Compile July 01 - 31 ------------------------------------------------------------- Mission: Letters of the Marques Day 5 Stardate: 2408.02.20 (USS Rosenante - Galley - Chef Marcia Gastineau- 2309) (Barakos IV – Treasure Chest Entertainment Complex - Sr OPs NCO - SCPO Phil Sheridan [Rocko Lundeen] -2309) (Barakos VI- Slave Market- ACSO Ensign jg Dorian Weaver - 2310) (Barakos IV – Treasure Chest Entertainment Complex - Waitress - Cynthia - 2310.5) <-- .5+ To the Time. (Barakos IV – Treasure Chest Entertainment Complex - aCSEC – ENS Chance Raschen [Chance Temerarious] - 2310.7) <-- .7+ To the time. (Planet Barakos - Slave Market- Sec.O Lt. Ro'Dal - 2311) (Barakos IV – Treasure Chest Entertainment Complex - Rocko Lundeen [Phil Sheridan] - 2311.5) <-- .5+ To the time. (Barakos IV - CEO - Lt. Bird - 2312) <-- Time added on Pauls behalf. (USS Rosenante - Galley - House Pet - Norman - 2312.5) <-- .5+ To the time. (Barakos IV- Slave Market- Slave- Sodra- Day 5- 2313) (Planet Barakos - Slave Market- Master less Pet- Nodel Sve- 2313.5) <-- .5+ To the time. (Barakos IV – Treasure Chest Entertainment Complex -MCO - Lieutenant Smith [Eddy Stone} - 2313.7) <-- .7+ To the time. (Barakos IV – Treasure Chest Entertainment Complex - Waitress - Cynthia - 2314) (Barakos IV – Treasure Chest Entertainment Complex - Vessel Master - CAPT Ed Raschen - 2314.5) <-- .5+ To the time. (Barakos IV - Treasure Chest Entertainment Complex -SR OPS NCOIC - SCPO Phil Sheridan [Rocko Lundeen] - 2314.7) <-- .7+ To the time. (Barakos IV- Slave Market- - PFC- Marta 'Nun' Nunez- Day 5- 2315) <-- Continuation Post. (Barakos IV – Treasure Chest Entertainment Complex - 2O/CTAC - Lieutenant T'Larah Sullivan [Vakaris] - 2315.5) <-- .5+ To the time. (Barakos IV – Treasure Chest Entertainment Complex - 2O/CTAC LT T'Larah Sullivan [Vakaris] - 2316) (Barakos IV - Slave Market - Engineer Ensign T'Kron - 2317) (Barakos IV - Slave Market - ACSO Ensign jg Dorian Weaver - 2318) (Barakos IV- Slave Market- - PFC- Marta 'Nun' Nunez- Day 5- 2319) (Barakos IV- Slave Market- - ACSO Ensign jg Dorian Weaver - 2320) (Barakos VI, Privateer's Port; Hangar 19B - CONN, Lt. Dralar AKA Trevak - 2320.5) <-- .5+ To the Time & Continuation post. (Barakos IV – Treasure Chest Entertainment Complex – aCSec- Ensign Chance Raschen [Chance Temerarious] - 2320.7) <-- .7+ To the Time. (Barakos IV – Treasure Chest Entertainment Complex - Vessel Master - CAPT Ed Raschen - 2322) (Barakos IV - Slave Market - Engineer Ensign T'Kron – 2323) (Planet Barakos - Slave Market- Sec.O Lt. Ro'Dal - 2324) (Barakos IV – Treasure Chest Entertainment Complex - 2O/CTAC - Lieutenant T'Larah Sullivan [Vakaris] - 2324.5) <-- .5+ To the Time. (Planet Barakos - Slave Market- Master less Pet- Nodel Sve- 2325) (Barakos IV- Slave Market- - PFC Marta "Nun" Nunez - 2325.5) <-- .5+ To the time. (Barakos IV - Slave Market – Engineer Ensign T'Kron - 2326) ------------------------------------------------------------- Begin Compile ------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - Galley - Chef Marcia Gastineau- 2309) Running the galley on a ship that was effectively reducing all non-essential power usage had it's strengths and it's weaknesses. The first strength was that the crew was adaptable and that meant her staff and she would make them all a wonderful meal. The bad part of it all meant that for the moment any unwanted foodstuffs, which would normally be recycled would instead require stowage until such a time as they could be recycled. While some of her crew worked to use the hand held sterilizers on the soiled pots, pans and other essentials, Marcia was busy planning the next round of meals for the crew. She could have easily undertake this task in her office which, although small, was sufficient for all her administrative needs. But she had quickly found out that her crew often had procedural questions concerning the more manual processes of making and cleaning up after a meal, and so rather than force them to walk back to her on a regular basis, she chose to work standing at a food preparation table in the main working portion of the Galley. There was a sudden movement off to her immediate left and Marcia turned her head to find a large gray-furred cat standing on the cutting board on the table next to her. Fortunately, there had been nothing on the board at the time. Marcia took a good look around her and noticed the air vent cover was open. "So that's how you got in, eh Fella?" she commented as the animal gave a loud meow and jumped from the tabletop to the floor, where he immediately started rubbing against her leg. The cat started to purr and despite her slight annoyance at having a cat in her kitchen, she smiled. "Henry?" she said in a slightly raised voice. "Yeah, boss?" the man answered from about halfway across the room. "Can you put me together a bowl of victuals for a cat from the left-overs?" she asked him. "Did you say a cat?" Henry replied as he rounded a piece of machinery and immediately spotted the gray fur ball still rubbing against her leg. "How in the..?" he started, but stopped when Marcia directed his eyes upward to the open air duct with a thrust of her index finger. "Well I'll be..." the man answered then nodded, "Sure, why not? He's obviously hungry." "Must be, otherwise why go to all the trouble?" Marcia answered. She bent down and gently picked the cat up as Henry set about putting together something for the small quadruped to eat. "Now that's a nice kitty." she said as she stroked his fur for a moment. Her fingers worked their way under his chin until they found his collar with name tag attached. She turned the shiny little tag up so that she could read the name. "Norman" she said then smiled. "That's a very nice name, " she said to the cat, "I like it." "Here you go, boss." Henry said a moment later as he handed her the bowl filled with bits of chicken, turkey, and fish and a few non-terran meats as well. "Thanks." "Anytime." Marcia turned and with the food bowl in one hand and the cat cradled in her other arm, she headed for her office. Once inside, she placed the food dish on the floor and let the cat down nearby. She then stepped over to a nearby sink and ran a small bowl of water, which she placed beside the animal's dinner. She stepped back over to the desk and leaned against it as she watched the cat tentatively sniff at his feast. "Now who do you belong to?" she asked the cat. She smiled and shrugged and then hit the commbadge that she wore. "Gastineau to the captain." she said. "I hate to bother you Captain Salid, but I have a cat in the galley and have no idea who or where he belongs." =^=Is the animal wearing a collar?=^= the Captain asked. "Yes, yes he is.. The name on it is Norman." she supplied. =^=Norman. I see. Miss Gastineau, I hate to be a bother to you, but I'm afraid I need to ask you to tend to the cat until Lieutenant Sullivan returns from the planet.=^= "Oh no captain, I couldn't possibly…." she began in protest. =^= Thank you Miss Gastineau, Salid out.=^= Came the captain's reply just before the line closed. "How in the world? What does he expect…? I don't know the slightest thing about cats." she blurted out in quick succession. She then looked down at the gray fur ball and wondered exactly what tending to a cat meant. "Well at least you're eating." she commented. (posted by Daniel Greene) ------------------------------------------------------------- (Barakos IV – Treasure Chest Entertainment Complex - Sr OPs NCO - SCPO Phil Sheridan [Rocko Lundeen] -2309) Rocko remained at the rear of their group. He was more than a bit nervous. Chance spoke to a ship's captain with the same last name as Chance. The captain's female companion was, to say the elast very attractive/ Rocco was slightly jealous. The team took seats near Chance and Capt Raschen and ordered their beverages. Rocco, looking up at the waitress named Cynthia, ordered a Romulan Ale and watched the center, his eyes always roaming, looking for trouble. (posted by: Bill West) ------------------------------------------------------------- (Barakos VI- Slave Market- ACSO Ensign jg Dorian Weaver - 2310) Dorian had been following T'Kron and Nunez dutifully, scanning the pens as lazily as possible not to attract attention. The press of the bodies around him was becoming familiar, and he was easing into it. Rather than fight his way or walk straight through, he much preferred to snake his way into the throng, like a dust mite swept away in a sort of Brownian movement. Nothing had so far even remotely resembled a Meldovian or Arturian face in the pens. It was becoming evident to Dorian that the Prince had not been simply picked up by someone ignorant of his status, and that something far more sinister than life as a slave was meant for him… and for his people. He knew nothing of them, had barely seen and interacted with the delegates, but that many deaths could not, in his book, be considered a good thing. No matter the cause. As he was musing this, he slipped by a tall Devonian and found his good foot snagged, most probably on some appendage or another. His weight had already shifted, expecting to find a leg to stand on. His head vanished from the sea of faces, and he sprawled on the dirty concrete of the floor. The press barely cleared around him, and he scrambled quickly to all fours, moving close to a wall to keep from being trampled. Somewhere out there was probably a hurt and angry alien as well. As he leaned against the wall, he realized it wasn't a wall at all, but rather the coarse iron bars of a cage. As he realized this, he was also acutely aware of a fact. A hand was on his shoulder. Not the firm, menacing grip of an angry individual about to rip out his intestines, though that could still be an upcoming highlight of the mission, but a delicate touch. As he turned around, he found himself face to face with a female slave. ~So they aren't *that* segregated.