Mission One: Fun and Games

[Alenis Meru]

The Ferengi had something called the Great Material Continuum, and Alenis was wishing for some help navigating it right about now. Liam and herself had been eyeing a shipment of medical supplies, provisions, and water reclamators for a Galaxy Without Borders side project, but despite their best efforts, they had continually gotten hung up on rocks and shoals.

A Lissepian freighter was willing to take their slightly used self-sealing stem-bolts, but all they had to trade was a used industrial strength graviton emitter. She knew an old friend from the academy was chief engineer on a ship that was bound to make a pit stop at the station within the next couple days, and was looking for a replacement for his burnt out graviton emitter. He could probably offer some EPS conduits, which could be easily traded with the Orions or the Ferengi for some Romulan Ale, as long as neither side asked too many questions. But none of that was getting her any closer to the alpha-currant nectar that the Kobheerians wanted for the supplies. That was, until a visitor from the Delta Quadrant stopped by the station.

“I am Grenushir, of the Tomorela Trading Commission,” said the Wadi woman on the main viewscreen. Despite the fact that she had come tens of thousands of light years through the Celestial Temple, Alenis was amazed at how human she looked. “We have come for, as you Starfleet types call it, ‘shore leave.’”

“Captain Alenis Meru, Starbase Unity. As commanding officer of this station, I’d like to officially welcome you aboard.” She’d found that running this station, she was equal parts commander, tactical officer, politician, businesswoman, and diplomat. Today, she was taking on the role of tourism promoter. “I’m sure you’ll find that the station has many amenities – food, drink and entertainment. Additionally, we have regular shuttles to the planet’s surface, and you will find that the Kalamar province is beautiful this time of year. Or, if you’re into hiking and mountain climbing-”

“We are not interested,” replied Grenushir sternly. “We like games. Do you have games?”

“Games?” stammered Alenis. “Well, we have fully functional holodecks. And I believe the Hara Cats are playing the Zhom in springball tonight.” The Hara Cats were her favourite local team and had a lot of heart, although the Zhom were the reigning league champions. It promised to be an exciting match. Alenis wracked her brain, wishing they had a dabo table on the station. “We’ve also got some board games – kadis-kot, chess, kal-toh-”

“We shall be down shortly. Be prepared to show us your games.”

“But I-” Alenis thought for a moment. “Say you wouldn’t happen to have any alpha-currant nectar to trade, would you?”

“We have several kegs,” she said, sternly. “But I have a better idea…”

(tag anyone)

[Thomas Roseland]

"... And what might that be?" Thomas asked curiously as he made his way to the Captains side. He would have been with her earlier had he not have been tending to a disciplinary regarding a drunken crewman. He rolled his eyes at the relocation. 'idiots' he internally grumbled. He wasn't really all that angry though. The crew had been through a lot in such a short amount of time and he was willing to offer a little leigh-way in this instance. Fortunately, it wasn't severe enough for it to be brought to the Captains attention personally.

"Captain, this is the report regarding Crewman Pullman" Thomas explained as he handed the first of two PaDDs to the woman. The first being one designed for admin functionality. "...And this is from Engineering regarding the Phoenix repairs" The final PaDD was primed specifically to deal with engineering issues, large memory capacity, larger screen, the works. After giving the woman the PaDDs the commander turned his attention to the Ferengi woman. 

"As you was saying, ma'am" Thomas said politely.

TAGGY-WAGGY-WOOGLY-WOO!

[Arvel Darze]

As Arv looked at his computer screen he sighed. He couldn't believe what information he was reading before him in about a day from now his Sister one Sian his younger Sister mind you was coming to the Station. That in and of itself wasn't a bad thing, in fact it was a good thing especially when it came down to her career for she had just been promoted. Now what came problem was for him was who she was bringing with her.

It wasn't his parents or a family member oh no it was his very own daughter. Someone that he had told his parents couldn't ever be stationed with him at all especially on this planet, not after what had happened when he was on assignment here two years before when the Cardassians first withdrew, though typically for his Sister she didn't listen to him. And brought Xie or Lexie as the humans called her along with her on the fastest diplomatic transport from Trill.

