S6 E6 - What's in it for Me?

[Ian Galloway]

[USS Challenger - Inside Toren Autonomy Space]

The Challenger was moving at warp five in formation with the Cutty Sark and the White, as the Onizuka cruised alone 500,000 kilometers ahead of the others ships.

With the lateral sensors committed exclusively to emitting frequencies 180 degrees out of phase with Toren sensors, Lieutenant Randall was limited to using the primary sensor array. Because active mode would make the ship stand out like a beacon in the night, he could only use passive mode.

Despite these limitations, Starfleet sensors were three generations ahead of anything the Toren Autonomy fielded. That fact did nothing to reduce the tension on the bridge. Thus, when Randall picked up a external sensor sweep, he immediately called out.

"Toren sensors, bearing 142 mark 20!"

"Bollicks! Signal Cutty Sark and the White, all stop! Go dark! Prepare a Class-3 probe, programmed to a course 83 mark 45 and configured to broadcast the signature of a Lissepian freighter.. Tell the Onizuka to drop to warp two, but stay on course!"

As the Challenger slowed to a halt and went to minimum power, the tension ratcheted up several levels as the crew waited to see if their "mask" would hold.

[Autumn]

[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.

[Gero Priidik]

[Main Shuttlebay - USS Challenger]

After the addition of the Motor Protection Circuit Breakers, the final piece of the masking puzzle was in place, the mission to enter Toren Autonomy space was now ready. The assigned crews boarded the Onizuka, the White, and the Cutty Sark, the crews made their final checks and launched in sequence.

Once they reached the border, Ian give the order for Challenger to follow. The group crossed the border at one half impulse and halted 1,000,000 kilometers inside Toren space.

"What have we got Evan?"

"All systems nominal Captain. Mask is working as per our shuttle test."

"Good work Lieutenant. Ops, signal the squadron, Warp three. We'll hold at this speed and if all goes well, we'll take it up ta warp 5."

The three shuttles and the Challenger flickered with pseudo-motion and were enveloped in their individual warp bubbles that took them out of Einsteinian space and into the realm of faster than light travel.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Bridge - TAS Dominator]

Captain Halak Scornar sat on his throne-like chair and observed his minions. They worked diligently because they knew the consequences of failing to perform their duty at that level.

"Amazing thing the pain stick. It's probably the only worthwhile contribution the Klingon species will ever make to society."

He thought with a feral grin.

"Observer, report!"

"No observed anomalies Great Leader."

"Acceptable Lesser Minion. Steerage, change course to coreward plus ten degrees, we must make a demonstration over Felnarik."

"As you demand, Great Leader."

The Dominator turned onto the designated course, that coincidentally, put her on an intercept course with the Challenger.

[USS Challenger - Inside Toren Autonomy Space]

The Challenger was moving at warp five in formation with the Cutty Sark and the White, as the Onizuka cruised alone 500,000 kilometers ahead of the others ships.

With the lateral sensors committed exclusively to emitting frequencies 180 degrees out of phase with Toren sensors, Lieutenant Randall was limited to using the primary sensor array. Because active mode would make the ship stand out like a beacon in the night, he could only use passive mode.

Despite these limitations, Starfleet sensors were three generations ahead of anything the Toren Autonomy fielded. That fact did nothing to reduce the tension on the bridge. Thus, when Randall picked up a external sensor sweep, he immediately called out.

"Toren sensors, bearing 142 mark 20!"

"Bollicks! Signal Cutty Sark and the White, all stop! Go dark! Prepare a Class-3 probe, programmed to a course 83 mark 45 and configured to broadcast the signature of a Lissepian freighter.. Tell the Onizuka to drop to warp two, but stay on course!"

As the Challenger slowed to a halt and went to minimum power, the tension ratcheted up several levels as the crew waited to see if their "mask" would hold.

