Future Negotiations

Posted on Sat Jul 8th, 2017 @ 1:59am by Staff Warrant Officer Nexi & Aewia Larani

Mission: Death is in the Details
Location: Runabout Selune
Timeline: After "Family History"

Aewia was at the copilot's station of the Selune monitoring comm traffic and making sure no one caught any scans of them. The Selune was equipped with even better stealth armor than the Hera, but she wanted to remain vigilant, nonetheless. Especially after what Nexi had just gone though. She needed the strength of family more than ever and Aewia was all the family she had. thankfully she'd had her last few treatments and hadn't slipped back to her child-like state since this mission started, so hopefully she'd be able to hold herself together for Nexi as well.

Glancing over at Nexi, Aewia wondered if she might be hungry soon. "The replicator programming is pretty limited. Have you thought about what you want to eat yet?" she asked, considering the choices herself.

Nexi simply grunted with a shrug from where she sat in the pilot's seat. She wasn't really paying attention to the controls, instead just staring broodingly at nothing in particular; on the one hand, that demon bitch was dead so she didn't have to worry about her hurting anyone (or anything) else, but death was too good for that bitch and Nexi really wanted to peel the skin from her! Realizing her thoughts were getting pretty dark and she didn't want Aewia to 'see' that, she cleared her throat and her mind and sat up straighter. "Sorry, kiddo, what was that?" she asked, revealing that she hadn't really been paying attention to what her sister was saying.

Yeah she expected that. Aewia just repeated herself and explained it, ignoring the dark cloud rolling off of her sister. "Have you thought about what you want to eat? The replicator in this thing isn't programmed with much. If you want, I could pick something out for you. I've eaten everything these standardized portable models can make literally hundreds of times."

"Huh? Oh, uhhhh... you know, the usual," Nexi said with another non-committal shrug, but then she sighed, realizing that Aewia deserved better than a sister who could only think of doing horrible things to people. "How about that chowder with the little fish-shaped crackers you put in it," Nexi suggested. Even on her worst days, she payed attention to all the little details surrounding Aewia, which in this case were little fish crackers; Nexi liked regular, bland non-fish crackers just fine, but the cheesy fish crackers made Aewia smile, and how could she go wrong with that.

Aewia wrinkled her nose. "The closest thing in a runabout isn't the most appetizing... But it is fairly close to Ferengi food, so you might prefer it. I'll get you a bowl and see what you think, ok?"

Heading to the back of the cockpit, Aewia punched in an order for meal 97, New England clam chowder and meal 122, tuna on toast. Grabbing a ration add-on pack and both meals, she brought everything back to the front of the cockpit and set the bowl of thick grey chowder in front of Nexi. The saucer had some white plain crackers on the side rather than the fish shaped crackers they were used to. As for her tuna on toast, it looked more like a grey paste between two squares of styrofoam, but at least the meals looked edible.

"If we had a bit more time, I'd have grabbed some replicator patterns. Procedure dictates these things get wiped after every mission, so there are only a few hundred menu options preprogrammed." As Aewia spoke, she cracked open the ration add-on pack and pulled out the hot sauce and spread a liberal coating all over her sandwich. "There are some seasonings in here if you want any," She added, offering the rest of the pack to Nexi.

"Nah, I'm good," Nexi replied, more than content with the salt on the plain white crackers as being enough seasonings. She mixed a few crackers in and took a tentative bite; yup, nice and bland, just how she liked it! She looked over at Aewia with her rather 'interesting' lunch, then smiled. "You're staying clear-headed longer," Nexi remarked between bites. Hell, even when Aewia regressed to her child-like state, she was still far more coherent and functional than when she was rescued, and Nexi was proud as hell of Aewia on both fronts. "I know I've been kinda busy lately, but I want you to know that I do see your progress," she continued with pride.

"Thank you," Aewia replied with a grin. She couldn't help but feel a bit giddy with a compliment like that. "I've noticed you've been acting a bit more like a 'fleeter lately. Taking on more responsibilities around the ship. Interacting with the crew. And what was that with helping Crewman Dela find her pet cat the other day? Was it really just because it wandered into the Intel offices?"