~ She had pale blue eyes, and her skin was milky white under the grime. Her hair could have been blonde, but it was matted with dirt and grease. She wore a grey shift that had no sleeves, exposing her frail arms. The rest of her body was hidden by the ample folds of the shapeless shift. Her eyes… as soon as they made contact, it was like she reached inside his head and settled there. He scrambled to his feet and scanned for his team. They would prove a little harder to find outside of their uniforms. And those eyes were still on his mind… (Posted by Mathieu Raymond) ------------------------------------------------------------- (Barakos IV – Treasure Chest Entertainment Complex - Waitress - Cynthia - 2310.5) Cynthia hated her 'uniform'. The owner of the dance club thought that if waitresses wore outfits indicative of their home planet, all skimpy of course, would increase the pull from outlying systems. No one could argue with the tips she's gotten since they instituted the policy. She took their orders with Ed the first to order, the rest following the last seemed a little pre-occupied. He ordered a Romulan ale, but after ordering his eyes wandered off her and searched the establishment. "Darlin' what's your name?" (Reply Sheridan) "Well Rocko, you need to learn how to relax a bit. I'm just the girl to do it. So if you need anything...." she offered put her hand under his chin and with her finger tips caressed his far side cheek to his chin and then pulled his face gently to look at her and she gave him a wink. "...anything, just give a holler." she said with a smile and went of to get their drinks. (Posted by Todd) ------------------------------------------------------------- (Barakos IV – Treasure Chest Entertainment Complex - aCSEC – ENS Chance Raschen [Chance Temerarious] - 2310.7) Once everyone got there beverages, Ed poured one for his companion and himself. He hefted his glass to his nose and inhaled its scent deeply. He took a sip and seemed satisfied in the quality and set the glass down. Seria had already downed hers in one massive gulp and smiled, relaxing her head on Ed's shoulder. "So which job specifically brings you back around the nest, Chance?" he asked in a normal speaking tone, confident his date was fast asleep. Chance looked at the sleeping girl and had a gut feeling that he had seen her before but someplace else. Though Chance really wasn’t the trusting sort to begin with “Ed, are you sure you want to talk with her around?” "Spit it out, boy, time's a wasting." “Yes sir,” Chance said feeling like a kid every time his grandpa used that tone of voice “I’m looking for slaves; particular ones in fact.” "You don't say... I didn't know you were in that business." Ed exclaimed. “Well it’s more like when I worked on that Scarlet Pimpernel project for SFI; remember?” (Reply Ed) “I tell you what; if you want to talk about this here, why don’t we get Rocko here and his waitress, Cynthia, to take sleeping beauty there up to a room and you can see her later” Chance said pointing at Seria, supposedly passed out, in Ed’s lap “and Vakaris here can slide over next to you, if you want, while we discuss the job.” As he pointed a thumb in her direction “Besides, she’s the one footing the bill for this particular job; I’m just the scout.” Chance finished. (Reply E. Raschen, Sheridan, and Sullivan iyw, room for more) Chance didn’t want to say anything out loud, but he started to find himself, at least slightly, attracted to T’Larah. Then he noticed over Sullivan’s shoulder the, wanna-be, gang leader that was eyeballing her from the corner. ~I might make a trip to the Pit tonight after all~ and smiled in the Vulcan’s direction as he watched the big man at the other table. Chance remembered an old Marine signal that Lucien had taught him during the Car-Fed war. So, under the table, he slid his foot over to Ken’s and tapped the code on Smith’s foot; and hoped the Marine would follow his gaze without drawing anyone’s attention. (Posted by Charlie) ------------------------------------------------------------- (Planet Barakos - Slave Market- Sec.O Lt. Ro'Dal - 2311) The two parties had gone their separate ways some time ago. Ro' and Dr. Caskie had stuck together as they'd wandered between the rows of caged male slaves. So far they'd had no luck in finding the Prince or any other Meldovians or Arturians for that matter, but they'd covered half the cages already so they had plenty of time to check out the rest. Fortunately they didn't have to push or weave their way through the throng of bodies, just about everyone took one look at the tall, scowling Takaran and made room for her to pass. Ro'Dal really felt sorry for the slaves, she could empathize with them in a way, considering her upbringing, after being abandoned as a baby, on the steps of a monastery on Takara, where almost as soon as she could walk, she was made to work from pre-dawn to dusk just to get some clothes on her back and two paltry meals a day in her belly. It was close enough to being a slave as far as she was concerned and a life that she had run away from as soon as she could, after learning all she could of unarmed combat from watching the militant sect as they trained, whenever she could. Seeing the pathetic creatures awaiting auction just brought back those bad memories that she would rather have forgotten. ~I would rather be dead than to live like that again.~ She thought as her eyes scanned each and every body that was in every cage they passed and she wished she was rich enough to buy all of them their freedom. (posted by Sal) ------------------------------------------------------------- (Barakos IV – Treasure Chest Entertainment Complex - Rocko Lundeen [Phil Sheridan] - 2311.5) Rocko/Phil sat and wathed the goings on around him. He smiled as he remembred a few bars on the Ferengi trade routes that looked like this one. His mind wandered to th many fights he had been a party to - and the lumps and bruises he would always carry. A most attractive waitress came up and spoke to Rocko. "What's your name Darlin?" she asked. Phil looke dup at the waitress, smiled and replied "Rocko. And you are?" he asked. (reply: Cynthia) Her caress sent shivers through Rocko causing hin to think some rather interesting thoughts. Her offer to 'help him relax' was most tempting! "Well Cynthia, what time do you get off duty?" Lundeen asked. (reply: Cynthia iyw) She smiled and winked - heading off to tend to the other customers. (posted by: Bill West) ------------------------------------------------------------- (Barakos IV - CEO - Lt. Bird - 2312) ~Oh my lord, every body's going to be so mad at me!~ Thought Paul as he hit the ground, his hands clutching the dagger protruding through his chest. Blood was oozing out of the wound staining his shirt red as he lay there , but none of this registered as his mind was divorced from his body so it knew nothing of what was going on around him. He knew that although the blade was deep , the good doctors and medics on board ship could fix the wound and he would come out of this fine. No it was the toxins that had coated the blade and now flowed freely through his blood stream that ended his life. ~damn, I've failed another captain.