Plain, Simple Thavas (Part II)

Posted on Sat Oct 19, 2024 @ 3:33am by Lieutenant T'Lul & Civilian Thavas Th'Omtala
Edited on on Sat Oct 19, 2024 @ 3:40am

2,108 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Tergum In Tempus
Location: Sartorial Splendor

[PREVIOUSLY]

Thavas, who had been sitting in one of the gorgeous chairs in the fitting area waiting for T'Lul to come out, rose when the Vulcan appeared. "Lady T'Lul, you are a vision. It is almost as though you are the gentlebeing that dress was made for. How does the dress make you feel? It would be an adventurous choice, but you strike me as someone looking to explore yourself and test your boundaries and limits. And if this dress is not agreeable to you, Viza and I would be happy to find you something that you believe suits you better."

[CONTINUED]

T'Lul tilted her head to one side and then to the other, considering the circumstances. "How does it make me feel?" she asked. "I am a Vulcan. I do not experience emotions in that way." Once again she tilted her head to the other side. "I do believe that it creates an illusion of me having bodily curves that I do not. I am told that this is pleasing to some. Do you think that you would have something to complete the ensemble? I do believe that some sort of heel would be appropriate, no?"

"Of course," Thavas said, letting the comment about emotions pass. "We have a small selection here. Try one, try two, try them all. See what strikes your fancy."

Viza left the room for a moment, then returned and whispered in Thavas' ear. "The Brothers Kylyx are here," she said. "Should I show them to your office?"

Thavas nodded. "Some clients have arrived that I need to have a word with. Viza will be back in a moment, and I'll return shortly," he said to T'Lul. He left and, a moment later, Viza returned.

"Sorry about that," Viza said. "Have you found anything you'd like to try? What about these?" Viza held up a pair of shoes for T'Lul to consider.

T'Lul overheard the comment about the Kylyx Brothers and filed it away. Something about it seemed unusual. It seemed important. "There is need to apologize. The Kylyx Brothers must be rather important," T'Lul prodded. "As to the shoes, I will trust yours and Thavas' recommendations. I do not often dress like this."

"Hmmm..." Viza said. "So, how much experience do you have in high heeled women's shoes?"

"Little," T'Lul answered. "However, it is a simple matter of balance."

"Basically, yes," Viza replied. "Balance and class and varying levels of sass, depending on the message you want to send. Here, let me show you and then you can give it a try..."

Meanwhile, back in Thavas' office...

The men waiting for Thavas in his office were two of the strangest individuals one might encounter. They were half brothers, but one might be hard pressed to see the resemblance. They were the illegitmate sons of Kyklx "Kicker" Kylyx, a lower level crime boss in the Iotian Outfit. Kicker was from Sigma Iotia II, where everyone looked identical to Earth humans, externally, anyway. Sigma Iotia was visited by an Earth ship called the Horizon. The crew of of the Horizon left behind a book called "Chicago Mobs of the 1920s" on Sigma Iotia II. The Sigma Iotians used it as a model for their society and, had the crew of the USS Enterprise 1701 not intervened, they might have eventually killed each other off. When James Kirk and the Enterprise left Sigma Iotia II, he had put the Federation in charge, and told the Sigma Iotians that the Starfleet would be coming around regularly for the Federation's "Piece of the Action". A side effect of this set up was that Federation advisors would visit as well and try to straighten the Sigma Iotians out and undo the damage done by the Horizon's carelessness. Unfortunately, two things happened to ruin this. Doctor Leonard McCoy left his communicator behind, and the Federation eventually stopped coming around to check in on the Sigma Iotians.

True to their imitating ways, the Sigma Iotians used McCoy's communicator to develop translator technology, leading to the development of sub-light space travel. Early in their sub-light exploration, they found a derelict Romulan warship and developed warp travel from it.

This would have been fairly harmless, except that the Sigma Iotians were still essentially 1920s Chicago gangsters at heart. Now they were 1920s Chicago Space Gangsters, with the gangs now mostly allied with each other and known as the "Iotian Outfit".

The Iotian Outfit feels a debt of gratitude towards "the Fed" for all of the help Starfleet gave them early on. They view threats to "the Fed" as personal insults and have a relationship of sorts with Starfleet Security and Starfleet Intelligence. As long as the Outfit keeps most of its criminal activity out of Federation space and passes along any and all intelligence they might discover on threats to the Federation, SFS and SFI tend to leave them be.

Kicker Kylyx was known as "Kicker" because he generally enjoy kicking the crap out of his enemies... literally. All of his footwear was specially made with this proclivity in mind. His clothing, like the clothing of many of the Outfit's members, resembled 1920s Earth clothing, and he was frequently seen in a sharp suit from that period. Like many Outfit bosses, lieutenants, and the more affluent torpedoes, much of his clothing was made by Thavas. Kicker had a problem with his pants though, a problem not even a tailor of Thavas' skill could help him with. Kicker had problems keeping his pants on in the presence of an attractive woman. That was how he'd ended up with a half-Cardassian son and a half-Klingon son.