"Well, I don't know about all that..." Nexi said with a shudder; she was acting like a 'fleeter?! Fucking hell, she was responsible now! What would Merrit say to that? "As for the cat, well, it's a cat! You'da given me hell if I didn't help," she admitted reluctantly.

Aewia chuckled softly as she munched on her sandwich for a few moments before saying something rather out of the blue. "I was thinking of asking the Captain if I could help out in Intel."

"No field work!" Nexi barked out firmly, almost looking angry, but then her expression relaxed. "I know you're getting better, but I ain't taking chances with your safety in field, but if you want something to do, I'll support you if you wanna take up some busy work or analysis. You can certainly help us profile this Master asshole," she continued in a softer and slightly strained tone, but at least she didn't sound angry or upset.

"That... was less objection than I expected actually... Thank you." Aewia smiled happily. "I had a whole argument prepared and everything. When we get back I'll send my credentials to Clio and see what she thinks. I may not have the best brain still, but I still have more training and experience than probably anyone else on the ship in raw data analysis."

"If I told you no outright, wouldn't make me a very good sister," Nexi said as she stirred the rest of her crackers into her chowder. "I was in the same position as you, living on this ship with nothing to do, it just seemed right to throw my chips in with these 'Fleeters. Can't speak to the rest of Starfleet, but Enalia and her crew are good people, and it was worth it to me to be closer to something that you loved. And now here you are looking for something to do, who am I to tell you no? I just don't want you in the field anymore, don't want you getting hurt again," Nexi explained as she ate. "But trapped somewhere in that brain of yours is more knowledge of this Master-guy than anyone else; rescuing you set us on this path, and if helping us with our work helps to knock some useful information loose, you won't find me tryna stop you."

"This is true. For example, I doubt anyone else knows he can probably read Iconian glyphs." Aewia munched on her sandwich innocently, not really aware that that was probably important information.

"You know, we're gonna have a talk about you not sharing this shit..." Nexi said with a suspicious sideways glance. "But good job remembering, we'll update the profile when we get back. You happen to know what he's done to himself? His blood was black so I took a sample down to the lab. Might help that Science chick figure this puzzle out if you know anything."

"I know that the man you fought down there was the same man that lobotomized me and that though he looked Romulan, I couldn't make sense of his thoughts and the closest thing I've ever seen to them is Iconian glyphs. Sorry for keeping an eye on you while you were down there... This is another reason I want to help out in Intel." Munching on her sandwich, Aewia didn't seem all that apologetic.

Nexi coughed and sputtered for a moment. "You tryna kill me, kid?" Nexi exclaimed. She grabbed for her mug of coffee to help wash down her food, then looked at Aewia. "Aewia, you know I don't like you in my head when I'm working, but in this case I ain't gonna get mad at you, I know you were just looking out for me," Nexi said, then reached out to take Aewia's hands to help her focus on what she was about to say next. "But you were able to get into his head? Kid, I know I'm only a half, but I've trained myself to do things most full Betazeds can't, and even I couldn't get a peek inside. I could feel him, sure, even sense emotion, but you managed to look behind the curtain, I need you to tell me everything you can remember," Nexi said seriously. "Now, you said he was thinking in Iconian?"

For Nexi, this was a significant detail, because as an individual who spoke Ferengi natively and was in the process of learning better Standard English as well as Betazoid, she thought in Ferengi, meaning she had to think of what she wanted to say in Ferengi and translate that to English. But if the Master was so fluent in Iconian that he could think in these glyphs, then it meant that he had spent a significant amount of time researching and mastering it because either culturally or technologically the Iconians were important to him! Wait, that Science chick had mentioned Iconian genetics...

