Posted by Commander Mwezi (Executive Officer) in side - sim: The Water Vapor in the Cloud (TAG Kiernan)

Posted by Captain Sara Kiernan (Commanding Officer) in side - sim: The Water Vapor in the Cloud (TAG Kiernan)

Posted by Gamemaster Alias Smith N. Jones, Esq. (Gamemaster) in side - sim: The Water Vapor in the Cloud (TAG Kiernan)
Posted by… suppressed (38) by the Post Ghost! 👻
“I don’t like it chief. It’s crazy.” Ridad muttered.

Bethany shrugged. “Doesn’t matter if you like it. That’s the way it is. Stick to your story. You know it, it fits you.” Ridad scowled. Gadi was the intel expert. She had lived and breathed this stuff for years, why was he going and she had to stay? He ran his hand through his hair, but it wasn’t there anymore. “I’m not going to get used to that.” The Trill man was sans hair and everyone could see where the solid line of spots began at the top of his head and stretched down his neck and disappeared.

“Pretend you like rubbing your bald head for luck. Used to do that to my uncles. You give yourself your own luck.” Bethany reached into a drawer after unlocking it and then tossed him a bag. “I know the old geezer spooks gave you 20 slips, but there’s a few more and some high grade natural gems. It will get you far. But don’t flaunt it. And here.” She passed him a silver and leather braided bracelet. “See here where the three pieces of leather braid all meet at green? Rotate that link and it will activate a transponder.” She gave him a hard stare. “You know the mission, you help, you do your part. But don’t forget Piklesimer and Calloway, they are in this for Blue and the mission. They will chose that over anyone else. If you think it’s gone to hell and it won’t matter what you do, you get out. Help you can IF you can. Otherwise save your own hide.” Then she waved him out of her office.

15 minutes later Beth, red hair braided, ice blue contacts hiding her black eyes, took up a spot at the air lock. She had on a black leather skirt, black knee-high boots with surprises from the cuffs to soles, a shirt that showed too much skin and old battle scars and her faded black, mandarin collar, leather jacket over it. Her hips teased with the tilted utility belt and guns that only the best would recognize the origin.

From here she could watch who went in and off the ship, who was curious, and who was more than curious.

Beth

Sight-seekers were definitely on the rise. It wasn’t often that a former Star Fleet vessel came in… and no one could remember the last time a newer one had. There were the regular ship enthusiasts, of course… but a few were paying much closer attention. Gadi could even see a few mouths say ‘Asimov’ to a companion.

GM

Beth watched, making mental note of those that here paying very close attention. Facial description, mannerisms, clothing, where they went. She hoped those that Elaine and her…thing…sent out were aware people would know this was the Asimov and to not try and deny it or be coy. It would get them killed. The red-headed chief shrugged. It wasn’t her problem; that had been made abundantly clear.

It was the ones that were paying poorly concealed intense attention that she payed the most attention to. They were looking for information to sell or had been sent by someone shrewd enough to not approach themselves. She called back to the ship side of the airlock and another guard came forward to replace her and one in the corridor took his place. Bethany moved off from the airlock to make a perimeter check of the area outside the airlock access. She waited to see if anyone would attempt to approach in her absence or be bold enough to try and approach her directly.

Beth

And someone was. That ‘someone’ was a Betazoid woman in a long dress that somehow seemed to not pick up a speck of the dirt on the deck that she almost glided across towards Gadi. “Madame” she called as she approached with a grin. “A moment of your time, if I may. I was hoping to speak to your Captain. I have a business proposition for them that I will guarantee they will be interested in.”

GM

Beth paused and turned, looking bored, and gave the woman a long once over. Her thoughts reflected an alertness and wariness expected of someone in Beth’s position, but nothing more. She nodded, “I can pass a message. Can’t guarantee the captain will listen. Who might you be and how might my captain contact you if they are so inclined to listen? Or are you just going to tell me, you’ll be around when that happens?” It wasn’t Beth’s job to decide what jobs they took or didn’t. Her job was to be the muscle and the captain paid well for it. Sometimes that meant passing on such messages. That was how jobs were attained at times after all.

Beth

The woman smiled and she said “You are most welcome to pass along the message. My name is Sidriana Jalk. I know what ship this is. And I know how much heat follows it. I wish to buy the ship and replace it with one that will allow your captain and their mutineers to pursue the life they have chosen without all the… ‘negative repercussions’… associated with a ship such as this one.”

GM

Beth nodded, “I’ll make sure to relay the message, Ms? Jalk. How show I tell the Captain to contact or meet with you? Does the offer have an expiration?”

