A Friend In Need

Posted on Sat 29th Oct, 2022 @ 4:06pm by

999 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: The Hunted
Location: Warp Vessel Nomad Bridge
Timeline: MD 11, 1030

Riko took a seat at the Science console and turned to Commander Perry ... thinking there were now two Commander Perrys in her life. "You're sure you want me here for this?" she asked.

Isabella took a depth breath and looked up at Riko. "I'm not sure I want to do this, but we do this for the better good, I suppose. OK, hit the button, before I change my mind."

McCord nodded and sent out the request for a face chat. Isabella had already programmed a secret code destination into the com array. "Directing it to the forward screen now," she said.

A Romulan woman with shoulder-length black hair appeared on the large screen. Verrana was a very striking woman, even by Romulan standards. "Well, well, well, if it isn't my lovely wife and a friend? Who do we have here, dear Isabella?"

"Verrana, this is my First Officer, Riko McCord." Isabella gave a head tilt gesture towards her friend, trying not to let Verrana's greeting annoy her. "Look, I have asked you time and time again to stop calling me your wife. Especially in public."

A huge smile came across Verrana's face. "But, dear, we are two souls who have been intertwined into one through the forging of the fire of escaping certain death. How could you deny this?"

"Simple!" Isabella stated. "Because I don't love you like that. We did what we did to survive and get you out. But that's not what I am calling about. I need to you come to Starbase 109 as soon as you can. I have an ... in depth favor to ask of you, and I can't go over it on subspace. How long will it take you to get here?"

Verrana laughed after hearing Isabella's request. "So the Federation dogs need my help and expect me to jump when beckoned. What's in it for me?" she asked, knowing she had Isabella right where she wanted her. Verrana knew if Isabella was calling on her, it was either going to be very lucrative or dangerous.

Right away, the Romulan put McCord on guard. It wasn't just her words, but something vibrating in the woman's attitude. Even without the hard time she'd given Perry, Riko found her annoying. She hid it well, but she didn't think she'd be relaxing around the new crew member for a long time. That's if she decided to come aboard.

Isabella looked over to her First Officer and gave her an approving glance to feel free to jump in.

"Probably not as much as you think," Riko answered blandly. "You should know Federation dogs don't pay much, especially for unproven help."

"RRRROOWWW, this one has a bit of bark to her, but does she have a bite to match?" Verrana seemed impressed with Riko's response. "Unproven help huh? Why don't you ask your little friend if my help is really that unproven. If I recall, I have the scars on my back to prove how valuable my help is! Or have you forgotten, my love?"

Verrana shifted her attention more to Riko."McCord, what do you think? Should I come and listen to my little bird's favor? I am sure that it is going to be rather juicy."

Shrugging as if she didn't care one way or another, Riko said, "That's up to you, of course. If you don't come see what it's all about, you'll never know if you're as good as the two BESM officers you might replace."

"Well, it just so happens that I am not too far away from your Starbase. So I'll tell you what, set me up with some nice quarters and I will come and hear what you both have to say. See you soon, Verrana out."

"Huh," McCord said. "That was short. Is that typical of her decision making? Or maybe that she didn't want to stay on call very long. I heard rumors Starfleet can track calls better with their latest tech developments. The Andorian who runs that tech store in the Promenade mentioned it to a customer last week while I was browsing his new stock."

She paused to wait for Isabella's thoughts about her contact, but then, with the suspicious nature she seemed to be developing, she added a question. "Was she really asking you for nice housing, or was there some kind of code buried in there?"

"Oh, there was no code there." Isabella responded. " She really wants to have nice accommodations. She knows I am going to ask for something, and she is going to get everything she can out of it. It's just how she is wired. Remember, she is a smuggler, pirate, and everything in between. But she knows her stuff and in the end, I know she won't betray us."

Isabella stood up from her seat and paused for a second. "But, that doesn't mean we let down our guard. I will have Henry build some extra safety precautions into her bracelet should she accept this offer. And I know she will accept it."

The first officer stood, as well. "So she's a mercenary, for sale to the highest bidder? If she takes your coin, does she serve faithfully, even if a better offer comes along? That's what my main concern is, though you keep saying you trust her."

Another question came to mind. "The bracelet alteration is a good idea. Can he simply add to one of the Winters' bracelets, or does he have to make a new one?"

Isabella shook her head. "No, he won't have to make a new one. The bracelets are DNA coded. All I have to do is get a sample of her DNA and code it to her bracelet. Wont be hard to do. See if you can find a two-bedroom place, nicely furnished, not high-on-the-hog as Henry would say, but still nice."

"Oh, sure," McCord said, "then if she doesn't like the quarters, it's me she's mad at, not you!"

 

RSS Feed