~ Since leaving the academy, Paul had properly served under three captains, and now he thought of how he had let all three down. First there had been Wolfe, a man who had never been the same after Paul had rushed turning on a power source which had dragged the captain into an alternate reality. To Paul, the man they had brought back from that none place was a shadow of the man who had entered. Captain Rivers had lost her ship because he could not keep her from blowing up. The Champlain had been a good ship, a fine ship, and he had let her blow her self to pieces, although she had seemed to hold on just long enough to save his own sorry ass. And now he had let Salid down, getting himself killed over some stupid little mistake and presumably ruining the away mission. ~The away mission, oh no Jono~ Had he put his colleague and good friend in danger? had he jeopardised the whole away team? would there be more people here to die because he was a failure? yet more guilt surged through him as he realised that 'yes' was probably the answer to these question's. The crew of the Rosenante were good people and had excepted him in in spite of his faults. Paul had felt more at home on the ship with these people than he had ever expected to. He had grown passed his own awkwardness around non family members, to become part of another ' family ', one which he looked like he had failed. Good people, the cap'n, Jono, Carol, T'kron, T'lar, Ro',Rose ..... ~I've let Rose down too~ Rose, Paul's mind was getting a little weird, as he started thinking of the great ship as a friend , a beautiful lady . She was powerful and gorgeous , and it was his job to look after her, a job he now could not do. T'kron is perfectly capable of looking after Rose, she'll love him. But part of running an engine room was the crew, and not all of them would find it easy to work for an emotionless, logical Vulcan, Carol for instance will..... ~Carol, I'm so sorry I will miss you so much~ The two of them had become so close, he hated what his leaving would do to her. Anyway perhaps she was better of without him and his mistakes. She would have to move her things out of his room, so perhaps she would get the onerous task of packing up his gear ready for transportation home. And when she did, she would find the little box hidden in one of his draws. Out of curiosity, she will open it up and find the ring and realise what he was planning. His plan was to propose to her after this mission, but that would never happen now. Oh how he was going to miss her . ~ Almost as much as I'm going to miss my folks~ Thinking about his mom , dad , sisters and granddad back on board the 'Traveller', brought a pain to his heart , the only pain he had felt since the initial burning sensation of the dagger . He knew only that he loved them and that they loved him and here at least were people who would tell him he was no failure in there eyes . He had seen the pride in his mother's eyes and so perhaps he was not as big a failure at all , but just human . ~But to you all I'm still so, so sorry........~. (Posted by Paul) ------------------------------------------------------------- (USS Rosenante - Galley - House Pet - Norman - 2312.5) As the woman picked up Norman, he could smell the delicious goodness in the bowl in her other hand. He completely ignored their destination, as he sampled the air olfactorily with upturned nose, nearly floating over to her other hand and the bowl, he tried to get to the bowl, but he just couldn't reach. He pawed at it weakly, gaining nothing but air for his efforts. Norman found himself in another smaller room as the woman put him and his prize down. He went immediately to the offered dish on the floor and began to sniff it to find the most delectable pieces of food to eat first. ~What do we have here? Tuna, boring. Chicken, always good. What is this, I've never smelled this before.~ He hovered over a tiny bit of lobster for a moment and then picked it up in his mouth and began a haphazard chewing that was more of a chomping. "Now who do you belong to?" she asked the cat. The woman smiled and shrugged, not that Norman knew what that meant, or even noticed engrossed as he was with his meal, Norman then heard the woman having a conversation with a disembodied voice. Again he would have been curious, if not for his senses being overloaded with delicious meaty goodness. "Gastineau to the captain. I hate to bother you Captain Salid, but I have a cat in the galley and have no idea who or where he belongs." said the woman. =^=Is the animal wearing a collar?=^= the Captain asked. disembodied voice asked. "Yes, yes he is.. The name on it is Norman." she supplied. =^=Norman. I see. Miss Gastineau, I hate to be a bother to you, but I'm afraid I need to ask you to tend to the cat until Lieutenant Sullivan returns from the planet.=^= "Oh no captain, I couldn't possibly…." she began in protest. ~Mm, chicken.~ thought Norman, having a virtual kitty-gasm from the mix of flavors. =^= Thank you Miss Gastineau, Salid out.=^= Came the captain's reply just before the line closed. "How in the world? What does he expect…? I don't know the slightest thing about cats." a slight pause, then the verbal non-sense to a cats ears finished."Well at least you're eating." she commented. Soon Norman was finished with the morsels he would eat. The room was small enough that he felt safe. He curled up underneath the desk and fell into a comfortable slumber. (Posted by Todd) ------------------------------------------------------------- (Barakos IV- Slave Market- Slave- Sodra- Day 5- 2313) Sodra had been in these pens now on thirteen separate occasions. She had a certain set of skills that were certain to get her out of the pens for a while, but then eventually always landed here right back into them again. She'd been a slave her entire life, born to a slave. She didn't know what species she was or even truthfully how old she was physically, but she suspected that here age was somewhere around that of twenty three standard years. She stood pressed against the walls, where she always ended up, on the edges where the Alpha slaves would always relegate her, listening to the people as they walked by. ::Two nice ones for the master will keep him busy for a long while and that means maybe I can have one of the cast-offs.:: she heard coming from an unscrupulous human house slave as he conducted business on the behalf of his master. ::Well, he's strong looking and has good teeth:: she heard from another slaver across the way, ::he'll work out well in the mines.:: ::No Meldovians or Arturians here.:: she heard from a human that did not look like the typical slaver. ::whomever grabbed the prince obviously wasn't an amateur.:: "Now that's interesting." she muttered as she watched the man move past her cage. ~ I wonder if I can use that somehow?~ That's when providence struck. The man nearly collapsed into her arms, and would have if it hadn't been for the bars separating them. ~After three weeks, I need to get out of here.~ she thought then gently placed her hand on his shoulder. Her ability instantly went into overdrive, seeking out the information that she needed to make the possibility of her release more likely. She plucked a few words from the memories of his mind: Rosenante, Dorian Weaver, Prince, Cartenian, War, Nose of El Capitan. Then he broke contact and he looked into her eyes. She managed a weak smile before he stood up. ~What to say?~ she thought as she tried to make sense of the words that she had grabbed. He turned away from him and almost ran over another female. ::You need to be more careful you idiot:: the other woman thought to herself, but Sodra heard her. ~She knows him.~ she thought. The other woman dropped her weapon into a less threatening stance and said, " "We're not here looking for a sweetheart for you Weaver" ~Dorian weaver must be his name,~ she realized, ~there's no time to waste.~ "I know where you can find some Cartenians, Dorian. Get me out of here and off this miserable planet and I'll help you find them and the prince." she cooed almost seductively. ~This had better work~ she thought to herself, ~I hope those Cartenians are still where I think they are.~ The man, Dorian seemed surprised by her outburst, but Sodra had seen that sort of thing before. That was usually the look that she received just before she found herself back in the pens. "You told her?" the woman asked her associate. (posted by Daniel Greene) ------------------------------------------------------------- (Planet Barakos - Slave Market- Master less Pet- Nodel Sve- 2313.5) Nodel liked the Takaran woman, she looked strong and confident, and more importantly, Nodel could "feel" that she was not like most of the others here. Yes it was obvious that she was looking for slaves, but they must be very special slaves, or else she had very strange tastes. Ever since they had taken Kamana away from him, he had been forced to exist here among the corridors of the slave pens, eking out what little bit of an existence that he could. He was an Amthopoid. A small 1.37-meter tall creature hailing from the Mostandra system, well away from this world. Most species considered them just slightly above stupid, but they had a gift of empathic transmission and reception, which sometimes made them worthwhile pets. NRPG: Think of a Koala bear-like creature with a prehensile tail Like all Amthopoids, Nodel could speak some broken standard, they were capable of basic speech, performing simple jobs and even forming friendship bonds with more sophisticated and intelligent species. This was beneficial to the species because while they could not comprehend advanced mathematics, science or other abstract thoughts, they did offer their companions something that many species would pay very well for, happiness, affection and companionship. The Amthopoids had developed in a symbiosis with another more intelligent species, and although Nodel