Third Mission, Part III

Posted on Jun 24, 2018 @ 3:38am by Chloe Nielsen
Edited on on Jun 24, 2018 @ 3:39am

Mission: Section 31

“Third Mission, Part III”

Location: FARIUS PRIME, Maltabra city
SD: [2.18] 0622.1954
Scene: Street -> Club entrance

The city was busy at this late hour. As Chloe Nielsen walked down the long and narrow street, she noticed there were many others around, going about their seedy business. Well, it was nighttime, when the black market opened and the Farian authorities looking the other way. It wouldn’t surprise her that many of them were involved in illegal activities, even striking relationships with groups like the Orion Syndicate. Chloe gazed up beyond the rooftops of tall buildings. It was a cloudy night, chilly winds blowing past her, carrying with it not just the ice and moisture but pollutants from the many industries, set up all around the city. For someone, who grew up on Earth, where the air was clean, Farius Prime, with its pollution, made a rather unpleasant sight. Compared to this world, Earth and the other core worlds of the Federation were considered hi-tech paradises.

Hopefully, her stay on the planet wouldn’t be long and if all went well with the meeting, then she’d be on her way to Numino, whose environment was a sharp contrast to this world. She passed by some scantily clad women, belonging to a mix of races, mostly Orions, leaning against a wall, though none of them paid any attention to her. Their eyes, giving the ‘come hither’ look, were on the shady, desperate men, who ventured out into the streets at night to satiate their lust, desire or fantasies and those women, in return, wanted latinum for various reasons such as making ends meet.

She stepped over a Pakled’s body, lying on his back – dead from the burnt hole through his chest. Crime was rampant in this city, which worsened at night, where only fools or criminals ventured out at this time. The sad aspect of life here was if a theft or assault occurred, one shouldn’t expect help from others. Chloe was briefly reminded of her hometown, Toronto, well besides breathing clean air, was a safe and controlled environment, where people didn’t worry about walking the streets alone at night. Here, just on this trip from the inn, the agent was nearly accosted on three occasions by shady males, whom she dispatched with relative ease. Those fools were rather unlucky to run into her, thinking she was an easy target – a woman walking alone at night.

Chloe paused in front of a grey building, studying its dull architecture, a typical tritanium building just like others in the city. She proceeded towards double doors, which opened to permit the agent inside. She stood in the foyer of a Ferengi owned bar and gambling establishment. The place was raucous with shouts and squeals of excitement or anguish, heard from the dining area, where she could also spot the dabbo table at the far right corner.

She walked across the room to the bar, shifting sideways to avoid a drunk Ferengi stumbling into her, who instead fell to the floor. While most of the patrons were Ferengi, the only non-Ferengi were the employees such as the dabbo girls and the service staff. Standing behind the bar was a peevish looking Ferengi, his bulbous forehead tilted forward and his gaze fixed on the PADD. As the agent approached the bar, the sound of her footsteps caught the orange being’s attention. The Ferengi narrowed his eyes, studying her with disdain before speaking in a dismissive tone.

“If you’re looking to be a dabbo girl, you’re supposed to use the service entrance and see Zila.” As he began to turn away, the blonde cleared her throat. The bartender’s expression darkened. “Trouble understanding? Let me say it slowly.” His tone was condescending. “Okay…” His gaze fixed on her. “You’re too overdressed, even for a clothed female. You may want to change into something more…appropriate.”

Chloe’s expression hardened, the agent removing her sunglasses and placing them inside her jacket pocket. It didn’t surprise the blonde that there were still male Ferengi, clinging to the old ways and refused to accept Grand Nagus Rom’s reforms, established over half a century ago. Unable to abide by the new laws, many of them lived in exile, either on New Ferenginar or elsewhere on non-aligned worlds such as Farius Prime. Permitting Ferengi females to wear clothes was one of those new laws. Nielsen knew the bartender and some of the other Ferengi here disapproved of her outfit – black leather jacket and pants, along with gloves and ankle high boots of the same colour. In the Ferengi’s view, she wore too much clothing.

“Hey, I’m not here for a dabbo girl position,” Chloe said in a detached tone. She watched the orange man sport a puzzled expression before waving at her, snarling.

“Well, if you don’t want to be a dabbo girl, then leave.” He added with a sneer. “We don’t serve females.”

Chloe didn’t budge, drawing the Ferengi’s ire. “I’m not going anywhere until I see Mr. Mwangi.”

“I know no such individual.” The Ferengi attempted to grab her arm. “Now, shoo!” However, Chloe pulled away abruptly, angering him further.

“I’m not going anywhere, Mr…”

The bartender replied, “My name’s Runt. My brother, Munt and I run this place and you don’t want to mess with us. Also, we have a younger brother, Punt, a bounty hunter with a stellar track record of collecting bounties and there’s idiot Grunt…no, he’s back on Ferenginar, being a moogi’s boy.”

“Alright, Mr. Runt.” Nielsen eyed the orange being with contempt. “I’ll repeat since you didn’t understand me the first time. I’m here to see Eric Mwangi.” She lowered her voice. “Your boss.”

