Confrontation

Posted on Sat May 15th, 2021 @ 4:13pm by Captain Rueben Gregnol & Executive Officer Jake Ford & Micheal Robertson

Mission: Mission 13: Stowaway
Location: Deck 1 - Captains Ready Room
Timeline: MD 08 01:25
1642 words - 3.3 OF Standard Post Measure

Jenna knew as soon as the ship shook violently sending her from her bed to the floor there was going to be no sleep for a long time. Their luck had obviously run out as she saw the Ferengi D'Kora Marauder class vessel outside of her quarter's window. She glanced at Fezzik as the security personnel came in with no notice and escorted them to the Captain’s ready room. The room looked like it belonged on some human vessel from the 20th century but she could not appreciate it at all right now when their operation was in trouble.

“I knew something dramatic would happen with this cargo.” She hissed looking at the Ferengi as he stood next to her in the empty ready room. Where was the Captain? Were they being left to incriminate themselves? Whatever had happened they were in trouble she could just sense it. She did not need to be a telepath to know this at all.

"Ehh...some Dai-mon wanting to steal my payment!" Fezzik scowled. "This hew-mon might be big and hairy, but I doubt his ship can hold them off."

“You are impossible. This situation...” Jenna frowned as the door opened and the armoury officer appeared there. “Now we have a guard inside instead of just outside.” She muttered glaring at the men as she sat down on the couch.

Micheal stood in the Captain's office, blocking the door to keep the two civilians right where they were. He arched his eyebrow as he heard the woman speak to her partner.

“Arching your eyebrow human does nothing for you,” Jenna commented on. she was not going to take the captivity well. She had not done well under the Dominion occupation of Betazed so there was no chance in hell that she was going to deal well we’ve been manhandled into a tiny office. “Where is the captain? You cannot just hold us here!”

"Ma'am," Micheal began his Texas drawl heavy due to his anger. "Your best bet at the moment is to keep your mouth shut. You have no rights right now. Neither of you does." The look in his eyes showed that he wasn't joking, nor would he give a single inch to them.

The diminutive Ferengi shuffled around, a mixture of annoyance and fear brewing between his lobes. "Come now, hew-mon! Let's not be hasty. There must be a way we can all profit from this situation? Perhaps a small fee to simply 'misplace' the occasional passenger? Hmm?" he proposed, a toothy grin aimed at Micheal.

Micheal crossed his arms across his powerful chest. "Sir, sit down, and shut up, please." He said with forced politeness. "Keep flapping your gums, and I might lose my patience. Piece of advice, don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry."

"And neither would you like me angry," Jenna said looking just as deadly and pissed. As the words came out of her mouth Gregnol walked in with Lil and Jake. No one looked happy but Gregnol could see instantly how volatile the situation could be. He looked at Michael giving him a silent back down look. No one acted like that on the ship.

"No one likes me angry so we can all sit down," Gregnol said indicating to the chairs he kept in his ready room.

Seeing the look in Reuben's eyes, Micheal stood down, lowering his hands to hook thumbs behind his belt, on either side of his belt buckle. He would not do anything to embarrass Reuben. He was one of the few men in the galaxy, hell, two galaxies, that he respected completely.

"I knew you would see reason, Captain!" Fezzik gushed, pleased to not have to deal with the angry one. "Now, we should discuss compensation for being subjected to this terrible treatment that my associate and I have been subjected to..."

"Compensation..." Gregnol laughed outright at the notion that there was going to be even a hint of that. "Your cargo was damaged in the pissing match with the Ferengi D'Kora Marauder class vessel. Your cargo was knocked about and revealed something very interesting inside." Gregnol had since the beginning of the venture promised himself no slave trading of any kind and for all, he could see at the moment was the girl who was now in sickbay as someone who was being smuggled.

Micheal watched quietly from the side of the office. He would have no qualms throwing these two out the nearest airlock. Reuben need only give him the signal.

"Why don't we all calm down," Jake urged. "And let's talk about the girl we just pulled out of a stasis pod. Who claims to know you, by the way."

"A transaction took place. No refunds." Fezzik snapped.

