Side Quest Ep. 1: Freecloud's Free Market

Posted on Thu Nov 21st, 2024 @ 1:32pm by Lieutenant JG T'lenn & Lieutenant Commander Nash Winters & Lieutenant Phaedrae Cyn & Lieutenant JG Jezra Siv MD
Edited on on Tue Dec 17th, 2024 @ 1:36pm

1,858 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Gone, Without Ever Knowing the Way
Location: Freecloud
Timeline: MD 0

When their ship came into orbit of Freecloud the holographic pop-up ads inundated the Bridge of the ship one after the other, trying to sell them stays at local hotels, offering coupon books for casinos, and various establishments competing for one another's business in a colorful and bright display right in the middle of where they were trying to work.

Commander Winters found his navigation controls temporarily locked while the holographic debacle was going on. T'lenn pulled a separate PADD that wasn't connected to the ship's computer out of her bag and scanned the holograms.

“Would you look at that? They have to lock out the controls while they “advertise”? Guess we wait. Do your scans tell you anything, T’Lenn?” an impatient Nash said.

A monkey swung by its tail in front of Cyn and landed on her shoulder. "Come get a taste of the forest ..." it was saying, doing its best to dominate her attention by grabbing onto one of her braids and swinging towards her face. She swiped her hand through it to reclaim her space. "You have to Interact with the things to make them go away- or purchase their offering," Cyn explained.

The holographic monkey let out a little yelp as it tumbled away from Cyn's hand, but shrank in size then disappeared quickly, leaving her temporarily ad-free. She shut down another ad dancing above the controls for the shield to affirm her tactics and soon the entire bridge was cleared.

T'lenn watched the interaction curiously, making a mental note for future reference. "A curious way to operate a business," T'lenn commented setting her PADD aside.

“Comes with the territory, Lieutenant. For a major business and entertainment district in the sector, this is nothing. Been to Ferenginar? That’s far worse,” Nash said.

“Hey, Cyn, can you bring up a profile on our target asset? The more we know the better. I know it’s like a needle in a haystack, but what are the chances of isolating a hybrid bio-signature?” Nash suggested.

"Let's get to the surface first." Cyn suggested. "The longer we're in orbit, the more ads they shoot at us. It's a minor inconvenience until it starts to eat up computer resources. We want to dock here... " She typed in a set of coordinates, sending the information to the helm.

“You got it. We’ll follow your lead. Confirming coordinates. Let’s confirm our cover ID’s. I’ve been reading mine over and it looks pretty convincing. Can you make sure our credentials get uploaded into Freecloud’s database? They should be hack-proof. Don’t want to get made down there,” Nash tapped controls on another PADD and glanced at his alias. “Thomas Malone, rare metals trader.”

"Adri Tulil," Jezra read from the PADD in her hands. "Chemist." The dark brown hair in her face was a strange sight. The reddish hair was going to stick out, especially if they were supposed to be discreet, so the Trill took a little time to make herself look... well, not like a Trill. The lack of spots and the brown hair were all that was needed to pass her off as Human.

"Freecloud is a lot of independent computer systems," Cyn used the reflective surface of a control panel to finish clipping in a set of hair jewelry. The braid the monkey had swung from moments earlier was once again secured into her updo with an extra pin. "Don't draw attention and no one is going to worry whether you went to Meitnerium Institute or pulled your degree out of a trade magazine."

"Commander Winters, we are cleared for landing," T'lenn interjected. "We've been given instructions as well. I apologize, Ael, business associate." Her appearance had been modified slightly to add the subtle forehead features seen on some Romulans.

“Thank you, T’Lenn. You can respond with our clearance codes. You make a very convincing Romulan. Ael,” Nash responded, making sure to emphasize her Romulan alter ego.

The instructions directed the freighter to a large parking deck for smaller ships. They were given space number 3-12: Twelve port on the third deck. Not all of the ports were taken, some accommodations were made for larger ships. Their own vessel didn't take up three spaces, but it was large enough that anything other than a small shuttle would have had a difficult time taking the spots next to them.

When the crew stepped off of the ship the signs directed them to the first floor for transport. The decks were kept up well enough, though it was definitely a far cry from Starfleet standards. They were free from being accosted by holograms, but the walls were lit up with advertisements for hotels, casinos, bars, strip clubs, restaurants, and just about anything else you could think of.

“Everyone remember where we parked,” Nash joked. “I don’t want to lose our ride in case a quick exit is required.”

“Our contact should know we’ve arrived. T’Lenn, see if you can get a fix on his lifesigns. I suggest we find a place to wait. We find him or the other way around. Whatever comes first.”

