The Bureaucracy of the Chase

Posted on Sun Jan 4th, 2015 @ 6:14pm by Commander Jordan Gunning & Dahleya

Mission: The Art of the Hunt [Incomplete]
Location: Office, Chief of Strategic Operations

There were a lot of ways that one could get entry into someone's office. There was always bribery, when money wasn't really an issue. And when it was, there was always breaking and entering. Murder was an option if you had more questionable morals. Dahleya, however, considered herself better than that. After all, she was technically doing business for the State. There was no need for stealth or subterfuge. She just made an appointment.

And so there she sat outside the office of Commander Gunning, waiting for his arrival. She had debated about starting with him, but it was still early in the day. If she knew people like Raela at all, then she was probably going to be most active when places like the Dive was the most hopping, at night. Besides, the Cardassian woman was a bigger threat to Dahleya. The Starfleet commander was less likely to shoot first. At least she hoped. She didn't really know a lot about this Gunning, other than what she got from his file and what Nunk had told her. He didn't really seem to be the type to get involved with criminals, though she did find it interesting that his half brother had been the commanding officer of this very station before his untimely death. There didn't seem to be much coincidence though. The elder Gunning died in the explosion caused by a Sojourner bomb, and Jordan was halfway across the galaxy at the time. Still, if he was willing to do business with Vendenje Kamdram, she wanted to be ready for anything. And so she sat in the waiting room, legs crossed, with her registration in one hand and the other hand resting on her sidearm.

"You can take your hand off that for a start." A voice from behind her said as the light from the other room became obscured. Commander Jordan Gunning stood in the doorway. His sleeves were rolled halfway up his forearms and his "Why is it that half of my appointments for the day seem to turn up armed?"

Dahleya took her hand off her phaser, though she didn't forget where it was in case she needed it. She was usually generous with the stun setting; she always hated when people ran. In this case though, it probably wasn't necessary. "Sorry, force of habit," she said as she took to her feet. "I'm Dahleya, a bounty hunter registered with the United Federation of Planets." She handed Gunning her credentials. "I was hoping that I could speak with you about someone I've been tracking, a Bajoran named Vendenje Kamdram."

"Doesn't surprise me that there's money on his head." Gunning replied, motioning to a chair for the Denobulan as he took a seat behind the desk. It had only been a matter of hours since Vahn Drayel had sat in the very same chair asking for information. It seemed to be all he did these days. He looked at her credentials- they seemed to check out but he uploaded a copy to his terminal to do some checking at a later date. "I'm afraid I don't have much more than what's officially on file for him. What's the warrant in relation to?"

The bounty hunter followed Gunning's lead and took a seat in the chair he indicated. She leaned forward, her forearms on his desk and her fingers interlocked. "An easier question is what is he not wanted in suspicion of. This particular warrant, however, is related to a kidnapping case a while back. He ran off with the wife or daughter of some rich Ktarian. There was a ransom or something. I don't really know details." Or care about them, Dahleya added to herself. "Word from the Federation Marshals is that his last known location was on this station."

Gunning nodded sagely- he wasn't surprised but that particular aspect of Kamdram's history hadn't come up during his own background check on the Bajoran. "He was here." The Commander stated matter-of-factly. "You've missed him by a couple of weeks or so though. He hasn't passed back this way."

Gears were turning in Dahleya's head, but she was careful not to let it show. Vendenje's run in with Nunk hadn't been that long ago. But the really interesting part to her was that how quickly he seemed to have information on the Bajoran. "That's unfortunate. Do you have any idea where he may have gone or what he may have been doing? I can't imagine that he was here for legitimate business purposes."

"He wanted information on a Cardassian- information which it wasn't in my power to provide." Gunning replied flatly. "Between us, all I was able to tell him was when the ship left the station. Whether he found it or not, that's up to him."

"Ah, yes. The mysterious Cardassian, Raela. I've heard a bit about her, but not much more than a name. When you met with Vendenje, did he mention why he was after this woman, besides the obvious?"

"Thrill of the chase, I suppose." Gunning replied dismissively. He didn't trust bounty hunters, he never had. It was more of a bias toward the law enforcement prowess of Starfleet than anything they'd ever done but he always felt as though they implied failure. "All he told me was that she had information he needed."

"I usually like to think that it's the art of the hunt," Dahleya replied with a large grin. "I'm guessing then that you don't know what sort of information he was after. We are on the same side, you know. I'm just trying to bring a fugitive to justice. Any information that you have that will bring me closer to Vendenje brings us both that much closer to getting a menace away from your station." And bringing a hefty little sum to my pocket book, she added to herself.

"I'm afraid he was looking only for the manifest information on the ship." He studied the Denobulan's face but- similar to many Denobulans- he couldn't read her particularly well. "How much do you stand to make on this?"

"Enough to make some much needed repairs to my ship. I had a nasty run-in with a Nausican recently and she hasn't been flying right since. Someone must have really wanted him brought to justice since there's a very nice sized bounty on his head."

Gunning nodded sagely. "I wish I had more to give you."

Dahleya gave him a friendly smile. "Well, I think you for your time, Commander. You have my contact information," she said, nodding towards the information on his terminal. "If you think of anything that might be useful, don't hesitate to let me know."

"You can be assured of that." Gunning replied quietly.

---

Commander Jordan Gunning
Chief Strategic Operations Officer

Dahleya
Bounty Hunter