To muddy the waters
Posted on Sun May 3, 2020 @ 9:21am by Civilian Melvyn Raddon & Captain Lazanos Torena
2,229 words; about a 11 minute read
Mission:
Et In Arcadia Ego
Location: Dilthium Chamber - Executive Operations Centre
Timeline: SD 2 1730
Tags: Raddon, Marines, Gevran, Lu'Xin
"If you'll follow me." Eckala said to the Marine Commander as she led him down the corridor of the executive suite towards the conference room. She pressed the chime and waited for a moment before she heard Melvyn Raddon respond, beckoning her to enter the spacious area.
Laz followed along behind Eckala, taking in the swanky surroundings. It wasn't often you got to see a bit of luxury like this on a Starbase. When he was a kid, Laz had done some favors for a local boss that liked to use neighborhood tough guys to deliver packages for him under the radar, and he'd had a pretty nice place. Nicest place Laz had ever seen in his life up until that point, really. And this was nicer. Melvyn Raddon was an older man that still radiated health, with a neatly-tailored suit and shoes as polished as any Marine's boots up for inspection. Not for the first time, Laz was wondering why the hell he'd gotten the message asking him to visit.
Melvyn stood as he saw the Marine enter. "Captain Torena, what a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance." He said with a genuinely warm smile as he walked from his chair and greeted the Officer. "I apologize for the wait, I just had to finish discussing a few things with my Head of Security, Mr. Tai Lu'Xin." He said, as he gestured to the Human sitting across from him.
"From what I understand, you two might have already met one another." Melyvn said as he walked back to his seat. "Word has certainly been spreading about that unfortunate incident that occured on the Promanade earlier today." He said as he settled back into his seat.
"I'm sorry, Captain, can I get you anything to drink?" He asked as he gestured for Eckala to replicate his typical alcoholic beverage for himself.
"Whatever you're having is fine by me," Laz said. He looked over at Tai, recognizing the man from the mess on the Promenade. He'd been in the thick of things when Laz first showed up, but then he'd just been gone. Laz couldn't say how involved he'd been, but looking the man in the eyes didn't make him feel like the guy shied away from a bit of violence. "I gotta admit, I'm curious why you wanted to see me, Mr. Raddon. I wouldn't think you'd have much interest in what the grunts are getting up to."
Tai maintained eye-contact with the Marine, but didn't make any gestures of welcoming him into the room. He briefly nodded to Eckala as she made her way towards the replicator for his drink. Tai remembered the Marine's involvement in the riot distinctly.
Melvyn laughed as Eckala gave him his drink and walked to Laz to give him his. "Captain Torena, you are being much too modest!" He said as he took a sip. "You served in the Dominion War, highly-decorated, I might add. Not to mention you've been gifted the command billet of the Marine detachment of this station." He stated. "I'd say that you are more than just a mere "grunt" my boy." He said between sips.
"I put in my time," Laz replied. He wasn't sure if he was being buttered up or not, but he had to admit he saw how Raddon got to the position he did, the older man was charismatic as hell. "But you're not a war historian, I'm sure."
"I invted you here for the chance for us to get better acquainted with one another." He said. "With you being in charge of the Marine detachment and my company being so heavily involved in the very lifeblood of the station and its citizens, I figured it would only be a matter of time before we ran across one another." He said.
"Tell me, Captain, what are your views on the social upheavals that have taken place on this station recently? Particurlary involving the Cardassian Empire's recent acts of aggression both onboard and in Xi'Cadian space?" He asked.
"I don't know that I'd say the Cardassians were the aggressors on board," the Marine said. "They certainly didn't deescalate, but that doesn't mean they started it. Bigger brains than mine are going to figure all that out. Either way, it's my job to knock down trouble when it shows up, whatever form it takes. Human, Cardassian, it makes no difference to me."
Melvyn's eyebrows went up. "Oh, but it should my dear boy, it should." He said as he placed the glass on the table beside him. "You should know better than anyone else what the Cardassians are capable of if left to their own designs. You saw how quickly they turned on Humanity and led the Dominion to our doorstep." He said as he leaned closer.
"You have been placed in a great position to use your experience and your talents to fight back against the rising tide." Melvyn said.
"If it were just the spoonheads, then we wouldn't be concerned." Tai interjected, speaking for the first time. "But we have good reason to believe that they are working with local and very dangerous criminal enterprises onboard this station." He reported.
Laz sipped his drink, ignoring the spoonhead slur for the moment. He’d heard that said more than once this morning on the Promenade. There wasn’t any more question just where Tai fell on the whole thing, anymore. “What criminal enterprise is that?”
"Are you familiar with an Yridian by the name of Gevran?" Melyvn asked.
“I’ve read the name, yeah. Not in much detail, though. Local criminal. Nobody ever had enough on him to do anything about that. You think he’s working with the Cardassians?”
"I'm certain of it." Melyvn said as he nodded to Tai. The Head of Security stood up and went to the nearby wall and activated the display. Within moments, the glass shimmered slightly and displayed a video capture of a Cardassian and several other individuals standing outside of a cargo bay ***
"Well?" Paveen asked. She was keen to be inside but not to be blown to bits.
"The bartender wasn't exaggerating. Its a beaut. An absolute beaut. " The human sat back on his heels. They were in the corridor outside Raddon's storage bay, looking at the door release mechanism.
"No wonder Gev is dropping bricks on this one." Kreb agreed. The bolian checked his padd. All the feeds were still looped and diverted. They were still invisible.