[USS Onizuka | Cockpit | Co Pilot Seat]

Their cruise so far had been pretty smooth. The fixes for the shroud around the shuttle were holding so far, its power draw not meaningful impacting their capabilities. Not that they could use their full power, given their limited speed and the fact the most major systems like active sensors, weapons and shields were powered down to prevent any leaking energy signatures.

The security officers in his back, cramped into the seating of the shuttle, first made him nervous. Their presence an constant reminder that what they were doing here was dangerous, really dangerous. If they got brought up by a cruiser, they would be toast. Even a decently old weapon system, with enough power behind it, would be able to tear apart their hull.

Focusing on the instruments in front of him helped. Their limited speed and precalculated course made the actual flying easier. Still, the passive sensors were less capable than the active once, and they had to run constant course corrections. Passing minor rocks in space and avoiding disturbing cosmic gas clouds, in which they would have left a trail an attentive observer could recognise as unnatural.

As the steady beeping of the instruments and the sameness of the motion began to induce what past generations of humans might have called Highway Coma, a low frequency communiqué arrived from the Challenger.

"We have been ordered to reduce speed and enter a different slightly different course. There seems to be patrol up ahead. With the receiver array only on minimal power, some parts of the message have been lost."

Lowering the speed of the Shuttle Warp 2, he focused the minimal sensor bandwidth they had on the original flight path. Manifesting first as a shadow, a vessel was becoming manifest. This could have been a close call if they hadn't dodged it. Adjusting their course to 83 mark 48, they resumed their course, alone through the depths of space.

[Alhanjhu]

[ACEO Lt. Neva Cordon|Bathân|Calindra's Dream->Docking Pad]

Neva nodded and started smiling until she saw what Takil the Shirtless was doing. A string of expletives erupted from her as she grabbed his shirt and yanked it down to be eye to eye with her 5'2" stature.

"By all ya hol' deer, boy, wha' got inta yer heed?!?" Aya yelled in that accent of hers. "An' wend I tell ya t' heng our booty fer all t'see?? Mays well gif'em all we got this rate!" She pushed him away then and stomped over to start yanking the cargo back in.

Shooting him a dark look as she got near him again, she hissed low for only him to hear. "What happened? We've gotta get to a shop to negotiate, remember? Show & Tell like this will get us killed!"

[Ensign Alhanjhu Jei'Jendak\Talik | Cargo Bay >- Docking Pad | Calindra's Dream >- Bathân]

"Apologies, Aya," Alhanjhu responded in his exotic accent, both to his apparent distracted moment and to Aya's real identity. Was it possible he felt some Orion pheromones wafting in the air?

"Right, let's find us a shop. There's salvage to sell indeed," he said. He carried a load of salvage on his back - a load enough that a human, even with huge muscles, would strain in pain under - and made ready to depart. "Where you lead, beautiful star dust, I will follow," he said sappily in his character of Talik.

[Lira Meval]

[USS Challenger - Inside Toren Autonomy Space]

The Challenger was moving at warp five in formation with the Cutty Sark and the White, as the Onizuka cruised alone 500,000 kilometers ahead of the others ships.

With the lateral sensors committed exclusively to emitting frequencies 180 degrees out of phase with Toren sensors, Lieutenant Randall was limited to using the primary sensor array. Because active mode would make the ship stand out like a beacon in the night, he could only use passive mode.

Despite these limitations, Starfleet sensors were three generations ahead of anything the Toren Autonomy fielded. That fact did nothing to reduce the tension on the bridge. Thus, when Randall picked up a external sensor sweep, he immediately called out.

"Toren sensors, bearing 142 mark 20!"

"Bollicks! Signal Cutty Sark and the White, all stop! Go dark! Prepare a Class-3 probe, programmed to a course 83 mark 45 and configured to broadcast the signature of a Lissepian freighter.. Tell the Onizuka to drop to warp two, but stay on course!"

As the Challenger slowed to a halt and went to minimum power, the tension ratcheted up several levels as the crew waited to see if their "mask" would hold.

