The Arrangement

Posted on Thu Jul 29th, 2021 @ 12:32am by Commander Sara Archer

Mission: The Archan Job
Location: Mira

There was a light breeze blowing across the city. An Orion man looked over the balcony, gazing out at the skyline. His boss was one of the richest men in the city, and had made his fortune as a broker of information. What he knew was not nearly as important as who he knew, and that information made Nok a target. Hence the need for people like this Orion. Someone had to keep Nok safe. Most of the city was lit up brightly, so even though the twin moons were waning crescents, it was still easy to see in front of him. No one was going to make it into the compound from below. Unfortunately for the man, his soon to be assailant came from above.

As silently as a mouse, a dark, slender figure lowered itself from the roof, just behind the Orion man. Before he could even have a chance to react, he had one hand over his mouth and a second pressing a hypospray into his neck. The light anesthesia acted quickly and the Orion promptly passed out. The shadowy figure lowered the limp form to the ground and dragged it around to the side, out of sight of the hallway. The shadowy figure knew that it would not be that long until his absence would be noticed, but they didn’t need long to complete their mission.

The infiltrator stuck to the shadows as they entered Nok’s mansion. The information broker was paranoid, but he liked his privacy. That worked to the advantage of the infiltrator since most of the guard complement was patrolling the outside. They had not been anticipating a halo jump from above. As the figure slipped through the mansion, several more guards were dispatched in a similar fashion, and one member of Nok’s valet staff.

In his chambers, Nok was waiting patiently for his nightcap. Nok was a simple man, and he enjoyed simple things, though Nok preferred to define ‘simple’ as opulent and extravagant. He admired fine silks, fancy foods, and getting oo-mox from a beautiful woman. His woman for this evening appeared to be running late, which upset the little Ferengi man. When his door finally chimed, he was torn between being annoyed and relieved. “It’s about time,” the little man squealed. “I was starting to get worried. My lobes are getting lonely.”

Nok meandered to his door and pressed the button to unlock it. As soon as he did, the doors slid open, and the shadowy infiltrator stormed into the room, grabbing Nok by the collar. Before he could even react, he was being shoved into a chair. The assailant pulls off their mask, revealing an auburn-haired human woman. “Oooh, we’re going rough tonight. I like it!”

The woman shook her head and rolled her eyes at the little Ferengi. “I’m not in the mood, Nok. You’re late.”

“I’ve been busy!”

“Busy? Is that what you call oo-mox these days?” The woman moved closer to Nok. “Do I really need to remind you of our arrangement? There are a lot of people in the Federation Investigation Bureau who would love to see you behind bars. And I shouldn’t need to remind you that they have enough evidence to put you away for a very long time.”

The information broker winced. “No, you don’t need to remind me.”

“Then I suggest you hold up your end of the bargain. You owe me information. And I have it on good authority that you can help me find someone.”

“Finding people who don’t want to be found is one of my specialties.” Nok lifted a glass containing a bright green liquor. “Who is it you seem to be missing?” he asked as he took a drink.

“Breloc Tejar.”

Nok nearly choked on his drink when the woman answered. “Tejar? You’re looking for Breloc Tejar?”

“Is that going to be a problem? Or am I going to need to make some calls?”

“Don’t you think Tejar is a little above our pay grades?”

The woman pulled a small Type I phaser out of her pocket and aimed it in the direction of Nok. “I’m not going to ask again, Nok. Where is Tejar?”

“I don’t know anything about him.”

“One,” the woman answered with authority.

“Alright, I don’t know where he is.,” Nok replied with a shaky voice.

“Two.”

“I might, I might know where he’s been.”

The woman quickly gestured her phaser towards a flower pot on a nearby table. An orange beam erupted from the end of the tiny phaser and collided with the pot. In a bright flash of orange light, the flowers and the vase disintegrated. “No more games, Nok. Tell me what you know.”

“Alright, alright,” Nok replied, his voice in an elevated panic. “I have reports that Tejar is a business associate of an Archan named Kama Artrex.”

“An Archan? What kind of business could Tejar be doing with a Federation citizen?” the woman asked.

“Artrex is a... dealer..., of sorts,” Nok answered. “He deals in the three A’s: art, antiquities, and arms. He has a compound on Archa IV that rivals even my own.”

“I find it hard to believe that Tejar would do business with someone on a Federation member world, much less one with a starbase in orbit.”

“Well, Tejar, doesn’t deal with him directly.” The woman gave him a glare, and Nok quickly clarified. “He works through a proxy. But I don’t know the proxy. I just know that it’s an intermediary of some sort. That’s how Artrex stays on the up and up. He facilitates the deals, but keeps the weapons off-world.”

“So if Artrex works through intermediaries, and doesn’t work directly with Tejar, then how is that going to help me find him?”

“Artrex is arrogant. He’s been operating under the Federation’s nose for this long, and he’s starting to feel like he’s untouchable. I have no doubt that he’s going to have records of his middlemen. You find out who Artrex is working through, and you’ll find Tejar.”

“And your information is trustworthy?”

“I’ve never steered you wrong before, have I?” Nok asked. “My reputation is on the line here. I can’t imagine Starfleet is going to honor our arrangement if I lied to you.”

“I think that’s a safe assumption.”

“You know, if Tejar finds out that I was involved…”

“Then I would suggest you invest in better guards.” The woman put away her phaser and replaced the mask over her head. “We’ll be in touch, Nok.”