn't point that out right away. Autumn was practiced in the art of not being too much of a Vulcan in front of Andorians. Still there was an interesting explanation here. Each of the systems in the ship was sort of like a "room" inside the computer. The Captain's lockout made it virtually impossible to enter any of these rooms through the main door, unless the captain himself used a password so complicated that it would take a crack coding computer months to stumble upon the right combination of characters, and even then, the password was useless without the Captain's biometric specifications, or, in the event of Captain's death, the combined efforts of the Chief Medical Officer and First Officer. Getting in though the front door was not an option. Fortunately, the ship's systems were intricate enough that they had to have multiple access points. The Captain's lockout was a sophisticated piece of code. It didn't just protect the ship's systems with a password, it also released intelligent sentinels, designed to counter any hacking attempts to access systems through unconventional ways. The critical piece of information though was that these sentinels had limited resources, and they were programmed to prioritize the defence of certain systems: weapons, shields, external communicators, life support. If Autumn could keep the sentinels distracted with futile hacking attempts at one of these main systems – and she had the coding lemmings to do just that - she might have a chance to regain access to the ship's internal comm. She wouldn't be able to control the comm – once it was open, anybody would be able to use it – but she could open it and use it to push the high frequency audio wave that would hopefully incapacitate the Ferengi, and that's all they needed.

She opened her mouth to explain her plan to the Andorian, but before she could get a word out, lieutenant Neva interrupted

[ACEO Lt.JG Neva Cordon|Main Engineering]
At Lahr's suggestion, Neva grinned wide. "OK. Autumn, how fast can you get that going?"

Like Michelangelo and the pope, Autumn thought. It seemed like she had barely had 35 seconds before the lieutenants okaying her plan and her request for an update.

"The code is in, lieutenant. I'm monitoring but it should take—"

Before she could finish her sentence however, all hell broke loose when several Nausicans barged into engineering. One of the disruptor fires missed her console by merely an inch.

Lahr crouched by the last console closest to the Jeffries hatch and fired back at the Nausicaans.  "Time to go!" he called to his companions, giving them covering fire.

Lahr continued to give covering fire so that the medic could reach the Jeffries tube.  He alternated his firing... one phaser, then the other... so that there was barely any break in his discharges, keeping the Nausicaans at bay.

The lieutenant said something before rushing to the Jeffrey's tubes, but it was the chief's "Time to go", that Autumn heard. She took advantage of the cover provided by him to push her code to the background so that it would keep running even if that particular console was destroyed. Then, she climbed on the console to access the entrance hatch to the Jeffrey's tubes above it, roughly 3 meters above the ground. Once there, she held her position, took out a phaser and aimed straight at one of the Nausicans, hitting his hand and deflecting his shot just in time so it wouldn't hit the chief.

"Chief, take cover" she said, pushing her phaser settings to maximum stun and trying to keep the Nausicans busy for long enough that ch'Verret could seek a more protected position.

[Alhanjhu]

[Ensign Alhanjhu Jei'Jekdak | Main Engineering | Deck Thirteen | USS Challenger]

Alhanjhu had to admit, it was a bit of a whirlwind. Arriving on a Romulan ship at Starbase 153, alongside the Subanax of Andgarr, his Uncle Anju, they were in time for the wedding and even then, Uncle Anju barely had time to talk to Captain Galloway. It was understandable, when Uncle Anju heard his adopted son was being assigned to the Challenger, he wanted to see him off and be able to show him about the ship that saved Andgarr.

Once the Challenger was underway, Alhanjhu began applying his studies at the Academy, having to adapt his skills as a feral child for use on a starship. It was surprisingly easy to learn how to hide and conduct ambushes on a starship, as his practices go. With the Jefferies tubes and between-works, Alhanjhu found that, different as it was, it was no different from the wilds.

As a new officer, naturally he had to be put into a lower shift, but given the ship just had a new department head, it meant he had a bit of freedom in his additional studies, what with the year in the Academy he had. He had so much training to do...not to mention the time he needed to set up his quarters; raised on Andgarr as he was, it was customary for all Andgarr to turn their dwellings into greenery. All this meant he was still in his quarters when the gas spread and succumbed to unconciousness.

