Catching Up
Posted on Sep 03, 2015 @ 1:44am by Raxl Dreyton
Edited on on Sep 03, 2015 @ 1:45am
Mission: Civil War
= Catching Up =
(cont'd from "Hallelujah")
LOCATION: The Rumalo System, inside the Triangle
SCENE: Asteroid DX-3352, surface
STARDATE: [2.15] 0902.2108
The mining camp was hidden in the shadow of a large crater, blasted into the asteroid's surface thousands of years ago. There were several ramshackle buildings, a barracks and mess hall for the small team of workers, plus a small administration building. A shuttle landing platform was near the admin building, with a trio of small shuttles parked. Not far from the main camp, there were several prefabricated mining platforms, extracting heavy metals from inside the asteroid's interior. The platforms were mostly automated, but the workers inspected them daily, performing maintenance and evaluating the quality of the minerals the platforms collected.
Lorenzo Dev was just coming off his shift, picking his way across the wide plain of the asteroid's rocky surface. The platforms behind him continued their work, and would do all through the night; the latest scans of the extracted minerals still weren't at the ratios that the bosses wanted to see, but they'd been increasing steadily over the last week, and Dev had a feeling they were nearing an especially rich deposit. His share of the take was small- he'd only joined a month before- but the payout would be enough for Dev to get back on his feet and away from this backwater post. He was looking forward to putting this asteroid in his wake; the food was awful, the sleeping arrangements were worse, and having to spend most of each day in the EVA suit was a drag. The suit was bulky and uncomfortable, but it was the only way to move around the asteroid's surface without suffocating or freezing to death. Better models were available, of course. There were suits that offered the same protection with limiting the movement of the wearer, but management wouldn't spring for the costlier versions.
As Dev was approaching the camp, he spotted an unfamiliar ship docked at the landing platform. It wasn't one of the outdated transport shuttles kept around for the workers; no, this ship looked Federation-make. It also looked like it had been upgraded. The chassis resembled a Starfleet runabout, though the paintjob was different, and the warp nacelles and phaser banks mounted near the front of the vessel didn't look standard issue. Seeing the ship made an unpleasant lump form in Dev's throat; the camp wasn't the kind of place that received many visitors, and a souped-up Starfleet runabout wasn't exactly standard civilian transport. Still, there wasn't exactly anywhere for him to go, was there? Dev continued towards the camp.
Dev stepped through the airlock of the mess hall, waited for the telltale chime indicating the room had re-pressurized, and then removed his helmet. He took in a grateful breath of air- it was reprocessed, and had a stale, lifeless quality, but it beat the claustrophobic feeling the EVA suit. Dev stepped out of the suit (it was designed to stand on its own even if no one was in it), and ran his fingers through his sandy brown hair. He was sweaty- the suit's temperature regulator was on the fritz again, and McMasters, the camp's resident tinkerer who was drunk more often than not, still hadn't gotten around to taking a look at it. Dev resolved to give the old drunk a piece of his mind if he caught him resting on his laurels in the mess hall.
Dev stepped through into the cafeteria. The smell of beef stew and some hideous, meat-like dish that the cookie told him was "Salsbury Steak " filled the air. An old-fashioned Wurlitzer jukebox sat in a back corner, lit up and playing "Straighten Up And Fly Right" by the Andrews Sisters. Dev hated the old thing, it would only play songs from some forgotten chapter in Earth's history; they all had a scratchy quality to the sound, and relied too much on wailing instrumentals for Dev's taste.
At least the laughter almost drowned out the music. A cluster of men sat around the center table, all bellowing laughter at some joke one of them told. Dev spotted McMasters among them, and frowned. He made his way over towards the table, ready to seize McMasters by his lapels and haul him out of his seat. But as he approached, Dev heard an unfamiliar voice, and he slowed.
"...I know, it sounds crazy, but I'm telling you boys, she was stark nude, standing right there in my door! And with a team of Tal Shiar agents trying to force their way into the building!"
