Leverage

Posted on Sun Jun 15th, 2014 @ 11:21am by Venin & Karx

Mission: Vagrants, Vagabonds, and Thieves
Location: Alexander's [Deck 600, Starbase 332]

[ON]

"Brother!" Venin shouted across the bar as a small conduit popped, sending a slew of beer flying into the air. "Come and grab this!"

The brothers were busy readying their new leasehold for opening. The legal representative of the owner- a Starfleet officer- had told them that the bar was ready to open and that alterations would not be accepted but a few little changes here and there wouldn't hurt anyone. First on the agenda was finding a way to introduce something other than beer to the menu.

Karx was studying a file on old Earth pubs when he heard the sudden commotion and his brother's shout. These hew-mons had some strange customs; what in the Vault of Eternal Destitution is a juke box? Before finding out, he dropped the PADD and rushed across the bar to Venin's aid. "What did you do?" he exclaimed as he helped his brother tame the erupting conduit. He sleeves were quickly soaked in the foamy liquid. "Argh, it's disgusting!"

"I don't know!" Venin spat some of the foul tasting liquid which had found its way into his mouth. "I was trying to disconnect this tap to put in the Rigelian Shandy and it burst." Eventually Venin managed to find a bottle of liquor from behind the bar which was heavy enough to block the worst of the flow while he dashed to turn off the taps.

As returned, he sounded his disgust. "Urgh! This place is filthy!"

Despite the mess and despite his brother's usual terrible mood, Karx was feeling good about their new venture. He didn't much like the idea of that nasty hew-mon Deakin having some leverage over them, but he loved the idea of starting out on a new endeavour. What Ferengi didn't like the thrill and promise of starting a new business?

"Cheer up, brother!" he implored, sweeping his hand out to encompass the bar in its entirety. "This is the first day of the rest of our careers. I've got a good feeling about this one. You know how much hew-mons love to drink."

"The hewmon desire to forget their pathetic lives aside, I don't know about this." Venin's distaste for Deakin far outstripped his brother's. Rule of Acquisition #263 told him to 'never allow doubt to tarnish your lust for latinum' but in Deakin's case, the need for leverage over him far outstripped the desire for latinum. "Until we have something on Deakin, we won't be safe."

Karx picked up a dish cloth and started to wipe down some nearby tables. "What can we have over him? We don't know him. We didn't even know he was Starfleet until we got here. I actually thought he died when the Red Dogs moved in on Hesperia. They certainly wanted him dead."

"And why did they want him dead?" Venin asked, the beginnings of an idea forming in his mind's eye. "You think criminals are just allowed to join Starfleet whenever they feel like it?"

Karx stared blankly at his brother for a moment, then furrowed his brow and shook his head, "Of course they aren't! What kind of a question is ..." The penny dropped and he suddenly grew excited, dropping the cloth to the floor. Karx didn't have the quickest of minds, but he eventually got there. "You're riiiight. Criminals can't join Starfleet. We should tell somebody! Someone who'll pay."

"Not so fast, brother," Venin said slowly, curtailing the excitable suggestion of his sibling, "we don't want to just confront when we could go for the Full Consortium!"

Karx calmed himself and looked around as though checking to make sure nobody was in earshot. He stepped in closer to his brother and snickered, "I'm listening."

Venin pulled out a PaDD and made a couple of quick notes, by now completely ignoring the beer which was seeping through the dish cloth. "If we go to Starfleet and tell them who he is, they won't want to pay and if we convince them to pay, they won't want to pay much, right?"

"Pshh!" Karx scoffed. "They always short change the honest businessman."

"That doesn't even take into account that he could have been working undercover for Starfleet." The cogs in Venin's mind were spinning out of control. "There must be someone from Hesperia who would be very interested in his whereabouts. And what's the one thing we know about them?"

A toothy grin stretched across Karx's face as he said, "They pay well for the right information."

"Exactly, Brother. Exactly." Venin's own smile was as wide as the Parsus Crevasse back home on Ferenginar. "All we have to do is find someone who can get in touch with our friends on Hesperia."

Karx was getting excited at the possibilities this was opening up. Not only were there short-term opportunities in selling the information about Deakin, but the long-term possibilities of he and his brother once again gaining access to the fertile markets of Hesperia. It was a golden time for them before they were driven off world by the ... misunderstanding a few years back. It would be good to get back there.

"Wait," Karx said, furrowing his brow. "Why don't we just contact them ourselves?"

"Yes, Brother." Venin said derisively. "Let's go begging to the Red Dogs to give them information. No, no, no! Have I taught you nothing?! We let slip to a few select customers that we have information which would be of use to them and wait for them to come to us. That how you get the best price!"

The frown on Karx's face disappeared, gradually replaced by that greedy grin of his. "Of course," he said, internally chastising himself for being so stupid again in front of his brother. Then his mind clicked into gear and he had an idea, "I can access the station's shipping manifest and see if there are any ships that have done business near Hesperia recently? Uhh ... unless you already have something in mind?"

"Business acumen like yours should be rewarded brother." Venin patronised. "Make sure I have the list by tomorrow morning."

[OFF]

Venin and Karx
Ferengi Traders and Leaseholders of 'Alexander's'
Starbase 332