Posted by Civilian Thyr Th’arialat (Resident) in Curiosity Killed the Cat (But Satisfaction Brought it Back) (Tag Thyr)

Posted by Civilian Jezem (Upstanding Citizen) in Curiosity Killed the Cat (But Satisfaction Brought it Back) (Tag Thyr)

Posted by Lieutenant Tandra Mika (Chief Mental Health Officer) in Curiosity Killed the Cat (But Satisfaction Brought it Back) (Tag Thyr)
Posted by… suppressed (41) by the Post Ghost! 👻
On a perfectly normal (and boring day) the chime above the door went off as a young caitian stepped into Shivan’s blacksmith shop. She seemed young by the confident way she held herself and the youthful exuberance behind her quick and energetic movements. She had dark brown fur and bright violet tiger markings, perhaps a type of long-lasting fur dye or tattoo. “Hulloooooo,” The caitain yelled into the empty shop at outside volume, “Anybody arouuund? I got weapons I need to seeeeeeeell!”

She carried a dark cargo bag that was slung across her back, most likely holding the weapons she sought to sell.

M’rahja Ko

Coming from the workshop at the back of the shop, Shivan scowled. “Shut it before I- I mean, Welcome,” he said, swiftly adjusting his attitude as he approached the counter. “What’re you hoping to sell?” He asked, eying the duffel bag. “Set ‘em here, and we’ll take a look.” He didn’t seem to pay much attention to M’rahja, not at first. He was only worried about keeping this.... fantastic shop going.

~ Thyr

“Guns. Knives. A gun knife? Is that what you call a gun with a bladed bit on it? Anyways, I got loads!” The caitian tossed the duffel onto the table and didn’t flinch at the cacophony of metal parts clanking and sliding against each other. She unzipped the bag in one motion and dumped the out the contents in the next. A dozen or so weapons tumbled out of the bag. All Klingon make and all illegal in Federation space. There were daggers with nasty serrated blades, a few had dried blood on them. There were phasers that had been illegally modified and there was one assault-type phaser with a bayonet on the end. “So, what can I get for this junk?” She asked.

M’rahja Ko

“Nothing. I don’t deal in that anymore.” Shivan said. Something caught his eye, was that…? No. He couldn’t. It was illegal and Eryn would take everything away if she found out. Maybe he should call Jezem? “Where’d you get all that junk?”

~ Thyr

“What do you meaaan nothing?!” The caitian whined in a high-pitched voice before falling into a spectacular pout, “I found it laying around and since no one was around I figured I could self ‘em and make a buck. What about the blades? Can’t you take those and sell them?” She pointed to one of the blades dried in blood and after noticing that detail quickly added, “Some hunters must have grown tired of ‘em and tossed ‘em.” Which she supposed was true. Those guys were pretty. . . dead tired.

M’rahja Ko

Shivan plucked a three pointed dagger out of the pile and gave it a hard look. “I’ve had… Unfortunate experiences with one of these.” He said. He looked over the pile. It took all his willpower to say no. “Look, I can’t. I’ll get arrested if I take these. Lose the shop.”

~ Thyr

The caitian’s eyes went wide, “Arrested? For a couple weapons? Jeez, isn’t that a bit dramatic?” She was scowling now. First she got stiffed her shipment, harming her small and perfectly valid business, and now she can’t recoup any loss by selling the weapons of the goons that jumped her? “Then where can I sell this junk? Surely there’s someone who will buy ‘em off of me because I need something.”

M’rahja Ko

“No one on this rock deals in that, I can tell you that.” Shivan had checked, thoroughly. No one corners his market. Even the market he’s not allowed to have. “You’d do best to get rid of those someplace they won’t be tied to you.”

~ Thyr

“Uuugggh!” The caitian kicked the table and began to shove everything back into her duffel. “This place is dumb. Stupid rules. Stupid regulations. Getting in the way of honest hard work.” Once everything was safely zipped back up in her duffel and settled on her back she glared at Shivan, “Thanks for nothing, loser. Federation ass-licking loser.” And with those lovely parting words she stormed out of the shop.