Beth

The woman looked at Bethany for a moment and then said “It does. So tell your Captain now. I’ll wait right here.”

GM

Bath nodded, “It will be a few minutes.” She made her way back towards the airlock and sent Leverett out to finish the walk and told the other two to keep an eye on the woman. Once on the ship side of the airlock she stepped to the side and activated her comm. =[O]=Beth to Kiernan. You need to come to the airlock. We have…a business offer.=[C]=

Beth

=/\=I’ll be there in a few minutes.=/\= Sara responded.

True to her word, Sara appeared about four minutes later. Wearing the leather jacket which had become her style, tight black jeans, and wearing one of the stolen pistols in a holster that hung by her mid thigh. She exited the ship and walked over to Bethany and the other person, so far a stranger to her. “Who’s this?” She asked with an immediately brusque tone.

-CO

When Kiernan appeared Bethy fell into step behind her and followed her out of the airlock. Stepping onto the station she waved in the direction of the woman. “Captain, she has introduced herself as Sidriana Jalk. She wished to buy the Rabid Pelican and replace it.” Beth remained a step to the side and behind. She kept all her senses alert.

Beth

The woman smiled and said “Indeed, Captain. And I appreciate you hearing me out. Would you care to discuss business here, or perhaps some place less conspicuous? There is a decent bar right over there.” and she pointed to a doorway that had a glowing orange sign above it that said “Lipz”.

GM

“It’s up to you, answer doesn’t change by venue.” Sara responded, resting her hand gently on the pistol at her side. “It’s my ship. Pretty sure I made that clear when I acquired it.” She stared daggers through the woman in front of her, making very clear that the Captain and the Ship were inseparable.

-CO

The woman shrugged and said “As you wish.” and she moved over to a stack of crates and sat lightly down on top of one. “You did, yes. And quite succinctly, too. But the question before you is one of… ‘degrees’. Was it simply that ship you wanted? Or was it the freedom that the ship represented you wanted? Because I am not suiggesting you give up the center chair. No no… far from it. I am suggesting that you trade up.” She smiled at Sara and then said “All of Star Fleet is looking for that ship, Captain. And they will continue to look for it until they either get it back… or destroy it. That is a lot of heat for someone new to being on the run. Heat you don’t need if you are your crew are just starting out. So I am offering you a way to step away from that heat, and cool off.” She reached into a fold on her dress and pulled out a PaDD and held it out to Sara.

Sara followed her over and sat down on a different crate.

On it was the ownership documentation for a Nova-class starship, previously ordered by Star Fleet but sold at auction two years prior.

“You give me your ship, I give you this one… and ten big bars of latinum to take care of any incidentals you and your crew may want or need.” she said.

GM

“Why do you want a ship with that much heat on it? What do you get?” Sara looked over the details of the Nova class ship. “You’re offering to pay us to launder our image. Make that make sense.”

-CO

Beth continued to watch the area and the woman, taking up a position that allowed her the best point of view and ability to move if needed. It was quite an offer the woman was giving. And there was risk in taking it and in declining. Sara better play it right, people were watching.

Beth

“The ‘why’ is none of your business, to be frank.” Jalk said with a smile. “What is your business is that every. Single. Dock. between Terra and the Delta quadrant knows that ship. Knows your face. And knows how much each is worth. You have a reputation already, Captain… thats why no one has simply tried to take the ship from you… yet. But don’t think that will keep them at bay forever. Far from it. The longer you and your crew are running loose, the more of a black eye it gives Star Fleet. And you know better than most how much they hate bad public relations.” and she laughed. “I’m offering you a way out. A way to ahead without so much as a phaser firing.” She stood up slowly and said “You can tour the ship I’m offering, if you like. Berth Nine-One. My men are expecting you. Any time you like. When you decide to take the offer, just sign the ownership.” and she laughed again. “Hells, Capatain… that document is even legal.” and she laughed again.

GM

“And if I decide I’d rather keep the ship I have?” Sara asked. She couldn’t imagine Jalk would let it out of her teeth so easily. “I’ve put a lot of work into my ship, making it serve our needs. Whatever you’re offering has to exceed that performance.”

-CO

Jalk cocked an eyebrow and said “Of course. I wouldn’t expect you to step down a notch after all you have done to get this far. Come. I can show you the ship, if you would like. No obligation. Consider it an ‘open house showing’ for a prospective new owner.” and she smiled.