[Ensign Lira • Cutty Sark]

Lira was aboard the Cutty Sark to ensure that nothing would deviate from what had been jointly planned by the science and engineering teams. However, it seemed that this would not be a smooth experience.

She could hear Captain Ian's voice over the comms, ordering everyone to stop and shut down all systems. The additional command requested the preparation of a Class-3 probe to try and deceive someone—at least, that's what she understood.

As soon as she heard the order, she immediately began preparing the transmission signal to be sent. It didn't take long, and once she was done, she turned to whoever was in command of the Cutty Sark at that moment.

"I've just programmed the probe to transmit the signal the captain ordered. Once everything is ready, you can launch it," she said, turning her attention back to the ship's screen, trying to see if she could spot anything from her vantage point.

The waiting was what most strained Meval's mind. He was somewhat impatient, and at times even anxious—especially in stressful situations like this one, where any mistake could lead to a battle in enemy territory and possibly the loss of lives. At that moment, all he could do was silently pray to the Prophets, hoping that everything would work out.

[Malik Grippen]

[Kelly Oren - Outside the Curio Shop - Bathân]

The door slammed shut behind them with a metallic finality, the rapid clatter of locks snapping into place a clear signal that their welcome had ended. Calindra's fingers tightened briefly on the strap of the katana's carrying case as the "Open" sign flipped to "Closed."

She didn't turn around fully, only glancing over her shoulder with a faint smirk. Not exactly the warmest send-off.

The alley beyond the shop stretched ahead, dim and crowded with shadows that shifted too easily. She let her eyes scan their surroundings, as she placed the blade through a sash on her left hip. The blade sat snugly against her hip, its polished sheath reflecting the faint light filtering through the grimy streets.

She stored the rest of her new gear in its carrying case, which she slung over her shoulder and secured to her right hip. Once in place, her fingers brushed the katana's hilt in an almost unconscious gesture of readiness. Bathân had a way of making you feel like prey if you weren't being careful.

"So, the Rihannsu? Where do you suppose we'll find them? Local watering hole?"

[Bathân, outside Curio shop]

Malik surveyed their surroundings, mindful of being ambushed again. They were definitely in the sketchier part of town, with the mess of so many people crammed into a small space all around. A couple of beggars lined the alleyway with their bowls out seeking coin, including a Romulan woman who held a tiny babe close to her breast. Malik felt a pang of guilt having just spent so much latinum on trinkets, when right outside people were struggling to survive.

Solving the economic and social problems of Bathân wasn't their mission however. Their mission was to stop smuggling across the border, but what if that smuggling was providing the basic necessities to these people.

"It's a good a place as any. Let's go."

The pair continued into the darker parts of town. The shops were slowly replaced with seedy bars, brothels and narcotic dealers. The people here were drunker, louder and rougher. Malik felt danger all around. As if anyone could attack them and get away with it. Eyes watched them as they made their way through the crowd, monitoring their encroachment into gang territory.

At the end of this street they came to a bar packed with people of ill reputation. A fight was underway between some pimp and clients. Others gambled. Men, Women and even synths of all species tried to entice people to their rooms. Drink flowed and loud music blasted out of speakers.

Marked on the walls of the place was a Romulan symbol of some sort. Unbeknownst to Malik, it matched the tattoo of their ambusher from earlier.

Malik entered the bar and found two seats. Of the clientele of this place 90% were either drunk or high. 10% were stone cold sober and eyed the pair intently. If ever there was a sign they had entered a gang controlled establishment, this was it.

"Two Risan Mai-Tai's please, on the rocks."

The barkeep, an attractive Bajoran woman presented them with their drinks.

"This is, nice."

[Calindra Hejaran]

[Bathân, outside Curio shop]

...
At the end of this street they came to a bar packed with people of ill reputation. A fight was underway between some pimp and clients. Others gambled. Men, Women and even synths of all species tried to entice people to their rooms. Drink flowed and loud music blasted out of speakers.

Marked on the walls of the place was a Romulan symbol of some sort. Unbeknownst to Malik, it matched the tattoo of their ambusher from earlier.