The Ferengi’s mouth widened to a mocking smile. “You must be this Mwangi’s female? He dumped you and you’re upset.” Chloe rolled her eyes. “Sorry, but you’re out of luck. There’s no such man…”

Chloe cut him off. “I have something he so desperately wants and he’ll definitely want to see me.”

“What’s the special code?” The Ferengi’s mocking smile remained.

“I just arrived so don’t have a code,” she replied nonchalantly.

The bartender suggested, “Well, tell me and I’ll pass it onto him. If he agrees to see you, I’ll get in touch. So have a nice…”

“My info’s for Mwangi’s ears alone.” Chloe gave him a fixed stare.

“Then leave, if you know what’s good for you.” He wagged his finger at her.

“I don’t think so.” Chloe placed a hand on the countertop and looked straight in his eye.

“Well, I’ll just have to get the guards to throw you out.” He sneered at her. “But don’t worry, I’ll make sure they don’t touch your lovely face.” He reached out to touch her cheek but Chloe swatted his hand away, making him yelp. “Ouch!”

Chloe leaned forward, giving him a cold smile and spoke in a detached voice. “Wow, Runt. You’ve been a very naughty troll.” She removed a small handheld from her pocket.

The Ferengi turned a darker shade of orange, his voice becoming high-pitched. “You must think we’re so stupid. We know all about this slur, you hewmons throw at us, acting as if you’re better than us.”

“Seriously?” Chloe raised an eyebrow.

Runt declared, wagging his finger, “This won’t be tolerated…” He was interrupted when Chloe shoved the handheld towards his face.

“I bet your cousin, Havin will be pleased to hear his former partners are doing well on this planet,” she casually brought up, noticing a panicked look in his eyes.

The Ferengi denied angrily, “I don’t know what you mean, you stupid female.”

Chloe shrugged, hovering her finger over the handheld display. “Well, I guess you won’t mind if I send a message with a holo of you to Havin, revealing your location. Before long, Havin and his goons will be here to take you and your brother back to Ferenginar to face the FCA.” Three years ago, Runt and Munt embezzled funds from Havin, their cousin and business partner, bankrupting the latter in the process. Havin reported the embezzlement to the Ferengi Commerce Authority and before the brothers were scheduled to stand trial, they fled to Farius Prime, where they got into bed with the Syndicate.

“I won’t let you send that message,” Runt warned, eyeing the handheld. “And how will you take a holo of me if I snatch that thing from you.”

Such a clueless Ferengi. The handheld was nothing but a disguised tricorder, used to fool the bartender, making him believe it was a communication device. She had already recorded a holo of him with her sunglasses – a piece of tech specially designed for her by the Quartermaster. The eyewear was linked to her portable console back at her suite in the inn. So the message and the holo were stored on the console, awaiting her signal to send.

“You can’t really stop me,” Chloe informed. “I already took a holo of you right after I came in and along with the message is stored in a computer at a remote location. All I need to do is input a command and it will be sent.” She narrowed her eyes. “And if something were to happen to me, the message is set to automatically be sent at a designated time.” The Ferengi paled.

As expected, Runt curled his mouth into a wide grin. “How about we make a deal?”

“Okay, I’m listening.” The blonde leaned away.

“I will let you see Mwangi if you agree to not send that message,” the Ferengi proposed. “In addition, I’d like two hundred strips of latinum and…” His grin broadened. “An oomox from you. That’s my final offer, take it or leave it.”

Chloe shook her head, her gaze cold as ice. “Listen, Runt. You’re in no position to make demands.”

“Take the deal,” Runt insisted.

“Oh well, say hi to your cousin for me.” Chloe began to turn around but stopped halfway, when the Ferengi called.

“Alright, alright.” There was a pleading tone in his voice. “What are your terms?”

“You let me see Mwangi and I won’t send the message.”

“It’s a deal,” Runt relented, sighing in dismay. “Just continue along this hallway, all the way to the back and then up the stairs to your right.”

Chloe nodded. “A pleasure doing business with you.”

As she stepped away, the Ferengi sent her a parting shot. “You know what the problem is with you, hewmons….You’re jealous of Ferengi because we have bigger lobes than you. I bet you wished your lobes weren’t so tiny.”

“Yeah, whatever, you dumb troll.” Nielsen rolled her eyes. The agent, normally, never referred to the Ferengi as trolls unless it was part of a cover.

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Scene: Private Lounge, Upper Level

After walking down a long hallway and climbing up a staircase, Chloe entered a large, quiet, dimly lit room. A lounge, judging from the comfortable furniture, reddish brown wooden tables and the casual ambiance. The area was empty except for the presence of four men, belonging to different species, huddled near the bar area, deep in conversation. The agent moved a few steps forward and caught their attention, when their heads turned.