The voice was low, but had a friendly quality to it. Whoever the speaker was, it seemed he had the full attention of the assembled workers. Dev was behind the speaker, but already he could tell the man was big, thickly built. He was still wearing his EVA suit - one of those newer models that Dev had been fantasizing about owning only a few minute before - but the helmet was off, resting on the table beside him. The stranger had graying brown hair, styled in a military cut that had gone a little shaggy.
"What'd you do, Rax?" McMasters asked the stranger, before taking a long swig from a flash he always kept close at hand.
"Well, I tell the lady that as much as I appreciated the offer, I didn't want to be caught by the Romulan government en flagrante delicto, if you know what I mean. But she's too worked up, she says getting caught *excites* her, can you believe that? Romulan women, they act all prim and proper on the surface but deep down they just can't *wait* to break the rules!"
This elicited another round of laughter from the group. That was when Parks, one of the other platform techs, spotted Dev standing a few feet away from the table. Parks waved him over.
"Lorenzo!" Parks said. "Sit down! You've got to meet this fella, friend of McMasters, says he's a bounty hunter!"
Dev froze. Already, the stranger was turning to look at him. He looked to be around 50, but he clearly took care of himself. Some scars criss-crossed his cheeks, but his brown eyes were hard, confident. He had a wide smile through a stubble of brownish-gray beard, and when he spotted Dev, the smile somehow grew even wider. There was something predatory in the grin that Dev didn't like.
"Lorenzo?" the stranger asked. "That wouldn't be Lorenzo Dev, would it? One of the known aliases of David Lorens, former Starfleet officer and fugitive from justice?"
"That's him, Rax," McMasters nodded. He took another flash, then winked at Dev. Dev could have throttled the old drunk then and there, if not for the stranger that separated them. The bounty hunter rose, turning to face Dev, still wearing that wide grin.
"You aren't gonna run, are you?" the stranger asked.
"You got this all wrong," Dev stammered. "I've never heard of this... this..."
"David Lorens," the stranger repeated. "And yeah you have, cause you're him. The dye-job you did on your hair is okay, I guess, but you really should have sprang for the full-on facial reconstruction if you wanted to disappear. My buddy McMasters here made you in half a heartbeat."
"Dreyton here pays me in Denebian ale," McMasters said. "Hard to find, but he says he's got himself a supplier. You brought me a bottle, right Rax?"
"It's on my ship," the stranger said, without taking his eyes of Dev. "You get it when the fugitive is in custody, McMasters, you know the deal."
"This is a set-up," Dev said. "Some kind of frame job. McMasters is selling me out!"
"Oh, he sold you out alright," the stranger named Raxl grinned. "But there ain't no mistake. You're Lorens. And you haven't answered my question. Are you planning to run?"
Dev didn't say anything. The eyes of the assembled workers were all on him. None of them looked like they were going to make any move to assist if it came to a fight. The EVA suit the stranger was wearing would make a decent armor against physical attacks, and even if he wasn't wearing it, the stranger looked like he knew how to take a punch. Dev calculated the distance between himself and the airlock. He was sure he could make it inside before the stranger reached him, but could he secure the door before this bounty hunter forced his way inside?
"I'm innocent," Dev said quickly, hoping the change in tactics might catch the bounty hunter off guard.
"So I guess that's a yes on who you are," the stranger said. "Look, Lorens, I don't want to hear it. You plead your case to the law on Moldas Prime. I'm just here to extend their invitation."
"They won't even put me on trial," Dev said. He took a half-half step backwards. If the stranger noticed, he didn't say anything. "They'll toss me in a cell and leave me to rot. It'll be nine, maybe ten years before they even let me put in an official plea."
"They're hard-asses," the bounty hunter shrugged. "That's why it's not a good idea to break their laws in their space. Unluckily for you, their currency is galactic standard, which means you're a payday, and you're coming with me."