Malik entered the bar and found two seats. Of the clientele of this place 90% were either drunk or high. 10% were stone cold sober and eyed the pair intently. If ever there was a sign they had entered a gang controlled establishment, this was it.

"Two Risan Mai-Tai's please, on the rocks."

The barkeep, an attractive Bajoran woman presented them with their drinks.

"This is, nice."

[Kelly Oren - Seedy Bar - Bathân]
To the young Lieutenant, the bar was way out of her comfort zone. She had been to seedy places, but she had been privileged enough over the years to not having to go to a place that specifically catered to gang members. Call it a fault in her upbringing at having been given the best instructors given her parents connections.

Certainly her father had made sure that his flower would grow up with thorns and he made sure she could defend herself. Hence the martial art lessons, including some sword combat because some places still believed in the old ways of calling out for a duel. Though, she had to admit, Bathân wasn't such a place where they would be using any of the old formal rules of engagement.

Her mother meanwhile, had showed her the price cultures pay for mismanaging their finances. It created a class in dire poverty which meant that the only way to ensure food on the table was to resort to crime. In came the gangs, a quick solution to their problems, but the gangs weren't knowledgeable in creating an economy or providing for the poor, and so the problems worsened, people hardened and problems festered.

She leaned back against the bar, subtly keeping her dominant hand near the hilt of her new katana, the act more instinctive than calculated. The blade's presence was both a comfort and a statement — a silent warning that she wasn't to be trifled with. She gave Malik a thankful glance at the unexpected gift, and she couldn't wait to crack the hilt. The store owner might not have know how to verify its authenticity, but she certainly did.

When Malik ordered the Mai-Tai, she raised an eyebrow and shot him a dry look. "A Mai-Tai? Here?" she teased, her voice trying to be heard over their boombox, but laced with amusement. "Might as well shout out that we're fresh off the boat."

Still, she clinked her glass against his with a faint thank you before taking a sip. The drink was overly sweet, masking the cheapness of the ingredients. Her tongue flicked against her teeth as she set the glass down, scanning the room again. "Nice touch, though, if what you wanted was their attention," she added as she nodded toward one of the stone-cold sober patrons who was staring a bit too intently in their direction. "Subtle as a Klingon opera."

She leaned a fraction closer to Malik without taking her eyes off the room. "Bet you ten strips this place gets lively before we finish these drinks."

[Ian Galloway]

[Ensign Lira • Cutty Sark]

Lira was aboard the Cutty Sark to ensure that nothing would deviate from what had been jointly planned by the science and engineering teams. However, it seemed that this would not be a smooth experience.

She could hear Captain Ian's voice over the comms, ordering everyone to stop and shut down all systems. The additional command requested the preparation of a Class-3 probe to try and deceive someone—at least, that's what she understood.

As soon as she heard the order, she immediately began preparing the transmission signal to be sent. It didn't take long, and once she was done, she turned to whoever was in command of the Cutty Sark at that moment.

"I've just programmed the probe to transmit the signal the captain ordered. Once everything is ready, you can launch it," she said, turning her attention back to the ship's screen, trying to see if she could spot anything from her vantage point.

The waiting was what most strained Meval's mind. He was somewhat impatient, and at times even anxious—especially in stressful situations like this one, where any mistake could lead to a battle in enemy territory and possibly the loss of lives. At that moment, all he could do was silently pray to the Prophets, hoping that everything would work out.

[Shuttle - Cutty Sark]

With the shuttle at all stop, Ensign Schlemann nodded to Lira to acknowledge her as he waited for a response from Challenger. The pause gave Petty Officer Kelsey time to run a quick diagnostic on the modifications to ensure their part of the mask was still functioning within designated parameters.

Schlemann didn't have long to wait as Challenger sent a one word message on a tight beam.

"Launch."

