Exploring Campor City - Part III

Posted on Thu Dec 14th, 2023 @ 3:46pm by Captain Ryhl th'Zeles & Lieutenant Commander Johanna Lyngstad
Edited on on Thu Dec 14th, 2023 @ 3:47pm

1,909 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Mission 1: Campor III - Resupply
Location: Campor III - Campor City
Timeline: Following Part II

=/\= On =/\=

Ryhl checked over his shoulder to see if the Ferengi followed them. If they did, he'd know they might be problematic.

While the group continued to make various comments, as many children did that age that were looking to cause trouble, the quickly lost interest when there was no real response from anyone in uniform. As a result they kept eye on them but didn't pursue. At least none of them except for a smaller child, about 8. She followed back a bit more out of what appeared to be curiosity. One of the other kids tried to pull her away by the arm but she fought him of and continued to watch the Star Fleet Officers.

When the shopkeeper saw Ryhl pointing, he set the weapon back on the table. A bald man whose robes clung to his overweight figure scowled towards the away party. The group made their way between two stalls and through a tight space between storefronts.

"What brings you to all to Campor City?" The human male's attention seemed to ignore the Captain, focusing on the three women. "My, what a fine ship."

Feeva was acutely aware that the Captain had spotted something untoward-the movements of his antennae had changed. She remained alert. Even the heckling children didn't phase her-she understood. Vissia, while a neutral planet, held the Federation at arm's length, as well. Feeva was only the fourth Vissian to have interaction with the Fleet.

"Be careful," she warned, quietly.

Rachel pulled out her tricorder and made note that the weapon emitted a low power signature, indicating it was at least in a standby mode, and it was one of the pings she'd gotten. The other one seemed to be a larger power source off at a greater distance, almost too far to walk to reasonably. She quickly sent a message to the ship to scan where it appeared to be and report back to her what was found. Still she stepped forward as if to place herself between her commander and the possible threat, and looked at the Captain for a moment before giving him a nod "It's safe Sir, anything that may be here looks to be uncharged or in standby. Just be careful."

"Thanks for keeping an eye open", said Ryhl. "We should approach cautiously."

Rachel walked up the table hoping to distract the shopkeeper. "So, care to show a lady what all you have for sale?"

"Of course", the shopkeeper replied. "Only the finest surplus weaponry in the sector. Go ahead.. Have a look." He took a step back, closer to one of the closed crates.

Johanna looked over Lt. Soros' shoulder as she scanned the weapons. As Rachel commented to the Captain, Johanna nodded in agreement.

Feeva, too, eyeballed the man with great suspicion. She didn't like men who leered-at anyone, but especially at her. She hated to make generalizations, but why were certain males like this?! She still couldn't figure it. "It's alright, Lieutenant," she said, gently, but firmly.

Johanna saw the shopkeeper leering and paid it no mind. He was not the first man to leer at her, and probably wouldn't be the last. ~ It's when they stop leering that I have to start worrying. ~

The Captain stared suspiciously at what he saw, choosing his words carefully. There were crates of weapons and ammunition. A pre-Dominion War era Compression rifle was wrapped in a smooth, olive material. Romulan and Klingon disruptors sat alongside each other, most of them older models. Several bladed weapons were displayed on diagonally vertical board.

Feeva's eyes travelled to the weapons. This wasn't good. Her own phaser was on stand-by, but being the Counselor, she hoped that words and logic would appeal.

Ryhl's eyes looked up to catch the man staring. "Listen here." He banged a cerulean fist on the table. "You're going to start treating my crew with respect.. Or we'll confiscate all of this."

Nez took a step forward. "And the underground will back him as well", Nez said as he took a step forward. Standing alongside the officers gave him a new presence among the locals. Clothing made of fine materials signified Nez's status to the shopkeeper. Ryhl looked to Nez, grateful for the support.

"Listen, you can't blame my eyesight", said the man as an unsettling smirk crossed his features. "But I apologize.. To each of you. Now these weapons? People here rely on vendors like me. Some even hunt with these weapons."

Meanwhile a message came back to Rachel, spoken by a junior officer filling in on bridge duty. =/\="Columbia to Lieutenant Soros.. We found numerous weapon signatures within a large, pyramid shaped building at the location you provided. It's on the outskirts of Campor City, about 7 miles from your position. It appears to be in the middle of an enclave or community of some sort. We're gathering information on it now.=/\=

"Great work, Lieutenant Soros", Ryhl said as he bowed his head. "We'll have to follow up there."

"Maybe some of you might be interested in a little something to bring back with you. I might even know about some stuff going down. Some stuff that I don't exactly like." Nez looked to the Captain curiously.

The idea of what appeared to be a large weapons cache didn't thrill Rachel to say the least and she wondered if part of these peoples problems were bigger than what they made them out to be. Still that would remain to be determined. "Thank you Captain."