A Finnean male of medium height and a gangly physique, stood up. Chloe studied the grey skinned man’s appearance, noticing the nodules on his forehead and chin, notable features of his race. He was shabbily dressed in loose, green woollen outfit with visible tears, unruly brown hair – obviously he hadn’t heard of a comb. His black eyes shot daggers at her. She then cringed at the foul odour, emanating from him – clearly he needed to shower.

A tall human man with dark chocolate brown skin and lean figure, approached her, along with the other three. He had short, cropped black hair with a bald patch at the top and sported a thin goatee. He was immaculately dressed in a plain brown suit. This was Eric Mwangi, who was in his early forties. Chloe recognized him from his file in the Section 31 database. She watched him stop a feet from her, his eyes narrowed. When he spoke, his voice was low and devoid of emotions.

“May I ask who you are and how you managed to get in? This club is exclusive and only those invited by myself or my boss, Klars are permitted entrance.”

Chloe put on a firm, business-like demeanor as if she was an equal to him. Feminine wiles wouldn’t work here as Mwangi was a happily married man, so devoted to his wife, also a high ranking Syndicate member, that he had eyes for no other women. The couple had three children – two daughters and one son. “Mr. Mwangi, I’m here because I have something you’ve been wanting a long time and your doorman down there made an exception for me.”

The Finnean growled. “That blasted Ferengi. I should kill him!”

“Now, listen here, you smelly fool,” a Ferengi protested. Chloe deduced the diminutive being to be Munt, who looked to be older and rounder in the middle, compared to the bartender. “Runt’s my brother and I’ll deal with him.”

Mwangi inquired, ignoring the squabble, “And what exactly is that?”

Chloe met his gaze. “Sully Wyk. Does the name ring a bell?” As expected, Mwangi’s expression darkened.

“What about him?”

The blonde said, “He used to work for you but then stole something valuable and I hear you’ve been looking a long time for him.”

“How could I forget him?” The black man let out a derisive chuckle. “The traitor stole a rare gemstone, a gift for my eldest daughter on her seventeenth birthday? Wyk broke her heart, when he took that gemstone.”

“Do you have information on him?”

Chloe tilted her head in the direction of a new voice, when her gaze fell on a Trill man with the same build as Mwangi but slightly taller and in his mid to late thirties. Like Mwangi, he was well-dressed in his charcoal coloured suit. His hair was a lighter shade of brown and cut short. Chloe noticed his expression didn’t show signs of hostility and his green eyes displayed a mix of suspicion and curiosity towards her.

She answered, “Well, I don’t just have information on him – I have him.” Her statement stunned the four men.

The Finnean marched forward and hissed in her face, forcing the agent to move an inch to the side. “She’s lying. I say we kill her now.”

Mwangi inquired, raising an eyebrow, “Really? And where are holding him now?”

“In a private storage hangar by the eastern starport.” Chloe maintained an air of confidence.

The Finnean turned to his boss, “She’s lying. She couldn’t have seriously captured Wyk.” But the dark skinned man ignored him.

Eric continued, “So Wyk is your prisoner now?”

Chloe nodded. “Yes.”

Mwangi pondered for a moment, while still maintaining his gaze on the agent, the suspicion not having left his eyes. “Why don’t you take us to him so that we can see for ourselves if what you’re saying is true?”

The Finnean protested, “Don’t do it, boss. It’s a trap. Kill her now!”

The Trill disagreed, “No, Filth, this could be our shot in getting Wyk. I say we go check it out.”

“Always weak for the female.” Filth snorted.

“Gaven makes a good point.” The black man curled his lips into a smile. “Alright, name your price and I’ll grant it if your information checks out.”

Chloe met his gaze and spoke in a business-like tone. “Mr. Mwangi, I want to work for you.” No begging or hesitation in her voice. From his files, she knew he had no respect for the weak minded or the needy.

Filth snorted, simultaneously spitting. “Pathetic. What use is a female like you?”

“She found Wyk,” Gaven argued, his eyes not leaving the agent.

“Or so she claims,” the Finnean retorted. “You just want to mate with her.” He hissed at Chloe, the latter rolling her eyes.

Munt creeped towards her, the greed visible in his eyes. “This female will be useful, alright.” He reached out to grab her arm. “She’d make a wonderful doll and oh I’ve missed having a female chew my food for me…” But to his surprise, Chloe grabbed his wrist.

“Do yourself a favour,” she said coldly, twisting his fingers, a sickening crunch was heard, followed by a high-pitched squeal from the Ferengi. “Don’t call me a doll and learn to chew your own food.”

Munt shot her a dark look, wailing through clenched teeth, while clutching his fingers as if his life depended on it. “That female broke my fingers!”

Not surprisingly, Filth glowered at her. “Don’t you all see now how dangerous she is? I say kill her.”

“Be quiet, Filth,” Mwangi commanded, when his gaze moved to the Ferengi, his mouth twisted into a wry smile. “And Munt, be thankful my wife wasn’t here, otherwise it’d more than just your fingers that would have been broken.”

The Finnean suggested, “We cannot let this female go alone.”