And as if his stress wasn’t bad enough with this Xie’s mother was stationed aboard this station as well. One Kate Winslow. The Station’s Intell Chief. Their relationship had been a brief confusing yet long relationship that resulted in one of the best things in his life and that was his little daughter who was turning 6 years old in about three days from then.

How was he going to break this news to Kate? He had no idea. How could he tell her that his Sister against his wishes brought their daughter with her to a posting that was dangerous? He would simply lie. His Sister tended to have a rather forward manner which served her well within the Federation Diplomatic corps though poorly in personal circles and as a result she was the only one of his siblings to have never had a relationship last longer than three weeks. He could only imagine how her and Kate were going to get along and that wouldn’t be well at all. He would have to talk to Kate in a few hours or else she would serve his head on a platter.

Now the actual work load he had wasn’t that stressful, after the last mission and his help in finishing it he had, had a rather light workload something he was rather proud of, one which he knew would be a good thing. Now someone who had progressed well under treatment (For he wore two hats, one Medical and one Psychological) was the Captain and this unique form of treatment was good for her and for him as well incidentally. He would continue said treatment for as long as possible in fact he hadn’t heard from her yet he was making sure she sent him a report on how she was doing whenever she felt overtly stressed.

Shaking his head he sent a message to Kate asking her to meet him for dinner here in a few hours he had some explaining to do and how he was the one brave enough to bring their daughter here...after all she wouldn’t ever find the truth out from Sian would she?

(Tag all!!)

[Alenis Meru]

Grenushir smiled at the first officer's question.  "We have a game called Chula.  It is the ultimate game of skill and chance.  Risks and rewards are both high, and if you play well, you may win even multiple kegs."

Alenis thought for a moment.  Surely, playing a game with their new guests could be considered part of her diplomatic duties, and who can possibly argue with the chance to win some of the alpha-currant nectar they needed to trade for Liam's supplies.  "That sounds like it could be fun," she said, "how do you play?"

The Wadi's eyes gave off a scowl as though she was offended at Alenis for not being serious enough, but a hint of a smile betrayed the fact that they were clearly overjoyed at having someone to play with.  "Chula is a serious game.  You are required to learn as you play.  Prepare your games room.  You have four hours."

With that, the screen reverted to a view of the outside of the station.  Alenis turned to her first officer and grabbed the PADDs from him.  "Well, you heard the woman," she said, joking about how serious she was.  After all, it was only a game.

(tag)

[Thomas Roseland]

Even though Thomas tried to be as professional as possible the man always took a little time to 'wind' the Captain up with his random humorous interjections.

"I did indeed, unfortunately, she's about to witness the Commanding Officer be taken down a peg by her first" Thomas smirked./

[Alenis Meru]

Alenis let out a joking sigh.  "Don't you have a games room to set up, Mr. Roseland?"

<tag anyone>
<OOC:  for anyone whose seen the DS9 episode, the plot is essentially that some of us are trapped in the game.  Let me know who wants to be on the outside looking in, and who wants to be on the inside trying to find a way out and we can kick into the actual game>

[Arvel Darze]

"What games are we talking about?" Said Arv bringing up a Infirmary report up to the OPS center.

[Alenis Meru]

"Ah, the good doctor, I see you've finished my report," replied Alenis as she reached for the PADD.  Although it wasn't the time to comment on the events of a few nights ago, she was glad to see him.  "We've got some guests coming aboard and they've decided to entertain us with a game - Chula, I believe they call it.  If we do well, we may even get a good haul.  I'm requesting that all on-duty senior staff be present to welcome them aboard in about three and a half hours.  After all, part of our duties are to welcome travellers to the station and to the system.  Oh, and tell Lt. Rourke that he might be getting his supplies."

<tag anyone, I'll put up a "meeting the aliens" post soon>

[Kate Winslow]

Intel Office |

Her shift was not going good at all.

Her one rookie field agent had gotten into a fight with a security officer,which had resulted in a blown cover which wasn't ideal at all and then she had received two messages, one from Arvel about dinner tonight which puzzled her greatly because they rarely talked unless necessary.

