Another Way to Live

Posted on Mon Jul 29th, 2019 @ 9:21am by Ahreva Malana & Az'Prel & Ensign Varnok Jahal & Jaeih Dox-t'Aan
Edited on on Wed Jul 31st, 2019 @ 9:08am

Mission: Mudd on the Souls of Mankind
Location: The Drelax Club, Inris Four
Timeline: 2396

At the helm of the modified j-type freighter, the Khallianen, Jaeih Dox, was concentrating on the task at hand. Onboard the unexpectedly fast ship, the property of the Hera's Chief Flight Control Officer, the freshly minted independent Intelligence Operative for the U.S.S Hera piloted her daughter's ship. In the main hold behind her, all dressed in civilian clothes for the mission ahead, was the Vulcan refugee from a dimension of horrors, Az'Prel, the literal mountain of a woman that was the Hera's resident biologist, Ahreva Malana, and the Hera's newest transfer, the Cardassian Intelligence officer, Ensign Varnok.

The quartet was warping their way towards the planet Inris IV, deep in Orion controlled space, territory of the Syndicate. The world was a waystation for all sorts of less-than-desirable types. Slavers, criminals, smugglers, cutthroats, pirates and more. And it was the home of an establishment called the Drelax club. An elicit location owned by an Orion woman of great interest to the Captain of the Hera, Enalia Telvan- the Orion woman who was the genetic basis for the Captain's holographic wife, Maica.

Back on the Hera, there was a baby named Moira. A flawed clone of the captain's mother, Arenara Artan,.. which was dying. Rushed through genetic development, the newly adopted daughter of Enalia Telvan needed a transfer of stable DNA from two sources to survive. Enalia herself and Maica. And the target of this mission was the closest thing to Maica's DNA that was possible.

But because the mission was deep in Orion controlled space, it was a mission that could fall under the purview of either Starfleet OR the Captain's Artan pirate family, the sworn enemies of the Syndicate. As such, a very covert mission had been planned, and they were nearing their destination.

"ETA to the Inris system in 20 minutes. So far, the cloak is holding firm and we have made it past the checkpoints. Once we're there, we beam in, identify the subject and do what we have to do to get what the Captain needs." Jaeih Dox was, by no means, in charge. But as a former member of the Romulan Tal'Shiar, she was very used to giving orders and organizing teams.

"While I would normally be looking forward to observing such a place as the target is reputed to be associated with over many seasons..." Malana looked between those she could, fixing them each with her literally stony gaze. "I understand the need for expedience and will do my best to obtain the necessary tissue and blood samples."

"Thank you, Miss. Malana." Jaeih replied from the helm. "Once we have obtained the target's permission, of course." The follow up was spoken with the faintest hint of sarcasm, as the woman who taught the helmsman of the Hera to fly put the ship on autopilot for a moment

"That said, we need to insure we are prepared. Have you much experience with... covert missions of this sort, Miss Malana?"

"I have remained completely motionless for several dozen seasons just to watch trees grow, if that compares," Malana offered hopefully.

Blinking, Jaeih cricked an eyebrow and nodded at Az'Prel. "I believe these are... excellent criteria for the role of 'ominous, silent bodyguard' for the purposes of this mission. Would you concur, Az'Prel?"

"I would," replied the Vulcan woman, one eyebrow raised. "I have sensitive hearing and I freely admit that during this entire trip, I have heard little to no sound from you. I would rate your stealth abilities as more than satisfactory for this role."

Nodding, Jaeih agreed as she turned her attention to the equally quiet Cardassian in the rear of the ship who was reading from a PaDD. "Having read your personnel file, it appears you have significant experience on covert, undercover missions Mr. Varnok. I apologize that I did not have time to meet you before this mission."

The studious Cardassian looked up from the PaDD at the woman addressing him, “No apology necessary Jaeih. To answer your question, on my last assignment my skills were utilized quite frequently for covert missions. Who would ever guess that a Cardassian would be Starfleet material?” He gave his companions a brilliant smile.