It was his alert senses, plus the foliage decorating his quarters that saved him from the Nausicaans that came in to try to herd him with the rest of the crew. Even if Alhanjhu was a Romulan by birth, being a feral child living on Andgarr had their advantages. Plus, the two Nausicaans had to be absolutely green, to coin the Terran expression; he was sure one of them actually wet himself when Alhanjhu apparently appeared out of nowhere and caused the Nausicaan he attacked to disappear. A flurry of foliage later, and Alhanjhu emerged, his new uniform in tatters, green blood on his face, and he let out the time honored Andgarr victory howl that sent the scared Nausicaan away.

Now, crawling through the tubes, merely just happened upon Main Engineering. He was glad he took the rest of his uniform and fashioned a rope out of it, seeing the Nausicaans attacking. He was on the upper catwalk, tied his uniform on, and then let out a howl: "LLAIHRRRRRRRR!!!!!" As much as one of the Romulan words for "death" sounded ridiculous, his Andgarri howl using it, with making a growl at the end, helped make it work, and hopefully he'll have scared the daylights out of the Nausicaans.

The end result was a half-naked handsome scruffy Romulan boy (young man, specifically) swinging like a Terran Tarzan from the catwalk and joining the side of what he was sure was an officer providing cover, though amazed as he was to see the woman was blue and had pointed ears. Ah, well, he was a feral child living on Andgarr and, before Hobus, the wilds of Chula, so he was accustomed to the unusual.

He had the rifle he took from the downed Nausicaan in his quarters and covered the blue woman. "Here, you'll need somebody watching your back," he said as he attacked; he hoped he was buying time.

[Calindra Hejaran]

[Ferengi City]

The Ferengi city sprawled out before them bustling with activity. Merchants hawked their wears, people browsed, others stared at the odd collection of women. Above the noise of merchant activity was that of the arena in the distance. The crowd could be heard cheering.

There were shops and amenities available of every sort, even subspace communication. Calindra spotted signage that indicated they were on a moon in the Ferengi system.

Many Ferengi eyes were watching them now. Seeing such a large group of females, dressed, without their husbands out in public was uncommon to say the least. They were drawing unwelcome attention.

[Ferengi City - Market District]

The Ferengi city sprawled out before them, a chaotic maze of market stalls, bustling shops, and towering structures bathed in the dim glow of artificial lights. The air buzzed with activity—merchants hawked their wares with loud, incessant pitches, eager to catch the attention of passersby. Groups of shoppers milled about, inspecting goods or haggling over prices. But the usual market bustle wasn't what had Calindra on edge. It was the eyes — the countless, curious eyes that were turning in their direction.

Calindra could feel the weight of stares from all corners of the market. To the Ferengi, a group of women—especially so many, all dressed and unaccompanied by husbands — was an uncommon, if not suspicious sight. Their escape from Bralok's compound had been a relief, but now they were attracting unwelcome attention.

"Stay close," Calindra whispered to the group of wives, her voice steady but filled with caution. "We can't afford to stand out more than we already do."

But they were standing out. The wives, visibly nervous, huddled together as they walked, their eyes darting around the marketplace. The sound of cheering from the distant arena filled the air, a reminder that most of the city's guards and enforcers were still busy with the fights. But it wouldn't stay that way forever. Time was running out.

"This isn't good," Lian murmured, glancing nervously at the growing number of Ferengi eyes watching them.

Calindra's gaze flicked to a subspace communication booth on the far side of the market. A way to contact Starfleet, maybe, or at least arrange for transport off the moon. But between them and the booth were rows of stalls—and too many prying eyes.

As they moved deeper into the market, a Ferengi merchant stepped into their path. His robes were gaudy, gold and red, and his sharp teeth gleamed in a predatory smile.

