The Auction House: Gate Crashers (Part 1)

Posted on 10/16/2020 @ 12:23pm by Lieutenant Commander Kiernan Gallagher VII & Ensign Calliope Stratus & Ensign Melis Mendyar
Edited on on 03/02/2021 @ 6:15pm

Mission: S2E2: The Auction House
Location: The Auction House
Timeline: Day 41 at 1530

The blonde Ensign was closely monitoring the flight controls of the shuttlecraft Flying Hawk as she piloted the Federation shuttle with a several passengers, the USS Crazy Horse's First Officer, a different one than when she first came aboard the starship, but one who had more personality and general presence than his predecessor, and only a lieutenant in rank. Calliope had not had the privilege of truly getting to know the man, but he was Trill and scuttlebutt was that he was joined with a symbiont with exceptional service and command prowess. She suspected that was at least some of the reasoning he had found himself at First Officer of the USS Crazy Horse.

It was the Trill's voice that broke her concentration. "How are we doing, Ensign?" he asked in a tone of voice that was confident yet had a swirl of anxiousness to it. Crisp and to the point as the the Lieutenant was, Ensign Calliopse Stratus could not help but to feel like a mother taking her children to a Kadis-Kot tournament somewhere in a neighboring star system, and them constantly asking 'Are we there yet?' which caused her to chuckle momentarily.

"We are almost there, Lieutenant," Calliope replied. "This old station is not armed and their sensors are fallible" she added in her updated report to him. "I'm going to have to be careful when we get closer though. Even with its issues, we are not completely without detection, I'm doing what I can to mask our energy readings and signatures. Have your away team ready because this is going to be a quick fly-by drop and go" explained the shuttlecraft pilot.

Lieutenant Joral nodded. He understood what she meant. She was trying to keep the shuttle from being detected, making it seem like anything and everything that it was not: a Federation shuttlecraft. She needed to get them close enough to the station to initiate transport, but it had to be done swiftly and quickly. The longer she stayed near the space station the higher the risk the Flying Hawk risked being identified. He and his away team had a mission to carry out and parts to play.

He thanked the shuttlecraft pilot and made his way back into the cabin section of the shuttle. "Grab whatever equipment we're going to need and get ready, we are outside of the station's sensor range, but about to dip into it. This will be a quick drop off, the shuttle will barely have time to come to a full stop" he said taking a deep breath. What a delightful time to have to use the transporters he thought to himself.

Tahlin pulled her phaser and checked the charge. "Mendyar, Williams, Mac'Kensey, Hughes, you all ready," she asked her team.

"Ready, Sir," responded the Benzite.

"As ready as we'll ever be," was Mac'Kensey's response. Tahlin nodded to the woman; she'd chosen her specifically for her marksmanship skills.

Williams checked his own phaser, following suite of his superior. "Fully charged and ready, Sir" Williams noted. This may not have been his rodeo, but it was a bit nerve wrecking to be part of what was essentially a recon boarding party.

"Ready, Sir," Hughes answered. Lean and youthful in appearance, he had the look of someone who had grown up in a peaceful place. It took a more discerning eye, to see what lay beneath that exterior, to find the experienced security officer beneath. He checked his weapons and took a couple of deep breaths. Yeah, I'm ready for what comes.

Niun who had spent a great deal of time researching this particular family and the auction house itself was more than ready to get going. As an intelligence officer, he'd spent more than a little time skulking around gathering information, and as a Mri warrior, there was a part of him that would never be more alive than when he was in the field. He carried with him the knife he had created during his trials. Sharp. Lethal. He missed the sword that should be there as well but that could not be. If it existed, it would have been placed in the pile they left behind. Their message to the leader who betrayed them. Something of a lifetime ago now.

Ensign Stratus turned ever so slightly in her seat. "Ladies and gentlemen, please proceed to the rear of the shuttle where the transporter is awaiting you, and ensure all seats are in the upright position. Please collect all tricorders and or phasers as we begin to approach our destination."

Tahlin quirked an eyebrow in a Vulcan mannerism she'd picked up from T'Rhe. "Nice sendoff, Ensign. Appreciate it."

Lieutenant Joral made sure that he had everything. "Thank you, Ensign" he said giving her a small part on the shoulder. "You heard the pilot. Head to the rear and remember to be discreet once we are aboard."

Siobhan was quietly sitting in the back, waiting for the situation to develop and focusing on the colleagues and crewmembers. Her set of skills was of little use during this part of the mission. It was time for her to follow others. So when the orders came to proceed to the rear of the shuttle, she stood up. Final check, to make sure she had the phaser and the tricorder and she followed others when her turn came to the transporters.

Kiernan Gallagher pushed the sleek, curved phaser into it's holster on his belt, which was concealed by the hem of his navy blue jacket. The tricorder he held would normally be holstered as well, but this time he slipped the instrument into his jacket pocket. He could easily reach into his jacket pocket, flip open the scanning device and do discreet scans if warranted. He had hoped that he could carry it freely, but he didn't exactly know the situation they were going to find themselves in. His combadge was affixed to the breast of his black t-shirt, out of view from prying eyes.

He stood as Doctor Richards stood and fell instep behind the taller woman, awaiting his turn to step up onto the transporter.

Hughes stepped onto the transporter pad followed by Niun, one of the left and the other to the right. Niun's early training meant that he would have preferred to go down first and alone, to scout out the terrain, and it was hard to let that go. Years away from that life and it was still so much a part of his present. Hughes, on the other hand, trusted in command but kept himself ready. If someone happened on beam over, he needed to ready the moment he was free of the transporter beam. That was just part of being in security.

