Threats and Deals

Posted on Mon Dec 15th, 2014 @ 1:09pm by Vendenje Kamdram & Dahleya

Mission: The Art of the Hunt [Incomplete]

The irritated Ferengi sat in the darkened corner, nursing a broken nose and a blue drink. He was wire-thin, with an oversized head for such a thin body. The golden skull-band that wrapped around the back of his large head had intricate purple inlay, which contrasted in an ugly way with his pekid, orange flesh. His ridged nose was an angry brown-black color and was clearly broken, and his left eye had begun to swell angrily.

Nunk, Chief Representative.... The Ferengi sighed. Only Representative he privately admitted, of the Lubok Conglomeration, which was really more or less just a title-head for the Lubok Dealings, a tiny splinter-shod organization from his brothers much more successful Ibrak Conglon, a company that he and their father had started as a joint venture dealing in spices and rare meats, sat back and closed his eyes. Nunk was no combatant, that was clear. He had no head for it, no understanding of it.

But Nunk was no businessman either. His own father, Quaid, had surmised as much around Nunk's third birthday. Thus he had a second son, Obunk, who did indeed have a head for business. Nunk was cast aside, and though life was not necessarily difficult for the young Ferengi, it was not exactly... Well, lucrative. It led Nunk down a very different path, one that involved backdoor dealings and illegal trade. About two years ago those illegal activities landed Nunk in a very unpleasant seat.

USS Ophidian. The very name of the Penal ship made Nunk shudder. More than that, the imposing Chief Marshal Marcus Dael sent shivers down the man's spine. He would not even think to turn his thoughts to the Chief Marshal's Investigator, a man simply known as "Lambert." The bold blue eyes of that man terrified Nunk.

A deal was struck, however. And in return for names, Nunk was set free, to be at first simply a contact, and later an actual agent. Ships like the Ophidian were designed to house and rehabilitate criminals, not lock them away forever after all. Dael considered Nunk's service a form of rehabilitation.

But Nunk was, as already noted, not cut out for this. He got rash, and over-confident. His first few collars had been easy, and the Nausicaan had been useful, but this one... This Bajoran... He had been warned several times by Dael and his associates to stay away, to let Lambert deal with it. He should have...

Nunk's lobes twitched. He looked up, and the color drained from his face. How had she...? His hearing was acute, as most Ferengi's were. No one should have been able to sneak up on him, but the female Denobulan stood on the other side of the table, close enough to touch him, and he had only heard her because she had wanted him to. She had pulled the chair out, scraping the legs against the floor. He sat back, his breath fluttering as he tried to maintain his composure. "D-Dahleya," he managed. "How n-nice to see you."

Dahleya took a seat in the chair across from Nunk and offered him a an unusually large grin for a humanoid, one that was usually reserved for between close friends. In a way, the Denobulan woman thought of Nunk as a close friend. He was, after all, the reason for many of her recent successes. Wherever Nunk went, there was sure to be a bounty on the loose. His current appearance, complete with broken nose and swollen eye, told her that she was on the trail of a high value target.

"Nunk, my old friend. How have you been?" she asked, with only a hint of condescension. "I haven't seen you since, what, that time you got that busted lip on Rigel? That was a fun trip. It bought me a new replicator. I was getting so tired of eating rations."

Nunk barred his needle-sharp teeth at her and hissed. "That incident nearly cost me everything," he moaned. "And like a shadow of bad luck, here you are once again." He sniffed, though with his nose it sounded more like a wet snort and he winced at it. "Why are you here?" He was, in all honesty, completely and utterly terrified of the woman, and he would only be fooling himself to think she didn't know that, but he was still determined to put on a brave front.

Dahleya laughed, as if the question was the funniest thing she had heard all year. "Please, Nunk. Why do you think. It should be old hat by now that every time you get beat up by a fugitive you're chasing I'm going to show up. And it seems that the size of the bounty is always proportional to how many injuries you sustain."

Nunk cursed. "You can't be serious?" He sat back. "This guy..." He instinctively stroked his nose, whimpering.

"...Is worth a lot of money." She grinned. "Of course I'm serious. Have you ever known me to go into a situation unprepared. Just because you failed doesn't mean I will."

"I didn't fail," Nunk snapped, scowling. "A minor setback. The target proved to live up to the stories." He looked at her. "I have to say, I'm surprised to see you here. I thought you only liked sure things?" He cracked a smile.