"Ah, my lovely ladies!" he cooed, his eyes scanning the group with undisguised interest. "What's this? A whole group of unescorted women? Such a rare sight. Surely you're here to buy something exquisite? Jewelry, perhaps? Fine silks?" His eyes lingered on Calindra, sizing her up. "Or maybe you've come looking for... protection?"

Calindra kept her face neutral, her hands subtly gesturing for the others to stay calm. "Just passing through," she said, her voice firm. "We don't need anything."

The merchant's smile widened, his sharp teeth glinting. "Oh, I disagree. In a city like this, a group like yours could get into... trouble. Without the right protection, of course." He snapped his fingers, and two burly Ferengi bodyguards appeared at his side, their eyes cold and calculating.

"Keep walking," Calindra whispered to the wives, her gaze fixed on the merchant. "Don't engage."

But the merchant wasn't done. He stepped in closer, his eyes narrowing. "I see you're new here. So I'll make you a deal. Stick around with me. I'll make sure no one bothers you." His voice dropped to a more threatening tone. "Otherwise, someone else might take an interest in you. Someone less... friendly."

Calindra's jaw tightened. She wasn't about to be intimidated by a Ferengi trying to capitalize on their vulnerability. But she also knew they couldn't afford a scene.

"Thanks for the offer," she said coolly, "but we'll manage."

She motioned for the group to keep moving, but the merchant took a step closer, blocking their path. "Now, now, no need to rush off," he said, his voice oily. "I'm sure we can come to some... arrangement."

Before Calindra could respond, Kaitia, one of the wives, stepped forward. Her voice was calm but sharp. "You want an arrangement? How about this: you let us go, and you don't end up on the wrong side of a Ferengi debt collector. You may not know us, but we've got connections. Powerful ones."

The merchant blinked, clearly taken aback. He hesitated, his eyes flicking between Kaitia and Calindra, weighing his options. Ferengi were cautious when it came to threats involving debts—they took them seriously.

For a tense second, the merchant looked like he might press the issue. But then, with a begrudging shrug, he stepped aside, signaling for his bodyguards to back off.

"Fine, fine," he muttered, his tone suddenly less interested. "But if you ever need protection, you know where to find me." His smile returned, slick and insincere. "I'll give you a... discount."

Calindra shot him a final, cold glance before leading the group away.

They moved quickly through the marketplace, weaving between stalls, doing their best to blend in. As they neared the subspace communication booth, Calindra kept her voice low. "Alright, here's the plan. We contact Starfleet, get them to send transport, and stay out of sight until help arrives."

Lian nodded, her eyes scanning the crowd. "Let's just hope Starfleet answers quickly."

Calindra stepped into the booth and began entering the communication codes. The market bustled around them, and though they'd avoided trouble for now, they all knew the clock was ticking.

They needed to get off this moon—and fast.

[Ian Galloway]

[Ferengi City]

The Ferengi city sprawled out before them bustling with activity. Merchants hawked their wears, people browsed, others stared at the odd collection of women. Above the noise of merchant activity was that of the arena in the distance. The crowd could be heard cheering.

There were shops and amenities available of every sort, even subspace communication. Calindra spotted signage that indicated they were on a moon in the Ferengi system.

Many Ferengi eyes were watching them now. Seeing such a large group of females, dressed, without their husbands out in public was uncommon to say the least. They were drawing unwelcome attention.

[The Pit]

Malik pushed himself up again using his gladius as a crutch. His side was burning with pain, he knew at least a few ribs had been fractured from the Gorn slap. He saw the others trying to find a weak spot in the gorn's armour. Ardyn's targeting of the Gorn-groin seemed to work, catching the beast off guard. It wailed in pain, its confidence slipping for a moment as it became surrounded.

Malik willed his body forward then and used the distraction to move behind and grab the thing's helmet. He yanked with all his might and managed to pull it off, leaving the gorn's head fully exposed. In exchange the Gorn grabbed the Risan's forearm and bit down hard. Malik screamed in pain as he felt his bones crunch under the pressure.

"Kill it!"

