Episode 101. A Bag of Gold Bars
Context
- Coordinated Universal Time
- Friday, October 18, 2024 - 11:21 PM
- Location
-
- Tellar Prime
- Zorek Spaceport
- USS Enterprise
- Shuttle Bay
- Tal'Kyr
- Transporters
- Timeline
- Schak'Irra Timeline
- Previously
-
On Tellar Prime, the mission to finance the Enterprise repairs turned into a show that was improbable, to say the least. With the help of K'hoka Khol'a, an Orion woman with a scandalous past, Agnes Rodriguez and her team tried to soften up a greedy Ferengi in an underground cabaret. Between improvised choreography, clashing egos, and cultural misunderstandings, the plan quickly went off the rails. And just when everything seemed lost, Orion pirates burst in and threw the establishment into chaos. Under disruptor fire, Tarsi managed to contact Lingua and exfiltrate the whole team by transporter.
Characters
| Name | Affiliation / Branch | Title / Rank | Species | Original Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agnes V. Rodriguez | NATO / Special Fleet | Captain | Human | Schak'Irra Timeline |
| Angie Chen | NATO / Special Fleet | Commander | Human | Schak'Irra Timeline |
| Vexoriana-Lyss'ra Tarsi | Starfleet / Temporal Division | Commander | Andorian | Prime Timeline |
| T'Met | Starfleet / Temporal Division | Captain | Vulcan | Prime Timeline |
| Robert Gomard | NATO / Army | Colonel | Human | Schak'Irra Timeline |
| K'hoka Khol'a | Independent | Étoile Diamantée des Astres Pétillants | Orion | Schak'Irra Timeline |
| Lingua | Starfleet / Temporal Division | N/A | Artificial Intelligence | Prime Timeline |
Manifest
| USS Enterprise | |
|---|---|
| Affiliation | NATO |
| Location | Docked at Zorek Spaceport |
| Captain | Agnes V. Rodriguez |
| First Officer | Angie Chen |
| Artificial Intelligence | Lingua (Unofficial) |
| Pilot | Eric Corda |
| Communications | Emilie Flores |
| Operations | Charlene Savea |
| Tactical | Vexoriana-Lyss'ra Tarsi (Unofficial) |
| Science | T'Met (Unofficial) |
| Advanced Weapons | Eros Vitos |
| Security | Robert Gomard (Unofficial) |
| Sickbay | Victor S. Calpel |
| Counselor/Consultant | Manu |
| Custodian | Manu |
| Passengers |
|
| Detainees | Vladimir Joseph Putin and his bodyguards |
| Ground Team |
|
TL;DR
Still dazed by the transport, Agnes and her team gather their wits in Tal'Kyr's transporter room. The adrenaline drops, jokes start flying, and everyone realizes they are back aboard. As Lingua retrieves their uniforms and the cabaret odds and ends, K'hoka discovers, stunned, the 26th-century Vulcan ship. Calm returns, but the money problem immediately resurfaces: despite the show's fiasco, the Ferengi paid 105 bars of latinum, joined by K'hoka's meager savings and Schak'Irra's treasure. They are still 30 bars short of settling the debt to Gornok, until Gomard, with a predatory smile, produces a bulging pouch stolen from the Ferengi during the shootout. Scandalized but relieved, Agnes decides to keep only enough to pay for the repairs and offer the rest to K'hoka, now without a refuge. The Orion woman accepts gratefully, ready to share Tarsi and T'Met's quarters. Meanwhile, Lingua announces that Tellarite workers have begun repairs aboard the ship.
Story
To my astonishment, our team rematerializes in a dimly lit room. My eyes slowly adjust to the change in lighting, and I realize we are all packed into a small transporter room. I feel a wave of panic rise through me while my senses are still on high alert after the shootout in K'hoka Khol'a's cafe-cabaret.
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
For God's sake! Don't tell me we were transported! Where are we?
Cmdr. Vexoriana-Lyss'ra Tarsi
Uh... yeah, Agnes. I couldn't see any other way out, so I asked Lingua to beam us straight into Tal'Kyr. Is there a problem?
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
Of course there is a problem! Damn it, Tarsi! You scared the hell out of me! I thought it was the Enterprise transporter, the one that doesn't work on living people!
Cmdr. Vexoriana-Lyss'ra Tarsi
Well, uh, I knew that too, that your transporter was not ready. Believe me, Tal'Kyr's is more advanced than your NATO blender.
K'hoka Khol'a slowly gets back up, still shaken by the transport. Her eyes scan the room, searching for familiar bearings.
K'hoka Khol'a
Can someone explain what happened? Where are the pirates and my establishment?
Capt. T'Met
K'hoka, Your body was converted into subatomic particles and rematerialized in this room. The Orion pirates are still at the Étoile Diamantée des Astres Pétillants in Zorek Spaceport.
Cmdr. Angie Chen Number One
The pirates aren't the only ones we left behind. Our clothes are still there too!
