Eps 2 Act 2: Bargain's & Bushwacks

[Sjet]

[Sjet]

“Ah. A moment before we begin the dance. Mother’s are want to teach their children manners, and mine would scald me sore for a month were I not to introduce myself to your...friends.” his tone took on the slightest of an edge “Or that they were not introduced to me. If i do not know them they are not friends of mine, even if they are friends of yours. Tales of gems falling into bad company abound, especially this far from the ears of Starfleet.”

He took a step back, leaning against one of the tales ladened with goods of both dubious quality, and probably dubious ownership. It was only then that the five other ‘traders’ near by began to stand out from the crowd. They were not haggling, nor were they browsing the wares of other merchants. In fact some of the other traders were doing their best to stay out of any direct line of sight (or fire) from them and the band of etraz traders.

Bodyguards and hitters.

“We,” Sjet egan to say, stepping forward slightly and gesturing to the others, their uniforms exchanged for civilian garb from the Big Red’s merchant crew “are a trade team from the Aldebaran Colonies, come to seek-”

“He can be quiet for a start.” A’bram said, pointing with one finger at the shipless captain, and then wagging a finger at the others “If you’re Aldebaran Colonists I’m the Crown Queen of Orion.”

He pointed a finger at one of the non humans in the party.

“You...tell me why you’re here, and please make me believe it.” he sighed, stroking that hand down his jacket “Just had this cleaned this morning and all.”

TAG-All, free reign on the cover story as the Bazaar is a criminal establishment. I’ll run with whatever comes out of your mouths first, just don’t make us Vulcan poodle breeders.

[Nevian]

[SabrinaPandora]

Bristling with non-Federation weapons acquired from the crew of the Big Red through a variety of bets and challenges while decked out in loose, ill-fitting civilian clothes, the oppressive heat of the desert planet was stifling to the midget Andorian with the defective hypothalamus. She was grateful that the old Vulcan had spoken up- in truth Lieutenant P'Trell was terrible at lying, as even misdirection went strongly against her nature. Lieutenant Emerald Jones seemed at home here- apparently she was something of a criminal, or at the very least criminally minded. Captain S'jet seemed a bit out of place, which was an ironic realization from the little blue misfit who of course didn't fit in anywhere.

So shtoophing hot, Talla P'Trell thought to herself, wishing she could have remained behind on the sweaty stifling confines of the trader vessel that seemed like a frosty paradise to her now. But there was liable to be violence, and there were Starfleet personnel to protect, so she was here. She just hoped she lasted long enough to be of use should she be needed. Already she had sweat through her light gauzy wrap in which she had covered herself, trying to limit her exposure to the sun. Her skin would burn easily, quickly and painfully- this she knew from prior experience, and she had no desire to repeat that stay in sickbay from sun poisoning.

For now, she eyed the six potential opponents. Armed with a variety of weapons, they were likely formidable if not cowardly superstitious criminals. The landing party was surrounded... there were other accomplices who stood by waiting to seal off avenues ofescape if need be. This could turn ugly very quickly, the little lieutenant reasoned rightly, and she eyed the two nearest her who recognized her potential danger. Keeping her hands where they could be seen moved her eyes alone as she scanned the rooftop, spotting two snipers as well.

Apparently entering the thieves bazaar was quite the risky proposition.

~tag all

[lucasausems]

After waiting for what had seemed like weeks Lukat finally set foot on the Bazaar's planet. He straightened his borrowed cloak. He hated having to change out of his regular Cardassian outfit. None of it showed from his expression or behaviour, ofcourse, that would be unseemly and would blow their cover immediately. Which was, what exactly? No one had actually discussed this on the way there. Ofcourse they could announce themselves as Starfleet Officers seeking to establish formal relations with the Bazaar in the interest of mutual benefits. But considering that most of what Lukat was seeing at this moment, from the wares to its people selling them, was illegal, Lukat and the rest of the team had only slim hopes of that plan working. In addition, what was he going to do on the Bazaar as a representative of the Cardassian Union? Both the CIB and High Command kept tabs on this trading hub and he was sure his presence had already been noted and reported to the big bosses on Cardassia Prime.