"Nobody I know, but then they never would have imagined me working with Starfleet either," Jaeih said as she stood up, letting out a slight sigh. She was wearing a black leather jacket over a tight black turtleneck and olive green pants. Reaching into the inside pocket of her jacket she pulled out three small cards.

"As a smuggler, my daughter and I lived very simply. No luxuries to speak of. THAT was because I was stockpiling every credit and strip of illicit latinum we earned for my future needs. It's hardly a fortune, but today represents a 'future need'." As she spoke, Jaeih handed a card to each member of the team.

"Minor briberies or purchases may be required in this endeavor. And any of us may need to do so separately from the others. As such, we should be prepared. Just... don't splurge." Jaeih rolled her eyes and sat back down at the helm.

Varnok grinned wider” Thank you Jaeih, I have some gifts for us as well.” The Cardassian Ensign lived for covert operations, and his mind was alive with possibilities. Reaching into a tactical case, he retrieved four Micro-cochlear communicators, five Emergency Transporter Tags or ETTs and two new identification cards for Az'Prel and Malana and placed them on the table. “Yeoman Dedjoy was kind enough to supply us with these” the Ensign stated, handing each woman a communicator. Varnok explained. “They fit inside our ears, making un-necessary our communication badges- and they are undetectable.”

Next the Cardassian Ensign presented Az”Prel and Malana with their new identification cards,” These were a little harder to come by, but I managed to get you both cards that will hold up under any Orion scrutiny. Please become familiarize yourself with the information on them.”

“What we have here,” Varnok continued, holding up the ETTs with a grim expression, “Is our way out if things go wrong.” The Cardassian placed one in each outstretched hand, “These Emergency Transporter Tags will bring us immediately back to the ship.” Holding up an extra EET, “And an extra if we need to extradite our target.” Varnok turned and handed Jaeih a PaDD, “This contains all the intelligence that I have gathered on said target.”

Listening, the elder Romulan had the slightest of smiles crack the corners of her well trained poker face. "Very impressive, Mr. Varnok. And, of course, I have several contacts on the station and am a known miscreant, so a false identity would only arouse suspicions for me."

Taking the PaDD, Jaeih looked it over before transferring the data to the ships screens. On the screen appeared the profile of a middle aged Orion woman who looked all but identical to the Captain's wife, but older and with a look of hard weariness to her.

"Her name is Zhedda. Former Intel had her listed under multiple aliases designed to hide her, but we've identified her as the proprietor of an establishment known as the Drelax Club, located in the southwestern Province of Inris IV." Jaeih recited the information glanced from the file with the learned skills of a lifetime intelligence operative.

"And while Zhedda owns the club, she herself is still the property of the Syndicate boss who runs the province, a man named Kor'aah. Kor'aah. He is off world, and we may be able to use her ownership to our advantage." Handing the PaDD to the Vulcan woman of mystery, Jaeih nodded and gave her the floor.

The stoic Vulcan woman surveyed the layout of the facility, giving it her assessment. "Security is outdated but looks to have full coverage for such a facility. The front areas have weapons detectors and seventeen bouncers listed on the payroll, with nine on duty at any time. The back rooms have stun turrets set to target anyone without an escort or an ID. Ventilation and maintenance access has regular baryon sweeps at six minute intervals. I do not recommend using them. I recommend being upfront and honest with her, but gaining an audience may require a significant bribe and expenditure at the dabo tables to get past her retinue of security, which I suspect is actually on Kor'aah's payroll."

"A logical supposition, Az'Prel," Jaeih replied as she turned back to the helm and began working at the console. "Orion slavers like to protect their investments. Dropping out of warp, disengaging cloak. We're simply here to do business like everyone else, but be ready for anything. Chances are high that nothing will go as planned on this mission."

At full impulse, the ship moved from the outer rim of the Inris system to their destination, passing through the checkpoints with the masterfully falsified ships transponder information working perfectly. After a few tense minutes, they were cleared to land on the outskirts of the station perimeter. All was going well... So far.

As they landed, Jaeih put the ship’s computer into a repeating power cycle. It would appear to be powered down to sensors, but ready to leave in an instant. "The district has transporter inhibitors, but Mr. Varnok's tags act as pattern enhancers so we should be able to cut through any interference with ease in an emergency. Otherwise, we're on foot and unarmed." Jaeih said as they gathered at the hatch to disembark.