[The Pit - Unknown Planet]

When Malik called out to kill the Gorn, Ian rushed forward with his makeshift quarterstaff at the ready. To a human, a stave could be lethal if applied correctly, but Gorn physiology was different and Ian wasn't sure his weapon could kill the big lizard. Regardless, he moved his hands to the end of the staff and swung it down overhead, bending at the waist and knees to apply the maximum possible force to the downward motion. The staff struck and the vibration that traveled up the weapon to Ian's hands almost knocked it out of his grasp. Such a blow would have crushed a human skull, but the Gorn's skull took the blow easily. However, the strike did fully daze the Gorn and Ian took advantage of that. He shifted to a standard quarterstaff grip and began delivering repeated strikes to the Gorn's head from both ends of the staff. This kept the Gorn dazed and Ian hoped someone could deliver the coups de grace.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Shuttlebay - USS Challenger]

The hypos were distributed around the shuttlebay as the captives looked for a moment to strike. The improvised weapons were better than nothing, but there were only five and there were thirty armed Ferengi. The captives needed some sort of distraction that would allow them to strike, otherwise, it would be a bloodbath.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Main Engineering - USS Challenger]

The whine of phasers and disruptors crisscrossed engineering. The crew of the Challenger were holding their own, but things got worse as the volume of fire from the Nausicaans increased as they received reinforcements. Staying in engineering was no longer viable for Lahr, Autumn, and Neva, even with the arrival of the newcomer. There was simply too much cross fire to allow access to any of the terminals that Lahr hadn't destroyed. It was clearly, time to go.

[Tora Zalos]

[Ensign Tora Zalos | Shuttlebay | USS Challenger]

"Do we do it now?"

"Not now. We just gotta find the right opening." Calming down the antsy Ss'tiva, who was right now nervously shifting her feet on the floor as they waited for release, or salvation, whichever came first, hadn't exactly been an easy task. Tora had had to spend several minutes calming the anxiety-riddled Gorn down, lest she accidentally go on a rampage and jeapordize their chances of getting un-stuck from this situation of theirs. The Cardassian would've been lying if she told anyone (or herself, for that matter) that she wasn't scared. She was. She hated feeling helpless while the Ferengi corralled them like sheep. Getting worked up would do nothing to help anyone get out of here, though, and so she'd done her best to try and do that for others.

She had heard about there being a plan enacted to try and get them out, though. How it was progressing was anyone's guess.

Right about then, though, Neva's words, thought more than spoken, seemed to almost vibrate at the base of her brain. What a weird feeling, honestly. Neva was alive. That much Tora knew for certain. She had to stay alive. Somehow. For her. How she wished that she knew exactly how to reply - after all, she wasn't a telepath - the best she could do was to try and think some reassuring thoughts back at... well, Neva? Think of Neva? How their connection worked was a mystery to her, to be honest. But hey, life has many mysteries that don't always get solved.

"Maybe some kind of distraction might help." Tora whispered in the ear hole of Ss'tiva. "You're good at plant talk, right? Go do your thing, I'm sure these guards won't turn down a chance to make some extra latinum, huh?

"Oh! Yeah! Right. Let me see." The nervous-looking Gorn female stomped up to one of the Ferengi - or she would've made it there had she not stumbled and fallen on the floor with an audible thump.

[Ian Galloway]

[Ensign Tora Zalos | Shuttlebay | USS Challenger]

"Do we do it now?"

"Not now. We just gotta find the right opening." Calming down the antsy Ss'tiva, who was right now nervously shifting her feet on the floor as they waited for release, or salvation, whichever came first, hadn't exactly been an easy task. Tora had had to spend several minutes calming the anxiety-riddled Gorn down, lest she accidentally go on a rampage and jeapordize their chances of getting un-stuck from this situation of theirs. The Cardassian would've been lying if she told anyone (or herself, for that matter) that she wasn't scared. She was. She hated feeling helpless while the Ferengi corralled them like sheep. Getting worked up would do nothing to help anyone get out of here, though, and so she'd done her best to try and do that for others.