The second came from his sister, which wasn't a shocker really, she knew the woman was getting transferred here to work for the diplomatic department- she hadn't bothered to actually read the message because she was fairly certain it was filled with empty insults, as usual.

And now this...

"What do you mean their docking? Never mind just monitor their people that come aboard and Watto? Don't be seen! I mean it!" Kate ordered sharply as she pointed to the door as the young field agent she had been given scurried out to do as told. "Tomorela Trading Commission" she thought to herself as she typed a command into her console.

She frowned as her gaze fluttered right then left as she read up on these new visitors, they seemed harmless enough, weren't involved in many horrible conflicts... Traders and shady businesses at best really. She glanced back at the screen with the bridge feed, heard the captain say they wanted all senior staff at the meet and greet and smirked, a chuckle escaping her as she stood and strode out of her small little corner of the station to do a few errands before she needed to head to the docking ring as well. She would kill two birds with one stone, observe her field agent and be there as ordered by Meru.

=^= Winslow to Meru, I will meet you at the docking ring, Winslow out. =^=

Tag all

[Jondolarin]

| Ch’aye Jondolarin and Kate Winslow
| Starbase Unity

Jon was travelling in comfort, the faded jeans, light grey t-shirt and battered brown leather jacket helping, and the flight attendants had certainly been taking good care of him. The cute blonde refilled his mug with the sweet Bajoran jumja tea and he turned to offered her a dimpled smile before wrapping one large tanned hand around the mug and returning to watching the stars passing by.

The blonde turned and fanned herself furiously as she swapped a ditzy giggle with her fellow cabin crew members all unseen by Jon.

His dark eyes lost focus as his mind went elsewhere remembering one of the last times he had been in this area of space, it hadn’t been pretty and their ship was running hard to escape the Cardassian warship intent on destroying them and closing one of the smuggling routes into and out of an occupied Bajor. Tusk had got them away as usual but it had been a close run thing, if it hadn’t of been for the local knowledge of the older Bajoran they would have been caught for sure.

Blowing out a breath that caused his fringe to move for a moment revealing that the ridges that covered his nose unusually carried on up his forehead betraying his mixed blood. There weren’t that many half Klingon half Bajorans out there and even fewer with the sunny disposition that Jon had.

Jon ran his fingers through his hair, looking up as the Captain’s voice came over the comms alerting them to their imminent arrival at Starbase Unity, his new home. He wasn’t particularly a fan of being the ‘newbie’, people often misunderstood him or made assumptions about him based on his looks. Through in the fact trouble seemed to follow him everywhere and he really wasn’t looking forward to his first week here. All he had to do was get through that first week with his hide and reputation intact and he could relax.

Finishing his tea he stood up stretching his arms above his head stretching out his right shoulder that had a tendency to stiffen when he wasn’t using it thanks to an old injury. He grabbed his holdall, trusting the ship to transfer the rest of his things for him, and stepped off the ship wondering whether to grab a bite to eat first or find his new Commanding Officer, a tough woman with an almost unbelievable service record.

Walking along the corridor leading to the arranged meeting place that the Captain was greeting their ‘guests’, Kate was given a patch through on her datapad, alerting her of her newest arrival, one Lt.JG Ch'aye Jondolarin. Skimming his service record as she walked, a surprised grin adorned her face as she took in what he had accomplished in his career already. “About time they sent me a real counterpart.” she thought to herself, still ticked off about the embarrassing green rookie that had blown his cover almost as soon as she sent him out.

Finished reading his record, Kate deactivated her pad and slipped it into her lower leg pocket and secured the flap that would hide it. She began scouting for her target as she slipped into the shadows along the docking ring his transport was assigned to. It wasn’t many minutes before she located the right slip and waited patiently as the crew and passengers began to unload.

He was the fifth person off the transport, and Kate nodded in approval at the way he carried himself and his mannerisms in the first few seconds of observation. He had let others off, mainly females, ahead of himself and she almost chuckled at the glances the obviously smitten blonde was giving him, as they went through the checks by the security team assigned to that particular slip.