Lukat could ofcourse signal an operative or informant of either organisation and aid in procuring the needed materials needed for the space station as a way of good gesture from Cardassia to their conquerors. However, just having the observer role put Lukat in the excellent and interesting position of watching how these Starfleet types would manage to get what they need on their own.

Whatever the cover story would be, Cardassia would know that the new Starfleet Outpost was wasting no time in establishing contact with its closest neighbours. He could've reported all of this himself, but in this way it would be done for him and he got the opportunity to explore a new and alien place. He might be an 'all work no play' Cardassian, but Lukat had his hobbies and pleasures. Travelling was one of them.

He watched with fascination as Lieutenant Jones established contact almost immediately, using her past ties (clearly more present tense than he was sure Starfleet would like to admit) to arrange a meeting. This also partly explained her less than formal behaviour to him earlier. She clearly wasn't the run-of-the-mill (Lukat liked that Earth expression) Starfleet Officer. Then he laughed inwardly as Captain Sjet almost ruined everything for them after which the Vulcan cool-headedly considered and chose his approach.

A colourful bunch of people they all were, all with their own strenghts and weaknesses. Under the right command this bunch of misfits could be moulded into a most excellent team, Lukat considered. However, would Santra be up to the task?

[Aoife]

Emerald relaxed. There really was no other way to explain the sense of relief she felt. She waited for a break in the conversation with the others, and then laughed suddenly. Pointing at A'brams she snickered loudly at his expression of "what the..?"

"You look good for the Crown Queen of Orion." She wiped tears away from her eyes, and drew her hand down her face to her chin, covering her mouth for a moment. The laughter continued as she did. Obscuring truth, but close enough to that which matters "I must humbly apologize for not introducing them to you before they began to speak, and hope that you will not hold their lack of manners against us." She bowed her head to him, her fingers steepled before her forehead. I hide my face before you in apology and embarrassment. "I've not been close to my family in some years, as I said previously. I have forgotten my manners. They are people who wish to make places stronger and better for their efforts. If you wish names of them, they will answer truthfully as they may. I, for myself, am of the family of Archie Jones of Mars."

"A name, as I said, not unknown to me, though not only of Mars."

Emerald straightened, shrugged and looked around. " True. I'm going to let my.. comrades.. do the speaking. They're more up on what is needed than I am," she said, turning away. Catching sight of the glint of amusement in Lukat's eye, she smirked a little and moved to stand beside him.

"Find something funny?" she asked him quietly, and caught the wrist of the kid who was trying to slip tiny fingers into his beltpouch. With a waggle of her own fingers she sent the boy on his way, chuckling. "I remember doing that all over Mars colony when I was little. Only got caught a couple of times too, which is remarkable. I didn't quite catch why you were with us."

TAG - Lukat
TAG - A'brams.

[Sjet]

[Nevian]

[Ciara Mei]

Everything seemed to happen in a flash. Zayna had her back fixed up, though it still twinged slightly. There was not going to be any way around that, but at least she could move now. Everyone else had gone down to the bazaar. She knew that she probably should join them, and had to make herself look like she fit in there. She hated doing things like that, but when necessary, she would.

Finding an outfit that made her look decent, she slipped it on, still an annoyed look on her face. Finding a mirror, she gave a sigh at her appearance. “Well, Zay, this is the best it’ll get. Better go join the others.”

One last nod to herself and she headed off to catch up with the others.

The conversation she walked into when she finally found everyone was interest. “I miss something I take it, guys?” She asked from behind them. She’d heard what was mentioned about ‘The Family’ and got a curious look on her face. These were some of the things that, were she still an intel officer, she’d jump at the chance to investigate. But instead, she had to stick to where she was.

[Nevian]