M’rahja Ko

Shivan had to go upstairs and punch his dummy. Stupid Caitian. Stupid rock, stupid rules. He was no Federation brown-noser of any kind. He hated this place. He had to report the Caitian to Eryn. He went back to the counter and grabbed his comm device.

~ Thyr

Jezem was out with his “friends” when the call came. He excused himself with a smile and walked a ways off before answering, “What is it? I was in the middle of something.”

Jezem

“I just had some Caitian woman offer me a bag full of illegals.” Shivan said into the comm, stepping back into the workshop. “Mostly Klingon weapons, but plenty of others.” He described her to Jezem. “I’m gonna call Eryn too, so don’t worry, but I decided to call you first.”

~ Thyr

“Okay?” Jezem said, processing the information. “I’m assuming that since you called me first there’s something you’re not sure of? Because I’m not going to call you a good boy for doing what you promised Eryn you said you’d do.” Who just drops a bag of illegals onto a civilian blacksmith? This woman and that last guy to ask Shivan for an illegal weapon. Did the andorian have a huge sign ‘bring me illegal crap!’ over his head or something?

Jezem

“I know that,” Shivan snapped. “We had that conversation last time.” What, was the universe trying to temp him? It was so much harder when it kept plopping itself right on his counter. “There is something I wasn’t sure of.”

~ Thyr

“Something you’re not sure of,” Jezem repeated. Then, “Arlight, I’m on my way over. Do you know where your Caitian was headed?” Jezem didn’t even bother saying goodbye to his “friends”. If he had to he’ll write them some canned apology later but they weren’t worth wasting time on at this moment. Jezem hopped on the first transport he could find and headed to Shivan’s shop.

Jezem

“No, she stormed out as soon as I said no. Called me a Federation ass licking loser, too,” growled Shivan. He waited right at the door outside for Jezem to show up. “It was really strange. A bag full of Klingon weaponry, all illegal. Some still bloody.”

~ Thyr

After laughing at the insult the caitian had thrown at Shivan he answered, “I hate to say it but you’re right. That is strange.” While Jezem was all for letting Eryn sort these things out what was the harm in doing his own investigation? There was nothing else to do. “I’m almost there.” In a minute the transport landed outside the shop.

Jezem

Shivan greeted him once he stepped out of the transport. “You gonna look for her? She didn’t give a name or anything. Then again, I haven’t seen that many caitians on this stupid rock, so spotting her can’t be that hard.”

~ Thyr

“You’re the one who talked with her,” Jezem pointed out, “What did she look like?” He laid a mental map of the area out on his head. A lone woman on foot with a bag full of weapons. Assuming Shivan called him right after the encounter meant she couldn’t have gone far. “Isn’t there a pawn shop not too far from here? Let’s try there first.” If they’re lucky then their target would be swiftly picked up by authorities and Shivan could rest easier.

Jezem

“I described him over the comm,” Shivan said, and then impatiently described her again. “The pawn shop is… Three streets over.” He locked the door to the shop and put a “we stepped away!” sign on the door. “Want me to show you where?”

~ Thyr

“No, I remember the way. Let’s go.” Jezem lead the way through the streets, keeping an eye out for their unusual looking Caitian. The pawn shop wasn’t far and took only a few minutes on foot to reach. Once inside, Jezem scanned the interior and noted the owner. The Tellarite seemed to be fuming behind his counter. Jezem stepped forward, “Excuse me, we’re looking for a Caitian girl with purple tiger stripes?”

“Her! Are you friends with her? I run an honest business, you hear!” The man shouted, hands gesticulating wildly.

Jezem

“Friends?” Shivan scoffed. “Hardly. She tried to unload her load at my place before coming here.” He said. “Did she mention where she was going? Or did you see which direction she went?”

~ Thyr

The man seemed to calm a bit, and finally recognized Shivan, “Ah, you’re that blacksmith. . . so she tired to talk to you too, huh? She didn’t say but when she came in she was complaining about being hungry.”

Jezem stepped in, “Thanks, we all ready called colony security but wanted to make sure she didn’t hurt anyone before they could get here. Glad you’re okay. Let’s go Thyr,” Jezem motioned for them to leave. Outside Jezem paused to think again, “With a bag like that she couldn’t hope to enter any restaurant. What’s the nearest street food vendor near here?”