Aewia set the rest of her sandwich aside as Nexi took her hands and listened on both a physical and mental level. Nodding, she knew exactly what Nexi meant. "Yeah. I recognized a little of it and it was definitely Iconian. There were no Romulan thoughts at all. Everything he thought was translated from glyphs. I couldn't get much deeper than his surface thoughts, but I could tell he was interested in me personally after checking my genetics. I also know that he intended to keep everything that he took. Also, when he was talking to one of my interrogators, he got pissed off and let his thoughts slip a little, and I think I got an idea of how old he is. He remembers when the Romulans left the Vulcan homeworld and he was ancient then..." Aewia looked down at their clasped hands and sighed. "And this mission seems to have reminded me of these memories so I guess that's good, right?"

"So he's a Vulcan that predates the Romulan exodus?" Nexi said with disbelief. "What the hell is this guy made of?!" But all of this got Nexi thinking. "The computer on the last station said it remembered me... Maybe the Master was so interested in you because of me? Aewia, if he did this to you because of me, I'm so sorry."

"No, it's ok. It's nothing either of us could have foreseen. Thanks to both of our experiences, we're better armed now and I wouldn't trade that." Aewia smiled brightly as she looked up at Nexi.

"Good girl," Nexi said with a proud grin as she gave Aewia's hands a squeeze. "You did a great job remembering all this. We'll log it in our profile of the Master once we get back, and I'll see to it that Enalia gives you unrestricted access to his file; you can look back on it later and seeing the whole of what we have so far may help you piece more together. But anytime you lose focus or it simply gets to be too much, you won't hurt my feelings if you gotta take a step back from time to time; as desperate as we are for more information, I don't want to break you more in the process, so you do this at your pace."

Aewia nodded happily. "Thank you, I will. And we'll be working in the same office so you'll be able to keep an eye on me. But what about you? How are you handling all this?"

"Ain't gonna lie, kiddo, it's... it's taking a toll on me," Nexi said with a heavy sigh. "Before all this, I weren't used to caring about a team, and we've lost three teams to this guy, and blowing up a planet ain't made anything better. I'm tired of running into this guy, I can't wait to put him down."

"And then that demon hurting the Star..." Aewia added somberly. "I know Enalia will have her as good as new or better by the time we get back."

"But will she be the same Star when I get back?" Nexi mused aloud, finally letting go of Aewia's hands so they could finish their meals. This was more than just the simple quandary of replacing the handle and then spade of a shovel, then asking if it was the same shovel, her connection with this ship went deeper than that. "I can still remember the day I found her, like it was yesterday," she recalled with a strange sort of smile. "She had a defect in her micro-torpedo tubes, and the way they're built into her hull, it woulda been more work to fix her than to just build another ship, so she was tossed in a lot and they kept working on the rest of the line of her sisters. She sat there for years, yearning to fly... How she came to be in the hands of the reseller I found her with, I'll never know, but she was beautiful... I didn't bother shopping around, I saw her and I bought her right then and there! All the work, save the shower and a few other things, I did myself; she was made to fly by the sweat of my brow, and she became a part of me, so many memories... But now she's got all these strangers in her, and I know they're good people, but that work ain't mine, it ain't just my memories in her no more. She's been hurt something bad, I should be the one taking care of her!"

"I know. I know, but it'll be ok. I promise. I guarantee Crewman Sanders does good work. He's probably having his team replicate exact duplicates of everything down to every surface defect just to make sure everything is just perfect." Aewia said, trying to assure Nexi. "Other than the door, that is. That's coming from his own baby so you might notice a slight difference."

"I don't mind all new stuff, I think I'd just prefer to do the work myself," Nexi said with a sigh. She looked at her bowl of chowder; it was mostly empty and she just didn't feel like finishing the rest so she picked it up and took it back to the replicator. "But I know she needs to get fixed sooner rather than later, and they'll do a better job than I can do, I just wish I could at least do some of the work; keeping busy like that helps to clear my mind, helps me work things out, and instead I'm on a milk run... Speaking of, check the sensors and see how much longer until we arrive?"

Setting her plate aside, Aewia checked the sensors. "According to these, we're entering Enalia's great grandmother's holdings in about twenty minutes. I have her orbital station on sensors now and we should be in their communications range in another half hour."