“Well, you do have a point, Filth.” Eric turned to the blonde. “Gaven will accompany you.” He then added, narrowing his eyes, “But if you’re lying, then Filth here will execute you.”

Chloe nodded, noticing the Finnean sneering at her. “Understood.” She then left the room with the Trill man.

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Scene: Streets-> Bar

Such a pleasant smell – not the smell of the air but freedom. Anaqueen walked down the streets, beaming with the thrill of being outside. The Trill enjoyed her late night strolls, the only time in her view, when the real fun began. She moved in the manner of a carefree person, one with barely any responsibilities in life and that described Ana perfectly at the moment. She acted like a woman who resented the very idea of adhering to structure and desired to be free as a bird. Chloe was so paranoid, Ana thought with irritation, and bossy. “Yeah, do this Ana, don’t do this or don’t go here,” the Trill grumbled. “Well, I’ll show her.” Ana set her jaws together, sporting a look of determination as she made her way past the doorway of a ramshackle building into a crowded bar.

Pushing her way through the crowd, not bothering to notice who she shoved, Ana headed for the bar. She hopped onto a stool, inadvertently pushing a Roylan off, the latter tumbling to the floor. Ana couldn’t tell if the diminutive being was male or female until it spoke, its voice, annoyingly high-pitched.

“I was sitting there.” Male, but no less annoying.

“Too bad.” Ana rolled her blue eyes, tossing her long, silver hair, not as a gesture to attract another but more like she was demonstrating a rather flippant attitude. She turned her attention forward just as the Roylan shot her an angry look. He stomped off, muttering under his breath. There was no point getting into a fight with the Trill, considering their height mismatch as she was 5’6” tall.

A young Orion woman approached her. “What’d you like to drink?”

“A shot of Aldebaran whiskey,” the Trill ordered. The Orion placed a tiny glass in front of her and poured bright green liquid into it. Ana picked up the glass and gulped down the drink. Placing the empty glass down, she waved her finger. “Hit me.” She watched the bartender refill the glass and Ana finished the drink in one gulp. “Again,” she ordered.

Ana was reminded of her time on the SHIV, when she used to take multiple shots of alcohol after a hard day – well all days were hard on that wretched pirate ship but some were downright horrible. She mostly indulged alone, occasionally joined by others, eager to forget their miserable lives. Ana wondered if she should kill Kate MacNeil after they find her, damned the consequences. She was ridding the galaxy of a genocidal mad scientist, whose inventions killed billions in their universe. Ana recalled Kate bragging about how back when she was on Earth, she was desired by all the major powers in the galaxy – unfortunately the doctor wasn’t lying. If only she had asked MacNeil how such a renowned scientist ended up on the SHIV.

As the Orion filled the glass again, a group of unsavory individuals appeared, surrounding the Trill, who finished the drink. When she placed the glass down, a frown marred her features, noticing the bartender held the bottle in mid-air, her attention elsewhere. “Ah, hello! I’m not done here.”

“Friends of yours?” The Orion inquired.

Confused, the Trill glanced behind her shoulder and her eyes widened. Oh my, she was in trouble. Ana masked the panic by cocking her head to the side, her mouth curling into a wide grin. “I didn’t expect to have company.”

A blue skinned male stepped forward, producing a wide smile as he scratched his tattoo covered bald head. The man was tall with a stocky build, his clear blue eyes shone with mischief. A tiny, circular silver earring hung from his ear and a black woollen cloak was wrapped around his body over dark blue leather outfit. He spoke, stroking his chin, hidden under a blond goatee, “Well, well. Look what we’ve have here.” He was Bolian, though more likely a hybrid because of the facial hair.

The Trill hopped down from her stool, tossing some latinum slips to the bartender. “You know, I’d love to hit some shots with you but I need to be somewhere else.” As she put her foot forward, she got grabbed from all sides, when a black cloth bag was pulled over head, muffling her growls. “Let me go.”

-----------------------
Scene: Seaside -> Hangar-> Runabout
TI: Twenty minutes later

The road by the beach, was silent, much different from the hustle and bustle in the city centre. Cold winds blew from the direction of the sea, bringing with it, not just ice but the briny scent. Chloe walked down the path with Gaven. The Trill was polite and courteous, stealing glances at her from time to time but maintained a respectable distance. If Chloe didn’t know the Trill worked for the Syndicate, she’d have assumed he was the type of guy, one would bring home to meet the family, not the kind who’d have a one night fling with in Risa and never see them again.

“I always come here, you know to clear my thoughts,” Gaven said, breaking the silence.

“It’s a nice night to take a walk.”

“If you don’t mind the cold.” He grinned.

Chloe turned her head, meeting his gaze as the pair turned around a bend. “So, what’s your story?”

The Trill blinked. “I don’t quite follow.”

“How’d you wind up here?” The blonde shrugged. “You know, become part of the Syndicate.”