"Computer. Initiate lockdown procedure delta seven nine, Dox." The Romulan operative said to the ship. With a chirp, it replied.

=^= Lockdown Procedures initiated. Dox, Jaeih. Jahal, Varnok. Az'Prel, Malana, Ahreva. DNA and access only confirmed. =^=

"Very well. Let's move." Jaeih said grimly as the hatch opened onto the dank, rain-soaked night streets, the group was hit by a wave of deep humidity. Inris IV was an unpleasant planet with dark, swirling storm clouds that seemed omnipresent and made the surface feel like the deepest, darkest night no matter what hour of the day it was. An ideal location for those that wanted to do business away from prying eyes and the disinfecting glare of light.

The street was largely bare as there were only a few eyes to turn at the away team’s arrival. Az'Prel shot Jaeih a slight glance that expressed her intent to exit the craft first. Her senses, enhanced speed and strength made it the logical choice that she would take the front position. Jaeih simply nodded as the two bond-sisters had become increasingly in sync on their relatively few missions together as if they had been a team all their lives. Once confident that their path was as safe as possible, Az'Prel simply assumed a more casual posture and started walking.

Jaeih smiled ever so slightly and she gestured with her head as the remaining three operatives exited the craft and followed the Vulcan rebel from another reality towards the end of the main thoroughfare and their destination- the Drelax Club.

The walk was tense, but uneventful. There was a crowd collected out the front of the club, mostly patrons there to see the legendary Orion dancers they knew to be within. But a few were there clearly for business. Illicit business. And the Hera four blended quickly with that crowd. Making their way to the door, Jaeih slipped out her own tattered and worn identification. She was known in this world and hoped that that, combined with the latinum sticking out under her ID card that would expedite their entry.

The Nausiccan at the door sneered down at Jaeih while palming the latinum. "You expected?" He growled.

"No. New business. But business is good." She said flatly, as Az'Prel and Varnok surveyed the crowd for potential trouble while Malana simply stood behind them all, staring grimly at the Nausiccan. She may not have been a bodyguard, but she absolutely looked the part.

The Nausiccan nodded and put his palm on the door pad as the door wooshed open to reveal a cacophony of music and lights within. The club was clearly quite busy that night. As they entered, the guard offered a respectful head nod at Malana, whom he assumed was on the job, same as him.

The stony Malana returned the nod respectfully, her unblinking eyes tracking the guard and taking in everything around them.

Once inside, Jaeih clicked her tongue in her mouth. A subtle activation for their internal ear comm system. After a second, she whispered as lightly as possible in the din of the bustling room. "Comm check. Can you hear me?"

In spite of the din of activity, her voice came through as clear as a bell, as if she were whispering in each person's ear directly.

"Five by five," came the voice of the interdimensional Vulcan freedom fighter, using ancient radio lingo for 'loud and clear'.

Malana was next to respond with a gravely, "Aye, perfectly."

"Copy," replied Ensign Varnok plainly as he continued to survey the room.

"Excellent," Jaeih whispered. "Then let us..." But the elder Romulan woman was immediately cut off by a fat Ferengi who pushed through the crowd with outstretched arms and a sharp toothed smile.

"DOX?!? Jaieh Dox! I couldn't believe it when I saw you come in here from the bar! Come! Come!" The former smuggler froze for a second before whispering to the other three over her comm.

"Imirrhlhhse... I know this one from the old days. I'll handle this, split up," she whispered through a gritted tooth grin. She had hoped her old contacts might be useful, but wasn't expecting this.

Returning the awkward hug from the Ferengi smuggler, she glanced to watch as Az'Prel, Malana and Varnok vanished into the crowd. "Daimon Maron! It's been too long. How have you been?"

Az'Prel clicked her comms on and mumbled into them. "Malana with me, Jahal, cover the perimeter. Keep eyes open for the target." As she spoke, she scanned the bar for the Orion woman, or someone that might know where she might be. She knew that if things were like her old universe, the barkeep would be the one to ask for such information, but it would take buying a drink at an insane price. Thankfully, she had Jaeih's credit, although she didn't know how far it would extend.