GM

“Lead the way.“ Sara gestured further into the station. “Might as well see what you have to offer.” She didn’t intend to sell, but it couldn’t hurt her persona of the pirate captain to entertain the idea.

-CO

Such an offer was not that simple nor so straight forward. It would come back to bite them. Favors would be owed and larger payments demanded. And should the Cpt decide to sell, surely she knew the Rabid Pelican with its state-of-the-art Federation tech, and the information contained on the crew mate it worth at least triple what the woman was asking. What Jalk was offering, just on the surface, was worth more than Latium could be valued at.

Beth

Bump

The woman led them further along the dock area until they reached an area where the foot traffic thinned out considerably… but the security ratcheted up more than a few notches. Surveillance was plain and easily visible.. and to the trained eye there was much more than just vids and the guards at the access hatches. The place positively vibrated with comm jammers, frequency scramblers, biometric analyzers, and scanners recording every move they made as they walked further and further down the docking area, past hangers locked down more than most Federation stations. Finally, Sidriana stopped at a single personnel door next to a truly impressive cargo bay door. Two figures, one Romulan and one human with obvious Borg prosthetics embedded on the side of their head, stood on wither side of rhe door. Sidriana nodded and the Borg / Human opened the door and Sidriana looked at Galdi and Sara. “After you…” and she gestured through the door.

GM

“No no.” Sara said. Dead calm, she stared Sidriana down. “Your place, you lead the way. It’d be inhospitable to risk us getting lost or worse too far ahead.” Sara implied that a tour guide was the best thing for Sidriana to be.

-CO

Beth took it all in, in stride. Places like this station were almost a dime a dozen if you could manage to get access to them. Of course she had over the years. She missed nothing and made no hint to hide that she was watching and taking notes. Part of her thrilled at the idea of getting a chance to hack their security systems, but that wasn’t what she was here for right now. Her hob was to protect the cap’s person.

Beth

Sidriana smiled and shrugged. “Very well.” she said with a knowing grunted and motioned them to follow with a finger beckoning them over her shoulder.

The bay was pitch black, the only light being on a catwalk that traversed the length of the ship bay. As they walked in, lights began to come in sequence, filling the hangar with light. Sidriana smiled.

There, outside the force filed separating them from the internal atmosphere of the station and airless vacuum of the private ship bay…

Sat a ship that should not be sitting there.

An arrowhead-shaped saucer section and a narrow oval-shaped deflector dish joined a secondary hull that was a horizontal oval at the fore and tapered upward and inward to form the flat, two-deck aft section of the Tempest-class cruiser. The whole vessel was comprised of eleven decks, with two nacelles attached halfway down the hull by straight pylons.

Sidriana said “Now tell me that what I am offering isn’t a good deal.” and she grinned.

GM

Sara looked the ship over. She was a Starfleet Captain and had been for just long enough to have been senior when these things were declassified. “That’s a real gem. I don’t suppose you’d tell me how you came to have one? You’re offering me a fresh Tempest Class, and ten bars of latinum. In exchange for a modded up Brazen with more heat on it than a small star. I got that right?”

-CO

She smiled and said “You do. And do you have an answer to my proposition? Or do yiu want yo kick the proverbial tires first?” and she chuckled.

GM

“Let’s have a look around the actual ship.” Sara said with a smile. “I have a counter proposal I want you to consider. I’ll take this ship. In exchange for the Pelican and thirty bars of latinum. But like I said, take your time with that, let’s have a look around before we dot any i’s or cross any t’s.” She gestured forward to the ship itself.

-CO

Sidriana eyes narrowed, but she smiled and said “Let us have a look, then… shall we? And I’m sure you’ll want your experts to have a look at systems and the like. Come.”

She led them to the hatch that granted access to the umbilical that stretched from the catwalk to the ship. After another series of complex security measures, she led them to the ship itself.

The inside was immaculate… almost as if it had not seen a crew before. As the hatch closed, the comms came to life. =/\= Captain Keirnan. Commander Kovra. Welcome aboard. Please come to the bridge. Your presence is needed. =/\=

GM

Kovra?! Only Intel called her by her middle name. If Nethany was given to mutter curses, she would have, and done her mentor proud in the process. Thankfully her uncles had driven that nasty habit out of her. This was getting worse and worse.

Sara rested her hand on the pistol at her hip. “Alright. Fresh off the line Tempest. Someone I don’t know making calls on the overhead. If the bridge doesn’t have answers to all my questions, you’d better.” She looked Sidriana up and down. She had all the appearances and moves of a businesswoman but the shady quality Sara had written off as ‘crime associated’ didn’t necessarily fit with the clean precision of everything going on. “Turbolift. Lead on.”

