Posted by Captain Zachariah Cobb (Commanding Officer) in FPT-LS: Andromeda’s Curse - CIC - Cobb and the others deal with some unwelcome intruders

Posted by Lieutenant Fey Kastil (Chief Medical Officer) in FPT-LS: Andromeda’s Curse - CIC - Cobb and the others deal with some unwelcome intruders

Posted by Lieutenant Casela Synthi-er (Counsellor / RTF) in FPT-LS: Andromeda’s Curse - CIC - Cobb and the others deal with some unwelcome intruders
Posted by… suppressed (4) by the Post Ghost! 👻
(snip)
With a final glance at his own control panel, Cobb could see that Stone was prepared to hone in on either target at his word. He offered her a final, appreciative nod then announced to the comms, “Well, let’s hear this call then.”

• Captain Zachariah Cobb

On the screen came the image of a older Ferengi male that unlike his younger counter parts is no longer shocked by the ugliness of hoomans. “I am DaiMon Olash of the Ferengi vessel Nant. Federation vessel, Identify yourself and your business here. You are between me and my property. I suggest you move. No one has been foolish enough to stand between me and my profits since I was a child and negotiated my first interplanetary acquisition.”
DaiMon Olash

Cobb rose slowly to his feet and pulled himself up to his full, impressive height. Momentarily banished was the slouching, apathetic demeanour of a functioning alcoholic, to be replaced by the very epitome of a battle-hardened Starfleet Captain.

Olash watched the man stand and took in his impressive height. A sub-officer could be heard to whisper in the background, “Rule of Acquisition 53: Never trust anybody taller than you.” The DaiMon silenced him with a quick wave of his hand.

“I am Captain Zachariah Cobb of the Federation Starship, the USS Leviathan,” he replied, confidently. “The USS Einstein remains Federation property and we have been sent to retrieve it. Are you attempting to suggest otherwise, DaiMon Olash? I would caution you that any threats made against either vessel could be seen as an act of aggression against the Federation. Difficult odds, even for one as accomplished as yourself,” he pretended to flatter the other man.

• Captain Zachariah Cobb

“The Federation ship USS Einstein is wanted by the Ferengi Alliance for grand theft. The pathetic hooman forgot Rule of Acquisition 52: Never ask when you can take. Cpt. Endust made that mistake: he asked when he intended to take. If he wanted my artifact by ill means, he should never have asked for it. And now I will have it back, his ship as compensation for my lost profits, and he and his crew shall be detained for grand theft against a Damon of the Ferengi Alliance.” And of course DaiMon Olash shrugged at Cobb’s reminder about the consequences of aggression, “Rule of Acquisition 34: War is good for business.”
DaiMon Olash

Zachariah laughed openly at the Ferengi captain. “War is indeed good for business when you can feel assured of a victory. But there is no profit to be made in losing. And I feel obliged to warn you that the Leviathan is different to any Starfleet vessel you have ever encountered.”
For a moment his eyes tracked to Lt Stone before setting back onto Olash - a silent signal that he hoped she would correctly interpret as a request to train weapons on the Ferengi vessel.

“But tell me more,” he continued, his interest only partially for show, “about this artifact. Our records indicate it is incredibly dangerous and at this moment particularly volatile. How do you plan to retrieve it without getting burned yourselves?”

• Captain Zachariah Cobb

Olash gave a snort, “That is a proprietary secret Captain Cobb. I am not in the habit of selling information that is worth a great deal of money. If you would like to acquire that information then it is for sale.” He paused listening to a whispered word from one of his officers. Apparently the Leviathan was locking on weapons. They dearly wanted that artifact and perhaps they were willing to pay dearly for it. He whispered a command back to his officer who then disappeared from the screen. “And if you would like to keep the artifact for yourself Rule of Acquisition 16: A deal is a deal… until a better one comes along. So if you would like to negotiate a better deal for me, I am happy to consider it.” Olash gave a greedy, stereotypical Ferengi smile, rubbing his hands together in anticipation of greater profits.

Stone was watching their captain like a hawk and the signal didn’t go unnoticed. She began to power up all their weapons even the rear phaser banks and targeted those that could on the main ship that was calling them.

