by Zander Blakeslee and Salvek
100718.1300
After Turning Over Stones – Part One
100718.1300
After Turning Over Stones – Part One
Zander materialized just outside of the small café that Commander Jars' office had reluctantly revealed him to be having lunch at. It was a small and somewhat out of the way establishment located on the fringes of the capital proper. With a large and open design to allow the maximum sunlight and fresh air to flow it reminded Zander of pictures that he had seen of restaurants on the Mediterranean coast of Earth.
Zander scanned the number seats that were placed on the outside lanai and could not located the commander. He took in the site of the various patrons and quickly came to the conclusion that this establishment catered to the off-world crowd.
He made his way into the shaded confines of the café and was immediately confronted by a very comely Orion hostess who was standing at a small podium just inside the entrance.
“Good afternoon.” She smiled broadly as she moved a stray curly strand of flame red hair from her eyes, which then looked Zander up and down. “Welcome to Shra-Lin’s.” Her smiled widened. “Table or booth for one?”
Zander returned the smile. “Actually I am looking for someone.”
The hostess’ smiled broadened even further as she leaned forward resting her elbows on the small podium. Her long red curly hair flowed down across the green skin of her shoulders and her other ample features.
“Well isn’t that a lucky coincidence, I happen to be someone.” She cooed.
Zander’s eyebrows rose up. He had never met an Orion before but he had heard stories about them. He laughed quietly and leaned forward. “Yes, you are. But unfortunately for me, you are not the someone I am looking for.”
She leaned in even closer towards him and lowered her voice to a whisper. “You sure?”
Zander did not reply but simply nodded with a sorrowful look on his face.
She sighed and leaned back. “That’s a pity.” She flicked her hair back over her shoulder. “My guess is that you are looking for Commander Jars since he is the only Starfleet person I have ever seen in here. Until now anyway.”
Zander stood back to his full height and smiled. “As a matter of fact I am.”
She nodded to the far back corner of the main dining room.
“Thanks.” Zander said as he walked past.
The hostess watched him go with the longing stare of a Lioness watching her prey slip away. She then sighed and returned her attention to the reservation book on the podium.
Zander wound his way through the tables and patrons and found Commander Jars seated alone at a small table by an open window. He was absent mindedly chewing as he read something on a PADD unit.
“Commander Jars I apologize for disturbing you.”
Jars looked up from the PADD and frowned. He slowly put down what he was reading and swallowed his food. “Commander Blakeslee, why, what brings you…” He smiled away his shock. “What can I do for you?”
Zander wasted no time getting to the point. “I need your help commander.”
Jars stared at Zander for a moment before motioning towards an open chair across form him. “Have a seat.”
Zander sat down and continued. “New information has been presented to us that we believe might offer more details, more insight, into the possible cause of T’Dara’s death.”
Jars leaned forward. “Go on.”
“Both autopsies concluded that she died from a unusually accelerated reaction to the Pon Farr. We know that such violent reactions are rare but not unheard of. Death from them is even rarer but once again not unheard of. Once T'Dara died there was no reason to think of it as anything other than an unfortunate coincidence.”
Jars rubbed his eyes. “Your not helping your case right now you know that don’t you?”
Zander held up his hand. “Bear with me. Neither doctor could explain the reason for the Pan Farr besetting T’Dara so quickly or how it advanced so rapidly. Doctor Hartcort theorized that a possible genetic defect could be the cause but he could not explain why this happened to T’Dara now. At her age she obviously has been through it before with out issue. Unfortunately he was not able to prove that theory because the generic sample from her body matched the records from her Starfleet enlistment medical checkup.”
Jars shrugged. “Your doctor was wrong.”
Zander almost laughed. “Lance is wrong in many ways but not as a doctor I assure you.”
“From what we can tell this would have been T’Dara’s first Pon Farr since joining.”
“Where are you going with this commander?” Jars asked.
“T’Dara participated in a classified biological project for the Vulcan government prior to joining Starfleet. A corporation called K’Shara Industries ran it. We can find nothing about this company other then small payments made through a Ferengi handling company.”
Jars leaned back in his chair. “I take it that you feel the Vulcan’s are going to be less then forthcoming with the information.”
Zander nodded. “I think they know questions will be raised by the family as to why their young daughter died from a typical Vulcan life event. So they are trying to give them a reason by pinning it on Commander Salvek. They want to make it look like T'Dara would have been fine if Salvek had just addressed her Pon Farr immediately. The fact is if the event had not been artificially accelerated, like I believe it was, T'Dara could have had days more before the Pon Farr took her life, more than enough time to get her back to the ship.”
“The only way to prove her genetics were modified would be if Doctor Hartcort had a DNA sample from before T’Dara joined Starfleet…” Jars nodded understanding what Zander was alluding to.
“He could prove his theory,” Zander completed the thought.
"And you must be here because you know how we can get the sample, but you need my help?"
"The sample is moot at this point," Zander said. "Once we find K'Shara Industries and confront them, the rest is only a formality. We will make a very public display of demanding the evidence on Salvek's behalf at which point they will either give us what we want, or refuse. Either way the public will know something is very wrong here. But time is short, Commander. I have the name of a Ferengi group that shuttled money from K'Shara to T'Dara. They can point us in the right direction, I just don't know their price. We need to go, now."
Jars looked longingly at the meal had had barely touched before Blakeslee showed up. He then chuckled and lifted his eyes up to Zander. "So all you need me for, is my wallet?" He tossed his napkin, and several credits down onto the table. Meal time was over. "You owe me dinner, back here."