"I'm not going anywhere," Dev said. He turned and leapt towards the airlock. He was inside the chamber in a flash. Dimly he noted that the bounty hunter had not moved to pursue, he'd simply turned and casually picked the helmet of his EVA suit off the table. Dev let his eyes drop to the airlock control panel, his fingers hammering frantically at the buttons, trying to seal the chamber before the bounty hunter could force his way inside...
The stranger's EVA helmet crashed into Dev's face, knocking him down. He realized the stranger must have thrown it. The helmet was made of a lighter material than Dev's own EVA suit, but the throw was hard enough and on-target enough to have done some damage. Dev lay on his back for a moment, waiting for the cobwebs to clear. He could hear more laughter coming from the men inside the mess hall, and he had time to curse them all. So much for loyalty among colleagues, Dev thought bitterly.
Dev scrambled to hit feet, pulling himself up on his own EVA suit, which was still standing where he'd left it. He slipped inside, and started the activation sequence. A shadow fell across his face, and Dev looked up to see that the bounty hunter was standing in the airlock door. Without any hesitation, the bounty hunter crossed the distance that separated them, and slammed a fist hard into the faceplate of Dev's helmet. The impact must have hurt his hand more than it hurt the suit, but it was enough to knock the suit off its feet. It took Dev with it, the weight of the suit too much for Dev to straighten up, and the EVA suit landed hard on the deck, rattling Dev inside it. The bounty hunter loomed over him, shaking his head.
"Where were you planning to go, anyway?" the bounty hunter asked, sounding bemused. "Nothing out there but a whole damn bunch of rocks."
=[/\]=
TIME INDEX: An hour later
David Lorens, alias Lorenzo Dev, was trussed up in the BAD WOLF, and McMasters was sipping happily at the bottle of Denebian ale that Rax had provided. Rax was going through the final checks before takeoff, and McMasters was slouched in the copilot's seat next to him.
"Big coincidence, him showing up out here," McMasters slurred.
"Not really," Rax shrugged, without looking up from his work. "Only so many places for someone to run. This system isn't far from Moldas, on the same trajectory that Lorens was last seen traveling. I figure he'd need to stop somewhere, build up some kind of bankroll before he disappeared for good, and he had the tech skills to get hired on like this. I sent out feelers to all the mining camps, ore-processing facilities, and gas collection platforms in this sector. Lorens was bound to turn up sooner or later."
"Good for me it was here," McMaster said, waving the bottle of Denebian ale triumphantly. "You want a drink?"
"No, I've seen how they make that shit," Rax said. "No thanks."
"Suit yourself," McMasters said, and took another long swig.
"Better take it easy on that stuff, McMasters," Rax said. "Might be the last bottle I get my hands on for awhile. I burned my contact with the Organization, a couple of months back."
"That fire on VASTER II?" McMasters blinked. "That was you?"
"Me and Riss had a difference of opinion," Rax said. "He tried to kill me, so I burned down his spaceport."
"You must have a price on your own head by now," McMasters said. "Sure you don't want that drink?"
"I'm far away from Organization territory," Rax said, ignoring the proffered bottle of ale and continuing the preflight diagnostics. "Once I build up my bankroll again, I'm sure a few bars of latinum will go a long way towards easing any hard feelings with them."
"And what about Riss?"
"Isn't the first time some capo has wanted me dead," Rax shrugged again. "He and I will settle it when we settle it."
"Some life you got, Dreyton," McMasters said, shaking his head. "I guess I'd better get back to camp. Give me a few minutes to suit up, willya?"
"You know the way out," Rax said.
"Thanks for the bottle," McMasters said, as he got up and exited the cockpit.