Schlemann fired the probe and the stealthed autonomous device oriented itself and began accelerating. When it was two million kilometers away from the trio of parked ships, it began radiating the signature of a Lissipian freighter running at top speed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Bridge - TAS Dominator]

The mood on the bridge was tense, but it was always tense when one knew even the most trivial mistake would result in being punished with a Klingon pain stick. High Command believed it improved efficiency, but all it did was leave the crew in a constant state of fear, which High Command also thought was a positive outcome. Thus when the signature of a freighter suddenly appeared on the sensor operator's screen she immediately squeaked.

"Great Leader, a target has appeared coreward plus 25 degrees, it is a Lissipian freighter."

"Appeared you say? Define appeared or face discipline!"

Terrified the woman managed to reply in a more even tone as she knew appearing afraid would only lengthen the punishment.

"The ship suddenly accelerated. Speculation is they were laying dormant to avoid detection and on spotting our approach, they decided to run for the Infidel's border."

Scornar stood and pulled his pain stick from its holster and approached the woman who managed a stoic expression despite her fear. He stopped next to her and smiled an awful, feral smile.

"An acceptable hypothesis Least Minion."

He turned away from her and called out.

"Steerage. Change to intercept course and accelerate to maximize speed. We will pay these Lissipians a visit and show them one does not run from the Toren Autonomy. Follow orders!"

The crew quickly executed their required tasks as Scornar returned to his Command Throne and began thinking about the lessons he would teach the freighter's crew.

[CJ Dawson]

[Prior to departure from Starbase 153]

After her long leave of absence she finally was back in space. Her parents were back to health and that was the only thing that mattered to her at that moment. Oh how she loved her parents her real love was space and being a space medical officer. So after going back to Starfleet she was more ready than ever to come back. Her assignment was the USS Challenger. Curious yet a little anxious she reporter back to duty. The space adventure continues.

[Medical bay - USS Challenger]

There she was. Walking back into the medical bay looking around. It felt like home.. this shop is home. Heading for the reception she looked around. At the desk she looked at the receptionist and smiled, a big smile that was. :Hello, CJ Dawson reporting for duty here. Can I speak to the Chief Medical Officer please?" she asked.

[Ian Galloway]

[Prior to departure from Starbase 153]

After her long leave of absence she finally was back in space. Her parents were back to health and that was the only thing that mattered to her at that moment. Oh how she loved her parents her real love was space and being a space medical officer. So after going back to Starfleet she was more ready than ever to come back. Her assignment was the USS Challenger. Curious yet a little anxious she reporter back to duty. The space adventure continues.

[Medical bay - USS Challenger]

There she was. Walking back into the medical bay looking around. It felt like home.. this shop is home. Heading for the reception she looked around. At the desk she looked at the receptionist and smiled, a big smile that was. :Hello, CJ Dawson reporting for duty here. Can I speak to the Chief Medical Officer please?" she asked.

[Sickbay - USS Challenger]

"Somebody remind me why I agreed to do this again?"

Jess grumbled as she worked her way through the datawork associated with being the Chief Medical Officer on a ship with a crew of over 500. She sat in her office, but her door was open and she heard a new voice.

"Anything to get away from this console screen."

She rose, exited her office, and greeted the new Lieutenant.

"Welcome to Challenger Lieutenant. I'm Lieutenant Commander Fellows. So happy to meet you and have you join the team. Currently, we have two away teams off the ship, but both are operating undercover, so if they get into trouble, we won't be able to help them. Before I show you around, you have any questions?"

[Azsayak]

[Shuttle - Cutty Sark]

With the shuttle at all stop, Ensign Schlemann nodded to Lira to acknowledge her as he waited for a response from Challenger. The pause gave Petty Officer Kelsey time to run a quick diagnostic on the modifications to ensure their part of the mask was still functioning within designated parameters.

Schlemann didn't have long to wait as Challenger sent a one word message on a tight beam.

"Launch."