Nexi grabbed another mug of coffee and returned to the pilot station; she hadn't slept in a while, not since the night she'd stayed with Cato, and she was pushing the limits of how long she could go without sleep, yet she didn't falter as she checked the readings, the caffeine and sheer willpower were the only things keeping her going. "Sounds good; the sooner we can get this done, the sooner we can get back to the Hera," she remarked.

"I agree. We need to get back to our own time and settle things once and for all." Aewia said as one of the sensors lit up at her station. "There's a mining ship not far from us. Minimal sensors. No chance it saw us. The crew seems to be occupied with unloading some ore at a repository."

"Let's just let them go about their business," Nexi said as she watched the mining ship on sensors. "It's more likely that Enalia's kin will be on the station than this little bucket, so let's continue on to the station. Keep an eye on that ship, though, let me know if it spots us."

"Roger that," Aewia replied as she went back to her sandwich. "So what kind of person do you think Enalia's great grandmother is?"

Before Aewia really got the last of the question out, their comm system lit up like a Christmas tree. "And we have an incoming hail from the station... Audio only."

Aewia clicked the audio on so they could listen to it and a female Trill voice spoke rather powerfully. =/\="Unidentified vessel, this is Enalia Artan of Trill. You may be hiding but I know you're there. Cut your engines and drop your cloak immediately or I will be forced to defend my holdings with deadly force."=/\=

"I was thinking she might be a bit of a hard ass, and it sounds like she is," Nexi remarked with amusement. "They've got some amazing sensors for their time if they're able to detect us; this wouldn't have happened if that demon-bitch hadn't broke my precious Star," she pointed out, then opened the hail to respond. "Enalia Artan, no need to defend, I come to deal; I have a very profitable offer you'll want to hear."

=/\="Then stay where you are. Your plasma trail can ignite this whole area so I'll come out to meet you and we can discuss this offer of yours."=/\= Aewia checked the sensors as the woman spoke and nodded, pointing to an elevated radiated particle count that hadn't shown up earlier.

"We're reading the radiation levels and are cutting engines now," Nexi said as she began shutting everything down. Those radiated particles were probably how they saw the Selune... "We await your arrival, Artan."

=/\="I'll be at your position momentarily and I'll be armed so no funny business."=/\= It was less a statement and more of an order. =/\="In the mean time, how about you tell me your name and affiliation and drop that fecking cloak?"=/\=

"It's not a cloak, the hull plating confuses the sensors; trust me, you'll be able to see us once you get here," Nexi assure Enalia's great-grandmother. "And my name is..." For a moment, Nexi considered lying, it was such a natural response in a situation like this, but her gut was urging her to tell the truth. "My name is Nexi and I would prefer that my affiliations remain anonymous for the time being."

=/\="As long as you're not with the Syndicate, anonymous is fine. I'll be right there."=/\= With that, the comm line cut out and Aewia let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding in.

"She's suspicious, but at least she's willing to meet with us. And she's not planning on double crossing us, so that's good." Aewia said.

"Know what else is good?" Nexi asked. "She don't like the Syndicate and I was green earlier today; I'm really glad I took Enalia's suggestion to undo the cosmetics," she answered with a chuckle. "And we just blew up a planet with a heavy syndicate presence; she should love us for that." Not that Nexi was going to take credit for that, but at least hearing that the Syndicate was no longer in her backyard should cheer up Enalia Artan.

"That's a good point. Getting a foothold up on them would probably make her day." Aewia chuckled softly. "Also, Enalia is named after her. I think that's a good sign."

"Yeah, but it's not like we can tell her that," Nexi replied. "Anyway, you ready? I know you've got to be tired by now, and that you're straining to hold onto clarity; I won't think anything less of you if you wanna sit this out."

"I am starting to get a bit of a headache..." Aewia admitted, rubbing at the back of her head. Truth be told, she had more than a 'bit' of a headache, but she didn't want Nexi worrying about her too. She had enough on her plate at the moment. "I'll lay down for now, but when she gets here you let me know, ok?"