Thus as she made a loop between the dance floor and the tables, she headed to the bar in the back to make such in inquiry, doing her best to avoid the dancers trying to ply their wares upon her.

The lithe Cardassian moved off through the crowd, looking for a place to perch so that he could further survey the room. Varnok knew the dancers could be a good source for information for the right price, and a charming smile. Surveying the interior, it always fascinated him how different, but yet the same these interstellar lounges were. Finding an opening on the rail overlooking the stage, he had a total view of the room. As predicted, a beautiful young Orion woman gracefully glided up to him, hips swaying to the beat of the deafening din of the room.

"You look like you could use some company," she said seductively as she caressed Varnok’s shoulder.

Turning to face her with a brilliant smile of his own, the undercover Ensign replied. "I was just waiting for the most exquisite woman in the room to offer to join me." The smile she returned was positively charming and coy (a practiced response, to be sure) "I'm Novaa, aren't you the handsome one?" she purred as she took his arm directing him over to a table. Catching a server's attention Varnok put 2 fingers in the air and pointed to the table, as the couple took a seat.

Turning to the sweet-smelling woman beside him, the Cardassian was thankful he took the tonic he had prepared earlier. It would not be good for the mission if the pheromones that Orion women emitted derailed his mind. The server appeared with two of the house special ‘Solar Expresses’ from the look of the drinks. As Novaa picked up her drink, she ran her tongue slowly across the rim and stared at the young man next to her. "So I've never been with a Cardassian before, but I've heard they can do wonderful things with their neck."

"Such wonders I could show you,” he leaned over to whisper softly in her ear. As he sat back up, he slowly ran a finger across her cheek and pressed a strip of latinum in her soft hand.

A soft blush arose faintly across her minty cheeks, before the young woman composed her practiced pout and took a sip off her drink. The Cardassian thought to himself, good his initial observation was correct she was a new girl, not jaded yet as all slave girls eventually become. Catching her eyes he gestured to their immediate surroundings. "The beat in here really gets the blood flowing" grinning boyishly he continued. "I was here several years ago, and it was not as upbeat."

Novaa sat up excitedly and sat her drink down "Oh, that's because the new owner really changed things up!" rambling on she continued," Several of the older girls said that it used to a real downer, but when Zhedda bought the place she took it to a whole new level!" Blushing brighter than before and looking around uncomfortably, the young Orion dancer whispered, “They say she was the lead girl here for years and Kor'aah's favorite.”

With the utterance of that name mentioned during the briefing, Varnok's blood went cold. It was a name he did not like to think about. Luckily for the Ensign, not one he needed to concern himself with any longer, but that was a story for another day. Turning his attention back to the sultry dancer, Varnok continued, his eyes selling his words "I'm sure she lets you ladies have the run of the place then."

Leaning back and running a practiced hand through his longish hair, he continued to play the sly seduction game with the naive dancer. "Oh no, she keeps an eye on us from up there." Novaa pointed to a dimly lit balcony overlooking the club. Gently kissing Novaa on the cheek Varnok stood up, then held out his hand to the younger woman, pulling her close.

"Let’s find a more private place shall we? Perhaps one of the upper secluded booths?" The Orion smiled stunningly and nodded as she led the way to the upper levels.

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Meanwhile, on the other side of the bustling Drelax club, the fat Ferengi had lead Jaeih to his table where he plopped down into the plush booth seat, flanked by two naked Orion dancers. Jaeih followed, keeping an eye out for trouble.

"Jaeih DOX! It's been... what? Ten years? Fifteen? Where have you been?" The cagey swindler asked, taking a sip from his drink on the table. As he did, he gestured to the chair opposite him on the other side where she sat. "Word has it you got pinched by Starfleet?"

"Sixteen, actually." Jaeih replied as she flagged down a server, a scantily clad Orion woman, who slid over. "Kali-Fal." She ordered, without taking her eyes off of the Ferengi.