"And it just slipped your mind that smuggling beings are illegal did it? I'm sure I won't be able to forget this and I doubt anyone else in the room will be either. So why don't you tell us where she came from, what she was doing in that stasis pod and maybe just maybe we can work something out that would benefit both of us?" Lil asked with just a hint of a smile on her face though she despised Ferengi in general but had never told anyone that.

"Her family requested it." Jenna pointed out with a shrug as she nonchalantly looked at each of them.

"Who is she?" Gregnol demanded. There had to be something more to it than just people smuggling. You did not pay out for one person nor did you people go to all the trouble of coming after it.

"A paying customer," Fezzik snorted. "And no smuggling was involved. I merely sub-contracted a passenger transportation contract to yourselves."

Micheal frowned angrily as he heard about the woman being smuggled. He had no patience for those that dealt in the trafficking of sentient beings. He nearly said something but, a look from Reuben kept him quiet against the bulkhead.

“So why is she in a statis unit? Why were we not aware. Transporting people like that is illegal in the Federation. I want to know who she is and why she’s being transported like that NOW!” Gregnol said slamming his fist on the old fashioned desk.

Fezzik instinctively ducked behind Jenna.

"Boss." Jake hadn't seen Reuben this mad about anything before. "Whatever personal feelings we have, we won't get anywhere by tearing things apart. Especially not a Ferengi iurrhanen," he said, glancing disdainfully at the snivelling Fezzik.

Gregnol looked from Fezzik cowering behind the woman who did not even look like she flinched to his Executive Officer or whatever he was wanting to call himself this month. He raised an eyes brow slowly as he took in the man’s words. “I am not tearing anything apart Jake. This desk can take more than me pounding my fist against it in frustration.” Gregnol said with an edge to his voice not letting on that a Romulan word had slipped out of the man.

“Look we were paid by her family to get her to Betazed without any trouble or anyone knowing. She was highly sought after on her planet. nothing more than that. Not exactly slave-trading now is it?” Jenna muttered pushing Fezzik out from behind her. “Be a man.” She shot at her partner.

Hesitant, but sensing that physical violence wasn't actually being implicated, Fezzik shifted back out from behind Jenna. "Absolutely. No slave trading. She's merely...preserving herself for her future husband."

"Preserving herself?!" Micheal asked abruptly, before shutting his mouth again with another glance from Reuben.

“Preserving?” Gregnol said in a much lower tone as he grabbed the PADD closest to him and look at it intently. “You have got to be kidding me? She is one of them?” Gregnol said putting his fingers to the bridge of his nose. This was getting more and more complicated.

"One of what?" Jake asked, unclear on the complication.

Lil moved to look over Gregnol's shoulder. "I try not to butt heads with other cultures but that's just shitty," she said with a severe scowl. "Pardon my French. Some idiots talked her into this."

“That’s not French Lil,” Gregnol muttered. “She is a Kriosian metamorph no wonder you are involved.” The man said looking at the pair disgusted. He knew the rumours of Ferengi and the money involved of metamorphs being transported even as they were becoming more and more open. “Seven generations crap.” He muttered under his breath.

"You mean, those people who bond with the first person they lay eyes on when they awaken, becoming the so-called. The perfect companion?" Micheal asked aloud to Reuben from his position by the door.

“Touch,” Jenna spoke up. “ She will also attract the attention of virtually every man she encounters if you are not careful and do not let her touch anyone.” The Betazoid was smart she knew how dangerous this all was to everyone now.

“Chuck them in the brig,” Gregnol muttered.

Touch... Jake thought to himself. Had he touched her when she almost fell out of the stasis unit? He didn't feel like she had done anything to him. Although he was worried about her - that was natural though, right?

"Micheal." Jake waved at their armoury chief, signalling him to take the pair away.

"Let's go, you two. Move!" He barked at the guests/now prisoners. "I've got two lovely suites for you to relax in, order room service, maybe even get a massage." As the pair walked past him, he snapped his fingers as if he had just remembered something. "Oh, wait! I forgot. The suites are already reserved. So you two will just have to make do with two tiny, cold five by eight cells. Now move!"