Pushing away from the wall she was leaning against, Kate pressed her com badge lightly and spoke with quiet authority as she blended in with the crowd heading into the station. =A= Lieutenant, please report to the Longhorn on the Prom. =A= she stated calmly, judging that he was probably hungry and well, Kate trusted the bartender at the Longhorn and since she frequented the establishment it wouldn’t raise eyebrows, in case her newest teammate wanted to fill the open undercover spot on Intel’s roster.

Jon wasn’t really surprised when a call came for him over the calls, from what he’d heard his Boss was so good that she probably knew this time last week that he would arrive at that exact moment. He was a little surprised though at the location of their meet.

As he found out where the bar was he idly wondered if she was tailing someone or maybe she was just taking a well deserved break. She didn’t seem like the sort to laze around during the day in a bar.

He stepped into the bar, making sure to step off to one side so he wasn’t highlighted by the light from out on the promenade, the interior of the bar was a little dimmer that outside so he gave his eyes a moment to adjust while he looked for his ‘date’.

Having studied the pictures in her service file he spotted her standing over by the bar. He didn’t approach straight away, instead he stood there for a few moments allowing himself to watch her. Watching the way she moved, the way she looked to be absorbed in sipping at her drink but the small signals that said she was well aware what was going on in the bar around her.

He smiled slightly, it seemed like his new Boss was every bit as good as her file said she was. He was pretty sure she even knew he was there watching her. His only problem with his new Boss was that she was a rather attractive lady and he had rules about doing his commanding officer.

He approached the bar and dropped him holdall at his feet while sliding onto the bar stool beside her. “Ma’am it’s a pleasure to meet you” he said offering her one of his most charming smiles, which was designed to charm the Brass, school teachers, and little old ladies.

"Likewise Lieutenant, thank you for joining me." Kate replied as she turned to him slightly, giving him a subtle once over with a cocky grin at his totally perfect smile. One she was positive he had used to charm his way out of trouble in the past.

If she wasn't already in whatever it was Tom and her had going on, Kate was positive that her rule of not getting involved with those under her command or department would be pushed to the limit, as Lieutenant Ch’aye Jondolarin was one extremely handsome man. "Can I get you a drink? Josh, the bartender, makes a variety of 'em, some I think just to see if it'll kill me." She said, a rare smile slipping as she cast a glance around the bar and at the bartender she had just mentioned.

She dropped her voice to a lower octave, just loud enough for Jon to hear. "The Longhorn is safe, we run frequency jammers and do daily sweeps, Josh's little sister works intel over on starbase 29." She stated, explaining without much detail why she chose here instead of her offices. "I'll cut to the chase, I have two spots open here, one for deep cover, the other will be an open posting- I've read your file and I like what I saw, you get things done with little or no mess, so I'm giving you the option of picking your spot." She said as she looked him in the eye. "I only have two rules, One is do your part and to pull your weight, two is simple; stay alive." She picked up her tumbler that was filled with tea, not whiskey as many would believe, and after taking a drink continued talking. " I can reassure you that I don't ask of anyone in our department to do something I, myself, wouldn't do."

Her head tilted as she allowed him to ponder his choice, taking the time to actually study the man before her, sure his file had been impressive, and her observation at the docking ring was good, but Kate had picked up a few tricks of the trade as it were, when it came to the initial 'interview' of new agents and so far he wasn't cracking under her scrutiny. That or the man was just that good at a poker face.

Jon looked to the man behind the bar “a black coffee would be great thanks” he said before turning his attention to Kate as she explained why she was meeting him here and why she trusted the man sliding a mug of dark black coffee, gently steaming, over the bar to him.

He thought about what she offered for a few moments, he had been undercover before and knew that he could manage it but frankly he was after the challenge of being an ‘open’ agent for a change. He smiled as she told him her rules and nodded “those I can live by” he admitted “and I think I’ll go for the open-posting if that fits”.

“When would you like me to start?” he asked aware that when he’d been given his new orders that it never mentioned a start date just for him to come when his last job wrapped up.