She then turned her attention to the Nez, intrigued by what he had to say "Bring back what exactly? And what's the catch?"

"Why a weapon of course.. Surplus, all legal here.. Gray market trading, as far as the rest of the galaxy is concerned.. But no. Something is different", said the little Ferengi as he turned away from the shopkeeper. "There's a new air in town. Lots of talk, but I don't know from who."

Feeva was growing more concerned. "Captain, a moment?" She asked. She stepped off to the side. "If there's a weapons cache, it may be time to escalate this from a fact-finding mission to something more...extreme. Alerting the Columbia might be a good idea," she said. "Please tell me if I am being too...concerned." She said. Sometimes she worried *too* much.

"I want to try to talk with these dealers", the Captain spoke quietly. "Citizens are allowed to be armed here. Interfering with their local laws is also not our focus. But we need information. I feel like these people are as good as any to talk to.

Feeva nodded. "Alright," she said. "I think you're right..we need more information but...at what cost?" She didn't expect him to answer, just think about it. "Please be careful," she admonished him, in her "mom" voice.

"Who says I have information for you?" The bald man stared down Captain th'Zeles, clearly resistant to him.

Eyeing the man for a moment, Rachel turned to being more dismissive. "If you don't have anything for us then it's probably best we quit wasting our time with you and take our money somewhere else. Most of the arms you have for sale look old and busted anyways, probably more needs to be sunk into getting them fully working again than they're worth." Truth be told she did notice the shape of a number of them, but the other half of the weapons she had no clue as to their worthiness. Yet she decided to bluff either way.

Feeva caught on quickly to what the Ops officer was doing, and, since it was her natural state of being, she also followed suit and nodded. "I think that's a good idea, Rachel. Perhaps we should go look elsewhere. I saw some pretty cloth my husband would like," she said. It was a lie, of course-she was a widow, but this man didn't know that. "He likes it when I wear more demure things."

Ryhl echoed their sentiment. "We really don't have a use for your goods. Time is on our side. A hundred officers could question a thousand people to get whatever information we need." The eccentric Andorian was known for thinking in big terms, sometimes biting off more than he could chew. Rachel and Feeva were right.

"Ugh! You ladies are beating me up over the price? Well that's not very diplomatic." He took their tactics as an effort to get a deal, his defensive focus shifting towards negotiating a sale. There was tension in his voice and guarded expression that suddenly released. His shoulders fell as he erupted into a rumble of nervous belly laughter. "Okay.. I don't have a name for you or anything.. But I do know about the structure your ship found. It's called the Outer Terminal... A business center of sorts. That's where the real deals are made. They hold a major stockpile of resources. Anybody who knows anything is there..."

"He's right", Nez said. "I can help you get an audience with the right people. It'll take time though."

"Just be careful if you head over there. I can't be held responsible if you get hurt." The bald shopkeeper crossed his arms. Nez narrowed his eyes towards him.

Ryhl motioned for the others to follow him, stepping several paces away from the shop keeper. He turned to the others and spoke quietly. "We're going to have to send a specialized team to take a look. Here's the plan. Let's take one last look at the weapons. Maybe there is an interesting piece after all. We'll run by the food stalls and eat, then we'll head back to gather the animals."

Feeva nodded. "I can buy a little something to throw him off," she said. "It'll please my daughter to have a trinket," she offered. "Sometimes, Latinum talks more than diplomacy," she pointed out.

Johanna nodded.

"I don't exactly deal in trinkets", the shopkeeper said. "I could sell you a late model Klingon disruptor or something. But all I have are surplus goods."

"Mister Nez?" Ryhl called out to the Ferengi, who stood near the shopkeeper. As the Ferengi approached, Ryhl continued. "I'm hoping you can join us for awhile. We'll need your help sorting this."

"Aboard the ship? Might not be a bad idea to at least have a look." Nez clasped his small hands together. "Of course my time doesn't come cheap. I'd like to at least be compensated in spare equipment."

"No promises", Ryhl replied. "But it's definitely possible. Okay.. Sorry about that", Ryhl said as he turned back to Johanna, Rachel and Feeva. "Any questions?"

Feeva made a face at the man, letting him know that he'd diplomatically FUBARd the situation but shook her head. "No, sir, nothing from me," she said.

"No questions here." said Johanna.

"Okay then.. Let's get some food before we double back to the shops. Time is of the essence now. We've got work ahead", Ryhl said to the others as he lead them away from the shopkeeper.

Feeva was glad that there hadn't been a big scuffle. They were able to gather some information that would help the Intel and security people out, and she was able to get a little memento for her daughter.

OFF:

Captain Ryhl th'Zeles
Commanding Officer
USS Columbia

Lt. Commander Johanna Lyngstad
Chief Science Officer
USS Columbia

Lieutenant Rachel Soros
Chief Operations Officer
USS Columbia

Lieutenant JG Feeva Drylo
Counselor
USS Columbia

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