-CO

Sidriana moved down the passageway and to the turbolift. Stepping inside, she said “Bridge.” and the y moved quickly up to the top of the ship. The doors slid open to a cutting edge command center and a human woman wearing Admiral pips on her Command uniform. The woman looked at the two ‘mutineers’ and said “Caprain. Commander. Welcome aboard.” She looked at Sindriana and said “That will be all, Colonel.” She sim0ly nodded and left the bridge for the conference room. The Admiral then said “I am Admiral Goodyear of Star Fmeet Intelligence. You all have done stellar work up to this point. Blue recommended we up the ante for you, Captain. And I agreed. And I have to say… I am impressed. Not many ship Captains would sell their ship out from unset themselves just for a mission. Kudos, that’s a first.”

GM

“Pardon me Admiral. There’s something I have to do.” Sara said. She had to be cautious of any and everything. =Computer. Identify ship name, point of origin, registration number, and all personnel aboard.=

-CO

Lot good that would do, computers could be made to lie. Though the appearance of the Admiral set Bethany even more on edge. She’d maybe…half hoped it was some sadistic game of Balthazar’s.

There was a chirpand the computer said =/\= Ship name: none. Point of origin: Calpernia VII docklands. Registration number: none. Current personnel on board: Fleet Admiral Gretchen Goodyear. Captain Sara Kiernan. Lieutenant Colonel Brandy Fullerton. Lieutenant Commander Bethany Gadi. =/\=

GM

Sara’s face shifted and she stood a little straighter. “Selling my ship was never something I wanted to do. But maintaining our cover was more important than my attachment to a ship. In all honesty I was going to set it to self-destruct with the buyer onboard, to maintain Starfleet information security. But all this was a setup from Blue- he’s going to get an earful later. The ship has no name and no registry… the USS Asimov-E?”

-CO

Goodyear shook her head. “No. At least… not yet. We simply didn’t anticipate the… well… the level of personal insult Command took to the ‘mutiny’. It seems that we gave them a very public black eye… and they are responding in kind. Several dreadnoughts and battleships were dispatched to find you and, quote, ‘bring you to justice’. That amount of attention was counter to your mission. So the Colonel had a cover identity that was well within believability of her having access to a vessel like this. It is brand new, actually. Slated for commissioning in three standard months. Instead, it was lost in transit. She sells it to you so she can get her hands on an actual intact Fleet computer core. Makes her a name, makes you less visible. Blue may be a close-mouthed asshole… but he plans ahead really well.” and she chuckled.

GM

They would have better luck winning a chess game against a Zakdorn. Bethany’s computer skills wouldn’t let a Fleet core go without nasty surprises. If Kiernan sold.

“We’re supposed to leave the computer core and access systems intact so another one of your undercover operatives can sell it to god knows who- well you probably know who and hell Strickland probably does too. Compromise my crew, and all of Starfleet to drop some of the attention on us.” Sara breathed hard. Something about this whole setup hit her emotional core. “That’s what this mission we’re on is worth to you. You’re going to compromise sensitive data just to make sure it goes off.” She said with an abiding sadness that made it clear it wasn’t so much a realization of something profound but a realization that she had been right all along. Right about the depths to which Intel would sink.

-CO

Goodyear’s eyes narrowed and she said “I’m not gonna compromise shit, Captain. And I suggest you watch yourself. I’m on your side, after all.” and she took a breath and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Sorry… sorry. That was uncalled for. I know you and your crew have gone to the next level for this. I’m just tired of all the B.S. that this whole mound of absolute garbage has attached to it.” She let go and looked at the two Asimov officers. “We aren’t giving anyone an actual core. We are going to wipe it and replace it with a treasure-trove of misinformation and slightly inaccurate intel that will help us track who is at play in this whole production. We need the Asimov to make the switch. So, the Colonel will buy her from you. It will make the switch that much more credible. Agree? Or no? I do want your input here, Captain.”

GM

Sara chuckled. “I guess I figured the ‘acceptable risk’ had been calculated and Intel had plans upon plans for the consequences. Getting a bit cynical the longer this goes on.” She sighed. “The Colonel had offered me the new ship and ten bars of latinum, I countered with thirty bars of latinum and the new ship. An actual sale is the only way for this to make any sense and it’ll make the rest of our trip go a lot easier.”

-CO

OOC: Holy moly this is brilliant!!
- Riley

Bethany rolled her eyes, great more cooks in the kitchen. They were all gonna die - needlessly.

Beth