“Oh, well…uhm.” He paused, running a hand through his hair. “I was born on TRILL. My parents worked for the Science Ministry. When I was five, we were travelling back home, however, the ship was attacked by marauders and my parents were killed. I was taken as one of their prisoners and then sold to a wealthy Ferengi here.” He grimaced, pain filling his green eyes. “For the next eight years, I was kept as a slave, kept malnourished and beaten at that troll’s whim. One day, while I was out on an errand, I met Eric, you know, Mr. Mwangi, at the time a low level operative and that’s when everything changed.” His expression lightened. “Eric bought my freedom at a steep price and I became his errand boy. When I turned 18, I was officially granted entry into the Syndicate. A couple of years later, with the Syndicate behind me, I finally tracked down the marauders who killed my parents and got my revenge.”

A man with a sob story, ‘the one where he was the poor orphan, adopted by a criminal organization,’ and one who was also deadly. Despite his polite demeanor, Chloe needed to watch her back with him. Like Mwangi, Gaven seemed sharp and dangerous, would kill with no hesitation for the organization.

“Anyway, how about you? What’s your story?” Gaven eyed her with curiosity.

Chloe sighed, already having the answer prepared – a fake backstory as part of her cover. “Well, I grew up on a backwater colony at the edge of Federation space. My father, a bounty hunter, abandoned us when I was a child, leaving my mother to struggle with making sure we don’t starve to death so she took a lot of odd jobs here and there, including selling herself to wealthy clients for latinum. One day, she never returned, apparently killed by the local warlord and I was placed in an orphanage.” She paused, studying his facial expression. “When I was 14, I escaped and travelled around the quadrant, eventually taking on a variety of jobs involving finding, capturing or killing people for a price.” Chloe’s tone was rather casual like it was something she did on a daily basis. Noting the smile forming on his face, she knew he was convinced by her story.

“Wow,” Gaven said. “We seem to have something in common.”

Not quite, Chloe thought, biting her lip. After all, she wasn’t really an orphan from a politically unstable colony on the frontier. She led a comfortable childhood on Earth with her parents, though the agent’s father was often away on missions, and her two younger siblings. They were walking down stone steps till their feet landed on soft white sand. “The hangar is up ahead this way.”

“Lead the way.” Gaven followed the blonde, the sound of waves splashing against the beach becoming louder. The pair walked for another mile until they came across a row of small buildings with dome shaped roofs that would open to allow the vehicle to leave. In fact, they spotted a shuttle exit from a hangar at the far corner. Chloe stopped at the fourth building. “This is the place.” At his nod, she placed her hand on the scanner, located on a panel to the side of the main doors. When her handprint was accepted, she exhaled a single breath. Now that her breath print was accepted, she was requested to enter a security code. Chloe entered the eight digit code and a moment later, the doors parted. The pair stepped inside a dark room, the lights turning on. Chloe made her way to the runabout, which stood in the middle of the room with the Trill behind.

The hatch to the runabout lifted open and the duo walked up the ramp to the cabin area. “Here,” Chloe announced, pointing at the stasis chamber. Gaven moved to stand beside her, his gaze moving up the length of the unit until stopping on the glass slit, where he could glimpse the face of a human white male. The Trill narrowed his eyes to thin slits, a frown marring his features. “It looks to be him but I’ll need the chamber opened so that I can be sure.”

“Sure.” Chloe bent forward, pressing her thumb beside the glass slit and the panel on the top slid open. Gaven was unaware that it wasn’t her thumbprint that unlocked the chamber but Wyk’s. While the bounty hunter was unconscious, the agent used a device to read his thumbprint and subsequently generated a thin film with the print on it. Chloe placed the film, which would disintegrate after a few hours, over her thumb.

She stepped aside, allowing Gaven to examine the body. The Trill looked over the human, when he pulled out his communicator and spoke, “Eric, it’s me. I found Wyk.” After he finished conversing with his boss, he turned to the agent. “Mr. Mwangi has sent a transport to take us and Wyk back to the club. They should be here in a few minutes.”

“Good.” Chloe nodded. “While we wait, there is some information I downloaded from his runabout that you really need to see.” She held up a data crystal in her hand.

---------------------------------
Scene: Club
TI: Half hour later

Chloe paced, watching the bounty hunter open his eyes and blink, though his confusion soon turned to anger, when his gaze fell on her. “You bitch,” he growled. He began jerking his body until he realized his hands and feet were cuffed to the chair.

“Nice to see you again, Wyk,” the agent greeted, her voice etched with sarcasm.

“Where’s that Trill woman?” He demanded, raising his voice. “When I get free, I’ll kill you and that silver haired bitch. You’ll pay…” He was interrupted with a slap across his face by Gaven.

Mwangi stepped towards the captured human, a cold smile gracing his lips. “Hello, Sully, my old friend.” His voice dripped with a bitter sarcasm. “You were a difficult man to find. I sent my best after you and yet none of them succeeded in finding, let alone, capturing you, except this woman here.” He pointed at the blonde.

Wyk let out a low growl, his eyes widening as they fixed on Nielsen. “Of course. I was set up.” His voice grew louder. “It was a trap with that Trill the bait. But how did you know I was after her?”