She had heard about there being a plan enacted to try and get them out, though. How it was progressing was anyone's guess.

Right about then, though, Neva's words, thought more than spoken, seemed to almost vibrate at the base of her brain. What a weird feeling, honestly. Neva was alive. That much Tora knew for certain. She had to stay alive. Somehow. For her. How she wished that she knew exactly how to reply - after all, she wasn't a telepath - the best she could do was to try and think some reassuring thoughts back at... well, Neva? Think of Neva? How their connection worked was a mystery to her, to be honest. But hey, life has many mysteries that don't always get solved.

"Maybe some kind of distraction might help." Tora whispered in the ear hole of Ss'tiva. "You're good at plant talk, right? Go do your thing, I'm sure these guards won't turn down a chance to make some extra latinum, huh?

"Oh! Yeah! Right. Let me see." The nervous-looking Gorn female stomped up to one of the Ferengi - or she would've made it there had she not stumbled and fallen on the floor with an audible thump.

[Shuttlebay - USS Challenger]

The Ferengi Ss'tiva approached blanched as the Gorn closed and raised his disruptor to fire. However, when Ss'tiva tripped and fell, the Ferengi barked a harsh laugh. A couple other Ferengi laughed as well as a clumsy Gorn was not something any of them had seen before.

Among the crew looking to escape, a few tensed as Ss'tiva fell, but three distracted guards was simply not enough compared to thirty, so the crew relaxed and waited for a better opportunity.

[Alexander Wu]

[The Pit - Unknown Planet]

When Malik called out to kill the Gorn, Ian rushed forward with his makeshift quarterstaff at the ready. To a human, a stave could be lethal if applied correctly, but Gorn physiology was different and Ian wasn't sure his weapon could kill the big lizard. Regardless, he moved his hands to the end of the staff and swung it down overhead, bending at the waist and knees to apply the maximum possible force to the downward motion. The staff struck and the vibration that traveled up the weapon to Ian's hands almost knocked it out of his grasp. Such a blow would have crushed a human skull, but the Gorn's skull took the blow easily. However, the strike did fully daze the Gorn and Ian took advantage of that. He shifted to a standard quarterstaff grip and began delivering repeated strikes to the Gorn's head from both ends of the staff. This kept the Gorn dazed and Ian hoped someone could deliver the coups de grace.

[Unknown Planet - Coliseum]

Alex wanted to tell Malik to sit his ass down and let them do the fighting, but the stubborn Risian just kept jumping back into the fracas. "Grippen, move!" He finally grabbed the man by his collar, dragging him back as soon as the Gorn released it's hold on Malik's mangled arm. Even though their opponent was large, the only exposed areas they could attack weren't. Forcing Grippen out of the action was as much to protect him from the Gorn as it was from getting accidentally struck by one of them. "Stay out of the way." Alex snapped, sparing a glance towards the new security officer still sprawled on the ground. "Dersch, get up man, we're not done yet!"

Circling behind as Galloway hammered away, Alex finally accomplished what the Captain had originally tried, driving his cutlass deep through the back of a knee and sawing viscously until he felt tendons snap, the blade grating on cartilage and bone. With a terrible screech, the Gorn staggered for several steps before collapsing sideways onto the ground as it's injured leg gave out. "Yield, damn you!" Alex called out, yanking his blooded hanger free. "We don't want to kill you but we will, tabernac!"

[ShranLahr ch'Verret]

CPO ShranLahr ch'Verret
[USS Challenger-A - Deck 13 - Main Engineering  (during initial takeover)

The lieutenant said something before rushing to the Jeffrey's tubes, but it was the chief's "Time to go", that Autumn heard. She took advantage of the cover provided by him to push her code to the background so that it would keep running even if that particular console was destroyed. Then, she climbed on the console to access the entrance hatch to the Jeffrey's tubes above it, roughly 3 meters above the ground. Once there, she held her position, took out a phaser and aimed straight at one of the Nausicans, hitting his hand and deflecting his shot just in time so it wouldn't hit the chief.