"And unfortunately, you heard correctly. Our ship’s cloak failed at a particularly bad time and a Federation patrol ship caught us in the middle of a deal. Declan got sent to a Federation penal colony, and I was... eventually... extradited to the Klingons, as I was caught on the edge of their space, and our ships nav logs had us just coming from there." Jaeih replied, only half lying. A lifetime of working in intelligence and smuggling had taught her that the best lies were buttressed by as much truth as possible.

"Rura Penthe?" The Ferengi replied inquisitively, leaning in.

As her drink returned, the elder Romulan nursed it without ever taking a sip. "For a time. A twelve-year sentence. I have the... scars... to remember it with, I'm afraid." Jaeih winced slightly as she fidgeted slightly, feigning uncomfortability. But it was a convincing performance, as the Ferengi's face shifted to a more relaxed expression.

"Well..." he replied dramatically with a smile. "It's wonderful to see you back! You've been missed, my dear. Which makes me curious as to what brings you here this fine evening? Business, I hope?"

"Always a Ferengi, Maron." The elder Dox chuckled, "Yes, business. I have a client that's looking to unload a significant amount of... cargo. I don't have my old ship, but I still have some connections so I agreed to try and broker a connection for a... modest percentage."

The invented business deal flowed from her lips as if it were real as she spoke very matter-of-factly. "Do you know if Kre'on Ja'Balla is still running things here?"Name dropping the man Jaeih already knew had been replaced years ago, she was hoping to see exactly what the Ferengi knew and if he would possibly be of use.

"Ja'Balla?" The Ferengi scoffed as the Orion women on his arms mock laughed along with him, propping his ego like any good arm candy. "You really are out of the loop, my dear. Kor'aah had that useless Bolean ass shipped off the rim... near eight years ago. The establishment was purchased by one of his lovely ladies..."

As he spoke, he stroked a greasy finger across the thigh of the woman on his left, ignoring her slight shudder at his touch. "Zhedda runs the Drelax Club these days. Of course, not just anyone can meet with Zhedda. She's... particular about who she meets with."

Feigning annoyance, Jaeih sank in her seat, lowering her drink past the arm of her chair where she emptied half of it out under her chair. In the darkness and chaos of the club, the gesture was completely ignored but perpetuated the illusion that she was drinking it. "Hnaev... I really am starting over from scratch."

Leaning back on the table, Jaeih set her drink down and rubbed the bridge of her nose. Looking over her shoulder as if she were being watch, the experienced operative wanted to make sure that the Ferengi man believed her performance so she decided to sweeten the imaginary pot. "Look, Maron. The cargo... it's a shipment of interphase generator coils. They've been overordering one per shipment at the Nhaidh shipyards for over a year now, and have seven crates. Thirty five coils. Enough to equip a small fleet with functioning cloaks. But without a buyer, they're sitting collecting dust. My percentage here is... 12 percent. I'm willing to cut that in half for the person who made the deal possible."

"The Ferengi took the bait AND the purposeful pause to attract his attention. "12 percent, Dox? Come now. What do you take me for? If we can't do business honestly, then we can't do business.”

Stifling a grin, JAeih instead put on an air of mock frustration and shook her head. "I'm trying to rebuild my life from next to nothing here, Maron. Hnaev! Fine. It's 15 percent. And half of that will be yours if you can get me an audience with this... Zhedda."

The fat Ferengi took a long swig of his drink, eyeballing Jaeih the whole time. After a tense half a minute of pondering, he sat back and laughed. "You made me a lot of profit back in the day, Dox. You've always been a good customer, and the Rule of Acquisition 57 says 'Good customers are as rare as latinum. Treasure them.' I'll make a call and see what I can do."

------------

The Vulcan freedom fighter finally made it to the bar and slipped her card to the barkeep. "I'm looking to do business and I'm told that Zhedda is the only one with what I need."

"Keep yer latinum, lady. Zhedda only meets with those she deems worthy." The large male Orion barkeep glared at her as he resumed polishing glasses. The leather pants and bow tie did nothing for his dignity as that seemed to be about all he was wearing.

"Would it help with my worthiness if I said I was from another universe?" Az'prel offered, eliciting a raised eyebrow from the bartender.

