Slave Trade Part ll

Posted on Thu 14th Nov, 2019 @ 9:47pm by Krell House of Mer'uk & T'Vala

1,336 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Resolution
Location: D'Valkra IV
Timeline: MD 1 1810 Hours

The landing party materialized on the planet surface. It was nearing nightfall as the sun began to retreat behind the mountains, but what caught the attention of the landing party was the sand storm that they were not warned about. Krell even had a look at the sensor readings and there was no sandstorm then either. Krell covered his eyes. “We need to find shelter!” He yelled over the sound of the strong wind.

"Much like sandstorms on Vulcan," T'Vala said, pulling the hood of her lightweight cloak over her head. She'd originally donned it to keep her ambassadorial robes clean for brunch, but now she was grateful she'd brought it with her.

Regos had no head gear, so she merely put on the goggles from her knee pocket, and scanned for shelter. Pointing to the left, she called out, "About 65 meters that direction, there appears to be a structure. It's the closest possible shelter. The storm is interfering with communications, but maybe if we're closer, we can reach someone." Or at least find a door that opens, she thought, as the wind seemed to pick up force, and the sand grated against her face.

"Okay." Krell yelled over the wind. "That seems to be our only option at the moment." He began walking in that direction even though he couldn't really see anything.

T'Vala kept her head down, watching the feet of the person in front of her. By the size of the feet and the stride, it was clearly Krell. She hoped he knew where he was going. "The wounded are going to need us more than ever after this storm," she said to no one in particular.

Lissi took point, behind one of Krell's large-muscled warriors, keeping an eye on their direction. Unless there was something that wasn't showing up on the scanner, which was entirely possible, they weren't likely to trip over anything but their own feet before they came to the shelter. It, at least, was holding stead in the scanner view.

Coming up beside the warrior, she yelled, "We're going off course. We need to straighten two meters to the left."

He nodded and began to angle his direction, somehow communicating that to the other Klingons, so Regos dropped back again. Even though they were fighting a head-wind, it didn't take all that long to reach the building. The wind was less as they stood in front of it, and it was tempting to put her back against the wall and slide down to the ground, making as small a target for the storm as possible. Instead, she did the politically correct thing, and sidled over to Krell for directions. "That was fun," she commented. "Next?"

"And next? We go inside and out of this sand storm." Krell said. He found the door without any problem and opened it before going inside, followed by his warriors.

T'Vala followed the others inside. She shook the sand from her cloak before lowering the hood and looking around. They were in a warehouse of sorts with crates stacked here and there. One small light shone in the ceiling. "First, we need more light," she said.

One of the warriors had a light that he pulled out of his pocket and turned it on. "Crates," he said, which was obvious.

Out of habit, Lissi tried to scan the crates. "Huh. It looks like they're empty. Either what they held was taken, or they aren't in use." She walked around one, tried to lift a corner, but it was fastened down firmly. "Now why would an empty crate be closed up tight?" she wondered aloud, forgetting she had an audience.

"Because it is not empty," T'Vala replied, walking up to her. "So, we should find out what it contains."

Krell found a crow bar leaning up against the the wall on the other side of the crates. "Let's find out what is inside, shall we?" He pried the top of the crate with the tool and with a little grunting it began to loosen.

Lissi stood back from the crate, taking no chances on Krell's aim with lids. As he took a breath and gave a second shove, the lid popped up and clattered to one side, narrowly missing one of his warriors. Stepping forward again, she peered in carefully. To her, the crate still appeared empty. Scanner up, she ran it over the now open area. "It still shows nothing, but ... what's that in the corner? Is it sand?" She went around the box toward the corner in question, and a beautiful scent assaulted her nose. "Can you smell that?" she asked.

"Yes. It's quite delightful," T'Vala said, bending over to get a good look at it. "Bring me a secure container for this," she said to the room at large. "There must be one in here somewhere."

Krell looked around for a moment before catching the light flash off of a metallic canister on top of a tall crate. He reached up and grabbed the container, "Will this do?" He asked as he handed it to T'Vala.

"That is perfect. Thank you." She took the container and carefully scooped up as much as she could.. "Now, if several of you gentlemen will tip the crate just enough for the sand to pour into the container, I would be grateful."

Regos marveled at the calm aplomb with which the Vulcan woman came close to an unknown substance. As much as she appreciated the pleasant odor, she wouldn't have come that close, or tried to trap it inside a metal can ... not for money and not on a bet. She looked around at the few remaining containers, and asked Krell, "Ambassador, would you care to open another one? It would be good to know if they all contain nothing, yet have this substance in them."

As two warriors tilted the crate to empty the small contents into the more secure container, Krell forced the lid off of another crate. "So, what is that you have found in the empty crate?" he asked with curiosity.

Lissi shrugged, "I'm not a scientist, but I think we'll need a lab test or two to be sure. It looks like sand, but it doesn't smell like it. My first thought was some kind of creature we haven't met yet, but it doesn't appear to be concerned about what we're doing with it, if it is. I suggest we put it under a containment field, however, to be on the safe side. Does your ship have containment field capability?" She peered into the second crate, already sure the substance would be there somewhere, because the scent had been enhanced when the lid came off.

"Ambassador T'Vala, will your container hold more? Or should we leave this one alone?" Regos asked.

"It will hold more," T'Vala assured her.

She turned to Lissi. "We shall have it analyzed when we return to the ship. I shall ensure t gets back to its rightful owners."

After emptying the second crate into T'Vala's container, it was decided the others would hold little more information, as scans returned the same emptiness the first two had. "Where do you suppose the meet-and-greet committee is?" Lt. Regos wondered.

"Staying out of this storm?" T'Vala asked.

"Quite a silence for people who wanted help, even with the storm. I wonder how long these local haboobs last," Lissi said. "Good thing we brought emergency packs with us, but I really hope we don't have to spend the night here. It's better than outside, but still ...."

The door behind them opened abruptly and a hooded figure entered, holding an old disruptor rifle that would probably explode rather that fire. Her face was covered with goggles and a bandana which protected her from the sand storm. She maintained an aggressive stance and remained ridged as everyone turned to face her. "Who are you and what are you doing in my storage room?" she demanded in a stern Klingon voice.

 

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