The half-Cardassian son was named Nyklys, but everyone called him "Nicky the Neck" or "Nicky Neckbones". The obvious reason for this was his Cardassian neckbones. The real reason was that Nicky enjoyed breaking people's necks, stabbing people in the neck, hanging them by the neck, etc. In a pinch, he'd slit a person's throat, usually with a straight razor. Nicky had a necklace made of what looked like pure latinum neckbones on a chain. In fact, they were actual neckbones, coated in latimum. Nicky the Neck AKA Nicky Neckbones was a nasty little piece of work. A bastard in more than one sense of the word. But even nasty little pieces of work had redeeming qualities. Nicky was loyal, even to people he didn't like (and if you went by his demeanor, Nicky Neckbones didn't like anyone). He was also, like his father and half-brother, an honorable man. Nicky's word meant something.

The half-Klingon son was named Frynklyn, but he was known as "Frankie the Forehead", because of his impressive Klingon forehead and because Frankie liked to headbutt his opponents. If he did so with enough force, he'd crack the target's skull, sometimes even break it open. Unlike his half-brother, Frankie the Forehead was actually quite a pleasant person to be around. Other than the headbutting and other torpedo work, he was generally a gentle, friendly, well read man. He was, in fact, at that very moment reading 'The Aias' by Sophocles, in Classical Greek.

Like their father, the two brothers were snazzy dressers. Nicky was dress in sharp three-piece suit made by Thavas, while Frankie wore an honest to goodness Zoot Suit, also made by Thavas.

"Nicky, Frankie," Thavas said. "I assume this is important, or you wouldn't have come in person?" Neither man had any warrants out on them in the Federation, so they could travel freely within it.

"Yeah, Stitcher," Nicky said. "It's important. Pops wants you to work your magic and pass on some dirt we got on Boss Yxlyx's crew breaking the rules on to Starfleet Security, specifically, Security here on DS5."

"What dirt?" Thavas asked. "And why the personal visit."

"Yxlyx is going to smuggle Denobulan Pixie Dust onto DS5," Frankie said. "And to do that, he's got a Customs guy on the station in his pocket. Some other guys on the docks, too."

"He's been making trouble about the rules saying we stay away from the Fed and that we don't deal junk," Nicky said.

"That," Thavas said. "If memory serves, he's been a thorn in your father's side for years. And if he gets caught, your father can move against him, maybe even absorb his operation, right?"

"SFS gets what they want, we get what we want," said Nicky. "Badda bing, badda boom. So, can you do it?"

Thavas thought for a moment. "I know what's in it for the Federation and for your father and even for the Outfit," he said. "What's in it for me?"

"You lost a shipment of textiles in the Rigel System a few months ago," Frankie said. "We've found out who hit you. We'll straighten out that situation for you."

Thavas pretended to think about their offer, but the truth was, he didn't have to. Kicker was known to be a strong supporter of the Iotian Outfit ban on the illegal drug business, a business Thavas found to be morally repugnant. Helping Kicker move up was a good play, and getting the problem of his stolen shipment dealt with was a good deal, too.

"Done," Thavas said. "I might even have just made the beginnings of a contact I could use to pass the information on for us. Wait here."

Back in the fitting rooms...

"So," Thavas said as he entered. "What have you two been up to while I was otherwise occupied?"

T'Lul answered simply, "I have been getting tutored on the finer points of walking in heels." She then changed the subject and added, "I have also been having my curiosity and questions avoided by your assistant."

"Ah," Thavas said. "The Brothers Kylyx, yes? They are the sons of a client of mine. Their father is a low level boss in the Iotian Outfit. Criminals, yes, but they have warm feelings for what they call "The Fed". I know a lot of people like the Brothers Kylyx and their father. You see, I’ve plied my trade in places you can’t go wearing a Starfleet uniform and I have legitimate business relationships with people who would as soon kill a Starfleet officer as look at one. Sometimes, I hear things. Sometimes, if the right person comes along, I share these bits of information I’ve come across… if appropriate compensation or exchange is offered, of course. As it happens, I am in search of just such a 'right person' at this very moment.”

The Vulcan tilted her head slightly to the left and raised her right eyebrow. "I am curious. Exactly what sort of compensation or exchange is involved with your people. I am also curious how you come across such contacts. I am a student of beings and their motivations. I wonder what your motivations are in being an information broker and as a tailor."

Thavas grinned. "Weaving and tailoring allow me to express myself artistically and to take pleasure in making people feel beautiful," he said. "Information brokering... well, Andorians where I come from are very much lovers of secrets and intrigue, and there's an artistry to what I do in that vocation as well. But getting back to business, in this case, the Kylyx family is offering information on illegal activity about to occur here on DS5, illegal activity that the Iotian Outfit does not condone. It is being committed by a branch of the Outfit that does not agree with the restrictions the upper bosses put on the rest of the Outfit. Namely the prohibition on committing serious crimes on the Federation's patch and the prohibition on dealing in addictive narcotics. If the family in question, the Yxlyx family, were to get caught by the Fed and exposed, it would weaken them, allowing the Kylyx family to move against them. Unlike Boss Yxlyx, Boss Kylyx is in full support of the prohibitions on committing crimes in the Federation and the prohibitions on dealing in addictive narcotics. So if you pass the information on to Security, I have all of the specifics which I can give you, Starfleet gets a drug smuggler, the people Boss Yxlyx has on his payroll here at DS5, and helps someone more friendly to the Federation move up in the Outfit. Meanwhile, the Brothers Kylyx solve a problem for me in the Rigel System. And if you need more motivation than just the greater good, I would owe you a favor, and I honor my debts as long as it is within my power to do so."


(To be continued...)

Lieutenant T'Lul
Chief Counselor
DS5

Thavas Th'Omtala
Master Weaver, Master Tailor
Owner: Sartorial Splendor

 

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