"Perhaps. But then that would mean ya got in on a fake ID." Leaning in towards the Vulcan woman, his breath smelled horrible and Az'Prel had ample time to smell it with their faces inches apart. Still, she showed no hint of intimidation as he tried to do just that, grinning horribly. "So which is it, lady?"

With two fingers, Az'Prel pressed them under the large man's chin and lifted, easily pulling him up onto the counter so that his feet were a couple inches off the floor behind the counter. "Being from another universe, logically, any ID I use would be fake, now wouldn't it? After all, my ID from the mirror of this universe would not be valid in this universe, now would it?"

Struggling to balance, the barkeep tried to reply, but could only gulp with wide eyes as he gripped at the bar. "Following that logic, with what you now know of me and the mirror of this universe, you are able to surmise that I have likely fought and killed many Terrans. I may adhere to the principles of logic, but I am not adverse to violence." She then let the Orion down so he could gasp for breath and recover enough to answer her. "So... What do I need to do to get an audience with Zhedda?"

"Still gasping for air, he nodded and waved towards a balcony over the DJ booth. "I'll put in a good word for you, lady. I think she might be interested in hiring you for a job, if you're not too discriminatin'." He had thought that the stoic woman with the Vulcan was the muscle, but apparently he had it backwards. The Vulcan was the muscle, which meant the stony-faced woman behind her was likely the client that needed something from his mistress, and that thought kind of intimidated him.

-----------

After a few moments, each member of the team clandestinely checked in to let the others know that they were all on their way towards their mutual target. On the upper level office, overlooking the entire bar, the Fat Ferengi known as Maron led Jaeih Dox up towards the two towering Nausiccan’s guarding a large set of double doors.

“Gentlemen…” Maron said with a slightly nervous chuckle, “Mistress Zhedda is expecting us. We have… business.”

Looking down, the guards looked irritated. “Lotsa folks wanna see th’ boss tonight. I don’ like it.” There was a grumble from the two as they stared down at Jaeih with narrowing eyes. “We got our eyes on the both of ya’.”

But as they spoke, they also stepped slightly apart to give the visitors access to the doors. But as the Romulan woman and the Ferengi man began to step forward, one of the Naussicans put his hand flat on the Ferengi’s chest. “You wait here. Just her.”

Immediately, Jaeih began to get nervous. But it didn’t show on her perfectly crafted poker face as she nodded slightly towards Maron. “Very well, then. Thank you.”

With an indignant expression, Maron huffed slightly but was cowed by the massive guards. “I… Indeed. I’ll… I’ll wait out here. Don’t forget our deal, Dox!”

As she passed through the quietly opening doors, Jaeih nodded back at Maron, then stepped inside. As the doors whooshed shut behind her, she found herself standing in front of a large, ornate desk in front of a large one-sided transparent aluminum shield overlooking the bustling club. And even her sensitive Romulan ears could only barely hear the thumping chaos below. Behind the desk, sitting in a large, plush chair was Zhedda. The face was a near perfect match for the captain’s wife, though significantly older and more cagey looking. She eyed the Romulan woman suspiciously.

"So... Four people that look like they should have nothing to do with each other walk into my club and ask to see me in their own... Unique... Ways... You're the first one here and it looks like that Vulcan woman and the ah..." Zhedda consulted a datapad for a moment before tossing it back on her desk, scattering a stack of latinum strips in the process. "The Ashrevanian are next. I suppose the Cardassian is the actual client? Or are they off hiding somewhere?"

Holding up one hand, the Orion woman silenced any reply before Jaeih could begin. "No, I'd rather not know. You're all here for business and you believe I'm the only one you can do it with. That much is painfully obvious. So... You have one minute to tell me what you want and why I shouldn't send you packing with an extra smile."

"My name is Jaeih Dox, and I come to you as a representative of Enalia Artan, recently declared queen of the Artan family..." The elder Romulan woman said with a flat, plain voice. Their goal was an audience with Zhedda and they had achieved their goal. She was in the room and the others were on their way. "I am here to represent a business offer for you, in exchange for something that she is interested in acquiring. I have a small data module in my right jacket pocket, if I may."