Col. Robert Gomard Army
Ha ha ha. Personally, I think you all look lovely like that.
Cmdr. Angie Chen Number One
Yeah, well, next time you're the one playing stripper!
Cmdr. Vexoriana-Lyss'ra Tarsi
That is a minor detail Lingua will correct. Lingua! Are you there?
Lingua
[beep] Yes, Commander Tarsi. I heard your conversation. Shall I retrieve your clothing?
Cmdr. Vexoriana-Lyss'ra Tarsi
The outfits, the combadges, and possibly K'hoka's personal effects.
Lingua
[beep] Please rephrase, Commander Tarsi. I do not know anyone named K'hoka.
Cmdr. Vexoriana-Lyss'ra Tarsi
K'hoka is the owner of the establishment where we were. Retrieve every object you find near our outfits!
Lingua
[beep] Scan in progress... Please step away from the pads. I am going to proceed with the transfer.
We move away from the pads, and Lingua begins bringing back everything that was in the Orion woman's dressing room. The transporter room is suddenly cluttered with odds and ends, and with our uniforms.
Cmdr. Angie Chen Number One
Ooooh, nice! Lingua didn't forget the dermalizer.
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
Now all we have to do is pick up our clothes and get dressed. Lingua, contact Manu and ask him to come clear away this whole mess.
Lingua
[beep] Message sent, Captain Rodriguez.
Cmdr. Angie Chen Number One
Poor Manu. He's going to think we're doing it on purpose, always dumping the dirty work on him.
Capt. T'Met
I thought he was your science officer.
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
Manu is our custodian. He's also our counselor... and our Science Attaché.
Capt. T'Met
Original.
Lingua
[beep] Captain Rodriguez.
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
Yes, Lingua. What is it?
Lingua
[beep] During your absence, Tellarite workers came aboard the Enterprise and have begun repairs.
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
Thank you, Lingua. They are probably Gornok's workers.
Cmdr. Vexoriana-Lyss'ra Tarsi
Gornok... whom you promised to pay with latinum you don't even have!
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
We'll find some.
Cmdr. Angie Chen Number One
Easy there, Agnes! No way am I doing another striptease!
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
Ha ha ha! You didn't seem to mind all that much, Angie. How much did we earn, K'hoka?
K'hoka Khol'a
Just a moment... Let's see... The Ferengi gave 5 bars for your performances and 100 bars for the operating license of Slug-o-Khol'a. I am also giving you the 15 bars from my savings.
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
We're not doing too badly. If we add Schak'Irra's 50 bars, we are only 30 bars short.
Cmdr. Vexoriana-Lyss'ra Tarsi
In other words, a fortune! We have to find the Ferengi and negotiate an exchange, since he is the only one who has any.
Col. Robert Gomard Army
Ahem...
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
What is it, Robert?
Col. Robert Gomard Army
There will be no need to go back and see the Ferengi. During the shootout, I took advantage of the confusion to steal one of his pouches. Take a look!
Before our astonished eyes, the colonel detaches a small pouch from his belt and spills its contents onto the floor. We sit in a circle and start counting. I am pleasantly surprised to discover that the pouch contained more than 300 bars of latinum. It is more than enough to cover the Enterprise's repair costs.
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
Robert, for ethical reasons, I do not approve of what you did, but I'm giving you a kiss anyway.
Col. Robert Gomard Army
You do not have to approve. That chimp should've paid for your performances.
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
Either way, we'll be able to pay for the Enterprise's repairs.
Cmdr. Vexoriana-Lyss'ra Tarsi
Agnes, what are you going to do with the difference?
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
I'll give the rest to K'hoka. She will need it when we drop her on another planet.
K'hoka Khol'a
That is generous of you, Captain Rodriguez, but honestly, this currency has value only in that customer's eyes.
Cmdr. Vexoriana-Lyss'ra Tarsi
She is right, Agnes. Apart from here, where the Ferengi tried to flood the Tellarite market, and on his homeworld, latinum isn't worth a thing in the Beta Quadrant.
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
If latinum is really worthless, we can just exchange it. For now, we need to find K'hoka a cabin. Angie, can you handle that?
Cmdr. Angie Chen Number One
Uh, that is going to be difficult, Agnes. Since we picked up the survivors from Schak'Irra, we're full.
Cmdr. Vexoriana-Lyss'ra Tarsi
She can come to my quarters with T'Met.
Capt. Agnes V. Rodriguez
As long as you do not kill each other, why not. What do you think, K'hoka?
K'hoka Khol'a
If an Andorian and a Vulcan can get along, sharing a room is possible.
Cmdr. Vexoriana-Lyss'ra Tarsi
T'Met and I are as close as two baby targs, even if we do not always agree on certain subjects. Isn't that right, T'Met? Ha ha ha.
Capt. T'Met
I acknowledge that, Vexoriana-Lyss'ra.
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