“Good to know you actually have a brain,” the agent remarked wryly.

Sully jerked again in his chair, shouting. “You’re gonna pay…” But he was held back by Gaven.

“Now,” Eric said. “Sully, before I kill you, I’d like to know who helped you.” He let out a dry chuckle, when Wyk blinked. “Come on, you don’t expect me to believe that you stole the gemstone all by yourself, do you? Only the inner circle had access to my family quarters and you weren’t part of it.”

Wyk didn’t answer, giving his former boss a fixed stare, a sly smile forming at the corners of his mouth, when his gaze shifted to the Finnean. “Oh why not. I’m gonna die anyway.”

Filth’s eyes widened, realizing the bounty hunter implicated him as his accomplice and burst out, his nostrils flaring. “The bastard’s framing me!”

“Now, now, Filth, let’s not panic,” Mwangi said calmly, though there was a hint of suspicion in his eyes. “We can all just calm down and sort this out.”

Wyk chuckled, sneering at the Finnean man. “Sorry man. Nothing personal but if I’m going down, then so should you as my partner in crime.”

With a roar, Filth pulled out his blaster and shot the bounty hunter, the green energy beam vapourizing him. Chloe’s eyes darted back and forth between the empty chair and Filth, weapon raised, ready to strike the next person. There was a feral look in his eyes, displaying his sudden bout of panic.

“Now Filth, why did you shoot him?” Mwangi demanded in a polite, yet deadly voice. “I was in the middle of an interrogation. Do you have something to say?”

“I was doing you a favour, boss, getting rid of the traitor,” Filth said, his tone unconvincing.

Chloe sighed, when the Finnean, still reeking of foul stench – surely he could have taken the time to shower, was brandishing his weapon around, unsure of his next target. “Actually,” she spoke up, adding more fuel to Filth’s burning ire, “Wyk had proof, a recording of a conversation he had with Filth, where they were both making plans to steal your daughter’s gemstone. Filth even blackmailed him to obtain a larger share of profits from the sale.”

“Lies! All Lies!” Filth bellowed, aiming the blaster at the agent. “Boss, let me kill this female for you.”

Gaven said, “It’s true, Eric. I saw the recording myself.” He held up a data crystal, handing it to his boss. “It’s all in here.”

“Hmm…interesting.” The black man quickly examined the device.

Filth sniggered, his dark eyes shooting daggers at both Chloe and Gaven. “So, Gaven. Did you enjoy yourself with this female in that cozy runabout?” The Trill gave him a sharp look, while Nielsen rolled her eyes.

Not only the man didn’t shower, he also had a filthy mind. The agent narrowed her eyes, fixed on the Finnean, expecting him to make a rash move. She was right, when Filth pushed the button, sending a stream of green energy towards her. The agent quickly stepped out of the way, narrowly missing the beam from hitting her. Filth was about to go for another round, when he got hit by a red energy beam, vapourizing him. Chloe turned in the direction of the beam and found Gaven holding a handheld phaser.

Eric leaned forward, studying the remains of the Finnean and shrugged. “Not a big loss. I never liked him anyway. I’ll get Munt to arrange for the body’s disposal.” He inhaled a deep breath. “And maybe sterilize the air in the room. It would be nice for a change to have a pleasant smell.” He then turned to face Chloe and gave her a pleasant, yet cold smile. “It looks like there’s a vacancy after all and since you delivered Wyk to me as promised, I will grant your request to work for me.”

Nielsen returned the smile, also pleasant and cold. “Thank you, Mr. Mwangi. I won’t let you down.”

“But right now, it will be on a trial basis,” he added, taking on a more serious tone. “This is just for me to see whether it will work out and to test your loyalty. It’s for a couple of weeks and if I’m satisfied with your performance, I will bring you to my superior, Klars, where I will vouch for you and if he’s happy, then you’ll be admitted into our organization. If these terms aren’t acceptable to you, then you’re free to leave with a handsome sum in either credits or latinum.” He paused, studying her. “What do you think?”

“I accept your terms,” Chloe replied.

Mwangi smiled. “Good. You start tomorrow. Gaven will show you the ropes of how things work here.”

“Understood.” The blonde nodded.

“Oh and get ready to pack,” the black man informed. “You will be coming with me and Gaven to Numino in two days’ time.”

Chloe didn’t expect to gain entry into the Syndicate but she did accomplish her goal of getting to Numino. Now she planned on returning to the inn but first she needed to check on Anaqueen and see if the Trill had gotten into any mischief.

---------------------------
Scene: Beach
TI: Twenty minutes later

Chloe jogged along the path overlooking the beach, stopping a few metres from the stone steps. The agent looked up at the sky, now a pale silver grey - dawn was fast approaching. She had been awake for almost a day. Well, thanks to adrenaline shots, she didn’t feel tired. Perhaps, once she found Anaqueen, then maybe she could afford a few hours of rest before reporting to Mwangi for her first job.