Schlemann fired the probe and the stealthed autonomous device oriented itself and began accelerating. When it was two million kilometers away from the trio of parked ships, it began radiating the signature of a Lissipian freighter running at top speed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Bridge - TAS Dominator]

The mood on the bridge was tense, but it was always tense when one knew even the most trivial mistake would result in being punished with a Klingon pain stick. High Command believed it improved efficiency, but all it did was leave the crew in a constant state of fear, which High Command also thought was a positive outcome. Thus when the signature of a freighter suddenly appeared on the sensor operator's screen she immediately squeaked.

"Great Leader, a target has appeared coreward plus 25 degrees, it is a Lissipian freighter."

"Appeared you say? Define appeared or face discipline!"

Terrified the woman managed to reply in a more even tone as she knew appearing afraid would only lengthen the punishment.

"The ship suddenly accelerated. Speculation is they were laying dormant to avoid detection and on spotting our approach, they decided to run for the Infidel's border."

Scornar stood and pulled his pain stick from its holster and approached the woman who managed a stoic expression despite her fear. He stopped next to her and smiled an awful, feral smile.

"An acceptable hypothesis Least Minion."

He turned away from her and called out.

"Steerage. Change to intercept course and accelerate to maximize speed. We will pay these Lissipians a visit and show them one does not run from the Toren Autonomy. Follow orders!"

The crew quickly executed their required tasks as Scornar returned to his Command Throne and began thinking about the lessons he would teach the freighter's crew.

Had gone with science officer Lira meval to asure that if any problems arose on the shuttle there would be someone from engineering there to handle it.  It had been a Busy day for the Gorn and she had to guess Lira was also having a bit of stressful day. The two were both assigned to the Challenger on the same day. And now They were working on smuggling the shuttles and the U.S.S challenger into enemy spaace.
The gorn had to stoop a little in the cuty shark. Bending her back and hunching over. But even so her head was still close to the roof of the shuttle.  She would look to Lira as she said the probe was ready to launch. So far, the Young Human female had been a very impressive and intellectual capable specimen of her species. The gornwould rumble approvingly and look to the Ensign Schlemann as he Respond.  She was impressed so far, the humans were being very Gorn. Once a course was decided on the gorn would follow through. The Gorn's will was ony of the few thingts know about about the Gorn as an alliance of several reptilian race. That and being fierce warriors and so far the Challenger and he crew was impressin g the Gorn Azsayuk.
She briefly closed her eyelids over her red eyes. Offering a silently pray to the Mistress of Fertility, S'Yahazah.  It waas the S'yahazah who had saved the Gorn egges from The Great father. Another powerful deity in gorn mythology.    She knew Both S'yahazah and the great father would both play their roles in this upcoming missiong. Perhaps with S'yahazah blessing the mission would go well. If it did not. Azsayak hoped she would make the Great father Proud. Azsayak would fight whatever came next not to shame the Great father.  She would look to Lira and ensign Schelmenn before looking at the nearest console to see how the probe was doing. 

[Ardyn Jaeger - Wu]

[Bathân, Curio shop]

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.

[Bathân - Landing pad > Trading Centre]

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.

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.

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.

[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.

[Ian Galloway]

Had gone with science officer Lira meval to asure that if any problems arose on the shuttle there would be someone from engineering there to handle it.  It had been a Busy day for the Gorn and she had to guess Lira was also having a bit of stressful day. The two were both assigned to the Challenger on the same day. And now They were working on smuggling the shuttles and the U.S.S challenger into enemy spaace.

The gorn had to stoop a little in the cuty shark. Bending her back and hunching over. But even so her head was still close to the roof of the shuttle.  She would look to Lira as she said the probe was ready to launch. So far, the Young Human female had been a very impressive and intellectual capable specimen of her species. The gornwould rumble approvingly and look to the Ensign Schlemann as he Respond.  She was impressed so far, the humans were being very Gorn. Once a course was decided on the gorn would follow through. The Gorn's will was ony of the few thingts know about about the Gorn as an alliance of several reptilian race. That and being fierce warriors and so far the Challenger and he crew was impressin g the Gorn Azsayuk.
She briefly closed her eyelids over her red eyes. Offering a silently pray to the Mistress of Fertility, S'Yahazah.  It waas the S'yahazah who had saved the Gorn egges from The Great father. Another powerful deity in gorn mythology.    She knew Both S'yahazah and the great father would both play their roles in this upcoming missiong. Perhaps with S'yahazah blessing the mission would go well. If it did not. Azsayak hoped she would make the Great father Proud. Azsayak would fight whatever came next not to shame the Great father.  She would look to Lira and ensign Schelmenn before looking at the nearest console to see how the probe was doing.