Jezem

“Back the other way, about half a mile. There’s a square with street food vendors.” This planet sure did love its squares. Shivan started heading that direction. “If she’s eating, that might slow her down enough for us to find her.”

~ Thyr

“If we’re lucky. Let’s go,” Of course the square was crowded this time of day. Flush with shoppers, tourists and locals enjoying their free time. Jezem scanned the crowds but saw no one matching the description of their Caitian either in line for a food stand or sitting down at a bench to eat.

He heard a couple arguing over missing food while their child cried beside them.

Jezem

Ugh. Shivan hated children. Especially crying ones. He pointed the couple out to Jezem though he was sure he’d already heard them, then headed over to them. “Have you seen a Caitian woman with pink tiger stripes?”

~ Thyr

It took the couple a moment to realize that someone was trying to talk to them. The mother glared at her partner before bending down to pick up their young child and give them comforting pats on the back. The father answered Shivan’s question, “Yeah, I didn’t even know Caitian’s had stripes, much less bright pink ones. She brushed past us and headed uh-” He looked around, frowning. “I’m not sure but she was rude.”

The child pointed towards an alley way, “Kitty! Kitty took my food!” The child screamed. The parents consoled their child who resumed his crying.

Having heard enough, Jezem stepped away from the family and headed towards the alley where the child pointed. Seems the found the food thief, “We can’t be far behind her now.”

Jezem

Shivan was more than happy to be done with the screaming child. “Let’s go,” he said and then under his breath, “before I end that scream factory.”

~ Thyr

They headed into the alley and it wasn’t long before they heard voices. Jezem cast a side-long glance towards Shivan and motioned for him to stay silent. Quietly, Jezem crept up on the first intersection. The voices were coming from the left. Two deep and robust, likely Klingon going by the inflection. Another high and whinny.

Shivan was silent, moving slowly and quietly behind Jezem.

“Ugh! You creeps need to leave me alone I don’t have anything because your loser friends took my shipment!”

Peeking around the corner they saw two Klingons looming over the lone Caitian. Her cargo bag was on the ground and she held one of her contraband knives in her hands. Jezem could read the lines of aggression in the Klingon’s body languages. Before long this is going to turn into a fight. The Klingon’s clothes offered little insight into who they were though there was a patch on their right shoulders. Jezem didn’t immediately recognize the symbol but had to be the mark of some showy gang.

Jezem

Shivan’s hand drifted to a weapon concealed at his waist, resting on the knife’s grip. These Klingons were ready for a fight. The Klingon after Shivan had injured him because she’d taken him by surprise, unarmed, and caught him in a powerful choke hold. These two had no such advantages. Shivan was confident he could beat them if it came to it. He looked to Jezem as if to ask What do we do?

~ Thyr

Jezem considered the options and decided he’d like to find out just who these goons belonged too. Anyone bold enough to make their people wear identifiable badges on their clothes as someone with enough balls to attempt to carve their own chunk of the local crime scene for themselves. Jezem’s returning look said, ‘let’s go make some new friends’.

The Caitian hissed as one of the Klingon’s lunged for her, but she side stepped and slashed her knife in wide, wild arcs to deter her attacker. “Go keep the other one busy. Knock him out if you can.” Jezem said before stepping around the corner and shouted, “Hey idiot!” Both Klingons turned to look his way. The Caitian took her chance and buried her knife into the leg of her attacker.

Jezem

Shivan drew his weapon, stepping out when Jezem did. Doing as Jezem said, he went to keep the other one busy. He nodded to the Caitian, then addressed the Klingon with a knife in his leg. “Hey! Leave the little girlie alone and pick on someone your own size!” He stood in a fighting stance, knife ready.

~ Thyr

“Tasvos!” The Klingon squaring up with Shivan hissed, “Don’t let the furball get away!” He then pulled the knife from his leg and brandished it against Shivan, “Stay out of this! The Maulers don’t take kindly to meddlers.” With those words he made another lunge and began his attack. Blood oozed from his leg wound but it didn’t seem to slow him down in the slightest. He slashed his knife in quick, controlled arcs, leaving few openings for return attack.