She made her way down the steps and began walking along the shore. Using her sunglasses, an oddity at this time of day, Chloe managed to track down Ana’s location. Prior to leaving the inn for the meeting with Mwangi, she had a tracker, a nanobot, placed just outside the Trill’s room and set it to follow her as soon as the other woman left on the likelihood that she wasn’t going to stay put as told. The agent, upon leaving the club, accessed the feed from the nanobot on her eyewear’s lens and discovered Anaqueen was abducted by bounty hunters.

Nielsen let out a sigh of frustration, shaking her head. Anaqueen had to be such a pain and so difficult – all she had to do was sit patiently in her room, while the agent completed her task of getting onboard Mwangi’s team. The word, ‘patience’, didn’t exactly exist in the Trill’s vocabulary and neither did listening, apparently. But the incendiary woman was the only former crewmember from the SHIV, available to Section 31, who could provide valuable insight on Kate MacNeil. The rest were either still incarcerated, dead or roaming freely in the galaxy, their whereabouts unknown. Ten years ago, the pirate ship, upon immediate arrival into this dimension was responsible for the destruction of a civilian trade ship and a Starfleet vessel, the wreckage discovered and hauled back to the Gateway station by the USS COMMENDATION, commanded by Anaqueen’s counterpart in this dimension at the time. From reading the files on the SHIV’s crew, Chloe concluded most were a bunch of lowlifes, though some were there not by their choice. In a way, Anaqueen wasn’t considered the worst amongst them - no that would be MacNeil, besides the Captain and a few others.
Ana and the bounty hunters were only a few meters ahead, close to the water. Using the darkness as cover, the agent moved unseen and stopped behind a rock, observing the scene play out before her. She spotted four individuals circled around the Trill woman, kneeling on the ground, bound and her head inside a black bag.

A heavyset blue skinned man removed the bag off Ana’s head and spoke, his accent of an inhabitant from a farming colony, “Howdy, mah name’s Kress Grieger.” He paused for a moment. “Ya’ll must be confused about mah accent. See, mah ma’s a human from a Federation colony and mah pa, a priest for those Bolian deities. So yeah, Ah’m a hybrid. Never met them both.” He burst out laughing. “Lemme introduce tha whole gang to ya.”

A lithe Risean female, cracked a long, black whip beside the Trill, the latter shuddering. The woman had tanned skin, long brown hair styled into multiple little braids, shiny gold and silver rings on her fingers, a nose ring and circular earrings hung from her ears. Grieger chuckled. “Ah, Chya Nivea, eager to lash out. Hold on there, girl.”

Chloe’s eyes darted to the next two hunters, a Gorn, his head under a white hood and heard Grieger calling him Rawr because he didn’t know his real name. Apparently, the large reptilian being covered his whole body with black furs as his species weren’t fond of cold temperatures. “Finally,” the half-Bolian announced, opening his mouth wide to reveal shiny white and gold teeth, “this little guy here’s Punt.” She noticed a very short Ferengi, stepping forward and thought with sarcasm, so this was Munt and Runt’s younger brother.

Turning to Ana, the half-Bolian asked, “So what’s yer name, honey?”

“Well it’s certainly not ‘honey’,” Ana snapped. “Let me go…ouch!” The Trill growled, when she got hit on her head by Chya’s whip.

“Yer name, sweetie?”

The Trill took a moment to think, when a smile crept across her lips. “Chloe Nielsen.”

Chloe’s eyes widened, taken by surprise and then her expression soured, her eyes giving the Trill a stern gaze. The woman had some nerve. She then heard a clucking sound from the blue man.

“Nah, ya’ll are lyin.”

The Risean said, her silky voice echoing in the distance, “I heard her name was Ana Queen.”

“Or maybe.” Kress pulled out a small, round device and activated it, projecting a holographic display of the Trill with shoulder length brown hair. “She’s Anna Quinn or…” He switched the display to Ana, having a blue-black bob. “Maybe Ann Qu or Soo Qui-An.” He continued going through various holos, all showing the Trill with different hair styles and colours. “And mah personal favorite, Queen Anne.” His smile widened, the holo flickering.

The Ferengi exclaimed, his mouth hung open, “Woah! She’s a Starfleet Captain.”

Chloe’s gaze fixed on the latest holo – a Trill woman with Ana’s exact likeness, medium length brown hair, sharp blue eyes and sporting a serious expression. The woman wore a Starfleet uniform, where four gold pips were pinned on a red collar. Captain Anaqueen Spankryz, Ana’s counterpart in this universe.

“Oh imagine the ransom we can demand from Starfleet for such a valuable price,” Punt continued, the greed visible in his eyes.

Grieger shot him down. “Are ya outta of yer mind? Ain’t the same person. Do ya honestly think a Captain in Starfleet has the time to go moonlightin as a professional troublemaker with several bounties, worth a fortune, on her?”

“So she’s a twin or clone?” Nivea blinked.

Ana snapped, “No, I don’t have a twin or clone. That woman’s nothing but a husk with a parasite!”

