You cant make this up....

Posted on Sat Feb 7, 2015 @ 12:10am by

1,466 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: https://ds5.sim-station.net/index.php/sim/missions/id/6

[ON]

[Bentar II - Freeport Station - Orbital Space Dock]

Steiner dumped his travel bag on the floor and slumped down into a seat of a small side-walk cafe in the Freeport Khasbar, the hustle and bustle of the market continued as dozens of merchants, traders, dealers and customers bargained, haggled and exchanged goods and merchandise. He lifted a chair leg and dropped it down over the strap of his bag, last thing he needed was some petty thief to make off with his evidence files. An orange skinned humanoid waitress arrived, he ordered a large raktajino and what passed for breakfast on Bentar II.

He'd signed off the Hentar an hour earlier, blaming his gambling losses on finishing his contract early. "Just no point in staying on if I'm going to gambling my wages away every night" He'd told Joj, the Ferengi Purser. Even then the little weasel had tried to cheat him out of some pay, claiming a ten percent deduction for him leaving early. Steiner had made a fuss, it would have been seemed odd if he hadn't and they had settled on five percent.

After breakfast he sat sipping the klingon coffee and thinking over his next moves, he needed to get in contact with some kind of Federation representative, here it was either going to be some kind of Consulate or a passing Starfleet ship.

His thoughts were interrupted when he recognized Abarantar and Cradek walking through the throng of market goers. That a merchant ship's Captain and First Mate were out in the crowded Kasbar was not unusual, but Abarantar and Cradek's companions were surprising. An elderly Klingon warrior and a tall Vulcan or possibly Romulan woman accompanied the pair.

They passed fairly close to Steiner's table, he leaned back behind a potted plant of some kind, so as not to catch their eye. He heard a just a smattering of the group's conversation as they walked past.

"- doubled the price and they still paid it!" Abaratar was saying "And I've got three more shipments already lined up!"

The Klingon laughed "So much for a few phasers? I wonder what Starfleet will think when they start getting shot by their own weapons!"

"Not to mention what's going to happen with those Defense platforms!" Cradek added with a nasty smile.

"Be quiet!" The woman snapped "Do not talk of such matters! As for raising prices, that was a foolish and unnecessary action" The woman continued "Prices are set in advance, we will loose customers if they think we will extort more payment than agreed"

"Pah!" Cradek waved his hand dismissively "There are always customers who will pay!"

The group continued on past the cafe, Steiner watched them until they disappeared in the throng of market goers. He was tempted to follow them to see where they went, but the risk of being seen was too much.

They might not think too much of a crewman who left the ship, but they might start wondering if that crewman then began following them about...


[Bentar II - Planetary Capital]

A couple of hours later Steiner walked into the Federation Consulate in the planet's capital city. He had brought a ticket on a shuttle down from Freeport Station and then taken ground transport to the Consulate.

It had been too dangerous to carry his Marshal's credentials while undercover and it took a while to convince the receptionist to let him speak with the Consulate's Legal Attaché. Once he was finally shown to the Attaché's Office it took only a few moments to positive identify himself via retinal scan and the Federation Marshal's Service database.

"So Chief Deputy Steiner" The Attaché asked, once Steiner had been identified "How can I help?"

"I need access to a secure communications terminal and er.... some privacy..."

The Attaché got the hint and found Steiner an empty office. "Let me know if there is anything else you need" he offered as he left.

"Thank you, I will"

Steiner activated the communications terminal, it had a diplomatic encryption level. Within a few minutes he had established a subspace link to the Marshal's Service Sector Office and Senior Chief Richard Lanson his operational supervisor for this investigation.



"Wolfgang!" Lanson smiled "Nice decor" he said noticing Steiner's backdrop "I didn't know tramp merchant ships smuggling illegal cargos came with plush executive suites!"

Steiner quickly gave his boss an update, and his suspicion that Deep Space Five was being used as some kind of distribution hub for smuggled goods.

'Ok, I most certainly don't like the sound of Starfleet weaponry being stolen and sold off. I'm sure 'Fleet Security won't be too happy about it either!" Lanson replied "I also guess you haven't heard about the tragedy at Deep Space Five?" He gave Steiner the details on the Guardian defense platform malfunctions and the loss of life.

Steiner baulked at the news. over three hundred dead? This was clearly what the unidentified Klingon had been referring to in the market place. The group had appeared to have prior knowledge of what had happened, was the accident actually a planned attack? That changed the whole game, from smuggling to terrorism...!

Steiner and Lanson discussed their next steps. "This doesn't make much sense, organized criminal groups don't like heightened security, they prefer things quiet and relaxed. If there was a element of terrorism behind those platforms opening fire then they must know that Starfleet will increase security procedures at Deep Space 5 dramatically. That's going to be bad for their business! Who's the Chief Marshal on the station, we should involve them in this."

"There isn't one" Lanson replied "We closed the office a couple of years back, 'Fleet Security were running the place, we were short staffed and there didn't seem much need. That appears to have changed, now we have evidence the station is being used as a hub for smuggling and possibly terrorism, I think it's time we got a team back in there."

"Anyone in mind?" Steiner asked

"Yes, you!" Said Lanson

"Me?" Steiner replied, surprised "I already have a job, an a huge case load at Durham Colony! This little undercover jaunt was only meant to chase down some petty smugglers."

"Except it's a lot bigger than we all thought and the evidence is, evidence that you discovered by the way," Lanson countered "Is that there is some kind of organized criminal group operating out of Deep Space Five. I'm making this case your top priority. I'm reassigning you to DS5 with immediate effect, Run this down, Wolfgang, run it down and if they were involved in those platforms going berserk, nail everyone of the bastards to the wall!"

"Alright, alright" Steiner agreed "But I'm not going in there like a charging rhino! This needs to be low key, if a shipload of Marshals arrive and start tearing the place apart this group will fade away and be gone before we know it!"

"Maybe," Lanson conceded "What do you suggest?"

"A small group, three or four people at most" Steiner explained "Don't make it look like anything more than a reopening of the office, no task forces, investigation squads or high profile teams. We go in, set up, do the routine stuff, but we target this smuggling organization and explore what the link is, if any, to the platform deaths"

"But there's fifty thousand people on DS5!"

"Exactly!" Nobody's going to notice a few more"

Lanson thought about it for a while "Alright, we'll try it that way. But if those platforms were some kind of terrorist action, if they're linked to the smuggling ring and if they get away because we didn't go in there with everything we had, then we're all going to be looking for new careers!"

Steiner nodded "Understood Chief. I'm going to use my cover to go back there and poke around a little. Then I'll call the team in and start work. Who's the CO?"

Lanson tapped his terminal as he spoke " Let's see, it's...... Oh.... well that's interesting. It's a Romulan!"

"A Romulan?" Steiner was a little nonplused "In charge of a Federation starbase?"



"Apparently so" Lanson replied "One Isha T'Vaurek, used to be an ambasador, now given command"

"So the defense platforms of a Federation starbase, which is used by an illegal cargo syndicate and run an actual living breathing Romulan, suddenly go haywire and destroy a couple of civilian ships, killing hundreds....? You can't make this stuff up!"


[Deep Space 5 - Docking plyon 47]

A couple of days later Steiner, back in his guise as civilian crewman William Stone, stepped off a civilian transport ship and walked out on to the Promenade of his new assignment. This is going to be interesting<./i> " he said quietly to himself.

To Be Continued...

 

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