knew this, he could not have told you what world he was from or even the name of the other species that his people called the providers. The providers were good people, caring, hard-working and loving. They provided and the Amthopoids gave them complete emotional satisfaction. This was achieved using their empathic abilities, to better the providers lives. When the Orions came and enslaved the providers, they learned that most of their kind could not survive without their Amthopoidial companions. This was a result of depression and eventual suicide; a direct result of the separation between the two species. So the practice became to capture and enslave the smaller less intelligent species alongside their providers. But sometimes, a provider died for other reasons; disease, injury, malnutrition. This left a Amthopoid that no other provider would bond with. That was what had happened to Nodel. Forced to eek out a meager existence among the slaves, stealing food, finding shelter where he could, he was constantly on the lookout for a potential new host, someone to become his provider. He had rejected all the others around him, they were mean, hateful and vicious, but this one, the Takaran was different. He could "feel" her concern for the others here. Her desire to do something for them and so he had chosen to follow here, gleaming little bits of information as she went. Finally he had given up trying to figure out what or who she was looking for and decided to ask. He bounded from the top of one of the slave cells to the next, and then in an easy maneuver for an Amthopoid dropped down in front of her at eye level. "Hullo, Takaran." he greeted her, waving one of his little short rams at her in greeting, "Me Nodel, you looking for thing, me help?" he asked her. (posted by Daniel Greene) ------------------------------------------------------------- (Barakos IV – Treasure Chest Entertainment Complex -MCO - Lieutenant Smith [Eddy Stone} - 2313.7) Eddy looked at the large mug which was over flowing with foam that was placed in front of him. ~Hmm well it looks beer like~ He gave a quickie smile and nodded thanks to the waitress. He picked up the mug and took a big swig out of it. ~Well I've certainly had hell of allot better but also some worse~ He swalled it slowly so that he could saver every last bit of alcohol. He had not had a drop of real alcohol since leaving Geneva. mainly due to the fact that he didn't like the sinthahol as much as the real thing. Also he had not found a way to get his moonshine distillery working with out security knowing. He Rocko talking closely with the waitress and smiled to him self. ~Way to go mate that was quick working~ He looked over at T’Larah. he raised his mugg again and said. "Cheers." This time the taste was a little better them before bug would still take some getting use to. He tuned into the conversation that Chance was having with his grandpa. "So which job specifically brings you back around the nest, Chance?" he asked in a normal speaking tone, confident his date was fast asleep. Chance looked at the sleeping girl and had a gut feeling that he had seen her before but someplace else. Though Chance really wasn’t the trusting sort to begin with “Ed, are you sure you want to talk with her around?” "Spit it out, boy, time's a wasting." “Yes sir,” Chance said feeling like a kid every time his grandpa used that tone of voice “I’m looking for slaves; particular ones in fact.” "You don't say... I didn't know you were in that business." Ed exclaimed. “Well its more like when I worked on that Scarlet Pimpernel project for SFI; remember?” Eddy sipped his drink as he half listened to the conversation. He glanced as practised eye at the complexes other patrons. He saw that some of them were looking in their direction. At first he though that they were going to make trouble but he quickly realised that they were looking at T'Larah. ~Well Isn't that nice~ He left a foot tap against his. He slowly glanced over at Chance as he realised what the code was . He saw that Chance was looking at what looked like a gang member who was leering at T'Larah. ~Well that's not very nice~ He looked back at Chance. "Yep." Eddy turned slightly to keep the gang memeber in view as he sipped his drink and waited to see what would happen. (Posted by Robbie) ------------------------------------------------------------- (Barakos IV – Treasure Chest Entertainment Complex - Waitress - Cynthia - 2314) Cynthia brought the drinks to the table, carrying them in a largish tray, she places each drink in front of their intended recipiants, "One bottle of Saurian brandy, two glasses, one scotch tall and neat, one beer, one Aldeburan whiskey, and one Romulan ale." She spoke each one as she placed it down; first the familiar curved-neck brown bottle with orange rubber stopper and two terran brandy glasses in front of Ed, a tall glass of amber liquid infront of Chance, a large frosty mug with white foam spilling over the side infront of Smith, a palm-sized glass with a pale green murkey liquid infront of Sullivan, and a wine glass of blue sparkling liquid in front of Sheridan. The last guy looked pre-occupied to Cynthia, ~Time to get him out of his shell, darlin', wall flowers don't tip.~ "What's your name Darlin?" she asked, with a sweet smile. "Rocko. And you are?" he asked with a smile. "Well Rocko, name's Cynthia, an' you need to learn how to relax a bit. I'm just the girl to do it. So if you need anything...." she offered put her hand under his chin and with her finger tips caressed his far side cheek to his chin and then pulled his face gently to look at her, "...anything, just give a holler." "Well Cynthia, what time do you get off duty?" Lundeen asked. ~Got, him! Darn girl, you are good.~ "I just got on sugar, but I'll be here to help you all night.." she smiled and winked and headed of to tend to her other tables. (Posted by Todd) ------------------------------------------------------------- (Barakos IV – Treasure Chest Entertainment Complex - Vessel Master - CAPT Ed Raschen - 2314.5) “Well it’s more like when I worked on that Scarlet Pimpernel project for SFI; remember?” Chance said, being perfectly clear to those who had been apart of the mission, but cryptic to those who hadn't. "Who doesn't." he said simply, and took a sip of his brandy. He felt Seria stir a bit, supposedly getting a more comfortable position, clavicles were usually poor pillows, her arm slid around his back and became sandwiched between him and the back of the booth. Ed leaned forward a bit to give her some room. “I tell you what; if you want to talk about this here, why don’t we get Rocko here and his waitress, Cynthia, to take sleeping beauty there up to a room and you can see her later” Chance said pointing at Seria, supposedly passed out, in Ed’s lap “and Vakaris here can slide over next to you, if you want, while we discuss the job.” As he pointed a thumb in her direction “Besides, she’s the one footing the bill for this particular job; I’m just the scout.” Chance finished. (Reply T'Larah [Vakaris], any) "Perhaps you are right, she should sleep it off." Ed concluded, and called over the waitress. "Hey sweetheart," he said. The pink haired lady came over, "Yeah?" "Arrange for a taxi for the young lady, to these coordinates," he said handing the waitress an isolinear chip from his PADD after punching in a quick few commands, " ship this with the lady, it's instructions to my watch officer when she gets there. Put the cab on my tab. "Very well Mr. Raschen." she said and walked off to order the taxi. Soon the waitress sent two escorts to help the young Orion woman to her waiting taxi. "Sweetie," Ed said gently, she began to wake up. " Go sleep it off babe, I'm going to have these escorts bring you to a private cabin on my vessel, there you can sleep it off, and I'll have the mess whip us up a private dinner, sound good?" he offered. She nodded her head slowly showing her approval. She got up and stumbled to the two waiting escorts and headed out of the club. "Hate to see her go but love to watch her leave." he said off handedly, and with out missing a beat he turned to T'Larah, "Stand up lets get a look at you. Vulcanoid, Vulcan or Romulan young lady?" "I see." Ed responded as T'Larah moved over between Ed and Chance, " You scout pretty good, where'd you scout this one from?" "You spoken for?" he asked T'Larah. "Good, now to business." he finished and segued into a new subject. (Posted by Todd) ------------------------------------------------------------- (Barakos IV - Treasure Chest Entertainment Complex -SR OPS NCOIC - SCPO Phil Sheridan [Rocko Lundeen] - 2314.7) Rocko watched the complex warily. He noticed the reaction of Eddy when Chance signaled him. Eddy slowly glanced over at Chance as he realized what the code was . He saw that Chance was looking at what looked like a gang member who was leering at T'Larah. ~Well that's not very nice~ He looked back at Chance. "Yep." Rocko watched Eddy Stone turn slightly to keep the gang member