[Cutty Sark - Inside Toren Autonomy Space]

The tension on board the shuttle was palpable as the Toren Cruiser detected the "Lissipian freighter" and changed course to intercept their decoy. There was a noticeable reduction in the tension as it looked like their feint would work. The three ships waited a half hour before receiving a tight beam message from Challenger.

"Continue on course for Felnarik, warp two."

Schlemann smoothly took the Cutty Sark to warp and it felt comforting to be back on mission. The Onizuka had gained a small lead on the rest of the squadron during the time they had to play possum, which had always been the plan to let the smaller Type-9 pull away and reach Felnarik on its own.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Bridge - USS Challenger]

The tension on the bridge was no less palpable as the Toren cruiser changed course. When it was clear they had taken the bait, it was as if everyone on the bridge could breathe again.

"My respect for those old naval submariners has gone up a wee bit. Good work everyone, if'n I were a bettin' man, I wouldn't have even given a slip of latinum that that trick would have worked. I'm going ta recommend a commendation for the entire team for their work on our mask. Helm, steady as she goes for Fenarik, keep us at warp two. No need ta call attention back ta ourselves after that close call."

Ian was still skeptical that they could pull off this caper, but he was beginning to have some faith that their mask would give them a better chance to be successful that he would have thought possible, which was, all things considered, progress.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[

[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.

[Actan's Gear and Rare Goods - Bathân]

Actan ignored the Hor'ghan, being fixatied on the kemocite. He gave Ardy a long, penetrating look with his natural eye before he said.

"I don't know how much of this you have, but if you've got more than 100 kilos, I don't have the cash to cover that much, but I know a guy. He's rough around the edges, especially with those he doesn't know, but he has the network to handle as much kemocite as you have.

"I'm willin' to trade product for information... let's say 10 kilos for how to contact my guy. Deal?"

[Malik Grippen]

[Kelly Oren - Seedy Bar - Bathân]

To the young Lieutenant, the bar was way out of her comfort zone. She had been to seedy places, but she had been privileged enough over the years to not having to go to a place that specifically catered to gang members. Call it a fault in her upbringing at having been given the best instructors given her parents connections.

Certainly her father had made sure that his flower would grow up with thorns and he made sure she could defend herself. Hence the martial art lessons, including some sword combat because some places still believed in the old ways of calling out for a duel. Though, she had to admit, Bathân wasn't such a place where they would be using any of the old formal rules of engagement.

Her mother meanwhile, had showed her the price cultures pay for mismanaging their finances. It created a class in dire poverty which meant that the only way to ensure food on the table was to resort to crime. In came the gangs, a quick solution to their problems, but the gangs weren't knowledgeable in creating an economy or providing for the poor, and so the problems worsened, people hardened and problems festered.

She leaned back against the bar, subtly keeping her dominant hand near the hilt of her new katana, the act more instinctive than calculated. The blade's presence was both a comfort and a statement — a silent warning that she wasn't to be trifled with. She gave Malik a thankful glance at the unexpected gift, and she couldn't wait to crack the hilt. The store owner might not have know how to verify its authenticity, but she certainly did.

When Malik ordered the Mai-Tai, she raised an eyebrow and shot him a dry look. "A Mai-Tai? Here?" she teased, her voice trying to be heard over their boombox, but laced with amusement. "Might as well shout out that we're fresh off the boat."