In total 13 close range banks and 10 long range. Andrea was certain, she could drop the Ferengi’s shields faster, then they could drop to the ground if they noticed a strip of latinum lying there.

Her hand rested near the button, that would release all this power, certain all the extra power wouldn’t go unnoticed by the enemy ship.

Lt. Andrea Stone, COS

The second Ferengi ship took a fall back position, protected by the first ship and it turned locking weapons on the Einstein. “Or if you want to try and steal it again, we shall destroy Cpt. Endust and his ship to remind others to never cheat a Ferengi.”
DaiMon Olash

“You seek a better deal?” Cobb’s voice remained stoic and composed throughout, camouflaging the urgency he felt within. “Then how about this one? We shall secure the artifact and ensure that it can never harm anyone again. And in return you can escape with your lives. Or,” he advanced on the viewscreen as if in its place DaiMon Olash himself stood before them, “you can retrieve the artifact yourself and suffer the same fate as its previous victims.”

Did the Ferengi know of the artifact’s power? They appeared to believe the crew of the Einstein still very much alive, so perhaps their talk of proprietary secrets was no more than bluster. What was certain, however, was that they had no concept of the horrors laying in wait on the Leviathan. And maybe that, right now, was Cobb’s greatest advantage.

“It is imperative to me that the artifact be prevented from gaining another victim, even if that victim would be a Ferengi,” Zachariah continued. “And in the interest of achieving that goal I do invite you, DaiMon Olash, to visit with me on the Leviathan where I will share with you the evidence of just how dangerous your prize truly is.”

• Captain Zachariah Cobb

DaiMon Olash sat stoically in his chair. As Cobb paced towards the screen he was reminded of Rule of Acquisition 235: Duck; death is tall. This man intimidated him. But Olash would brave death for a better profit. The threat of something dangerous was bluster. If it was so dangerous it should be destroyed. Perhaps he should have the other ship destroy Endust anyway. But the chance to negotiate with a man such as Cobb presented was too enticing for the Ferengi DaiMon. “Very well Captain Cobb, we shall come and visit you to determine a fair deal.”
DaiMon Olash

The Doctor remained off to the side and out of view of the screen mostly to keep from making things potentially worse, she knew the Ferengi were cowards and quite frankly she looked like a monster from nightmares. Probably not the best thing to see when dealing with a Federation ship. Either way, trade with the Ferengi, as luck would have it, could provide opportunity to obtain missing supplies. The doctor wordlessly showed the Captain her interest in being a part of that meeting to possibly negotiate for the things she needs, though all that may have been relayed was that she was interested in the meeting herself. Maybe to get a Ferengi to experiment on, which isn’t entirely a falsehood, but not one she would outright admit.

• Deal Doctor Fey Kastil

The captain caught and understood the silent plea from the doctor and offered her a nod of agreement in exchange. Then, turning back to the viewscreen, he concluded the conversation with the Ferengi by announcing, “Very well then. Prepare to beam over and I shall have a party meet you in our transporter room.”

Once the channel had been closed, Cobb turned to Stone. “Lieutenant, I would like for you to join myself and the Doctor in welcoming our Ferengi guests. But please assign someone skilled in tactics to take over your station. There is still a need for a quick yet steady finger over the trigger.”

Then, moving towards the door and waiting for Kastil and Stone to follow, he called out to Rauuhl, “Commander, you have the Con. Now let us go and see what our visitors make of the Leviathan and its…eccentricities, shall we?”

• Captain Zachariah Cobb

After giving a quick call to her replacement, Stone quickly followed suit. “Lead the way, Sir.”

Ferengi. She was fortunate she didn’t have to deal with them often, but when she had to while still serving on Starbase.. they really did have just their profit on their mind.
If they believed they came on top, of what ever deal Cobb could make them, then they will be happy. If not, they will surely find a way to profit.

Stone just hoped they weren’t buying time. Two ships they could take easily. But there was more ships on long range scaners, and soon they won’t be able to defend both themselves and USS Einstein.

But their CO looked like he had a plan, so she wasn’t worried.

Lt. Andrea Stone, COS