"Chief, take cover" she said, pushing her phaser settings to maximum stun and trying to keep the Nausicans busy for long enough that ch'Verret could seek a more protected position.

Lahr had to wonder if the decision to split up was intentional - to sow confusion.  The ensign had chosen to go for the high entrance, while the Lieutenant entered the ground level access.  Sure, the Jeffries all interconnected eventually; but the junction in this case was another 25 m away and down a level.  Roozh, there was no way he could block both routes.  Who would need his assistance more?  Neva or the new science officer, Kala?  Given that she was the junior, Lahr started towards the pointed-eared Andorian when suddenly there was an odd yell...

[Ensign Alhanjhu Jei'Jekdak | Main Engineering | Deck Thirteen | USS Challenger]

Now, crawling through the tubes, merely just happened upon Main Engineering. He was glad he took the rest of his uniform and fashioned a rope out of it, seeing the Nausicaans attacking. He was on the upper catwalk, tied his uniform on, and then let out a howl: "LLAIHRRRRRRRR!!!!!" As much as one of the Romulan words for "death" sounded ridiculous, his Andgarri howl using it, with making a growl at the end, helped make it work, and hopefully he'll have scared the daylights out of the Nausicaans.

The end result was a half-naked handsome scruffy Romulan boy (young man, specifically) swinging like a Terran Tarzan from the catwalk and joining the side of what he was sure was an officer providing cover, though amazed as he was to see the woman was blue and had pointed ears. Ah, well, he was a feral child living on Andgarr and, before Hobus, the wilds of Chula, so he was accustomed to the unusual.

He had the rifle he took from the downed Nausicaan in his quarters and covered the blue woman. "Here, you'll need somebody watching your back," he said as he attacked; he hoped he was buying time.

Hearing what sounds like a butchering of his name, Lahr looked up to see a half-naked punk Romulan swinging from the catwalk.  Lahr, instantly tracked his swing with one of his phasers and would have fired on him, but that the punk ended his swing too near to the Ensign for a clean shot.  In the end, it was good thing that Lahr hadn't stunned him, since the kid seemed to take up a covering position for Kala.  It was only then that the chan Andorian noted that what little clothing the wildling wore - was the yellow of a Starfleet uniform.

Lahr, gave the fellow yellow-shirt a nod.  Whether the yellow indicated Engineering (unlikely since Lahr knew all the engineering staff), Ops or Security, Lahr knew from having worked in both those departments before that he could rely on the kid to help guide the lost science officer to that junction, because knowing the ship schematic inside and out was basic knowledge to each of those departments.

"Meet at the junction! I'm going with the LT!" he called up towards the pair, tucking away one of his phasers before scurrying toward the lower access hatch.  Once through, Lahr started down the ladder a few steps and then paused.  He could hear the Nausicaans rushing towards the access hatches where he and the others had fled.

Hanging onto the ladder by a hooked elbow, Lahr lowered the setting on his phaser, before firing up at the access hatch grate just visible above him.  As the grate heated up quickly, it triggered the heat sensors near its entrance and automatically activated a force field over the entrance.  That should him they a few minutes... he hoped.

Afterwards, Lahr tucked the second phaser into his belt and then 'firemen' slid down the ladder to the deck below.  He looked about for the Lieutenant.  At seeing her,  he head nodded down the proper route.  "The ensign and another took the upper access hatch.  Told them to meet us at the junction.  Do you wanna lead the way or shall I take point?"

[Malik Grippen]

[Ferengi City - Market District]

The Ferengi city sprawled out before them, a chaotic maze of market stalls, bustling shops, and towering structures bathed in the dim glow of artificial lights. The air buzzed with activity—merchants hawked their wares with loud, incessant pitches, eager to catch the attention of passersby. Groups of shoppers milled about, inspecting goods or haggling over prices. But the usual market bustle wasn't what had Calindra on edge. It was the eyes — the countless, curious eyes that were turning in their direction.