in view as he sipped his drink and waited to see what would happen. Somehow 'Rocko' felt another fight coming on. Lundeen was mad and ready for a brawl. He didn't know Sullivan very well but she was an officer and he didn't like rudeness toward women either. Rocko caught Eddy and Chance's eye - making a fist and nodding toward the jerk. (reply: Eddy, Chance?) Rcoko waited to see EEO what happened. (posted by: Bill W.) ------------------------------------------------------------- (Barakos IV- Slave Market- - PFC- Marta 'Nun' Nunez- Day 5- 2315) "And I'll take that one and that one and…. Ohhhh that one." the Ferengi said as he pointed at Marta even though he was speaking to an Orion slave master. "I am not for sale, you Ferengar Slime worm." she replied as she glared at him. "Of course your are." He replied." Rule 98, every man has his price." There was a toothy smile on his face as he spoke, "What is yours?" Marta stepped menacingly close causing the Ferengi slaver to cringe away from her somewhat. "How about rule number one?" she asked him. "Once you have their money , you never give it back?" he asked a little confused. "No try, never mess with a woman who dislikes you and is well-armed." she replied, sliding her jacket back a little to reveal the heavily modified phased rifle. The Ferengi's eyes grew wide, then he turned back to the Orion slave master who seemed to have been enjoying the recourse between the Ferengi and Marta. He hurried concluded his deal, promising payment for the slaves when they were delivered. Marta turned back around for a moment, spotting T'kron inspecting one pen, and then catching sight of Weaver suddenly disappear right before her eyes, almost as if he had been knocked down. The marine in her went into overdrive and Marta raised the rifle to a tactical ready stance and immediately made her way through the crowd towards the spot where Weaver had been a moment ago. Members of the crowd got out of her way, and while Marta liked to think it was because of the no-nonsense look on her face, she realized it was more likely a result of the ready end of the phase-rifle leading the way. She reached the spot just a few moments after she'd started. By that time, Weaver had regained his feet and was sharing some longing looks with a female slave. He pulled his eyes away from her and almost ran directly into the business end of the rifle. Marta frowned at him then dropped her rifle to her side again. "We're not here looking for a sweetheart for you Weaver," she said, but before he could reply the slave spoke. "I know where you can find some Cartenians, Dorian. Get me out of here and off this miserable planet and I'll help you find them and the prince." she cooed. Weaver seemed to be very surprised by all of this, as if he were a child caught with his hand in a cookie jar. "You told her?" Marta asked. (posted by Daniel Greene) ------------------------------------------------------------- (Barakos IV – Treasure Chest Entertainment Complex - 2O/CTAC - Lieutenant T'Larah Sullivan [Vakaris] - 2315.5) Sullivan had wanted to order a Vulcan Port, but she had to keep with her character, so she had ordered an Aldeburan Wiskey, which she had heard once while in the lounge on the Champlain, and it sounded fine, but when she got what looked like some xenomorphic secretion, she contained her revulsion, but just barely. ~It's GREEN!~ The other individuals got their drinks, and Sheridan briefly flirted with the waitress. Ed poured a drink for his companion and himself and he started to speak. (Posted by Todd) ------------------------------------------------------------- (Barakos IV – Treasure Chest Entertainment Complex - 2O/CTAC LT T'Larah Sullivan [Vakaris] - 2316) Chance gave the suggestion that the young Orion female should leave the room while we discussed business, to which T'Larah agreed, but said nothing. “Besides, she’s the one footing the bill for this particular job; I’m just the scout.” Chance finished, as he pointed a thumb in T'Larah's direction. ~We shall have to discuss with Mr. Raschen about Operational Security and following orders.~ She thought to herself, she specifically didn't want to be named as lead in the mission, for specific reasons one of which was that Chance already had a reputation in the area as the owner operator of a vessel and it would be much more likely for him to get a ship then first mate on someone else's. She let it slide for now. Ed then arranged for transport back to his vessel, for the young green female. As she left he commented. "Hate to see her go but love to watch her leave." he said off handedly, and with out missing a beat he turned to T'Larah, "Stand up lets get a look at you. Vulcanoid, Vulcan or Romulan young lady?" T'Larah stood up, "Romulan." she lied. "I see." Ed responded as T'Larah moved over between Ed and Chance, " You scout pretty good, where'd you scout this one from?" (Reply Chance) "You spoken for?" he asked her. ~Spoken for?~ she thought for a moment, ~Ah old Terran vernacular for in a committed relationship~ "No." she said simply. "Good. Now on to business." he said smiling. (posted by Todd) ------------------------------------------------------------- (Barakos IV - Slave Market - Engineer Ensign T'Kron - 2317) T'Kron was searching through the slave pens and hoping they would find any Cartenians. So far he hadn't spotted any. Glancing back across the flow of people he saw Ensign Weaver's head disappear and surmised that he might have fallen. He had to fight his way to through the crown and was close enough to see a slender hand on the science Ensign's shoulder that came out from between the bars. It rested there a moment and then disappeared. Ensign Weaver stood up and was exchanging looks with the bedraggled and filthy female slave in the pen. T'Kron struggled through the hectic crowd the rest of the way and arrived just after Private Nunez appeared on the scene. "….and I'll help you find them and the prince," the female slave said, trying to entice Ensign Weaver. Though T'Kron only caught the tail end of what she said, it disturbed him that somehow the slave knew about them, but T'Kron hoped that their deception had not been discovered. Ensign Weaver looked surprised. "You told her?" asked Private Nunez. She looked outraged. "I saw Mr. Weaver touched by the slave. She appears filthy and may carry some sort of disease," said T'Kron. "Should we insist that she be tested for any contagion?" He gave the private a long look that he hoped conveyed much meaning. (Posted by Sheila Mayer) ------------------------------------------------------------- (Barakos IV - Slave Market - ACSO Ensign jg Dorian Weaver - 2318) "You told her?" asked Private Nunez. She looked outraged. ~And well she should be, if that were the truth.~ But Dorian could only think that fast, somehow not speak. His mouth just gaped open, unable to form anything resembling coherent speech. "I saw Mr. Weaver touched by the slave. She appears filthy and may carry some sort of disease," said T'Kron. "Should we insist that she be tested for any contagion?" Dorian's eyes kept darting between Nunez and the slave girl. ~Girl? Or woman?~ Things were happening a bit too fast. How could he have blown their cover without even opening his mouth? "Nunez, I swear, I didn't even say a single word." It felt odd to address her as such. His words came in a hushed voice, hoping that as few people as possible would hear. "I don't know she knows, but I think T'Kron is right, we ought to bring her in for medical scans. Look at her, she can't be expensive." This was said a little louder. His pulse was racing though. They would be taking a risk, but they might get a lucky break. "The situation calls for improvisation, don't you think?" He pleaded with his eyes. (Posted by Mathieu Raymond) ------------------------------------------------------------- (Barakos IV- Slave Market- - PFC- Marta 'Nun' Nunez- Day 5- 2319) "I saw Mr. Weaver touched by the slave. She appears filthy and may carry some sort of disease," said T'Kron. "Should we insist that she be tested for any contagion?" T'Kron's voice said beside her. Marta had been so concerned with the possibility that Weaver had endangered the mission, that she had failed to notice the Vulcan engineer arrive beside her. She glanced over at the Vulcan who was watching her. "Nunez, I swear, I didn't even say a single word." He finally replied in a hushed voice. "I don't know how she knows, but I think T'Kron is right, we ought to bring her in for medical scans. Look at her, she can't be expensive." This was said a little louder. Marta gave him a glance that would have melted duranium, but then she softened her glare and glanced back over at the Vulcan who was still looking at her. Finally she let her eyes drift over to the dirty blonde haired, blue-eyed woman. "You're right she isn't expensive at all." A male voice said from behind her. Marta turned to see a fairly handsome looking man standing there looking directly at her and the rest of the away team. "And