Still, she clinked her glass against his with a faint thank you before taking a sip. The drink was overly sweet, masking the cheapness of the ingredients. Her tongue flicked against her teeth as she set the glass down, scanning the room again. "Nice touch, though, if what you wanted was their attention," she added as she nodded toward one of the stone-cold sober patrons who was staring a bit too intently in their direction. "Subtle as a Klingon opera."

She leaned a fraction closer to Malik without taking her eyes off the room. "Bet you ten strips this place gets lively before we finish these drinks."

[Bathân, Seedy Bar]

Malik sipped his mai-tai. It wasn't completed terrible, which was better than what he expected. The pair, a couple of strangers in the roughest bar on Bathân stuck out like a sore thumb. But that was the plan.

Before they had finished their first drink the welcoming committee came over. Four of the staring Romulans came over to their table surrounding the pair.

"We haven't seen you two round here before. Where are you from and what are you doing here?"

"Evening friends. My associate and I are visiting Bathân for the first time. A nice world, though your mai-tai's aren't to my taste. You see, if you want a genuine Risan mai-tai you gotta use the traditional ingredients..."

The Romulans didn't appear amused. One pulling out a knife and placing it on the table.

"Word around town is, newcomers have been asking a lot of questions and flashing a lot of latinum. This raises questions and we would like some answers... now tell us who you are and why you are here."

Malik subtly nodded to Calindra as he discreetly withdrew his pistol under the table.

"Friends. How about you take us to your leader and I'll explain everything."

One of the Romulans placed a hand on Malik's shoulder. "How about I gut you now and take that latinum you're carrying..."

"On Risa, that would be considered rude..."

Malik kicked the table over into one of the Romulans giving Calindra the opening she needed to draw. In the same moment he fired blasting a hole in another...

[Calindra Hejaran]

[Kelly Oren - Seedy Bar - Bathân]

As Malik's kick sent the table into one of the Romulans, Cali was already in motion. Her katana cleared its sheath in a single, smooth draw, the blade flashing in the dim light like liquid silver.

Her first strike wasn't aimed to kill. A shallow but precise slash across the knife-wielding Romulan's forearm sent his weapon clattering to the floor. The blade's edge was so sharp that he didn't register the pain until a half-second later, clutching his arm with a cry.

Meanwhile, Malik's phaser fired again, dropping another Romulan as more gang members joined the fray. The room was devolving into a brawl, while the more timid if the clientele ran for the exits. One of the sober patrons — a Klingon with a disruptor pistol — leveled his weapon at Malik.

"Behind you!" Calindra shouted, her voice cutting through the chaos.

Malik spun and fired, his shot knocking the disruptor from the Klingon's hand, but not before the blast scorched the wall behind him. The Klingon roared and charged Malik, fists raised.

Calindra had no time to see how Malik handled the new threat.

Another Romulan lunged toward her with a growl, but Calindra shifted her stance subtly. Her blade flowed downward in a clean arc, catching his improvised club and driving it aside before landing a quick, controlled strike to his leg. He stumbled backward, crashing into the bar.

A third came at her from the side, attempting to flank her. Without looking, Calindra pivoted into him, her blade angled low. The motion was elegant, deceptively simple—using the Romulan's momentum against him, she redirected his charge into a stumble past her, where she delivered a precise tap of the sword's blunt edge to the back of his head. He crumpled to the ground unconscious.

The bar's dim lighting flickered, casting eerie shadows as more patrons, clearly gang members, began to rise from their seats. A grizzled Andorian with a cybernetic eye grinned maliciously and stepped forward, a pair of electro-knives sparking to life in his hands.

"I haven't seen a blade like that since the border skirmishes," the Andorian sneered, his antennae twitching as he sized up Calindra. "Let's see if your fancy moves can match mine."

With a sigh, Calindra's grip tightened on her katana. Apparently, this wasn't going to be a simple skirmish. She shifted her stance into a defensive position, her blade angled slightly forward, ready to respond and spring into motion at a moment's notice.