-=Office of the Ferengi intermediary=-
Walking from the blazing dry heat of Vulcan to the cool damp mist of the Ferengi office was quite a shock to the system, especially when one had no idea it was coming.
"Shut the door! You're letting all the humidity out!" Someone hissed at Zander through the haze. Blakeslee and Jars each waved their hands through the fog that permeated the room, while their eyes tried to adjust to the darkness. Moisture immediately began clinging to their exposed skin which was actually quite a pleasant change from the norm on Vulcan.
Zander's eyes finally began to focus on the form of a Ferengi behind a counter.
"I do not mean to be rude but electric bill is already triple anyone else on this street to keep the humidifier running. A necessary evil to keep our lobes from cracking, I'm sure you understand." The Ferengi grinned in that sinister way the Ferengi involved with money always seemed to, in other words, all of them. "How may I help you gentlemen? My license is on the wall right there."
"What makes you think we want to see a license?" Jars asked.
"Oh, well, we don't get many Starfleet types in here. If you want to transfer credits our transaction fee is five percent for the first one thousand and ten percent for...."
"We don't want to transfer credits." Zander elevated the volume of his voice over the Ferengi's. He tossed the PADD with the account numbers for T'Dara's deposits onto the counter. "We want to know where the money you sent to this woman's account came from."
The Ferengi eyed the PADD with suspicion gleaned from years of dealing with money, both his own and others. It was never good when someone in a uniform, Starfleet or any other, came knocking at your door with account numbers in hand, never good at all.
“Allow me to introduce myself.” The Ferengi smiled a large and toothy grin. “I am Zerg, manager of this establishment and as much as I would like to cooperate with Starfleet I can not. Unless of course you have a warrant for the release of the information and that would only apply if the origin of the payment is from a government that recognizes Federation law.”
*When in doubt hide behind legal precedent.* Zerg thought to himself.
Zander and Jars exchanged glances. So far things were proceeding as they had envisioned. “We don’t have a warrant.” Zander admitted.
Zerg held up his hands in a mock expression of pity even though his toothy grin said otherwise. “Then I am afraid gentleman that there is nothing that I can do for you.”
Jars looked at Zander and gave him a slight nod. Zander understood that he was approved to go forth with a plan that they had concocted on the way here.
“Let’s not be so hasty.” Zander pulled out a PADD and began to type on it. “Let’s talk about this for a moment. Who said that we were here on official Starfleet business?”
Zerg’s eyes shifted between the two humans as his lobes started to tingle in that way that signaled that a deal was in the breeze.
“Very well. Why are you here then?”
Zander stopped typing on the PADD and looking at the Ferengi. “I’ve always wanted to own a money transfer business, but I am not totally convinced that it is the right investment for me.”
Zerg's eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Go on.”
“I thought maybe, just maybe, I could rent one for a little bit, ya know, to get the feel.” He slid the PADD to Zerg who’s eyes widened at the site on the PADD.
Zerg licked his lips. “Perhaps that could be arraigned.” Zerg knew that the humans only wanted the information attached to the accounts they had presented him earlier. But this could be a technical loop hole for him, plus the number on a the PADD was most intriguing. “Of course, I am not sure this amount would cover the rental time in…”
“Don’t push it Zerg.” Zander warned sternly.
“Deal.” Zerg stood up and extended his hand.
Zander pointed to the PADD ignoring the extended hand. “Sign the PADD and transfer of ownership for 20 standard minutes for the agreed price. After the 20 minutes ownership will automatically transfer back."
Zerg nodded and signed the PADD. “I’ll see you gentlemen in 20 minutes.” He said as he moved out from behind the counter and made his way into the back office.
Zander and Jars moved behind the counter. Zander took out a tricorder and used it to translate the Ferengi console in front of them.
After about ten minutes of digging through the incredibly convoluted file system Zander found what he was looking for. “Bingo.”
Zander was silent for several moments as Commander Jars, who was beyond curious, grew impatient. "Bingo? What is bingo? What's the name!"
Zander backed away and Jars leaned in, squinting to read the translated information on the tiny tricorder screen. He frowned and shook his head slowly. "Never heard of them. I take it you have?"
"Oh yeah," Zander replied with anger clearly boiling just beneath the surface. "I need to get this back to Commander Salvek."
-=Alchemy=-
Back on the ship Salvek waited patiently for Zander to return. Ever the model of efficiency, he used the time that could have been wasted on anxious anticipation to instead try an gain some information on the status on the Serendipity. His efforts met with minimal success. He was stonewalled at every turn and only the third admiral he spoke to was willing to at least tell him that the ship, "Was not destroyed," at least as far as she knew. It was not a conversation that inspired confidence.
The hiss of the bridge doors opening drew his attention back to the matter at hand. With hand outstretched, Zander Blakeslee handed him the tricorder with the name displayed on the screen. Salvek rose from his chair and took the device. The name on the screen was immediately recognizable from reports he had received following a previous mission.
Gira Lassiter was fully turned around in her seat at the helm, clearly anxious to hear the name. Salvek folded up the tricorder and handed it back to Zander, before speaking a single name.
"Relanon."
****************************************
Lt. Commander Zander Blakeslee
Chief of Security
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
and
Commander Salvek
First Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
Lt. Commander Zander Blakeslee
Chief of Security
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
and
Commander Salvek
First Officer
USS Serendipity NCC-2012