Research Accomplished

Posted on Mon Jan 2nd, 2017 @ 2:29am by Captain Rueben Gregnol

Mission: Mission 3 - Negligence
Location: Bajor, Jalanda City
Timeline: MD -14 10:09
1449 words - 2.9 OF Standard Post Measure

ON:

Tendrils of long blond hair undulated in the breeze, stroking her cheek and sliding across her field of vision, and while she enjoyed the sensation, the practical side of her nature asserted itself almost at once. Reduced field of vision equaled risk and she wasn't among friends any longer. And that drew her thoughts back to Arbus and the others. One edge of her expressive mouth lifted slightly as she fished a bit of ribbon out of the pocket of her jacket.

She found a spot to sit, perched on the smooth edge of artfully arranged rocks with a clear field of vision, finger-combed her hair into a semblance of order then braided and tied the end with the ribbon. She was just finishing when she caught sight of a familiar form moving along the path in her direction.

"Any reason you wanted to meet here?" Rueben asked by way of greeting. This was far from anywhere near civilization for him and a long way from the space port. It had been weeks since the woman had requested a meeting.

Not too far from where they stood, a group of street performers were playing music and while her Bajoran wasn't great, she could make out the usual anti-Cardassian rhetoric, driven by a pounding beat. She slanted her gaze in the direction of a gangly Bajoran, scrubbing the top of his dark spiky hair with one hand as he shifted back and forth, completely out of sync with the music, who stood off to one side. "Look a bit anxious to you," she said in a throaty alto that carried with it the cadences of her home world. "He should. He's playing way above his ability level." She nodded toward a group of thugs, all dead eyes and solid muscle, "and he's going to pay the price for it. But he hid what they're looking for and I know where it is."

Rueben didn't want to get involved in trouble, he had enough of it all trying to keep half his crew safe from Starfleet intelligence to add to it here. "Crowe! You requested I meet you here so ignore them." He couldn't be the hero saving the man from the thugs that wasn't him anymore.

Rory nodded, inwardly pleased with his response, and settled back on the rock. "Your contact wanted some place neutral," she said with a slight shrug, "and I was already in the area. So, Captain, you're looking to hire?"

"I am indeed looking for people but then again what exactly is your skill set?" He knew exactly where she had come from with Starfleet and what she was looking for. He smiled a little as he waited for her to answer watching the group start to dissipate and wander off.

"I'm a hunter, Captain, only what I hunt are items that people need found; I possess the skills necessary for the job at hand. People see me, their thoughts generally go Deltan and while that's part of who I am, it's not the entirety of me. And I like that because there assumptions leave me plenty of room to get the job done." She cocked her head slightly to one side, studying the man, and added. "Do you need specifics?"

Rueben carried on staring at her intently, she wasn't what he expected at all. "You're not just Deltan at all. You have hair for one thing." He said finally a small smile playing on his lips.

"One quarter human on my Mother's side," she said, as a smile teased the corners of her mouth upward. "Makes me ... interesting." She waggled her eyebrows. "its all about the sensation."

"Do you make people insane?" He wondered quickly. He didn't want her in the crew if she made people insane. He had enough issues without having to get a crew member mental health help after spending the night with her. Mott wouldn't appreciate it in the slightest. His ship wasn't Starfleet, no vows of chastity there.

She laughed, low and throaty, then sobered because, after all, it wasn't unheard of among Deltan interactions with non-Deltans. "No, I don't," she said. "That drop of human blood in me. And, well, I've .... perfected the techniques. No harm. Just a good time had by all."

"I've seen less people with less Deltan blood turn there partner insane and i won't let it happen on my ship. Those people are mine to look after." Rueben said firmly. He wasn't going to just let anyone on the ship.

She flicked her gaze up and down the length of him then turned her head to watch the crowd milling about some distance away. From the look, a performance had ended; the people seemed animated, talking and gesturing with an enthusiasm that spoke of a pleasurable experience.

"Da...Okay so tell me about yourself. Where were you last based? I am guessing ex Starfleet by the look of you." The man finally spoke up looking around again. He didn't like meeting like this, it reminded him of Starfleet Intelligent meetings and he never wanted to have one of them again.

"I graduated the Academy, yes, but I never served on a Starfleet vessel. Spent the last years hunting down artifacts and retrieving them from less than reputable people." She noted his body language as she had noted his responses. Everything was information; everything told a story.

Now that interested him to say the least, now she was actually opening up allowing him to gauge her skill. "Ever heard of a man called the Collector?"

She nodded. "Heard, yes. The Collector had similar tastes to one of the people I've taken contracts for in the past. Went so far as to claim he'd gone up against the Collector now and again ... but ..." she offered an eloquent shrug. "The individual in question was known to be boastful. Still, I did work for him. I can get into places where technology can't and he liked that."

"I have his ship." Was all Rueben said rising from the rock he had been using as a seat. It was all he was saying on the matter, she either wanted a job or not.

"Good for you," she said as she watched him rise. "Seems like the Collector was a bit on the greedy side and well," she said as she laughed lightly, "it never hurts to have a ship. And so, Captain, what is it that you're looking for ..."

"Crew pure and simple." He stated, he needed most positions but at the moment he needed researchers to work out what the stuff was in The Grotto. "I'm not sure i need a Thief."

"Depends on what you mean by thief, I suppose. I have an eidetic memory and I'm good at figuring things out. I do a lot of research and what I uncover, I remember forever." She stood up slowly, dusting off her pants as she did so. "But if that isn't something you need, no harm done."

"I need researchers, medical and Engineers more than more security. If you have other skills I could use you, pay isn't to bad, crew a little shifty but no bother and I am fair which can not really say about most Captains." Rueben was fair, everyone got a chance with him.

She stood up and shrugged. "You might want to tell your contact to be a bit more specific about your needs in the future. Luckily, I was already in the area so it wasn't a huge waste of my time." She paused for a moment as a thought struck her. "You might try Sebastian though. He's an engineer by trade and something of an inventor. Knows a lot about alien tech and I've never met anyone better at figuring out how things work."

"That contact is working from an old needs." Rueben said simply not thinking anything of it. It was Barton's contact not him, his contacts were mostly Starfleet contacts. "Can I contact you if I have more specific needs?" He wondered thinking he might just find this Sebastian. He always needed Engineers.

"Sure," she said at once. "There's a Deltan here, Arbus. He's a painter. Pretty much everyone knows him. He can get word to me wherever I am. A pleasure meeting you, Captain." She turned to go and stopped. "If you're interested in Sebastian, just dangle tech in front of him. That always gets his attention."

Rueben nodded once turning away to leave. He knew how to work Engineers, he knew how they work better than most thing in the universe.

OFF::

Rueben Gregnol
Captain
SS Mary Rose

Aurora Crowe
Thief
(Currently on Bajor)