She looked thoughtful for a few moments before a sigh escaped her. "I could use you now, but I'm not that much of dictator, so find your quarters, grab some food and sleep then swing by the offices, I should be back by then, hopefully." She stated as she nodded at Josh as he brought her another tea.

"Ever hear of the Tomorela Trading Commission? They should be just about here, mostly traders and all that entails. I have Agent Watto observing them but honestly given your background, after you've settled in," she gave him a stern look to let him know she was serious about the food and sleep part. "See what you can dig up, their commanding officer is shady acting and something tells me the Captain is going to make me play nice and probably be an escort or something, so I won't get the chance."

Jon listened carefully, he hadn’t heard of the commission before but that didn’t mean much. He hadn’t been active in this area for a long time so didn’t know many of the local ‘interest’ groups. He was confident that within a short while of starting his search he’d be able to brief Kate on everything their was to know about the group.

“I got plenty of rest on the trip here but a chance for some food would be greatly appreciated so I’ll eat and dump my gear and meet you at the Office later” he flashed her another smile as he looked at Josh “how’s the steak?” He figured that if Kate chose to spend her time here the food was probably pretty decent too.

“It’s good, and the mushroom sauce is an excellent accompaniment” came the reply.

Jon nodded “I’ll take it rare and large with a side of slaw, large portion of chips and whatever veg you’ve got” having given in his order he turned back to Kate “is there anything in particular you want me to look into about them? Or just everything?”

Kate slid off her stool as she spoke. “Everything, something is definitely fishy with them.” She sighed as she straightened her jacket and squared her shoulders. “I’m off, I’ve already coded the office to allow you entrance, you’ll find directions on how to get there in your padd, just smile at the FIS boys when you pass them.” she smirked as her eyes danced briefly, clearly recalling an amusing incident involving said FIS boys. She patted his shoulder and was gone in the crowd of lunch bunchers that had just arrived.

Jon nodded “will do” as she turned to leave, he decided that the view was just as good coming as going. He turn his attention back to the bar man as he placed his food down on the bar in front of him. With a smile he tucked into his food, this was going to be an interesting posting indeed.

JP between Kate and Jon

[Jondolarin]

| Longhorn Bar

Jon tucked into his steak with relish taking the time to simply enjoy the flavour of the bloodied meat and Josh was right about the sauce, it was an excellent accompaniment to the steak. As he ate he watched those around him working out who was fleet and who was civilian. He also took the time and ordered some pie along with a large coffee to go.

He looked over the details on the encrypted padd that Kate had given him seeing where his quarters were as well as where the 'Office' was. Thinking off his new Commanding Officer a smile lit his face, she would certainly improve the scenery on the rather dull grey station but he would have to be mindful to not let thoughts about what was under that grey collared uniform distract him from his duties.

Shouldering his bag and picking up his pie and coffee he headed off to his quarters to ensure his belongings had made it safely and to change into his own grey collared uniform well aware that the moment he stepped out of his quarters with it on everyone would know that he was Intel and that would peg him for eyeballing by any enemy agents already working on the station. Of course sometimes that scrutiny could work to their benefit, it might flush out some of the agents they didn't know about.

He was impressed by the size of his quarters, but then after the tiny cupboard that had been his quarters on his last posting this seemed like a presidential suite rather than quarters suitable for an officer of his rank.

He checked over his things that had arrived ahead of him and was satisfied that nothing had been tampered with. He didn't bother unpacking more than a freshly pressed uniform, tailored to fit his broad shoulders and narrow waist. With his reinforced toed boots and his deaths eye handgun at his waist he picked up his satchel and placed a few of his favourite 'toys' inside along with the padd Kate had given him.

His cousins, the Ches'sarro twins, were fantastic engineers and had made him a variety of bugs, jammers and scanners along with some other fun bits and pieces every agent needed to outwit the 'otherside'.

Whistling he locked his door, setting his alarm system, not that he was a paranoid man of course, and headed off to the office to begin investigating the Tomorela Trading Commission.

TAG: any?