The Risean asked, sounding anxious, “So how do we split the reward? Do we wait for Wyk?”

“I haven’t seen that hewmon scumbag in ages,” Punt remarked. “Forget him, let’s just split it four ways now.” The Gorn nodded an affirmative. “See, even Rawr agrees and our big friend has great instincts.”

Chloe left her hiding spot, approaching the foursome in a confident manner. “I wouldn’t worry about Wyk.” Her arrival caught their attention.

Nivea hissed, raising her whip, “Who are you?”

“What ya mean about Wyk?” Grieger demanded. “Did that weasel send ya here?”

“Wyk’s dead,” Chloe said in a matter-of-fact tone, stunning the bounty hunters, though the Gorn’s expression remained unchanged.

“How? Not that ah care.” The half-Bolian smiled at her.

Punt yelled, “Awesome! That means a bigger share for me.”

Chloe replied, shrugging, “The Syndicate killed him.”

“I knew that piece of human trash was trouble,” Nivea growled. “Though a great lover.”

Grieger asked, “Now honey, how’d ya come across this information?”

A cold smile formed on the agent’s lips. “I led them to him. He stole something from them and they weren’t happy about it.” She watched the half-Bolian’s face turn a darker shade of blue. “Something else you should know. When I found Wyk, he was about to take off with your bounty.”

“That cowardly bastard,” the Risean roared. “He planned on double-crossing us and taking the reward for himself.” She cracked her whip and the Gorn pulled out a disrupter rifle. The agent knew she needed to make her move now.

Chloe declared, “And now I’m here to take what’s mine, seeing as I took her from Wyk and you four stole her from me.” She took a step forward, extending her arm to take Anaqueen.

“Not so fast, lady.” Grieger removed a Romulan disrupter from his holster and aimed it at her. “Ya’ll think ya can just waltz in here and steal our bounty. Ya must be crazy to think ya can take on all of us by yourself.”

Punt sauntered towards her, an eager look in his eyes. “I’ll deal with her. From my experience, hewmon females are very fragile and collapse from just a single touch with my finger. Watch.” He reached for her shoulder but the agent was too quick for him. To the orange being’s shock, Chloe grabbed both his lobes, dragging him forward and with immense force, flipped him over, the Ferengi squealing all the way through until he landed on the ground with a thud.

“My turn,” Nivea announced, letting out a growl as she extended her arm back and then forward, hurling the whip towards the agent. Chloe managed to grab the tail end of the whip before it roped around her wrist and pulled at it, forcing the Risean to stumble forward. The agent let go of the whip and turned around, when the Bolian hybrid and the Gorn pointed their weapons at her.

“We got ya cornered.” Grieger’s smile widened. “Surrender and ya’ll live.”

Chloe, in a move that bewildered the two men, removed a silver button off her jacket collar and tossed it in the air towards the bounty hunters. “Anaqueen, close your eyes.”

The Trill raised an eyebrow, perplexed and before she could react, the button exploded, releasing a bright blue light. The bounty hunters, unable to bear the high intensity of the light, shielded their eyes before collapsing to the ground, writhing in pain. Chloe, her eyes, protected from the light by her sunglasses, grabbed Anaqueen, whose eyes were closed, and took off at top speeds to be as far as away as possible before the bounty hunters recover.

They finally stopped behind a row of rocks at the far side of the beach to capture their breaths. As Nielsen leaned against a rocky wall, Ana scowled at her.

“I had everything handled back there,” she said in a snide tone.

Chloe responded with sarcasm, “Sure you did.” The blonde didn’t really expect the Trill to be grateful so wasn’t upset over the other woman’s poor attitude. After all, she was only protecting an asset. “Come on, let’s get back to the inn.” As the two women began moving, the blonde spoke in a harsh whisper, “We’ll be departing for Numino in two days’ time so try not having one of your nighttime adventures.”

“In other words, ‘Ana don’t do this’, says bossy Chloe.” The Trill rolled her eyes and then held up her middle finger as a gesture to the agent.

Chloe let out a dry chuckle, grinning. “Come on, you can do better than that.” They continued walking in silence.

*************************************************************************************

NRPG: Here is Part III. A little Trek information, Farius Prime was a planet used as a setting in one of the DS9 episodes and the Finneans came in another DS9 episode. Some of the info used in the post were borrowed from both Memory Alpha and Beta.

In Part IV, the story finally moves to Numino, where our characters will head there and there will be a time jump between the end of Part III and beginning of IV. Also, prime reality’s Kate MacNeil and Anaqueen Spankryz along with Mirror Kate MacNeil and a couple of cute furries will appear in this next post. In either Part IV or a future post, I plan to write about Mirror Kate’s background from her time in the mirror universe (mostly a retelling of what I already wrote during that Gateway mission from the 1st ed. with some additions). Good thing, I have my posts written for that mission as well as the mission log.


~*~
Ranjani S.
Writing for

Chloe Nielsen
Section 31 Agent