To Kill A Starship (part 1)

Posted on Sun Sep 1st, 2019 @ 12:56am by Brex & Grace Winters PhD

1,171 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Acts of Contrition
Location: Inti Colony

Brex hated the fact that he was exposed as he was, but there were certain ways to deal with the undercitizens of the galaxy and if he wanted to enlist the help of one of the pirate groups that he would need then he was going to have to meet them face to face on their terms and he would have to be the one to be present in the meeting. The dining hall of the resort that was to hold the meeting was nice enough, which meant that he was wearing a dark blue suit minus the tie. A small handgun phaser pistol was snug in a shoulder harness, and he carried a briefcase and a duffel bag. Finding a secluded table in the corner by the window, the Trill criminal sat down and ordered a glass of unsweet tea as he waited.

Lady Scarlet arrived early so she could check out the dining hall. She'd been ambushed once too often. Of course she always came out on top, but it was a situation she cared to avoid.

When she saw the Trill take a seat, she smiled, picked up her glass of white wine with a splash of bloodberry and walked over to the man. As promised, she was dressed in a scarlet blouse with a deep v neckline and long, puffy sleeves. Her skirt was more demure and hid her belt knife and dart thrower.

She sauntered up to him and smiled. "Mind if I join you?" she asked in a husky voice.

Brex looked the woman over carefully, measuring her with caution. He could tell that his host was attracted to the woman, and not for the first time he was glad that he had learned to fully control his host and any unwanted side affects that the host body might bring out. He was an ancient and cautious creature, and he seethed with more anger than he wanted to admit, but now was the time for business. "Why, of course not," he said, his voice harsh with a cold distance that many found unnerving. He withdrew a small box from his duffel and slid it across the table. "As promised, one brick of gold pressed latinum, simply for agreeing to this meeting. Also, as agreed on, I am armed with a single weapon and I'm alone."

She could feel the attraction and smiled. She liked having the upper hand. Although the older mind was in control. So, he was joined. That just made it more interesting. She set her wine glass on the table and opened the box, running her fingers along the brick to test it. "How lovely. I have two weapons, but one will remain where it is. It's there in case I have any trouble later." She slid the brick into a concealed pocket in her skirt and sealed the opening. "Now that we have that out of the way, what sort of business do you have in mind?"

"I want to employ you and your..... associates in order to destroy a Starfleet ship," Brex said as he took a drink and watched her carefully.

"Starfleet?" Kilgore was fool enough to mess with them, but she generally kept her distance. She took a long drink of wine. "Why do you want to destroy this particular ship?"

"Well, I have my reasons, and most of them are strictly personal, but this will benefit you as well. This particular ship happens to be a potential future problem for you as well, seeing that it's been assigned Inti Colony as its home port," Brex said coolly.

"It won't be the first," she replied blandly, not sure how aware he was of the changes on Inti recently. "So, since it's more your problem than mine, why should I get involved?"

"Because this ship is trouble to people like us, I don't have the resources I need to do the job myself right now," Brex said, feeling his anger rise as he was forced to admit how much McKeon and his ship had cost him in their recent encounter. "This ship is to be permanently assigned to this sector and this captain will do everything possible to enforce Federation laws out here. There is also the matter that I am willing to pay greatly for your assistance." With that, Brex slipped his hand into the duffel and brought out a small jewelry bag and set it on the table. Inside were ten pure cut diamond crystals, each of a different color.

Scarlet's eyes's sparkled, but she gave no other reaction. "Like us?" she chuckled. "What makes you think I have Federation trouble? I've survived this long without a target on my back. You'd need more than that to get my assistance."

"Name your price, then," Brex said coldly as he narrowed his eyes. He had plenty of wealth and he had access to almost any type of weapon she could possibly want or need. His only drawback was the fact that he only had a single damaged ship that was decades outdated, which was why he needed to outsource the means to kill the Endeavour.

"I prefer a more subtle approach," she said. "I prefer not to kill people, but I do like an elegant plan." She leaned forward. "You want my help? Then give me something worth the risk."

Brex stared at the woman for a long quiet moment before he sighed and reached into the briefcase and pulled out a padd that he handed to her. "This contains two access codes that will grant you one hour of unlimited access to the Daystrom Science Institutes data files. They are untraceable, but only good for one use each. I can obtain more, but they take time to acquire," he said.

This would give her the advantage over Kilgore for once. She took the PADD and slipped it into another pocket. "What, exactly, do you want done?"

With a thin dangerous grin Brex produced another padd and activated it before handing it to her. "I have acquired a number of cluster phaser mines that Starfleet made during the Dominion War. While illegal now, they were rather useful in taking out starships. You'll need a large heavy cargo vessel, I'm sure someone in your line of work has one, and of course the access codes to the orbital storage container where I keep them. For an Intrepid class ship, I'd recommend a least nine but I have several more if you want them. You'll have to place them in a contained area and lure the Endeavour there, then detonate the mines. If the Endeavour survives, the ship will be too crippled to call for help or make it back on its own power. I want the ship, her captain and his crew to die slowly in the cold depths of space. And of course, I'll want the sensor data recordings after the deed is done," he finished with a cold smile.

(To be continued...)

Lady Scarlet
Pirate

Brex
Criminal

 

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