Calindra could feel the weight of stares from all corners of the market. To the Ferengi, a group of women—especially so many, all dressed and unaccompanied by husbands — was an uncommon, if not suspicious sight. Their escape from Bralok's compound had been a relief, but now they were attracting unwelcome attention.

"Stay close," Calindra whispered to the group of wives, her voice steady but filled with caution. "We can't afford to stand out more than we already do."

But they were standing out. The wives, visibly nervous, huddled together as they walked, their eyes darting around the marketplace. The sound of cheering from the distant arena filled the air, a reminder that most of the city's guards and enforcers were still busy with the fights. But it wouldn't stay that way forever. Time was running out.

"This isn't good," Lian murmured, glancing nervously at the growing number of Ferengi eyes watching them.

Calindra's gaze flicked to a subspace communication booth on the far side of the market. A way to contact Starfleet, maybe, or at least arrange for transport off the moon. But between them and the booth were rows of stalls—and too many prying eyes.

As they moved deeper into the market, a Ferengi merchant stepped into their path. His robes were gaudy, gold and red, and his sharp teeth gleamed in a predatory smile.

"Ah, my lovely ladies!" he cooed, his eyes scanning the group with undisguised interest. "What's this? A whole group of unescorted women? Such a rare sight. Surely you're here to buy something exquisite? Jewelry, perhaps? Fine silks?" His eyes lingered on Calindra, sizing her up. "Or maybe you've come looking for... protection?"

Calindra kept her face neutral, her hands subtly gesturing for the others to stay calm. "Just passing through," she said, her voice firm. "We don't need anything."

The merchant's smile widened, his sharp teeth glinting. "Oh, I disagree. In a city like this, a group like yours could get into... trouble. Without the right protection, of course." He snapped his fingers, and two burly Ferengi bodyguards appeared at his side, their eyes cold and calculating.

"Keep walking," Calindra whispered to the wives, her gaze fixed on the merchant. "Don't engage."

But the merchant wasn't done. He stepped in closer, his eyes narrowing. "I see you're new here. So I'll make you a deal. Stick around with me. I'll make sure no one bothers you." His voice dropped to a more threatening tone. "Otherwise, someone else might take an interest in you. Someone less... friendly."

Calindra's jaw tightened. She wasn't about to be intimidated by a Ferengi trying to capitalize on their vulnerability. But she also knew they couldn't afford a scene.

"Thanks for the offer," she said coolly, "but we'll manage."

She motioned for the group to keep moving, but the merchant took a step closer, blocking their path. "Now, now, no need to rush off," he said, his voice oily. "I'm sure we can come to some... arrangement."

Before Calindra could respond, Kaitia, one of the wives, stepped forward. Her voice was calm but sharp. "You want an arrangement? How about this: you let us go, and you don't end up on the wrong side of a Ferengi debt collector. You may not know us, but we've got connections. Powerful ones."

The merchant blinked, clearly taken aback. He hesitated, his eyes flicking between Kaitia and Calindra, weighing his options. Ferengi were cautious when it came to threats involving debts—they took them seriously.

For a tense second, the merchant looked like he might press the issue. But then, with a begrudging shrug, he stepped aside, signaling for his bodyguards to back off.

"Fine, fine," he muttered, his tone suddenly less interested. "But if you ever need protection, you know where to find me." His smile returned, slick and insincere. "I'll give you a... discount."

Calindra shot him a final, cold glance before leading the group away.

They moved quickly through the marketplace, weaving between stalls, doing their best to blend in. As they neared the subspace communication booth, Calindra kept her voice low. "Alright, here's the plan. We contact Starfleet, get them to send transport, and stay out of sight until help arrives."

Lian nodded, her eyes scanning the crowd. "Let's just hope Starfleet answers quickly."

Calindra stepped into the booth and began entering the communication codes. The market bustled around them, and though they'd avoided trouble for now, they all knew the clock was ticking.

They needed to get off this moon—and fast.

[Ferengi Moon, Market Place]

As Calindra attempted to access the terminal it presented a list of purchase options. The longer range communication came with a latinum price, because of course it did this was a Ferengi place. Local comms were free however. She input a secure Starfleet subspace relay code and found one connection - The USS Challenger.