despite what you think she's very healthy. Her last owner fell into some serious debt and sold her to me to cover his expenses. He didn't provide her with much in the way of clothing and to be honest, the dirtiness is something that can't really be helped here. All this foot traffic generates a lot of dust and well, slaves tend to sweat a bit in those holding bays." Marta held her tongue. ~If you don't have anything nice to say across the negotiating table, then better say nothing at all. There was a brief lull in the conversation as no one really spoke for a second. It was broken by the Slaver speaking again. "I'm sorry, how very rude of me. Let me introduce myself, I am Harry Mudd the fifth, at your service." With that he doubled over in a sort of bow which set a earring hanging from his left ear rocking violently from the motion. As soon as he had straightened up to his full height of six-one, he strode over next to Weaver and placed his arm over the ensign's shoulder as if they were old friends. "She's a fine lady, that one. She'd make a fine wife for some lucky fellow, I'll tell you what. It'd be a shame to sell her off to some slime bag of a fellow that would only see her good for one thing… if you get my meaning? But you….you look like a fine young man, someone who can appreciate really beauty and the personality underneath the layer of dust on her face... She's looking for a hero you know?" He lowered his voice slightly, then added in a whisper, "you could be her hero." The man smiled a broad grin and was all but ignoring Marta and T'Kron. It was almost as if the man were some sort of predator and had singled Dorian out for the weakest fish in the school. (posted by Daniel Greene) ------------------------------------------------------------- (Barakos IV- Slave Market- - ACSO Ensign jg Dorian Weaver - 2320) "You could be her hero." The man smiled a broad grin and was all but ignoring Marta and T'Kron. It was almost as if the man were some sort of predator and had singled Dorian out for the weakest fish in the school. Was Dorian being that transparent? Trying to think quickly, all he could come up was: "Sure, I could be her hero, but my mate over there probably would rip off my genitalia faster than you and I could both spell that word." Dorian kept the molten duranium look firmly in mind. Nunez was probably going to slam him into a bulkhead after all of this. ~Yet I can't keep her eyes out of my mind, dammit. Please, please Nunez play the game…~ (Reply Nunez, Mudd, T'kron) Dorian was clearly not on top of his game, he was so nervous he wasn't seeing anything correctly, his vision was swimming in front of him. ~Dammit, stellar cartography and geology, not cloak and dagger.~ He was quickly becoming uncomfortable, craddled in Mudd's grasp. ~First day out, I make a mess.~ "Just give us a price, Harry." If the market hadn't been chock-full of people, he probably would have laughed at his own attempt to sound tough. (Posted by Mathieu Raymond) ------------------------------------------------------------- (Barakos VI, Privateer's Port; Hangar 19B - CONN, Lt. Dralar AKA Trevak - 2320.5) Eventually they reached a structure that appeared to be a large multi-winged port facility. Massox keyed in a code which allowed them access to a small airlock like room. It was a tight fit between Dralar, with his wing's folded tightly against his body and the chest of money. They all suffered the discomfort for the brief time it took to cycle through into the Hangar, each because they refused to allow the other party to be in possession of the money without supervision. Once they were through the airlock, the corridor opened out into a large open area, dominated by an open roof. It was obviously a maintenance hangar, and there was a shuttle sitting in the center of the landing pad. It was apparent that the room could probably hold a few more. Dralar took up a standing position not very far from the doorway or the money and waited for Janeway to arrive. He didn't have long to wait, before a shuttle appeared in the air above the hanger and slowly lowered itself to the deck. Once the vessel had settled, Dralar straightened his stance and waited for Jono to emerge. It was a moment or two longer than Dralar had thought it should take, which immediately made him wonder what was going on inside the shuttle. The hatch to the shuttle, which was of an origin unfamiliar to Dralar, slid upwards and then a sliding ramp moved out parallel to the ground before angling downwards to make a ramp that connected the shuttle to the decking. "I assume its all there?" Jono said in a snide voice as he exited the shuttle. "What do you take me for a thief?" Orldar replied. "I'm a smuggler not a thief!" "I have been with the monies this entire time, nothing has been removed or added." Dralar replied. "Good, My men will begin to load it onto our shuttle. If that is it Captain we will be on our way. We have a tight deadline to meet." "There's the matter of the remainder of my payment." the Andorian reminded them. "Of course. Let's tend to that right away," Dralar replied, then he pulled the credit chip from his clothing and handed it to the Andorian Captain. "Your payment is here, in full. If you cause us any trouble Captain Massox, I will gut you and pluck out your eyes, personally." The Captain looked at Dralar and must have seen the truth behind the words, because he simply nodded and said, "Take your time, I own the hangar." He turned and led his men out of the hanger. As the security men began loading the gold-pressed latinum into the ship, Jono pulled the Skorr Officer aside and spoke to him in confidence. "Did everything go OK? Any unexpected hitches..?" Dralar cocked his head, wondering what sort of reference a hitch knot would be of use here. "There were no problems, we had to change our route because of a civil riot near the Slime Pit, other than that there were no problems. And with you?" Jono nodded and scowled slightly, "Bird was injured badly. He was stabbed through the chest, I fear for his life. But the medics should be working on him now. We gained an unexpected ally, which is where this ship came from. But I'll fill you in on the way back. Will you be able to fly this ship?" "I do not think it would be a problem. I will need a few moments to familiarize myself with the controls." Once the currency was stored in the shuttlecraft, Dralar was shown to the front. The first thing he did was removed the back of the seat so that it was more stool-like. he then set about familiarizing himself with the shuttles controls. Dralar had them worked out in short order and he activated the flight systems and nudged the shuttle out of the hanger and upwards through the atmosphere. He watched as the blue sky faded to black and the clouds gave way to the stars and orbital platforms surrounding the planet's equatorial region. He adjusted their course to put them on an intercept to the still invisible Rosenante. As they approached, Janeway made contact with Xim, who was the apparent watch officer. The First officer had asked for permission to dock, which was granted and then the shuttle was gripped by one of the Rosenante's tractor beams. Dralar watched as a play of emotions washed over Janeway's face at the news of Bird's death. He understood the pain that the First officer felt, especially since he also was quite fond of the Chief Engineer. "Lieutenant Bird will be sorely missed." Dralar said simply, "I have rarely met anyone as brave as he." The shuttle touched down in the shuttle bay and Dralar shut down the small vessel's systems. Janeway and a member of Massox's crew both departed the shuttle and Dralar wondered if that man was the unexpected ally that Janeway had spoken of prior. (posted by Daniel Greene) ------------------------------------------------------------- (Barakos IV – Treasure Chest Entertainment Complex – aCSec- Ensign Chance Raschen [Chance Temerarious] - 2320.7) “Besides, she’s the one footing the bill for this particular job; I’m just the scout.” Chance finished, as he pointed a thumb in T'Larah's direction. "Hate to see her go but love to watch her leave." he said off handedly, and with out missing a beat he turned to T'Larah, "Stand up lets get a look at you. Vulcanoid; are you Vulcan or Romulan young lady?" T'Larah stood up, "Romulan" she lied. "I see." Ed responded as T'Larah moved over between Ed and Chance, “You scout pretty good, where'd you scout this one from?" “I guess what I should’ve said was that when I started scouting for someone to finance this excursion because I was running short of accessible funds. I found her in Leavenworth. I wanted money, she wanted out of prison; our arrangement was mutually beneficial.” Chance explained. "You spoken for?" Ed then asked Sullivan. "No." she said simply. "Good; now on to business." Ed said smiling. Every time Chance went to Barakos IV, he couldn’t help but think of Queen Morella. Before the battle of Barakos IV, the pirate queen, Morella, commanded most of the ships that