"Alright, I'll come get you in a bit," Nexi said with her trademark grin; of course Nexi worried about her sister, how could she not, but neither was she going to try to stop Aewia from trying to live her life. Then as Aewia moved to the rear compartment to rest, Nexi began passive scanning to watch for Enalia Artan's ship.

It didn't take long for it to show up on sensors - the solar sailing sloop was rather obvious even without them, even though it was barely bigger than the Selune. It was an old design even for this era and though it was currently using solar sails, it was obviously heavily modified to use more modern propulsion systems while outside the mining area. It also had a rather large pair of rotating blaster cannons strapped to the bottom of the keel.

As the ship approached, she slowed and stowed her sails, letting momentum and maneuvering jets bring her alongside the Selune and signalled for docking.

A solar sails? Oh, that was just way too cool looking to not get a few images to bring back to the Hera. Pausing for a moment, Nexi quickly ran back to the bunks to get Aewia; no matter what state of mind her sister was in, Aewia would love to see something like this!

"Aewia, come check this out, you gotta see it!" Nexi said with genuine excitement as she nudged Aewia awake. Then she led her sister back to the cockpit where they could watch the ship gliding towards the Selune. "Isn't that something!" Nexi said with a big grin as she took a few more images for Enalia. By the time the ship was maneuvering in to dock, Nexi had taken plenty of pictures and was ready to get down to business. After docking with Artan's ship, Nexi stood at the hatch, straightened out her jacket, then opened the hatch to let the Trill in. Nexi was armed, as was her usual style, but everything was properly sheathed and she was relaxed, not that she needed to be tense in order to draw quickly to defend herself, but she didn't want to give Artan any indication that she meant any harm, so everything was staying sheathed and holstered.

Aewia was all giggly as she solar sloop was docking but managed to compose herself as the docking cycle completed. There was a bit of an odd smell as the doors opened and she recognized it immediately as recycled air from old air scrubbers and she almost lost it again as she turned to Nexi. "Sis, I think she even uses the old algae packs for fresh air in there. Isn't that so cool?"

Enalia Artan gave a hearty laugh as she stepped through the door, her hands on her hips and her demeanor relaxed. She too was armed to the teeth and so was the wall of a man behind her. In fact they both looked to be more like Trill pirates than miners, down to the massive 'hand cannon' slung low at her right hip with a skull painted on it. "Well, it seems you know a bit about classic ship design, I'll give you that. You're also obviously not with the syndicate. Which means you probably have something I want to hear." Reaching out for a handshake, she smiled in the same way their Enalia sometimes did when she was confident she had everything under complete control. "My name is Enalia Artan and this is my muscle, Dokton the Black. He handles the more aggressive side of negotiations for me. He insisted on coming along just in case this was a trap."

"Hey, it's a dangerous neighborhood, it'd be foolish to walk around without some sort of protection," Nexi said with a snicker. "I'm Nexi, this is my sister Aewia, and we're here with an honest offer. We're in a bit of a bind, you see, our ship was damaged and we are running dangerously low on supplies. Only problem, no money; long story, one I'd rather keep to myself, but it is what it is, we need supplies but can't pay for them. What we do have is information." Nexi reached into her pocket and pulled out a data stick that would be compatible with older technology. "We have high resolution scans mapping out a very profitable salvage opportunity. We could just start picking on our own, but it could take weeks, maybe even months to see enough of a return on a salvage operation in our condition, and we don't have that kind of time. You're better equipped to pick salvage from this location, so we're willing to give you these scans, give you full salvage rights to our find, if you are willing to supply us so we can leave."

"You'll of course allow me to inspect these scans before we proceed with negotiations?" Enalia prompted. "I have a few terminals aboard that I can look them over on. Considering the lack of details you've told me about yourself... I think that's the absolute least I can be expected to put up with."

"Given the circumstances, I'd expect nothing less," Nexi said. While armed to the teeth, their mining and salvage operations were completely legitimate, and this Enalia seemed on the up and up, Nexi sensed no attempts at deception, so she handed over the data stick. "You mind if I tag along? Just wanna make sure you don't try to get sneaky and just take the information," she said with a good-natured grin.