“The Maulers, huh? That some sorta sappy gang?” Shivam taunted him. Then he lunged, knife swinging, and Shivan put his focus and energy into defending himself.

Tasvos, the other Klingon growled in response and charged at the Caitian who pulled another weapon from her bag. The phaser was awkward in her hands, her fingers working to twist the weapon around to aim and find the right setting for a lethal fire. Jezem swept in, meeting the Klingon’s charge and using his hands and momentum to catch the Klingon by the elbow and redirect him face first into the wall.

Jezem

Shivam noticed the phaser, the Caitian struggling with it. “Don’t shoot!” That much trouble she was liable to shoot Shivan or Jezem rather than the Klingons. And they really didn’t need more corpses to deal with. His distraction from his own fight cost him, a nasty cut appearing on his arm. Lucky it wasn’t worse.

“What do you mean, don’t shoot!?” The Caitian whined, “I want these losers dead so they’ll stop coming after me!”

“You keep killing them and they’ll keep sending more!” Jezem snapped at her. Tasvos pushed off the wall with a roar and threw a haymaker Jezem’s way. The Orion ducked under the punch and drew the small curved blade he kept hidden in his loin cloth. He slashed at Tasvos’ legs, cutting through the thick material to cut at the skin and tendon’s beneath. Not deep enough, but the Klingon stumbled.

Shivan growled angrily. He had to keep his head level or he’d take more injuries. The openings to strike back were small. A lethal stab would be easier, but Jezem wanted him knocked out, not dead. He just needed to slow the Klingon down a little. He saw his window of opportunity, slashing at the shoulder of the arm the Klingon wielded the knife with.

~ Thyr

The knife cut across the shoulder, but the thick clothes took most of the hit and the blade made a shallow cut through skin and flesh. It did make the Klingon angrier, and his slashes became wilder, leaving himself open for further attacks of opportunity.

Jezem

Shivan was, when not driven into a blind rage, a great fighter. This idiot was leaving himself wide open now. It didn’t take him long to deliver another slash to the shoulder, in the same place. Take that, thick clothes!

~ Thyr

The knife hit its target, driving into the Klingon’s shoulder and the knife dropped from his hand. A slew of enraged expletives spewed from the man’s mouth as he tried stop the flow of blood. Teeth bared, and possibly more furious than ever, the Klingon let go of his shoulder and lunged for Shivan. Heedless of the fact that the fight was now bare hands and fists against a knife.

Meanwhile, Jezem kicked his Klingon opponent in the back, propelling him forward and down and he landed flat on his stomach. Jezem pounced, bringing his blade down across his first cut and again and again until the Klingon had no hope of ever walking again without medical intervention. Behind him, the Caitian ditched the phaser for another knife. Her eyes darted between each fighting pair and the clear path behind her.

Jezem

Shivan smashed the handle of his weapon into the head of the Klingon with all the force he could muster. He took a heavy fist to the side in the process. He was not nearly as graceful as Jezem. If this didn’t work, he was going to ask the Caitian to give him the phaser, he’d stun this big idiot.

~ Thyr

The two Klingons were down and not going anywhere anytime soon. Their Caitian friend looked between them before blurting, “Okay, someone better start explaining who you are and why you’re so violent and why these goons are after me when I have done nothing wrong.” Her ears were flattened against her head while her tail twitched back and forth. Her agitation plain to see while she clutched her pilfered knife in one hand.

Jezem regarded her coolly, “These two must be part of some gang trying to make a name for themselves in this backwater chunk of space. Why they’re here and after you is something I’d like to know as well. You can either stay and figure this out with us, or leave to be constantly attacked and harassed by this gang.”

The Caitian seemed to think this over before lowering her knife and saying, “Alright. Maybe these itchy-twitchy losers can tell me what happened to my shipment. I lost a lot of money because of them.”

Jezem nodded and looked to Shivan, “Alright let’s start with the crybaby on the ground. Set him up against the wall and we’ll start getting answers.”

Jezem

Shivan lifted the big Klingon and lifted him against the wall as ordered by Jezem. Then he stepped back, pressing a hand over the wound on his arm, and looked at Jezem for further orders.

