Away Team Abuse

Posted on Mon Jan 10th, 2011 @ 6:17pm by Lieutenant Commander Jonathan Mantell & Lieutenant Colonel Anastasia DeVries & Darek Halsey & Grixx & S'anra

Mission: Hippocratic Hijacking
Location: SS North Star
Timeline: A few minutes after "The North Star Situation"

As the chamber solidified into view, the away team was greeted with the cramped interiors of a civilian transport ship. The dusky bulkheads loomed in on the room, almost posing menacingly to its occupants. The overhead lighting flickered, creating a strobe effect, and if not for the dim emergency illumination emanating from the bulkheads and consoles, the entire scene might have looked as if it played out in slow motion.

Before them, a fraction of the North Star's remaining crew was scattered about the room, most crouched at exposed panels or damaged consoles near the door leading to the corridor beyond the small enclosure. The remainder of the cabin was occupied by a central chair, with a quarter-dozen other chairs fanning out in a setup that looked not unlike a Federation starship's bridge. From the the central chair, which had been spun to face the work occurring near the rear of the cabin, a small creature sprung to its feet. With large ears and loud clothes, even in the dim light, it wasn't difficult to make out the features of a Ferengi.

"Hew-mons," the Ferengi creature spat with a wet sound of disgust. In the dim lighting it was difficult to notice, but the Ferengi's large eyes rose in surprise when it noticed the compliment of the away party. "You bring children here? This is not a playground!"

The child, clothed in the red-trimmed uniform of a Starfleet Lieutenant Commander, stepped forward, toward the Ferengi. A casual observer might notice the difference in height between the two was not more than a few inches. The blond-haired boy extended his arm in the typical Human fashion and smiled, ignoring the brazen insult spewed his way just seconds prior, "I'm a Starfleet Officer. My name is Commander Jack Mantell of the Federation Starship Arizona."

Sweeping his hand back to the other members of the away team, the Miran boy named Jack introduced them as well. "This is Major DeVries," he stated, motioning to the imposing woman who had verbally handled the Ferengi over the comm a few minutes before. "She's our Chief of Security."

Gesturing to the only other male in the Away Team, a towering Human that looked at least three times Jack's age, the boy continued, "And this is Commander Halsey. He serves as our Chief of Intelligence. They'll both be helping us determine what took place here."

The boy beamed proudly, satisfied in his ability to remember the names of those he had met only a few days before. So far, things were going well for his first away mission. The introductions finished, Jack returned his hand to the extended gesture he had offered before, waiting for the Ferengi to respond.

"I don't care who you are, Hew-mons, I have a ship full of wounded and dead. Our life support is giving out, and I don't know how much longer it will hold before we're all sucking carbon dioxide. Instead of flapping your lips and making pointless introductions, why don't you render the assistance you Federation people seem to be famous for? And if you want to know what happened to your beloved cargo, go ask that worthless scientist, S'anra... she messed her job of keeping that stuff safe all up..." the Ferengi growled.

Darek looked at the Ferengi, "Of course, but I do recall a scuffle for the communicator we beamed over, I want your papers, vessel registration: the works! And I'd like them five minutes ago, and if this vessel isn't yours I strongly suggest you tell me who it is." He growled back, and looked over at Jack, "Can we really sap him?" He said under his breath, hoping his superior heard him.

Though she tended to agree with the Intel Chief in respect of dealing with the annoying Ferengi, Stace couldn't help but turn her more inward attention towards the mentioning of the cargo and the 'worthless' individual known as S'anra. Recalling the complete vagueness of the cargo manifest listings and knowing the vessel was to be carrying some type of medical supplies, it was enough to warrant a more direct approach to the situation.

"I'll leave this meat sack to you boys," Stace announced with a slight wave of the hand. "I'm going to head on down to the cargo bay and see what's shaking... or more so who."

[Cargo Bay]
[SS North Star]
[several minutes later]

Having left Grixx to the man... and Jack... Stace was fortunate enough to find the cargo bay area without any relative problems. Aside from the ship being in complete chaos and horrid disorder, it was apparent to the Major that the room itself had clearly been ransacked... almost as if the perpetrators were here for this very reason.

"Hey you!" she yelled randomly to some human passing by, "I'm looking for someone called S'anra... where the blazes is she?"

The man, wearing an unpleasant look, motioned to the far corner. "Over there I think... how the hell do I know?"

"Honestly? I'd be surprised if you actually knew anything," Stace retorted with a quickness as she brushed past the man and towards the corner in which he had indicated. "You, there, woman... are you S'anra? And if you are... I think you best start explaining real quick what the hell just happened here."

S'anra heard an unfamiliar voice approaching her, and with an attitude. With a reflex honed from years of getting sick of people sneaking up on her, the Romulan leveled a disruptor at the newcomer's midsection. "Identify yourself," she stated.

"DeVries," Stace replied with a raised brow. "I'm part of the Federation team here to rescue you from your rather... dire circumstances. Now, if you don't mind... I would appreciate it if you put that thing away... unfortunately the last time someone pulled a stunt like that I ended up married... and unless you'd be interested in pursuing that option, I think it'd be the best for the both of us."

S'anra paused for a moment of thought, whether she was considering shooting DeVries, or the marriage proposal, was uncertain. After a few moments she lowered her disruptor, and placed it back in it's holster.

"It was a professional hit, three or four heavily armed. Tagged and beamed out the cargo. Anyone who saw their faces is dead," she stated.

Stace nodded in understanding. "Lucky for us then that my background is rather extensive when it comes to dealing with these sorts. Let's take a look around shall we?"