defended the planet from the Ferengi Armada. When the pirate queen’s command ship came under attack, Morella had managed to send out a call for assistance just before her flagship lost communications. Her ships had been scattered by the Ferengi armada, but continued to fight just the same. Chance arrived during the latter part of the battle; he went charging in like the cavalry in his Centaur-class starship, Wrangler, and saved Queen Morella’s ship from possible destruction. With Chance's help, communications between Queen Morella and her captains had been restored. She was then able to coordinate the regrouping of her pirate fleet, and direct the counterattack against the Ferengi armada. Because of her leadership abilities, and a lucky break here & there, Queen Morella was able to lead the pirates of Barakos IV to victory against the Ferengi. Chance had been invited to join her in a victory celebration at her fortress as a special guest. After several bottles of assorted types of wine they wound up in her bed. While making love Queen Morella reached under a pillow, pulled out a dagger and cut Chance deeply with it, and licked his blood off of the blade. Always the firm believer in Equal Opportunity, he snatched the dagger out of her hand, cut her as she did him, and licked her blood off the blade. It was said that Chance was the only male to ever resist and be twisted enough to survive through an entire night with the queen when she was ‘in the mood’. “MRSS V’nek, Ed; we’re looking for a Meldovian named Khamal and his crew. We are also interested in who ordered the attack and why. Is there anything you can tell us?” Chance asked to get the ball rolling. (Posted by Charlie) ------------------------------------------------------------- (Barakos IV – Treasure Chest Entertainment Complex - Vessel Master - CAPT Ed Raschen - 2322) “MRSS V’nek, Ed; we’re looking for a Meldovian named Khamal and his crew. We are also interested in who ordered the attack and why. Is there anything you can tell us?” Chance started. "Is there anything special about this Khamal that's got you looking for him? I don't agree with slavery, I think its not right to own another sentient, as you do, cause you were raised right. Even so, with all my resources I can't rescue them all, it's too impractical, and neither can you. Besides they'd just get more of them to replace the ones we saved. So that brings me to the question, you are going to a lot of trouble to rescue this one guy. What's he paying you? Or is there another motive?" Ed asked. His trained eye learned long ago when information was being withheld. He wouldn't be alive now if it weren't for that. (Reply Chance) ~And that "Vakaris" ain't no Romulan either, at least not full blooded, but half blooded, quarter blooded, maybe. Something about the ears makes a man shiver.~ He thought as he glanced her way. (Reply Vakaris) "I see, well that being the case, you may want to try "Dog-face" O'Banyon. He is one of the few people that could move a high profile client and get away with it. He's got the facilities, the know how, and the experience, he's been slaving for almost as long as I've been retired." he said the last word with the kind of emphasis that it was a euphemism for something else. "Anyway word in the system is that the man is looking into expansion, but you know what they say about rumors, they're like brain stems, everyone's got them." (Reply any, Chance) "Sure, his operations are centered around Torven III, in a rather large building he's named Xanadu Gothos you may want to start there looking for him. You may want to think about how you are going to enter though. You can't storm in like you did with the Scarlet Pimpernel project. He's got way more men then a star ship and bigger and better guns. The guy he goes to for his weapons is a guy named Crisp, slippery little guy, only trust him as far as your disruptor fires." Ed warned. (Posted by Todd) ------------------------------------------------------------- (Barakos IV - Slave Market - Engineer Ensign T'Kron – 2323) "You're right; she isn't expensive at all," said a deep voice from behind them. T'Kron turned and saw the speaker was a tall lavishly dressed human man with a large gold dangling hoop earing. "And despite what you think she's very healthy. Her last owner fell into some serious debt and sold her to me to cover his expenses. He didn't provide her with much in the way of clothing and to be honest, the dirtiness is something that can't really be helped here. All this foot traffic generates a lot of dust and well, slaves tend to sweat a bit in those holding bays." T'Kron studied the man, saying nothing. He appeared too glib and oily to be reliable. There was an awkward pause. The Slaver spoke again. "I'm sorry, how very rude of me. Let me introduce myself, I am Harry Mudd the 5th, at your service." With that he doubled over, bowing deeply. Straightening up to his full height, he strode to Weaver. He placed his arm over the ensign's shoulder in a familiar way, implying that they were friends. "She's a fine lady, that one. She'd make a fine wife for some lucky fellow. I'll tell you what. It'd be a shame to sell her off to some slime bag of a fellow that would only see her good for one thing… if you get my meaning? But you….you look like a fine young man, someone who can appreciate really beauty and the personality underneath the layer of dust on her face... She's looking for a hero you know?" He lowered his voice slightly, then added in a whisper, "You could be her hero." T'Kron suspected that the slave and the slaver could be running some sort of game with selling the slave, somehow engineering her convenient 'escape' and then re-selling her again, although it was possible that the girl might know something. They could not afford to ignore any lead if their mission was to be successful. "Sure, I could be her hero, but my mate over there probably would rip off my genitalia faster than you and I could both spell that word," said Ensign Weaver. Noting the angry glare from Private Nunez and the confusion on Ensign Weaver's face, T'Kron spoke up. "What can she do?" (Reply Harry Mudd, Sodra, Any) "Just give us a price, Harry," said Ensign Weaver, trying to sound more confident. "Yes, how much?" asked T'Kron, to bolster their pretense. He stared the tall slaver in the eye, stoic and calm. (Posted by Sheila Mayer) ------------------------------------------------------------- (Planet Barakos - Slave Market- Sec.O Lt. Ro'Dal - 2324) The more Ro' saw of the dirty, miserable,bedraggled slaves cooped up in the cages, the more her heart went out to them. How unfair life was! What great being had decided that some should have more than they could ever possibly need in their lives, while others had to suffer and eke out an existence... or worse, end up as someone else's property, a minion, doing everything they were ordered to for fear of being sold or killed. ~How can I believe in a greater being when I see such misery?~ The Takaran thought. ~Nobody deserves such an existence, not even the most depraved of creatures!~ She tried not to let such thoughts make her feel depressed but it was hard. Dr. Caskie and Ro' weren't having any luck at all in locating what they were looking for and Ro' was beginning to think it was going to be a fruitless search and she stopped beside yet another cage to scan the inhabitants when something.. a blur.. dropped down before her eyes, to land right in front of her. Instinctively the Takaran jumped back and reached for her meqleH's hilt that protruded upwards behind her head, from the back sheath she wore. "Hullo, Takaran." The smaller creature greeted her, waving a short arm at her in a friendly manner, "Me Nodel, you looking for thing, me help?" he asked her. Relaxing a little, Ro' lowered her hand and looked the creature over. At 6'1" the Takaran hovered over the smaller being. She had never seen anything like him/her or it before. It reminded her a little of a Koala bear she had seen at a Zoo on Earth, a cute creature that made her feel like picking it up (if it hdn't been for the bars in the way), and cuddling it; only this being was bigger and appeared to have a tail.. and it could talk! ~Fascinating!~ "Greetings." She politely said and then more bluntly, "what are you? I have never seen a being like you before." Ro' glanced at Caskie. "Have you, Bones?" (reply Nodel, Caskie) "Why would you wish to help me? What do you want?" Ro' was suspicious, she had to wonder if this wasn't some kind of trick on somebody's part to get information about them. Perhaps they were being followed and watched, and if they weren't it was surprising that some one would actually want to help them. This Nodel wasn't Ro's idea of a slaver trying to sell his wares. (posted by Sal) ------------------------------------------------------------- (Barakos IV – Treasure Chest Entertainment Complex - 2O/CTAC - Lieutenant T'Larah Sullivan [Vakaris] - 2324.5) "Is there anything special about this Khamal that's got you looking for him? I don't agree with slavery, I think its not right to own another sentient, as you do, cause you were raised right. Even so, with all my resources I can't rescue them all, it's too impractical, and neither can you. Besides they'd just get more of them to replace the ones we saved. So that brings me to the question, you are going to a lot of trouble to rescue this one guy. What's he paying you? Or is there another motive?" Ed deduced. T'Larah kept silent, it had to appear that Chance was in-charge and that they weren't involved with Star Fleet, regardless of how much the Senior Raschen could be trusted. For one away mission she would make sure that operational security was maintained. ~Choose your words carefully, this man is crafty.