Calindra could make contact with them and to specific people onboard. Assuming they were able to respond.

[The Pit]

The Gorn was finally brought low. Malik's arm was numb from the elbow down, with an open fracture and severe lacerations from the Gorn teeth. He needed medical treatment fast.

The crowd was stunned into silence and an uneasy calm came over the arena. No one had expected their Gorn champion to be defeated.

Standing to his feet again, Malik looked up to the thousands of eyes watching them. He threw his gladius in the general direction of Bralok.

"Are you not entertained. Are you not entertained? Is this not why you are here?"

He spat on the ground. The crowd then began to start a new chant, quiet at first then louder until all were shouting.

"Star-Fleet. Star-Fleet. Star-Fleet."

Bralok looked pissed. The gate opened again and a dozen armed guards entered the arena. They quickly surrounded the group and scooped up the Gorn to take him for treatment.

They could try and make their move now, but it would be risky.

[Alexander Wu]

[The Pit]

The Gorn was finally brought low. Malik's arm was numb from the elbow down, with an open fracture and severe lacerations from the Gorn teeth. He needed medical treatment fast.

The crowd was stunned into silence and an uneasy calm came over the arena. No one had expected their Gorn champion to be defeated.

Standing to his feet again, Malik looked up to the thousands of eyes watching them. He threw his gladius in the general direction of Bralok.

"Are you not entertained. Are you not entertained? Is this not why you are here?"

He spat on the ground. The crowd then began to start a new chant, quiet at first then louder until all were shouting.

"Star-Fleet. Star-Fleet. Star-Fleet."

Bralok looked pissed. The gate opened again and a dozen armed guards entered the arena. They quickly surrounded the group and scooped up the Gorn to take him for treatment.

They could try and make their move now, but it would be risky.

[Unknown Planet - Coliseum]

Alex stepped aside as a motley gang of guards came in, some of them bringing a stretcher to whisk the injured Gorn away. He thought he recognized their leader, a Ferengi with particularly small lobes, though it took a few more seconds before Alex remembered from where. To be fair, the last time they'd met was in a far cleaner and civilized setting. "Hey, what about our man here? He needs treatment too." He asked, pointing at Malik as the assembled guards prepared to leave.

"What about him?" The Ferengi sneered, eying them with disdain. "Your fee-male could do with less clothing, use them for bandages."

Alex struggled to control his brewing spite, the remnants of adrenaline still coursing through him. Somehow he managed to stay calm, despite his knuckles whitened as he gripped the cutlass harder. "I remember you from the ship. You're smart, otherwise Bralok wouldn't have brought you onboard. Even more important then smart, I reckon you're a shrewd entrepreneur."

Dropping the cutlass, Alex took a step closer to appear conspiratorial, lowering his voice. "Listen. Bralok values his property so long as they generate revenue, and judging by those chants, he's made a tidy profit today. He took a big gamble by capturing a Starfleet crew, probably the biggest in his life, clearly one that's paid off. It'd would be wise to keep his assets healthy to fight another day. And conversely, take a look around you."

Alex waved towards the crowd, still raucously stomping their feet and clapping their hands. "There are thousands of them, every single one likely thinking of how they can turn a quick payday. When Starfleet finds out what Bralok did, and they will eventually find out, their generosity towards those who helped them will be immense. Do you remember how much latinum was on that table for only a hundred cadets? Now imagine how much Starfleet would be willing to pay for four hundred of their own people."

"You're clever, clearly moreso than any of your colleagues here. That's why you're in charge." Alex had the Ferengi's attention now, the beady little eyes almost gleaming with greedy opportunity. "Win favour with Bralok now, have Starfleet in your debt later. And at the end of the day, you prosper."

It only took a few seconds for the scheming businessman to make a decision. "Yes...We will take him too." He loudly declared as though that were his plan all along, gesturing at the weary combatants with evident carelessness. "You four, carry him."