Rax waited until McMasters was a safe distance away, then he initialized the BAD WOLF's engines. The ship lifted gently off the shuttle platform, gaining altitude of the rocky surface of the asteroid. When he was clear of the asteroid's gravity well, Rax engaged the warp drive, in the direction of Moldas space. He signaled ahead, so that an enforcement vessel would be waiting on the border of Moldas territory to collect Lorens. The fugitive had been telling the truth about one thing: breaking the law in Moldas space was a bad idea, so bad that Rax didn't even like to cross their borders if he could help it.
The indicator light on his comm console began to blink. Rax glanced at the readout, saw who the message was from, and groaned. Of course it was Brak. It was always Brak. Rax considered ignoring the call, but the light kept flashing, and he knew that Brak would just keep sending the transmission until he got a response. Rax frowned, but he leaned over and activated the comm-console. A moment later, Brak's ugly Ferengi face filled the comm screen.
[[About time,]] Brak said. [[Were you in the bathroom?]]
"You really don't need to check up on me so often," Rax said. "I feel like you have me on a leash."
[[You owe me money,]] Brak said. [[I want to make sure I get it back before you get yourself killed.]]
"You know I'm good for it."
[[Rule of Acquisition number 21,]] the Ferengi started.
"...never place friendship above profit," Rax finished for him. "I've heard that one."
[[You came to me for a loan, and I obliged,]] Brak said. [[If you didn't like the terms of our arrangement, you didn't have to take the money.]]
"I needed the loan because *you* cheated me out of my bankroll," Rax growled. "Letting me lay around your holosuites, siphoning off my savings..."
[[You're a lazy drunk,]] Brak shrugged nonchalantly. [[I can hardly be blamed for taking advantage of that.]]
"Yeah yeah," Rax muttered. "Anyway, I'm a step closer to paying you back. I've got Lorens, I'm on my way to drop him off now."
[[About time,]] Brak said. [[After you came up empty-handed on that Selyara job, I was worried that maybe you were starting to slip.]]
"Won't ever happen," Rax said. "I'm gonna live forever."
[[Not if you keep pissing off every major criminal syndicate in the galaxy,]] Brak said. [[I suppose by now you've heard that Riss is putting out feelers for you, hmmm?]]
"Riss is small-time," Rax said, waving this off. "Outside his little sphere of influence, he doesn't count for squat."
[[That sphere's getting bigger,]] Brak said. [[One of the Organization's higher-ups kicked off last week. Spice overdose. There's a bit of a power vacuum now, but it looks like Riss is planning to take over the extra territory.]]
"So what?"
[[So everything, Dreyton!]] Brak said, sounding annoyed. [[More territory means more customers. More customers means more profit. More profit means more guns, as well as men to aim them.]]
"So I keep giving Riss and his people a wide berth," Rax said. "What's the big deal?"
[[You think you need to be on Riss's doorstep for him to kill you?]] Brak asked. [[You're not a very popular person, Dreyton. You've got plenty of rivals who'd love an excuse to take you down.]]
"You mean other bounty hunters?"
[[You have to admit, most of them don't like you.]]
"No way," Rax said, shaking his head. "Sure, I rub a lot of them the wrong way, but they'd never come after me. There's such a thing of professional courtesy, you know."
[[Don't count on it,]] Brak said. [[If Riss gets this promotion, there's a real chance you're going to wind up a wanted man. The least you could do is make sure you've paid me back before Riss has you publicly executed.]]
"It's always such a pleasure talking to you, Brak," Rax said. The Ferengi looked like he was about to reply, but Rax reached out and killed the connection. The comm screen winked off, and Rax was left alone in the cockpit, considering Brak's warning.
=[/\]=
NRPG: While we're waiting for the next mission to start, I thought we could check in on what our favorite bounty hunter has been up to. Just planting some seeds, laying down possible future story ideas for him. Nothing to see here, move along...
Shawn Putnam
a.k.a.
Jake Crichton, Commander
Chief Engineering Officer
USS PHOENIX
and sometimes
Raxl Dreyton
Bounty Hunter