Tahlin gave her people and the other officers approving looks. "Pentagon formation," she told her security team. "I'm on point. Hughes, left, Mendyar, right. Williams, Mac'Kensey, other points..." She glanced at her chrono. "Fifteen seconds to beam-in."

A few tense moments later, there was the whine of the transporter, and the team was away.

[Auction House, Deck 16]

The station corridor Ensign Stratus had dropped them in was out of the way, thank goodness. What Tahlin had not expected was to see a Ferengi and an Orion... Well, she'd have to think about what exactly they were doing later. She stunned the Orion, and Mac'Kensey stunned the other one. Killing them might have been simpler, in the long-run, but Starfleet was not that type of organization.

"How rude of you." Siobhan commented disappointed. She understood the reasoning behind stunning both people. Still she would be very upset being in the reverse situation. She felt for both the Ferengi and the Orion.

"Don't waste your pity, Doc," Tahlin said. "Looks like these two were having a bit of... Fun." She regarded the two nearly naked forms with something between contempt and respect. "Whatever floats your boat..." She turned to their intel operative. "Scout ahead. Recon and report back."

Niun looked to the first officer who had, to this point, been silent regarding their rules of engagement and since it was something he had intended to do anyway, he moved away from the group. As a field operative, he seldom worked as part of a team before and being Mri, his tactics were different. Kel leadership was relatively fluid in the field. They needed proof before they could act and, if the scans were accurate, they urgently needed to figure out how to get from this level into the shielded decks below. Their beam over site had targeted an area of activity, wise choice on the pilot's part, though she lost points for putting them down in the middle of ... whatever that was.

He moved forward down the long corridor, whisper silent, and let his senses extend outward before peeking around the corner. A wide area lay before him with a large cargo lift on the right and another on the left. He observed for a moment and saw a grav sled, manned by two workers, come off the cargo lift to the right and move swiftly to the left-side cargo lift where a heavily armed team took possession. He watched that procedure happen a second and a third time before the lift on the right closed. He checked the readout and noted that the lift was going down which meant, shielded area. The lift on the left, after being loaded, moved upward.

He returned to the group and spoke, his voice pitched low enough not to carry, and said "just saw a grav sled transfer between one cargo lift to another. My best guess is the one on the right goes down into that shielded area and the one on the left goes up to ... what? ... the sale floor?"

"Good work. That's my guess also. We need to get one of those sleds, but we also have to make sure the armed ones don't make a fuss. We're going to be making a big mess as is--no need to make things more difficult than they have to be." Tahlin turned to the XO. "Orders, Sir."

"We have our orders," replied J.J. "I plan to adhere to them. We are here to observe and report for the most part. Try to collect evidence and avoid making too much commotion."

Tahlin nodded. "Mendyar, take that,"--she tossed him a transport enhancer. "Put that up, and guard it. We'll get the colonists back here and beam them out. Understood?"

"Aye, Lieutenant. What if I get spotted."

"Defend yourself, and if you have to run, get the enhancer. These are modified--it'll emit a signal regardless of movement, but the charge isn't much."

Lieutenant Jodon Joral took a deep breath. He had to hope and essentially pray that this mission would go smoothly, but be prepared for it not to.

Niun nodded toward the two bodies lying nearby and turned toward Lieutenant Joral. "Perhaps a good first move would be to get these two out of the way and maybe relieve them of their uniforms? Less noticeable than ours." Kel warriors maintained focus and Niun was no different in that respect though he'd been a long while away from home. The mission came first. Feelings were for later though harder to deal with now that he no longer had access to the tents of the gentle Amrazi.

Kiernan watched the scene unfold, unfazed by what he had just seen - at least that was the outward impression he gave. He wasn't sure to trust the lieutenant or fear the Bajoran security chief. The empathy seemed - lost, maybe? He didn't know the woman at all, so he was not one to judge, or say anything really. His eyebrows drew together and he looked down at the mostly naked crumple of two bodies. They were out, cold. Again, he didn't have a response to it, what was there to say really? Instead, he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the tricorder he had placed there before beaming down. He flipped it open, keyed in the commands for a passive scan, and just waited for the next step.

"So what is the plan exactly?" Siobhan asked a bit confused. They were in their Starfleet uniforms, which meant either official business, the forceful rescue or a diplomatic one. Considering knocking out first people they met, it seemed that the forceful option was the only way on the table now. "Changing uniforms at this point? Seriously?" She didn't hide her doubts. Siobhan glanced at the XO.

Jodon looked at Siobhan and shrugged. "Don't look at me, I thought it went without explanation not to wear a Starfleet uniform" the XO replied. "We may need to schedule a counseling session to discuss my assumptions and communications skills," he said shaking his head. "Take their uniforms. Anyone who hasn't ditched their Starfleet issued uniform already needs to ditch it now otherwise, we're going to be like fireworks in the night's sky."

To Be Continued

A Post by:

Ensign Calliope Stratus
Chief Support Craft Pilot
USS Crazy Horse

Lieutenant JG Siobhan Richards PhD
Chief Counselor
USS Crazy Horse

Lieutenant JG Lae'Or Tahlin
Chief of Security
USS Crazy Horse

Lieutenant Kiernan Gallagher VII PhD
Chief Science Officer
USS Crazy Horse

Lieutenant JG Niun
Intelligence Officer
USS Crazy Horse