"Please, I insist," Enalia grinned again as she turned and headed back through the airlock hatches. "Dokton, please keep an eye on the sensor grid while we discuss this." With a grunt and a nod, the large man headed off towards the cockpit of the sloop. Enalia led them towards the back of the craft past ornately inlaid craftsmanship.

Aewia couldn't help but comment as they ducked under a low slung brace. "This is such a beautiful ship."

"Thank you," Enalia replied. "I picked her up in a scrapyard auction some years back and sank most of my fortune into restoring her. Most of the work was done in the family. The important parts... I had to do them myself. In a way, this ship has more of my own blood in her than me." When they got to the back of the ship, she sat down at one of the computer stations that were obvious additions, but even they had been tastefully added and blended with the surrounding scrollwork.

"Yeah, I know the feeling," Nexi said with a knowing nod. "I got another baby waiting for me to come home and show her some love, that is if we can get these supplies. But yours... she's a thing of beauty," she continued as she admired the craftsmanship. In the back of her mind, she wondered if she could get the schematics for a ship like this, maybe try to built it in her free time... "So most of the data is locked, but there's more than enough available to get an idea for the scope of this site. I think you'll be more than pleased."

Taking the data chip, Enalia plugged it into her sciences terminal and started pressing the jewel-like keys before putting her face up to an antique viewfinder and fiddling with a few knobs. "Yeah... Holy..." She then started cursing under her breath in Trill in a way that the UT had trouble with but roughly translated as "The fuck kind of fucked up kind of fucknado shit is this..."

Her brow deeply furrowed, she looked up at the other displays and checked the data. Looked back into the viewfinder. Looked up at the screens. Did some math on her fingers.

She then sat back in her chair, exasperated. Then another thought occurred to her and she did a bit more math just based on the unlocked sensor readings. As soon as that was done, she slowly turned and faced Nexi and Aewia. "Your ship's sensor arrays go around a rather uniquely shaped hull... and it's almost a kilometer wide... AND you just happened to be there to watch an entire planet blow up? Plus they happened to be my enemies? What's the catch? What kind of resources are we talking? And just how many kilotons is it you need?"

Nexi grinned; oh yeah, she liked this woman, a LOT! "Why's there gotta be a catch?" Nexi replied with a shrug. "And there should be a file on there with an inventory of all we need, and it's nothing unreasonable, especially when you stack it against what you're getting in return," Nexi continued, pointing out the file on the screen. "The closest thing we have to a catch is we want to remain anonymous. Our ship will be unlike anything you've ever seen before and we would ask that you don't tell anyone about it. We don't mean any harm, we just want to go home, simple as that."

"Home... To... You know what, I don't want to know." Enalia threw up her hands and was done with it all. She then pulled up the list of what they needed and her jaw dropped a bit. "Fuck it..." With that, she started copying over what data was unlocked and started scheduling deliveries to the assigned coordinates. "You have a deal. It'll take everything I have, but within a year I should have enough resources to buy a small moon... Or hell... an Orbital Fortress... Always wanted one of those."

"DOKTON!!! Mobilize the fleet! Send them for full salvage and piracy operations in the Selen system!" Enalia called out to the cockpit as she pulled the chip and handed it back to Nexi. She also pulled out an intricately ornate gold coin with a Trill Piracy mark on it and handed it to Nexi. "In case you ever need help from the Artan Pirates, this is a Parley Token."

"Oh yeah, anyone can buy a moon, but nice orbital fortress never go out of style," Nexi said with a grin, taking the token and the data chip and slipping slipping them into her pocket. "Well, it was a pleasure doing business with you; you've got enough info to get started, and once the supplies are delivered, the rest of the scans will be unlocked and transmitted which will give you a better view of the ideal places to focus your efforts."

"Good luck on getting home. Everything should be delivered to those coordinates within a galactic week. If there's anything else you need, you know where to find me." Enalia motioned for them to make their way towards the airlock. "If you'll excuse me, I have a broken planet to violate and a fleet to lead."