~ she thought in a silent wish. (Reply Chance) As T'Larah's attention was on the junior Raschen, she caught movement out of the corner of her eye in Ed's direction, but when she looked in that direction, nothing seemed amiss. "I see, well that being the case, you may want to try "Dog-face" O'Banyon. He is one of the few people that could move a high profile client and get away with it. He's got the facilities, the know how, and the experience, he's been slaving for almost as long as I've been retired." he said the last word with the kind of emphasis that it was a euphemism for something else. "Anyway word in the system is that the man is looking into expansion, but you know what they say about rumors, they're like brain stems, everyone's got them." (Reply any, IYW room for more) ~Excellent, our lead. As soon as we get out of here I will get back to the ship and inform the Captain of our findings.~ Ed answered the question, "Sure, his operations are centered around Torven III, in a rather large building he's named Xanadu Gothos you may want to start there looking for him. You may want to think about how you are going to enter though. You can't storm in like you did with the Scarlet Pimpernel project. He's got way more men then a star ship and bigger and better guns. The guy he goes to for his weapons is a guy named Crisp, slippery little guy, only trust him as far as your disruptor fires." Ed warned. (posted by Todd) ------------------------------------------------------------- (Planet Barakos - Slave Market- Master less Pet- Nodel Sve- 2325) "Greetings." She politely said and then more bluntly, "what are you? I have never seen a being like you before." Ro' glanced at Caskie. "Have you, Bones?" Nodel smiled and squeezed through the bars of the cage until he was standing just outside the cage. He made a tremendous leap straight up and using his hands, feet and tail secured himself to the bars so that he was at eye-level with the Takaran. "Me Nodel. Is name. Species is Amthopoid, bones...no." he replied as he shook his head slowly from side to side, "No bones. I am coming far from here." He sent a slight feeling of happiness towards the female Takaran. Nodel picked up on her suspicion of him as she began to consider why he would speak to her. Perhaps her people were not as friendly to outsiders as the providers. "Why would you wish to help me? What do you want?" she asked him. "Nodel want make provider happy. Nodel want leave here. Nodel is lonely." he replied honestly. "Nodel is good companion, Nodel make happy, Nodel help. You seek bones?" He bounded up to the top of the bars, swinging his feet up over his head and allowing the momentum to carry him above the tops of the cages. He landed easily gripping the roof bars with one appendage each. "Nodel can find bones or fishes or peoples or monies. Nodel here long time, too long time, want leave here. Nodel not disappoint Takaran." "... or human he added as an after thought and pointed one small clawed-finger towards Caskie. (posted by Daniel Greene) ------------------------------------------------------------- (Barakos IV- Slave Market- - PFC Marta "Nun" Nunez - 2325.5) Marta watched the exchange between the Slaver and Weaver with a detached interest. ~Why is it that men always imply that women should be owned in these cultures?~ she asked herself. She wondered if she should give this quicksilver- tongued slaver a swift kick to his 'male parts' and remind him that women were NOT something to be possessed like property. She managed to restrain herself, only in as much as such an act might prevent them from gaining some sort of information concerning their mission. Otherwise, this slimeball would be couching up blood by now. "Sure, I could be her hero, but my mate over there probably would rip off my genitalia faster than you and I could both spell that word." Weaver was saying, trying to get out of the predicament, that he, at least as Marta saw things, had gotten himself into. Marta just shot him a very irritated but silent look. It was the sort of look that let someone know when they had crossed the line. She was prepared to hold that steely-eyed glare as long as necessary and to back it up, she placed a single hand on her hip while holding the rifle in the other. T'Kron spoke up. "What can she do?" "What can she do?" Harry replied as if someone had slandered his name. "It was apparent that he was fabricating something to tell them. "She's a wonderful cook." "No I'm not!" Sodra chimed in from the cage. "Okay a passable cook." he retorted. "I don't even know how to cook." she added. "okay she can't cook, but she can keep a house." "Not really." she said from the cage again. The Slaver looked at her and pursed his lips in slight irritation. Sondra just looked at him. "she can do slight of hand tricks." He offered. "Wrong again." Sondra replied. "She's intelligent and therefore trainable." Sondra did not reply that time. "Besides, look at her..." he pleaded. "Clean her up, put her in pretty clothes, polish her speech and her habits and she'll be a gem. She just needs a little work. And did I mention, she's cheap?" Harry, the slaver added. "So you're suggesting that he buy her because she could be pretty?" Marta added. Harry just nodded. "God, all men are exactly the same. Only one thing on their minds, I swear..." She exclaimed, then turned her back on the bartering men and was hoping that she wasn't overacting. "Just give us a price, Harry," said Ensign Weaver, trying to sound more confident. "Yes, how much?" asked T'Kron, to bolster their pretense. "You mean you'll buy her?" Harry sounded surprised, then added, "Of course you'll buy her! And she'll make a fine addition to your home or ship or whatever it is you have." He paused, then added, "She's yours for the paltry sum of only twenty-five thousand credits. That's right, don't be surprised, I'm giving you a heck of a deal." "No he's not." Sondra added," That's more than twice my value." "It most certainly is not!" Harry protested. Marta turned back around to face the slaver. "Are you trying to cheat us?" she asked as she advanced on him, driving Mudd back against the bars of the cell. The slaver was shaking his head no, while Sondra was nodding. "I'll cut you a deal," he muttered to the marine, "How's twenty thousand?" "Too high." Marta replied. She was enjoying watching this man squirm. "Fifteen?" he said weakly. Marta glanced over at T'Kron and Weaver. "Still too much," Sondra added from inside the cage. "He's hoping to still make a profit from me." Harry smiled and tipped his head slightly to the left. It was a weak smile. "let's agree to a deal of ten thousand credit's shall we?" Marta asked the man, still uncomfortably close to him. "But ten thousand...." he started. "would barely break even." Sodra finished smiling. "He'll take it." Harry nodded weakly. Marta looked to the other two members of her away team and said, "Well I've negotiated the price. It's up to you two to decide if you want to close the deal or not." (posted by Daniel Greene) ------------------------------------------------------------- (Barakos IV - Slave Market – Engineer Ensign T'Kron - 2326) Marta looked at the T'Kron and Dorian Weaver and said, "Well I've negotiated the price. It's up to you two to decide if you want to close the deal or not." Technically, T'Kron still did not have an answer to his question. "What can you do?" he asked, wishing to show that he wanted something for their money. Trying his best to sound arrogant and insulting, he said, "I am intelligent enough for both Weaver and you. Give us better reasons to purchase you over any of these other slaves. Are you indeed trainable?" he asked, studying the filthy woman behind the bars. Her eyes appeared clear and sparked of intelligence with a fiery will to survive. (Reply Sodra, Dorian Weaver) "We'll take her. Is there a way to make her more presentable before we leave here?" asked T'Kron, his nostrils flaring in disapproval. "How about a robe or a shift?" he added. "Those tattered rags are barely hanging on her. I suspect it is the dirt that is cementing them to her." (Posted by Sheila Mayer) ------------------------------------------------------------- End Compile -------------------------------------------------------------