"I mostly prefer sure things, but I figured you're here, so I don't have to be worried about the marshals getting to him first. Besides, you're like my little, big eared good luck charm. Why do you think I tend to follow you around so much?"

Nunk glared. "You know what, female? Fine." He hissed. "What do you want to know?" Let you kill each other. A smug smile set in. Then I'll swoop in and clean up.

Dahleya raised her eyebrows. She felt like they were finally getting somewhere. "Now, now, Nunk. No need to hiss at an old friend. You've been chasing after him for a while. What is he doing here? He could have run, but he's been sticking around. I want to know why."

Nunk had a horrible urge to scratch his nose, but he resisted, sniffing in frustration. "I have no idea," he said. "Some time ago he risked breaking into the office of the Strategic Operations, but for what I don't know. He... He's." Nunk sighed, another coy thought striking him. "He's looking for a female," he whispered, his eyes shifting. "A Cardassian female."

"See, I knew there was half a brain between those big ears or yours," Dahleya replied excitedly. It was just about as much of a compliment as it was an insult. "We're starting to get somewhere now. So a Bajoran man, who happened to have survived during the Occupation, is looking for a Cardassian woman. I can't imagine that he's after a date. Who is she? Do you have a name?"

"Raela," Nunk crooned. "I had her in my crosshairs until the bastard broke my nose and took out my men." He sighed, twitching suddenly. "Look," he said, "I don't need the kind of trouble she brings. So... Here's the thing." He licked his lips, suddenly showing his true Ferengi nature. "Anything else is going to cost you. It's only fair, since anything else I say brings a severe price with it."

"Ah, of course. There's always a price with you, isn't there Nunk?" Dahleya assumed as much before even going into the meeting. The only problem was that she was low on cash. She just hoped that her counter offer held as much weight. "I'm a little strapped for latinum. That's why I'm even taking on this job. But, I might still have something of interest to you." She reached into her satchel and pulled out a PADD. "On here is all the information that I have on a couple other fugitives last seen in the sector. I'd go after them, but the bounty is low and the resources I would need to spend in a chase would just about outweigh what they're worth. But, for someone with the government's budget to spend, you might not mind a couple of gimmes. I'm sure the Federation Marshals would rather you bring them in than a bounty hunter like me." She laid the PADD on the table and slid it towards Nunk.

He stared at it for a moment. It wasn't quite the easy score he had hoped for, but he sighed. She was going to get what she wanted one way or the other. He took the PADD and tucked it away into the folds of his clothing. "She's ex Obsidian Order," he said. "And apparently she was also a Federation agent during the War. Means she's dangerous, and that she isn't loyal to anyone." He snickered like a hyena. "Reminds me of..." He looked away. "Anyway. She's been here for some time. She operates on the lower levels, doing whatever. Mostly illegal things. I know she's running out of money though, that's why she risked that game. Even when he showed up."

"Good. That means she's desperate, which means she's more likely to slip up. When she slips, he'll be there to take the cushions away from her fall. And that's where I'll be to clean up the mess. Anything else I need to know, or should I leave you to your drink?"

He sniffed again, grimacing. Something had crawled up his nose, he was sure of it. "Talk to Gunning," he suggested. "They have - or had - an arrangement. Him, and Vendenje, that is. They haven't met in awhile, but he knows the man. And..." He looked at her. There was a flash of concern. "Please," he started to say. "Try to get killed."

Dahleya wasn't sure who this Gunning was, but she knew that she would soon find out. If he did have some sort of deal with him, he might not be too open to giving him up. But a lead was a lead. She rose from the table. "Thank you, Nunk. You've been quite helpful." She dropped a couple slips of latinum on the table. It was true that she could use the money, but she still had enough to offer her 'friend' a drink. "Your next one is on me, though I can't promise you anything about the getting killed part. Besides, we wouldn't get to have any more adventures together." She gave him an unusually large grin, a trait that the rather flexible Denobulans were known for. "Take care, and do try not to get into any more fights. I won't always be around to bail you out."

Nunk rolled his eyes and watched her go, his gaze lingering for a moment. He scowled. "Won't be me needing the bailing out," he muttered.

--

Nunk
Federation Marshal
as played by Vendenje Kamdram

&

Dahleya
Bounty Hunter
as played by Captain Von