"Can you deal with it, or do we abort?" Paveen looked over Morty's shoulder.
"It's got its own power source, just like she said. Cut it off and it all goes boom." Morty got out his tricorder. "And a couple of other fail safes to prevent tampering. Nothing too complex." He opened his back pack, looking for the right tools. "Adding the right override diodes will be fun."
Tai paused the replay and looked towards the Marine.
"That is Paveen, a criminal with numerous ties with the post-Dominion Cardassian government. Her services aren't cheap, We believe that she has worked for Gevran in the past on other projects." Tai said as he skipped forward in the video.
Nobody died instantly. Morty cracked an eyebrow. All lights were green. Excellent. "Alright Pav, she's all yours."
He and Paveen swapped places. The Cardassian woman had learnt her tricks as part of the resistance to the dominion during the war. With the war over, she had found more freedom and profit in putting what she learnt as a girl to commercial use as an adult.
Tripping the locks on this door required nothing more than a few twists to the manual catches. Its security was predicated on the unfriendly booby trap, and biometric systems that Kreb had already dealt with. "Here we go!" She said, and turned the release.
With a hiss, the inner-sanctum of the cargo bay began to pressurize. It took several minutes for the process to complete, making it possible for the three scavengers to enter through the massive 15 foot tall doors and enter the storage facility.
Tai pressed several more buttons and the image shifted back to the decorative display it showed before.
"We're also aware of an ongoing illegal fighting ring that takes places in various places throughout the station. We know that one such event was held in the mechanics bay on deck 1175." Tai said. "So far, station security has proven either unable or unwilling to do somehing about this joint enterprise between Gev and elements within the Cardassian government onboard this station." Tai added.
"We're well aware that the previous Cardassian Ambassador, Getal Tharek, and his consort, the owner of the Box of Delights used to frequent these illegal bloodsports on a regular basis. Undoubtedly, I'm certian that is where he and Gevran would conduct their business." Melyvn said.
"This man is a cancer upon the very life of this community." Melvyn said. "He must be stopped."
Laz looked at Melvyn, then back at the decorative display where the security footage had played a moment ago. He was becoming increasingly aware that he was walking on quicksand with this conversation, and he didn't know nearly where all the pieces of this conversation were coming from. And then there was the question of Yolanthe, who he didn't anticipate being brought up in all this. Did they know he was seeing her socially? If they didn't, they'd probably find out before long. What all was she involved in? "You guys sure know how to welcome somebody to his new job," Laz said, finishing his drink.
"Look, I've got no love for the Cardies. I've spent nearly half my career cleaning up their goddamned messes. Not just during the war, either. Do you guys know how many Cardassian warlords set up their own private little fiefdoms after the war? Dozens. Pirate kingdoms, bandit strongholds, petty little dictatorships all swearing to be the new coming of a revived Cardassian Empire. I've lost friends fighting them." He rolled his glass in his hands, thinking. All of that was true, but if he was being honest, he'd never cared one way or another if they were Cardassians or somebody else. He'd meant what he said, he didn't care who he had to go up against. If they were the bad guys, they got knocked down. But if Melvyn thought he was amenable to his views, it was better than not.
"I need to have that footage verified," he said after a moment. "Right now, all it shows is a Cardassian involved in illegal activities, which can easily be explained away. My jurisdiction on this station is limited. I can't conduct any official investigations on this station. I try, the Chief of Security can run me out on the next shuttle home. Officially. What were they trying to steal?" He asked, nodding where the holo display was. "And is it something I need to worry about in my capacity as a Marine outside this station?"
Melvyn continued to drink from his glass as he listened to the Marine speak. "The what is immaterial." He replied, feeling a certain jolt of excitement as he thought about the retribution he extracted from those would-be thieves when they were caught. "For the time being, Gevran's operation maintains itself strictly on this station. My sources tell me that he has not expanded to the planet's surface" Melvyn said, returning eye-contact to the Marine.
Melvyn took one final drink from his glass and allowed the liquid to cascade down his mouth and tongue. He savored it for several moments before turning back to the man. "We're focusing on the 250 meter targets at the moment." He said with a smile as he set the glass down and stood. "I feel that I've taken enough of your time, and I'm quite sure you have your hands full dealing with the aftermath of that unpleasantness on the Promande." He said as he extended his hand towards the Marine.
"I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce myself and to make you aware of the ever-looming threat present on this station." He said. "Oh, and if you or your men ever need a place to simply relax and blow off some steam, you're more than welcome to stop by the Dilithium Chamber, on the house!" He said gregariously.
"I appreciate that," Laz said. "You may regret offering these many Marines free drinks." He shook Raddon's hand. "I'll consider what we talked about here today."
Melvyn smiled as Eckala showed Captain Torena the way out adn escorted him down the corridor. As the doors sealed shut, Tai spoke up. "Do you think this meeting was worth it?" He asked.
The smile slowly faded from Melvyn's face as he turned back towards his desk. "Marines are like rabid dogs, you just need to point them in the right direction and avoid getting bit." He said roughly. "I just need to muddy the waters so that station resources will be diverted to ruining Gevran's business. He's been able to operate with impunity for far too long." The elder business man stated.
Marine Captain Lazanos Torena
CO, 21st MEU
Deep Space 5
Melvyn Raddon
Chairman, CEO
Raddon Corp
Tai Lu'Xin
Acting Head Security Consultant
Raddon Corp
- https://ds5.sim-metry.net/index.php/sim/viewpost/734
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