The tension in the room could be cut with a phaser, but neither woman betrayed any anxiety.

The Orion woman stared coldly at the Romulan that had wormed her way into her office for several long moments before nodding. "I know of her. The Artans have foiled many Syndicate plots and I've heard that her wife is one of those Maica things I was paid to model for years ago. If it's lucrative and we can come to a mutual agreement..."

"As you then must know, Arenara Artan is gone. As such, the back door deal she had with the Orion Syndicate too, is gone." As Jaeih spoke, she pulled a small disc out of her pocked and held it in her upturned hand. "Queen Telvan will, as you can well imagine, be resuming the families... former relations with the Orions. A relationship that will be the exact opposite of lucrative for you. But she other matters to attend to first. One that, if we can do business here today, may give her reason to allow special protections to Inris Four... and the Drelax Club in particular."

As Jaeih spoke, a holographic representation of a small Trill infant hovered in the air over her hand. "This is Moira. Queen Telvan's daughter. And she is dying. She needs DNA from two sources to survive. One from the queen herself, and another from the queen’s wife. As you are the model for Maica, that DNA must be yours."

Deactivating the hologram, Jaeih placed it back in her pocket. "I tell you this not because I expect to appeal to your compassion, but to let you know exactly how committed the Queen is to making a deal with you." The cagey Romulan knew that she was giving up a significant amount of bargaining room, but it was a calculated risk and it was important for Zhedda to know how strong her own hand was if they were to succeed.

Zhedda nodded thoughtfully, fully realizing that the Romulan woman had likely played her entire hand in that confession. She seemed honest in this, at the very least, though it was hard to tell with Romulans, especially this one. "So your Queen gets an heir, and this becomes a sort of DMZ for our two peoples. That would be potentially lucrative for me. Unfortunately, as soon as my owner found out, I'd be replaced."

"I'm sorry, but even if I believed your story, in my position there's nothing I can do." The Orion woman began to turn her chair away dismissively, but stopped, pretending that something had just occurred to her, a slow grin creeping onto her face. "Unless of course your Vulcan friend is the type to never lie and can confirm all this... Oh, and you could do a little job for me... Something to help make sure I can keep my position here, you understand."

Without a moment of hesitation, Jaeih raised an eyebrow. "She is and can, isn't that correct, Miss Az'Prel?"

As she spoke, the double doors hissed open to reveal Az'Prel, Malana and Varnok standing ready. Dangling limply and asleep from Malana's arms were the two Naussican guards who were actually lightly snoring. "They're fine. Consider this a demonstration of our capabilities to perform this task of yours."

As Az'Prel set the two Nausicans aside, she added a bit more to sweeten the pot. "Indeed, we are more than capable. Also, I believe that Enalia Telvan would agree to keep this place off limits only if you are the proprietress, if that aids in your decision."

"Well... It's not often that I'm intimidated and reassured at the same time. Consider yourself hired." Pouring herself a brandy, Zhedda tossed a datachip and a trio of data taps to Jaeih. "You'll find the location of my owner's local unmanned surveillance center as well as the setup and security info. I want you to bang it up a bit, steal some data, plant two of those taps in relatively obvious spots. Make it look somewhat amateur. The third one, hide it in the main data trunk on the pipe leading out of the building to the transmitter. That's the real one. Your Ashrevanian is immune to the radiation so no one would think to look there. Should only take you twenty... Thirty minutes tops. Once you come back, and I have a feed, I'll give you as much DNA as you like, however you like."

Looking over the data briefly, Jaeih exchanged a brief glance to Az'Prel then back to Zhedda. "Of course, we have nothing but your word to assure us you will comply. That and our own knowledge that you know full well the value of our offer. But in this instance, know that I am trusting that it will be sufficient."

Placing the data taps in her pocket, Jaeih turned slightly to leave before pausing a second. "Not an heir... a daughter. A daughter whose mother's gratitude will extend far beyond your imagination this day."

The Orion woman was silent for a moment before replying softly, her back now turned to the Romulan woman. "You can trust me... I know the value of a daughter. Hopefully... Maybe, this will help me find her."