~ Thyr

The Klingon valiantly tried to fight Shivan off but could barely manage to keep his eyes open much less throw a punch. Blood flowed from the cut on his leg and the man only now seemed to think to try and stem it. His eyes were squeezed shut, likely in an attempt to keep from whimpering like a weakling. For all Klingons like to boast about being the greatest warriors in the universe, they had their weak points just like everyone else. Like hamstringing for example, no one can sit stoically through that without shedding a single tear.

Shivan wasn’t above kicking him in the leg to thwart his attempts to stop the Andorian from moving him.

Jezem waited until he could see the tears of pain welling in the Klingon’s eyes before speaking, “I’m going to start asking questions. You’re going to answer them. Stay silent and you won’t ever walk again. Who do you work for?”

The Klingon spat a few choice words, none of them the answer Jezem wanted. Jezem sighed, as though he were talking to a petulant child. He drew his hidden blade, “You know, I think I’ve been far too nice,” he said tone empty of all emotion, “Answer or you die right here, right now in shameful dishonor.”

Suddenly the Klingon tensed, his eyes flew open in shock. A moment passed before he started to speak, “The Maulers.”

Shivan stood to the side, keeping an eye on the unconscious Klingon while Jezem questioned the other one.

Jezem’s eyes were like ice, he asked, “What do the Maulers want with this girl?”

“She stole from one of our suppliers. Taking all the inventory on him and the keys to the rest of his supply,” The Klingon said, growling his next words, “And she murdered our brothers sent to reclaim our property.”

The Caitian hissed, “They attacked me first! And that loot was also mine! Your supplier overdosed himself like an idiot and there was no one around to claim his stuff so it’s mine by criminal rights.”

Jezem

Shivan snorted. “Criminal rights? Try not getting caught, princess.” He said to the Caitian. If he’d found a score like that… This little gang would’ve never known who stole it.

~ Shivan

“I didn’t get caught! No one saw me took the stuff,” But judging by the tension in her shoulders and her wide eyes it seemed she was started to doubt that herself. She turned to speak to the Klingon, “What’s the big deal over a bunch of drugs anyways? They’re not even the really gnarly make-your-brain-melt kind of drugs either.”

Jezem gave the man a look of ‘answer her question’ and it was after that that the Klingon spoke, “It’s the rest of his supply that we want. What our supplier had locked up was going to bring us a fortune. Enough to-” The Klingon suddenly cut himself off and looked away. Too late to hide anything now, Jezem thought.

Jezem looked to Shivan, “Our friend here is trying to keep secrets from us. Kindly remind him he isn’t in charge here.” Shivan would be familiar with those words, he’d heard them plenty of times in their Syndicate days. It was Jezem speak for ‘rough him up until he starts talking again’.

Jezem

Shivan moved menacingly towards the Klingon, then began to kick, punch, and beat him, watching Jezem for further orders. Shivan was a pro. He knew just where to hit to hurt. The horrible leg wound Jezem dealt made it easier.

~ Thyr

“Who are you two?” The Caitian questioned aloud, glancing at Jezem sidelong.

Jezem cooly watched the Klingon grind his teeth with the effort to not cry out in pain. The man’s eyes squeezed shut, lips pulled back in a silent snarl as Shivan’s fists and feet brutally beat him. “Two people you don’t want to cross,” Jezem answered the Caitian’s question after a moment. The Klingon had enough. He raised his hand, signalling for Shivan to stop. “Enough to what? What are the Mauler’s planning?”

The Klingon breathed heavily, “. . . To take over all crime in the sector. . .”

“How cute,” Jezem sneered, “Klingons who think they’re smart enough for organized crime. Where’s the stash located?”

The question was met with silence. Jezem didn’t care. So long as the Caitian held the keys there will be others to gently question. Jezem knelled down so he was eye level with the Klingon, “Be quiet and someone will come along and see to it that you don’t die a pitiful death. Then you’re going to leave this rock and I better not see your face again.” That said he stood and motioned for Shivan and the Caitian to follow him.

Once away from the the two Jezem sent off two messages before turning to their new Caitian friend, “What’s your name?”

Her ears flickered back and forth, tail twitched, “M’rahja Ko,” She said.

Jezem