"Have fun," Nexi said, then turned to leave, but before she could get very far she paused. "Hey, I got this friend, and she would give me hell if I didn't at least try to take some pictures of this beauty's interior. Do you mind?" Nexi asked, pulling out a small camera from her jacket.

Enalia grinned knowingly. "Hmph... They do say that if you want a memory to last longer to take a picture of it. Ok, but just leave the computer consoles out of it. The original designs were of writing desks and I don't want anyone knowing I have any military grade hardware stashed away in here. In fact.. How about I pose at the helm for you? Might be a good souvenir."

"Nah, you just go back to work, make it natural," Nexi said as she began snapping pictures, being careful not to capture the computer consoles, or at least adjusting the focus so she wan't getting any clear details. "This friend, she, uh... She can strike a pretty impressive pose, but the way she thinks on her feet, she was always at her best when she was caught unawares. Sometimes, there's something perfect in a moment, something you can't recreate in a pose; it's more genuine, true... I think she would appreciate that better."

"Fair enough then," Enalia replied with a lopsided grin as she strode confidently towards the bow of the ship, grabbing a cloak and tossing it over one shoulder as she went. Once there, she took up a position with her left hand on an antique sailing wheel while fiddling with some overhead monitors, giving the perfect portrayal of 'dashing captain of action'. "Dokton, have the Merkton and Hamtarel converge on point four seven nine and close off the main shipping lane. If we can blockade that route, that'll give us time to get the rest of the fleet into position. As for our mining operations, suspend all of them and begin the supply operation order I sent you with those ships."

Nexi managed to get a few really great captures of Enalia in action, and looking through the capture screen on the back of the camera she saw one rather spectacular shot that reminded her of their Enalia; those two were cut from the same cloth, they were made for command. Nexi grinned. "Thanks, you guys have been great. Maybe when you come around with those supplies we can share a drink before we part ways," she said as she found Aewia and they made their way towards the airlock.

Enalia nodded respectfully but all her attention was now on managing her forces - she had a lot to do now and little time to do it in.

As for Aewia, she'd found the candy stash, quite literally. Though she was giggling like a kid in a candy shop, she had restrained herself from taking too much and had taken a couple pictures herself. Apparently Enalia Artan had a bit of a sweet tooth, judging from the half a ton of sugary goodness stashed aboard the ship.

Back on the Selune, Aewia lost it and burst out in laughter. "That woman is amazing!"

"You little thief!" Nexi said with a snicker when she noticed Aewia's bulging pockets. Then Nexi showed her one of the pictures she'd taken. "What do you think? Enalia's gonna like that one," Nexi said with certainty.

"Oh my... She's just like Captain Harlock." Aewia fawned over the picture for a few more seconds before showing Nexi a picture she had taken of the candy vault. "See all the candy she keeps? There are like a thousand different kinds in there. Even a Klingon blood candy that hasn't been made in our time for over two hundred years because of the extinction of three different animals."

"Ew, and I thought Ferengi were weird..." Nexi remarked with a grimace. Then she put her camera away and headed for the cockpit. "Alright, let's separate and get out of here. I need to run an errand before we go home, then maybe you can help me fix up the Star; how's that sound?" she asked, as she sealed the shuttle and began detaching from the sloop.

"That sounds good," Aewia said as she went through the sensors and took a few more quick scans of the solar sloop. "I can't believe she's a pirate though. I guess that does explain a few things about our Enalia though."

"Explains a lot," Nexi said with a nod. Once separated, the hitched a tow from the sloop to get them safely out of the radiated field, then fired up the engines and they were on their way. After a while, Nexi leaned back in her chair and pulled the pirate token from her pocket and looked at it, turning it over and over in her fingers as they sped through space.

"That's... a pirate killer token..." Aewia mumbled as she stared at the coin Nexi was playing with. "I earned one on an undercover mission in Breen space but with a different mark."

"Uh, actually it's called Parley Token, and that's the mark of the Artan pirates," Nexi corrected, showing Aewia the token. "I've collected so many of these things, I've lost count. I'm even an 'honorary' member on more than a few crews... I like working with pirates; they're not afraid to get their hands dirty, but... they're typically not afraid of good honest work either. Some of my best jobs have been done with the help of pirate crews," she recalled fondly.