Wryn, previously Phaedrae Cyn, stopped and grabbed Thomas Malone's arm with a surprising amount of force. She backed him into a display kiosk, a giant "You Are Here" arrow shifted slightly with the impact. "Who is T'Lenn," she whisper yelled at him. "Fleeters scan for life signs, Ael does not. We are not actively looking for anyone," she shook her head at him. "He will find us - unless we draw too much attention to ourselves. Then this entire mission is a failure."

Nash replied in a polite, yet bold and defiant manner. “Take it down a notch, sister. Look, you may be the intelligence expert here, and I appreciate that, but let’s not get carried away. There’re too many people here to notice what’s going on. We still have a job to do. She knows her shit and so do I, so please spare me the lecture.”

"Bullshit," Wryn answered, still in a low tone. "We've been watched since before we stepped a foot off the ship." She took a step back, adjusting her cornflower blue duster jacket, smoothing out its loose lay over her shoulders. She bit her lower lip in frustration while she focused on composing herself. She was harshly reminded an operative could not be trained in an hour. Now she had to pray that no ears heard the comment about her being an intelligence officer.

Wryn turned to the two others in the group, "What suits your fancy, a bar or restaurant?" Wryn asked. She darted a look around the terrain, looking for the person who overheard and would soon snitch her secrets.

T'lenn raised a curious eyebrow at the exchange. Scanning for life signs would likely not have been effective here regardless. It was a densely populated area with a lot of traffic on and off the planet. Thanks to the long occupation, Cardassian/Bajoran hybrids were not uncommon, and they tended to find work in locations like this one - not feeling at home neither on Cardassia nor Bajor.

"I would recommend somewhere busy," T'lenn replied. "I'd like an opportunity to observe -- I mean watch how things are done here." T'lenn corrected her manner of speaking mid-sentence. While she did not plan to do much talking, she had been running over more Human ways to say things on the way here.

“I agree,” concurred Nash. “Blend in, don’t stand out. We wait and we watch for our contact to find us.”

"Then I know the spot," Wryn answered, taking the lead. Far Reach Saloon was a ten-minute walk, and remote enough that maybe the dock ears wouldn't bother following them through the flea shops. The space port walkway changed to a plank-covered street as they crossed into "The Lost Planet." The large market square morphed over the years, gaining ground and becoming more of an octagon than the true square it had once been. Vendors crowded the main thoroughfare and smaller paths branched off into equally crowded streets. "Let me know if anything catches your eye," Wryn's voice rose to be heard over the calls of merchants. "We have plenty of time to shop for souvenirs."

The group agreed to walk around the market briefly while they waited to hear something from Jeda Nor. They split into pairs with Ael and Thomas walking together and Wryn and Adri covering slightly different ground, though they had agreed to stay in one section of the market. The area was vast and sprawling, and they needed to be able to get to one another quickly should the need arise.

Adri followed Wryn, a little unsure of what to do. They hadn't done something like this before, so it was unfamiliar, so they just kept reminding themselves that it was like playing a character in a holodeck program. Except any of them could die. No big deal... right?

To try and not look obvious, Adri took the 'peruse the shops' approach, keeping her partner within sight. As much as they wanted to discreetly use the tricorder tucked deep inside their clothes to help find whoever they were looking for, it didn't seem like it was a good time. There were too many people around.

They rounded a corner to find a long row of vendors all selling artifacts from innumerable alien worlds: luck dragons, a sun disc, masks that evoked erotic imagery, sculptures of both people and animals. Wryn and Adri stopped at a table midway down the street. Wryn couldn’t discern whether Adri’s interest in the painted plate was genuine, if it was all acting, Adri had some impressive skills.

A charm on Wryn wrist pulsed, alerting her that Jeda Nor was nearby. Before she could respond, however, she had a Kzinti to take care of. Wryn’s reflexes were fast as she twisted the offending hand away from the pocket of Adri. “Oh, you can look, but don’t touch,” Wryn warned the Kzinti. She took a step closer, looking into the man’s feline features.

“I didn’t do anything,” he protested.

“Is that what you wanted to say? Really?” Wryn asked.

“I...” he tried again.

“I am – sss,” Wryn prompted.

“I am – sss?” The Kzinti repeated, not reading the rest of the prompt from the stern face inches away from his own.

“Sorry,” Wryn completed the sentence when he could not. She nodded with the next instructions. “Put it all together.”

“I am sorry,” he said, his eyes held a look of fear and desperation.

“Don’t tell me, tell them,” Wren indicated he should address the apology to Adri.

“I am sorry,” he repeated, this time he looked at the younger person, meaning every word.

“And drop it...” Wryn released the offending limb so he could return the item he had lifted. Only then did she take a step back, her other hand released the Kzinti’s genitals. “Now move along and behave yourself,” she permitted.

~tbc~

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