Not bothering to wait for an actual response as she was pretty sure the Romulan scientist was just as interested as her in the people behind the incident, Stace took to exploring the cargo bay with some keen intent. Professional hits were not as easy to come by as one might think given the tensions surrounding areas such as the Neutral Zone. No, in order for someone to arrange that there had to be some serious profit to be made. "So, seeing how it was supposedly your job to watch this cargo... does that perchance include you might have knowledge as to what it actually was?"

"Pescaline, isoratonyl, few others. All drugs the Federation recently cooked up. Very high price on the market out here," S'anra replied. If she didn't keep herself to standards, she might've stolen them herself.

Interesting news indeed. "So it's safe to assume if these are all high valued, recently concocted drugs then only a select few should know of their existence and therefore their destination... wouldn't you agree?" Stace questioned.

"You don't need to know what it is to steal it, just need to know what it is to sell it," S'anra replied, "When you transport drugs like this, you need a biochemist to make sure the ship isn't irradiating it and the crew isn't sticking their fingers in it. If someone like the ship's captain isn't discreet enough when looking for a biochem, everyone else is going to know, that you're carrying cargo that needs a biochem."

"Exactly," Stace remarked sadly. "Never fails in these cases. Always always an inside job of some sort. I wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't involved in this whole orchestration. He didn't seem to strike me as an upstanding gentleman. Nevertheless, what say we rejoin the others... perhaps we can get some more answers that way."

"Grixx?" S'anra asked, "I don't think he's in on it, I just think he's incompetent." She stepped towards the Starfleet officer indicating she'd follow along, when her head wound came to mind, "You did not perchance bring along a doctor did you?"

[Command Cabin]
[SS North Star]
[concurrent with above]

Grixx watched the red-haired woman leave, his eyes focusing on her posterior a little longer than what would be considered prudent before he sucked in a breath and remembered he wasn't alone.

"I don't know who you believe yourselves to be, but you don't come over here and start accusing people of running ships that aren't their's. I run a legitimate operation, one that your government paid good latinum to for the transport of goods. It isn't my fault you don't protect your territory better, and it most certainly isn't my fault the ship got attacked. They were after your cargo, and that's all they stole. And don't even think about touching me, I have several Federation lawyers on retainer and I will own you and your children if you try..." the Ferengi said with narrowed eyes.

Oh boy, Jack thought to himself, watching the situation boil over before his eyes. It was time for him to step in before either the Ferengi or Commander Halsey went too far. The boy put his hands out in front of him, glancing from the large-eared ship captain to the just large Intel officer. "Gentlemen," he implored them, "please, calm down. We're both on the same side here." Turning to the Ferengi, the boy dropped his hands. "Now, Mr...."

"Grixx," the Ferengi hissed, "And it's Captain... not Mister. I am the boss around here and you will give me my due respect, child."

The remark barely phased the child. "Right," he noted, "So, Captain Grixx, what was your cargo, anyway?"

"Medicine... don't ask me what kind. That station we got it from didn't give us any grand list and I was paid not to ask questions. They said make it in less than a week, and I nearly did... until those pirates showed up. Beyond that, you have to ask your own government or talk to the colonists. Either way, I've got nothing else to tell you," Grixx said, folding his arms across his chest.

Darek had been leaning up against one of the consoles spinning his pulse magnum as the irritating Ferengi demeaned the Miran XO and avoided his questions. Sighing Darek pushed himself away from the console and holstered the weapon in a smooth motion, he looked at the Ferengi for a few seconds before he stepped up along side Jack. "Pardon me Mr. Grixx, but I don't give a damn about any Federation lawyers you have on retainer. A few words from me and you will no longer exist or those lawyers would happily see you from the opposite table. So I suggest you start using your big mouth and tell us what we want to know..." He looked down to the XO for approval or disapproval, seeing neither he pressed on. "Or I'll do as I said, or just shoot you...." He said beginning to draw the weapon on his thigh.

"I will not be bullied in my own ship!" Grixx screamed, pulling free his own side arm and pointing it at the Intelligence Officer, "I've told you what I will tell you, and not an ounce more. Unless you care to purchase information with some latinum, you have nothing but empty threats and a phaser to your name. Neither one of those things puts you in a favorable bargaining position!"

Crap. This was what 'going too far' was. Jack was used to ships and machines that he could scan to figure out the problem. People weren't as easy to read, their problems couldn't just be solved with a hyperspanner and a few new relays. The boy sighed, putting on a sharp expression. He spun to glare at the large man, trying to look as intimidating as his 1.4 meters would allow. "Mister Halsey. Put your weapon away." Without waiting for the Intelligence Commander to follow his orders, the Miran stepped close to him. In a low voice, he added another order, "Go find a working computer and check the records. Sensor logs, transport records, shipping manifests, there's got to be something that says what this ship was carrying."

The boy turned around, expecting to hear the retreating footsteps of his comrade in the background. He put his hands returned to their outstretched position, which was now becoming all too familiar to him. Were all Ferengi this difficult? "Captain Grixx, please, we don't have time for this. You said you wanted aid? How about compensation. The Federation will pay for your ship's repairs and any excess wages you need to cover in return for your cooperation.

"We need to know what you were carrying. Don't tell me you didn't at least peek."

"Compensation is good, little man... But I was paid not to look, and when someone gives me enough money, even I can be honest. The woman, S'anra, knows more about that cargo than I do, go talk to her. All I know is you can't replicate whatever we were hauling, and that's it. You will keep your end of the bargain though..." the Ferengi offered up the sum of his knowledge at the promise of payment.

"Sure," the boy answered, his blue eyes dancing in the flickering light, "but I hope you don't expect Latinum. We're fresh out."