Aewia sighed heavily. It seemed she knew something her sister didn't. "Yes I know all that. The edge of that token marks her as one of the most feared kinds of pirates among other pirates though. One that only preys upon other pirates and lowlifes. If a band of pirates crosses a line too far, one of her kind will hunt them down without fail and well before any government gets within a sector of them. I've seen it before."

"Hey, look at that, you're on a roll today with all you've remembered." Nexi smiled proudly, then continued to turn the token over in her fingers. "These tokens say a lot, from the material used to the patterns on the back, and some will even embed chips in them with information or messages. It's been a long time since I've come across a token like this, though... space just ain't what it used to be, so many opportunists and individual crews scraping and clawing for power; they don't make many pirate crews like this anymore."

Aewia smiled brightly and nodded. "Yeah things were a lot rougher and yet simpler. The craftsmanship put into her ship proves how much pride people took in crafting things by hand as well. You just don't see things like that these days. Anyway, what's our next stop?"

"That was a beautiful ship," Nexi said in agreement with a wide grin, still twirling the token. "Our next stop, we need to find an establishment that can give us currency for couple of antique coins our Enalia gave me, and then, well, I've got to secure our future," Nexi said elusively. "Our Enalia has been operating on a budget that exceeds anything she could have inherited from the Artan legacy. She showed me a message that I left her when I opened a high interest Bolian bank account for her, and I saw the deposit amount; one of the coins, if I can get the amount I'm thinking it will fetch, will be more than enough to open Enalia's account, but I'm thinking of using the other coin to open a second account for us... After I bought my freedom from Grek, keeping you with Starfleet was the only option I had, I couldn't afford the care you needed, and I know since then I've thrown my chips in with Starfleet, but it ain't like me to not have a backup plan. I'm just wondering if I should open that second account."

"That's up to you, but you should probably at least open a second account for her with the third coin just in case." Aewia leaned back in her chair and relaxed. "Either way, we still have my parents' inheritance and each other so it's not like we don't have a small fortune already, you know."

"Yeah, you're right..." Nexi said, but something was clearly still weighing on her mind. She stared at the token as she continued to twirl it, then she stopped and began flipping the coin over the back of her fingers. She tilted her head, lost in thought as she watched the token move like magic over her fingers. "I know what to do with that money," she said with a lopsided grin. Merrit, of course! It had always struck her odd how her old mentor had taken an interest in her, taught her how to track bounties, and give her the skills she needed to strike out on her own... "Holy shit, I hate time travel..." she said with a laugh and a shake of her head as the realization hit home fully.

Aewia was now lost and sinking. "What? I... I don't get it... You have a plan? Does it involve ice cream?"

"We are definitely getting ice cream after this," Nexi said with a grin. "I don't know if you can remember this, but I told you about a man who helped me get away from Grek. It just seemed so out of nowhere, he just showed up without introductions and started doing jobs for Grek, and then a few months later... What if I left an account to him with a message to get me out there? I could just tell him time travel is involved; if he decides to be selfish and not get me out from under Grek, then the money disappears..." Not that Merrit was that kind of man, but it couldn't hurt to stress the importance of helping Nexi free herself from Grek's control. "It all makes sense, he said he had just come into a lot of money; this is what I have to do!"

Aewia nodded happily. "Ok. Then we do it for ice cream. And you can pick the flavor."

As much as Nexi liked it when Aewia was clearheaded, she had come to adore the more child-like Aewia as well. There was a purity, an innocence about her, and it made Nexi feel... less damaged when she looked at the universe through child-like Aewia's unique lens. "Vanilla," Nexi declared, quickly pulling out her camera to get a shot of Aewia's no doubt disgruntled expression for choosing such a boring flavor.

Aewia was happy with vanilla if that's what her sister wanted. She smiled happily at Nexi as if she didn't have a care in the world. "Can we have sprinkles?"

"Yup, and waffle cones." Nexi took a picture of Aewia anyway; she could never get enough pictures of that smile...